GS100K and IMac
 

I've just been asked these questions and being a DosTel/Wintel user since my teenage years, have no definite answer. Any comments will be highly appreciated.

Are there any issues when you connect the two (through USB and/or Firewire)?

Many thanks!

USB would be for still images and FireWire would be for DV. Under OS X you probably don't need any drivers etc. It should be plug-n-play. OS 9.x.x may need drivers for the USB connection.

MPEG4 (SD card video) is in MS' proprietary format (you must have WMP to view it - it is available for Mac on the MS web site) - and cannot be edited on the Mac. There is also apparently no fix for this limitation at this time, though I keep looking for one. Use a card reader for the SD card - using the USB cable provided with the 100K can end up destabilizing your Mac (I speak from experience - I have a 1GHz Powerbook and use OSX 10.2.4, and it did exactly that). Photos taken on the SD card will easily download from the card reader and can be imported into iPhoto, if that's what one is using, and presumably can be imported into any other Mac-compatible software. For best results if using iMovie and iDVD, get the latest versions and get QT Pro. QT Pro especially will save you from unnecessary grey hairs if you're trying to get your movie to a dvd.

For maximum compatibility try using the current OS, 10.2.8 Have you tried using VLC to view the MPEG4 video? It will play more proprietary formats than QT.

Jeff, thank you for the input. But, as many harebrained things as I do with my camcorder, I'm pretty conservative with my computer. If it ain't broke, I don't fix it. I refused to move up to 10.2.6 because I am also a Palm user, and there were too many problems reported re using bluetooth after that upgrade was released. Now I am going to sit back and wait and see what folks have to say about 10.2.8. Other issues: I use iMovie and iDVD and visit those fora. Such pain, agony and moaning - many people with problems I have not had and hope not to have. Most using 10.2.6, though that is probably not the cause of the difficulties (some people do think the software is supposed to know what you want done and do it; I only feel that way about my camcorder). I intend to keep following the Mac forum here and elsewhere to see how 10.2.8 works out. Hope you and others will keep posting to let us know - though most folks here use the pro software like FCP and DVDSP, way out of my league.

Re WMP - don't think there's a fix yet. I've asked in lots of places. It really seems to have to do with how MS implemented the mpeg4 protocols and there not being, I assume, enough demand for MS or anyone to try to make it completely cross platform. There's talk of an update to WMP for Mac, but it seems to be just wishful thinking for the moment.

Patricia Kim wrote in an earlier post:

> using the USB cable provided with the
> 100K can end up destabilizing your
> Mac (I speak from experience - I have a
> 1GHz Powerbook and use OSX 10.2.4,
> and it did exactly that).

What exactly do you mean by "destabilizing" the Mac?

Actually, given the ease by which one can copy files off the SD card using a card reader, I'm not sure why one would want to hook the camera up directly. Maybe for those situations when the USB cable but no card reader were available?

John, absolutely right, use a card reader. The usb cable which comes with the 100k also comes with specific instructions about downloading windows drivers, etc. I just went ahead when I first got the camcorder and plugged in the usb cable anyway. Wrong move. Not recommended.

Umm, OK, will do.

But, what happened on the Mac when you blithely hooked up the videocam via the USB cable?

Presumably, "destabilize" doesn't mean that your Mac started shaking like a vibrator?! :)

Odd things started happening, like apps shutting down unexpectedly; I think at one point I had to shut down the computer completely and restart to get one of the apps to open. What I did was just run the disk utility, buy an OSX compatible card reader (got a $20 cheapie), download the upgrade to iMovie, and purchase QTPro. Things seem to be fine.

I would suspect your destabilizing was the result of some other cause. If the OS can't recognize the device, it will ignore the device.