One quick errata from last week. The monthly MMOOS meeting is usually the THIRD Tuesday of each month, NOT the fourth Tuesday as I mentioned last week. Next meeting: Tuesday, 16 November.

Back to moving files from your old computer to your new Mac. I mentioned previously in this space that one major problem with moving from a really old computer to a newer computer is the older computer’s lack of modern ports. Before USB hit the scene, most PC peripherals (keyboards, mice, printers) connected to the PC via parallel ports and cables. Before the proliferation of home broadband internet connections, many home PCs didn’t ship with Ethernet networking capability. So, what if you have one of those “Pleistocene-era” PCs and want to move up to a new Mac? To do so “manually” could take years and cost thousands of lives.

To the rescue comes Move2Mac (www.detto.com/move2mac, $49). Move2Mac is a software/hardware package designed to “hold your hand” through the transfer process. It comes in two varieties. One for Windows 95, or for PCs with no USB ports, with an included parallel-to-USB cable. Another for newer systems, with a USB-to-USB cable.

How’s Move2Mac work? Install the Move2Mac software on both your old PC and new Mac. The software identifies your PC settings (Address Book, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, networking, etc.), and lets you select the settings to move. It then identifies relevant files, and estimates how long it will take to move them. Then, fire up the Move2Mac software on your Mac. Attach the cable, then sit back while the transfer takes place. Move2Mac moves, for example, the documents in the PC’s “My Documents” folder into the “Documents” folder in Mac OS X. Same with Photos, Music, etc.

Move2Mac claims that you can transfer 500MB of data in 15 minutes via the USB-USB cable. The slower Parallel-USB cable needs 83 minutes. It will also move and convert the address book and POP3 settings for Outlook Express on the PC to Mac OS X’s Mail.app. Move2Mac only handles PC to Mac transfers, not vice-versa.

What about old Mac to new Mac? The first time you start up your new Mac, during the “welcome” and set-up process, you’re asked if you want to move files from another Mac. If your old Mac has a FireWire port (and you have the cable), the set-up program walks you through it. Sweet.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski