01-17-2009, 11:09 PM

Suffering through a Vista laptop for the last few years, I thought I would try a Mac for a change. Here are my initial impressions for the first 24 hours

1) Had trouble installing Firefox and getting it to remain on system after restart and trying to figure out how to get to remain as a desktop item

2) x doesnt quit programs, it only closes them, a bit confusing, but easy after a bit.

3) keyboard combos are all different.

4) New Macbook touch keypad is quite well done, but I find myself enlarging and shrinking text.

It runs very well, no lag, great screen. I do not regret buying it and its odd doing things a different way after so many years on windows, however Im happy with the purchase at this point.

01-17-2009, 11:26 PM

Tip for no. 2- command-q to quit the program. IMHO, the most usefull OSX keybord shortcut

Tip for no.3- A lot of them ar different, but in many cases, if you just use command like you would use control in windows, they do the same thing (i.e. ctrl-c/v=command-c/v ect.)

01-17-2009, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by Johnpb

1) Had trouble installing Firefox and getting it to remain on system after restart and trying to figure out how to get to remain as a desktop item

This is probably because you werent installing it, just running it from the dmg file. In mac, programs are self contained, and they usually dont have to be "installed" the windows way.

Just drag the app to the desire location, usually that would be Applications and voiala! thats all.

About the desktop thingy, try not to. I recomend you getting use to the dock. Just drag the app you just installed from its destination to the dock and it will automatically create a shortcut there. If you still want a shortcut in the desktop you need to create and alias. Alias are the same as windows shortcuts. Just create one and place it wherever you want it.

Glad you are eager to learn, its the best approach to learning about Mac.

01-17-2009, 11:40 PM

Reminds me of when I first switched. It's best to do your research before you buy a Mac so the switch is a lot easier. That's what I did a few months before I bought my Mac and I didn't have any problems. Funny enough, I was a whiz at it in no time, I just remembered it was essentially a PC in Mac clothing

Try these 2 links to help you get better acquainted with Mac, if you haven't already:

Apple - Support - Mac 101
Apple - Support - Switch 101

01-17-2009, 11:49 PM

Good info everyone.

To the OP, do remember one thing, most programs you download for OSX are in a DMG format which is a Disk Image. It's like an ISO in a way. You click on it and it mounts and opens a folder on the desktop. Click and open the folder and drag the application into the Applications folder. Then you can close that window and unmount the Disk Image. Your Application will then be in the Applications folder and you can make a copy to the Dock if you use it a lot.

If what I said still confuses you, there are some excellent tutorials right here on Mac Forums.

01-18-2009, 03:50 AM

Hey, thanks for all the tips. I was having that problem with Firefox, this time thanks to the help, when I restarted the machine, it was in my applications. I must say I am pretty impressed so far. No major issues, the Macbook starts up fast, a very easy switch other than trying to forget Windows habits you develop over 15 years of use. Even after a day, this long time PC User would fully recommend a Mac. Later next week, Im going to try out Bootcamp and see if I can work that.

Im interested also to see how Windows 7 works on it. I put Win 7 on a 1.2 ghz Pentium Friday and it runs pretty well. Thanks for the comments and the welcome.

01-18-2009, 10:24 AM

One more thing, about keyboard combos.

Most of the things in the OS has a combo assigned to it. Its not mandatory that you start learning them right away, but it will definitely speed up everyday tasks. Every time you do an action, try looking at what command-what you need to tap to do the same action but with the keyboard.

command O to open files and dmg's (cause enter doesn't works like in windows)
command E to eject disk images
command bacspace to delete files (cause delete no longer works like in windows)
command alt shift backspace to secure empty trash

And i can go like this forever. Every app has its own key combos, you should try and look for the ones you use the most.

Cheers.

01-19-2009, 03:08 AM

Thanks, a lot to remember command wise. I found a site that lists code. I dont know why they have to make deleting files etc so tricky. Im sure it is just a matter of getting used it

01-19-2009, 04:06 AM

It's really not that tricky. Drag files to the Trash to delete them, and the reason why the keyboard shortcut is Cmd + Delete instead of just Delete is because the Delete key on a Macbook is more like the Backspace key, and you can't delete files in Windows with the Backspace key

01-19-2009, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by Johnpb

Im interested also to see how Windows 7 works on it. I put Win 7 on a 1.2 ghz Pentium Friday and it runs pretty well. Thanks for the comments and the welcome.

if you want to run it inside OS X (i prefer this over separate boot) than you will have to choose between Paralells or VMware Fusion. without starting a war about which is better i will say that i run one of them on my iMac and one on my Macbook and i prefer VMware but you can do your own research.

FYI - Windows 7 runs great inside OS X on one of those choices.

i like the ability to install and run any software so i always have XP (Lite version) running along side OS X. i use OS X 99% of them time but like the option for a windows programs like DVDFab for example.

here is a snapshot of my desktop:

i did do a little customizing of the XP theme to make it look better but other than that it is just XP and VMware Fusion.




being that you are new i just thought i would share this with you as it usually interest people that have switched.

good luck and i am sure you will find all your answers on this great forum.

01-20-2009, 06:04 PM

I don't think anyone has said this, and you've probably figured this out yourself, but just to make sure, when you have two fingers on the trackpad, if you move them it will change the size of text, icons, etc by accident. So try to use one finger for most things, but I realize it takes a while to get used to as well.