Six Days until I am a Switcher.

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ok. about half the world knows i am getting a MacBook for Christmas this year. [seems like i have told every one of my friends at least three times] and i am just wondering what i should do when i first turn it on.

what are some things/software that will really impress my family [mainly because im trying to make them gave a great first impression with macs so they will switch]

is there anything that is a must download for sombody who mostly uses just, internet, photoshop elements, aim and myspace.

im open to any suggestions :]

:mac:
 
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Turn it on and marvel at it! It's sooooo pretty! Just stare at it like it's a tropical fish tank.
smile.gif


Enjoy!!!
 
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DavisCollins
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that onyx sounds pretty neat. looks very easy to use.
 
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open itunes play a song and turn on the visualizer.. I realize PC's have this as well but in my opinion with a mac product it looks fifty times better.. that should impress them a bit.
 
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Awe them with Front Row and the included Apple Remote.
 
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DavisCollins
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open itunes play a song and turn on the visualizer.. I realize PC's have this as well but in my opinion with a mac product it looks fifty times better.. that should impress them a bit.

yes i love the itunes virtualizer, but i wisht he apple would stay on the screen longer.

what exactly makes it better on a mac?
 
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DavisCollins
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Awe them with Front Row and the included Apple Remote.

i LOVE front row. i wil probly show them that first. i love how the screen moves back. its absolutly beautiful.
 
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If you want to really impress them, install VirtueDesktops and turn on the touch sensitive option. Tap the desk or the side of the Macbook and watch them gaze in awe as the desktop flips (make sure you use the Cube option, it's the most mesmerizing). I combine this with running Windows full screen via Parallels on one of the desktops, makes them go nuts.
 
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what i should do when i first turn it on.
Watch out when you create your account. The short name is rather long. Think of one you want to use for a long time or even one you commonly use else where.

Oh, when you startup a new Mac, it has this really neat welcome animation.

what are some things/software that will really impress my family
Go collect some Windows viruses and try executing them. Oh, what's that I hear from the peanut gallery; They won't execute. Exactly.

If you have a digital video camera, hook it up and start up iMovie. Import the tape and show how the places you stopped and started the tape at become individual scenes. Cut that into a short movie and export it to iDVD and make a DVD. This would be best shown off if your home DVD player can play homemade DVDs.

Are you into making music, try out Garage band.

Import your photos into iPhoto and then create a web page using iWeb and save it to a folder and then show that off.

Have you got a friend you can video iChat with. You'll need bandwidth, but I really like this one.

Once you've imported some tunes and Quicktime movies into iTunes and thown in a DVD, start up Front Row as others have mentioned by just clicking the remote. How cool is that!

If you already know your way around these OS X apps, you could do most of the above within an hour, except creating the DVD. All of the applications needed are built in. Now that is really cool!

Enjoy your new toy.
 
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DavisCollins
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Watch out when you create your account. The short name is rather long. Think of one you want to use for a long time or even one you commonly use else where.

Oh, when you startup a new Mac, it has this really neat welcome animation.


Go collect some Windows viruses and try executing them. Oh, what's that I hear from the peanut gallery; They won't execute. Exactly.

If you have a digital video camera, hook it up and start up iMovie. Import the tape and show how the places you stopped and started the tape at become individual scenes. Cut that into a short movie and export it to iDVD and make a DVD. This would be best shown off if your home DVD player can play homemade DVDs.

Are you into making music, try out Garage band.

Import your photos into iPhoto and then create a web page using iWeb and save it to a folder and then show that off.

Have you got a friend you can video iChat with. You'll need bandwidth, but I really like this one.

Once you've imported some tunes and Quicktime movies into iTunes and thown in a DVD, start up Front Row as others have mentioned by just clicking the remote. How cool is that!

If you already know your way around these OS X apps, you could do most of the above within an hour, except creating the DVD. All of the applications needed are built in. Now that is really cool!

Enjoy your new toy.

wow thats a lot of good info.

and what exatly did you mean when you were talking about the short name? is daviscollins or dcollins better?
 
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Also, Photobooth is endless fun!
 
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For quick oohs and ahhs, i'll have to agree with Front Row and Photo Booth.

If you have a mouse with the optional buttons, having expose and desktop a click away will also have the same effect you're looking for.

Merry Christmas! Merry present indeed.
 
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Get some icons in the dock! It impressed my mum :)
 
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Turn the genie effect on for window minimising / maximising and set the doc to animate. I've got mine set up like that and I can drop jaws with a 60 second demo:

- Open up a few windows then minimise one
- Ctrl + F9 a couple of times to show off Expose
- Press F11 a couple of times to show the windows moving in and out
- Press F12 to bring up dash board
- Click the +
- Drag a widget onto the desktop
- Press F12 to close Dashboard
- Do Apple + Escape to bring up Front Row
- Play around in Front Row with your remote
- Do Apple + Escape to go back to the desktop

That's pretty much my minute demo of my Mac. It shows them next to nothing about the real advantages of OS X but I've had plenty of so-called Mac haters walking away thinking, I want one of those.

Further to that show them how quick it is to make your Mac goto sleep and then wake up again.

Also, if you have the 17" Macbook Pro go to the Apple website and fire up a few 1080p film trailers in Quicktime (you can't quite watch it at its native res and you need Pro to play in fullscreen). Watch their faces when they see the detail - it really is a sight to behold (then tell them their PC will need at least a 3.0Ghz dual core processor to play it back as well).
 
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what exatly did you mean when you were talking about the short name? is daviscollins or dcollins better?
Well it is a personal preference really. I don't like long names, so I use the one I've had through four companies. Also, I just don't think the longer default version is personal.
 
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- Do Apple + Escape to bring up Front Row
- Do Apple + Escape to go back to the desktop
The remote will do this for you, so there is no need to touch the keyboard.
 

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