Start up question

Being new to mac and comming from pc I want to know and learn all I can so I am following some threads and doing what I feel is smart. such as, I now have stuffit, and what ever it is that allows me to see wmv.
Now I know in a pc if there are too many things running in the background or in start up. you go to run-->msconfig--> startup and prune things out.
I dont know whAT TO DO IN A MAC.
Problem is that my start up time was very good to begin with and now it lags behind. Already starting up to slow is not a good sign in my opinion. what can I do how can I do it and is it just best to not have all these items? get them when needed and toss them after (more on freeware stuff)?
Ideas? Help?

If you want to see a list of start-up programs:

1)open system preferences
2)click accounts
3)click your account in the sidebar (if you have more than one account on your computer)
4)click the tab "login items"
5)there you go... to remove one, just click on it and click the "-" below the list

however there are more things than just start-up programs that will cause your computer to boot more slowly...
hope this helps

You're gonna love this answer ... As long as you have journaling turned on (and it is by default), you don't have to worry about any defragging. As for a msconfig equivalent, I don't think there are any. Try running the scripts described here. You can also install OnyX and run some of its functions. Maybe that will help.

Start up times are made easier by never starting up if you can help it. The only times I restart my Macbook are if Software Update makes me, some poorly designed install of a program makes me, a hardware upgrade, a Kernel Panic, or if I just feel it's a good time to reboot. Which is very rare.

Once my Macbook has been started it sleeps when it needs to come with me.

If you really want to know what goes on during startup...

thanks all I will be having fun soon with it and learning all I can
thanks for the good help
I am sure more question will arise.