Sage advice for the new Mac switcher

What's Onyx?

So... it's like jailbreaking your macbook? Lol... Can you explain to me what that means?

amanda.a.p said:

So... it's like jailbreaking your macbook? Lol... Can you explain to me what that means?

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Onyx is a multi-function utility program that allows you to tweak settings as well as perform maintenance functions. It has nothing to do with Jailbreaking which is used to break the protection mechanisms on the iOS devices.

No, it's pretty much a housecleaning app.
You can use it for basic maintenance (which is what most users use it for) such as clearing caches, browser history, repairing permissions etc, or for extensive maintenance which you will see all the options of by clicking all the tabs.
The basic maintenance is all that is advised unless you are a super user and know exactly what each task actually does.
I generally just use the automation tab, which has a batch of tasks, and check all the items in there, once a month or two or three.

cwa107 said:

Onyx is a multi-function utility program that allows you to tweak settings as well as perform maintenance functions. It has nothing to do with Jailbreaking which is used to break the protection mechanisms on the iOS devices.

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I know what jailbreaking is, only put it like that because it said something about allowing you to tweak your dock and it seemed like a good comparison. It's basically like Windows Disc Cleanup or Disc Defragmenter than.

More like disc cleanup..... there is an app called iDefrag for defrags.
Either way, it is not something that should be used to often, and is certainly not essential, especially if your system is running fine.
Macs are a lot cleaner than Windows PCs, and have way better organised filing systems, which is what in most cases, eliminates the need for defragging if you keep plenty of free space on your HD.

Ps The closest I've ever come to defragging a HD on a Mac is cloning to an external HD, zeroing out the internal HD, and then cloning back.

Great advice for a switcher!

I have finally been dragged/won over to macs - along with Ubuntu, but that isn't for here.

As others have noted, ones mileage will vary - but also has been pointed out, a switcher is totally new to this and it's a lot to absorb/learn. Keep in mind the many years microsnot products have been beaten into most of us.

My "exile" from macs has been about 20 years - loved my mac laptop back then, but when I left the company and moved to a new one, it was back to the PC world. Prior to the mac had something like 10 years on unix boxes. I really hope macs keep making inroads to corporate and displace that pain we are forces to use simply due to sheer momentum and volume of software available. It is disappointing to see some big software companies ignoring macs - get them on the mac train and we'd see a faster transition in the corp world to macs.

The main thought of your great message is simply "this is all new to you and there is a lot to learn" - slow and steady and as one gets comfortable, dig a bit deeper or try something else. Try to learn too much at once and you actually end up with a great "overview" but not many skills to use because you skipped that important step. Again, great job!

thanks for referring me to this man great job on writing only one problem after spending all my money on this B-E-A-utifull macbook pro i can no longer afford to buy $400+ software lol so my question is if somebody i know has lets say CS5 that they paid for is it so wrong of me to put it on my computer? is it even possible to do that?

Sorry, no discussion of software piracy on this forum. I would suggest you try some of the free and less expensive variants like GIMP , Pixelmator and others.

Hey all, brand new Mac user here - my PC laptop finally died and being so frustrated with Vista (I've used Win 7 - I know its better but I'm not interested, Vista has ruined me on PCs), I went on Ebay and grabbed a used iMac.

First of all, the iMac is a 1.83ghz core 2 duo Intel with 2 GB ram and an 80 GB hard drive. The seller said he loaded a "fresh" install of Snow Leopard on there, but the machine came with no software at all. So what I really want to know are answers to the following (dumb?) questions :

1) How can I really tell if its a "fresh" install. Meaning, could he have just left his old install on there and deleted his personal files?

2) Are there any programs I should be looking for to get rid of? I know Macs rarely have malware and don't come with much bloatware but I AM just getting off a PC.

3) I have a 320 gb external usb hard drive that has audio files, pictures, and a few video files that I made using a PC. I'm sure the audio and picture files will transfer fine, but does the Mac do the whole ".wmv" thing?

4) I can just buy the Snow Leopard disc off Amazon or wherever if I need to reinstall the operating system, correct?

Thanks for the help guys, I've always wanted a Mac but could never afford one. Glad I decided to take the chance on a used model.

manningfan said:

First of all, the iMac is a 1.83ghz core 2 duo Intel with 2 GB ram and an 80 GB hard drive. The seller said he loaded a "fresh" install of Snow Leopard on there, but the machine came with no software at all.

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Not sure what you mean by this, Snow Leopard includes a ton of software. It sounds like the seller a) didn't give you the original system restore disks (very bad of the seller, you should ask for them) and b) thus didn't load iLife onto the machine.

But even a straight install of retail Snow Leopard should include iCal, Address Book, TextEdit, Preview, Mail, Safari, QuickTime and much more. Are you saying you don't have those things?

1) How can I really tell if its a "fresh" install. Meaning, could he have just left his old install on there and deleted his personal files?

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Possibly. Did you set up the admin account? If not, make a new one, move whatever personal stuff you have on the current account over, then delete the old one. Better yet, buy the Mac Box Set ($129 I think) from Apple, which includes ALL the software you should have gotten PLUS iWork, which is awesome.

If you're sure you don't need iWork, you could get away with just buying a retail SL disc ($30) and a copy of iLife 09 ($79) and this will essentially be the same as what would have come on a new Mac.

2) Are there any programs I should be looking for to get rid of? I know Macs rarely have malware and don't come with much bloatware but I AM just getting off a PC.

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Nope. We don't have crapware/bloatware/trialware/stupidware. Or viruses. Welcome to Macintosh!

3) I have a 320 gb external usb hard drive that has audio files, pictures, and a few video files that I made using a PC. I'm sure the audio and picture files will transfer fine, but does the Mac do the whole ".wmv" thing?

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It will if you download and install the free Flip4Mac WMV Player and Perian. But I really would convert those files to standard formats at some point.

4) I can just buy the Snow Leopard disc off Amazon or wherever if I need to reinstall the operating system, correct?

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The SL retail disc only includes the basic level of software that comes on the Mac. If the seller had given you the install discs you would have had it all, but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise -- the original install discs might not have included an up-to-date system or iLife, so you'd have had to buy that anyway. But yes, a retail SL disc will act as a "system reinstall" disc.

I hope you got a good deal on that Mac, and I hope you enjoy it thoroughly!

First let me say, the 1st post is very well written.

You guys are making the switch a lot easier to understand.

I haven't bought my NEW Macbook as yet, i come from a Pro Windows Family (Brother works for Microsoft) The Macbook Air, not only looks good, it weighs nothing, i just have to get one!

I was planning on saving a little so it wasn't going to dent my wallet as much, but now i think i might just put it on the Credit Card.

One Question though, i download a lot of music, can uTorrent work on a Mac?

Yes, utorrent works on a mac, for all of those LEGAL downloads with your PEERS, like important documents and homemade movies, right?

MJB013 said:

One Question though, i download a lot of music, can uTorrent work on a Mac?

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Yes, but since that's illegal, may I remind you that iTunes is actually pretty awesome when it comes to music? Select *exactly* the tracks you want, very high-quality encoding (recently upped over 300kbps I notice!), all those obscure things you'd never find illegally, the artists you claim to support actually get paid ... I just sincerely think overall its a better system than ripping off artists, and I encourage you to use it more often.

There is also tons of great free stuff on iTunes as well, from podcasts to iTunes U and more.

Artists actually make very little money off of album and song sales; almost all of their income is generated through the merchandise at their shows, the amount of people at those shows, etc. So the 'supporting your artist' argument is generally invalid. =/

ElegantEsthetic said:

Artists actually make very little money off of album and song sales; almost all of their income is generated through the merchandise at their shows, the amount of people at those shows, etc. So the 'supporting your artist' argument is generally invalid. =/

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We're not having that discussion here as we don't discuss illegal activity on this forum, period.

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Being a new 'Mac' user that is sound advice indeed!

ElegantEsthetic said:

Yes, utorrent works on a mac, for all of those LEGAL downloads with your PEERS, like important documents and homemade movies, right?

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Of Course
Looks like i'll be making the purchase soon, i can't wait

Great article chas and sure to be a hit with switchers.

Seems a pity it has been hijacked by pirates etc!