Hello, new Mac user here...

So my Dell and my Toshiba were dying slow painful deaths and taking us with them and we decided to overhaul our entire home computer system. We were originally going to go with a MacBook Air but after talking with the Apple rep, we decided on a new iMac. We were blown away by the performance and ease of using the Mac. We had it for a week and then the wife reminded me that we agreed to get an iPad for her to use at school so off to the Mac store we went again!

So after talking to the rep, we decided the iPad was not for us and it was a toss up between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook air. I wanted the air as I was about to go on an international trip and I loved the weight, but we really were bummed that we would have to get an external DVD drive to get the same features as the MB Pro. After annoying the rep and flip-flopping for an hour, we decided on the MB Pro.

Believe it or not, the little extras, like a DVD drive and the illuminated keyboard really made all the difference in selling us on the MB Pro.

So in the course of a week, we made a complete switch to Mac. ;D

My whole family couldn't be happier! We are all stunned by the performance of these 2 computers! Both came with Snow Leopard and we are considering upgrading to Lion. Since both of our purchases are so recent, we can upgrade for free.

Thanks for this great forum. I look forward to learning more about the tricks that make the Mac even better than we already have discovered.

Tony.

Welcome to the Forums. I think you made some great choices. I opted for the MBP as well. I really enjoy this computer and it's trouble free. I upgraded to Lion and I think is is well worth the $30.00. You will really be surprised by the way it works. Since your systems are new it should be a really easy upgrade. Mine was with nary a problem.

Enjoy your new found computing systems. I think you will find that it was worth the investment. I know I have.

Regards,

Pat

Lion is totally worth the upgrade. The up-to-date program process can be a little annoying, but in the end it will be worth it. I would suggest doing it sooner rather than later as a lot of the cool multi touch gestures were totally overhauled.

Best of luck with your Mac!
Also which iMac and MBP did you end up opting for?

I ended up going with the cheapest Imac:
21.5-inch: 2.5GHz
2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB

And the cheapest 13.5" MBP:
13-inch: 2.3 GHz
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2

These machines far surpass what we will need in computers; Internet, e-mail, Word, XL, PPT, Photos, and videos. None of us are gamers.

Our previous computers were a Dell XPS400 with a 75GB hard drive and a Toshiba satellite and a 100GB hard drive. Both were running XP from the 2004-2005 era.

Since the whole family is new to Mac, I figure the upgrade to Lion won't be as painful as it would be for someone who is already used to previous Mac OS versions.

You're exactly right about the upgrade.
And both are definitely quality machines. Good luck with your Macs!
My one piece of advice would be to perhaps increase the amount of RAM in the iMac from 4 8/12 I forget which you can do. Either way, it will be a welcome speed boost especially down the line and especially once you start using it for a while.
It's a really simple process- there are three screws on the bottom you need to remove and that's it. You can purchase the upgrade from either OWC or Crucial.

I personally bought crucial and it was 70 dollars shipped for an 8gb upgrade.

Also- did you happen to buy Apple Care?

It's good to hear such enthusiasm for the Mac - however, be prepared for the same kinds of problems that hit all computers from time to time. The Mac, in my experience is just so much better a machine than the PC that there really is not contest. However, it is just a machine and things like slow running will happen, especially if you ramp up the applications, occasionally a program will freeze (although to be fair, in my case this is likely to be MS Word for the Mac!), and you'll lose control of the mouse cursor - all these things can happen because it is just a computer, not a perfect device Still, you'll probably have a lot of fun before these things start to happen!

investing in apps such iClean memory and Maintenance (a watered down version of onyx) will help to alleviate a lot of the slow running things. I'm sure there are other apps out there as well. Also watch your hard drive usage. macs tend to not behave very well when the hard drive gets nearly full.

StMFA said:

investing in apps such iClean memory...

Click to expand...

That app has a very low rating, and is generally regarded to perform an unnecessary task. The fact that there are no other tools whatsoever that do what it claims to do suggests that it's a placebo. It's also not made by a developer with any sort of credible or even known history of development.

I personally would steer clear of all apps that claim to clean or fix or whatever. If you try to stick to Apple applications and stay out of the hidden file areas of the Mac OS you will be in really good shape. There are some users who have not reinstalled the OS in many years because they are very cognizant of what they download and do the research before they do so.

Additionally a good solid backup routine is a necessity. It could save you a lot of headaches. i would spend some time on these boards. It won't take you very long to understand from who and where the good advice comes from. By spending just a few more dollars you can get a good solid backup routine that will save you someday. The Time Machine backup is a good start but you can also clone your system as a failsafe using several different programs. I happen to use Super Duper but I understand there are several others that work just as well.

Educate yourself on the basics and the basics of a good backup routine and you will be in great shape. I do not consider myself a Mac power user and I'm ok with that. I just want a consistent computing experience that does not break down, slow down or other wise endanger my data. I think I found that.

Regards,

Pat

I would hold off on any apps for maintenance, etc. for a while. Try once a month verifying/repairing permissions in Disk Utility and see if that doesn't keep things running smoothly enough. You'd be surprised by the efficiency of Mac OS X. You don't get the fragmenting and clutter that is inherent of Windows OS. Not putting down Windows, just saying that they are different in their structure and you'll discover that yourself with time.

If you are capable of following directions fairly easily, you might want to consider upgrading the HDD in the MBP yourself. A 500GB+ 7200RPM drive will be a welcomed improvement. Also the RAM in both machines is easy to change out yourself. Try Newegg, Crucial, OWC for those items.

And welcome to the world of Mac and to these forums!

OnyX and Maintenance (made by the same developer) have high ratings and "clean" bills of health, but are not routinely needed ... maybe every few months for most users ("power" users might want to run them a wee bit more often).

Much more important is a) doing regular backups either using Time Machine or a method of your choice, and b) keeping a fairly high amount of free space available on the disk at **all** times. I'm talking minimum 20GB or more.

For the most part, if the user does the above two things, the rest will just take care of itself.