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Well hello there guys and gals,
So I'm not exactly "new to Macs", this is my second MacBook Pro; however, I intend on using this one the way it is supposed to be used. After being a life-long Winblows user, I purchased my first Mac (god rest It's soul) in May of 2011. I jumped right into it, only using features that I found myself and then figured them out on my own, all while slowly convincing myself more and more that I was a genius on MacBooks. This past June, my home was burglarized, and the rude awakening of reality hit me.
I produce music as a professional hobby (see what I did there? ;P) and that means, of course, I had a lot of one-of-a-kind, priceless files that couldn't be replaced if something terrible happens, for example...oh I dunno...your house gets robbed. I called Apple, only for them to ask me things such as, "Did you have FindMyMac enabled?", "Did you back up anything to the Cloud?", etc., etc...and all I could say was, "no". (and all I could think was "#*!@")
So here I am, with my second amazing machine that some people consider a computer...I consider it a flying space capsule of speed and wizardry. I refuse to allow myself, and this computer, to become stagnant and vulnerable towards myself, burglars, or anyone else that wants to ruin my day. I have already enabled FindMyMac, I have an Apple Airport securely hidden in a small crevice of my house that you will never find, and I have instilled more password protection on my here than the NSA's agenda (Dear NSA, I really wouldn't know, please don't hunt me down). I've browsed through the forums here, and learned a lot already, but I would like to introduce myself and learn much much more.
First, I intend on purchasing LittleSnitch, but I am curious if NoobProof would do what I need it to do - with the added benefit of being free. I have also read that if I have a firewall protected router, that is all I really need. Is that true?
I purchased my new Mac with the solid state hard drive. As far a maintenance is concerned, is there anything out of the ordinary that I should be aware of?
On my last Mac I ran Safari for my web browser about 99% of the time. Now that I have a super awesome Droid Ultra (sorry iPhone enthusiasts, I just cant do the iPhone. don't hate) that is Google-ed out from head to toe, I have and been primarily using Google Chrome. Are there any better recommendations on web browsers for OSX? So far I am really satisfied with Chrome though.
On my last Mac, I was running OSX Lion if I'm not mistaken, and I'm thinking about upgrading to Mountain Lion for its memory management. Unfortunately, I have read some really bad things about it being glitchy and unresponsive. Anyone out there having these problems with ML?
Sorry for the really long post. I ramble. A lot.
I have read some threads pertaining Application Management hubs that incorporate all of your applications' software updates together in one app. Which one of these apps would you guys recommend to be the best, focusing on the "bang for you buck" aspect?
That's all I'm really curious about at this point in time, as I slowly rebuild my computer back to the way I want it, and further. If there is anything else you guys didn't see me mention that you would consider important, please please feel free to chime in.
Drew Porter
MacBook Pro 15"
2.7 GHz Intel I7
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
251 GB Flash Storage
So I'm not exactly "new to Macs", this is my second MacBook Pro; however, I intend on using this one the way it is supposed to be used. After being a life-long Winblows user, I purchased my first Mac (god rest It's soul) in May of 2011. I jumped right into it, only using features that I found myself and then figured them out on my own, all while slowly convincing myself more and more that I was a genius on MacBooks. This past June, my home was burglarized, and the rude awakening of reality hit me.
I produce music as a professional hobby (see what I did there? ;P) and that means, of course, I had a lot of one-of-a-kind, priceless files that couldn't be replaced if something terrible happens, for example...oh I dunno...your house gets robbed. I called Apple, only for them to ask me things such as, "Did you have FindMyMac enabled?", "Did you back up anything to the Cloud?", etc., etc...and all I could say was, "no". (and all I could think was "#*!@")
So here I am, with my second amazing machine that some people consider a computer...I consider it a flying space capsule of speed and wizardry. I refuse to allow myself, and this computer, to become stagnant and vulnerable towards myself, burglars, or anyone else that wants to ruin my day. I have already enabled FindMyMac, I have an Apple Airport securely hidden in a small crevice of my house that you will never find, and I have instilled more password protection on my here than the NSA's agenda (Dear NSA, I really wouldn't know, please don't hunt me down). I've browsed through the forums here, and learned a lot already, but I would like to introduce myself and learn much much more.
First, I intend on purchasing LittleSnitch, but I am curious if NoobProof would do what I need it to do - with the added benefit of being free. I have also read that if I have a firewall protected router, that is all I really need. Is that true?
I purchased my new Mac with the solid state hard drive. As far a maintenance is concerned, is there anything out of the ordinary that I should be aware of?
On my last Mac I ran Safari for my web browser about 99% of the time. Now that I have a super awesome Droid Ultra (sorry iPhone enthusiasts, I just cant do the iPhone. don't hate) that is Google-ed out from head to toe, I have and been primarily using Google Chrome. Are there any better recommendations on web browsers for OSX? So far I am really satisfied with Chrome though.
On my last Mac, I was running OSX Lion if I'm not mistaken, and I'm thinking about upgrading to Mountain Lion for its memory management. Unfortunately, I have read some really bad things about it being glitchy and unresponsive. Anyone out there having these problems with ML?
Sorry for the really long post. I ramble. A lot.
I have read some threads pertaining Application Management hubs that incorporate all of your applications' software updates together in one app. Which one of these apps would you guys recommend to be the best, focusing on the "bang for you buck" aspect?
That's all I'm really curious about at this point in time, as I slowly rebuild my computer back to the way I want it, and further. If there is anything else you guys didn't see me mention that you would consider important, please please feel free to chime in.
Drew Porter
MacBook Pro 15"
2.7 GHz Intel I7
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
251 GB Flash Storage