Hi everyone

rudeboyyouth · Dec 12, 2009

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Rudy, I'm 29, and I live in NY. I just recently made the switch from PC to Mac about 3 weeks ago (I bought a macbook pro 15). I'm still getting used to the new interface, but I'm really pleased so far with the computer's performance. It's a really good, smart machine.

Any useful advice or pointers for a mac virgin, lol?

cwa107 · Dec 12, 2009

Welcome. Let's get this thread over to the Switcher Hangout.

johnnyFIVE · Dec 12, 2009

welcome, I just joined this site a few days ago.

what do you primarily do on your computer?

I would recommend Quicksilver, it is by far my favorite mac program and its free.

droflex · Dec 13, 2009

rudeboyyouth said:
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Rudy, I'm 29, and I live in NY. I just recently made the switch from PC to Mac about 3 weeks ago (I bought a macbook pro 15). I'm still getting used to the new interface, but I'm really pleased so far with the computer's performance. It's a really good, smart machine.

Any useful advice or pointers for a mac virgin, lol?

Hehe. Three weeks after the switch you have found out one of the biggest problems with a mac. They are kinda boring. I mean boring in a good way!

You are not having to troubleshoot the operatiing system anymore so you are free to simply go about messing around, playing and having fun. That gets old after a while

I have found myself up 'till 2am in the morning because I lost track of time having fun and being creative instead being up deleting spyware and trying to figure out why I'm getting an error message.

I've had my imac for about a month now and this is the way a computer should work. No drama.

Just enjoy it.

rudeboyyouth · Dec 13, 2009

droflex said:
Hehe. Three weeks after the switch you have found out one of the biggest problems with a mac. They are kinda boring. I mean boring in a good way!

You are not having to troubleshoot the operatiing system anymore so you are free to simply go about messing around, playing and having fun. That gets old after a while

I have found myself up 'till 2am in the morning because I lost track of time having fun and being creative instead being up deleting spyware and trying to figure out why I'm getting an error message.

I've had my imac for about a month now and this is the way a computer should work. No drama.

Just enjoy it.

That's a really good point, droflex. It makes everyday usage much easier.

I recently downloaded the 30 day trial version of ProtectMac antivirus, just to be sure to have some type of anti-virus on my macbook. Have you tried this software at all, and do you recommend buying it?

rudeboyyouth · Dec 13, 2009

johnnyFIVE said:
welcome, I just joined this site a few days ago.

what do you primarily do on your computer?

I would recommend Quicksilver, it is by far my favorite mac program and its free.

Right now, I'm using it for surfing, recording & editing live music mixes from my dj setup, and some very basic music production. I will eventually be getting more into production in a few months. I also use it for remote access job-related work.

VegasGeorge · Dec 13, 2009

I don't suppose the anti virus app will hurt anything. I just think it's unnecessary. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you should know in plenty of time if and when viruses become a problem for Mac users. Right now the only thing your software is going to find are a few tracking cookies from commercial websites.

clayneal · Dec 13, 2009

VegasgeorgeIs right you'll hear about it Long before you see it. Right now the only thing your antivirus is doing is wasting money and processor cycles

Just my thought
clay

droflex · Dec 13, 2009

VegasGeorge said:
...Right now the only thing your software is going to find are a few tracking cookies from commercial websites.

For cookies, I have the following Firefox add-on's installed. They might be redundant, I'm not sure.

BetterPrivacy Home - Protects against Super Cookies

Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (TACO)

Originally Posted by rudeboyyouth View Post
...Any useful advice or pointers for a mac virgin, lol?

Also, maybe check to see that your firewall is turned on. When I got my computer, it was off.

droflex · Dec 13, 2009

rudeboyyouth said:
...Any useful advice or pointers for a mac virgin, lol?

Another small app that is possibly useful is Apptrap. It is suppose to do a better job of "uninstalling" when you send an app to the trash.

Link: AppTrap

rudeboyyouth · Dec 13, 2009

Thanks for the heads up, droflex. An app like that would definitely be useful for me.

droflex · Dec 13, 2009

rudeboyyouth said:
Thanks for the heads up, droflex. An app like that would definitely be useful for me.

NP. I dont have any experience with the notebook you have but I found that I was able to plug my old two-button MS mouse into the imac's usb port and BAM! Worked like a charm. It might make the transition a little easier for you if your use to right-clicking for years.

rudeboyyouth · Dec 13, 2009

droflex said:
NP. I dont have any experience with the notebook you have but I found that I was able to plug my old two-button MS mouse into the imac's usb port and BAM! Worked like a charm. It might make the transition a little easier for you if your use to right-clicking for years.

Yeah, I just recently purchased a Microsoft wireless mouse and installed it. It works wonderfully. I do like the Macbook Pro touchpad though; it's far better than other touch pads I've used on other laptops. But touch pads exhaust the heck out of my fingers. The wireless has made things so much easier.

droflex · Dec 13, 2009

Another cool Firefox add-on is Flashblock. It places a "play-button" in place of all those flash adds that show up on websites. If for some reason you want to see the add, you can click the button. You can also easily allow any page you want to display the flash add's if you want to see 'em by right clicking on a flash add and selecting "allow flash from the site".

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433

Here is the "Switchers guide to OSX software" listed as a "sticky" at the top of the switchers section. The software listed is great!