Drank the Coolaid, Got the Mac

Took delivery of a new iMac desktop a couple of days ago. Wow, great experience so far if a bit overwhelming after years and years of MS use. Here's a couple of Newbie questions that I can't find answers for anywhere on this site:

1. Battery Use- when you choose "Sleep" mode do I need to turn off my mouse and keyboard to save battery life or do they somehow sense that the system is dormant and go into some kind of sleep mode as well?

2. I have used laptops for all these years and this is my first desktop. I notice it gets quite warm- is this normal? Not burn your fingers hot but pretty warm. It cools off quickly in Sleep mode.

Ordered the "Switching to the Mac" instructional book from Amazon and am awaiting its delivery so I will hold off any further questions until I get the book and can get into it. This site has been of great value (and comfort) so thanks in advance for any advice.

It is very tasty Kool-Aid:

1. Don't even worry about this. The batteries last a very, very long time so it must be doing something right!
2. That is normal. There is built in protection for shutting the machine off if it gets overheated. They are packing a ton of stuff in a fairly small space. It is going to get warm at times!

Enjoy! This is also a great book:

Amazon.com: Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (9780596153281): David Pogue: Books

1) The wireless keyboard and mice will automatically shut off by themselves if not used for more than 3 minutes (might be less, might be more).

2) iMac's use convection cooling to reduce the amount of fans in the system. There are fans yes- over the CPU and I believe over the hard disk drive (I'm not too sure on this). The fans are forcing air out towards the top of the unit. Aluminum is an excellent heat dissipator, and thus you really shouldn't worry about it.

Ordered the "Switching to the Mac" instructional book from Amazon and am awaiting its delivery so I will hold off any further questions until I get the book and can get into it. This site has been of great value (and comfort) so thanks in advance for any advice.

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Books are great and always handy to keep around the machine, however, you're going to find out that you'll learn more by just reading these forums.

Some of the folks here have been using Macs for a very long time and have a wealth of knowledge to share. So stay tuned, and welcome to the forums!

Yeah...I got some of those 3-4" thick books. Books like that become obsolete almost as fast as computers do. In a couple years that book will be a doorstop or a paper weight...and when you see it...you'll think..."What a dinosaur!".

But then again...for someone that's totally new to Mac's...the book may contain a bunch of info the rest of us take for granted!

- Nick

1. The latest mice and keyboards do go into a lower-power mode when the system is asleep. I recommend 2000mAh or higher rechargeable batteries or just get Apple's very reasonably-priced custom batteries + charger.

2. As Chris says, iMacs use convection cooling (aka "heat rises") to minimise fan use. Everything's perfectly normal. Be sure not to block the speakers and air intake on the very bottom of the machine by, say, stuffing plush toys underneath it (yes, I had a client ...)

3. The " Switching to the Mac" book is an EXCELLENT resource for PC switchers. Highly recommended.