Default System Preferences?

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I have perused through the System Preferences and am not sure about changing them.

Is there someone who can make recommendations based on the Mac defaults that I would want to look at changing?

For instance, in another thread, I was told to UNcheck the hard drive option related to sleep mode.

Any suggestions or places to look would be appreciated. I am also confused on the Firewall 'sticky' thread. Should the firewall be turned on if I am using a desktop at home only?

Thanks in advance...
 
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I change the Dock preferences to Magnify, and set the magnification to the max.

I go into the "Expose' & Spaces" Prefs and in Expose' I set up hot corners as so:
Upper Right= All Windows
Upper Left= Put Display to Sleep
Lower Right= Desktop
Lower Left= nothing

I also set the mouse for right-clicks, I turn the tracking to the fastest possible.

If you are using your computer behind a router.. I would just leave the firewall in the System Preferences turned OFF.
 
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If my computer is NOT behind a router and is connected directly to a cable modem...so should I leave turn the Firewall ON or Off. I would like to catch all software updates. Thanks . . . Dogbreath
 
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If my computer is NOT behind a router and is connected directly to a cable modem...so should I leave turn the Firewall ON or Off. I would like to catch all software updates. Thanks . . . Dogbreath

It's not going to hurt you to turn it ON... I leave mine off (I AM behind a router) for easier remote access to my computers from other locations.
 
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Thanks Ride...it's only me and one computer here. The Firewall goes ON!!!! . . . Dogbreath
 
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I have perused through the System Preferences and am not sure about changing them.

Is there someone who can make recommendations based on the Mac defaults that I would want to look at changing?

For instance, in another thread, I was told to UNcheck the hard drive option related to sleep mode.

Thought this was your thread.... ;)

That option was unchecked by default on my Mac, I think.
They're called "preferences" because they allow you to set things up the way you want them. Don't sweat it. If you're concerned, keep a journal:
9/15/10 - SP > Appearance : Checked Smooth Scrolling
etc.
Then you can change it back if you want. For some things, you'll want to note the setting as it was, and also what you changed it to.

If you really get paranoid after changing a bunch of preferences, there is a way to get them all back to the shipped default in one fell swoop. It involves "building" a new SP plist file.
 
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Thought this was your thread.... ;)

That option was unchecked by default on my Mac, I think.
They're called "preferences" because they allow you to set things up the way you want them. Don't sweat it. If you're concerned, keep a journal:
9/15/10 - SP > Appearance : Checked Smooth Scrolling
etc.
Then you can change it back if you want. For some things, you'll want to note the setting as it was, and also what you changed it to.

If you really get paranoid after changing a bunch of preferences, there is a way to get them all back to the shipped default in one fell swoop. It involves "building" a new SP plist file.

Thanks for your response but this really wasn't helpful, not sure what you are implying with the ... ;). I was asking because I wanted to get a sense for what some Mac users use as general preferences.
For instance, I did not even know what the magnification setting RiDE uses does. His answer gave me things to look at and try out.

I know what "Preferences" means. I may not be a computer genius, but I do have 2 master's degrees and English is my first language....I realize that people vary greatly in preferences for anything.

I don't understand the '4 sections' choice enough to even try to it out, so it's something I can look into to.

The thread also produced discussion regarding the "Firewall" which I was unsure about.

Thank you for the suggestion of keeping a journal and the return to default settings.
Have a great day :D
 
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He was just implying that your thread was hijacked by the Firewall talk.. no biggie.. and thus we see the woes, and how easily internet communication can be misunderstood and taken the wrong way.

Anyway..

Just kind of cruise around the System Prefs and see what you find.
Lots of stuff to mess with. Post any questions or concerns you may have.. and you'll get taken care of.
 
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He was just implying that your thread was hijacked by the Firewall talk.. no biggie.. and thus we see the woes, and how easily internet communication can be misunderstood and taken the wrong way.
I'm sorry about the defensiveness and misinterpretation -- there's a long story behind how I got this new Mac, but it wasn't my choice and I don't have anyone here to help me with it.

Anyway...

Thanks, RiDE. Can you share with me what the hot corners do and how/when they would be used? (just a sentence or 2)
I can't figure out the settings and I am just wondering what it does and what it's used for.

Yes, I saw the thread was a little hijacked by Dogbreath, but no biggie, -- it's a new user and maybe they don't know general forum etiquette. It did help me out as I have no router and don't need remote access so I turned the Firewall on. So far I don't see any problems with it. Can you suggest what/if any obstacles I may run into with it on? I'm used to using tons of security devices/programs from a PC.

As far as the mouse goes….I have the Magic mouse, which I am assuming you do too (or the trackpad), just by your specs. I had already turned the tracking to as fast as possible. But this mouse confuses me, especially coming from the PC world. I even watched the Mac video on it…didn't help me much :(
Can you tell me what changes in my actions if I set the mouse to right clicks? Does that mean I won't have a keystroke in addition to do the equivalent of a right click, as I am doing now?

Thanks again, and anyone else wanting to share their settings or make suggestions, would be great!
 
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I know what "Preferences" means. ....I realize that people vary greatly in preferences for anything.
And that's all I was trying to say. :)

Thanks again, and anyone else wanting to share their settings or make suggestions, would be great!
I can't do that now. I'm not on a Mac. But the whole point I was making is that it's a personal choice. What works for me may not be to your liking. I don't think there's a "set" of common preference tweaks that the Mac Community agrees "should have been the default". Maybe I just am not comprehending what you're after, even though you've stated it twice. Maybe someone else can be more helpful.

Glad you liked the journal idea. :)
 
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jsgal, No worries at all... I know it can be a little frustrating learning new ways of doing things.

Hot Corners.. When they are set, they invoke an action when the cursor is ut in a specific corner.

Usage: Let's take the "Desktop" action as an example.. I have the lower right corner of my screen set to "Desktop".. when I run the cursor down into that corner, any/all windows, apps, etc that are covering up my Desktop (see the reason for naming the action "Desktop"? lol) are magically whooshed away to reveal the.. wait for it... the Desktop!!!

ALL Windows, works somewhat the same, but instead of showing the Desktop it shows what??? Bueller? Bueller??? It shows ALL of the WINDOWS that are open... allowing you to quickly pick the window/app you want to use/focus on.

USE: So... I have say 6 windows open pretty much covering my desktop.. I am composing an email to say.. you. I have typed the message I want to send you, but now need to attached the file you requested... I swipe my cursor to the lower right to reveal the Desktop... I click+hold the particular file.... Then while still holding onto the file I swipe back into the lower right, to get the composed mail message back, then drop the file in the message... Ta Da!!! lol

You can do the same with ALL windows (drag and dropping into a particular app).

Quick hit.. When you are in the ALL WINDOWS view (Expose') you can put your cursor over a particular window, it becomes highlighted in blue, then hit the spacebar to take a closer look at what's on that window. :)

Is that 2 sentences?? sorry for the wordiness.. just wanted it understandable.

Magic Mouse... Right click enabled in Prefs, just allows you to click on the right side of the mouse to get a right click function. No no need to hold the control key while clicking... that's some SUPER old school apple nostalgia IMO :)

FIREWALL: You are not going to run into any issues leaving the Firewall on... except, maybe you'll sleep better :)
 
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Good stuff on Hot Corners.

While you're in there, set up Spaces. It's great! Click the + to assign an application to a Space. Don't forget to check the Enable box. I have 4. One is for Utilities, 1 is for Word, Text Edit, et.al., 1 is for Excel, Calculator, iPhoto, etc. and 1 is for iCal, Safari, etc.

It's like having 4 Desktops, sorta.
 

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