new to the mac world

hey guys new to mac and the forum here just bought a macbook pro about 3 days ago after getting mad at my PC for the last time lol well i was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on apps or anything id be happy to know so far i have got firefox artrage and ialertu hope to see you guys around the forum

Welcome to the Mac Forums and happy computing with your new MBP. Please use our very helpful search function to search thru older posts that cover the subjects you're interested in. Visit often and have fun.

Find a few fun/useful widgets for your dashboard. A quick internet search will yield some great ones. Also, safari extensions like Click to Flash and Ad Blocker are pretty good.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mac OS X, and headache free environment. Almost a year ago I switched, and have not looked back since!

As I say in this essay, learn the stuff that comes with your Mac first, then go exploring.

chas_m said:

learn the stuff that comes with your Mac first, then go exploring.

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chas is right on here. It sounds like you didn't even give Safari a chance. It is the best web browser I've ever used. Better than Firefox and better than IE.

MacBooks don't use apps. You can download them and send them to an iPod Touch or iPhone, but unless you get an app simulator, you can't use them on your actual computer.

I was fully expecting to have to replace iPhoto for my photo needs. I consider myself an advanced amateur photographer, but after really digging in, iPhoto does everything I need it to.

The only Apple software I've used and haven't liked is the iWork stuff. (word processor, spreadsheet program, and PowerPoint clone.) They're just very slow compared to Microsoft Office.

I have to agree with Chas on this one. I made the mistake of downloading alot of programs right off the bat, and I also used boot camp to install windows first day. Took me alot longer than it needed to, for me to learn my way around osx because of that.

initalflipside said:

hey guys new to mac and the forum here . . . i was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on apps or anything id be happy to know

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on the latter. . .

Tips for new Mac users:

You cannot cut and paste files in the Finder as you can in Explorer. To move or copy a file from one place to another, the Mac way is to open both the Target and Source folders, then drag and drop the file or folder. There are nuances depending on where the Target folder is. For example, hold down Option while dragging a file to copy it to a folder on the same volume.

The green button at the top does not expand the window to fill your screen. Very few windows need the full screen, so what that does is expand the window so it's large enough to handle the content. This will almost always leave some background visible.

The red button does not usually quit an application. It merely closes the active window, even if there's only one. The "light" by the application's icon in the Dock will indicate if the app is still running.



You cannot see the size of a file or folder in Icon View by holding your mouse over it. You must highlight the item and use Get Info. Or you can use List View, which will show you the size. There are at least four ways to access Get Info, three of them involving the mouse.

If you have two folders with the same name, but have a few differences between the contents of same, don't move one to the enclosing folder of the other. OSX will not automatically merge the contents of the two folders. Instead, it will overwrite the target folder with the one you're moving. The differences in the target folder will be lost forever. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to overwrite. Be sure you know what that means before saying yes!

You really don't need anti-virus software. It will just slow your computer down, and there isn't a single virus out there that will infect a Mac. If you run Windows on your Mac, you do have to take precautions for that. And, you can pass a virus on to a Windows user. Just be smart about where you go online and you'll be fine.

It's also not necessary to run a defrag program. The Mac OS takes care of that for you. Some Mac users still do it, myself included, but you'll be fine without it.

You cannot selectively delete items that you have "stored" in the Trash. Sorry.

toMACsh said:

on the latter. . .

Tips for new Mac users:
...
You cannot selectively delete items that you have "stored" in the Trash. Sorry.

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Thanks for that post, it contained helpful information!

On the last point, though, I don't understand what you're getting at. Sorry!

In Windows, you can pick things in the Recycle Bin that you want to "empty" while leaving other items there. You cannot do that with Trash on your Mac. Instead, you have to temporarily move the things out of Trash that you aren't ready to let go of. Many Mac users scoff at this compulsion of former Windows hostages. They say, if you don't want to get rid of it, don't put it in Trash in the first place.

Thanks, I never did that. I only put it in the Recycle Bin if I didn't want it !

chas_m said:

As I say in this essay, learn the stuff that comes with your Mac first, then go exploring.

Click to expand...

Very wise words and read that little post he links too. And if you want to summarise his linked post in a few words I would say "You have bought a Macintosh computer so you need to be in a Macintosh frame of mind to really enjoy it". Don't just stack it full of Applications trying it to be a better windows box. Cause it will fail at that rather miserably.

Your Macintosh you just bought is a very different beast indeed. And if you give yourself a little time to learn things the Macintosh/OS X way you'll be much happier for it.