New to Macs and Apple

Bought my iMac just under a month ago when my PC stroked out. Still getting used to the differences and trying to figure out how to do everything. A little sad that I bought mine too early for the refresh, though I probably don't need the quad core. I had my pc for at least 9 years so I plan on keeping my iMac for a long long time. I just use it for the normal things e-mail, surfing the web, though maybe I'll finally get around to learning how to do more with my photos.

Which Mac did you purchase? Imac? If so what are the specs?

Anyway Welcome to the Mac and Mac Forums. If you have any questions just ask!

Welcome to the forums. Enjoy your stay.

For what you do on your computer you probably won't see much benefit in getting the new iMacs so don't feel bad that you missed out.

Krzykat said:

Still getting used to the differences and trying to figure out how to do everything.

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You may find some of these free Internet resources helpful:

Switchers guide: moving from Windows to the Mac | Business Center | Macworld

How I set up a new Mac | Mac OS X | MacUser | Macworld

A guide for switching to a Mac
Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done

Here's a link to a web site with a long list of Macintosh terms with*their definitions and usage.*
Mac Terms Explained: A Glossary of Mac Terminology -- Reality Distortion: Macs, Mac OS X, and Apple stuff

Opening a Window on the Mac
(A new Mac owner's guide)
Opening a Window on the Mac | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD

Mac OS and Windows Keyboard Equivalents
Mac OS and Windows Keyboard Equivalents


You might find this book to be invaluable:

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition (Paperback) about $20
Amazon.com: Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition (9780596804251): David Pogue: Books

Thanks gang. I bought the i3 3.06 21.5 inch Imac. Part of me wishes I had known about the refresh when I bought it, but this is a nice machine, course now I could get it cheaper and I haven't made the first payment yet. I have checked out many of the websites listed-- when I do something I do tend to immerse myself into it. I do think one of my coworkers was more excited than me when I told him I had switched to a mac.

Well, welcome aboard! It sounds like you're overall very pleased with your purchase, and it's wonderful to hear that you are.

Moss said:

Well, welcome aboard! It sounds like you're overall very pleased with your purchase, and it's wonderful to hear that you are.

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Yeah, I have been enjoying it. There are a few things I miss on how I used my PC, like how I viewed my e-mail in a full screen with no preview pane, and as I deleted or filed an e-mail the next one would pop up full size. I do not see a way to set Mail up to work that way, so I am using the preview pane-- though from screen shots of Lion, it looks like it will be different yet.

I've spent the last few weeks lurking on the various forums about imac and learning and reading.

Krzykat said:

Yeah, I have been enjoying it. There are a few things I miss on how I used my PC, like how I viewed my e-mail in a full screen with no preview pane,...

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In Mail, you will see a tiny grey dot in the separator bar between the list of all of your messages and the preview pane. If you double-click on that dot, the preview pane will disappear instantly. The dot will now be at the bottom of the Mail window. Double-click on it again and the preview pane will appear again. (You can also click-drag that dot to resize the preview pane.)

With the preview pane hidden, you can double click on the title of any e-mail message and that message will appear in its own window. You can resize the message window as large or small as you like.

To move from message to message quickly you can hit Command (the key with the Apple on it)-W to close the old message and Command-up or down arrow to move to the next or previous message.

You can make this even more like you are used to with a simple AppleScript:
https://gist.github.com/306931
(script)

http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/07/18/applescript-to-view-next-unread-message/
(info about the script)

Apple's Mail is very extensible. You can modify Mail to be exactly how you want it to be. Here is a nice list of available plug-ins for Mail:
http://www.hawkwings.net/plugins.htm

YOu should definitely spend some time learning the essential keyboard commands to help you move around the system. One thing I love about my blackbook is the spacious keyboard that allows me to move around and input commands at amazing fast speeds. My friends constantly stop what they're doing and crack a joke at the speed that I'm typing (most of the time I'm on forums so I'm typing a lot) at the expense of my lack of a multitouch trackpad

But yea, here's a link to a lot of essential commands that work system wide. Oh, and you should definitely make use of Spaces, the built in application that lets you have multiple virtual desktops.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Krzykat said:

Thanks gang. I bought the i3 3.06 21.5 inch Imac. Part of me wishes I had known about the refresh when I bought it, but this is a nice machine, course now I could get it cheaper and I haven't made the first payment yet. I have checked out many of the websites listed-- when I do something I do tend to immerse myself into it. I do think one of my coworkers was more excited than me when I told him I had switched to a mac.

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I made the same purchase as you, I bought my iMac in March, a couple of months ago, I am also just switching to the iMac, it's all new to me also but every time I use it I just love it that much more. As far as feeling bad about the refresh they just done, I did not know that it was going to happen being new to Apple, but as you I would like to have had the latest upgrade but I am real happy with my iMac, I may get another one next spring sometime, when the wife goes from pc to Mac! I purchased the book by David Pogue - Switching to the Mac, Snow Leopard Edition and it has been a great help, but this website has also been a great help also. Hope all goes well, enjoy your new Mac.

I didnt go through Randy's links so there might be some double-ups but have a look at these as well. And welcome to the forum and the world of Mac's.

Have a look at these for starters .....
Mac Switching 101
Mac OS Keyboard Shortcuts
Mac 101
Mac downloads ~ Apple
MacTricksAndTips ~ 100 Essential Mac AppsMac OS Menu Bar Items


So there is a bit of reading there. As i goes for Apps we dont know what you are into, but ill list a few that most people have and you can look them up in the 100 Essential Apps URL i gave ...

Adium ~ Chat Client
Growl Notifications
SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner ~ Both make bootable copies of your HD
HandBrake ~ Video Converting
Burn ~ As it says A Burning App
Transmission ~ p2p client
Skitch ~ Screen capture and more
VLC ~ Video player that plays most codecs and does a lot more
Perian and Flip4Mac Makes watching certain codecs easier ... This is Essential IMHO
Audacity ~ Play with Music App
CandyBar ~ Mods all your icons, and dock
MainMenu or Oynx ~ Does the same as Disk utility only more thorough
Quicksilver ~ Works like Spotlight but way way better and does so much more
StuffitExpander ~ Opens Zip and rar files and more
Lil Snitch ~ Firewall type App that looks at your incoming and outgoing traffic
and last but certainly not least .....
AppTrap ~ Once installed it sits in System Preferences and deletes all associated files of anything that you put in the trash ...

Should keep you busy for a while lol
HTH

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Young Spade said:

YOu should definitely spend some time learning the essential keyboard commands to help you move around the system. One thing I love about my blackbook is the spacious keyboard that allows me to move around and input commands at amazing fast speeds. My friends constantly stop what they're doing and crack a joke at the speed that I'm typing (most of the time I'm on forums so I'm typing a lot) at the expense of my lack of a multitouch trackpad

But yea, here's a link to a lot of essential commands that work system wide. Oh, and you should definitely make use of Spaces, the built in application that lets you have multiple virtual desktops.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

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I've never been one to use keyboard shortcuts much, even on a pc. I use the right click much more, and am glad I finally set that up on my mouse. I thought I had checked the box for right clicks, but when I checked it wasn't. Still getting used to this keyboard and the lack of a number pad and a few of the keys I used a lot like home and delete. I do love the magic mouse, I try to use my fingers to scroll through pages on the pc's at work. All in all I am really happy with my iMac.

Krzykat said:

Still getting used to this keyboard and the lack of a number pad and a few of the keys I used a lot like home and delete.

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If you really want the number pad then Apple still sells the full keyboard. Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - Apple Store (U.S.)

Good to know that, u have finally switched to Mac.....hope u r going to notice no. of changes and differences, Mac is really good and in fact I really had an awesome experience when i bought it few months back....anyways all the best...