What do I need to start as a Mac User?

I'm getting ready to switch from a PC to a Mac. Use the computer for writing articles and historic research. And for a couple of websites.

When I place my order for the MAC, what else do I need to order to get up and rolling? I have to hook up a couple of printers, FIOS and e-mails.

Any advice would be appreciated.

PS - Found this site when I looked up "Paperport" for the MAC which I also use a lot.

Thanks,

Hi and welcome to the forums.
FYI the abbreviation for Macintosh computers is "Mac" not "MAC". All capitals denotes an acronym so there is no need to capitalise

I would look at getting a FireWire Cable so you can hook the 2 PC's up to transfer your Data, and apart from that take it one day to the next, and not knowing you, who you are and what you do, we have no idea in what you need.
But once you get started i have posted a few links for you to browse at your perusal so enjoy;

Have a look at these for starters .....

Mac Switching 101
Mac 101
MacTricksAndTips ~ 100 Essential Mac Apps
Mac OS Menu Bar Items
Mac OS Keyboard Shortcuts
Mac downloads ~ Apple


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

EDIT : There are a lot of good Apps already on your Mac so look there first. These i posted are some of the common ones used by Mac users.

EDIT 2 : Also have a read of this Sticky written up by one of more knowledgable members chas_m ~ Sage Advice for the New Mac Switcher . . .

And most importantly have fun with your new Mac and dont worry about buggering something up in the beginning as a reinstall is only a couple of clicks away. I also suggest having a spare ext HD for Back-Up as you never know when something will go wrong, and if you need to re-install all you prized pictures and music and data is save

Cheers

If you can't go to an apple store, call 1800 my apple. you will get connected to a sales support person-they were VERY helpful . I discussed my needs and they helped me figure out what I needed in my computer- They helped me decide between an iMAC and Macbook. I feel the young man on the phone was very knowledgeable and I am not getting more computer than I need . I am getting a 21" iMAC,BTW. I was going to splurge on the faster processor but for my basic needs, I would never reap the benefit. They saved me 200.00.

Get an external drive and enable Time Machine I can't began to count the post where someone lost a file or accidentally threw it in the trash or just plain hard drive failure.

With respect to the lovely TattooedMac, you don't need ANY of that software he mentioned. The first two links he posted are great, though (and I'll add my own essay, linked at the end of this post). If you're very book-oriented, you might enjoy Switching to the Mac by David Pogue as well.

First, you need to decide what Mac you need -- based on your description, I'd say an iMac or Mac mini would be plenty.

If you choose the Mac Mini, you'll need a display, keyboard and mouse. For the kb and mouse, I'd suggest Apple's. The display can be anything you like, though I'd suggest something with at least a DVI connector.

The new iMac (which is JUST now shipping, starting on the 30th) is a wonder of engineering, and of course includes all those things the Mac mini lacks. Even the recent model is a fantastic machine, and hopefully will see some discounts in the refurb section soon, thanks to the arrival (finally) of the newest model.

For either the iMac or Mac mini, I'd suggest that you upgrade the RAM as far as you can afford, but do so later (not at the time of purchase) to save money. Both are easily RAM-upgradeable.

The only thing beyond the unit itself you NEED is a backup external drive. A USB 3.0 drive should be quite sufficient. I suggest one twice the size of the internal hard drive, but a 50 percent larger one is sufficient.

The last thing I'd suggest is that, before you crud up the place with a lot of third-party apps -- take the time and learn to be comfortable with the Mac. The OS is amazing, and the machine comes loaded with genuinely great and useful software. But it often needs a little "unlearning" of the "Windows way" or at least some open-mindedness to a different approach. The time for third-party stuff (with one exception) is later: first find out just how amazing your new machine actually is, because it is!

The one exception I make to this is a pair of useful programs for viewing non-Mac-native video formats: Flip4Mac WMV Player and Perian. Both are free, the latter is no longer supported but still works. You may also need to download and install the latest version of Flash and Java, but you'll be prompted for this when you need it.

Third Dragoon said:

I'm getting ready to switch from a PC to a Mac. Use the computer for writing articles and historic research. And for a couple of websites.

When I place my order for the MAC, what else do I need to order to get up and rolling? I have to hook up a couple of printers, FIOS and e-mails.

Any advice would be appreciated.

PS - Found this site when I looked up "Paperport" for the MAC which I also use a lot.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

I'm surprised no one has said anything about this yet.

CrimsonRequiem said:

I'm surprised no one has said anything about this yet.

Click to expand...

TattooedMac said:

Hi and welcome to the forums.
FYI the abbreviation for Macintosh computers is "Mac" not "MAC". All capitals denotes an acronym so there is no need to capitalise

Click to expand...

It was said

TattooedMac said:

It was said

Click to expand...

Guess I was reading too fast and missed that part. >_<"