Ok I'm doing it.

Okay,

I finnaly made up my mind and am making the big switch from PC World to a Macbook. I've ordered the black macbook, stock, 2 GB processor 1GB RAM, etc. When I get this thing is there anything I should know? Like things that may drive me nuts in the first few weeks? Are there any other accessories I should pick up? I've already picked up Microsoft Office (I need it for school and work), a logitech bluetooth mouse, an extra apple remote and power supply (one to travel with and one to leave home) the incase neoprene sleeve, and I am thinking about getting the Bose QQ2 headphones.

Any insight from recent switchers will be greatly welcome and appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

Congrats on your decision! The switch might be difficult for you, but you have to completely forget about the Windows way to do things and learn OSX from the start. The learning curve for OSX, though, is really easy. It's all you would want in an operating system.

Your choice of accessories seems good, but you have to remember that using a bluetooth mouse drains the battery quicker than without it. I also bought the Incase neoprene sleeve and it is really well made, but you may also want to buy a bigger bag to slide the sleeve into.

About how much does the bt reduce your battery time. I really only plan on using at home, or maybe in the lib at school, places i'm sure I could plug in. Otherwise in class if i use it i will be using the touch pad. I really like the ability to the bt with a cell to text message. BTW i'm getting a KRZR K1 for Cingular when it launches, any insight into when/if they will get iSync to support it? I am using a Samsung a707 right now but I have to let it go, the talk time is horrible, its like driving a Mercedes S Class but only having a 1 Gallon gas tank.

Yeah then it's ok. It's just lowers the charge on the battery quicker. I'm sure it's not that noticeable, but it still could run the battery down faster.

Here is the page of supported devices in iSync:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html

thanx!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Having the mouse to use when you're plugged in is handy, I do the same thing with my PC laptop, and I just use the touch-pad when mobile. Touch-pads are a PITA if you have to use them all of the time, it really amplifies that you are using a notebook and not a full-fledged computer.

Two things you really need to know right away (under the category of what might drive you nuts in the first few weeks):

1/ The HOME and END keys don't behave like you expect... in most programs anyway (Microsoft Office is an exception, where they offer an option to have them behave in the "PC way"). The Mac way is to have them jump to the top or bottom of a document, not the start or end of a line, which is the PC way. The equivalent of PC's HOME is CMD-LeftArrow. The equivalent of PC's END is CMD-RightArrow. CMD is the key with the Apple logo on it right next to your space bar (one on each side of the space bar).

2/ Your MacBook doesn't have a right click... although your Bluetooth mouse most certainly will. To right click without the mouse, use CTL-click.

Enjoy your new purchase... I know that you will.

Welcome to the Darkside

Be patient with it and you won't regret it!

When I switched I only had one qualm, and the rest was just a matter of time - the mousing experience. In case you every find the mouse control sluggish or not to your liking, check back here for the "solution".

In any case, if you have any questions or just wish to explore OSX further, this forum is a good place to start.

Good luck on your purchase. You will enjoy it.

The very first thing I would suggest you do is to turn on two-finger tapping for right-mouse clicks. It's in the System Preferences under mouse and keyboard. You'll really miss that right mouse button, but that makes up for it - at least somewhat. Otherwise, you'll find that OS X is a joy to use - at least compared to Windows. It has its own set of unique quirks (just as Windows does), but in general, it runs faster and is a lot more gratifying to use.

The biggest quirk you're going to find is the occasional disappearance of the right-click function. I didn't have that problem at all with 10.4.6, but when I updated to 10.4.8 my right-click got a little dodgy.

haha~ welcome to the real world~

if you are an architecture engineer, Parallels is Definitely necessary~~

Oh, and good job on the QC2. Not the most economical option (I've read of better options for much less) but they're quite good if you're already decided. I like them better than the newly released QC3.

Caveat - earlier models of the QC2 are notorious for cracking headbands. Google it and you'll see what i'm talking about. Just make sure getting one of the more recent ones (redesigned headband) and you'll be fine.

That said, i've had a pair since 2004 and is indispensable in the work environment. Cracked mine twice and received a replacement each time without question. Each time I also received an updated design of the QC2, and it looks like they finally got it right with the latest one.

aintor said:

haha~ welcome to the real world~

if you are an architecture engineer, Parallels is Definitely necessary~~

Click to expand...

There are alternatives though. This site, Architosh, reviews software and posts news, updates, etc.

UNOBizStudent said:

Okay,

I finnaly made up my mind and am making the big switch from PC World to a Macbook. I've ordered the black macbook, stock, 2 GB processor 1GB RAM, etc. When I get this thing is there anything I should know? Like things that may drive me nuts in the first few weeks? Are there any other accessories I should pick up? I've already picked up Microsoft Office (I need it for school and work), a logitech bluetooth mouse, an extra apple remote and power supply (one to travel with and one to leave home) the incase neoprene sleeve, and I am thinking about getting the Bose QQ2 headphones.

Any insight from recent switchers will be greatly welcome and appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

Click to expand...

Open Office for Mac is free and works better than Office, plus it is completely compatable with Office. Also, Apple's Pages is convertible and wonderful. I use Open Office instead of bloated MS Office. Good luck with your new Mac!!

Le Fumeur said:

Open Office for Mac is free and works better than Office, plus it is completely compatable with Office. Also, Apple's Pages is convertible and wonderful. I use Open Office instead of bloated MS Office. Good luck with your new Mac!!

Click to expand...

Although not as robust as MS Office, OpenOffice should suffice for most users. As a student, however, you might want to consider picking up MS Office anyway since a lot of curriculum is geared toward Office apps as tools. Like it or not, MS Office is the industry standard throughout the world and having a good, working knowledge of its products is an asset in the working world (and a resume builder too). Those of you that know me, know that I am in no way a fan of Microsoft, but a working knowledge of MS Office in an academic/business setting is a necessary evil.

If you do decide to run OpenOffice, keep in mind that it has yet to be released for Aqua (the OS X's UI), so you'll need to install X11 (included on the OS X CD as an optional install). This makes it a little slow to start up, but since it's a universal binary, it should still be faster than MS Office in general usage.

You can also run NeoOffice, which is the OS X native build of Open Office.

I don't think NeoOffice, Open Office, or Pages will handle password protected MS Office files or revision marking, both of which are fairly popular features in corporate environments.

cwa107 said:

..but a working knowledge of MS Office in an academic/business setting is a necessary evil..

Click to expand...

Agreed. MS Office traverses almost all offices today, and it would be prudent to have a solid background in it.

As far as a resume builder, that old fogie that's going to hire you will be more impressed with someone who knows Office than anything else. Call it an industry-standard benchmark, whether we choose to admit it or not.

Now if you were running your own business.. my "weapon of choice" will most certainly be a Mac.

the most important thing is too forget most of the stuff about windows and dont try and use windows way on a mac. The shortcuts are similar

e.g. to copy Command C. Keep at it and you will be well away within a month or so.

enjoy !

The thing that bugged me after no right click menus was the delete key. It works as a backspace key. Took me over a day to figure out you need to press "fn + delete" = delete