A new mac user's few concerns

Hey guys how's your day?
I just got myself a macbook for studying purpose. (Well that's what i told my parents lol)

And i have a few questions regarding mac, a lot of the applications i downloaded seem to be in .dmg extension so i assume that is the universal format for mac?

Q1
I tried skype, msn and vlc first. As i opened up these 3 files, the virtual thing of them appeared. And i cannot delete the dmg file, so by dragging them into the application folder does that mean i have it installed on my comp?

Q2
I have started deleting programs that i don't want to use such as iwork etc as mentioned in another thread, already saved me 2G. Can all other applications be deleted with the same method? Just spotlight search and kill all related files without the add or remove program like in windows?

Q3
mac messenger, i had groups of people in my windows msn like school, family etc. When i started mac they all seem to be seperated into online and offline. Anyway i can create groups?

Thanks a lot for your help ^^. I'm already starting to love the mac system. Gonna have to wear gloves when using it to keep it white haha >.<

Welcome! These are all very typical questions:

Q1
I tried skype, msn and vlc first. As i opened up these 3 files, the virtual thing of them appeared. And i cannot delete the dmg file, so by dragging them into the application folder does that mean i have it installed on my comp? To 'install' applications downloaded in the way you mention, this is what you should do. The DMG will usually open automatically, especially if you're using Safari, but if it doesn't, double click on it. It will then mount a temporary drive in the same folder, probably your desktop. In the temporary drive, you will see the application or a .pkg file. If it's simply an application, then drag this to your application folder, if it is a pkg file, just double click on it and follow the on screen instructions.

When completed, delete the .dmg (unless you want to keep it backed up somewhere) and then drag the temporary mounted drive to the trash, which will eject it. Presto.

Q2
I have started deleting programs that i don't want to use such as iwork etc as mentioned in another thread, already saved me 2G. Can all other applications be deleted with the same method? Just spotlight search and kill all related files without the add or remove program like in windows? More or less you can get away with this, but there are more clinical ways too. Basically if an App was added simply by dragging into the Application folder, you can kill it like this. If you 'installed' it, you should remove it using the application's uninstaller. http://tips4mac.blogspot.com/2007/07/uninstalling-applications.html

Q3
mac messenger, i had groups of people in my windows msn like school, family etc. When i started mac they all seem to be seperated into online and offline. Anyway i can create groups? Yes, just go to Contacts on the menu bar, sort contacts, sort contacts by groups. You should consider Adium as well, which is more stable and allows you to keep all your IM buddies from different chat clients in one place. http://www.adiumx.com/

EDIT: Oh, looks like Zoolook beat me to it. +Rep!

Welcome to the forums NakedAngel!

OMG i don't even know how to thanks you Zoolook haha. These infos are really helpful. I just went to download applcleaner. and thanks for the welcome guys. I'll be sure to stick around ^^

wow gd post zoolook.

rep +

you also beat me to it. !