Leap of faith!

G

gloriroze

Guest
After being driven crazy trying to stay ahead of adware, spyware, pop-ups, and other annoyances on my Dell computer, I'm making the switch to a Mac! I took a giant leap of faith and ordered a Powerbook G4 yesterday and can't wait to get it. Hopefully it will arrive this week. I talked at length with one of my friends who is a die-hard Mac user and he said he NEVER has to worry about whether or not his computer is going to work or not. What a relief that will be for me! You see, I'm going to be teaching an online course for doctoral students and I don't have time to have daily arguments with my computer!

Since I'm totally new to the Mac world, I'd welcome any and all tips for getting off to a good start with my PowerBook. I'd love to hear from other switchers like me!

All the best,
Gloria
 
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I

Icarus

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sup? I just got my 15 inch powerbook maybe a little bit over a month ago. Good stuff. The glowing apple is what really sold me.
 
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C

Cloudane

Guest
WTG mate, make no mistake you WILL love it :)

If you ever use it at work or anywhere else, get a Kensington lock.
 
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G

gloriroze

Guest
Icarus said:
sup? I just got my 15 inch powerbook maybe a little bit over a month ago. Good stuff. The glowing apple is what really sold me.

Did you have any prior experience with a Mac? Was it pretty easy to find your way around and get everything set up?
 
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G

gloriroze

Guest
Cloudane said:
WTG mate, make no mistake you WILL love it :)

If you ever use it at work or anywhere else, get a Kensington lock.

I'm ready to fall in love with it! Please pardon my ignorance...what is a Kensington lock?
 
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gloriroze said:
I'm ready to fall in love with it! Please pardon my ignorance...what is a Kensington lock?

All Apple laptops (and most others) have a special connector that can accept a locking cable, to prevent theft. Kensington is the most well-known manufacturer of such devices. (Cloudane just had his laptop stolen :( )

Besides that, some setup tips:

1. Calibrate your battery by charging it completely, and then using the laptop on battery power until it goes to sleep. (Instructions will be in the manual.)

2. Use Software Update to download and install any OS or security updates. The Software Update command is in the Apple menu.

3. I'm sure whiteshark will be in shortly, to tell you about permissions repairs and cron jobs (MacJanitor.)
 
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WELCOME TO THE POWER MACINTOSH!
It's like entering the matrix, only better.


technologist said:
I'm sure whiteshark will be in shortly, to tell you about permissions repairs and cron jobs (MacJanitor.)

Like does he ever say anything else? :rolleyes:
 
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J

Joeytpg

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listen dude, you're going to love that little machine............i've had mine for 3 weeks now (15" 1.33 ghz powerbook) it's GREAT!....i've been a Windows users for 12 years....and let me tell you........

THE VERY FIRST TIME i touched a mac, was when i bought this beast!....and in 3 weeks i've been able to do it all! (well the only thing i havent done YET, is transfer my files located in my PC hard drive, and that's because i need to connect through ethernet and transfer the files......i still don't know how to do this.............but i know i'll somehow manage to do it!.........but in the mean time, i'm downloading music, surfing the web, listening to music, writing word documents etc. etc. with this beast!......and i've only had 3 weeks of OS X experience!

you'll do fine! :D
 
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G

gloriroze

Guest
technologist said:
All Apple laptops (and most others) have a special connector that can accept a locking cable, to prevent theft. Kensington is the most well-known manufacturer of such devices. (Cloudane just had his laptop stolen :( )

Besides that, some setup tips:

1. Calibrate your battery by charging it completely, and then using the laptop on battery power until it goes to sleep. (Instructions will be in the manual.)

2. Use Software Update to download and install any OS or security updates. The Software Update command is in the Apple menu.

3. I'm sure whiteshark will be in shortly, to tell you about permissions repairs and cron jobs (MacJanitor.)

Thanks for these great tips! Exactly what I"m looking for.... :)
 
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G

gloriroze

Guest
Joeytpg said:
listen dude, you're going to love that little machine............i've had mine for 3 weeks now (15" 1.33 ghz powerbook) it's GREAT!....i've been a Windows users for 12 years....and let me tell you........

THE VERY FIRST TIME i touched a mac, was when i bought this beast!....and in 3 weeks i've been able to do it all! (well the only thing i havent done YET, is transfer my files located in my PC hard drive, and that's because i need to connect through ethernet and transfer the files......i still don't know how to do this.............but i know i'll somehow manage to do it!.........but in the mean time, i'm downloading music, surfing the web, listening to music, writing word documents etc. etc. with this beast!......and i've only had 3 weeks of OS X experience!

you'll do fine! :D

And do you happen to know the most efficient way to transfer files? I have some Word, .pdf, and photos to move into my new G4...

Thanks! :)
 
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gloriroze said:
And do you happen to know the most efficient way to transfer files? I have some Word, .pdf, and photos to move into my new G4...

Thanks! :)

There are methods of doing this via a network or direct cable connection, but when I got my iBook, I just burned all of my old files onto a CD and then put it into the iBook to copy them over. Of course, if your old machine doesn't have a CD burner, that won't work. ;)

By the way, although crons, repair permissions, and MacJanitor were all already mentioned, my one main suggestion for every new Mac owner is to download the free application OnyX. It makes maintaining your Mac extremely easy, and while there are ways to perform all of the actions manually without using OnyX, I think it's much easier (especially for new users) to have everything available in one interface with a few clicks of the mouse.
 
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G

gloriroze

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Padawan said:
There are methods of doing this via a network or direct cable connection, but when I got my iBook, I just burned all of my old files onto a CD and then put it into the iBook to copy them over. Of course, if your old machine doesn't have a CD burner, that won't work. ;)

By the way, although crons, repair permissions, and MacJanitor were all already mentioned, my one main suggestion for every new Mac owner is to download the free application OnyX. It makes maintaining your Mac extremely easy, and while there are ways to perform all of the actions manually without using OnyX, I think it's much easier (especially for new users) to have everything available in one interface with a few clicks of the mouse.

I'll DEFINITELY download OnyX--it looks fantastic! Perfect for a new user like me....thank you so much, Padawan! :)
 
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N

natomui

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definitely looking forward to the book drive, as opposed to the clumsy cd trays that I've had on my other laptops...I don't know why other computer makers don't follow apple's example.
 
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G

gloriroze

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What do most of you use as a word processing program?

Thanks for all the tips!
Gloria
 
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Word Processing

gloriroze said:
What do most of you use as a word processing program?

Thanks for all the tips!
Gloria

I use Microsoft Office(I know, I know...Microsoft...but remember it isn't Microsoft we all hate, it's Windows) and I highly reccommend it. There are many other choices besides Office, but in reality, there isn't any better.

Also, if you are a student or a teacher, there is a specific version just for you! (I'm not sure if you MUST be a student or teacher...so...double check on that)

Microsoft Office Student and Teacher addition is exactly the same as the standard version, only cheaper!(Well....there is ONE drawback to the Student and Teacher addition...and that is that you cannot upgrade it. If you buy the standard version, you can upgrade instead of paying full price for the new one.)

It includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage(Mac version of Outlook) and MSN Messenger.

By the way: congratulations on your switch! I have also recently switched! :D
 
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ApplejustWorks said:
I use Microsoft Office(I know, I know...Microsoft...but remember it isn't Microsoft we all hate, it's Windows)

No, for me it is Microsoft, not just Windows. ;)

I currently use AppleWorks, but at some point I might actually give in and pick up Office, simply because of the compatibility. AppleWorks can work pretty well with Office file formats, but it isn't seamless. Either way, I think AppleWorks is an excellent application and a great bargain (although my copy was included with my iBook).
 
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G

gloriroze

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ApplejustWorks said:
I use Microsoft Office(I know, I know...Microsoft...but remember it isn't Microsoft we all hate, it's Windows) and I highly reccommend it. There are many other choices besides Office, but in reality, there isn't any better.

Also, if you are a student or a teacher, there is a specific version just for you! (I'm not sure if you MUST be a student or teacher...so...double check on that)

Microsoft Office Student and Teacher addition is exactly the same as the standard version, only cheaper!(Well....there is ONE drawback to the Student and Teacher addition...and that is that you cannot upgrade it. If you buy the standard version, you can upgrade instead of paying full price for the new one.)

It includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage(Mac version of Outlook) and MSN Messenger.

By the way: congratulations on your switch! I have also recently switched! :D

Thank you! Glad to hear from a fellow switcher!!

Ahh...precisely the confirmation I was hoping for! I ordered the Microsoft Student and Teacher edition with the PowerBook. Luckily, I was able to take advantage of the discount because I'm on the faculty of a college and teach an online course. Most of my students (I guess like most of the world) use PC's and they'll be using Office. I can't wait for my computer to arrive...hopefully it will be this week. I paid extra for express shipping because I'm completely exhausted with fighting off Trojans, worms, viruses, and other beasties!! :)
 
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For word processing, I am quite happy with Appleworks. I see you have seen a download for maintaining your Mac. I happen to prefer using the terminal, but we can discuss that later :)
 

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