Sage advice for the new Mac switcher

[chas_m]

I didn't say you should necessarily run it -- just that you should be aware of it.

 

[wiredone]

I wish I had read this before delving into the library folder,hope I havn"t done any real damage , I found this reading very inspiring and has deepened my respect for my mac cheers my man.

 

[burningstar]

Very informative and good to know.
I gotta admit, I do beat on my MacBook I do drink and eat over it, I've dropped it a few times, (I have a mini heart-attack every time something happens to it) and when my battery failed because I left an open container with anti-frizz serum in it, it spilled over the table and under the laptop; later killing the MagSafe charger because I had to leave it plugged in constantly
Even though I LOVE these wonderful machines, and I hate flawing such elegance, I know they're worth the price because they're also tough, too. I love my 6-year-old MacBook The CD/DVD drive is broken, the battery isn't the same color as the rest of the machine, it's boggy and tends to freeze up, but I like it I've had it for over a year so far and it came with a lot of cool programs and upgrades that the previous owner was kind enough to add in the deal.

Back when I was a PC kid, I downloaded a couple of good Windows customizers to make my PC appear to be running Mac OS. When I was in school, they were just introducing the iBook G4s and iMac G3s (in all their sweet colors) (I had one of the iBooks and the iMacs were in the library). It was then that I fell in love with Mac ;P before my Mac I had an Acer all-in-one touchscreen desktop, it was really nice (granted it was a rental) but I'm sure if I got my hands on a shiny new iMac, I'd be blown away.

 

[blackph0enix]

Excellent Thread

Alright

 

[chscag]

I agree with everything in the Guide to an extent.

When you joined our forums, you agreed to our guidelines, period. There is no halfway nor can you agree to whatever you feel like.

After reading your rant above, perhaps you should consider posting elsewhere. Sorry, but we do not adhere to piracy in any way shape or form. Consider this reply as a warning which will not be repeated.

Thanks for understanding.

 

[obadiahorthodox]

though I have also used a privacy-enhanced version of Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome) called Iron so I can check compatibility and such..

The link you gave to Iron browser was a link to download a toolbar. Here is a direct link to the download from cnet download.com SRWare Iron - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com personally I dont like the minimalist approach they use for their browser, but I do like the fact that they use Duck Duck Go for a search engine, I like to use it because they have better results than Google or Yahoo.

 

[KinderMac]

Chas,I'm a just over a year mac user that is just now realizing how true your post is.
I'm finding that everything I want is here...somewhere...if I can only find it...
Don't get me wrong,I read all the stickies on macforums when I joined,but being the
rebel that I am,tried to do things pc,only because it was all I knew.
If Steve was still with us.I'd supply all the carrot juice he could drink for a one on one tutorial.Great post.I still have millions to learn,but my mac is finally feeling like a friend.

 

[Mac_Faith]

Awesome!

Thanks so much for the advice. I absolutely love my MacBook Pro, it's the first I've ever owned. Your post has made things so much clearer. I didn't realize how easy these things are to use.

 

[Sharkz]

Wanted to say great post Chas! I followed this over from the link in your signature. Very helpful for complete noobs such as myself.

 

[chas_m]

I'm very humbled by all the thanks I get in this thread, and proud of the fact that three years after I wrote it, it holds up pretty well. Three years is an eternity in the technology world. Please feel free to copy/repost/point to or generally share the advice with friends making the transition, and thanks!

 

[oisin01]

Hi chas_m

Like so many more, I enjoyed the essay. Thanks for posting.

 

[Gloverboy]

Great post chas_m. Just bought my first Apple laptop (MacBook air) and think this sort of info will be invaluable as I get used to the switch.

Prepare for some future 'dumb' questions from this noob.

 

[joeythemac]

advice for the new Mac switcher

i totally disagree with chas_m in many ways. Mac is nice and fun if you only need play music, see videos and pictures and have a few e-mails a day. But when it comes to real wok, like 100 or 200's e-mails a day, many windows, folders and files open at same time, - its not functional any more. there are so many working functions missing on mac software, that you take for granted on PC, - that it makes your work more slow on mac.

 

[MacInWin]

i totally disagree with chas_m in many ways. Mac is nice and fun if you only need play music, see videos and pictures and have a few e-mails a day. But when it comes to real wok, like 100 or 200's e-mails a day, many windows, folders and files open at same time, - its not functional any more. there are so many working functions missing on mac software, that you take for granted on PC, - that it makes your work more slow on mac.

Then don't buy a Mac in the first place. You are better off getting some el cheapo PC and saving the money.

 

[cwa107]

i totally disagree with chas_m in many ways. Mac is nice and fun if you only need play music, see videos and pictures and have a few e-mails a day. But when it comes to real wok, like 100 or 200's e-mails a day, many windows, folders and files open at same time, - its not functional any more. there are so many working functions missing on mac software, that you take for granted on PC, - that it makes your work more slow on mac.

Sounds like you've jumped to conclusions based on your frame of reference (Windows) before bothering to learn how to actually use your Mac.

The Mac is different, no doubt.... and if you come at it with a closed mind, expecting it to function exactly as Windows did, then you're going to end up severely frustrated. Sounds like that's exactly where you are right now.

Can't bother to learn a new OS and its intricacies? No worries, not all of us want to do that. Sell the machine and pick yourself up a Windows box. This is a particularly good time of the year to do that.

Otherwise, take a deep breath, take off your Windows cap and put your Mac cap on. It will be a lot easier if you approach it with an open mind.

 

[joeythemac]

- i been using my new mac for 8 months now, i don't think i am jumping to conclusion. i also used mac for some years in my former work 10 years ago. it is a fact that many work related functions is not available to mac. for play there are tons.. its like some of the software has not be developed for many years. just take a look at mac-mail, its function level and look, is like hotmail 10 years ago.

anyway, for me it is not about wearing a windows-cap or mac-cap. and it is not about the price. for me it is about have the fast, most reliable computer, and best software, for work. i been study hard to lean the mac. and still learning. in some case the mac is really good, but in some case it fails.

i'm a fan of no one, nor Mac nor PC. but this mac-forums-site is obviously a mac-fan site. its like here, it is not allowed to write any bad about mac....

the problem with "fans" is that, even their team play bad or even lost a game, the fans are still fans....

 

[cwa107]

- i been using my new mac for 8 months now, i don't think i am jumping to conclusion. i also used mac for some years in my former work 10 years ago. it is a fact that many work related functions is not available to mac. for play there are tons.. its like some of the software has not be developed for many years. just take a look at mac-mail, its function level and look, is like hotmail 10 years ago.

anyway, for me it is not about wearing a windows-cap or mac-cap. and it is not about the price. for me it is about have the fast, most reliable computer, and best software, for work. i been study hard to lean the mac. and still learning. in some case the mac is really good, but in some case it fails.

You're making ridiculous generalizations that clearly show your inexperience. This is why I advised you to learn how to use your machine before you simply dismiss it as a toy.

i'm a fan of no one, nor Mac nor PC. but this mac-forums-site is obviously a mac-fan site. its like here, it is not allowed to write any bad about mac....

You're right, this is an Apple enthusiast's forum. We never made any claims that it's not. And you're also right that we don't appreciate ignorance portrayed as though it were fact, particularly in a thread that is intended to help people acclimate to their new machine.

If you have a technical problem, great.... make a thread and we'll try to help you with it. But don't intrude on a thread that is meant to help people and try to stir the pot with ignorance and generalizations.

the problem with "fans" is that, even their team play bad or even lost a game, the fans are still fans....

I'm sure you were trying to make a metaphor there, but it completely fell flat.

 

[MacInWin]

"Fan" is a shortened version of "fanatic" which is defined as having excessive zeal for something. My support of Macs and OSX is not fanatic but is rather based on my personal experience. I'm more productive on a Mac because OSX doesn't need the endless maintenance activity of Windows (registry cleaning, disk optimization, defragmentation, etc, etc, etc.), nor does it mandate an antivirus product that sucks cycles from my CPU (and daily, weekly, monthly downloads of the new virus definition file). I first tried Mac because I had just upgraded from an older PC to a brand new quad-core PC but experienced zero increase in speed as the end user because the AV took up so much of the CPU and drive capacity! I saw a Mac running Windows in a virtual machine and bought it on the spot. I've migrated now away from all Windows products except for one, and that one I run in a VM with zero AV because I never connect that VM to any Internet locations, just run that one application. And because I don't pay the AV price ion performance, and the VM optimizes the virtual hard drive in the background, the application actually runs faster in a VM than it did on that brand new quad core PC.

So, I'm more productive on Mac, not a fanatic.

 

[pigoo3]

- i been using my new mac for 8 months now, i don't think i am jumping to conclusion. i also used mac for some years in my former work 10 years ago. it is a fact that many work related functions is not available to mac. for play there are tons.. its like some of the software has not be developed for many years. just take a look at mac-mail, its function level and look, is like hotmail 10 years ago.

Let's do this in a logical & fact-based manner. Please list what you think you cannot do on a Macintosh computer...and we will discuss.

- Nick

 

[cwa107]

Let's do this in a logical & fact-based manner. Please list what you think you cannot do on a Macintosh computer...and we will discuss.

- Nick

This is not the place. Like I said, if there's something you need help with, create a thread and we'll discuss it there.