I just bought a Mac after 10 years of Windows use.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I haven’t used a Mac regularly since I was in the computer labs in college in the late 90s. However, my old battle-horse Dell laptop is finally giving up the ghost, and after doing some research and investigation, I decided that a MacBook Pro would meet my needs. I probably would have got a Mac before, except that the last time I looked into it, there was no way to run Windows programs on one. I require a couple of pieces of Windows-only software for my job. But now it seems that you can dual-boot into Windows pretty easily, so I’ll be buying a copy of Windows and installing it on the new machine.

Anyway. I’m excited and also hoping that the adjustment won’t be too severe. Any tips?

2

Just switched to Mac after 15+ years with a PC. It is easy. Microsoft Office appliations work fine. My only issue is file management. I may end up taking a course to really get good at it.

I will never go back to a Windows-based macnine again.

3

Yes, you can dual-boot into Windows. More convenient, though, is getting software like Fusion or Parallels that lets you run Windows in a ‘virtual machine’ (VM). A VM is a program that acts like an entire computer. You can install Windows on it and everything. And when it’s running, you can drag files from the Mac desktop to the Windows desktop seamlessly, or even make the Windows desktop disappear and have the Windows programs appear in front of the Mac desktop.

The new i7 MacBook Pros are easily powerful enough to run Windows 7 in a virtual machine at adequate speed without slowing down, even when other Mac programs are running.

4

I recommend getting a normal mouse and plugging it into the USB port. The Macbook used to only have a single button for the touchpad, but I think they may have even eliminated that one button in favor of “gestures.” I have no idea how that works when you boot into Windows.

5

I second using Fusion and a virtual machine for Windows. I had that setup with a work MacBook Pro 15" and loved it.

As to using the new Mac, be prepared for some head scratching at first. Something that took a while to get used to, but now wish my Windows machine had are the “hot” corners of Expose. Basically, you can set ip up so that touching any of the 4 corners of the screen will make things happen, such as show all open windows, show desktop, etc.

6

I second the normal mouse idea (I use one on my Mac) and if you have problems with the keyboard when using Windows you can download DoubleCommand and reconfigure the command/control keys on your keyboard. I’m using DoubleCommand so that I can reconfigure the right option key as forward delete, since I could never fully get used to the backspace delete.

Basic Mac stuff: All the settings for every program can be found in Preferences which is located in the drop down you get when you click on the program name that displays top left of your screen. The computer’s own settings can be found in Preferences under the apple symbol at the top left. Spaces is the best (square with four quadrants in your dashboard at the bottom of your screen or you can find it in your Applications folder). You can open different programs in different quadrants and easily switch between them by clicking on the icon for each program in the dashboard or by using control+the arrow keys.

7

I recommend the extended warranty. My MacBook Pro is now 3 1/2 years old, and I have replaced the battery twice, the hard drive once and the motherboard once. It needs a new battery again and needs a new cdrom/burner, but that will cost me $300. now, and I’m not sure it’s worth it, vs. the cost of buying a new laptop.

I strongly advise taking the battery out if you’re going to run it from the power supply for an extended period of time. The design is such that the battery stays too hot for its own good. The downside of running without the battery is the magnetic interface for the power supply - it isn’t very sturdy, and a passing cat, kid or dog can easily knock it out. Without the battery, the laptop shuts down instantly. However, this battery is now down to <30 minutes of use anyway…

8

I wouldn’t do this.
It’s not going to significantly extend the battery life, and it means that you have no protection against a power failure.
As a datapoint, I run my MacBook from the charger all week (with the battery installed), and have done so for 4 years, and the computer still gets around 3 hours when running from a fully-charged battery.

9

This. Another datapoint is my husband’s MacBook Pro that is 4 years old and has been used with the charger continuously and still gets a couple of hours on the original battery. My one year old MacBook Pro has been used about half the time with the charger and the battery currently lasts about 5 hours (it started off at 7 hours). My power connector gets jiggled loose by me or the dog almost every time I use it, so crashing my computer if the battery was removed would be unbelievably disruptive.

10

The advice on removing the battery is moot: the new MacBook Pros do not have removable batteries. They are the newer, longer lasting lithium polymer type, and common to all advanced rechargeable cells it’s all computer controlled - you can leave them attached to the power supply and the charging system will turn off and on as needed, even with extended periods where the battery is not discharged.

No need for an external mouse (unless you want one) - the trackpad is multitouch, but you are not forced to use it with all the gestures. It does physically click when you press it, and by default is set for left and right click when you press it where the buttons would logically be on an old style trackpad. It is also extremely customisable from the system prefs.

Two finger scroll is probably one of the best things ever invented.

Closing apps is different to Windows - the red x only closes the window (in the vast majority of cases). To actually quit the app you need to use the menu or hit command+Q. Some apps do close fully when you click the red x, but this is not the normal behaviour.

Setting Dock size to minimum and Dock Magnification to maximum is hilarious, but woefully unproductive.

Safari with AdBlock installed has a huge memory leak, to the point of consuming all your RAM, so you need to quit and relaunch every few days if you use that extension.

One of the first things I install on a new Mac is something like MenuMeters (freeware) or iStat Menus ($10, but with better features) for the status bar on the top right. I use it to keep track of network activity, temperatures, cpu load etc and with iStat menus you can set up fan speed profiles that you can quickly engage (although “Default” has been fine for my iMac, it was nice on the Powerbook).

Time Machine is awesome with a capital OAR. An oar from Elvis’ own personal rowing boat dipped into John Lennon’s special round-glasses-cleaning polish and waved in the air above head height.

11

How does the multi-touch trackpad work when you boot into Windows?

12

Apple provides drivers so that you can use it in Windows. I think. It’s been a while since I’ve used Windows. But Apple provides drivers for all their hardware.

Note that if you are using Windows in a virtual machine, you get a different set of drivers, for the virtual machine’s hardware. I use Fusion from VMWare for my VMs, and they provide a driver package called ‘VMWare Tools’ that supports the drag-and-drop from one OS to the other. This package is available for other ‘guest OSes’ that you might run in a VM, not just Windows.

13

I, too, just got a new Mac (11" MacBook Air). My last Mac use was the Apple][.

I run Win7 in Parallels, and it’s amazing. Just. Freaking. Amazing. I have an Apple Magic Mouse I use for document editing (because trackpads frustrate me when I’m trying to highlight and move stuff around in any sort of sophisticated manner.)

I love Parallels. Love it. I can have an all Windows computer, an all Mac computer, a computer that does both, or Windows in a window. It runs seamlessly, easily, with no problems at all (even though it’s an Air.)

I am getting used to the Mac OS but I haven’t had a chance to play with it much, since I use OneNote and Windows for school. My main complaint is that in full screen Windows mode on Parallels, it wants to open Office documents in the Mac version of Office, which gives me the shits, because I actually don’t like the layout of Mac for office. Also, Mac gives me (seemingly) less control over how I save my documents. And the Cmd-Q thing to quit rather than the red X isn’t nice.

Other than that, I love Expose’ as has been mentioned, and Spaces. I use Chrome as a browswer - often have one up on the Mac (fun stuff) and one up on Windows (school stuff). I love that my Google account makes is so my bookmarks and stuff update.

But the best bit, of course, is that instead of an almighty backpack, with a heavy computer and heavy cables, on top of my books and so forth, with a mouse and things, I can now rock up to class with one book and my Air and it’s tiny cords in the canvas shopping bag I got from Target. My spiral note book weighs more than the Air (I checked, I’mma nerd.)

I know Samsung has made a computer the same size, but it’s 1000 more and it’s first gen. Apple’s had time to work out most of the bugs with the Air.

So, I’m a fan. Not an Apple fangirl yet, I still prefer Windows, but I’m a fan of Apple’s hardware and the choices I can make.

14

It works fine. Click with single finger for left click and click with both fingers touching for a right click, the touch pad is one of my favourite things on my Macbook Pro. I’m an ex Windows user too.

15

I’m sorry to hear that. If I believed in prayer or gods, I would pray that they have mercy on your soul.

16

Linux user, huh?

17

I’ve had my new MacBook for over a year and never got around to learning what the trackpad is capable of (instead insisting on sticking with my old ways).

Wow!

If I sweep up with 4 fingers, it shows my desktop.

If I sweep left or right with 4 fingers, it displays open programs that I can then pick.

If I sweep left with 3 fingers it goes back (so in a web browser it’s like the back button). Likewise, 3 fingers to the right is forward.

The two finger scroll, rotate and pinch zoom I had been using, but only with photos.

So, pretty cool. Thanks for the heads up!

18

Didn’t know about the three finger sweep. Thanks!

19

Thanks for all the advice and tips! My new MacBook Pro showed up yesterday and I spent most of the afternoon setting it up and messing around with it and so forth. I really like it, although a lot of the things I like are honestly just because I am comparing it to my 4-year-old crufty Dell Inspiron that was on its last legs.

I haven’t installed Windows yet but I think when I do I’m going to go with Parallels.

I’ve only been using the computer for a day and already feel pretty well used to all the user interface stuff. The trackpad is really easy to use and the lack of official buttons is not problematic. As other people have pointed out, the entire surface of the trackpad is a depressable button (although amusingly, when I find myself clicking it, I’m usually hitting the sector where the buttons were on my Dell trackpad - old habits, etc.). I am really liking the two-finger swipe and the other gestures. Navigation is much easier on this machine than I am used to.

One thing that stood out to me is that this is the first computer I’ve ever bought on which my very first action wasn’t to go delete all the pre-installed crapware, i.e. Yahoo toolbar, Free AOL!!, etc.

I opted for the 13" MBP, which was a downgrade in size from my 15" Inspiron, and I was a bit worried that the screen would seem too small for me. Actually I have found that I don’t really notice the size difference at all. The screen “feels” about the same, possibly because the resolution is the same as on my Dell. Also, laptop weight is not really a concern for me (after years of lugging 40-pound toddlers around, I’m hardly going to bitch about a 5-pound laptop) but the weight difference is noticeable. This machine is very lightweight and feels like I am carrying around nothing at all. So that’s an unexpected bonus.

If I had one complaint, it would be the lack of “maximize window” feature, although that’s not a huge deal, because you can fairly easily just size the window out to take up the whole screen if you want. But it would be nice to have a “maximize” function.

Oh, and also, I was quite amused by this: We have three PCs in the house; an ancient Windows ME machine, my Windows XP laptop, and my husband’s Windows Vista laptop. We went through a hell of a time a few months ago trying to set up file sharing between the two laptops over our home wireless network. Not for love, money, or sacrificial goats could I get the *#$ing Windows XP shared folders to show up in Vista. We finally gave up and transferred everything via thumb drive.

Last night, I hooked up the Dell and turned it on so that I could transfer some files from it onto a thumb drive (because I’ve learned my lesson, right?) and then when I sat back down at the Mac, I saw that my Dell’s computer name had showed up in the Devices list in Finder. The MBP just automatically picked it up, as soon as it logged on to the network.

Anyway, I’m a pleased user.

20

I agree with the lack of a maximize window button. I realize the button provided in theory does maximize the window, though only to the extent needed to show everything in view in that window. But dammit, sometime I like having a program window fill the screen, even if doing so creates dead space in that window! Grrr.