(Almost) a new Mac user...couple of questions..

[jacobbradshaw]

Hi,

I ordered my iMac the morning of Sunday, December 4th (17" iMac, 512 MB Ram, 160 Gig hard drive).

Questions:

1) The order status states that my iMac will be shipped by Thursday, December 8th. Usually, how long does it take for a Mac to ship from it's destination (which is where? I bought directly from Apple, not a licensed vendor)? I live on the east coast-North Carolina-if that makes any difference.

2) I use MSN Messenger om Windows XP quite extensively. Even further, I chat every now and then using the microphone-chat feature included w/ the software (and, every now and then, the webcam feature). Does the OS X version of MSN Messenger have these features?

3) Oh, and here's a REAL question indicative of my cluelessness as a Mac user. At school, I do have access to Mac computers (graphic design program) but have not been able to "get to know the Mac's" as well as I should have due to being in Macromedia Freehand the majority of the time in class. Alright, at the off chance I do get to surf the internet from the Mac, I noticed that the Safari browser doesn't automatically resize to the size of the screen (as in Windows where if you open it, the entire window fills the screen and a simple click of the minimize button drops it down to the bar). Is there a way to open windows automatically resized to the screen or will I have to rely on dragging my window (from the bottom right) to make it larger?

Thanks you guys. I know these are some pretty simple questions but I need all the help I can get. I'm excited about "the switch!" though!

-Jacob.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

2) I don't *think* that the video and voice chats work in OS X, as Messenger has not been updated in quite awhile. I'm not entirely sure on that, because all I use is Adium, which allows me to connect to all the IM services at once, and I never use video/voice chats.

3) There is no "easy" way. This is one of those things about OS X that you might hate at first, but before long, you will wonder why Windows isn't like this. With a widescreen monitor like the iMac has, why do you need a super wide Safari window? It'll make sense...in time!

Congrats on the mac purchase! You won't regret it!

 

[khisayruou]

1. All my apple stuff have shipped from China. Took about a week to get to me...+/- a few days.


3. I use Saft (a safari extension, must for any safari user). It allows the user to maximize (expand in width and length while leaving the menu bar and dock visible) or view in fullscreen. Check it out here: http://haoli.dnsalias.com/Saft/index.html

 

[MacAficionado]

The closest thing you'll get to MSN is Mercury IM:

http://www.mercury.to/index.php?sub=Mac

It does do video, but no audio. I guess you could mix it with Skype and talk that way, although I've never tried that.

 

[Diatribe]

Thanks you guys. I know these are some pretty simple questions but I need all the help I can get. I'm excited about "the switch!" though!

-Jacob.

Congrats on your purchase. As most of your questions have been answered... you might want to check out my Mac Beginner's Guide. The link is in my sig. Oh and have fun with your purchase.

 

[Sargiel]

I will second the Mercury suggestion. The webcam side of things works well enough - I'm using a Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 with the IOXperts driver.

A lot of my friends are also MSN users (so I've never had a use for iChat ) but I've found that Mercury meets my needs. Look here for the latest Mac version : http://mercury.to/index.php?page=Mac

I'm also a recent switcher - and I haven't looked back since Have fun with your iMac !!

 

[gekko513]

3) Safari will remember it's last used size and position. So you only have to drag it out once if you want it full screen.

 

[decksnap]

I believe Skype 2 was just released, and it has video.

Going 'fullscreen' is a Windows thing. It is kind of silly IMO. I think you'll find OS X is more about doing/using lots of things at once while Windows is geared toward doing one thing at a time.

 

[TodVader]

I believe Skype 2 was just released, and it has video.

Going 'fullscreen' is a Windows thing. It is kind of silly IMO. I think you'll find OS X is more about doing/using lots of things at once while Windows is geared toward doing one thing at a time.

I agree with that. I thought it was weird for 2 days and now I reduce windows that are too big with the green button to make it the size it needs to be.

 

[mduser63]

I believe Skype 2 was just released, and it has video.

Going 'fullscreen' is a Windows thing. It is kind of silly IMO. I think you'll find OS X is more about doing/using lots of things at once while Windows is geared toward doing one thing at a time.

Skype 2 is only available for Windows so far, but Skype says they're working on the Mac version. Given their past history, I trust that they will release a Mac version.

Ask any experienced Mac user about the maximize versus zoom deal, and they'll all tell you that the Mac way is better. Why force a window to full screen when the content inside doesn't take up that much space. All it does is fills the screen with blank space.

 

[EricNau]

1) Everything I have bought from Apple came from in California - My iMac came from Elk Grove (Sacramento Area) and arrived in about 3 business days.

 

[Palad1]

Safari doesn't have a full screen feature IIRC...

Altough Firefox does, and it is quite nifty

Or you may use WindowDragon which adds resizing functionnalities others than clicking on the pearly dots...

If someone could come up with a quicksilver extension that allows me to maximize a window with a simple keystroke...

Cheers!