Just got my MPB 16 Max and now I am sort of lost what to do...

[scorpio vega]

So I am a Windows girl through and through(Yes, I even loved Windows 8 lol) and have been an Avid Surface fan since the beginning.

I had already planned to buy myself a Mac for Christmas an "I deserve it for nearly completing Grad school" (I grduate in may but christmas was a good excuse to spend the money for it) but my dad actually surprised me today with my very own Macbook Pro. I sort of expected it but i was not expecting him to buy a model that costs nearly $4,000 either. It's probably weird ro be annoyed by that but kind of am lol.

Anyway, what is the first thing I should do/install coming from Windows? What is the easiest way to sort of migrate all my files and stuff from my Surface Studio to the Mac.

I am definitely excited at being more deeper into the Apple ecoystem now than I was before BUT i also want to make my transition from windows to Mac as seamless as possible.

 

[Bigwaff]

Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

Migration Assistant transfers (copies) your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from your Windows PC to the appropriate places on your Mac.

support.apple.com

 

[scorpio vega]

Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

Migration Assistant transfers (copies) your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from your Windows PC to the appropriate places on your Mac.

support.apple.com

Well that was easy

a friend of mine mentioned something called Coconut battery is a must have. Is it necessary?

 

[Bigwaff]

a friend of mine mentioned something called Coconut battery is a must have. Is it necessary?

No.

 

[casperes1996]

Well that was easy

a friend of mine mentioned something called Coconut battery is a must have. Is it necessary?

Nah. It really just allows you to keep track of the battery status with more detail than the built-in tools. But unless you're concerned that you got a used machine from a dodgy reseller with an old battery it's no concern really

 

[smithdr]

But to preserve the life of the battery Al Dente is very good freeware and I find necessary.

 

[scorpio vega]

Nah. It really just allows you to keep track of the battery status with more detail than the built-in tools. But unless you're concerned that you got a used machine from a dodgy reseller with an old battery it's no concern really

It's a brand new m3 max so no worries there

But to preserve the life of the battery Al Dente is very good freeware and I find necessary.

is this in the store or something I would need to download online

 

[okkibs]

You don't need to download/buy anything for the battery whatsoever. Just use the device.

The one thing I recommend buying is a third party app like Vivid (I use Vivid but there are others too) which lets you unlock the 1000 nits sustained HDR brightness in all non-HDR apps as well. Basically it lets you go beyond the regular 600 nits to 1000 nits if you like to use the Mac outdoors during summer. It has a free mode where you can try it out to see the difference and decide if you need that.

Otherwise you will only get the additional brightness in HDR movies/TV and that's my other recommendation, trying out HDR content as it looks fantastic on this screen.

 

[scorpio vega]

You don't need to download/buy anything for the battery whatsoever. Just use the device.

The one thing I recommend buying is a third party app like Vivid (I use Vivid but there are others too) which lets you unlock the 1000 nits sustained HDR brightness in all non-HDR apps as well. Basically it lets you go beyond the regular 600 nits to 1000 nits if you like to use the Mac outdoors during summer. It has a free mode where you can try it out to see the difference and decide if you need that.

Otherwise you will only get the additional brightness in HDR movies/TV and that's my other recommendation, trying out HDR content as it looks fantastic on this screen.

THank you! I am so excited. I hear the M3 Max is supposed to be a beast when it comes to video editing since I do a lot of music videos and such so i cant wait.
this sounds like a great suggestion as I am outdoors quite a bit.

 

[GumaRodak]

THank you! I am so excited. I hear the M3 Max is supposed to be a beast when it comes to video editing since I do a lot of music videos and such so i cant wait.
this sounds like a great suggestion as I am outdoors quite a bit.

Post an example

 

[SRQrws]

Since you're moving from a Windows PC, do you need the MS Office apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)? Macs have native apps that perform similar functions, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, but many people prefer the familiarity of the Office apps. If you already have an Office subscription, just log into your MS account and download the Mac version. You may want to click the "Custom" installation to allow you to choose what apps to install. I typically don't install OneDrive, OneNote or Teams, but if you're already using OneDrive for your cloud storage you may want to stay with it. Alternatively, you could entrench yourself further in the Apple ecosystem and start using iCloud.

 

[Logic368]

There’s a lotta YouTube videos out there that can help you out, but I personally found that some rote memorization was really helpful when I first moved to the Mac many years ago. As in, familiarize yourself with all the keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures.

Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

By pressing certain key combinations, you can do things that normally need a mouse, trackpad, or other input device.

support.apple.com

Trackpad gesture demos can be found in the trackpad preferences.

 

[scorpio vega]

Post an example

I shall I am actually working on a youtube channel bringing attention to a lot of social justice issues(getting opinions from all sides) and i am excited to have a media machine that can truly give me the tools I need for editing.

I love my surface but this macbook pro is so sexy

 

[scorpio vega]

Since you're moving from a Windows PC, do you need the MS Office apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)? Macs have native apps that perform similar functions, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, but many people prefer the familiarity of the Office apps. If you already have an Office subscription, just log into your MS account and download the Mac version. You may want to click the "Custom" installation to allow you to choose what apps to install. I typically don't install OneDrive, OneNote or Teams, but if you're already using OneDrive for your cloud storage you may want to stay with it. Alternatively, you could entrench yourself further in the Apple ecosystem and start using iCloud.

Yeah i'll probably continue using MS Suite since i am so intune with them. I dont really use Onedrive or Onenote but i definitely use Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

I do hear apple's counterparts are good though.

 

[Krypton Deer]

What is the easiest way to sort of migrate all my files and stuff from my Surface Studio to the Mac.

Install macOS version of whatever programs you were using: MS Office, Spotify, 1Password, VLC, Chrome, Zoom. Most work perfectly fine on macOS.

The tricky part switching between Win/MacOS for me is file system since macOS can't write to NTFS drive while Windows can't deal with APFS. You need programs like paragon/tuxera NTFS as you decide which file sytem to go, which also means no to Bitlocker.

I am definitely excited at being more deeper into the Apple ecoystem

You can definitely use macOS exclusives like Final Cut Pro X (video editing) and Numbers (spreadsheets). As you were locked out from these optimised macOS solutions, you are going to be locked in to the Apple way. So you can always try cross-platform programs like Premiere Pro first.

 

[darkpaw]

I wouldn't bother with the MS Office apps unless you 100% definitely need them. Pages, Numbers and Keynote are so much better on the Mac than their Office counterparts. Things will take a little getting used to, but you will get there, and you will be more than happy with the results. You've got a Mac now, why limit yourself to what you had on Windows?

 

[uller6]

So I am a Windows girl through and through(Yes, I even loved Windows 8 lol) and have been an Avid Surface fan since the beginning.

I had already planned to buy myself a Mac for Christmas an "I deserve it for nearly completing Grad school" (I grduate in may but christmas was a good excuse to spend the money for it) but my dad actually surprised me today with my very own Macbook Pro. I sort of expected it but i was not expecting him to buy a model that costs nearly $4,000 either. It's probably weird ro be annoyed by that but kind of am lol.

Anyway, what is the first thing I should do/install coming from Windows? What is the easiest way to sort of migrate all my files and stuff from my Surface Studio to the Mac.

I am definitely excited at being more deeper into the Apple ecoystem now than I was before BUT i also want to make my transition from windows to Mac as seamless as possible.

Congratulations on nearly finishing grad school: it can be a slog, but you can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's a huge accomplishment!

 

[nathansz]

I wouldn't bother with the MS Office apps unless you 100% definitely need them. Pages, Numbers and Keynote are so much better on the Mac than their Office counterparts. Things will take a little getting used to, but you will get there, and you will be more than happy with the results. You've got a Mac now, why limit yourself to what you had on Windows?

Could not disagree more with this

Pages and numbers are junk

Excel and word are the only things where Microsoft can’t be beat

 

[casperes1996]

Could not disagree more with this

Pages and numbers are junk

Excel and word are the only things where Microsoft can’t be beat

Except for the fact that in comparison, they suck for accessibility. Using them with voice over is **** compared to Pages and Numbers. - I know it's a niche use-case, but to some it's crucial.
Also just dislike the UI of the MS programs in general, but I acknowledge that Word and Numbers are, for office power users, often better choices than Pages and Numbers.

 

[nathansz]

Except for the fact that in comparison, they suck for accessibility. Using them with voice over is **** compared to Pages and Numbers. - I know it's a niche use-case, but to some it's crucial.
Also just dislike the UI of the MS programs in general, but I acknowledge that Word and Numbers are, for office power users, often better choices than Pages and Numbers.

The accessibility use case I admit to knowing nothing about and will defer to you there

 

[TechnoMonk]

Could not disagree more with this

Pages and numbers are junk

Excel and word are the only things where Microsoft can’t be beat

I use both. Unless you need fancy features of excel, the gap isn’t much. I like numbers for generic stuff. If some one else wasn’t paying for excel, I would just use numbers.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Congrats on your new MBP. Enjoy your machine with out stressing about every small metric, unless you bought it from crappy resellers. Did you get AC+? How long are you planning to keep the Mac?

 

[IG88]

Well that was easy

a friend of mine mentioned something called Coconut battery is a must have. Is it necessary?

I like Al Dente to limit the max battery charge to 80%. Mine spends a lot of time plugged in.

AlDente

AlDente – Charge Limiter The ALL-IN-ONE charge Limiter App for MacBooks. Download Free Get AlDente Pro AlDente gives you the tools you need to extend the life of your MacBook battery. Why do I need this? Li-ion batteries (like the one in your MacBook) last the longest when operated between 20%...

apphousekitchen.com

I also like iStat Menus. Can put a lot of useful info in the top menu bar.

iStat Menus

The ultimate system monitor for your menu bar, with CPU, GPU, memory, network, disk usage, disk activity, temperatures, fans, battery info and more.

bjango.com

Another app I like a lot is BBEdit for text editing. It's sort of the Mac equivalent of NotePad++

Bare Bones Software | BBEdit 14

Apparently, people like Sublime Text for text editing as well. I've never tried it but here's a comparison / list.

5 Best Text Editors for Mac

A good text editor is worth its weight in gold. We take a look at some candidates for the best text editor for Mac in this guide.

www.groovypost.com

 

[notjustjay]

I wouldn't bother with the MS Office apps unless you 100% definitely need them. Pages, Numbers and Keynote are so much better on the Mac than their Office counterparts. Things will take a little getting used to, but you will get there, and you will be more than happy with the results. You've got a Mac now, why limit yourself to what you had on Windows?

Well, if they work in an environment where they share or collaborate with Windows users, then Excel is still king. I do like Numbers and Pages but if you are sending files back and forth with others, then you should use Office applications. Yes, they are "compatible" but if y'all do any kind of formatting beyond the basics, you're going to end up being "that guy" that either messes up the formatting or insists that everyone else is messing up the formatting.

Or, if it's an option, let Google Docs handle the collaboration and sharing part.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Could not disagree more with this

Pages and numbers are junk

Excel and word are the only things where Microsoft can’t be beat

One word: LibreOffice.