New mac - what then?

[vante]

Been lurking for a couple of months now - ordered my first mac, a 1.67 MacBook Pro, which should be on its way. Was shipped on the 22nd (and seemingly hasn't left Shanghai yet - at least no update on the tracker, as reported by a good few people now).

Anyways, my question is: what would be smart things to do to the system before I start putting data on it? On a pc I'd know what to do: partition the disk, clean windows install to get rid of never-used pre-installed programs etc. As a first time mac-user I'm curious, and hope to avoid learning the hard way..

Please give a few hints to what you'd do, install and not install etc..

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

Try the Beginner's Guide.
There are no superfluous applications installed. (EDIT: I lie - Office trial & iWork trial might be installed - get rid of those). You might choose to get rid of one or more of the iLife apps (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garageband) if you don't think you will use them, but otherwise there isn't much to do. Some people do a clean install and exclude localisation data, but again that can be done later as well.
When I first bought my Powerbook I had the same question, but chose to leave the install as it was, before playing around with it. Never got around to it.

 

[Blue Velvet]

• Erase drive — do clean install excluding additional languages and fonts. Setup account, time/date etc.
• Set up System Preferences, Desktop, Finder, Dock just the way I like it.
• Set up networking, browser (Firefox, Safari) and email app. Test emailing...
• Download and install Stuffit Expander and other free utilities (Carbon Copy Cloner etc.)
• Install apps and set up their respective preferences and download and apply all updaters, patches etc.
• Transfer data from users folder from previous hard-drive/computer
• Set up iTunes and fonts (FontBook, Suitcase etc.)

etc...

Then, when all is more or less done then I clone installation onto backup hard-drive and set up Retrospect for daily 'duplicate Home folder' and monthly full-clone scripts to cloned drive.

Then I do a search for the 'Favorite Free Apps' thread on this forum.
My current favorites include: Cocktail, Handbrake, Linotype fontexplorerX...

 

[Will_reed]

I had done the same with my powerbook when I first bought it everything was perfect so I figured why change it. When I upgraded to tiger I thought I might do a clean install but I was a bit lazy and just upgraded. needless to say my powerbook still runs as smooth as ever infact even smoother than when I bought it.

 

[thegreatluke]

Please note you don't have to do this at all.

These things should only be done if you really want some extra space on your HD.

If English is your first language and you needed room, you should take out the extra languages.

If you think you'll NEVER use some of the fonts, delete them.

The only thing that every Mac user should do (it's still not necessary, but no point not to) is to delete the iWork and Office:mac trials after they expire. (There's no point keeping apps you can't use!)

Welcome to the world of Macintosh, where deleting an app is as easy as dragging it to the trash can.

 

[Over Achiever]

Been lurking for a couple of months now - ordered my first mac, a 1.67 MacBook Pro, which should be on its way. Was shipped on the 22nd (and seemingly hasn't left Shanghai yet - at least no update on the tracker, as reported by a good few people now).

Isn't that a 1.83 MacBook Pro?

 

[vante]

Isn't that a 1.83 MacBook Pro?

It is now, yes! Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[ero87]

I never deleted my iWork trial, and I'm glad I didn't. When I was considering buying iWork '06, it helped to play around with my never-used demo versions just to get a feel for the programs.

If you never use/open the programs, what's the harm in their existence? You never know when you'll use them.

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

I never deleted my iWork trial, and I'm glad I didn't. When I was considering buying iWork '06, it helped to play around with my never-used demo versions just to get a feel for the programs.

If you never use/open the programs, what's the harm in their existence? You never know when you'll use them.

Just the extra disk space.