New MBP User

[temo]

Greetings everybody,

First of all, I'm a switcher but not a regular switcher. Well, I've been using Windows all my life BLAH BLAH BLAH then got sick of its instability and decided to move to Linux (natural move, since I'm a computer science student). Until the last 2 months I was satisfied with the stability of Linux But not it's simplicity & coolness. So, the next move was to read about MACs (this forum was very helpful ). I was amazed about the design coolness , the OS stability, and the aesthecticly pleasing & easy to use GUI.

Second, I'm happy to announce that as of today, I'm officially an MBP owner. I bought mine (C2D 2.33) this morning from an apple store in town. Initially, I was waiting for the Leopard and Santa Rosa but then decided that it's time to buy one now because for the last 2 months I've been reading about MACs everyday for no less than 2 hours (crazy, huh ) which is affecting my studying . So I said let me buy it now and get done with this . Technology will never stop! besides, I'm not gonna use Leopard until 10.5.2 or something. You could tell, I value stability so much...to make a long story short, I'm now sitting in front of my new MBP inside its box unopened simply because I have my last Final Exam tomorrow night and if I open it now, we all know what's gonna happen (I'm writing this during a study break, wish me luck).

Lastly, I would really appreciate it if you guys and gals give me some steps to do to insure that I get the best experience ever! Here is what I could think of:

(1) Check for dead pixles in the screen (having the background fully white then fully black to test it).

(2) enable root account - create admin account - create my everyday account - enable password login. (need some Linux technicality).

(3) connect to the Internet and update the system. (I've read lots of horror stories about 10.4.9 Should I do it or not? )

(4) If things go OK after update, check the system settings and customize it to my liking.

(5) check the dock settings and customize it to my liking.

(6) install some useful widgets. (such as system stats...etc.)

(7) install SMCFan and set the fans for some good number (What do you recommend? I will also use an xpad).

(8) install system cloner program.

(9) install new software from apple site - version tracker - other open source websites (I have few in mind...any recommendations?)

(10) import my bookmarks.

(11) uninstall some stuff I don't need such as: other language packs, printers...etc.

(12) backup the files in my external hard drive (NTFS) and reformat it to HFS+. (will have to install NTFS-3G)

(13) enjoy my mac!

Anything I missed?

Wow this post got out of control already and yet it's my first post!

Thank you everybody in advance.

 

[pianoman]

my thoughts:

there are probably countless threads listing applications you should try, but here are my two favorites: Adium for chatting, Quicksilver for app launching, searching, etc. Quicksilver takes a bit of getting used to but is very versatile.

you might not need any fan control program - wait a few days and track your temps before installing any potentially unnecessary software.

i have no problems with 10.4.9. if Apple feels comfortable putting it out, it's good enough for me.

i like dock hiding on. it gives more screen space. you'll appreciate dock hiding when you install Quicksilver and customize certain key combinations to launch applications or perform tasks. this is simply a personal preference.

i use iStat Pro (available on Apple's widget site) to monitor system stats.

enjoy your new machine! it's always fun to get a new toy and set it up

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

(14) I believe you should also fully drain your battery WHILE using the computer. When the computer shuts off due to low batt, let it sleep for 5+ hours. The sleep light will go off (meaning the battery is totally dead), then you should recharge it. And you should do this again about once a month.

Enjoy your MBP and welcome to macrumors!

 

[pianoman]

(14) I believe you should also fully drain your battery WHILE using the computer. When the computer shuts off due to low batt, let it sleep for 5+ hours. The sleep light will go off (meaning the battery is totally dead), then you should recharge it. And you should do this again about once a month.

this process calibrates your battery. this allows OS X to gives you the most accurate measure of how much juice is left in your battery. Apple's support article on this topic is here.

 

[SMM]

No horror stories about 10.4.9 that I am aware of. Coming from Windows, you will soon discover the Mac community sets the bar pretty high. Many times 'major' issues would not even be noticed in Windows.

 

[SC68Cal]

[size=+1]Things not to do[/size]

(2) enable root account

(7) install SMCFan and set the fans for some good number (What do you recommend? I will also use an xpad).

(8) install system cloner program.

2) Leave root disabled. It's for your own good. Anything you need to do can be done with sudo command.

7) Fan controllers are redundant. I've never had a problem with my laptop being hot while on my lap. Do you run high-performance applications while laying down? You shouldn't. Sit at your desk and save your back.

8) Learn about disk utility. You can image from that

 

[temo]

Thank you for the replies. You guys are great as well as your suggestions... I will get back to you tomorrow night when I open my toy if I have any further questions