Newbie questions

[ginner]

Hey guys, I've just recieved my fantastic new Intel iMac and have a thread over in Buying Tips; I'd really appreciate if someone had the time to read this and reply to either one!

It's blinking massive. It's lovely though; I've already started spring cleaning the Windows laptop to give to the girlfriend.

However, I'm suddenly a computer retard again. Many questions if you're feeling kind and generous.

Closing programs: I know about Apple+Q to close a program, or Ctrl+clicking the dock but is there any way to make the cross at the top of a window actually close a program down rather than leave it running?

Installing: Can someone tell me for sure how to install programs from dmg files; I ain't sure I'm doing it right. I've setup an admin account and a standard account to autologin to which possibly complicates things.

Uninstalling: I tried a program called Growl, couldn't get it to work as I wanted it to and so got rid of it. I think. Do I just remove the files from the Applications folder? How do I know I got everything?

Uno: I saw this recommended on the forum and tried to install it but still have all kinds of visual styles to windows rather than the unified look it promised. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Adobe Reader: Is there any benefit to installing Adobe Reader rather than using Preview?

Frontrow: All my videos (imported into Movies from an external hard drive) are listed in Front Row as Movies; how can I make the relevant files appear under TV Shows and Music Videos?

Recommendations: I'm a bit ignorant of the programs I should look for and would appreciate any recommendations. So far I've found Adium, Transmission and iSquint. What do you think of these? What else might I need? I the wake of yesterday's news, a virus checker?

 

[mad jew]

Hey guys, I've just recieved my fantastic new Intel iMac...

Nice one.

Closing programs: I know about Apple+Q to close a program, or Ctrl+clicking the dock but is there any way to make the cross at the top of a window actually close a program down rather than leave it running?

Not that I know of, sorry. Some apps behave natively in this way however the majority do not. It's just how OSX works. I'm pretty sure you'll get used to it over time. There are a few idiosyncrasies that switchers like yourself notice.

Installing: Can someone tell me for sure how to install programs from dmg files; I ain't sure I'm doing it right. I've setup an admin account and a standard account to autologin to which possibly complicates things.

Installing apps guide.

Uninstalling: I tried a program called Growl, couldn't get it to work as I wanted it to and so got rid of it. I think. Do I just remove the files from the Applications folder? How do I know I got everything?

Uninstalling apps guide.

Uno: I saw this recommended on the forum and tried to install it but still have all kinds of visual styles to windows rather than the unified look it promised. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Erm, did you restart? It works on my system. Do you have another theme changing app that could be conflicting with it? Maybe it hasn't been translated for Intel yet? I'm not sure, sorry.

Adobe Reader: Is there any benefit to installing Adobe Reader rather than using Preview?

I don't use Adobe, I hate their PDF reader. I just use Preview and I don't have any problems. Of course, you could always install Adobe Reader but keep Preview as the default if you'd like. To change a default open-with app, just press COMMAND-I (where COMMAND is the little Apple symbol) on a PDF and select Preview from the Open With menu, then select Change All.

Recommendations: I'm a bit ignorant of the programs I should look for and would appreciate any recommendations. So far I've found Adium, Transmission and iSquint. What do you think of these? What else might I need? I the wake of yesterday's news, a virus checker?

I just have Office, VLC and Flip4Mac.

 

[robbieduncan]

Recommendations: I'm a bit ignorant of the programs I should look for and would appreciate any recommendations. So far I've found Adium, Transmission and iSquint. What do you think of these? What else might I need? I the wake of yesterday's news, a virus checker?

mad jew has, as usual, answered all your other questions! I'd recomend and external disk and a copy of SuperDuper to take regular backups.

 

[kretzy]

I've already started spring cleaning the Windows laptop to give to the girlfriend.

Are you trying to break up with her?

 

[ginner]

Are you trying to break up with her?

Ha ha, no. It's a peace offering because I spent so much on a computer without telling her.

 

[Moog101]

Ha ha, no. It's a peace offering because I spent so much on a computer without telling her.

Why not just give her the Mac? I'm sure she would appreciate it, and you wouldn't have to fix it every time it crashes..