Questions from a recent switcher

[xelL]

Hello! I am an avid user of the PC for the past 16 years, and finally I have decided to make the switch, so I just got a fresh MacBook a few hours ago. While it's a little tough trying to get used to it, I'm having a great time with it so far, but I do have a few questions to ask.

1. Is a fresh install of the OS a better idea to go with rather than going with the original installation? I took a look at the amount of space I have and already nearly half of the HDD space is full! Would creating a fresh install make it less space heavy?

2. What are some good (free) apps to go with the MacBook?

3. I'm planning on getting my RAM from perhaps an outside source, since getting it as an upgrade from the Mac Store was downright expensive, does anyone have any good sources to get some decent RAM? I'm planning on getting up to 1GB but if there's a cheap alternative for 2GB I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks in advance, I'm looking forward to completely switching to the Mac Community.

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Hello! I am an avid user of the PC for the past 16 years, and finally I have decided to make the switch, so I just got a fresh MacBook a few hours ago. While it's a little tough trying to get used to it, I'm having a great time with it so far, but I do have a few questions to ask.

1. Is a fresh install of the OS a better idea to go with rather than going with the original installation? I took a look at the amount of space I have and already nearly half of the HDD space is full! Would creating a fresh install make it less space heavy?

2. What are some good (free) apps to go with the MacBook?

3. I'm planning on getting my RAM from perhaps an outside source, since getting it as an upgrade from the Mac Store was downright expensive, does anyone have any good sources to get some decent RAM? I'm planning on getting up to 1GB but if there's a cheap alternative for 2GB I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks in advance, I'm looking forward to completely switching to the Mac Community.

Welcome to the cult, I mean Mac-Dom.

1. Personally; I do a fresh install each time I get a new machine. Installation of OS X is easy and worth it if you plan to utilize your whole hard drive. Now is also a good time to tell you that keeping about 7-8gigs space free is important to keep your machine running at it's best.

2. I made a huge long-winded list for you, and than closed the window by accident... What kind of apps are you looking for? There's a free app for almost everything on a Mac.

3. There are many online and retail soures for MacBook compatable RAM, but I have not purchased RAM from a non-Apple retailer, so I don't have any suggestions here. I'm sure a helpful user will be around soon to help you out.

 

[tipdrill407]

A fresh install should free up some space, i'm shocked to hear that the HD in your new Macbook is half full already. iLife is pretty powerful, considering it comes for free. You can find good sources for RAM somewhere in these forums.

 

[kevin.rivers]

Fresh install is good. Make sure you take out the stuff you don't think you will need like languages and any ilife apps, iwork trial etc.

You will have to give us an idea as far as what apps you are looking for.


As far as memory here is a pretty good deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231069

Price was just dropped and free shipping. 2GB for $150.
I have it in my Intel iMac and it is fantastic. I will be picking up some more for my MBP as well.

Good luck with your Macbook.

 

[xelL]

Okay great, I'm going to go ahead with a fresh install in a few minutes then.

As for what apps, I was looking for perhaps like the best app to go with concerning IMing (AIM preferred), playing videos, and...for some reason I can't think of anything else at the moment...but I guess the best apps for those at the moment will suffice. Thanks again for the help everyone!

 

[Heb1228]

1. Unless you've installed a bunch of stuff already, there's no way your HDD should be half full. A clean install minus extra languages and printer files is only gonna save you about 1.5-2GB, so it probably won't be worth it unless you're really pressed for space.

2. There are plenty of threads around about good freeware apps. Here's an example...

3. Try the Crucial link at the top of the page, http://www.datamem.com, or OWC. You can find some that moderately priced, but more importantly, guaranteed to work with your MacBook, which may save you a lot of headaches in the long run. Sometimes Macs can be picky about the memory they like to use.

 

[m-dogg]

If you short on space and you don't think you'll use them, remove garage band, iDVD &iMovie - They take of several GB's of space.

They are great programs though. I have them on my iMac, but uninstalled them from my powerbook to free up some space...

 

[Josias]

1.
I don't know whether it matters. I didn't do it with my MB, and it works perfect, but it's easy to do, so if you wanna, just do it.
2.
VLC (extreme media player)
aMSN (Video conferencing in MSN on Mac)
There are a load of others, but these two are good. i personally think Safari is teh best, but you may wanna get FireFox. I did, but it crashed all the time, so just use Safari.
3.
Crucial RAM is good, but ask the user CanadaRAM, he knows a lot about RAM.

 

[gloss]

For IMing, Adium is a superb multi-protocol chat client. I'm a big fan due to it's unobtrusiveness.

Browser-wise, I usually swear by Firefox, but I'm using Opera 9 at the moment and it's also pretty excellent.

VLC is my default video player. Be sure to pick up the DivX codec.

For WMV playback you'll want to get Flip4Mac, but it's not out for Intel machines yet (in final form). There's a beta version floating around that seems to work well, but you'll have to dig for it.

 

[Killyp]

aMSN is quite glitchy, but offers far more than adium.
It can be very frustrating at first, but you get used to the sending file glitch after a while! Just use eMail attachments!

Alarm Clock 2 is a great piece of software, which wakes me up every morning. Just make sure you leave your speakers on (mine switch on automatically upon recieving a sound). Go Go Redball! is a cool widget which is really useful if you ever get incredibly bored. I've made different coloured versions of it if you want them. Clockish is a great widget too.

 

[netdog]

[Hello! I am an avid user of the PC for the past 16 years, and finally I have decided to make the switch, so I just got a fresh MacBook a few hours ago. While it's a little tough trying to get used to it, I'm having a great time with it so far, but I do have a few questions to ask.

1. Is a fresh install of the OS a better idea to go with rather than going with the original installation? I took a look at the amount of space I have and already nearly half of the HDD space is full! Would creating a fresh install make it less space heavy?

Yes, reinstall without language support, get rid of test drive programs, and get rid of GarageBand loops. You will cut the installed base almost in half.

2. What are some good (free) apps to go with the MacBook?

Transmission for Bittorent. Firefox? Adium to replace MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, etc.

3. I'm planning on getting my RAM from perhaps an outside source, since getting it as an upgrade from the Mac Store was downright expensive, does anyone have any good sources to get some decent RAM? I'm planning on getting up to 1GB but if there's a cheap alternative for 2GB I'd love to hear about it.

If you are a switcher and want to run Parallels, get 2GB of RAM for sure. You will not be happy with the performance of OS X alone with 512MB, as you will see, especially when running anything that requires Rosetta.

 

[benthewraith]

For IMing, Adium is a superb multi-protocol chat client. I'm a big fan due to it's unobtrusiveness.

Browser-wise, I usually swear by Firefox, but I'm using Opera 9 at the moment and it's also pretty excellent.

VLC is my default video player. Be sure to pick up the DivX codec.

For WMV playback you'll want to get Flip4Mac, but it's not out for Intel machines yet (in final form). There's a beta version floating around that seems to work well, but you'll have to dig for it.

I've been using the Windows Media Player 9 for Mac with no issue on my Intel Mac.

 

[netdog]

BTW, I switched in January, and I couldn't be happier about it.

 

[benthewraith]

BTW, I switched in January, and I couldn't be happier about it.

I switched in May. And other than the CPU whine, I love my MBP.

I'm also planning on upgrading the RAM. I'm getting a gig for my birthday.

 

[gloss]

I've been using the Windows Media Player 9 for Mac with no issue on my Intel Mac.

WMP9 is running through Rosetta on Intel Macs. Flip4Mac will soon be universal, so performance will be quicker.

But yes, you can use WMP9 if necessary.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

if your using AIM, just use iChat. I do sometimes, and i love it. If only it worked with msn...

One of the first apps i install on a new mac is SizzlingKeys4iTunes. It may seem trivial, but once you start using it, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. iSquint and Handbrake Lite are indispensable if you have a video iPod. And another vote for Adium.

Enjoi your new Mac. It wont be your last, im sure of it

 

[gloss]

I forgot, you should check out Quicksilver. It's amazingly cool once you get the hang of it.

 

[benthewraith]

Currently, I have:

Google Earth for Mac
Mozilla Firefox
Opera
Camino
Mozilla Thunderbird
NeoOffice Alpha Intel
Adium
Windows Media Player 9
StuffIt Expander
iTunes
iPhoto
Photobooth
Safari
iWeb
(note: I had iDVD and iMovie, but deleting all that crap cleared up about five....six gigs of valuable hard disk space).