You Can Make My Christmas Merri...er...

[Mac'Mo]

So I just order a White MB, after sitting on the decision for a while (1500 for a laptop =( made me think long and hard). Now I'm totally new to Macs except my family owned one maaaaaaaany years ago when I was like 2 (when i just enjoyed seeing Oscar in the trash bin). So can anyone tell me ANYTHING i need to know about using Macs. I know people say Mac OSX is intuitive but i feel i may keep booting up under XP just for familiarity sake. Anything I should do upon opening? (I've read ppl like to uninstall/reinstall OSX, is this difficult? does it free up HD space) Whats the deal with batteries? (I hear lots of things about calibration and such) Also any programs or sites with valuable freeware? (I see things like Coconut Battery, SMCFan and Adium and I'm like WTF!, i also saw a mac site with some software that I forget). Also what programs would one use to photo or video edit (and do they come already installed on the MB)? Is GarageBand already on the MB? WOW long entry, but TIA for any HELPFUL/NONVIOLENT/NONTHREATENING comments!.

Remember......this could make my holidays happier!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

In terms of battery calibration, charge it until it's completely full, and then let it fully discharge. They reckon you should do this every couple of months to keep the battery running in peak condition.

There are some more battery hints and tips here.

 

[Mac'Mo]

In terms of battery calibration, charge it until it's completely full, and then let it fully discharge. They reckon you should do this every couple of months to keep the battery running in peak condition.

There are some more battery hints and tips here.

thanks, any more advice??

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Well, to cover a couple of the things you asked...

The reinstalling OS X question – some people think it's beneficial, other don't. Personally, I've never reinstalled the OS on a brand new Mac – either one of my own or one of the ones I look after at work – because they work fine and dandy as they are. That's just me – it's not something i really see the benefit of, but someone else may have some compelling reasons.

Free and shareware apps – VersionTracker is a useful site to keep an eye on. There are also a couple of threads here on MacRumors where people recommend their favourite apps.

As for photo editing software... I use Photoshop, which obviously isn't free. iPhoto has some basic editing tools in it that should serve you well enough if it's just a bit of touching up you're after. The MacBook will also come with iMovie installed for simple video editing. Plus, there should be a few suggestions in the MacRumors link I posted in the previous paragraph.

Oh, and Garageband will be pre-installed.

And one thing I would suggest – take a bit of time to explore OS X. Yes, it's different from what you're used to but have a play, familiarise yourself with it, and I'm sure you'll wonder how you ever managed without it.

And finally, the most important bit of advice i have to offer – enjoy your new Mac.

 

[mkrishnan]

Welcome to the community!

Video: iMovie is already on the Macbook. Check it out. Get Flip4Mac to play WMV and Perian for some other codecs. For iPod / iTunes format movies, get iSquint to convert video files, Instant Handbrake to convert DVDs, and PodTube to convert YouTube. All of these are free.

Audio: Garageband is already on the computer, yes. iTunes is also pre-installed.

Photos: iPhoto is already on the computer. Again, check it out. For non-professional work, a lot of people, including me, are very happy of the combo of iPhoto + Photoshop Elements (which costs about $50-100 I think?).

Web, chat, etc: You might try out Firefox/Camino, if you like. Firefox is very similar to Firefox on Windows; there is a theme called GRapple that is excellent for Macs. Camino is a slightly more Mac-esque version some people prefer. Adium is excellent if you do text-based IM. If you use them, Yahoo and Skype both have excellent clients for Mac. The MSN client is not great (if you need MSN webcam, there are a couple of limited options), and the AIM client is best replaced by iChatAV. iWeb is a simple pre-installed programming for making homepages; RapidWeaver is another popular similar thing.

Other little cool apps: You have to say what you do, but you might look at the MacHeist thread... that program is over, but it included some very prominent small-label apps such as Delicious Library... which doesn't do anything particularly mission critical, but does something unusual very well (it barcode scans media like books/cds/dvds via the iSight and creates a visual library of your holdings).

Look at http:///www.xvsxp.com if you are familiar with XP and want to know how to do equivalent actions in OS X. David Pogue's book (can get on Amazon) is also popular.

Learn how to use paragraphs and grammar.

 

[iW00t]

Just curious why is your white MB $1500?

Anyway congrats on your purchase!

 

[decksnap]

I always tell people to look through the preferences and menus of each app they are new to - including the OS system preferences. I'm always amazed at the features people don't know are on their system because they've never seen or looked for them.

 

[baxterbrittle]

When you get it out of the box plug it in and leave it plugged in for the time being. Fire it up and setup your machine with name password etc, just follow the prompts. OS X is very easy to use but you have to give it a chance, say to yourself that you wont install windows/bootcamp for at least 2 weeks, set a date and stick to it. iMovie does video editing and garageband is installed. iPhoto is there for image storage and cataloging (with some basic manipulation). You also get iWeb and iDVD which you should play around with. So just play wth the lappy for a couple of weeks, get familiar with your surroundings, there are plenty of things to do with it right out of the box. Then start adding new software as you require it, need a bittorrent client, ask around, find out what others use then download the one you want. Don't try to add everything at once otherwise you wont end up using any of it, you'll start up the prog to make sure it works then that will be it. Download some widgets play around with dashboard. Get familiar with system prefs. Do all these things then install windows if you need/want it. That way you'll at least have given OS X a chance and might even spend some time using it once windows is on there.

As far a reinstalling tiger, I always do this when I get a new machine. They come installed with a few GB's of additional languages and printer drivers that I never use and some apps that I don't want. The install is really easy, just POP in the disk and hold 'c' when starting the computer. It will boot off the cd then basically have a good look around and follow instructions (it is very easy - easiest installer by far) it is a good idea to do this as it will get you familiar with installing OS X before you have lots of precious info stored on the machine.

Sorry for the long post, just enjoy it.

 

[Mac'Mo]

Just curious why is your white MB $1500?

Anyway congrats on your purchase!

upgraded to 2gb and i guess tax? that equals 1500?

 

[Mac'Mo]

Thanks for all the replies, you've all been really helpful. Just to address some of the questions out there, particularly from the two long posts (sorry i forget your names).
"What do I do?"
Well I'm a college student who needs all those basic applications for writing papers. Does anyone know if Microsoft Word on Mac can be saved on a flash drive or cd and opened up on a PC MSWord (with no problems of course)? I also dabble a little with photography and am slightly interested in video editing but have done none so far.

I know that MR and its community doesn't support pirating but I was wondering if like there are bittorrent clients for Macs (as someone mentioned above). I use Azureus on PC and was wondering if there is a similar client for BT or a Gnuttella network like LimeWire for Mac.

Another question: I purchased a "Screen Saver" from RadTech and it never crossed my mind while checking out, but does anyone know if there is even space between the screen and keyboard (when the MB is closed) for the piece of microfibre cloth to reside? I just don't want unnecessary stress on the hinges.

Thanks again EVERYONE who has put up with these long posts and actually responding in length =D

 

[Mac'Mo]

When you get it out of the box plug it in and leave it plugged in for the time being. Fire it up and setup your machine with name password etc, just follow the prompts. OS X is very easy to use but you have to give it a chance, say to yourself that you wont install windows/bootcamp for at least 2 weeks, set a date and stick to it. iMovie does video editing and garageband is installed. iPhoto is there for image storage and cataloging (with some basic manipulation). You also get iWeb and iDVD which you should play around with. So just play wth the lappy for a couple of weeks, get familiar with your surroundings, there are plenty of things to do with it right out of the box. Then start adding new software as you require it, need a bittorrent client, ask around, find out what others use then download the one you want. Don't try to add everything at once otherwise you wont end up using any of it, you'll start up the prog to make sure it works then that will be it. Download some widgets play around with dashboard. Get familiar with system prefs. Do all these things then install windows if you need/want it. That way you'll at least have given OS X a chance and might even spend some time using it once windows is on there.

As far a reinstalling tiger, I always do this when I get a new machine. They come installed with a few GB's of additional languages and printer drivers that I never use and some apps that I don't want. The install is really easy, just POP in the disk and hold 'c' when starting the computer. It will boot off the cd then basically have a good look around and follow instructions (it is very easy - easiest installer by far) it is a good idea to do this as it will get you familiar with installing OS X before you have lots of precious info stored on the machine.

Sorry for the long post, just enjoy it.

thats some great advice hahaha although it sounds borderline "Baxterbrittle's 7-Step Program towards Cleansing Windows from your Life" Complete with a supportive rehab community found at MacRumors!
"Hi, I'm Mac'Mo and I'm a recovering Windows User...."

 

[extraextra]

Well I'm a college student who needs all those basic applications for writing papers. Does anyone know if Microsoft Word on Mac can be saved on a flash drive or cd and opened up on a PC MSWord (with no problems of course)? I also dabble a little with photography and am slightly interested in video editing but have done none so far.

MS Word for Mac and MS Word for Windows are interchangable, you can open Mac documents on the PC and PC documents on the Mac, no problem. Photography will be no problem, I have no idea about video editing as I do none!

 

[orangemacapple]

macs are built for people that don't know how to operate computers.
macs are built for people that don't want to know how to operate computers.
macs are built for people that don't have the time to operate computers.
macs are built for people that have better things to do than operate computers.
macs are built for professionals.
macs are built for children.
macs are built for people that just want to have fun.

 

[Mac'Mo]

hmmm that doesn't really answer any of my questions