[alligator]

My brother just switched to a Mac - bought a new 1 GHz iBook. It is being delivered today.

Does anyone have any advice for what he should do, try, etc. being a new Mac user?

By the way, I've given him my advice (I have a G5 and PowerBook, but am still new to Macs). I'm looking for software advice, hardware tips, etc.

Thanks!

[pat++]

This is a good place to start :

http://www.apple.com/support/panther/

[iREZ]

download onyx and run cron scrips at least weekly, repair permissions whenever you download or install software on your computer (this includes software updates), and if he's used a PC before there's a helpful tutor like thing in the help menu of the finder, just go to help, then CLICK ON New To Mac OS X, then CLICK ON For Windows Switchers, and after that repeat the first two steps and click on For New Computer Users instead of For Windows Switchers. Other then that, cut him loose and let him learn things on his own. Make sure he stays out of folders he isn't informed about and if you really want to make it ez, put the Applications folder and all the My folders (ie. My Music, My Pictures....) in the dock so he doesn't have to go seaching for them all the time. Hope he has fun with his new toy.

[wuzup101]

Most of the things in panther are pretty easy to figure out. As a new switcher myself I couldn't be happier with the OS. If he could do it in windows it shouldn't be a problem for him to figure it out in OSX. Maybe get him to get the book "the missing manual for panther" or something along those lines if he's not very computer savy. Other than that he should be able to fool around on his own without any trouble. Once he spends some time with it and gets the dock setup the way he wants it he'll be fine IMHO.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by iREZ:
download onyx and run cron scrips at least weekly, repair permissions whenever you download or install software on your computer (this includes software updates), and if he's used a PC before there's a helpful tutor like thing in the help menu of the finder, just go to help, then CLICK ON New To Mac OS X, then CLICK ON For Windows Switchers, and after that repeat the first two steps and click on For New Computer Users instead of For Windows Switchers. Other then that, cut him loose and let him learn things on his own. Make sure he stays out of folders he isn't informed about and if you really want to make it ez, put the Applications folder and all the My folders (ie. My Music, My Pictures....) in the dock so he doesn't have to go seaching for them all the time. Hope he has fun with his new toy.

Cron scripts? what are those?

[nJm]

Download Sidetrack - it turns the right hand side of the trackpad into a 'scroll wheel' and much more. Makes it much nicer to use!

Also, stuff like Windows Media Player to watch all those *.wmv files, VLC to play all other video formats, Acquisition (one of the best P2P programs for mac), MS Office 2004:Mac.

To be honest there isn't that much you need, it is pretty good out of the box.

For downloads, either go to www.download.com (if you do it from a mac it will automatically take you to their mac page) or www.versiontracker.com

In Safari (the web browser) enable tabbed browsing (go to Safari menu -> preferences -> tabs).

Import all his music into iTunes. A great place to buy music from if you are outside the US (and don't have access to iTunes store) is www.allofmp3.com

Enjoy the ibook, I love mine

[iREZ]

Cron scripts? what are those?

They're scripts that automatically run in the middle of the night if your computer is still on, but most users shut off their machines or put them to sleep. These scripts keep your computer running smoothly, you could run them manually by getting into terminal and typing the following one by one and pressing enter:

sudo periodic daily
sudo periodic weekly
sudo periodic monthly

Onyx will do all three of these, verify and repair permissions, and do a complete optimizing of the system all with only one click of a mouse, great app.

[memyselfandimac]

Originally posted by iREZ:
They're scripts that automatically run in the middle of the night if your computer is still on, but most users shut off their machines or put them to sleep. These scripts keep your computer running smoothly, you could run them manually by getting into terminal and typing the following one by one and pressing enter:

sudo periodic daily
sudo periodic weekly
sudo periodic monthly

Onyx will do all three of these, verify and repair permissions, and do a complete optimizing of the system all with only one click of a mouse, great app.

My favorite is YASU, simple interface and none of the other features that you wouldn't want beginners messing with anyway. And i also install Applejack, it allows you repairs and maintenance and other things while booted into the single user command line (hold command+s after you restart), great for when you can't boot up and don't like waiting for the long boot from CD. Run YASU once a month or so, Applejack in emergencies or as you see fit.

My standard setup for a new machine is verify that all is working hardware wise, then repartition the HD and do a reinstall or cloning of OS. A 15-20G partition for the OS/Apps (you'll have to judge this by the amount of space you need for OS+Apps+50% free for swap files etc) and 2nd HD partition for my picture and movies/music. Use iPhoto buddy to move iPhoto library to 2nd partition, set itunes prefs to use a folder on 2nd partition as itunes song location. This way your main partition stays clean and OS X's built in defrag , hotfile routines and journaling work great at keeping the important stuff (your OS and Apps) clean and repaired and on the fastest part of the HD.

Course this is just my routine I'm sure others would say just leave it alone, but you asked so there it is.

As far as launching files, best thing you can get (purchase) is Launchbar, don't know how I ever used a computer before it, can launch any app, URL, email with a few keystrokes. You teach it what you want, it learns it and from there on launching or drag n' dropping a file on a App is a breeze. Best $20 I ever spent.

[dave a]

Generally, the maintenance stuff can be handled by leaving it on overnight once a month... unless you do really heavy use the daily and weekly won't matter too much.

Avoiding the Vault is a good idea.

I find X-Assist and FruitMenu **INVALUABLE**. No, I'm not a hardcore OS 9 user; they just solve real problems better than Apple did. That'll also give him a Start menu like he's used to.

[PubGuy]

I've been using File Vault on my TiBook-400 since 10.3 -- works flawlessly!

As a notebook user, you have a higher chance of your computer "walking" than you do with a desktop system. If you have ANY personal information on there that you don't want someone else snooping into, I would strongly recommend taking advanage of File Vault to encrypt your home directory. If someone steals your iBook and resets the password on it, they still will not be able to access your personal stuff because your home directory will show up to them as a single 128-bit encrypted disk image.

If you use File Vault, then set your screen saver to require a password and automatically go on after a certain amount of time, that's probably the easiest way to safe guard your personal data.

[wymer100]

Don't forget about gaming. The G4 and 9200 should be good enough for all but the most demanding games. There are a lot of games that come in under the 1GHz G4 requirement. What sorts of games does he like?

If you want shareware games, macgamefiles or versiontracker will be your best bet. The larger commercial games usually get published by Aspyr or MacSoft. Some of the better companies that do original work are FreeVerse, Ambrosia, and Pangea. Of course, you can't go wrong with id or Blizzard, either.

The best place to go for mac gaming news is definitely InsideMacGames.com.

[iolaire]

He should learn a little about open source software. Since these programs are free he will have access to thousands of applications that serve various purposes (see the freeware section of versiontracker.com), then as he knows more he can start forking out $ for shareware and pay ware programs.

Maybe install OpenOffice.org for Excel/Word like functions, maybe GIMP for image editing, and jEdit or other html editor to try to create some web pages. A good learning experience would be to create an apache/php/mysql web site on his local computer as a server. Also find some game demos or freeware games to play to help learn that OS X look and feel!

Personally I'd stay away from CRON jobs and similar command line system maintenance if he is not Unix based, first learn how to create hobby or work product using programs with GUI's...

But of course, also start playing around with Mail, Safari, iPhoto, iTunes etc...
iolaire

[olePigeon]

Since he'll be coming from the Windows world and will be wanting scrollbuttons and right-clicks, this utillity is a MUST HAVE:

http://www.ragingmenace.com/software...ack/index.html

SideTrack for his iBook's trackpad.

[dsteinman]

First thing for your brother to do is to try out the incredible iLife suite, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and Garageband.. These apps are what really set the Mac apart from the PC world.. If he has, or can get his hands on a camcorder with DV output, start filming and import it into iMovie to check out all the effects and functionality at his disposal.

Oh, by the way, run Software Update and get the latest software updates.

Open up the Terminal app, which is the hood so to speak. There he will find the unix engine which drives his machine.. Be VERY careful with sudo unless he is familiar with unix..

Get QuicktimePro...

Get an alternative browser, like Camino or something. Sadly, some sights are not totally Safari compatible.. nice to have an alternative other than pukey IE..

Get an Airport card if it does not have one..

If he works at all with unix machines, install the Apple X11.

There are two ways to solve the cron task scheduling, one, do as I did on my laptop, set the cron times to run during the day when the iBook is likely to be on (I take my iBook to work so it is on all day), or get a tool to handle this scheduling. I use shareware Macaroni on my iMac, and I think was like $10..

[wataru]

Originally posted by dave a:
Generally, the maintenance stuff can be handled by leaving it on overnight once a month... unless you do really heavy use the daily and weekly won't matter too much.

Then you have a 1 in 30 chance of getting the monthly script run and a 1 in 7 chance for the weekly.

The correct solution to the cron script issue is to install anacron. You can get it here or via fink. It's free, unlike Macaroni.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Since he'll be coming from the Windows world and will be wanting scrollbuttons and right-clicks, this utillity is a MUST HAVE:

http://www.ragingmenace.com/software...ack/index.html

SideTrack for his iBook's trackpad.

and to piggyback on this- USB overdrive for 3+ button mice.

[hadocon]

Originally posted by memyselfandimac:
...repartition the HD and do a reinstall or cloning of OS. A 15-20G partition for the OS/Apps (you'll have to judge this by the amount of space you need for OS+Apps+50% free for swap files etc) and 2nd HD partition for my picture and movies/music. Use iPhoto buddy to move iPhoto library to 2nd partition, set itunes prefs to use a folder on 2nd partition as itunes song location. This way your main partition stays clean and OS X's built in defrag , hotfile routines and journaling work great at keeping the important stuff (your OS and Apps) clean and repaired and on the fastest part of the HD.

You must be a Switcher, or hang out with WIndows ppl.

Partitioning a single drive is useless. It seems to be that this is something that Windows folks would have to do (some weird Windows vodoo).

The standard OS X filesystem protects against most major corruption/fragmentation issues. Apple products are about ease of use and not getting in the way of the task. Why the hell would it be necessary to do all this partitioning crap? If it was that important to system speed/stability/integrity it would leave Apple pre-partitioned, and this partitioning would be transparent to users... Why the hell should users have to deal with this? Come on man... It is 2004 for crying out loud.

[johnny66ch]

He'll find information (other than from Apple.com) on switching here:
Macmentor.org
They have a forum to help switchers and you usually get a response to a question very quickly.

Also you may want to contact your local Mac User Group.