[kill bill]

Hi, I just pulled the trigger on a 15" powerbook with the superdrive last night. I bought it from uni and it wil be waiting for me all configured and stuff in my room when i arrive at campus. I have never owned a macintosh computer before and I subsequently know very little about them. All I know is that the mac os is far more stable and secure than windows.

can someone please clue me in about mac comps, i know theyre awesome, but in what ways? I have loads of ?'s, like wtf is a widget? what is the os on my comp (ive heard of panther and jaguar but idk what the difference is)? Are there any precautions i should take when using a laptop? how about mac jargon? where can i find cool mac downloads? What cool programs does my comp come with? what are the basic maintenance apps, and how do they work (how frequently should i run them)? How long will it take me to get used to the new os? there's so many i cant even think of them all right now. Im so used to PC's that you gotta treat me like an idiot when explaining stuff about macs.

im really excited about joining the mac community so im trying to get started on the right foot.

[cleanup]

"i know theyre awesome, but in what ways?"

1. They look cool.
2. Mac OS X has tons of great features.
3. Mac OS X looks cool.
4. Macs have no viruses/spyware/adware, etc.
5. Mac OS X has many little tiny features that you will notice that Windows doesn't have. And they add up for a great experience. For example, there is iTunes for both OS X and Windows. In Windows, when you move a song that's in your library, iTunes forgets where it is and if you try to play it, it tells you it can't find the song, and you have to locate it. Mac OS X apps, on the other hand, at least, all apps that use some sort of library (like iTunes or iPhoto) tags the files you add to the library, so even if you move a file to a different place on your computer, the program still knows where it is because it tracks the files, and you don't have to fix that little problem.
6. They look cool.

"wtf is a widget?"

A widget is a mini, on-your-desktop program that can display information. In Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, there is a feature called Dashboard that, when you press F12 (or launch the Dashboard application, usually from the dock), appears over your desktop and displays any widgets you have open. You can close, drag and drop, and open new widgets. You can download new widgets. Some examples of widgets are, Weather, World Clock, Address Book, Package Tracker (downloadable), Calculator, and Calendar. Another Mac OS X app that can run widgets is Konfabulator, that has been around for a while. Konfabulator has tons more widgets than Dashboard, and it works a bit differently.

"what is the os on my comp"

If you ordered your PowerBook new, then it will come preinstalled with Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger". "Panther" and "Jaguar" were versions 10.3 and 10.2, respectively. The wild cat names are just codenames for them. It's easier to say "Panther" than "Mac Oh Ess Ten Ten Point Three." The difference is that they're different versions of Mac OS X, and each consecutive version fixes bugs, and adds features. But all versions of Mac OS X function in the same way.

"Are there any precautions I should take when using a laptop?"

Watch the battery life.

"how about mac jargon?"

You'll get the hang of all the different terms associated with Macs and their operating systems. Read the manual that comes with your PowerBook. It has tons of information for new Mac users like you.

"What cool programs does my comp come with?"

The great thing about Macintosh computers is that Mac OS X comes packed with great software that covers most of your daily computing. Whereas the included Windows applications absolutely suck (case in point, Windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, and anything else that comes with XP), the native Apple-made applications are great. You will, right out of the box, be able to play your favourite digital music with iTunes, organize your photos with iPhoto, make digital movies with iMovie, make DVDs with iDVD, watch DVDs with DVD Player, organize your fonts with FontBook, organize your schedule with iCal, sync to your cellphone/PDA with iSync, browse the web with Safari, get your email with Mail, type your reports with AppleWorks, TextEdit, and Office 2004 Test Drive, and play your videos in QuickTime (though I suggest you download VLC as well).

"what are the basic maintenance apps, and how do they work"

I am a new Mac user like you, and I haven't touched a maintenance application yet. You won't need to defrag on your new Mac (maybe once a year), but you should asked a more experienced Mac user about maintenance. I suggest cleaning the dust off your display.

"How long will it take me to get used to the new os?"

Not long. A few days for me. I went to use a Windows machine and I found myself using keyboard shortcuts that didn't exist in Windows.

Hope that helps. Enjoy your new Mac! You won't regret your purchase.

[kill bill]

thanks alot bro. just a few more ?, how long does the battery last? i downloaded a bunch of movies (various formats, wmv, mov, mpg, etc) can i play them on this comp and burn them to dvd's?

thanks in advance

[cleanup]

Check the Apple Powerbook page for battery specs. I use an iMac G5.

As suggested above, download VLC, a multi-OS video media player. It will play what QuickTime can't. Also, download the Mac DivX codec. Yes, you can burn them to DVDs using OS X's Disk Utility, but I suggest investing in third party burning software (I use Roxio Toast Titanium 6).

Next time, I suggest doing some research before buying... wouldn't want to waste your money. I researched Macs and Mac OS X for many months before buying my iMac.

[jackol]

I researched Macs and Mac OS X for many months before buying my iMac.

Same here. Researched for well over 4 months and finally decided to do it. Ordered a 15" Powerbook last week and regret taking so long to decide!

[Ozzpot]

I switched to Macs back in 2000, a short while before OSX was out. Even in those OS9 days it was clear to me that Macs were a step ahead of Windows PCs. Once OSX came along (especially Jaguar) Macs took a quantum leap ahead of PCs, and with every update of OSX it gets better. Tiger is simply awesome.

I can honestly say, hand on heart, that if someone offered me $10,000 to switch back to PCs and never use a Mac again, I would tell them where to go. I would rather be given a $500 coupon for a mac than a $2000 PC.

I currently own 3 macs:

• My original iMac G3/DV/400 (still works fine, runs Tiger, only been repaired once when it was struck by lightning!)
• iBook G4/933 14" (Runs Tiger also, now 20 months old and never so much as crashed even once!)
• iMac G5 2.0ghz 17" (my newest mac, only 2 months old - power, grace and beauty - that's all you need to know.)

In fact, if you wanna see, go here.

Remember, as already stated by other posters, Macs are more stable, have no viruses or anything like that, very rarely have security issues, have a far more advanced operating system in OSX, are better designed than PCs, look far cooler, and are the favoured technology in the graphics, music, publishing and (more recently) the movie industries.

Everyone I know that has switched has regretted wasting so many years using Windows, and how often do you here of poeople switching back? It's very rare.

[euphras]

"what are the basic maintenance apps, and how do they work?"

I am a new Mac user like you, and I haven't touched a maintenance application yet. You won't need to defrag on your new Mac (maybe once a year), but you should asked a more experienced Mac user about maintenance.

Mac OS X is a very well dressed UNIX derivative. UNIX machines usually start "cleaning procedures" like deleting log files and so on automatically between 1.00-2.00 a. m. Since most Macs don´t run overnight (sleeping does not count in this case) these log files will accumulate over time. To get rid of this you could use the console or use a program called MacJanitor.

linky

[Jawbone54]

You are going to LOOOOOVE your Mac.

That being said, you're going to get frustrated from time to time, because you're not going to know how to do everything at first. But stick with it, and one day you'll realize how much you hate getting on PCs. You'll also find a ton of features that you never realized you needed until your Mac brought them to you.

[Randman]

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

[jumpjim]

I would highly recommend the following..

http://www.thexlab.com/book/troubleshootingmacosx.html

I bought it a while back and have found it invaluable in sorting out the minor problems that crop up now and then...

Regarding defragmenting your files... A while back I read an article that said that Mac OS X automatically checks every file it loads to see if it is fragmented, and if required, it defragments it and copies it to an empty slot on your hard drive.

Cool eh?