[More Cowbell]

I’ve joined the club…I’ve switched from XP to a Mac. This weekend I purchased a 15.4 in MB-Pro, 2.33mhz. I am LOVING it so far. A few questions, and I apologize in advance, as I am sure that these are “Noobie” questions….

-I have tried to download and install Mozilla. I have figured how to get Firefox onto the dock. However, on my desktop, I now have one icon that says “Firefox” and looks like a disk drive with and emblem on it and another that say “Firefox 2.0.dmg”. What are these things?

-I moved over a LOT files from PC. Mostly pictures, music and Microsoft excel docs. I brought them over as folders and then moved them to where they needed to go on the MAC. However, I now only have 70gb available. I want to make sure I don’t have duplicate copies of the same files on the MAC. How can I do this?

-A few live-updating sites that work on my PC using explorer don’t update automatically and need to be constantly refreshed. Some examples are the NFL scores page on NFL.com and ESPN live scoring. Do I need some type of a plug-in or other type of browser t support these functions?

-How can I get Entourage to sync my notes and tasks with my blackberry?

-Is there a functionality or even a program I could download that would
---→ Remember all logins and passwords for different web sites and enter them for my on command?
-→ Automatically fill in forms for me. Example, with one click it would fill in first name, last name, address, Etc Etc.

-Something I liked about windows was if I was surfing the web and wanted to open another browser, I’d just click that Icon again. That doesn’t work here. Is there a way I can get this functionality?

-I’d like to set the PC so that when I walk away and leave it for more than 5 minutes, the screen turns into a totally random slideshow of my photos. Is this possible?

Thanks in advance!!! Hopefully I can lean enough to become somebody who can answer some questions instead of asking….

[Big Mac]

1. Most OS X downloaded applications come in files that contain disk images - files with the .dmg extension. These files are like .ISOs in Windows except that you can open them and work with the disk image they contain as if it's a real disk. The .dmg file is sometimes opened by your browser automatically, but other times you double click to open it and you'll then see a disk image appear. In order to properly install an application, you drag the application from the disk image to your /Applications folder, your /~Applications folder or some other location. Then you can drag the disk image to the trash to dismount it. After that, you can also then drag the .dmg file to the trash as well to discard it or save it in an Installers folder if you wish.

2. I have never had a need for such a utility, but here's a versiontracker.com search for utilities you could use to find and remove duplicates.

3. Not entirely sure

4. PocketMac Blackberry

5. Regarding passwords, there's a built-in keychain that stores logins, but you may not like that option. I use Web Confidential, but there are others available. Regarding autofill, all browsers have it.

6. When you say "open another browser" do you mean open a new browser window? If so, what you want to do is go to the File menu and choose Open New Window or use the keyboard shortcut command-N (command is the  key).

7. System Preferences (found in the Apple Menu or icon in Dock) has a Screen Saver pane, which includes a slideshow module.

[classicaltrumpet]

"I have tried to download and install Mozilla. I have figured how to get Firefox onto the dock. However, on my desktop, I now have one icon that says “Firefox” and looks like a disk drive with and emblem on it and another that say “Firefox 2.0.dmg”. What are these things?"

-The .dmg file is how Mac files are accessed on your computer. It like a .zip file except that the .dmg file is mounted on your desktop like your hard drive which is the reason you see the Firefox icon that looks like your disk drive. Once you install the program you can delete these items.


"Is there a functionality or even a program I could download that would
---→ Remember all logins and passwords for different web sites and enter them for my on command?
-→ Automatically fill in forms for me. Example, with one click it would fill in first name, last name, address, Etc Etc."

- If you you open the program "Address Book", already in your applications folder, and you fill in your info, i.e. Name, email, address, stuff you would want autofilled. Then your computer will auto-fill in any browser you are using. When you enter a username and password on any site the browser will ask if you want to remember the info in your "keychain". Keychain is the program that remembers any passwords and usernames you want. You can view them anytime if you forget as well. Keychain is located in applications/utilities.


"-Something I liked about windows was if I was surfing the web and wanted to open another browser, I’d just click that Icon again. That doesn’t work here. Is there a way I can get this functionality?"


-In Safari and Firefox you can use "command + N" to open a new window or you can use "command +T" to open a new tab in the browser. "Command" is the Apple key next to the spacebar"


"I’d like to set the PC so that when I walk away and leave it for more than 5 minutes, the screen turns into a totally random slideshow of my photos. Is this possible?"

-First create a folder with the pictures you want to have on the screensaver. Then open System Preferences, the light switch icon in the dock, and go to screensaver/desktop. In the sreensaver pane choose the folder you made and set the time to go on after 5 mins.

hope this helps.