[kstor]

Hi,

So finally, I've done it, I'm switching a Dell to a 12" powerbook, and I'm incredibly psyched.

On the other hand, obviously I'm going to have to get used to the new OS, so I was wondering if other switchers would share their experience.

What confused you? What's totally different? (For example, dragging applications to the trash to uninstall)
What little tricks have you learnt? Useful shortcuts, settings, apps, etc?

Basically, I'm just trying to get a feel for what switching will be like. Of course, Mac veterans with good advice, don't hesitate to post too.
Thanks,

KStor

[becca]

Check out this link for almost all you're OSX needs

Mick

[DeathMan]

There's a great website called macosxrumors.com that always has a lot of tips and tricks on good ways to do things.

I'd say the main thing to understand is how the file structure works. There are several font folders, several libraries, etc. There are users level, system level, etc. For me the rule of thumb is: Always use the one in your home directory.

As with any multiuser system, every user has its own home directory. For macosx it is in /Users/your_username. sometimes people refer to this as ~. For example: /Users/your_username/Library/Fonts, the short way to write that is ~/Library/Fonts.

Basically what you need to do is work with the file structure, rather than fight it. This is more applicable to Mac OS 9 users, because we are used to being able to put stuff whereever we want. MacOSX is a little different, though. You can still put stuff whereever you want, its just way simpler to say, I'm just going to stay inside of my home directory for all of my files. For example, I try to keep all of my data in ~/Documents folder, or ~/Projects (which I made)

A lot of people get mad, and want to put stuff all over the place, but this causes security problems, blah blah blah. Its a power thing. Anyway, when I install fonts, I put them in ~/Library/Fonts, because this way if I want to back up my data, I can just backup my home directory, and I'm good to go, I keep all my fonts, preferences, music, webpages on my server, everything in tact. Then I can reinstall my system, from the cds, along with my applications, and I keep all my settings and everything.

I don't know how helpful this is, but I hope it helps a little.

Another sugestion is if you are interested in what makes OSX tick, you should look into Unix and the command line. For pretty much anything you would normally do as a Mac user, there is a way to do it without the command line, but it is sometimes nice to be able to use it. Especially for tech support, they'll sometimes ask you to use the terminal, because its sometimes a lot quicker to fix something that way than trouble shoot with point and click. I really like the command line, and while I'm not an expert, I know basically how it all works, and can get around. I think its enhanced my experience.

Good luck with your new computer, and I envy you, those 12 inches are just sweet.

[snotnose]

i love the smell of apple's market share growing in the morning

[Nonsuch]

My advice is: don't be afraid to play around. If you find yourself thinking "I wonder what happens when I do (such and such)," then try doing such and such. There are hundreds of helpful little mini-features buried in the Mac OS, so many that even those of us who've been on Macs for years don't know them all. That's part of the fun of being a Mac user, discovering ways in which the system anticipates your curiosity and makes things easier -- or just more fun -- for you.

[BTP]

A few things:

My one-stop reading for my daily Mac fix is Macsurfer. It covers quite a bit and you can drill down and follow things that interest you. There are many good sites that are listed there, you'll find something that appeals to you. I really like MacOSXHints.

I recommend that you buy OS X:The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition. I know, it is a book, and you might be thinking, "ugh, I don't want to read a book." Well, it is top notch, and you will learn a lot, but best of all, it is so well written, it is easy to read, simple to understand and actually fairly interesting. Despite your level of expertise, I strongly suggest that you look at this book.

You have found the forums already, so that is a good sign. This is a great place to learn, ask questions and get ideas. I have learned so much from people on these boards, more than I could have on my own. It is a pretty good community here, as is the Apple community in general.

Depending upon what you are into, there are so many way to point you. If you post what your intersts are, I am sure people can point you in the right direction.

As for shortcuts, there are many covered in the book, but here are some online that might help.

Lastly, you'll have to use OS X and figure out for yourself to some degree how you use it so you can make it fit nicely. There are a *lot* of ways to customize OS X if you want to, I'd only suggest that you use it as it comes 'out of the box' for a while. If you use a mouse, you should know that Mac's can use a 2-button (or more) mouse, if that's you thing. Anyone that tells you otherwise, doesn't know what they are talking about.

Oh, and I was a switcher long before it was cool.

[midwinter]

Originally posted by kstor:
Hi,

So finally, I've done it, I'm switching a Dell to a 12" powerbook, and I'm incredibly psyched.

On the other hand, obviously I'm going to have to get used to the new OS, so I was wondering if other switchers would share their experience.

What confused you? What's totally different? (For example, dragging applications to the trash to uninstall)
What little tricks have you learnt? Useful shortcuts, settings, apps, etc?

Basically, I'm just trying to get a feel for what switching will be like. Of course, Mac veterans with good advice, don't hesitate to post too.
Thanks,

KStor

I'll give you the same advice I was given:

You are going to be confused, initially, because you're going to want things to be far more difficult than they actually are.

Cheers
Scott

[Xeo]

I have one solid piece of advice. If you're in doubt about something, just ask us. You'll get a response pretty quickly as there is always someone around here.

There are people here of all different levels of computing. It's almost guaranteed that someone will know what you're going through and have an answer.

[Sharky K.]

my advise is: forget how windows works. Just be intuitive.

[andycroll]

Now I realise that as a grown man and mature adult I shouldn't smirk but...

Originally posted by DeathMan:
... and I envy you, those 12 inches are just sweet.

Sorry for lowering the tone.

Andy

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Xeo:
I have one solid piece of advice. If you're in doubt about something, just ask us. You'll get a response pretty quickly as there is always someone around here.

There are people here of all different levels of computing. It's almost guaranteed that someone will know what you're going through and have an answer.

I can't stress enough how true this is!!!

Windows stifles your creativity, and with a Mac, it's almost the complete opposite.

- MAKE things look the way you want them to look.

- If something doesn't work the way you want it to, first look, then ask for an alternative (90+% of the time there is).

- Try EVERYTHING out... Yes, try every little nicknack, doodad, etc. most of the time there is a much faster way of doing what you want to do.

- Shareware is your friend, but help the developers when you can. I don't shell out $5 or whatever for EVERY piece of shareware I used, but the big ones I do. My rule is if I use it more then three times a week, I should send them something (even if it isn't what they are asking)

- Don't fall into the "I MUST BUY Adobe, Micro$oft, Macromedia..." cycle as most of the time there is a less expensive alternative that will do just what you need to do.

- When asking questions, tell EVERYTHING about your system... "Hey, my printer doesn't work" vs. "I have a dual 1GHz tower with 512 RAM running 10.2.3 and I just connected my epson C80 via USB and it doesn't work. I get an error that says XYZ"

- Buy Mac. Now that you are part of the community, buy to buy from the Mac community when all things are equal. (AKA, if a digital camera is $500 from Apple and $500 from a local store, consider buying from Apple or an Apple reseller) Naturally go for the best deal.

- Don't press the APPLE + L key in iChat... no matter how many times they tell you it will make iChat go "faster"

[kstor]

Thanks, that's the kind of info I was looking for. Basically, you're telling me to expect most of it to be intuitive, and I'm definitely fine with that.
If you have more specific tips, don't hesitate to post them too.

KStor

[freak_in_pekin]

Originally posted by BTP:
...I really like MacOSXHints.

I recommend that you buy OS X:The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition.

Couldn't agree more. These references (especially Missing Manual) have been godsends.

Switching was a totally unregrettable decision. Not switching earlier was a totally regrettable decision.

[Awimoway]

Asking questions on the forums is a good start.

As something of the average idiot where computers are concerned, here are details I found useful (and cover issues you may encounter during the early transition stages when you try out new apps) when I switched last summer.

One, most apps don't "uninstall" like they do in Windows (those that do offer it as as choice when you run the installation program). Just delete the application from the apps folder (and anything else in its accompanying folder, if it has one). That's all there is to it. For most, if not all, apps you will be leaving behind some preference files in the libraries, but they are small and useful to have if you reinstall the app.

Two, speaking of those preference files, if one of your applications is behaving strangely or not functioning at all, the first line of defense is to search your hard drive for anything with that application's name and then delete all the preference files (they will have "plist" in the name or be in a preference folder in the root or user library). Your next line of defense is to delete the program itself AND all the preference files and reinstall. (While OS X is more stable--and enjoyable--than Windows, that doesn't mean it's always trouble-free.)

Finally, let me add another vote for the "Missing Manual." Indispensable.

[khufuu]

Yup. The missing manual is the way to go.

Avoid the 'Terminal' application for a while. It's not really necessary for most things and can be quite dangerous. If you already know unix, 'Terminal' is your friend.

Don't expect things to work like they did in the MS world. That's the cause for a lot of frustration at times. (My biggest thing was the way you navigate within a text document using the keyboard.)

I don't regret my move. I find my little 12" 700 Mhz iBook with OS X runs just as fast as my 1.2 P4 running W2K that I have at work.

Good luck kstor and welcome to the mac world.

[midwinter]

Originally posted by kstor:
Thanks, that's the kind of info I was looking for. Basically, you're telling me to expect most of it to be intuitive, and I'm definitely fine with that.
If you have more specific tips, don't hesitate to post them too.

KStor

Actually, my point was that if you've only spent time on windows (as I had when I switched), you may not even know what intuitive *is* anymore...

Cheers
Scott