Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

reybart · Jul 29, 2003, 06:29 PM

I am very excited waiting for my new Powerbook to be delivereed tomorrow,And I want to know what is the first thing I will do to it.
It will be my first time to manipualte Mac.

Eug Wanker · Jul 29, 2003, 06:34 PM

Congrats! And welcome.

dragonbong · Jul 29, 2003, 06:52 PM

Nice dude, hope you enjoy it as much as others do. And are you asking us what "should" you do?

reybart · Jul 29, 2003, 06:59 PM

Originally posted by dragonbong:
Nice dude, hope you enjoy it as much as others do. And are you asking us what "should" you do?

I mean, what is the first application that I will study the most. BTW, I bought the 15-inch PB.
Thanksss a lot

reybart · Jul 29, 2003, 07:02 PM

Originally posted by reybart:
I mean, what is the first application that I will study the most. BTW, I bought the 15-inch PB.
Thanksss a lot

I just realized that we have the same specs on this model..

neutrino23 · Jul 29, 2003, 07:12 PM

Do you already have a specific purpose for this (engineering, architecture, design, etc.) or is this a general purpose computer?

Assuming it is general purpose here are some things to consider.

1. Organization
I suggest keeping all your personal files and data files in your home directory. Don't create folders outside the home directory. This makes backup and maintenance easier. Also, this is painless. There is no need to create folders outside your home directory.

Leave all applications in the Application folder where they will be automatically installed. Sometimes an updater will not update an app if it is not in the expected location.

As you install more and more application you will want to mount some of them in the dock. I also suggest creating a folder in which you can add aliases to all of your apps. Now drop this folder in the dock. If you click and hold on this folder you get a pop up list of all your apps. Nice shortcut. I'd also look in your home directory, find the desktop and drop that in the dock. Now if you click and hold on that you get a popup list of all the items on the desktop. Another nice short cut.

2. Backup
Find a backup method you are comfortable with and use it often. Don't forget to include things like Mail, Address Book, Safari folders and preferences.

3. Applications
Put a link to Version Tracker (versiontracker.com) on your browser toolbar. You can find nearly any application available for the Mac on this site.

Hope this helps.

Sosa · Jul 29, 2003, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by reybart:
I am very excited waiting for my new Powerbook to be delivereed tomorrow,And I want to know what is the first thing I will do to it.
It will be my first time to manipualte Mac.

Get to know you mac... play with it, smell it, touch it (but don't lick it). Then take some pictures of yourself and your new mac and put it up on your mac.com homepage like the rest of us! What, you did not buy a .mac account for $69? Well you certanly should give it a try.

Afterwards show off your mac to your family and your envious friends! Get an airport extreme card and go wireless internet browsing somewhere!

Hey, wait a sec, am in the wrong forum!

DVD Plaza · Jul 29, 2003, 11:13 PM

Originally posted by reybart:
I want to know what is the first thing I will do to it.
... It will be my first time to manipualte Mac... I mean, what is the first application that I will study the most. BTW, I bought the 15-inch PB.

I'd recommend the first thing you do is throw in the OSX DVD and reinstall the operating system yourself - get to know the install process (as simple and great as it is, except it's insistance that you must have a .Mac account), and then begin playing with the operating system... it truly is an awesome beast.

That'll keep you busy for a while - THEN start worrying about applications

Sakino · Jul 29, 2003, 11:20 PM

Yahoo I hope you all keep on buying the ti pbs, so the current stock of this item will keep going down. Everyone buy, thats hopefully means sooner the al pb.

dragonbong · Jul 29, 2003, 11:39 PM

Originally posted by DVD Plaza:
I'd recommend the first thing you do is throw in the OSX DVD and reinstall the operating system yourself - get to know the install process (as simple and great as it is, except it's insistance that you must have a .Mac account), and then begin playing with the operating system... it truly is an awesome beast.

That'll keep you busy for a while - THEN start worrying about applications

This is a pretty good suggestion, the way in which OS X works may not be intuitive to everyone especially since there is no start menu. Somebody also mentioned versiontracker which can show you a variety of programs that can help you like VLC for playing avi's. Also you may want to look at the macwindows site for getting some more info.

reybart · Jul 30, 2003, 06:43 AM

Originally posted by neutrino23:
Do you already have a specific purpose for this (engineering, architecture, design, etc.) or is this a general purpose computer?

Assuming it is general purpose here are some things to consider.

1. Organization
I suggest keeping all your personal files and data files in your home directory. Don't create folders outside the home directory. This makes backup and maintenance easier. Also, this is painless. There is no need to create folders outside your home directory.

Leave all applications in the Application folder where they will be automatically installed. Sometimes an updater will not update an app if it is not in the expected location.

As you install more and more application you will want to mount some of them in the dock. I also suggest creating a folder in which you can add aliases to all of your apps. Now drop this folder in the dock. If you click and hold on this folder you get a pop up list of all your apps. Nice shortcut. I'd also look in your home directory, find the desktop and drop that in the dock. Now if you click and hold on that you get a popup list of all the items on the desktop. Another nice short cut.

2. Backup
Find a backup method you are comfortable with and use it often. Don't forget to include things like Mail, Address Book, Safari folders and preferences.

3. Applications
Put a link to Version Tracker (versiontracker.com) on your browser toolbar. You can find nearly any application available for the Mac on this site.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for the info, though I am not yet familiar with some of terms , I know i will be.It is reaally for general purpose

reybart · Jul 30, 2003, 06:45 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sosa:
[B]Get to know you mac... play with it, smell it, touch it (but don't lick it). Then take some pictures of yourself and your new mac and put it up on your mac.com homepage like the rest of us! What, you did not buy a .mac account for $69? Well you certanly should give it a try.

Afterwards show off your mac to your family and your envious friends! Get an airport extreme card and go wireless internet browsing somewhere!

BTW, what is the use of the .mac account?

Sosa · Jul 31, 2003, 11:50 AM

Go to www.mac.com and check it out for yourself. There is some controversy among mac users as to whether its worth it or not. But as a new Mac owner you get a special intro price of $69. That gives you a 15 megabyte email account, 100 megabytes of online storage and backup space, an anti-virus program, free games, a personal website, etc.

You can get most of this free or cheaper elsewhere. The advantage .mac has is its integration with OS X and Applications. Everything works fairly well and is mostly hassle free. Give it a try.

The Placid Casual · Jul 31, 2003, 12:05 PM

Congrats in the PB...!

Any questions, no mater how trivial they seem, just ask, and I'm sure someone will have an answer!

As for I .Mac, I fin it is worth it just for the email address and the 100 MB storage...

It is just so easy to use, with the iDisk appearing on the desktop as an external volume...

When you take into account iSync, Anti Virus, Backup, etc etc it is well worth the money in my opinion!

MusicalTone · Jul 31, 2003, 12:08 PM

Just use it. Everything will become clear.

p.s. there is no need to reinstall the OS as a previous poster has suggested. In fact, that would be a complete waste of your time.

DeathMan · Jul 31, 2003, 01:36 PM

Originally posted by MusicalTone:
Just use it. Everything will become clear.

p.s. there is no need to reinstall the OS as a previous poster has suggested. In fact, that would be a complete waste of your time.

I agree with this. There is no reason you should have to do this. You could go the whole life of your computer, and never need to do this, so whats the point of learning it?

Spend your time doing fun things, organizing and listening to your music, you can now get music off the iTunes Music Store, which is pretty nice, you can make an iMovie, if you've got a camera, or knows someone who does. There are lots of possiblities. Do you like to take Digital Photos?

Just have fun. Ask questions around here if there is something you would like to do, but don't know how, or if its even possible. It rarely is impossible to do a given task on a Mac, but it happens sometimes. Just have fun.

juanpacolopez · Jul 31, 2003, 01:36 PM

Originally posted by MusicalTone:
Just use it. Everything will become clear.

p.s. there is no need to reinstall the OS as a previous poster has suggested. In fact, that would be a complete waste of your time.

From the standpoint of functionality it WOULD be a waste of time...

From experience gained it is INVALUABLE however to see the install process, see how the OS is put together, get a feel for the package as a whole.

DeathMan · Jul 31, 2003, 01:41 PM

Originally posted by juanpacolopez:
From the standpoint of functionality it WOULD be a waste of time...

From experience gained it is INVALUABLE however to see the install process, see how the OS is put together, get a feel for the package as a whole.

Why? You pop in the DVD. Click O.K., an hour later, you're done. Whats invaluable about that? Its not like you do anything.

Now if you want to get crazy, and want some INVALUABLE experience, I'd say partition up your drives, make an OS partition, an Apps partition, a swap partition, and a user partiton. Set up some mounts in file system table, and THEN you might be getting somewhere. But thats poweruser stuff.

If you're just using it like a normal average user, I don't think there is anything gained from reinstalling.

real · Jul 31, 2003, 02:45 PM

Welcome to the the Mac.

Are people still useing swap paritions in OS X. Just wondering

juanpacolopez · Jul 31, 2003, 03:17 PM

Originally posted by real:
Welcome to the the Mac.

Are people still useing swap paritions in OS X. Just wondering

When I first got my PB, I tried using a swap partition just for the hell of it to see what it garnered....

Honestly, I couldn't tell a BIT of difference in performance on my everyday tasks. Though, I have 1Gb of RAM that I rarely max out (though having FCP and Soundtrack w/ 2 songs + anything else, even Safari comes REAL close).

I have no idea how you'd get actual performance numbers from a swap partition/file.

At the very worst, using a separate partition will HURT performance as the head is forced to seek to a different portion of the drive for each operation. While this is true of a normal swap FILE too, at least with the file there's a chance that it's located in or near the same physical drive space as your app, thereby reducing overall seek latency.

DVD Plaza · Jul 31, 2003, 08:48 PM

Originally posted by DeathMan:
Why? You pop in the DVD. Click O.K., an hour later, you're done. Whats invaluable about that? If you're just using it like a normal average user, I don't think there is anything gained from reinstalling.

For average and/or stupid users you are correct - that's why software installs have a "typical" option, for the "average" user who knows no better.

For everyone else you install software with the options you want, and unselect those you do not. For OSX itself that would include not adding classic, removing support for printer brands you don't own, unchecking the 10 different languages you don't need, not installing FaxSTF (unless you really need it, since it bogs down performance), etc.

khufuu · Jul 31, 2003, 10:22 PM

Re-installing and re-partitioning can be a good experience but you have to have patience as you may end up doing it a few time before you get things they way you like them.

For me, I created a MacOS partition of all of the OS stuff and then I created a Data partition where I then created a new /users filesystem. In the /users filesystem you will end up saving all of your data AND all of your non-os applications.

If you ever have problems then, in theory anyway, you just have to wipe your MacOS partition and re-install and your /users is left untouched.

I bought an iPod and use it to backup my /users directory as well as for my music. Very handy.

BTW: Congrats moving over from the dark side.

Thinine · Aug 1, 2003, 12:16 AM

If you are going to reinstall (and I recommend you do, it prevents problems) be sure to backup apps like iDVD since you can't download them. Make sure you get the licenses for the included software.

LfGrdMike · Aug 1, 2003, 12:52 AM

Why would you do that. Reinstall when you get panther. If it Aint Broke Then there is nothing to fix

if It aint broke dont fix it!

Experiment with the iApps and stuff first. Browse the web with Safari, and have fun. Screw reinstalling. There is absolutely no good reason to do so.

TAZ · Aug 1, 2003, 03:29 PM

After cleaning up the drool you can hit the update button in system preferences and download all the system udates that are available. Ths may take a while. After that, enjoy the use of a great machine that keeps on ticking without a problem. I'd try .Mac to see if you like it. You can go to version tracker and see what is available, or you can hit the get OSX software under the Apple menu and see if there is anything available from Apple that you want to play with. I've spent many a day goofing about with various shareware apps to see if there is anything I like.

Sosa · Aug 1, 2003, 09:36 PM

Originally posted by DVD Plaza:
not installing FaxSTF (unless you really need it, since it bogs down performance), etc.

I have used Faxstf extensively, but I'm not currently using it. I noticed using the "top" command in Terminal that it uses .8% of my CPU every few seconds. This doesn't seem significant. However a few such programs like this could end up taking up 5% of my CPU if allowed to continue. Can I disable Faxstf without uninstalling it? I'd like to have it available.

Also, what is Internet Reminder? It set as a auto-start log in item.

DVD Plaza · Aug 1, 2003, 11:37 PM

Originally posted by Sosa:
I have used Faxstf extensively, but I'm not currently using it. I noticed using the "top" command in Terminal that it uses .8% of my CPU every few seconds.

Mine was tending to use a lot higher than that - I too would like to still have it there for the rare need to send/receive faxes, but I'd rather not have it running the rest of the time so don't bother.

That said, Panther has built-in fax capabilities (yay!) so might as well wait for that

ae86_16v · Aug 2, 2003, 10:33 PM

What is FaxSTF? I never saw that option.

clf8 · Aug 2, 2003, 11:00 PM

Originally posted by juanpacolopez:
When I first got my PB, I tried using a swap partition just for the hell of it to see what it garnered....

Honestly, I couldn't tell a BIT of difference in performance on my everyday tasks.

Well, there is one good reason for a swap partition. If your disk ever gets full, OS X will still have swap space since it's kept entirely separate. Be very careful of filling up your disk, as the OS saves _lots_ of preferences on logout/reboot and if it can't, you get the defaults next time around. For the most part, all system preferences, dock settings (and contents), and open Apps (like Mail).

Now, there is advantage to having a separate swap drive, as you don't have the drive head hopping all over the place. Of course, you don't need a lot of swap space, and any drive you buy nowadays is just too large to use solely as a swap drive. I would partition that drive into a swap and data section, and keep the OS on the other drive. Of course, since this is a Powerbook forum I doubt anyone will lug around a separate disk just for a swap partition, so it's a moot point.