[Shebuilt]

Hello all. Thanks in advance to the Mac Experts out there. I have recently decided to leave the world of PC and come over to the MAC side. I did enough homework to pick the air 11" i7 processor.

That is where my knowledge ends!

Can you all help me with the OS system and a manual to help me learn how to use it? What software programs are "must have". How's about cases and book bags? I travel weekly and that is the main reason for picking the air 11". My antiquated 17" Alienware is killing me in tow!!

Is there a transition book out there to help with similarities and what to do and what not to do?

[ibook_steve]

Welcome to our forums!

That is a tall order of information. I'd recommend searching through our forums. There's lots of great content, questions, and answers available. A nice book that I usually recommend is David Pogue's missing manual:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1449398537/

As far as must have programs, what did you use on your PC? Chances are there is a Mac version or Mac equivalent. What kind of stuff do you plan to do on your computer? You should already have the iLife apps installed which are a good start for photos, movies, and music.

I'll leave cases to others, but there is a sticky at the top of this forum all about cases:

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-noteb...-mac-notebook/

Hope this helps!

Steve

P.S. Almost forgot: it's a Mac, not a MAC. MAC is the hardware address of your network interface. Mac is a computer from Apple. Trust me, don't mix these up!

[olePigeon]

Here's my tip: For key commands like copy (Control-C) and paste (Control-V), just substitute anything that's Control key for the Command (⌘) key. Mac users sometimes refer to the Command key as the Apple key (it used to have an  apple on it) or the Clover key (the Bowen knot ⌘ symbol now on the Command key.) So now you just do Command-C and Command-V.

This switcheroo is almost universal regardless of what application you use.

[P]

The best advice I can give is to play around and see what happens. It's very hard to break something without getting a password prompt asking you to confirm. If you're missing some command, start by pulling down all the menus and see if you find anything that looks interesting. Mac programs should have ALL their commands in the menus, and anything else (like right-clicking or keyboard commands) are shortcuts only. Yes, there is right-clicking, but you have to enable it in System Preferences (Trackpad or Mouse icons) Also try searching everywhere you see a search box - the search is fast enough that it's a good place to start. E.g. in System Preferences, you can type in that box and it will highlight icons that you should try. The help menu also has one of these, and the magnifying glass in the top right corner is a system-wide search function.

What do you plan to do with the Mac? We can help you better with app suggestions if you give us something to go on.

[SierraDragon]

Note that unlike Windows, OS X Macs have had almost zero in-the-wild security problems; and, antivirus software can cause significant issues. Avoid a/v software, but keep the Mac OS up to date via "Software Update" under the Apple menu.

That is not to say Mac malware does not exist, because it does. However not IMO sufficient to justifying adding the risk of a/v software to your Mac (e.g. zero successful in-the-wild viruses on Mac OS X).

What IS critical is to diligently avoid socially-engineered malware attacks by never installing anything that you did not intentionally seek out. Adobe for instance deluges us with constant update reminders, and the malware writers take advantage of that by sending decoys that look like Adobe but install malware when you authorize the install with your admin password.

Others more knowledgeable here may have more specific comments, but it is important to know that this is not a Windows world, so the security approach is different. Do not fall prey to the false PR from a/v software firms and compromise your Mac for inadequate cost/benefit.

[olePigeon]

Sophos is a decent antivirus, and they offer a free version. I'd have to disagree and say that it doesn't hurt to have a good antivirus program. Avoid Symantec and Mcafee. The reason is that it also protects your colleagues.

[SVass]

Originally Posted by Shebuilt 

Hello all. Thanks in advance to the Mac Experts out there. I have recently decided to leave the world of PC and come over to the MAC side. I did enough homework to pick the air 11" i7 processor.
What software programs are "must have". How's about cases and book bags??

I would recommend installing both Graphic Converter ($30 shareware) to handle pictures ala Photoshop and
NeoOffice ($10 shareware) that both opens and replaces most functions provided by MicroSoft. It is usually more up to date than the M/S Mac version and can open/save their files.
Both programs have a "save as" function to allow you to exchange files with the other word.
sam

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

That is not to say Mac malware does not exist, because it does. However not IMO sufficient to justifying adding the risk of a/v software to your Mac (e.g. zero successful in-the-wild viruses on Mac OS X).

This is not true, there are recent threads about the first piece of malware that took advantage of Java.

Still, I echo your advice that it's not worth the A/V software, at least not now.


Here are some of my tips:

- Learn how to quit applications, and understand that closing windows is not always the same as quitting applications. Sometimes when performance starts to lag you can fix this by quitting certain applications.

- If you are one of those people that insists on maximizing all of your windows in Windows, I suggest kicking his habit. OS X does support full screen mode, but it's probably best to just get used to arranging your open windows as you wish

- You don't have to do regular "maintenance", such as running a disk defrag program or something. Just use your Mac.

[besson3c]

Must have software:

- An alternate web browser, such as Google Chrome or Firefox (I recommend Chrome, but you might want to play with both in addition to Safari to decide which you prefer). Having a backup browser can be useful at times.

- I like SMARTReporter, which notifies you when your hard drive is starting to fail

- Skype

- Dropbox

- Twitter (if you are into using Twitter)

- VLC (for playing a variety of different kinds of movie files)

[Spheric Harlot]

^ "Cherguevara" = best username ever. Shame it's wasted on an asshole spammer.

[cgc]

My list of must have software:

1. Little Snitch or Hands Off (2-way firewalls)
2. ClamAV's sentry (monitor specified folders)
3. Firefox or Chromium
4. 1Password

Without knowing your daily usage it's hard to say what else but I'd say no Mac should ever be without either Little Snitch or Hands Off.