gdgt

I just bought a new 13'' Macbook Pro as my first Mac ever after years of heavy PC use - what do I need to know, what are the best downloads, what are the best tips and tricks for someone brand new to Macs & Mac OS?

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS.

How to install a program correctly
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/779

Make use of the smart trackpad, right click using a second finger on the track pad. Scroll a page using two fingers sliding down, see the system preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse for video demo.

When nothing seems to work. Try not doing it the PC way.

Use Apple for all of the resources they offer. 1 on 1 sessions (52 one-hour sessions a year in store), buy AppleCare....NOW, call Apple (1-800-MY APPLE) for tech support, use the Apple support forums on their site and use the many websites out their that have a large contingency of Mac enthusiasts. You'll usually find a large community that's willing to help with a good amount of solid, quick answers.

Lastly....HAVE FUN!!!

Don't forget about the best little system monitoring app of them all, iStat Menus
http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatmenus/

for media, VLC, and perian

cmd+y for quickview instead of launching the app to preview most files

you might want to disable caps-lock in the keyboard pref pane

Start reading the Terminal Tips and Friday Favorites from TUAW. They will (respectively) suggest terminal based system tweaks and clue you in to little known but extremely handy task specific applications.

Keep asking questions at gdgt!

When searching for new apps, check out http://osx.iusethis.com and http://www.versiontracker.com

Here are some things I would download/buy to make your OS X experience better...

-Perian: This is a QuickTime plugin that allows you to play videos in a wide variety of formats. It's good to have, especially if you have QuickTime Pro.

-VLC: VLC is a media player that allows you to open up a ton of media files. It pretty much covers whatever Perian doesn't.

-HandBrake: HandBrake is capable of ripping DVDs. In other words, you can dump DVDs onto your iPod or other device. It also works great as a media converter. (You need VLC for HandBrake.)

-UnRarX: A lot of files online are RAR files, which you need to extract. Normally you would use WinRAR for this, but you're on a Mac. UnRarX is a quick and easy RAR extractor. Just double-click the RAR file and you're done.

-Stuffit Expander: Some Mac files (I think some applications I've downloaded.) come in Stuffit files. Stuffit Expander extracts these.

-CrossOver: CrossOver is a WINE variant for Mac. It allows you to run SOME Windows programs right inside OS X. I have been able to run text editors, web browsers, and a few games within CrossOver. If you don't have a copy of Windows sitting around for Boot Camp, CrossOver is a good alternative to run Windows programs, but check to see if the ones you'll run are compatible.

-Inquisitor: This Safari enhancer improves the search bar in the top right corner. It allows you to see suggested searches as well as your search history.

-Growl: Growl is a cool status notifier that works with a lot of programs. You can set notifications to pop up in a wide variety of styles. I use Growl to notify me of unread emails, power levels, HandBrake processes, and unread IMs. (You'll need GrowlMail to run Growl with Apple Mail, and Chax to run Growl with iChat.)


So what about some general tips?

-Avoid using Dashboard while running processor-consuming applications. Open up the Activity Monitor and quit the Dashboard process. Dashboard actually uses up a notable amount or RAM. You should also rid of any useless widgets (I have 7 widgets total running.)

-Get accustomed to trackpad gestures. The most useful one is scrolling. Stick two fingers on the trackpad and move up or down to scroll.

-If you need a right-click, you can set the trackpad to detect a two-finger tap as a right-click.

-Keep your desktop clean. Trust me. The fewer items on your desktop, the faster your Mac will run.

-Quick Look really saves time. You can preview a document by clicking on it and pressing the spacebar. It's much faster than having to open up Photoshop, for example.

-Use Spotlight to find files. Within any program, press Apple and the spacebar simultaneously to do a Spotlight search.

-To quickly access programs that aren't on your Dock, put them in a stack. Drag your Applications folder onto the Dock to turn it into a stack. You can then click on the stack to have quick access to your programs, kinda like the Start Menu in Windows.

-To avoid clutter among your windows, use Spaces and Exposé to stay organized.


...I think I covered the essentials. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Hmmm....Geez, I've put so much on my Mac it's hard to remember what's there on a new one. . .here's a few I haven't seen mentioned above:

Adium: a versatile chat client that can replace iChat (without video chat, unfortunately) and also allow you to sign in to many other chat protocols as well. VERY customizable, supports Growl with no additional plugins.

Growl: I know, this was already mentioned. But it's a MUST have for Mac users. It's a notification service that gives you an unobtrusive pop-up when something you want info on happens. I use it for Twitter, chat, RSS feed updates, Mail notifications, Package Tracking...list goes on and on.

Flip4Mac: several people mentioned VLC as an alternative media player, and it's WONDERFUL. But if you use Quicktime and you need to view those terrible WMV files you thought you escaped (but can't due to the unwashed masses still clinging to their PCs) this is a great quicktime plugin to play them.

Quicksilver: An app-launching program that will change how you access EVERYTHING on your Mac if you let it. Similar in many ways to Spotlight (upper right corner - magnifying glass) but superior an every way. Try it and see if you like it - not for everyone, but for those it clicks with, it's indispensable.

Native Mac Apps: The Mac OS is exponentially more polished than any PC you've probably bought, and comes with NO bloatware. Everything included is polished and useful, so take some time getting to know your apps. Find yourself some widgets that make you more productive or are just fun, and toss them in your dashboard (as an Amazon junkie, I LOVE the "Delivery Status" widget). Also recommended is Say Cheese (daily comic widget). (but as Prime indicated, be careful not to bloat your OS with extra widgets you don't need - Dashboard is a resource-hog.) Get to know Mail, iCal, Safari, etc. Experiment with the dock AND menubar to make yourself more productive. Just have fun!! Welcome to the ranks, budding Mac Geek.

If you do any web development or design, there are some great programs out on OS X, many of which are free.

Textmate is really solid, as is TextWrangler and of course stuff like Dreamweaver, which is pretty decent in OS X. It all depends on your skill level and what you are comfortable with. Keep in mind too that OS X has built in PHP support, which makes coding a breeze. I would recommend MAMP and VirtualHostX for testing locally.

For CSS/design, I can't recommend CSS Edit enough. Great program and well, well worth the money.

For graphics, Photoshop and GIMP are still hard to beat but there are other great programs like Pixelmator.

Also, for FTP, Fetch is pretty good but for a freebie, you can't really beat Cyberduck.

Welcome to the cult! :D

Quicksilver. Get it. Use it. Love it.
http://quicksilver.en.softonic.com/mac

Transmission is a great torrent client.
http://www.transmissionbt.com/download.php

Evernote is great especially if you have the iPhone or iPod touch app.
http://www.evernote.com/about/download/#a-macwin

InsomniaX allows you to close the lid of your MacBook without it sleeping. I use it all the time.
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/InsomniaX.
shtml

Growl is a great plugin to get that allows you to see all your notifications in the corner of your screen.
http://growl.info/

Secrets is another plugin that allows you to tweak your Mac's settings.
http://secrets.blacktree.com/

Perian and Flip4Mac are video plugins.
http://perian.org/
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmc
omponents.mspx

VLC lets you play most media files.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

I got my Mac almost a year ago, and I like it so much better than all the Windows computers I've used. Have fun!