So ... I just bought a MacBook

[Crown]

You'll want to download Flip4Mac; it's a 3rd party free-ware app that actually comes RECOMMENDED by Microsoft. It's basically a plugin that allows QuickTime to play Windows Media Video.

My Google-Fu leads me to this site here, where I don't see any free-ware (well, in the limited time I've looked through it), but on Microsoft's website, I get this link, which I assume is what you were referring to?

If so, let me know, and I'll download it.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend Handbrake. It's a free-ware app that can rip any DVD, copy-protected or not, straight to MPEG-4 that'll play on iTunes, an iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, PSP, XBox 360, or PS3. I usually choose a Bitrate of 1500; that's about all you've got to fill in. It can rip and convert a 2 hour movie in 30 minutes

Similar deal here, link I assume that I want to avoid the Beta (new user, hardly need more teething problems), so download Handbrake 0.7.1 and good to go right?

So you got the MacBook today, so it came with iLife 08, right? Apple's got iMovie 06 available for a free download on their website. Play around with both of them; the new iMovie, I personally prefer, as it's a LOT faster and easier to make videos with, but the old iMovie had more editing features, so there's a lot of complaints on forums by the hardcore editors. You can have both versions on the computer, so there's no reason not to download unless you'll never edit any serious video.

There's an installation disc, with iLife '08 and a trial of iWork '08 too, also there appears to be both iLife and iWork on my computer, by opening iPhoto (which I assume is part of iLife) and clicking the about tab, it appears to be the 06 version which means that I'll have to install the updates. *sigh*

(I assume yours game with 08 pre-installed; if not, you can get it for free from Apple since you purchased after the release date. Is your iMovie icon a star, or a director thingy?)

The take clip board, directory thingy, so 06 right?

App Launcher + Everything (MUST-HAVE): Quicksilver

I've had a look at this, and is it like a dramatic improvement? I mean, I'm a bit lost right now, so will this help or just make me a little more lost? I might save this one for a later date, as I'd rather try and find my feet first with Vanilla Mac, and then move on, but it looks really interesting thanks!

You can use Zipeg for that.

(Why?)

*Yoink*

Think I'll get that one.

As for IM, use Adium - it can handle multiple IM services.

Adium seems to have won the popular vote, so Adium it is!

In short:

If you're printing, buy iWork.

If you're sending lots of specially-formatted documents to lots of people, get Microsoft Office for Mac (if you can wait till January, Office 2008 will be MUCH better, as it's Universal).

If you're just getting something to casually open Word documents once in a while, and don't want to spend money, get NeoOffice, it's free and it works.

Well basically, at this point, all I use work processing for is; updating my CV (MSWord XP), making a spreadsheet or two (Excel) and re-referencing my old uni notes for when I want to bone up on an interview (MSWord, Excel, Adobe). So with this in mind, what should I do?

I've got iWork '08 trial version, I might just give it a spin and see, but will I have major problems with my (:lol:) back library compatibility?

Just a quick question; is there a notepad/wordpad somewhere? It will help in drafting a megapost reply, rather than replying individually to everyone.

L2TextEdit noob!

[Praxis]

You'll want to download Flip4Mac; it's a 3rd party free-ware app that actually comes RECOMMENDED by Microsoft. It's basically a plugin that allows QuickTime to play Windows Media Video.

My Google-Fu leads me to this site here, where I don't see any free-ware (well, in the limited time I've looked through it), but on Microsoft's website, I get this link, which I assume is what you were referring to?

If so, let me know, and I'll download it.

Grab the one on MS's site.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend Handbrake. It's a free-ware app that can rip any DVD, copy-protected or not, straight to MPEG-4 that'll play on iTunes, an iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, PSP, XBox 360, or PS3. I usually choose a Bitrate of 1500; that's about all you've got to fill in. It can rip and convert a 2 hour movie in 30 minutes

Similar deal here, link I assume that I want to avoid the Beta (new user, hardly need more teething problems), so download Handbrake 0.7.1 and good to go right?

Actually, I like the new Beta much better; the new and old versions are very similar, but the new beta also rips the chapter markers, which is MUCH more convenient when you're watching a movie.

So you got the MacBook today, so it came with iLife 08, right? Apple's got iMovie 06 available for a free download on their website. Play around with both of them; the new iMovie, I personally prefer, as it's a LOT faster and easier to make videos with, but the old iMovie had more editing features, so there's a lot of complaints on forums by the hardcore editors. You can have both versions on the computer, so there's no reason not to download unless you'll never edit any serious video.

There's an installation disc, with iLife '08 and a trial of iWork '08 too, also there appears to be both iLife and iWork on my computer, by opening iPhoto (which I assume is part of iLife) and clicking the about tab, it appears to be the 06 version which means that I'll have to install the updates. *sigh*

Heh, they probably just slipped the upgrade disk in the box because the machine was manufactured BEFORE the release of iLife 08. Yeah, just install it, before you get too used to the current one.

(I assume yours game with 08 pre-installed; if not, you can get it for free from Apple since you purchased after the release date. Is your iMovie icon a star, or a director thingy?)

The take clip board, directory thingy, so 06 right?

^iMovie 06


^iMovie 08

App Launcher + Everything (MUST-HAVE): Quicksilver

I've had a look at this, and is it like a dramatic improvement? I mean, I'm a bit lost right now, so will this help or just make me a little more lost? I might save this one for a later date, as I'd rather try and find my feet first with Vanilla Mac, and then move on, but it looks really interesting thanks!

It lets you launch apps by typing the name...it's useful, but try wetting your feet first without it. I don't use it myself.

In short:

If you're printing, buy iWork.

If you're sending lots of specially-formatted documents to lots of people, get Microsoft Office for Mac (if you can wait till January, Office 2008 will be MUCH better, as it's Universal).

If you're just getting something to casually open Word documents once in a while, and don't want to spend money, get NeoOffice, it's free and it works.

Well basically, at this point, all I use work processing for is; updating my CV (MSWord XP), making a spreadsheet or two (Excel) and re-referencing my old uni notes for when I want to bone up on an interview (MSWord, Excel, Adobe). So with this in mind, what should I do?

I've got iWork '08 trial version, I might just give it a spin and see, but will I have major problems with my (:lol:) back library compatibility?

I'd say to try out the trials (you should also have a Microsoft Office trial preinstalled).

Keynote BLOWS away PowerPoint; I've know students who always got perfect grades because they used Keynote for presentations and the 3D-rendered charts looked like so much better than PowerPoint that it appeared they had done a lot more work.

I haven't used Numbers (Excel clone), but Pages has VERY impressive page-layout stuff (moving images around as the text morphs around it, etc). I'd test for compatability though.

[Xisiqomelir]

Just a quick question; is there a notepad/wordpad somewhere? It will help in drafting a megapost reply, rather than replying individually to everyone.

TextEdit. It's in your Applications folder. If you want something a little more robust (and also free), TextWrangler is great.

I've had a look at this, and is it like a dramatic improvement? I mean, I'm a bit lost right now, so will this help or just make me a little more lost? I might save this one for a later date, as I'd rather try and find my feet first with Vanilla Mac, and then move on, but it looks really interesting thanks!

These guides to Quicksilver should help:

Beginner
Intermediate

Launching apps via 2/3 keys from anywhere in any other app is fantastic. Changing tracks on iTunes or checking mail in Mail without having to go to those applications is even better.

[Crown]

So I've downloaded;

• Firefox
• HandBrake
• Adium

and I have these 'things' on my desktop (.dmg) stuff. I'm pretty sure that FireFox and Adium are in my Applications, but HandBrake isn't (when I open it, it's not in Applications), so errr ... how do I get HandBrake there, and can I delete the other (.dmg) files on my desktop, since I've tested that they work (are instaled).

[Xisiqomelir]

So I've downloaded;

• Firefox
• HandBrake
• Adium

and I have these 'things' on my desktop (.dmg) stuff. I'm pretty sure that FireFox and Adium are in my Applications, but HandBrake isn't (when I open it, it's not in Applications), so errr ... how do I get HandBrake there, and can I delete the other (.dmg) files on my desktop, since I've tested that they work (are instaled).

1) Open Handbrake .dmg
2) Drag Handbrake from .dmg window into Applications
3) Eject .dmg
4) Delete .dmg

[Lisa]

Other programs you may be interested in.

VLC- free, it plays what quicktime won't and has some nice features like floating on top, screen shots and such. www.videolan.org they have an intel version. I tend to use it instead of DVD player and Quicktime.

mac the ripper - free, it will copy what handbrake can't, allowing you to use handbrake on the resulting files.

skype - works well for video chat, punches through routers better then iChat

Graphics Converter - nagware - decent graphics editing program, I think on the same level as PhotoShop Elements.

versiontracker.com is a good place to find software for the mac.

for IRC chat I recommend X-Chat Aqua (Aquafied X-Chat) it lets you click on links like [url]irc://irc.undernet.org/deadhand[/url]

I'm still using safari 2, i like it better then firefox and camino. Opera is available but i haven't tried it.

fugu is a good scp program

[Crown]

So I've downloaded;

• Firefox
• HandBrake
• Adium

and I have these 'things' on my desktop (.dmg) stuff. I'm pretty sure that FireFox and Adium are in my Applications, but HandBrake isn't (when I open it, it's not in Applications), so errr ... how do I get HandBrake there, and can I delete the other (.dmg) files on my desktop, since I've tested that they work (are instaled).

1) Open Handbrake .dmg
2) Drag Handbrake from .dmg window into Applications
3) Eject .dmg
4) Delete .dmg

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Lisa thanks for your suggestions, I'll be sure to check them out ... currently I am padding up my dashboard with Widggets! I love these things!

[rhoenix]

Lisa thanks for your suggestions, I'll be sure to check them out ... currently I am padding up my dashboard with Widggets! I love these things!

I got tired of widgets pretty quickly, to be honest.

On the other hand, I would recommend App Update for ease of updating all your applications when new versions come out, as well as Widget Update for all your Dashboard applications.

I'd also like to recommend the program XRG to monitor resources - it's not as pretty as the equivalent you can get for the dashboard (iStat Pro), but it doesn't suck up anywhere near as many resources, either. And, you can customize it with whatever colors you wish.

EDIT: added info about App Update, iStat Pro, and Widget Update

[LMSx]

I got a MacBook Pro in early August....so yeah, no iLife '08 or Leopard. Great timing. Leopard looks pretty nice though, hopefully I can wrangle some kind of a student discount for it.

Figuring out the Stuffit thing was a pain in the ass. I remember the program when I had my last Mac in 1999, but apparently you have to download it now? OS X gave me the option of opening a file with Stuffit Expander but when I tried, it said "program could not be found" and Spotlight couldn't find it. Oh well.

Also, the .dmg thing. Why the "drag into Applications" thing? It seems easier if I installed something and it automatically added itself to the Applications folder.

Overall though, very nice. Setting up the computer for the first time was ridiculously easy and infinitely less painful then the Windows XP "install, wait 10 minutes, reboot, rinse, repeat" process.

[rhoenix]

Also, the .dmg thing. Why the "drag into Applications" thing? It seems easier if I installed something and it automatically added itself to the Applications folder.

I rather liked the metaphor. One opens the disk image, and drags the icon to one's Applications folder to install something. To uninstall, delete the icon.

Granted, it looks much different when you tinker in there from the terminal, but the concise way it's presented to the user, I like.

[Elessar]

Also, the .dmg thing. Why the "drag into Applications" thing? It seems easier if I installed something and it automatically added itself to the Applications folder.

Because that is the install process? That icon represents the entire program, and you can actually right/option-click to browse the contents within.

The applications folder is not made up of aliases (or shortcuts, if you're stuck with Microsoft terminology). It's actually the programs themselves.

[Stark]

The dmg is like an iso, and you mount it first. Then, instead of a complex and unreliable 'installshield' that puts bits of your app everywhere, you simply drag the package where you want it. If you want you can open the package (since it's just a special kind of directory) to mess with config files or whatever, but it's 99% of the time unnecessary.

I've wondered how you build those packages (or whatever they're called). Things like EV Nova don't come in them, and they clutter up my computer with their individual files. There's a structure involved, but I can't find any apps that allow you to create your own from non-packaged stuff. The OSX development environment appears to be able to build them at compile-time, but I can't make head nor tail of it.

I really have to jump on the Quicksilver bandwagon. It really, really is super-useful. I dare anyone to try 'launchy', the only similar Windows thing I could find, and not laugh at how much it sucks.

[Praxis]

Also, the .dmg thing. Why the "drag into Applications" thing? It seems easier if I installed something and it automatically added itself to the Applications folder.

Okay, Windows version:

You put in a disk. That disk has an installer. You double click the installer. You go through twenty menus to install the app.

Mac version:
You put in a disk. You drag and drop the icon into the Applications folder.

Done.


It's a lot easier to drag-and-drop than it is to double click on the icon and run through an installer. You're just used to the Windows method.

[Praxis]

I've wondered how you build those packages (or whatever they're called). Things like EV Nova don't come in them, and they clutter up my computer with their individual files. There's a structure involved, but I can't find any apps that allow you to create your own from non-packaged stuff. The OSX development environment appears to be able to build them at compile-time, but I can't make head nor tail of it.

All I know is that they're nothing more than a folder with .app in the name.

If you rename them (using Get Info or in Terminal) to remove the .app, then they just become folders. Also, if you rename a regular folder to foldername.app, it because a blank application that does nothing when executed.

Basically you just need to put files in a folder in the right structure and add .app to the end of the folder name. But I don't know how that structure is.

[phongn]

I've wondered how you build those packages (or whatever they're called). Things like EV Nova don't come in them, and they clutter up my computer with their individual files. There's a structure involved, but I can't find any apps that allow you to create your own from non-packaged stuff. The OSX development environment appears to be able to build them at compile-time, but I can't make head nor tail of it.

ADC has some documentation on bundles and packages that might be useful for you.

[LMSx]

Also, the .dmg thing. Why the "drag into Applications" thing? It seems easier if I installed something and it automatically added itself to the Applications folder.

Okay, Windows version:

You put in a disk. That disk has an installer. You double click the installer. You go through twenty menus to install the app.

Mac version:
You put in a disk. You drag and drop the icon into the Applications folder.

Done.


It's a lot easier to drag-and-drop than it is to double click on the icon and run through an installer. You're just used to the Windows method.

Oh. Well. That does seem a lot easier. As a test I just downloaded Transmission and now the comparison to what Windows would demand seems a lot clearer. The only thing I still don't quite get- "mounting" things? Transmission is "mounted" like a CD would be, with the eject button in the finder menu.

[Lisa]

Oh. Well. That does seem a lot easier. As a test I just downloaded Transmission and now the comparison to what Windows would demand seems a lot clearer. The only thing I still don't quite get- "mounting" things? Transmission is "mounted" like a CD would be, with the eject button in the finder menu.

Think of a dmg as a virtual cdrom.

[Drewcifer]

Congrats!

The best easy tip I can give is this: keep your desktop clean!
Just like Windows, a desktop full of files and apps and shortcuts can slow down your system a lot and will likely cause boot problems in the long run. (You can add a folder full of shortcuts/aliases to the Dock -- or almost any folder, for that matter)

Apple has a site for switchers: http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
It's written for basic users, but it can be a big help in getting used to Macs at first.

Like this: Looking for Ctrl+Alt+Delete?
"Press Command-Option-Escape (Esc) to force quit unresponsive applications. Once you press these keys, select any application from the Force Quit window and click Force Quit. You can also Force Quit by Control-clicking [right-clicking] the item on the Dock and select Force Quit. "

Switch 101: Windows vs. Mac Navigation
Switch 101: On Windows, I used to...
Switch 101: Migrate Your Files


Some other helpful stuff I found:

Hopefully for the average user there might be at least one tip here that you weren’t aware of and that will be useful to you. Otherwise, I officially re-title this article: “20 Useful OS X Tips for Beginners and Switchers”.

By the way, if you have a single button mouse, where it says “right click”, substitute with “control-click” .

1. Pressing Esc while typing in most applications pops up a list of suggested completions of the word you’re typing. (Does anyone know if there’s a way to toggle the permanent display of this?)

2. Image Capture lets you manage photos on your camera before you download them (as explained in last week’s article).

3. Right click on an open PDF in Safari to get the a context menu which includes the option to open the PDF in Preview.

4. Pressing the Tab key in Exposé cycles through open applications.

5. Press the ` key in Exposé to cycle backwards as per the previous tip. ( ‘ is the key Tab and left of the 1 key).

6. Press Command-Q to close applications when command-tabbing. This is possibly the fastest way you’ll find to close several applications in quick succession.

7. Macs with remote controls can be put to sleep by holding down the play button on the remote. (I use my Mac as a reading light so find this quite handy. Maybe Apple could include a clapper for me in Leopard.smile)

8. Triple click selects a whole paragraph of text.

9. To select a block of text, click the start position, then Shift-click the end position. Significant;y, this doesn’t just work in editing applications like Word (where you might be already doing it anyway), but it also works with non-editable text, such as a webpage in Safari. Where has this been all my life? The number of times I’ve selected pages and pages of text by click and drag, when this is so much quicker. (My Hackmeister friend knew this one of course - but never had told me. smile )

10. In TextEdit, Option-click & drag selects a rectangle of text. (When you need it, selecting a rectangle of text is really useful, so if anyone knows other applications that have this functionality, let us know.)

11. We all know Command-shift-4 to capture a selection of the screen, but don’t forget pressing the Spacebar will toggle between selection mode and select whole window mode.

12. Command click the jelly bean found in the top right corner of some applications to cycle through toolbars.

13. In Safari, Command-Shift-click a link opens it in a new tab and immediately displays the page. (If anyone knows a way in Safari to force a page to open in the same window, do tell.)

The Option key is a hidden treasure trove. Experiment with it often. Here’s a few:

14. Hold the Option key will clicking the Zoom button (green button, rightmost of three in the top left corner of windows) switches the zoom state of all windows in the selected application.

15. Option-click the minimize button minimizes all windows in the application - and makes for a really cool animation (hold the shift key too if you want to slow it down to see it more easily).

16. Option-click on a minimized window will restore all windows for that application.

17. Option-click on a running application in the Dock hides the front-most application and brings the clicked application to the front (unless it already was).

18. Option-click on the close tab icon in Safari, closes all other tabs. Handle this one with care - there’s no warning dialog.

19. Option-arrow moves cursor by word. One for the Windows switchers who are used to using ctrl-arrow.

20. When menus are selected, press the option key to reveal alternative functions. Eg In the File menu of Finder, the Get Info item becomes Show Inspector which is like a context sensitive info pane.

from here
(Awkward writing, but the information within is still helpful.)


I found this article about routine maintenance on a Mac: http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
There's a lot of debate about what is necessary and what isn't, but I personally do all the cron jobs on a monthly basis and every few months run a permissions repair. That probably sounds like jibberish at this point, but the linked article explains a lot of it. I also defrag on a fairly regular basis: weekly if the machine is used daily, and monthly if only used a few times a week. (Same for my XP box)

I'm looking for an easy article explaining how to get Macs and PCs to play together nicely. It's pretty simple (One of my Mac backups is to a PC box over my home network and vice versa) and can be really useful if you run a multiple OS household! (You can even set up your Mac on an Active Directory network with a few clicks using the Directory Access utility)

I also strongly second both the Flip4Mac plugin and VLC player (I use vlc on both OS X and XP).

And lastly, I use both Macs and PCs on a daily basis, so feel free to PM me if you (or anyone, for that matter) have any questions. I'm not on the board much due to real life, but I will most likely answer a PM within a day or so.

[Praxis]

Also, if you go to print a page there is the option to save the printer output as a PDF. I find this quite useful for creating a PDF with the exact layout of what's on a page. Instead of taking a screenshot or printing something out, I just save the PDF and can print it at anytime.

[Lisa]

oh ya screen shots, command - shift 3 : grabs the whole screen, command - shift 4 : grabs a selection.

[Crown]

I'm having a small problem with Adium, it won't connect to MSN. It says 'Writting Error', but I have no idea where I can 'view' this. It was working fine yesterday so ...

Also, how do I uninstall programs? I noticed that I have iWork '06 and iWork '08 (which I bought so ... ), and I only need '08. Sorry, there isn't a 'Control Panel' that I'm used to!

[Lisa]

I'm having a small problem with Adium, it won't connect to MSN. It says 'Writting Error', but I have no idea where I can 'view' this. It was working fine yesterday so ...

Also, how do I uninstall programs? I noticed that I have iWork '06 and iWork '08 (which I bought so ... ), and I only need '08. Sorry, there isn't a 'Control Panel' that I'm used to!

re uninstalling - some programs have an uninstaller in their program directory. ones that don't have an uninstaller or folder just drag and drop in the trash.

as for adium you might have a corrupt preference file, try removing the msn account and adding it again, if that fails you may have to remove the prefference file, i'm at work right now so hunting it down may have to wait til i get home unless some one else can tell you where it is (i think it's in ~/library/preferences/application support/ or something like that.

[Crown]

I just logged on today (6 am getting ready for work) and tested it, it seems to have sorted its self out, but if you could still give me the info at some point that would be nice (no rush though).

Oh and thanks heaps with the un-install info!

[Lisa]

ok ~/Library/Application Support/Adium 2.0/ and subfolders is where you find the various preferences. If you move the file out of the folder it's as effective as deleting it.