I switched to an apple/Mac computer and could use some 1 on 1 help around POP

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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After being fed up with MSFT's Windows for as many years as I have been confronted with it, I finally switched to an "apple/Mac" by buying a MacBookAir during a short visit in Puerto Rico.

I am completely NEW to this system, but I am posting this from this little laptop... so, i am learning.
Still, I have to many questions to list, and it seems, just like the iPhone, there is a LOT which apparently needs to be discovered.

So, if anybody around POP-Sosua-Cabarete has the patience, I'd love to have a little one-on-one with someone who knows. Beers/lunch/supper on me.

... J-D.
 

Mark Lloyd

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Hi, I would only be to happy to pass on all the delights of having a MacBook, having converted a number of years ago I would never go back to a pc. PM me!
Regards
Mark
 

beeza

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Nov 2, 2006
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Once you've gone Mac, you never go back!

I'm also in the Cabarete / Sosua area with a 29in iMac, Macbook Air, Mac mini, Time capsule, iPhone, iPod. In fact my place is a veritable Apple orchard!

Just saving up for an iPad at the moment!
 

Robert

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Also feel free to post any questions you have.

Welcome to Apple. Just like Mark, I pretty much guarantee you will never go back, once you starting using your Mac.
 

Mark Lloyd

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It's interesting really the amount of people that I have met and converted to Macs, who never looked back, the most common response was that they did not know using a computer could be so easy. Weather you are a supporter of all that is apple or not, you have got to hand it to them that they just 'get it' from design to software, it all just does what it says on the tin and seamlessly interfaces with all of the other apple gizmos!
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'm sure Robert has already put in his claim for the finders fee he is paid by Apple for promoting mac on this board.
 

Robert

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I'm sure Robert has already put in his claim for the finders fee he is paid by Apple for promoting mac on this board.

Don't think so Ken. Apple sells millions of machines annually, all without my help ;)

Look on this board, people are posting how happy they are and that they would never go back to PC.
Many web sites are dedicated to people switching and telling their stories of joy and happiness, try and find one dedicated to Windows and PC's.

Apple - Why You
Help, Guides, and News on making the Switch To Apple Macintosh Computers - Switch To A Mac
AppleSwitcher • Index page
Life as an Apple switcher

Once you go Mac, you never go back...
 

J D Sauser

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Thanks for all the kind replies.
I have contacted Mark first, since he offered himself first.

I know... MAC's have the reputation black women have, and I am not really looking forward to turning back to MSFT either.
It was, among with my desire to have a computer with a Solid State drive one of the arguments which convinced me to give myself the nudge and buy into it... I've never heard of anyone going back to it.
There is a lot however which strikes me as "only" different, with no apparent advantage. I like secondary click and have it programmed as a two finger tap. I am a touchpad guy. I can CAD with a WELL working touchpad. THIS thing has an amazing touchpad... something which is often an issue with PC's (so far only an ASUS had a touchpad which acted as smooth and consistent as this here).
Anyways, yesterday I found out how to rename a file, only by ACCIDENT... and then, go and replicate the accident! But got it.
I don't seem to see the option to CUT in every secondary click menu... sometimes one is only offered to COPY.
I would also like to be able to DRAG files and folders and THEN select if I want to COPY or MOVE (cut)... still looking for a happy accident on that.

Safari: I was a FireFox user and liked the add-ons... especially the download helper (flv, mp3 and mp4 files), the all-in-one side bar (which nicely houses the bookmarks). I tried to browse the Safari extensions, but the "gallery" seem not to offer a search function and instead one has to look thru a maze of suggestions.

I am still not fully convinced where I will put my data (the one I bring over from my "other" computer) and really have a hard time still to understand WHERE exactly things are (definite PATH)... it all still looks very "virtual" to me.

I am afraid of iTunes. It always wants to SYNCHRONIZE things. To me, synchronizing means putting everything thing equal. Imagine a erase a song on my iPhone, does NOT mean that I want that song to be eliminated from ALL my devices automatically for the sake of synchronization. I am a control freak. I say who does what.


But hey... I am typing all this from it... got skype running... downloaded some stuff and moved it around after renaming it.
Deleted some stuff... I get around, but I would appreciate some guided immersion.


Thanks! ... J-D.
 

Robert

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Apple tested hundreds of touch pads to get the drag feel and finger swipe just right.
They are actually made of special type of glass, as the finger friction required cannot be achieved with metal. This is the attention to detail that Apple excel at and this is why you love the track pad.

These are the details many PC users don't get, because they don't know any different and have never experienced how much better a Mac is in many areas, from usability to engineering. A plastic PC track pad is always going to feel 2nd rate compared to a Mac trackpad. You pay a premium for this attention to detail as it costs more to produce.

Download and use Firefox on your Mac. All the extensions and add-ons etc work just fine.

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser

Quick way to rename a file.
Select it so it's highlighted and then press the "return" key.

Copy files or folders, you have 2 options.
1. Right click the mouse or set the touchpad up to right click, then select from the drop down.
2. Select "command+c" to copy and "command+v" to paste.

The link below will also help.
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

You can set up iTunes to not sync anything or only certain folders or files etc in the "preference" settings. Also you can also "authorize" or "de-authorize" Mac products that you sync with. This allows you to control how each Mac product syncs via iTunes.

More info at the link below.
iTunes Store: About authorization and deauthorization
 

J D Sauser

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Thanks Rob.
I am a mouse (pad guy). I never used control commands on Windows much either.
I like drop down menus.
I got the secondary (drop down menu) click.
Copying and Pasting is resolved. But CUTTING seems a capricious option in the sense that it is NOT always available as an alternative to copying. Cutting is like MOVING.

You recommend using FireFox over Safari?

I would like to be able to have iTunes BACKUP incrementally in ONE direction. There has the be the mothership and the satellites. What happens on the satellites can NOT ever affect the mothership.

Which brings me to my search of a program to replace SyncBack... to back up my data.

Thanks! ... J-D.
 

Robert

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I personally use Chrome on my Mac, although I have Safari and Firefox installed to play with and test web pages with.
If you're comfortable with Firefox, I would keep using it.

What are you trying to back up? Music, videos or all files, docs etc?

Cut is normally only available when using some sort of text editor.
Apple have never used it for files, as it can sometimes lead to data loss.

Take a look at the link below.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2526913?threadID=2526913
 

Robert

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Understood on the CUT issue.


Antivirus/FireWall etc?
I don't see anything installed!

AVG/AVAST?

... J-D.

That's because it's not an issue for Mac's :)
I don't know a single Mac user that has an anti-virus or spyware program installed.

OSX has a firewall built in and it's stupid simple to set up.

preferences > security > firewall

You will need to click on the padlock and input your password to gain access.

You can also set file encryption and other security settings under security.
FileVault offers 128 bit encryption. Don't loose the master password or you will never get access, it's powerful stuff!
 

Mark Lloyd

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I would like to second Roberts comments on viruses, this is another reason so many people have gone over to macs, they do not get them, the reason being is that viruses are written for windows based machines and are in general hidden as Trojans in malicious mail, these Trojans have to recognise where they are before installing and doing damage, as they were not able to recognise mac osx they cannot initiate an install. I bitterly remember,because of some virus or another getting onto my pc it slowing down to the pace of a snail and having to resort to wiping the hard disk and reinstalling! I am generalising of course but I have never heard of a fellow mac user getting a virus.
 
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Robert

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I have never heard of a fellow mac user getting a virus.

Mac OSX has UNIX at it's core, about the toughest and most hardened OS on the planet.
You need to give a malicious piece of code a lot of access in order for it to be a threat on a Mac.
Basically you need to be a complete idiot or go out of your way to allow it access.
 

J D Sauser

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I turned the FireWall function ON now (after reading this).
THIS is a problem I see with this system: It is simple ONCE you know where and what.
It's intuitive yes, but there is a lot of "hidden" features one has to learn about from a third party or stumble upon accidentally (like I found out how to rename a file).

I installed FireFox and feel more at home now with my usual 4 add-ons.
Still, one thing does not seem to work with FireFox:
In Preferences, one can set how FireFox has to open freshly. I like it to re-open all my last tabs in the last window I closed. The option is available and selected. But it does NOT do it. Instead it opens with my home page only.

I don't see how to UN-install programs (Am I to call them APPS now?).
Some installed programs plainly REFUSE to appear in the APPS pane, even when dragged in repeatedly.
The whole installation routine is yet only somewhat accidentally successful. There seems to be several way... I still have to settle on ONE consistent version.

So far so good.

FILES.

I never used Windows' virtual library system when it came out in Vista and Win7.
I kept my files organized somewhere on a drive:
X:JD's Files/
Documents
Pictures
Music
Videos
Favorites
Oranization
Addresses
ID's

etc.

I seem to understand that with this thing, I will have to bite the bullet and move my files into it's virtual filing system (Finder, which does not clearly show actual PATHS). The is a "Home" (it's got a little "house" icon) folder under my user name.
I assume that's where I insert my files into the existing folders (Documents, Music, Movies etc) and create additional folders for categories not offered?


TIME MACHINE:
What is it really. Can I use it to incrementally back up all my files (as I upload them as described above) and my settings?


Thanks for your patience.
... J-D.


That's because it's not an issue for Mac's :)
I don't know a single Mac user that has an anti-virus or spyware program installed.

OSX has a firewall built in and it's stupid simple to set up.

preferences > security > firewall

You will need to click on the padlock and input your password to gain access.

You can also set file encryption and other security settings under security.
FileVault offers 128 bit encryption. Don't loose the master password or you will never get access, it's powerful stuff!