Well, I got a Mac (Part 1)

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459

Yeah, my brother just bought a new laptop with Vista, so I'll have first hand experience with both. I do hope to write my opinion of how they compare at some point.

3 votes

#1.1 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:55 PM EST

Chris Magee

Ryan, one of the first things you should consider doing is reading up on Mac keyboard shortcuts. Once you know them, they'll make your work go much faster than using the mouse for everything. Here's an article on Apple.com:

Hope you find this helpful, and I hope you enjoy your iMac!

14 votes

#2 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:26 AM EST

Guido SohneDeleted

Frank Scott

Thanks for that link, Chris. I'm a new iMac user (since December) like Ryan, and those shortcuts should be very helpful.

3 votes

#2.2 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:27 PM EST

Nycam

Yeah, unlike peecees, Macs have an almost global set of key commands; once you learn them, you can use them without having to think twice about it, or searching for program-sensitive keys.
Also, re: editing. Macs come with iMovie, which although rather basic, gives you a baby-step introduction into video editing, which we all know includes an aural, a video and an sfx track (if necessary). Also, iMovie seamlessly ties into your iPhoto to incorporate still photos you may have uploaded, and iTunes, to use the mp3s you may already have. As a former TV news guy with some editing under my belt, its a 'hoot'.
Enjoy! And welcome to the Mac corner.

5 votes

#2.3 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:52 PM EST

Elliot Vos

Actually, Guido, his iMac will ship with a Mighty Mouse which has built-in right-click functionality. You'll have to turn it on in System Preferences, because one-button is default, but after you enable the second "button," all you have to do to right-click is make sure that your left finger isn't down when you click.

5 votes

#2.4 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:32 PM EST

Guido SohneDeleted

Frank Scott

The Mac has made computing a lot more fun for me after almost 30 years of working with DOS and Windows. After the screen on my PC notebook died a couple of months ago, I just decided to purchase an iMac when I was at CompUSA looking for a replacement computer. It only took me a day or so to feel comfortable with the new OS, and I'm really happy I made the change. The only software I needed to buy so far was iWork which, along with the great software that came with the computer, does everything I need to do. I downloaded Thunderbird and Firefox, which I was used to with Linux and Windows, and I couldn't be happier. One program I found that I really recommend to those of us who love Newsvine is a program called iClip 4 which makes seeding, and cutting and pasting, very easy. It has a lot of other great features, and they have a free download to try the program out.

5 votes

#2.6 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:04 PM EST

Ahh well, lucky Intel Mac people. I'm still on PPC Powerbook and maybe with a rev or two to the Powerbook line, I may end up upgrading again. Am happy with what I have for now. Has served me very well. I understand the new Powerbooks have an even better trackpad ...

Yes, the new MacBook Pros have a wonderful trackpad:

- it's wider
- it's got built-in right-click support, just put two fingers on the trackpad and click

After a few times of using that two-finger click for Right-click, it'll be so natural to you that you'll start using it on other laptops — whether they have the feature or not.

2 votes

#2.7 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:29 AM EST

Yeah, I figured there'd be keyboard shortcuts...I know most of the shortcuts for Windows already. So much so that I sometimes will go hours without touching the mouse. :-) But I definitely hope to learn them for the Mac as well.

1 vote

#2.8 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:56 PM EST

Christopher Michael Pastore

Oh I'm not new to the video editing world by any means. I would consider myself fluent in Pinnacle Studio and I've played with iMovie, but only for a few minutes. So, I'm very excited to get Final Cut to learn all the things that the programs I've used can't do. :-)

2 votes

#2.9 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:58 PM EST

Brian Ford

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Macs. I don't particularly care for the Apple fanboys who insist that Apple is better than Windows "just because," but I think the systems and OS is a great choice for some.

1) I applaud your openness 2) I don't think I've ever heard someone list "just because" as a reason they are a fan of Apple's products.

(I would also say that people who own a Mac are more likely to "also" own (or use) a PC part-time than the other way around.)

With that said, I'm sure you'll be happy with your Mac and it's really a no-lose situation as (worst-case scenario) you could use Vista or XP full-time with Boot-camp.

13 votes

#3 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:27 AM EST

MatthewM

I don't particularly care for the Apple fanboys who insist that Apple is better than Windows "just because,"

Who says this?

#3.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:51 PM EST

Why an iMac for Final Cut Pro? You should be on a Pro machine and an iMac is NOT going to cut it. Your going to need a alot of ram for that baby! 2-3 gigs in an iMac, 16Gigs in a Mac Pro. Someone must have led you in the wrong direction to be getting an iMac for FCP.

1 vote

#4 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:52 AM EST

Dude... that's so wrong. iMac will totally cut it.

I used a 500mhz g4 and final cut pro to edit a full length doc.

Relax...

9 votes

#4.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:03 PM EST

Kyle Baxter

16 gigs? of RAM? Please. His iMac will have two gigs of RAM and a quite good processor. He will be fine.

7 votes

#4.2 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:33 PM EST

Erik K Veland

I've cut in Final Cut Studio on a number of different machines over the last decade: PowerBooks, G4 and G5 towers, the latest iMacs are definitly up to scratch. In fact I used a 20" G5 iMac for a while, while waiting for a Mac Pro. I'm doing fine with either now: My iMac 24" or my Mac Pro. I have no problems switching between them for serious video work.

4 votes

#4.3 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:01 PM EST

Nycam

Same here on my i24" with 2 gigs of ram.

3 votes

#4.4 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:54 PM EST

Oooooo....I just love it when Nycam talks all smart & stuff!

2 votes

#4.5 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:58 PM EST

http://lifehacker.com/software/mac/hack-attack-a-guide-for-switching-to-a-mac-224674.php

Welcome!

#5 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:01 PM EST

Once you are feeling comfortable with the UI, QuickSilver is worth looking into:

QuickSilver

9 votes

#5.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:02 PM EST

Guido SohneDeleted

crynyd

All Macs should come standard with Quicksilver. Using one without QS slows me down the way being stuck using IE at work used to.

3 votes

#5.3 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:01 PM EST

lwbrown

I tried QS, but it just seemed to slow down my machine to a crawl (PowerBook G4 1.67GHz, 2GB RAM). Perhaps it's all the other little bells & whistles I've added (a >ton<). Also, I could not seem to get the point of QS. Since I also do not use Automator that much, I would recommend starting with that (since it's already built in) before trying out such a powerful (and somewhat mysterious) tool as QS...

#5.4 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:01 AM EST

spiffie

I've had QS on my machine for a while, but I've only really started getting into using it regularly. It's certainly very useful, especially if you're like me and you much prefer the use of a keyboad to enter commands quickly.

Unless I've recently lost my mine (which is very possible these days), QS and Automator are not really the same sort of tool.

1 vote

#5.5 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:08 AM EST

If QS wasn't your thing... LaunchBar.

LaunchBar

Much more user friendly.

LaunchBar VS QuickSilver

#5.6 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:30 AM EST

gecko85

Quicksilver is an app that pretty much *everybody* doesn't get at first. I tried it for a while, then uninstalled it. Then, after hearing so much about it everywhere I went, I decided to give it another try. I dug into the tutorials, googled everything I could about how to get the most out of it, etc. It took a while of consciously using it all the time for the lightbulb to finally go on, and I finally "got" it. Now, it's an app I couldn't possibly live without. It's not only the best application launcher I've used, it's soooooooo much more. I don't think there's anything QS *can't* do...

1 vote

#5.7 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:41 PM EST

spiffie

Four years ago I made the leap much as you did, without prior experience on a Mac (except for a little with OS 8 Macs in computer labs from the mid-90s). I have a lot of PC experience, having used them for 20 years prior to switching; I've worked in IT, tech support, and helpdesk support for a long time. But I really liked the new PowerBooks, and took the plunge. I've never looked back. I still use PCs at work, but my home is now almost totally Mac.

Welcome aboard! I'm sure you'll love the iMac.

3 votes

#6 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:08 PM EST

Kyle Baxter

I too used PCs exclusively, but began slowly opening up to OS X, and a year ago I got a PowerBook and have loved every single second of it. It has absolutely been the best computer I have owned.

Like you, I was afraid that I would have a hard time adapting to Mac OS X. To be frank, don't be. It took me about a week before I was completely used to OS X, and even in that week I had no trouble I couldn't figure out myself. Just use it and you'll get it.

Glad to see another Mac user!

9 votes

#6.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:32 PM EST

Shadybird Johnson

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Macs. I don't particularly care for the Apple fanboys who insist that Apple is better than Windows "just because," but I think the systems and OS is a great choice for some."

Give it about 3 months. You'll wonder how you ever used Windows once you get used to OSX.

8 votes

#7 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:44 PM EST

Binro

Welcome! As you can see, we have a few macgeeks 'round these parts! Any questions you may have will be answered by your Newsvine brethren.

4 votes

#8 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:57 PM EST

Elliot Vos

And a warm welcome from me too, Ryan!

My iMac (older than yours by only about a month) is identical to yours in everything but the hard drive (I figured I'd end up buying an external at some point anyway to take advantage of Leopard's Time Machine backups). I've always been a PC user, but I've fallen in love with the Mac since coming to college.

I'll be very interested to read about your transition--what little things annoy you at first, what makes you switch back to Windows, what you grow to like, etc.

One thing that ticked me off at first about the Mac was the inability to tab between buttons and form controls (besides text boxes). Finally I found the accessibility option to turn this on. If you use the tab button half as much as I do, you'll want to visit the Keyboard & Mouse preferences pane in System Preferences and select the "All controls" radio button at the bottom (you may have to select "Turn full keyboard access on or off" in the list above too, I don't remember).

Good luck and have fun!

5 votes

#9 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:42 PM EST

ridgydidge

Looking forward to this. I need a new machine and for the first time a Mac is not totally out of the question. But I feel like I'm moving to another planet. I'll be interested to see how you go.

6 votes

#10 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:44 PM EST

Yeah, I'm almost as excited about writing the articles as I am about getting the computer. :-) I figure, if I'm going to be learning it anyway, might as well write my opinion of the switch as well as a sort of review of the iMac and Mac OS.

3 votes

#10.1 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:59 PM EST

gleuch

I don't particularly care for the Apple fanboys who insist that Apple is better than Windows "just because," but I think the systems and OS is a great choice for some. I hate closed minds in general and I never want to be accused of having one.

my sentiments exactly. =) i've grown up with both my entire life, and can cite my own pros and cons of both from my own experiences, not because others have forced these ideas upon me.

i'm confident you'll enjoy your new mac as much as your pcs, and learn to appreciate the strengths each has to offer.

6 votes

#11 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:47 PM EST

Daniel A. HalloDeleted

Ryan - Congratulations on the wedding!

You'll love your new Mac. I just got one in December. I've had no problems, other than migrating data from my old G4, but that's the old computer's problem. I feel like I'm driving a high performance luxury car! Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

5 votes

#13 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:03 PM EST

Ryan - Congratulations on the wedding!

Thanks, lauhal! Married life is definitely better than I thought it would be. I highly recommend it! I'm very happy. :-)

4 votes

#13.1 - Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:45 AM EST

Zaki

i want to switch, sniff.

my 3yr-old emachines laptop is gathering dust.

It's your fault for spending over $2000 during the World Cup 2006 Summer...and you weren't even in Germany.

Oh shut up you.

Anybody feels like donating a macbook to me? Hmm? :)

1 vote

#14 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:47 PM EST

Z - You should have kept Frank Fennel hostage & used the ransom to buy a macbook! Geesh.

2 votes

#14.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:54 PM EST

Zaki

maybe i should blackmail you with those lapdances of yours that i have secretly taped.

1 vote

#14.2 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:11 AM EST

http://theappleblog.com/
http://www.tuaw.com/
http://www.hawkwings.net/
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mac911/
http://www.macuser.com/

That would work!

2 votes

#14.3 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:24 AM EST

gecko85

Welcome to the club!

You'll find there are *many* websites devoted to the Mac. Some goog, some not so good, some hit and miss. I have many of the feeds subscribed in Google Reader, and I'm frequently learning a new tip or trick, reading about a useful utility or 3rd party app, etc.

Here are just a few, in case you haven't already found them:

1 vote

#15 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:24 PM EST

gecko85

Weird. In the post preview, each of those URLs was on a separate line...Oh well, at least they're separated by a space so the links still work...

1 vote

#15.1 - Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:25 PM EST

UKMattDeleted

Welcome to the Mac world! I hope you'll enjoy your computing days much better from here on :-)

If you have any questions about using Mac OS X, feel free to ask around on Newsvine or send me (or others who've offered here) a direct message via Newsvine, we'll be glad to help!

2 votes

#18 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:40 AM EST

Oh, and since nobody mentioned these directly, you may find them very useful:

Cmd-Shift-3 = Screenshot of entire screen, saved to a PNG file
Cmd-Shift-4 = Screenshot of a selection (your cursor becomes a crossmark, just drag a box), saved to a PNG file
Ctrl-Cmd-Shift-3 = Screenshot of entire screen, put in your clipboard
Ctrl-Cmd-Shift-4 = Screenshot of a selection, put in your clipboard
(Ctrl-)Cmd-Shift-4, spacebar = Make screenshot of an interface element (like an application window, the Menu bar, Dock, Dock icons, etc.) and put in clipboard/saved to PNG

3 votes

#18.1 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:44 AM EST

Damn, that was supposed to be formatted nicely :(

#18.2 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:52 AM EST

Pete ZaHutt

excellent choice.

1 vote

#19 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:05 AM EST

michaelb1

Welcome to the Mac community. I hope you like the Mac experience.
You seem like a level headed guy with no axe to grind so I am sure you will give it a fair shake.

2 votes

#20 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:12 PM EST

A. H. Min

Have you tried triple-booting Windows, OS X, and Linux yet?

Kudos for trying OS X!

1 vote

#21 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:57 PM EST

Guido SohneDeleted

bryus

Welcome to the Mac world. I am sure you will enjoy your new iMac.

My wife got a 2Ghz 20" iMac last June to use in her degree in web design. She found out this semester that ALL her school's classes in digital design and web design will be done on Macs so she will do well.

We have been so impressed over the last eight months that we are thinking about getting a MacBook Pro this fall. Our nearly 4-year-old Dell laptop with XP is getting less and less use all the time.

1 vote

#22 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:29 PM EST

Oh my goodness, I go without checking Newsvine for a day and come to 50 comments on my article! :-)

First off, thanks everyone for the program suggestions! I'll have to check those out once my iMac gets here. And I'm glad you all are here to help me when I get stuck down the road. :-)

Now...let me see if I can reply to some of you individually.......

5 votes

#23 - Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:54 PM EST