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10 Things Every New Mac Owner Should Know
paulstamatiou.com — "I ’ve compiled a list of 10 things every first time Mac owner, particularly Mac Mini owner, should know about their new computer and operating system. This article should answer some burning questions, enlighten you about some features you did not know about OS X and just all around be helpful."
PStamatiou- 1367 diggs
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- BladeMelbourne, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Unix Architecture has nothing to do with disk defragmentation at all.
It is due to the file system used (Mac OS Extended [Journaled]).
It's also worth noting that Finder sucks compared to most file managers (Explorer, Xfe, Konq, etc).
And Command ~ is a very useful keyboard shortcut IMHO. - terafunker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Great stuff for switchers and noobs--like I was not too long ago.
Also, I think the lack of need for defraging has a lot to do with the HFS+ file allocation system, too. UNIX architecture accounts for loads, but it's not everything. - fanboydcs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2the machine does not defrag when its idle, it puts things in its proper place hense the journaling file system.
also disk utility is something you should run every once in a while, repair disk and repair permissions is a great way to maintain your machine.
the coolest thing about any mac is option boot and target disk mode, Hold down T to make your computer a Firewire harddrive, hook it up to another mac and you can access that machines harddrive. Also, You can option boot, for example I installed 10.4 on my ipod 20gb, and using the firewire cable I can hold down option and boot by selecting that drive. I can also put another mac into target disk mode with the T key and option boot with another machine that is hooked to it, and I can boot of the other computers Harddrive. VERY FUN.
Openfirmware is amazing, hopefully they dont change that with the new intel macs. - nuclearpenguins, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0#11.) Don't even think about playing games.
- JimGardner1973, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1BladeMelbourne: Finder climbs a great hight and ***** on the head of Explorer. Assuming, that is when you say Explorer, you mean the same Explorer which has three different shortcut keys to delete a folder and none to create one? - To name but one of a million reasons why navigating a system with Finder is easier than any other.
Spring loaded folders?
Anyway, this is a great digg. - Bitgod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow, one very obvious thing missing from this list, though maybe I'm just being old school since the new macs come with the "mighty mouse", put that one-button mouse away and plug in a multi-button USB mouse.
- liveinabin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As a long time Mac user, I think he's hit the nail on the head with this article. Those are really useful things to know for new Mac users. Of course, every new Mac user should also get themselves a copy of 'The Missing Manual' for OSX by David Pogue, I've used his book for years, and it really does have the answers to all your questions whether you're a new computer user or a switcher from Windows.
- stokestack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"Finder climbs a great hight and ***** on the head of Explorer. Assuming, that is when you say Explorer, you mean the same Explorer which has three different shortcut keys to delete a folder and none to create one?"
OK, you're WAY off base. How about the Finder that has no "up one directory level" button? Or the one that doesn't show the current path in the title bar (or anywhere else)? Or the one that, when you select a directory and then make a new one, it doesn't put the new one under the one you've selected? It puts it at the root of the volume, which quite often is off the screen; then you have to drag the newly created directory and scroll, scroll, scroll your life away until you can move it into the directory you'd selected in the first place. Now that sucks. Or how about the way you can move delete stuff to the Trash, but the Trash offers no Restore function? You have to WRITE DOWN where every file in the trash came from, and then manually DRAG them back to wherever they were buried in the file system in order to restore them.
Oh yeah, and how about if you select a directory and want to look for a file in it, so you start a search. The search inexplicably starts at the root level of your whole machine; searching the selected directory isn't even an option!
You create a new directory in Explorer by right-clicking in the right pane and saying "new folder". If that's too unintuitive for you, you should probably avoid computers. - Incognito, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0They forgot number 11
"Macs suck"
Just kidding :) - LaCamiseta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0To all you guys who say that it doesn't defrag simply because it's a journaled filesystem, you're wrong. NTFS is a journaled filesystem as well, and you have to defrag that one. And the Linux filesystems do have the ability to become extremely fragmented (I've run a multi gb database and been working on my emails on a linux laptop using ReiserFS at the same time - over 100,000 small files for the emails alone - and it does slow down noticeably after a while). Journaling simply means that you usually don't have to run fsck after an unplanned reboot/shutdown (like you used to have to run scandisk after Windows 95/98/ME would crash)
When you are idle, the os does tend to defragment the slow-growing files in a manner - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25668 - read the second bullet point. - snowdog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Mac OS X doesn't defrag all of the files.
Check out this comment at Versiontracker - http://www.versiontracker.com/php/feedback/article.php?story=20050813035603132 - LaCamiseta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Oh yeah, for more info on what a journaling filesystem actually is... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journaling_file_system
- JDub800, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I use both systesm before anyone starts the bias crap...to answer the above...
"How about the Finder that has no "up one directory level" button?"
You can easily add a 'path' button that allows you go up any levels that you wish, not only one. You can also CMD-click the title of any finder window for the same function.
"Or the one that, when you select a directory and then make a new one, it doesn't put the new one under the one you've selected?"
And not see the resultant folder? IMO, not a big deal.
"...which quite often is off the screen..."
That all depends on your file management. Doesn't do that to me.
"Or how about the way you can move delete stuff to the Trash, but the Trash offers no Restore function?"
Fair comment - Nice feature.
"Oh yeah, and how about if you select a directory and want to look for a file in it, so you start a search. The search inexplicably starts at the root level of your whole machine; searching the selected directory isn't even an option!"
Nonsense - You can filter searches to the current directory, etc. You always have been able to. You can even search for content within specific files. If you didn't know that, well... - mrkoje, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0another 10 list :(
- deepsub, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"How about the Finder that has no "up one directory level" button?"
Cmd(Apple)-UpArrow - kenjah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Explorer, Xfe, Konq, aren't useful the OS X's finder is alot cleaner
- ursabear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Escape the flames and platform warz... Recognize the article for what it is! This is a simple and useful article for Mac n00bs. Quick, short, to-the-point, and concise... Well written, too...
If one does not trust the disk optimizations of the OSX slant on things, there's DiskWizard... Otherwise, most users wouldn't think of the neat things in this article... - wired4u, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0OS 8.6 rocks, screw osx and all its shiny features
- ihate2regist, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0#12 You just wasted your money
- dancentury, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You still need to defrag if you have files larger than 30MB.
- Wilersh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0OK, you're WAY off base.
Sorry stokestack, but I think you are WAY off base here. Just so you know and avoid embarrassing yourself in the future, everything you mentioned, except the restore from trash option, is available in the Finder. I would say that for the numerous "switchers" I have helped once they see it in Finder they find it much easier than in Windows. Also the Trash does let you do an undo right away so some restore functionality is there but it doesn't have a long memory as far as I can tell. Neither interface is perfect, but having worked in both for over a decade, and teaching many new and switching users, people "get" the Finder more than the Windows option. Just experience with hundreds of users talking...
Wilersh - donkeymon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I agree with you about two things, stokestack. First, I think that if a folder is selected, a new folder should be created inside that folder, instead of at the uppermost level of the window that you are operating in. And I agree that the Trash should features a way to restore items in it to where they were before you threw them out. You can hit Undo and it will undo the move, but only if throwing the file out was the most recent thing you did.
As for your other comments, I disagree. In any window, you can right-click on the name in the title bar, and it will give you a breadcrumb list of all the enclosing directories, so you can select anywhere along the file tree. (Secret Hint - this also works in Safari!) You can also, as mentioned above, hit CMD-Up Arrow to move up one level. CMD-left and right also work as back and forward, as in a web browser. Not exactly the most well-documented features, but hardly secret or anything either.
As or searching, it's perfectly simple to search within a specific folder. Just open the folder, and press CMD-F or select Find... from the menu. Now if that's too unintuitive for you, you should probably avoid computers. - Nick_Circosta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I Like
- cmstar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0The best thing about a Mac mini is getting it for free: http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=13921027
- breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"the Finder that has no "up one directory level" button?"
apple - up arrow
"show the current path in the title bar"
apple - click title bar name
"when you select a directory and then make a new one, it doesn't put the new one under the one you've selected? It puts it at the root of the volume, which quite often is off the screen; then you have to drag the newly created directory and scroll, scroll, scroll your life away until you can move it into the directory you'd selected in the first place"
- just open the folder in a new window before creating a new folder
"the Trash offers no Restore function?"
Well I've used Macs for about a decade and I don't know if I've ever needed to restore the position of more than just the last file I trashed, in which case undo (apple - z) is the what you use. A restore to position command wouldn't be a bad command to have, but I don't think most people are missing it.
"if you select a directory and want to look for a file in it, so you start a search. The search inexplicably starts at the root level of your whole machine; searching the selected directory isn't even an option!"
- are you kidding? 1st, in my experience the find command on the Mac is so much faster than the windows find that in the time it would take you to select just the current directory in windows that the mac find would be completed. 2nd, spotlight is built right in, just start typing, it couldn't be any easier.
"You create a new directory in Explorer by right-clicking in the right pane and saying "new folder". If that's too unintuitive for you, you should probably avoid computers."
- Have you ever watched non-geeks use computers? They don't care about computers or how they work, they just want them to do what they want. Right clicking is just not very intuitive to many people even if they've used windows for years. 'People' are housewives, writers, and carwash attendants. They don't want to figure out where a command is, they just want it to work. - cptmorgan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0these are some pretty basic things. if you don't already know them, you're helpless.
- antiwmac, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0I dont get the point using Mac.
Pay $$$ and get bsd with some funny GUI thats not even a X?
Pay $$$ for all the "close-source" GUI appelets ?
no thank you. - maverick2001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For the french readers out there, a translation of this article is available here : http://eskuel.net/blog/2005/11/29/630-10-choses-que-les-nouveaux-uti
- OriginalGamer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"Pay $$$ and get bsd with some funny GUI thats not even a X"
I don't know what the hell that means, what does the X in OS X have to do with the GUI? - neutrino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The most important piece of info I learned, as a former windows user, was that ctrl + click was the way to get the right click menu. I explain that to my friends who use my PB, as it really demystifies the computer for them.
- themeparkphoto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Here's one more thing every Mac owner should know....*I* don't want to see you foam at the mouth evertime you see a Windows PC
- ScottBookG4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just convinced a coworker to buy a PowerBook yesterday and I have printed out this great list for her to use as a reference. Nice post.
- g_byte, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0breakneckridge: "Right clicking is just not very intuitive...They don't want to figure out where a command is, they just want it to work."
How is having to hit the apple key + some other key more intuitive than right-clicking? (hint: it's not)
The Windows Explorer has a folder icon with an up arrow in it. This is much more intuitive than "apple key - up arrow". Don't be foolish. - breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You are the fool. You said these capabilities did not exist on the mac. I rebutted you point by point showing that you were completely wrong on all except 1 of them. I never claimed that each and every one of the examples that YOU brought up were more intuitive on the Mac, just that they existed when you said they did not. If a person were to make a comprehensive list of everyday tasks that were easier and more intuitive on mac or windows, Windows would win on some tasks but overall the Mac would win with hands down, arms tied and eyes shut. If you want to claim that windows overall is a more intuitive os than Mac os x, then you are close minded and not even worth arguing with.
- breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Plus, you genius, we are just giving you the keyboard short cut for these commands because we, obviously incorrectly, assumed that everybody on this forum is half way computer literate. For somebody who is a beginner these commands all have menu equivalents that any new user can find. Want to rise up a folder in the directory but don't know how to get there? In the mac almost ALL commands are intelligently arrange in pull down menus. Just look in the menus and you'll quickly discover under the Go menu there is a selection "Go > Enclosing Folder" and right next to it is the key command so you can learn it at the same time if you so choose. All the "non intuitive key commands" we listed for you are all VERY intuitive as they almost all are menu items that we just listed as key commands here because it is so obvious to anybody who has honestly given the Mac os a chance which you clearly have not done without preconceived ideas. Enjoy your small pond, you must look like a very big fish when you look at you reflection.
- aldimeneira, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0dugg for future reference (when I get $2000 to $3000 to buy a graphic design 'mobile studio', or PowerBook :D )
- spectre_25gt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0>>I dont get the point using Mac.
>>Pay $$$ and get bsd with some funny GUI thats not even a X?
If I wanted X, I'd run linux. As it stands, however, I'd much rather be able to use Photoshop, OmniGraffle, iTunes and many other apps that don't run under X. Besides that, there aren't any window managers that really suit me right now while OS X works very well. - malv, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0#11 Macs probably wont give you the biggest bang for your buck given typical home user usage.
- diggnationdevon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+111. Dual-boot Windows. LONG LIVE PC GAMING!
- hibern8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Eh, shameless self promotion. You should have tried harder, the list is hardly useful and if someone doesn't know these things they are beyond help.
- PStamatiou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1... it was made FOR beginners... hence "New Mac Owner" in the title
- longofest, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Link doesn't work.
As for defrag: people, please only talk if you know what you are talking about. You are correct in pointing out that the reason for Mac being good at not fragmenting is the File System, not Unix, but it has nothing to do with the Journaled features. Journaling has to do with recovery, not fragmentation. HFS and HFS+ have defraged on the fly before journaling was added. However, as someone mentioned, it won't defrag every file. It only defrags if the file is not busy and is fragmented less than 20% or so. - hibern8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@Paul: Check your .htaccess, your site is seriously messed up at the moment.
Also, from experience, I can tell you that those are not the first WTFks that Windows users experience when they use a Mac for the first time. Countless times I see people leave all applications open since clicking the little red bubble with X on it doesn't close an application the way it does on Windows ... makes me laugh every time ;) - PStamatiou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0yeah I just upgraded servers, its all fixed now
- g_byte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0breakneckridge: "You are the fool. You said these capabilities did not exist on the mac. I rebutted you point by point showing that you were completely wrong on all except 1 of them."
Actually that was my first post, so you weren't arguing with me until now. Fool.
breakneckridge: "If you want to claim that windows overall is a more intuitive os than Mac os x, then you are close minded and not even worth arguing with."
LOL, got some proof?
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