Windows to Mac conversion tips

[Rik]

I thought it would be a good idea to start building a guide to the conversion process for the increasing numbers who are making the switch, so if you can contribute, please do.

Things like the different mice, what software is built in to the OS, what you recommend adding. Hints, tips etc.

Over to you, guys.

[Tacitus]

Actually there is a book on this:  Switching to the Mac by David Pogue.

Pretty much any mouse will work with basic functionality out of the box - left/right and scroll.  The multi-button mice can be problematic but there is always USB Overdrive which will cover most of these as well as some game controllers.  It's about £15 and you can try before you buy and, uninstall if it doesn't do what you want. 

Keyboard layout is slightly different but you simply have to get used to that.  Never used a PC keyboard on a Mac, but I have an idea there are programs that will map the keys for you.  Someone else could probably answer that.  Otherwise MS supply drivers for (some of) their keyboards as do Logitech.

The only other tip I would give is that switchers should not try doing things 'like you do on Windows'.  Think what would be the logical thing to do and do it.  99% of the time the obvious way will work - in fact it will be so obvious, you'll wonder why other systems don't do the same.....   

[Gary]

Good I idea, Rik   One of the first things to do is not treat it like a windows machine, but there are similarities.

Finder is your Windows explorer it offers views of your home folder where your folders are kept, and much more, its Icon driven in places but you can change the views easily, have a nose about inside, see how it all works.

One thing I noticed was that when i deleted a picture the others did not snap into place, like in windows, you were left with a gap. If you double click on a folder and then the menu bar at the top of your screen and go to view, select show view options, you can select how you want things to be laid out, I chose for some folders by name, after this things snap into place in order as you add and subtract from that folder. You can change how each folder behaves individually. Also you can make sure your apps minimise into there icon if you want, farther than having loads of thumbnails cluttering your dock, by clicking on the Dock icon in Finder and selecting minimise windows into application icon.

Security wise turn your firewall on, its off by default, things like this are in your system preferences , click the apple icon in your menu bar then system preferences. then security. Also change the guest account if you do not use it, I disabled mine, and stopped auto login, so I have to be asked a password.

[Rik]

Thanks, guys, this is the sort of information we want to build up to help people in making the change.

[john]

The only other tip I would give is that switchers should not try doing things 'like you do on Windows'.  Think what would be the logical thing to do and do it.  99% of the time the obvious way will work - in fact it will be so obvious, you'll wonder why other systems don't do the same.....   

To be honest (without the usual attempts at trying to promote one OS over another that we tend to indulge in  ) that's how I find MS Windows. Maybe it's because I've been using it so long that when I want to do anything on it even if it's not something I've done before, it usally works in the way I expected it to do.

Maybe what we consider to be logical is simply what we're used to.

[Gary]

To be honest (without the usual attempts at trying to promote one OS over another that we tend to indulge in  ) that's how I find MS Windows. Maybe it's because I've been using it so long that when I want to do anything on it even if it's not something I've done before, it usally works in the way I expected it to do.

Maybe what we consider to be logical is simply what we're used to.

Is it possible (no offence) to not have comments like this in this section, its only going to start a platform issue again, posts should be limited to changing over and what's different, rather than this type of comment, which is just not helping in any way, the same should be said for people posting with Macs, no bashing other Operating systems please as it will just ruin things yet again.

[Rik]

I have to side with Gary, here, John. This thread isn't meant to discuss the relative merits of the systems, but assemble hints and tips for those considering the move, or those who have made it.

[Gary]

With my iMac I noticed that Java Runtime is not listed in the Java site, its a special version that is updated by Apple, once again this come down with the software updater or you can go to http://www.apple.com/uk/downloads/ and look in the available downloads there, including apps you may want for your machine.

[Tacitus]

......Maybe it's because I've been using it so long that when I want to do anything on it even if it's not something I've done before, it usally works in the way I expected it to do.

Maybe what we consider to be logical is simply what we're used to.

I use both on a daily basis - Windows at work and a Mac at home.  I've used Windows since the very early days and still find the Mac much more intuitive, although to be fair I've used both for so long I do things without noticing on both platforms.

The key point is that Switchers should not try to carry over the Windows way of doing things.

[Rik]

Thanks, Bob. 

[lozcart]

To Quit a application in Mac OS go to File>Quit or on keyboard "command and Q" if you just close the window as on a PC the  Application still stays open and can hog memory.

On a Mac don't be afraid to explore and see what various applications, settings and menu items do, it is very unlikely you will upset anything as the OS will warn you if you attempt to do anything stupid.

[Rik]

 

[Gary]

If your machine is behaving oddly you can reset retain parameter RAM (PRAM) by turning off your Mac and holding down alt cmd and P and R just after it fires up, keep holding them down till you hear the start up sounds a second time then release them, you will have to reset your brightness and the default volume your Mac boots into, but that should cure many ills with misbehaving apps

[Sebby]

Actually there is a book on this:  Switching to the Mac by David Pogue.

Excellent book, well worth a read whilst waiting for your Mac.

Maybe what we consider to be logical is simply what we're used to.

Yes, I would say it's definitely that. Windows is certainly not more intuitive, but because you're so used to it, you try to compare things.

[lozcart]

If a application hangs or doesn't respond hold down "command, option and escape" keys and release, this will bring up a force quit window which lets you select the suspect application and force quit it, therefore not affecting any other applications you may have open.

If you highlight a word in most applications and hold down control key and click the mouse (or trackpad) you get up a menu which gives you many options, some of which I find useful are "search in spotlight", "search in google","look up in dictionary" and "spelling and grammar"

[lozcart]

Fresh out out the box your new Mac will have the following software pre installed.

Mac OS X operating system currently Snow Leopard also known as MacOS 10.6. When you connect to the internet you will probably be offered some software updates to take this to currently 10.6.2.

Safari, internet browser.

Mail, e-mail application.

Address Book, contact information application.

iPhoto, photo storage and manipulation software, this will open when you connect your camera.

iMovie, video editing software, will download camcorder footage.

iWeb, simple web site building application.

Garageband, for music making and editing.

iTunes, say no more!!

Photo Booth, application that uses the built in web camera, it has some photo effects.

Time Machine, backup software.

iChat, social networking application.

Quicktime, video player.

iCal, calendar and diary software.

iDVD, DVD burning software that lets you create your own DVDs.

DVD Player, DVD player!!

Front Row, lets you access your music, films, movie trawlers via a different interface.

Preview, PDF viewer.

Boot Camp, allows Windows to be booted from the hard drive by partitioning the hard drive.

and Dictionary, Font Book, Image Capture, iSync, Dashboard and Stickies.

[Rik]

[Tacitus]

When doing the initial setup of your new Mac, it will ask you for a name and password to set up the machine. 

Subsequently when you start up the machine this will be your main account.  This account will have administrative privileges.  In order to add another layer of security you should create another account as follows:

System Preferences -> System -> Accounts.  Click on the *+* at the bottom left and create a new account.  This should be a Standard account and will be your main account for day to day use.  You will need to give this a new user name and a different password.

The advantage of this method is that in the unlikely event of you being hacked, any damage is restricted to this account and the main administrative account is protected.  When working in this user account, nothing should need to ask for your administrative name and password unless it is something you are deliberately installing.  Anything that does unexpectedly ask for it, should be viewed with the utmost suspicion. 

Generally when installing new software I login to the admin account and do it from there.

Another security tip which may already have been mentioned is Safari -> Preferences -> general and uncheck "Open safe files after downloading".  This stops downloaded files opening automatically, before you have had a change to check exactly what they are. 

The latter tip is less necessary if you have followed the user account route, since any malware contained in a downloaded file will need your admin name and password in order to install - something which should arouse your suspicion. 

Note, that if you download pirate software from a torrent site, this may contain a trojan.  When installing the software it will naturally ask for your admin password in order to install as, in this case you would be expecting.  At the same time it will also install the trojan and you will be up the creek.  No system can prevent this sort of attack.  Moral, don't download from torrent sites 

There are other ways of doing the initial setup to achieve the same end - the above is just the way that I've always done it 

[Rik]

Thanks, Tac. 

[Gary]

I agree with Tacticus about the Safari download thing, but since I am the only user of my Mac I use Admin. Running as root would be bad. Running as admin is normal. OS X is designed to have an administrator user running as the regular setup. Standard users are those who need to be managed or cannot be trusted to install software or change settings, not to provide additional security from malware etc. That's a function of the permissions system, which actually has little to do with who the active user is, at least in that regard, but what ever makes you feel safe is best.

[Tacitus]

I agree with Tacticus about the Safari download thing, but since I am the only user of my Mac I use Admin. Running as root would be bad. Running as admin is normal. OS X is designed to have an administrator user running as the regular setup. Standard users are those who need to be managed or cannot be trusted to install software or change settings, not to provide additional security from malware etc. That's a function of the permissions system, which actually has little to do with who the active user is, at least in that regard, but what ever makes you feel safe is best.

I agree up to a point.  Whilst you can run as admin which explicitly is not root, (note that you can enable a password for root if you really, really want to) most of those who this thread is aimed at will be completely new to Macs and most likely will not have the knowledge and experience to appreciate the differences.  In any event they may well have multiple users which could include teenagers who will like to experiment.   

We could probably have a long discussion outside the scope of this thread about Unix permissions, root, admin and the use of sudo, but I'm trying to keep this aimed at the more or less complete newbie and, for them I still think it better to have separate accounts.   

Cue someone to explain the use of "parental controls".

[Gary]

Cue someone to explain the use of "parental controls".

[somanyholes]

Subsequently when you start up the machine this will be your main account.  This account will have administrative privileges.  In order to add another layer of security you should create another account as follows:

It's been quite interesting for me to read through this thread. I haven't touched a mac for a long time. Very briefly looked at os x , previously played around with os7 and os8 a bit thats about it.

i read something recently that stated that 90% of mac users run as the admin account which was interesting to me, now why does that sound so familiar I suppose at least it's not root. keep up the posts.

[bobleslie]

As you are now using a network-based secure *.nix system, you may like to review your use of passwords.

Here is a guide to strong passwords.

Pity to spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

[Tacitus]

OK Gary, I'll bite 

If you have children, one of the advantages of being able to setup several accounts on the Mac is that each child may have his/her own Standard (=not admin) account on the machine.   Apple provides a set of Parental Controls that gives parents pretty much complete control of each user.  Using them you can set which applications are allowed for each user, apply content filters, time limits as well as only allowing certain emails and chat buddies.  The administrator (Parent) can also apply a simplified Finder - the main screen that you see when you logon - and conceal much of what is loaded on the machine.

Parental controls can be opened from a remote Mac on the same Network - probably a bit advanced for this introduction. 

Go to SYSTEM PREFERENCES -> SYSTEM -> PARENTAL CONTROLS.

Select an account and then ENABLE PARENTAL CONTROLS.  This will take you to the main Parental Control admin window.

The controls come under the main headings of:  System, Content, Mail & iChat, Time limits and a section for inspecting usage logs.

System: This allows you to select Simple Finder and restrict the user's view of the system.

Content (applies to the system dictionary and Safari):  The user dictionary - sadly the New Oxford American Dictionary - comes with a (more or less) complete set of swear words.  Most teenagers probably hear much worse in the playground, but you can turn on 'Hide Profanity in Dictionary' to hide the naughty words.  As regards the Web you can restrict access to sites either by means of a filter or by setting up a whitelist.

Mail & iChat: Allows you to set up a list of addresses of people you are happy for your little prodigies to email and chat to.  Note that iChat uses the AIM protocols and not MSN so millions of AOL users may be available to chat.  MSN Messenger does exist for Macs but it's a poor thing compared to the Windows version.  The free aMSN (an open source knockoff) is available here and allows for use of video and audio chat via MSN.

Time Limits:  Restrict use of the account to certain times

Logs:  This is Big Daddy central - the teenager's nightmare come true. It gives a complete rundown of which sites have been visited, any iChat usage as well as email logs. 

[Tacitus]

You can also use the free (Donations welcome), RandomPassword 2.0 to generate random passwords with Upper/Lowercase, numbers and symbols.

Available here.

There's a Windows version on the same site.