Just bought a new MBA - curious what the experienced Mac Users did upon opening/setup

SHS74 · Jan 31, 2011

Hi all - just bought a new MBA, maxed out model. This is my first mac, btw.

I'm curious what some of of you who are more experienced with Mac's have done upon starting up and getting go: battery drain (is this even needed?), program installation or de-installations, anything else?

I'd like to ensure I am getting the most from this machine, and thought some of you might have some tips or tricks that you have always done after buying one of these.

Thanks! I look forward to reading and hearing more from many of you as I use the MBA more.

mattydee87 · Jan 31, 2011

SHS74 said:
Hi all - just bought a new MBA, maxed out model. This is my first mac, btw.

I'm curious what some of of you who are more experienced with Mac's have done upon starting up and getting go: battery drain (is this even needed?), program installation or de-installations, anything else?

I'd like to ensure I am getting the most from this machine, and thought some of you might have some tips or tricks that you have always done after buying one of these.

Thanks! I look forward to reading and hearing more from many of you as I use the MBA more.

Congrats on the new Mac! I haven't received mine yet, but hopefully this week. The first thing I plan on doing is re-installing everything without rubbish such as printer drivers to keep the install as lean as possible and then get rid of languages I do not need and PowerPC code.

Applepi · Jan 31, 2011

Just purchased my first Air a few days ago and I took care of a couple things right off the bat.

- I did drain the battery just to be safe
- ran Monolingual to remove drivers, languages, code that was wasting precious space
- Enjoyed it more than any Mac I've ever owned

Congrats on the purchase, you will not regret it.

ebd.i.am · Jan 31, 2011

Applepi said:
- ran Monolingual to remove drivers, languages, code that was wasting precious space

Monolingual will removes drivers too?

mattydee87 · Jan 31, 2011

ebd.i.am said:
Monolingual will removes drivers too?

I don't think so no

talmy · Jan 31, 2011

Unlike PCs I used to buy, the Mac can be just "charge up and go". I bought an Air for my wife for Christmas. After the initial setup the Mac steps you through I added the printer, set up her email account, turned on Time Machine, and installed her application software. Nothing got removed.

You'll probably want to install Flash. But applications depend on what you are intending to use it for. No need for anti-virus or maintenance programs.

logandzwon · Jan 31, 2011

talmy said:
Unlike PCs I used to buy, the Mac can be just "charge up and go". I bought an Air for my wife for Christmas. After the initial setup the Mac steps you through I added the printer, set up her email account, turned on Time Machine, and installed her application software. Nothing got removed.

You'll probably want to install Flash. But applications depend on what you are intending to use it for. No need for anti-virus or maintenance programs.

If you want my suggestions, I agree with this.

As for what I actually did, I reinstalled off the bat and only added those things I wanted. No garageband, no iMovie, no extra languages, etc...

BeyondtheTech · Jan 31, 2011

Used Monolingual, great for removing unwanted PowerPC binaries and languages
Installed Clusters, great for compressing apps and files
Installed Hidden app, great for tracking in case of theft
Added System Firmware password to prevent booting up to other devices

The Samurai · Jan 31, 2011

Done a few high fives and a few star jumps when I got mines

- Enabled spaces
- Enabled 'hot corners'
- Installed Face time
- Download iWork from the Mac App Store

Then sit back and relaxed

SammySlim · Jan 31, 2011

Um, let's see ... what did I do? I opened it up, plugged it in, and turned it on. That's it! Oh, and installed Flash. Honestly, that's it. I have worked with computers for over 30 years, going back to the old BASIC/Fortran, IBM 29 punch cards and Intell 8086 days and have tweaked computers with the best of them. Yes, you can tweak any Mac and remove binaries, etc., but the truth is that, unless messing with things is your hobby, all you really need to do is just turn it on and go. No need for anything else. That's the beauty of it!

I love my 11" 2010 MBA - enjoy your new Mac!

Cheers!

fs454 · Jan 31, 2011

Spaces is a must, and i'd also say CoolBook is essential as well. Extra 45 mins of battery life is great. monolingual saves lots of space on unused language packs, and XSlimmer trims out the unneeded PPC binaries from apps (Saved me 1.3GB).

I also got Slink, which is a quick, integrated tunnel to my home network which enables me to access all files on my Mac Pro as well as my iTunes library without having to store it on the MBA.

Good stuff.

makinao · Jan 31, 2011

mattydee87 said:
Congrats on the new Mac! I haven't received mine yet, but hopefully this week. The first thing I plan on doing is re-installing everything without rubbish such as printer drivers to keep the install as lean as possible and then get rid of languages I do not need and PowerPC code.

AFAIK, there is no more PowerPC code in Snow Leopard.

fs454 · Jan 31, 2011

makinao said:
AFAIK, there is no more PowerPC code in Snow Leopard.

SL doesn't have any PPC code in the OS anymore, but lots of applications still do. XSlimmer just removed 1.3GB from my applications. Final Cut is still PPC compatible and contained a bunch of code that was removed. It's worth running to see how much data can be stripped, which it lets you do before committing to it.

SHS74 · Jan 31, 2011

Wow, really great info here. Thank you kindly to those who replied - your patience and insight is more appreciated than you might know.

I saw Monolingual a few times - is that an app, or a free program, or?

And regarding the removal of GarageBand - once removed, would one have to purchase it to use it, if I wanted it back on?

Lastly - how does Time Machine work? I saw that I still need to flip the ON switch for it, but should I hook up an external drive to back everything on to, or?

* If there are active threads or posts that answer these questions, please feel free to let me know.

For the record, as a marketing exec who is using a Thinkpad (the Sherman Tank/Honda Accord of business laptops), this thing has already inspired some envy from co-workers and friends. It is an impressive machine, in every way possible thus far.

For those wondering about which to buy:
- I use this for DJ'ing (Serato Scratch Live); websurfing, and photo/music stuff
- This is a perfect primary laptop, and has replaced my desktop PC
- It is good for those who have to carry a work computer with them everywhere
- MBP just had too much on it for me
- This is really is a perfect hybrid of the iPad and a laptop computer (IMHO)

topmounter · Jan 31, 2011

The little USB dongle in the box should have all the pre-installed software on it.

If this is your first experience with OS X, then definitely plan on some "getting up to speed with OS X" time.

Chris-MBA · Jan 31, 2011

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks guys, I never heard of Monolingual & I just downloaded it. Ran it & found it saved me 1.6GB worth of free space back on my MBA. I've only had it a week now but I have found volumes of knowledge just browsing around this site...

Thanks again -

Chris

torbjoern · Jan 31, 2011

I transferred all the files, settings and applications from my old Mac using a Time Machine backup.

Bakari45 · Jan 31, 2011

Applepi said:
J
- ran Monolingual to remove drivers, languages, code that was wasting precious space
.

Thanks for reminding me of this. It me back nearly 2 gigs of space.

OP, congrats on your new Air. Youre gonna really like working on it.

DarwinOSX · Feb 1, 2011

Don't use apps like Coolbook unless you are OK with possibly damaging your laptop.
Remove printer drivers.
Remove languages.
You can use Pacifist to reinstall Garageband if you need to instead of reinstalling all apps.
Charge it fully then drain the battery fully, Do this every couple months.
Install Flash then install Click to Flash so you only have Flash when you want it. Flash is a resource pig.
When you plug an external drive in a box should pop up asking if you want that to be your Time Machine drive.
Onyx is good for keeping your OS in shape.
Clean my Mac will get rid of things you don't need.
Coconut battery is handy for keeping tabs on your battery.
TextWrangler is a good text editor.
Bean is a good basic word processor.
Most of these apps are free.

El Burro · Feb 1, 2011

Nothing special. Turned it on, watched some porn, downloaded some games, then took a dump.

johannnn · Feb 1, 2011

DarwinOSX said:
Don't use apps like Coolbook unless you are OK with possibly damaging your laptop.

Please stop spread FUD.
It's even more weird when you then suggest to install apps like Onyx that can damage your system far more than Coolbook can damage your laptop.

GGJstudios · Feb 1, 2011

SHS74 said:
Hi all - just bought a new MBA, maxed out model. This is my first mac, btw.

I'm curious what some of of you who are more experienced with Mac's have done upon starting up and getting go: battery drain (is this even needed?), program installation or de-installations, anything else?

I'd like to ensure I am getting the most from this machine, and thought some of you might have some tips or tricks that you have always done after buying one of these.

Thanks! I look forward to reading and hearing more from many of you as I use the MBA more.

Congrats on your new Mac! Here are some resources you may find helpful:

Helpful Information for Any Mac User
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ
Mac Virus/Malware Info
Best way to FULLY DELETE a program

C64 · Feb 1, 2011

I always make a list of everything I install / change in the system files manually, from the moment I got it. It's always useful to know later on what it was I changed at a certain point.

Jman14 · Feb 1, 2011

Congrats on your purchase! I haven't received my MBA yet, but I assume this will be much like my previous Mac purchases.... DROOLING!

bowlerman625 · Feb 1, 2011

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Enjoy!

The MBA is great!

Just bought a new MBA - curious what the experienced Mac Users did upon opening/setup

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