Here's a message I sent to a couple of recent switchers!
Here's the list of os x stuff I sent Josh that I think your mom might find helpful. The website
http://www.macupdate.com is the best place to find os x software and discover cool stuff. Also, a great bunch of free starter apps can be found if you search for "Lifehacker Pack for Mac". This is a list of the best os x freeware available. The other main thing before you start installing apps is to just google how to do that. It's a bit different in os x. If it's a dmg file (be sure to turn file extensions on in the finder preferences, see below) then you have to drag the .app file contained within it (once you double click it to launch) to the applications folder and then eject the dmg volume from finder. .pkg files work like windows installs. The other main thing is to download a little freeware app called appcleaner . It's very nice. Some programs come with uninstallers. Anything huge from adobe and MS will come with such uninstalllers. Use them. If they don't have an uninstaller then drag the program to the appcleaner window and delete using this method. That way you will be sure to get rid of settings files which can because a mess. OS X doesn't have a registry file though! So, it's not as pressing a problem as in windows. The other main thing is to learn how switching applications using cmd + tab works. It's a bit different if a window is minimized. Here's brief description:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1152366/commandtabminimizedwindows.html . Never install an antivirus application on os x. It's just marketing and nonsense. There exist no os x viruses and never have. If you're worried you can download a free program from the app store that you can use to scan any files you are suspicious of. Also, avoid installing adobe reader. OS X comes with the best adobe reader in the world called Preview. So, never never install that crap. Also, if you install chrome you can avoid installing the flash plugin since chrome has it built in. Flash is the main security hole in os x along with the java plugin, which is not being better updated lately. Learn how to use finder. It's actually pretty decent. The editor built into os x called TextEdit is remarkably brilliant. It will open and allow editing of word docs, even docx, and all kinds of other file types. Remember it's not windows so don't expect stuff to suck that comes bundled. Itunes in os x is a fair bit more tolerable. Some of the stuff below is specific to my friend's needs. So ignore whatever isn't relevant.
Here's a bunch of little tips/gotchas I thought of that might make the switch over more pleasant:
--use cmd+space to launch apps from spotlight and do basic searches
--all files in finder will show most recent files at the top if you sort it that way, pretty handy
--there's an app called activity monitor for checking if something is acting weird, you can force kill processes, and there's also an app called console that logs everything happening on the system, both are in utilities
--cmd+alt+esc is like cntrl+alt+del in windows, brings up running apps list and you can force quite from here
--system preferences > users & groups > login items gives you a list of what's loading at startup in case you ever want to kill startup processes manually
--if you want to add way more gestures to the trackpad, such as deleting files, then download this bad boy:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/32953/bettertouchtool
-- get macintosh hd in finder: Right click on Application and click Open Enclosing Folder. It will open Macintosh HD folder in new window. Drag the top center icon, disc, to the left-side bar in Finder under Favorites.
--forward delete: fn+delete! probably already figured this one out
--delete without mouse and confirmation cmd+delete
--quicklook hit spacebar in finder shows what's in the file, I have an addon that will syntax highlight all files with text content, and open all text files regardless of extension. very handy (ask me about this when we meet). also there's a terminal command that will enable you to copy content from a file. very handy.
--enable crumb trail in finder (very important): go to view > show path bar: Notice you can jump to anywhere in your crumb trail by right clicking on it
--enable showing file extensions: finder > preferences > advanced > show all filename extensions
--cmd+h, for hiding an app
--cmd+m to minimize and app
--in cmd+tab you can cmd+q to quit apps on the fly
--show desktop: f11
--mission control: f3
--bring back minimized apps using cmd+tab: command tab to the app you want to bring back, release tab key, hold down alt + keep holding down cmd, and then let go of cmd while continuing to hold alt down (tricky), now it will come back
--move files with the mouse: hold down cmd just after starting to drag a file or group of files and drop before letting go of cmd will move the files (little green plus means copying files BTW)
--move files keyboard: cmd+c to copy, cmd+alt+v to move (nb the alt/option key often brings up alternatives in the menus)
--shiftit for working with windows, like win+arrow in win7:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/580418/ShiftIt-1-1.5.zip
--to access the options/preferences of most apps hit CMD+,
-- cmd+q to quit apps. hitting x doesn't kill them, just closes the window
--in finder select a bunch of files and right click to turn them into a folder (the option is in the context menu) (new folder with selection)-- cool!
--install and delete apps: 1) most apps are a dmg file. launch. drag the .app into the applications folder. remember to eject the dmg after! 2) pkg files just install like windows apps. To remove apps use appcleaner.app. it's free.
--install unarchiver from the app store. it's essential
--cmd ` for switching windows within a single program: handy
--turn on firewall in security preferences, and don't worry about virus scanners. if you think you might have downloaded something and want to check it then check out ClamXav (free on app store)
--check out nvAlt for keeping a folder of text notes on dropbox. It's very sweet.
--if you purchase anything on the app store the programs go with you never the machine in case you're curious.
--oh yeah, hitting enter when on a file never opens it (you probably experienced this): use cmd+o
--the best texteditor for the mac is sublime text, also textwrangler is good, but I don't think it's retina compatible. textmate is legendary buy has been usurped by the upstart sublime
--you can easily add or change keyboard shortcuts for most natively written apps using the keyboard preference. I can show you how to do this if you're interested.
