Okay, so I've had a MBA for a while and I'm upgrading to a 13" rMBP that'll be here on Tuesday. While I've become reasonably familiar with my Mac I'm no expert and I'm looking to get more out of it, to that end I have a few questions I'd appreciate input on from the assembled experts 
Backups - I have used Time Machine to a USB drive but rarely get around to plugging it in and tend to feel I'm a little exposed at times. My rMBP will have the 256Gb SSD, I plan to use a USB 3.0 drive for movies and so on but was contemplating whether to get a 64Gb or 128Gb short SD card to leave in the slot as a backup device. Is this practical? Can I selectively choose key data that I want to backup to it?
System Restore - On Windows one feature I quite like is the ability to go back to a restore point in terms of configuration, on a Mac how can I take a "snapshot" before installing or configuring something new, just in case I decide I want to unwind? Is Time Machine appropriate for this or does something like Carbon Copy Cloner have this capability?
Resolution Switcher - one reason for the rMPB switch is I really want the larger screen and resolution, I intend to swap between full native and "best for retina", what is the best menu bar utility for this? Pupil looks good but there seem to be others that are free, what do you use?
General - while I can get around my Mac fine I feel I'm missing out on some of the efficiencies, are there tutorials that any of you would recommend for learning shortcuts and gestures etc? I see things like Safari shortcuts to select then open multiple links in to tabs, I want to better navigate files and folders and get to grips with the general navigation to be more efficient.
XML - I need to be able to edit XML files and validate against an XSD, any of you have suggestions for suitable editors? I've used Eclipse which I find ok, Xmplify looks interesting, are there any (especially free) editors you'd recommend?
Any other "must have" tools and tips are welcome too of course
Chris.
Backups - I have used Time Machine to a USB drive but rarely get around to plugging it in and tend to feel I'm a little exposed at times. My rMBP will have the 256Gb SSD, I plan to use a USB 3.0 drive for movies and so on but was contemplating whether to get a 64Gb or 128Gb short SD card to leave in the slot as a backup device. Is this practical? Can I selectively choose key data that I want to backup to it?
System Restore - On Windows one feature I quite like is the ability to go back to a restore point in terms of configuration, on a Mac how can I take a "snapshot" before installing or configuring something new, just in case I decide I want to unwind? Is Time Machine appropriate for this or does something like Carbon Copy Cloner have this capability?
Resolution Switcher - one reason for the rMPB switch is I really want the larger screen and resolution, I intend to swap between full native and "best for retina", what is the best menu bar utility for this? Pupil looks good but there seem to be others that are free, what do you use?
General - while I can get around my Mac fine I feel I'm missing out on some of the efficiencies, are there tutorials that any of you would recommend for learning shortcuts and gestures etc? I see things like Safari shortcuts to select then open multiple links in to tabs, I want to better navigate files and folders and get to grips with the general navigation to be more efficient.
XML - I need to be able to edit XML files and validate against an XSD, any of you have suggestions for suitable editors? I've used Eclipse which I find ok, Xmplify looks interesting, are there any (especially free) editors you'd recommend?
Any other "must have" tools and tips are welcome too of course
Chris.
