First things to do with new macbook?

[Vantagecb]

Of course I got my new 2.4 macbook for christmas... What are the first things I should do?

I'm calibrating my battery right now, and then I want to reinstall the OS later to get rid of everything I won't use. Will I have to calibrate it again after?

And are there any ways to drain the battery faster? Do I have to stay on the macbook or can i just leave it and let it sleep?

Thanks! And Happy Holidays!

 

[Tallest Skil]

How would reinstalling what is already there get rid of what's there that you won't use?

 

[Vantagecb]

I heard reinstalling the OS allows you to not install all the extra languages I will never use.

Or is this totally wrong?

 

[mynameisraj]

I heard reinstalling the OS allows you to not install all the extra languages I will never use.

Or is this totally wrong?

Don't reinstall the OS, you'll get exactly what you started with Use Delocaliser or Trimmit to get rid of the extra languages. Unlike XP, Leopard doesn't come with bloatware.

Use AppCleaner to remove everything you don't want and also try Trimmit to trim your apps. One piece of advice - BACKUP VERY SOON because it's best to backup from the start.

I also believe the battery comes calibrated.

If you want some apps then just look around and be sure to check out today's MacHeist deal. I would advise that you get 1Password at the least. If you use iTunes get synergy, and if you like games I believe they have 3 of them. If you don't want to pay for apps there is pretty much always an alternative so I would advise that you look around

Enjoy your new MacBook! PM me if you need any other details

Happy Holidays

 

[The Samurai]

Worth pointing out at this stage that you may want to look into getting a case of some sort for this. It is a big investment, it may be worthwhile looking around to see which type of case/shield/protection looks good to you.

Speckproducts.com are one of the many companies who make cases for the Macbooks.

 

[Vantagecb]

I'm looking all over your profile and I cannot find out how to PM you.

I used Finder to look for Appcleaner and it did not find anything. Is there an equivalent to Add/Remove programs for Mac? Or do I install third party software such as Appcleaner?

And what exactly am I making a backup disc of? I already have the OS X Install DVD? When you made yours did you include other programs with it?

 

[Solemony]

Buy a case to protect your MB...You'll need it b/c you'll be sorry if your MB get any scratches or damage..

 

[Vantagecb]

Tomorrow i'll go to the apple store and pick one out - though it may be extremely crowded.

Is everyone recommending a case to put it in when just traveling or one that is always on?

 

[ebika]

I'm looking all over your profile and I cannot find out how to PM you.

I used Finder to look for Appcleaner and it did not find anything. Is there an equivalent to Add/Remove programs for Mac? Or do I install third party software such as Appcleaner?

And what exactly am I making a backup disc of? I already have the OS X Install DVD? When you made yours did you include other programs with it?

AppCleaner

 

[mattyb240]

If you want to rid of your extra languages use: Monolingual, just google it. Its free and worked well on my MBP when I got it!

There are always lots of free alternatives unless it is something specialist in which case you may have to bite the bullet and pay for something!

I would also recommend using Onyx every once and a while.

Enjoy your Mac!

 

[therealdt]

AppCleaner

What's the difference between this and Appdelete? I have Appdelete.

What other apps are good, I'm on a new Whitebook.

sorry for the hijack.

 

[Vantagecb]

What's the difference bewteen this and Appdelete? I have Appdelete.

What other apps are good, I'm on a new Whitebook.

sorry for the hijack.

it's cool. it helps me as well

 

[JG271]

VLC for playing videos and the like, either that or flip4mac for watching wmvs within quicktime.
Oh and worth calibrating the screen too.

 

[GfulDedFan]

@ Vantagecb -

Congrats on your new MacBook. It seems you have a problem letting go of how you had to treat windows based systems. Quit thinking about maintenance and start thinking about having fun with your computer. It's an excellent machine that's very inviting rather than the ones you're used to where half of the time you were using it, you had to perform mundane tasks to keep it running smoothly so that you can run more tasks to keep it running.... Kind of like a slave/host relationship. My MacBook is going on 3 years old and I don't think that I've done half the maintenance routines that you feel that you need to do right out of the box.

Chill, enjoy, and if you need help or advise post back and we'll lend a hand.

Congrats again -GDF

 

[cellocello]

@ Vantagecb -

Congrats on your new MacBook. It seems you have a problem letting go of how you had to treat windows based systems. Quit thinking about maintenance and start thinking about having fun with your computer. It's an excellent machine that's very inviting rather than the ones you're used to where half of the time you were using it, you had to perform mundane tasks to keep it running smoothly so that you can run more tasks to keep it running.... Kind of like a slave/host relationship. My MacBook is going on 3 years old and I don't think that I've done half the maintenance routines that you feel that you need to do right out of the box.

Chill, enjoy, and if you need help or advise post back and we'll lend a hand.

Congrats again -GDF

Yup. This.

I also recommend getting a sleeve. I'm not a big "hard plastic, permanent protection" kind of guy, but a nice sleek sleeve to put your MacBook in, before putting it backpack or something makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[iObama]

I'd reinstall OS X. In addition to the language removal (which can be done without reinstalling), you can also remove the multiple gigabytes of printer drivers you'll never use.

 

[ebika]

What's the difference between this and Appdelete? I have Appdelete.

What other apps are good, I'm on a new Whitebook.

sorry for the hijack.

They both do pretty much the same. In general, these apps look in the typical places for preference files and app support folders in your ~/Library folder. It is pretty easy to look in these folders manually too, but these cleaner programs automate it for you. Unless you give your admin credentials when you "install" (typically just copying an app from a dmg file to your Applications folder), applications can only store their settings and files in your home folder, of which most of it goes into ~/Library.

 

[Harmless Abuse]

Don't reinstall the OS, you'll get exactly what you started with Use Delocaliser or Trimmit to get rid of the extra languages. Unlike XP, Leopard doesn't come with bloatware.

Use AppCleaner to remove everything you don't want and also try Trimmit to trim your apps. One piece of advice - BACKUP VERY SOON because it's best to backup from the start.

I also believe the battery comes calibrated.

If you want some apps then just look around and be sure to check out today's MacHeist deal. I would advise that you get 1Password at the least. If you use iTunes get synergy, and if you like games I believe they have 3 of them. If you don't want to pay for apps there is pretty much always an alternative so I would advise that you look around

Enjoy your new MacBook! PM me if you need any other details

Happy Holidays

Windows doesn't come with bloatware... That's the manufacturer themselves.

If you were to grab a copy of XP or Vista, straight from Microsoft, it would have no bloatware.

A lot of companies, like Sony, are offering bloatware-free computers too.

 

[PeterQC]

A lot of companies, like Sony, are offering bloatware-free computers too.

But they generally offer it at a premium price/ask a fee to remove the bloat (they won't do it freely, since the bloat is actually a good way to make some money for the company).

 

[Vantagecb]

One person recommended to reinstall OS X. Anyone else? Is there a way to remove the printer drivers without reinstalling?

 

[ebika]

I'd recommend just leaving the base install as is. If you really need the space at some point, cross that bridge then.

 

[mattyb240]

One person recommended to reinstall OS X. Anyone else? Is there a way to remove the printer drivers without reinstalling?

If you are new mac user just go ahead and enjoy it for a little bit. I never thought I would need the printer drivers, until I had to use my friends 10 year old A0 plotter. To which he said "I have spent days looking for these drivers, your mac wont have them" and what do you know first time it worked!

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

^ yes there are. but it leaves stuff behind. I would say reinstall. Only takes about 30-40 minutes. Backup your data. Insert the disc, reboot, wait until you see the install starting and go grab a coffee from a local shop. Flirt with some girls/guys and come back. All done lol.

 

[skye12]

I'd leave the OS alone. Don't fix things that ain't broke.

 

[skorpien]

Being a 2.4 Alu MB, you're getting a stock 250 GB HDD with it. Are you really needing the extra space from the language packs/printer drivers? Or is it performance you're worried about? If it's the space, I say leave it be. Less hassle, and you can always install a bigger hard drive down the road. Being a new Mac user myself, I can't comment on whether performace would be affected by the extra files and drivers, but I'd imagine that it wouldn't be that much of a performance gain if they were removed.