Newbie requesting help :)

[Av8trswife]

Hi, I just bought a 12in Powerbook- It should be here Tuesday. My husband and I both said our next computer would be an Apple- He is a deployed Army pilot (Iraq);
Anyhow- We know very little about Apple, Can anyone push me towards some good websites to learn about what we just got into I have heard how amazing they are- I just don't want to feel totally ignorant when I turn it on!!
Thanks!

PBG412.1/1.33GHZ/512/80G/SD/A --Thinking that A is for the Airport...

 

[JOD8FY]

I heard that the book "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" is very good. The OS pretty self explanitory. The thing that probably most switchers don't know is that in Mac, when you hit the red "x" to close a program, it doesn't close the program, it closes the window. So make sure that you command-Q , to close the program. Here is a list of some other shortcuts:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459

When you get your PB, go into Mac Help (command- shift-question mark) and type into the search bar "Glossary" (w/o quotes). It will tell all the terms that you are familiar with in Windows, and what they are in Mac.

Other than that, if you have any questions, you can always ask here.

Best wishes to you and your husband,
JOD8FY

 

[James_C]

Apple do an add on internet based service called .Mac, This encompasses a number of useful tools, including dead easy website creation, backup utilities, .mac e-mail address, anti-virus software and lots of other stuff. What you may find useful is the learning centre, which has on line tutorials for OS X and all the iLife applications. You can subscribe for a 60 day free trial, which I think gives you access to the learning centre. The web address is http://www.mac.com. If I remember right you can only subscribe once you have your Mac.

 

[szark]

You also might find "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual" to be of some help. (Same author as the previously recommended book.)

 

[mkrishnan]

If you're pretty comfortable with Windows, this website is great for comparing how things are done on Mac and Windows...its kinda set up as a competition, but its actually much better in terms of teaching you how to do equivalent tasks.

http://www.xvsxp.com/

 

[Sparky's]

Hi, I just bought a 12in Powerbook- It should be here Tuesday. My husband and I both said our next computer would be an Apple- He is a deployed Army pilot (Iraq);
Anyhow- We know very little about Apple, Can anyone push me towards some good websites to learn about what we just got into I have heard how amazing they are- I just don't want to feel totally ignorant when I turn it on!!
Thanks!

PBG412.1/1.33GHZ/512/80G/SD/A --Thinking that A is for the Airport...

I would think you are already on one of the most infromative and helpful sites you could go to. This is a forum of over 30,000 members all of whom have a great deal to say (weather accurate or not) but at least we are here to try and help. I turn to this forum first before I go to Apple.com or other "professional" sites. The attitude of the members here is a little more relaxed and there is usually someone who has "Been there done that"
So hang in there, congrats on the move to Apple and welcome aboard

 

[Av8trswife]

Thanks a bunch- I've got a lot of reading ahead of me

 

[wdlove]

Hi, I just bought a 12in Powerbook- It should be here Tuesday. My husband and I both said our next computer would be an Apple- He is a deployed Army pilot (Iraq);
Anyhow- We know very little about Apple, Can anyone push me towards some good websites to learn about what we just got into I have heard how amazing they are- I just don't want to feel totally ignorant when I turn it on!!
Thanks!

PBG412.1/1.33GHZ/512/80G/SD/A --Thinking that A is for the Airport...

I think that you will find the PowerBook's use to be very intuitive. I'm sure that you will feel comfortable in no time.

Off topic but important none the less. Be sure to tell your husband how much I appreciate his service. Tell him, thank you and well done.

 

[Av8trswife]

I'll tell him
It means a lot to hear that!

 

[jsw]

I second wdlove's statement of thanks. I sincerely hope your husband returns shortly, and I wish you the best as well; I know it is difficult with a loved one over there.

On topic:

I would also recommend "Mac OS X Killer Tips", by Scott Kelby.

It isn't a book that will teach you how do do anything in depth, but it is an amazing book for showing you some of the cool capabilities of OS X and the included applications. It's the kind of book you can just pick up, flip to a random page, read for 30 seconds, and have some fun on your Mac with the tip you see. Some tips are phenomenally useful, others are really fun, still others are, at best, interesting - but, within the book, you'll see lots of cool things (with illustrative pictures for each tip). Approximately 500 tips - if even 100 of them help you, it's worth the cost!

 

[BakedBeans]

well i got the missing manual, then i read the first page and didnt read anymore... the best way to learn is simply to try it out.... look at eeverything and try every option, mainly in system prefs check out what everything does.... and your in the best possible place here, if there is something you dont know how to do or need advice one, just post here and you will get quick replies....there is always someone that knows the answer to you questions...and congrats on switching... it can be a be annoying at first to be away from windows...but you will soon get into the apple way of thinking.... enjoy your powerbook, there just great

AL-

 

[DJY]

mate two weeks tomorrow and still counting since my switch...
and loving it!!!!

Learn some new trick still every day - and the hardware and OS still amaze me!!!
I'm in love!
You won't regret it!

 

[Awimoway]

Honestly, you should probably just turn it on and play around with it for a while. You may not need any lengthy books. You can always ask here. Heck, you can even PM me if you ask a question that doesn't get answered.

A lot of it is fairly intuitive as long as you know the basics, like the Dock and how Finder works, where files are stored, etc. I poked around, and it looks like you can quickly learn the basics HERE by opening the short-and-to-the-point "Welcome to Mac OS X" PDF. Although it's a little dated (2 revisions of OS X have been released since then -- which you can read about in other PDF's there: "Welcome to Mac OS X 10.2" and "Welcome to Mac OS X 10.3" but it's probably not necessary), it will familiarize you sufficiently to hit the ground running.

Later, you'll have tougher questions you can ask here or get one of the recommended books for. I switched a couple years ago (right after the release of 10.2) and I remember my first tough question was about how to uninstall programs. I was used to Windows' Add/Remove Programs setup and didn't realize that on the Mac I can usually just delete the app and not worry about any tiny files it leaves behind in the Library (because, if anything, they will be a help should I ever reinstall the app). I was afraid it was a really stupid question and I would get laughed at, but everyone was very kind and informative.

I wish you the best with your computer and want to add my thanks to you and your husband for your sacrifice in the service of our country.

 

[JzzTrump22]

I think the best way to learn is getting your hands dirty and trying everything yourself. If you run into problems just come back here and post. You'll probably get an answer from anywhere between 1 minute and 1 hour, so you don't have to wait too long for a response. It helps if you read books and articles but i think the best way to learn is self exploration. You will probably learn more by reading, but it's fun to accomplish things on your own. Plus you don't have to worry too much about it crashing. Your not going to get annoying things popping up, where everytime you click something a window pops up saying "you preformed and illegal operation and the program must be shut down!" Mac is simple, easy, and fun. Just have fun with it because you really can't hurt it.