About to become a first time mac owner but need some advice.

[hovitos-way]

Hi there.

I am looking to buy a new MBP on wednesday. I am hoping they announce and release an update tommorow at MWSF. However, I can't pick one up until Wednesday. If I call the store tomorrow (IF they do actually announce and release it tomorrow) will I be able to get them to keep one aside for me.

Also, to get my student discount, will taking my Student ID suffice?

Also, in my university dorms they require me to install Symantec AV on the system in order to connect to their network. Is there a way to get round this. I heard that with the Intel Macs, AV isn't really needed and it will slow down the system too.

Finally...is there anything I should know/do as a first time Mac user?

Thanks!

 

[killmoms]

Hi there.

I am looking to buy a new MBP on wednesday. I am hoping they announce and release an update tommorow at MWSF. However, I can't pick one up until Wednesday. If I call the store tomorrow (IF they do actually announce and release it tomorrow) will I be able to get them to keep one aside for me.

Also, to get my student discount, will taking my Student ID suffice?

Also, in my university dorms they require me to install Symantec AV on the system in order to connect to their network. Is there a way to get round this. I heard that with the Intel Macs, AV isn't really needed and it will slow down the system too.

Finally...is there anything I should know/do as a first time Mac user?

Thanks!

Apple Stores don't reserve merchandise—it's first-come first-served only. Also, it's doubtful that any really new products announced tomorrow will be in the stores the same day.

As for your student discount, your student ID should work—though I've found it's just easier to order online.

I can't give you a definitive answer on your university network, but often that sort of thing is targeted at PCs. It's likely you won't have to do ANYTHING on your Mac with regards to that.

As for things you should know/do as a first-time Mac user... just don't expect OS X to behave like Windows. Some things are just different: things like not maximizing app windows, the close button not quitting apps, the menu bar being at the top of the screen, etc. These are things you just have to get used to. Also, you will probably have to branch out and try new software in cases where there are Mac-only equivalents that work better than ported apps (or where there are no ported apps from Windows).

 

[hovitos-way]

Apple Stores don't reserve merchandise—it's first-come first-served only. Also, it's doubtful that any really new products announced tomorrow will be in the stores the same day.

Shame about that. Was really looking forward to Wednesday...espescially as I have wednesdays off

As for your student discount, your student ID should work—though I've found it's just easier to order online.

If I do order a MBP online, how long does it take to arrive. Weeks or months. Also, I live in dorms, so I'm not too sure if its safe to get it delivered here.

I can't give you a definitive answer on your university network, but often that sort of thing is targeted at PCs. It's likely you won't have to do ANYTHING on your Mac with regards to that.

unfortunately I think I may need to install something:

"Anti-Virus, Firewalls and Intrusion Detection
All Windows or Macintosh Computing Systems should have anti-virus software installed. Anti-virus software for Windows- and MacOS-based Computing Systems is available at no charge"

As for things you should know/do as a first-time Mac user... just don't expect OS X to behave like Windows. Some things are just different: things like not maximizing app windows, the close button not quitting apps, the menu bar being at the top of the screen, etc. These are things you just have to get used to. Also, you will probably have to branch out and try new software in cases where there are Mac-only equivalents that work better than ported apps (or where there are no ported apps from Windows).

I've been trying to use macs as much as I can (friends, cousins..whoever) whenever I can. Will I need to get any software when I get my mac...I.E, are there any essential Apps I'll need?


Thanks!!!

 

[neonblue2]

Regarding the antivirus just install ClamXav. It's a free AV app based on the open source ClamAV engine. It has a sentry tool that only scans the areas you want it to and doesn't have to be on at all.

Either that or use that fake AV shell script someone around here made. DNT-AV I think it was called.

 

[Andrmgic]

Any machine with a core2 processor should have cycles to spare unless you're doing heavy encoding, I doubt an AV program is going to slow you down much.
Best to comply with your school's IT policies and get the AV software, at least they aren't charging you anything for it.

 

[hovitos-way]

Regarding the antivirus just install ClamXav. It's a free AV app based on the open source ClamAV engine. It has a sentry tool that only scans the areas you want it to and doesn't have to be on at all.

Either that or use that fake AV shell script someone around here made. DNT-AV I think it was called.

I think I'm gonna try that DNT-AV out. cheers for the advice. But if it doesn't work, then I think I'll get BootCamp installed and stik a windows partition on, install the AV. Register my MAC address of my MBP onto their network and be sorted and uninstall the Norton AV. I don't really want to install Norton onto OSX (or windows either if I had it my way) as it is a horrible piece of software which causes more trouble than it solves.

Thanks for the advice though

 

[hovitos-way]

One Other Thing

One other question...

When I buy my MBP, shall I get the Apple upgrade on the RAM and the Hard Disk? Or will it probably be cheaper to do these myself at a later date. Also, how much HDD space does Time Machine generally use up on an external HDD?

Thanks