Advice for new Mac starters?

[bradFace]

Hello,

I've ordered my Macbook Air 2013 13inch i7/8GB/256GB Flash Storage, but still waiting for the item to be delivered.

In meantime I want to get some ideas from you guys who are advanced using macs. Wondering what should I mainly install as a mac beginner?

Like what cool / useful applications? and any other important tips

Thank you!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Hello,

I've ordered my Macbook Air 2013 13inch i7/8GB/256GB Flash Storage, but still waiting for the item to be delivered.

In meantime I want to get some ideas from you guys who are advanced using macs. Wondering what should I mainly install as a mac beginner?

Like what cool / useful applications? and any other important tips

Thank you!

It depends what you want to do with it. Here is some useful reading in the meantime https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9848667/ Care of GGJStudios

And don't forget your Mac will come with Safari, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand pre installed for starters. All solid performers.

 

[Tomorrow]

It depends what you want to do with it. Here is some useful reading in the meantime https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9848667/ Care of GGJStudios

Someone asks a question and a user responds by posting a link...to a post by GGJStudios.

So very...meta.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Someone asks a question and a user responds by posting a link...to a post by GGJStudios.

So very...meta.

Hey those links helped me when I was getting started. Just passing on the knowledge from one of the Macrumors resident guru's!

 

[ZBoater]

Step 1. Install Windows in Bootcamp.

 

[bradFace]

Step 1. Install Windows in Bootcamp.

Hahaha doing that straight away ! gamesss ! lol.

----------

It depends what you want to do with it. Here is some useful reading in the meantime https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9848667/ Care of GGJStudios

And don't forget your Mac will come with Safari, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand pre installed for starters. All solid performers.

Thanks for the link lol, Will have a read of it sometime soon

 

[jojoba]

I made the switch a couple of years ago, and mostly learned from browsing and posting on this forum, and googling stuff. There are some useful 'what are your favourite apps' threads on here, and there you'll quickly find out which apps 'everyone' mentions.

Here's one of my early thread where I got a lot of useful tips:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1295159/

 

[mpsruo]

IMO there's only two apps necessary for an out of the box mac to work perfectly, and that's:

https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/bettersnaptool/id417375580?mt=12

and chrome

 

[PraisiX-windows]

If you come from Windows I'd install BetterTouchTool - it is free and gives you the window snapping you know from Windows 7.

- also I'd put bottom right as a hot corner and have it show the desktop - that you would know from Windows 7 too.
- and remember it is cmd + c and cmd + v in mac, not ctrl + c and ctrl + v x) - I was freaking out the first time I had to copy paste on my mac, lol.

 

[bradFace]

If you come from Windows I'd install BetterTouchTool - it is free and gives you the window snapping you know from Windows 7.

- also I'd put bottom right as a hot corner and have it show the desktop - that you would know from Windows 7 too.
- and remember it is cmd + c and cmd + v in mac, not ctrl + c and ctrl + v x) - I was freaking out the first time I had to copy paste on my mac, lol.

Cheers, yeah im coming from windows. Dreading to learn new shortcuts lol so use to the windows ones.

One thing that is bugging me, NTFS works with windows but not with mac's right?

How do you transfer files onto a fat32 usb stick over 4GB?

Thanks !

 

[GGJstudios]

Cheers, yeah im coming from windows. Dreading to learn new shortcuts lol so use to the windows ones.

One thing that is bugging me, NTFS works with windows but not with mac's right?

How do you transfer files onto a fat32 usb stick over 4GB?

Thanks !

OS X can read NTFS natively, but not write. Here's what you need to know about drive formats:

Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder) Choose the appropriate format: HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac OS X system files. [*]To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive [*]To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB
• Mac OS X: Mac OS Extended format (HFS Plus) volume and file limits
• You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
  • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
  • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
  • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
  • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB
• You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

exFAT (FAT64)

• Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
• Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
• exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
• Maximum file size: 16 EiB
• Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
• You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X. [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB
• You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.

 

[DGPMaluco]

Paragon NTFS so you can read and write in NTFS