Another newbie question...

[twomiracles]

being totally new to Mac, I don't know a thing about the software out there and even when looking at the threads here, there are still lots of choices. On my PC, I was hesitant to install a program because I always thought I was cluttering up my machine. Do I need to worry about this with my Mac? I mean, if I try a couple, can I uninstall the one I don't want (ftp clients, for example)? If I do, is it clean or does it leave some residual stuff I don't want?

Thanks!

 

[rdowns]

Uninstalling apps is as easy as dragging them to the trash. May leave a preference file or two behind but nothing to be concerned about. Install and experiemnt away and say goodbye to borked registries.

 

[mkrishnan]

There are two versions of the answer, and two major options:

Version 1: Will the "residual" stuff interfere with running other programs? There are residual files (they're located either in the library folder in your home directory or the one in the root of the hard drive for almost all apps). If this is the worry, then this is much less of an issue in OS X than in Windows. They very rarely interfere with anything. Don't worry about it. You can just drag an app from the applications folder to the trash and forget about it.

Version 2: If you are concerned more from an OCD 😉 standpoint or because you are using up drive space with those residual files, yes, there are residual files, and if you use a program such as AppZapper, you can get rid of those residual files when you do the uninstall. It will hunt for them, review with you what they are and where they are, and give you the option to get rid of them.

Most of the time, AppZapper is a big waste of time, in my opinion. 😱

 

[twomiracles]

I think version 1 covers me. As soon as I get my stuff off of it, my PC is going to the shop to be "cleaned up", so I am trained to put as little on it as possible for fear of dragging it down. So now I'm off to find some fun stuff to try out on my Mac!

Thanks to both of you!