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Anyone around to help a newbie? (New user questions)

P

patchouli

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 20, 2010
74
0
Ontario Canada
Received my first Mac in the mail today.. (well, got delivered)..
For now I have a couple of burning questions.. if anyone is around to help out a beginner?

Q#1
When I turned it on.. it immediately connected to the net.. but I'm not sure to 'whose' net.. (a neighbor perhaps, who doesn't have any security settings set up??)
I have a linksys router which is set to only allow listed items access..
I changed the router settings to add the new mac..
I turned some things off and on..
Did some diagnostics on the mac.. it says everything's fine..
I connected to my own router.. but can't access the net any more..
Therefore, I don't think I'm really connected?
Either that or the location I put the Mac is too far away from the router? Does anyone know how far away it can be? It's about 20 feet away then a left turn and about 5 feet away.. is that too far?
If that is the case, then how could I possibly be accessing a neighbor's internet??

Q#2:
When I'm connected to the unknown internet connection and I am using 'safari'.. and I press the '+' to maximize the screen... it remains in a square about half the size of the screen.. will safari not maximize to the full screen size?

Q#3:
Is there no ability to open multiple instances of safari? I have looked around and cannot find where to open another browser.. what am I doing wrong??

Q#4:
So far.. I'm finding things are pretty slow from what I am used to.. and I'm using an antique PC here folks.. so it could be that whoever's internet connection I'm connected to has a very slow connection.. ?? I guess I won't be able to see what's what until I'm up and running.. but a Mac IS supposed to be faster than a PC, correct??

Thanks to anyone who can take the time to assist a newbie in the transition to Mac from PC!
 
Q1: Without more information its not possible to give any meaningful answer to this. Are you connecting to your router wirelessly? If you are, what is your router's SSID? What does the Network Preferences show?

Q2: This behavior is correct. To cover the full screen you have to manually enlarge the window. Consider Chrome or Firefox instead, for a more consistent experience across platforms.

Q3: To open another Safari window press Command+N.

Q4: There could be many reasons why your computer is slow. Maybe you have a older CPU, or insufficient RAM. Maybe something is defective with your mainboard. You should post your model number or details from "About this mac".

I would disagree with anyone saying that a Mac is faster than a PC.
 
Q1. Not sure to be honest, sorry?!

Q2. Answered above, but what you need to do is have a slight culture change, I presume your mac has more screen than you're used to, so while on ac maximising the windows is the right thing to do, it's just not necessary on the mac, just have it big enough so you can see the info in the browser. Then you can easily see things running behind, e.g. Have the minimised iTunes player going, or sky sports live running at the side of it.

Q3. Answered above, command + Twill also add a new tab in safari rather than a new window

Q4. As mentioned above, we don't know which mac you're using so can't say much. Personally my iMac 21.5 i3 is lightning fast compared to my previous vista laptop even though the specs aren't much better in reality. I can comfortably run Photoshop, illustrator, iTunes and safari with absolutely no loss in performance.

One more thing I will say, if you want a computer that runs and acts like windows; buy a windows PC. If you want your mac to run like a pc then you've kind of missed the point and won't get the full benefit and enjoyment of what I feel is a superior OS..having said that, try the hyper dock app that will give you the nice windows app preview...the only thing I've missed on the mac :D
 
Thanks

Thanks for the responses!
-21.5 Intel i5 3.6GHz 4GB Ram

-trying to connect wirelessly to router in other side of house; sometimes it can 'see' my router, and sometimes it can't. sometimes it says it is connected to my router, but i can't surf.. i am using the 'unknown' connection right now and using my mac.. slow connection, bad neighbor needs to get better internet!

-i'm perfectly prepared for a culture change.. and thanks for helping me through it!

-newbie dumb Q but how do I manually enlarge the browser.. the way i am used to doing it isn't working (by dragging it larger with the mouse)

-thanks for the info on how to make a second browser screen!
 
GGJstudios said:
Searching the forum with MRoogle will usually find answers to most of your questions.
This was found by searching for "end key":

Helpful Information for Any Mac User
Click to expand...

Sorry, yes, I was being lazy.
Watch this:

GGJstudios said:
Searching the forum with MRoogle will usually find answers to most of your questions.
This was found by searching for "end key":
Click to expand...

I can now copy, cut and paste, AND find 'end' and 'home'.. Yay! Lesson One.. Passed!

Can you tell I'm so excited about my new Mac?????!!!!
 
Last edited:
-newbie dumb Q but how do I manually enlarge the browser.. the way i am used to doing it isn't working (by dragging it larger with the mouse)

You do drag it larger with the mouse, but only from the bottom right corner on a Mac
 
patchouli said:
Can you tell I'm so excited about my new Mac?????!!!!
Click to expand...
Congratulations on your new Mac! Be sure to read the Helpful Info link I posted. It will go a long way in answering your basic questions. There's a wealth of information there.
Koronis said:
You do drag it larger with the mouse, but only from the bottom right corner on a Mac
Click to expand...
Unlike Windows, you can only drag and resize windows in Mac OS X by using the bottom right corner. Also, the green button in the upper left corner is not a maximize button, like Windows, that will fill the screen. Instead, it adjusts to a size designed to accommodate the contents of the window. There is no native method in Mac OS X to Windows-style maximize a window.
 
Koronis said:
-newbie dumb Q but how do I manually enlarge the browser.. the way i am used to doing it isn't working (by dragging it larger with the mouse)

You do drag it larger with the mouse, but only from the bottom right corner on a Mac
Click to expand...

Thanks! I was looking for the bottom right corner of the mouse.. but I see what you mean now, thanks!
 
GGJstudios said:
Congratulations on your new Mac! Be sure to read the Helpful Info link I posted. It will go a long way in answering your basic questions. There's a wealth of information there.

Unlike Windows, you can only drag and resize windows in Mac OS X by using the bottom right corner. Also, the green button in the upper left corner is not a maximize button, like Windows, that will fill the screen. Instead, it adjusts to a size designed to accommodate the contents of the window. There is no native method in Mac OS X to Windows-style maximize a window.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I bookmarked that link and will study it.
 
Re Q3: In addition to the tips folks have given about opening new tabs and windows, learn about Spaces too. This gives you multiple virtual desktops that you can easily switch between. Windows has nothing like it, and it's freakin' wonderful.
 
sjinsjca said:
Re Q3: In addition to the tips folks have given about opening new tabs and windows, learn about Spaces too. This gives you multiple virtual desktops that you can easily switch between. Windows has nothing like it, and it's freakin' wonderful.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip.. I looked into it a bit.. as much as my mind can take right now.. can you tell me what/why you love about it? Not sure I'm 'getting it' so far.
 
patchouli said:
Thanks for the tip.. I looked into it a bit.. as much as my mind can take right now.. can you tell me what/why you love about it? Not sure I'm 'getting it' so far.
Click to expand...

Spaces is like having 4 or 6 or 8 or however many monitors sitting on your desk. You can put windows and apps on each of them and switch between them in a flash. So, you can have iTunes in one space, a browser with recreational reading in another, a browser with work-related stuff in a third, your email and maybe a few related windows in a fourth, a spreadsheet or something in yet another... so each space remains uncluttered and clean and easy to keep mentally separate. It's a great ADD-reducer and de-clutterer. Try it, you'll like it. Really, it amazes me how even experienced Mac users don't always use Spaces. It's wonderful.

The Mac is easy to use and largely quite intuitive, but there is a learning curve to use it to its utmost. You'll be enjoying your climb up the curve for a while. I've been using Macs since the '80s and still discover nifty new tricks every week. Enjoy!
 
patchouli said:
Thanks! I was looking for the bottom right corner of the mouse.. but I see what you mean now, thanks!
Click to expand...

patchouli said:
Thanks, I bookmarked that link and will study it.
Click to expand...

TIP: The button with the " and + next to the Quote button will allow you to quote from two or more posts in your post.

(You can also Edit your own posts, as well as Edit your quotes. <--not by adding things, but leaving things out!)
 
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