Firefox: How the heck do you possibly install this?

[RedTomato]

Ah yes, quitting apps.

Use command-tab to see which apps you have open.

Hold command down and press tab a few times to switch between them. Carry on holding command down and press q to quit ones you don't want any more.

Many ex-pc users have about 20 apps open without realizing and then call me over to ask why their new mac is running a bit slow...

 

[SkyBell]

Make sure you empty your trash every so often!

 

[simX]

Use "apple-a" not "command-a"

Just a note: one of the best ways to explain the difference between the "control" and "command" keys to Mac switchers/newcomers is to not refer to it as the "command" key at all. It's the "apple" key.

I know, I know, I cringe when I say "apple-a" as well, but it gets the point across much faster, especially because there's only one key on the entire keyboard that has an apple on it. "Command" kind of sounds like "control" what with the hard c sound, and the cloverleaf symbol doesn't immediately translate to "command".

 

[SkyBell]

Just a note: one of the best ways to explain the difference between the "control" and "command" keys to Mac switchers/newcomers is to not refer to it as the "command" key at all. It's the "apple" key.

I know, I know, I cringe when I say "apple-a" as well, but it gets the point across much faster, especially because there's only one key on the entire keyboard that has an apple on it. "Command" kind of sounds like "control" what with the hard c sound, and the cloverleaf symbol doesn't immediately translate to "command".

I never saw the problem with "apple" key...

 

[BigPrince]

I had a similar problem installing FireFox. I work for a school district supporting OS X and install applications correctly all the time and even make images, yet this was really frusterating me. I had to try 4-5 times before whatever I was doing wrong was corrected. Not sure what I did differently the 5th time before Firefox was happy.

 

[RedTomato]

I had a similar problem with 'option' and 'command' when I first got my powerbook. Couldn't work out which keys they were.

Even now, I still have no idea why a cloverleaf is supposed to represent 'command', or why they used a cloverleaf at all.

Alternately, why is an apple supposed to represent 'command'? Thought apple was about 'thinking differently'.

As for the 'option' key, the logo there looks like something from a circuit diagram, not very user-friendly. Confusingly, there's a text, 'alt', on the key which is not its actual name, and is never referred to in Apple documentation. (apart from explaining to windows users that it's not actually called the 'alt' key.)

Very un-apple like, and one of my major minor niggles and gripes with the Apple physical interface. Command and Option still make me grind my mental gears even after all these years.

 

[dpaanlka]

I think the Apple symbols are just there for tradition. Command is the squiggly line, not the Apple. I've never seen the Command key referred to as the Apple key in any literature related to the Macintosh, only Apple II stuff.

At one time, you could use an Apple IIgs keyboard with a Mac and visa-versa. Apple IIs had "Apple" as the key modifier, whereas Macintosh was always "Command" I believe.

Anyway, teaching someone the wrong way is never the right way to do something. What are they to do when they see all the references to Command?