First Mac arrives tomorrow...

[NickM]

So... I'm sure everyone hates noob posts, but here is mine.

I have spent no more than 30 minutes of my life on a Mac...and it was all basically surfing the web.
I ordered my first Mac (and first laptop), which should be here tomorrow. It is a MacBook Pro model mb47ll/a.

My question is this...
Aside from update, is there anything else I should do right away? I've read a little about calibrating something or "zeroing" the hdd....whatever that means exactly.

I've been a PC user for a long while and am eager to finally step into the world of Macs. I can thank my iPods and ultimately my iPhone for convincing me to take the plunge.

Any helpful advice, tips, or direction for a clueless noob would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PeterQC]

Calibrating the battery and the screen. Calibrating your battery is important if you want an accurate battery level meter, or else the reading might not be good. You can find the battery tips on the web, while the screen is generally optional and left as is, depending what you want to do with it. If you edit pictures or do graphics work it's essential, while if you don't do anything of that and you don't care about having tight colour accuracy, it's just better to just do nothing.

Transferring your files over the MacBook.

Then enjoy it!

Zeroing is a security feature when you're cleaning and reinstalling Mac OS X. It's to ensure there's not data left behind that could be retrieved from the hard drive if you ever sell your Mac.

 

[abcdefGARY]

Post deleted.

 

[alphaod]

Congratulations on the purchase!

I wouldn't recommend what I do when I first get my computers…disassembling them.

Anyways, I would suggest just fully charge your battery, but I never do that for the first time and haven't had any issues. I however would suggest reinstalling everything to get rid of the extra drivers and languages you'll never use, but again that's me—and further delay playtime.

 

[EmperorDarius]

What I do before I get a new system is download all the programs I'll need. So when it arrives, I just update, install all the programs and then have all the fun I want.

 

[volcom883]

im getting my mac in a week too. i heard some batteries come already charged. so does it mean i dont have to charge the battery fully before first use?


NickM,
check this thread recommending useful applications for mac

 

[PeterQC]

im getting my mac in a week too. i heard some batteries come already charged. so does it mean i dont have to charge the battery fully before first use?


NickM,
check this thread recommending useful applications for mac

No you don't have, but it's recommended to calibrate the battery, you just don't to do it right out of the box.