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Getting my first ever mac...what to expect?

M

Mac1875

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi there,

So after working my bottom off to finally get enough money, I have bought my first ever Mac, a MacBook Pro 15". Ive tried the operation system and its utterly brilliant. Everything about apple, mac, osx the lot is in a different class to windows 😀 but enough of that....

What will I expect in terms of pre-installed software? Is there a lot, or will i have to buy a lot of software? Is there a pre-installed program that will enable me to do word documents, spreadsheets ect, or will i have to buy that aswell? Basically i ask these questions as i will be going on holiday soon after my mac comes this week, and i need to be prepared for the programs it will come with so i can take it away with me.

So excited! I wish DHL would get a move on!! Cheers guys .
 
What’s in the box

MacBook Pro
Display cleaning cloth
85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
Software DVDs
Printed and electronic documentation

Software

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes iTunes, Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife (includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)

copied from: http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html



You can get iWork, which allows word and spreadsheet editing and is even compatible with Word and Excel.



Also have a look at the following links, as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.

Mac OS X Basics
Switch 101 - guide with articles made by Apple on how to accustom yourself, after you switched to Mac OS X from Windows​

Mac 101 - How to get started with Mac OS X​

Find out how - tutorial videos made by Apple on how to do certain thing in Mac OS X​

Pro tips - tips made available by Apple for easier ways of doing certain tasks​

Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts - Learn about common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.​

Mac OS X Beginner's Guide by MacRumors - learn about software, media players, shortcuts and some useful tips, tricks and hints​

Mac Guides - tutorials, product guides and more​



MRoogle - a very effective tool to search these fora using Google and made available by edesignuk, introductory threads: 1, 2 and 3​

 
Welcome!

If you want Microsoft Office (which is available for Mac), try this open source free clone first: it reads/writes the same files and does a pretty good job. The UI and file dialogs are not fully Mac-like, which is annoying (and especially to a new Mac user!) but it’s free!

http://www.neooffice.org
(Mac version of OpenOffice)

For other software, search VersionTracker.com and MacUpdate.com—you can find a lot (legal downloads from trusted sources).
 
Yeah, Office for Mac is a bit expensive (£80+). I would get Neooffice instead, it's open source and free.
 
What to expect?
Spinning beach ball of death of course! 😀
I got that twice since I used my new Mac Mini two weeks ago.
Things are more stable now though.
 
It'll come with TextEdit, which is a basic word processor. I'd recommend iWork though, i've been using it for a couple of years now and I really enjoy it.

Looking back on Office 2004 makes me cringe, although i'm sure the new one is improved.
 
i use office 2008 for mac, which i think is a waste of sixty dollars...you're better off with OpenOffice: it's a great free substitute for the Microsoft version
 
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