How long will it take to get used to OS X

[mckyvlle]

I was a DOS/Windows user from 1990 up until about a month ago. Added Linux in the early 90's, but never owned a Mac until January.

OS X is *so* much more intuitive overall than Windows ever was - I got used to not having apps maximized across the monitor pretty quickly (2-3 days), and spaces has made me SO much more productive (I'm used to this in Linux, although having the shortcut keys makes it a lot easier on the Mac.)

I never use expose, although I have my scroll wheel button set to zoom out to all of my spaces, which gives a similar effect, and I'm able to see all my apps on screen.

One thing I still haven't completely gotten used to is that the mouse needs to be hovering over the application window if you want to scroll with the mouse wheel...I tend to move the mouse off to the side of the screen cos I don't want it in the way.

The biggest thing I'm trying to get used to is how to customize the OS - to put it in PC terms, what are the equivalents of editing a registry entry to add or remove a certain feature, and HOW do you find out how/where to do it? What are those com.apple.<appname>.plist files and what are they used for?

I haven't yet found a really in-depth "tips and tricks for customizing OS X" website or even book about it. If anyone has any links, that would be great

For me, I don't ever intend to switch back to windows - Vista is just awful (and one major reason I switched) and OS X is so much more secure, robust (those UNIX roots) and has a fairly small learning curve coming from windows.

-Bryan

Customise? Not much to change on a standard Mac OS X install. At most you can change the colour theme between Aqua and Graphite, colours of Finder labels, wallpaper and screensaver. [Basically the stuff you see in System Preference.] Certainly not as much to change compared to Windows, and not where near the flexibility of Linux.

The com.apple.<appname>.plist files are your preference files. They store your program settings and preference. Similar to Windows' Registry or the files under /etc in Un*x.

 

[aditghai]

Wow, The poll says almost 50% went back to Windows. Thas a high number.

 

[GSMiller]

About a week to get used to it. A few months to really start to discover the intricacies that make it convenient. I just discovered + tab a month ago, using OS X since July.

I recommended enabling tapping to click and tapping with two fingers to right click apple:->Preferences->Keyboard & Mouse).

I use F9 as my short cut for Expose and am addicted to it now. You can also use tab.

MacBooks have this feature??!

*Checks*

Hot dog, you're right!

I think that's proof that you'll always be learning new things, but you should be comfortable using Mac OS X within the first 2 days.

 

[soms]

It didn't take me more than a couple days to get used to it. IMHO its MUCH better designed than Windows, and I find myself wishing I had bought a mac sooner

 

[mashny]

I've used a Mac at home and a PC at work for about twenty years. I don't mind using the PC, but I almost want to kiss my Mac when I get home. It's no exaggeration to say that I'll crash more in one day on the PC than I will in several months on my Mac, and don't even get me started on the virus thing. And, to use a cliche, everything on the Mac just works: because of Apple's vertical monopoly over its products, all the components are well-researched, and designed to work together; you don't have a situation where Microsoft tells you it's Dell's fault, Dell tells you it's NVIDIA's fault, and NVIDIA tells you it's Microsoft's fault. Or all three of them telling you that it's Western Digital's fault. If there is a problem with a component, Apple almost always acknowledges it, researches it, and has an update to address it in a few weeks; they don't say something like, "Well, Service Pack 12 will address that issue when it comes out sometime next year."

Thing is, now that Macs can run Windows via Boot Camp, Parallels, Fusion... I don't see why anyone would buy a PC when you can have both operating systems in one machine.

Of course, like anything, there is a learning curve associated with switching to a Mac, but I'd imagine (perhaps wrongly) that once you learn the Mac's interface, the things that might irk you about the Mac are far outweighed by its many advantages.

 

[miniConvert]

Less than a month. I'm a recent convert who, until converting, was quite confident that Microsoft Windows was the best operating system.

One piece of advice: Don't try and make it work like Windows. Embrace the different ways of using a computer and save yourself a lot of frustration.

 

[jfull15]

it took me about a day, because the mac truly thinks the way a normal person would. Everything is extremely intuitive and has an ease of use. But, I can't ever go back to windows, because all he conveniences of a mac, like exposé, the dock, SPOTLIGHT, and dashboard and SPACES! and time machine, windows makes me want to puke. I really can;t work a windows box effeicently anymore, it just doesn't work right, I can do so much more on my mac. Same speaking, after I got my iPhone i find all other phones extremely hard to use - I'm always touching other people's phone's screens. lol.

 

[OllyW]

It took a couple of days to get the hang of it and then about 2 weeks until I felt natural with it.
Within a month I was trying to close applications on my Windows PC at work with +Q

One piece of advice: Don't try and make it work like Windows. Embrace the different ways of using a computer and save yourself a lot of frustration.

Very good advice. Get a guide to OS X for when you get stuck and it will soon become second nature.

 

[jfull15]

It took a couple of days to get the hang of it and then about 2 weeks until I felt natural with it.
Within a month I was trying to close applications on my Windows PC at work with +Q

Haha, the funny thing is safari and itunes on windows CNTRL+Q actualy works as the equivalent of + Q... so I can get away with those shortcuts sometimes, but i do run into that problem a lot. Glad I don't have to use windows as my primary anymore.

 

[rhett7660]

I just recently switched to Mac. I have been wanting one for a very long time. There are a couple of things I am still trying to get a hold of but for the most part I love it.

I am used to having the screen full sized, but in Mac land you don't need it. Hard for me to get around that fact. Also having the File Edit etc always across the top, instead of on top of the program. IE if you have firefox not taking up the full screen in windows the File Edit etc on the top of the program not the top of the screen. Does this make sense?

At work I have found myself also hitting the command +Q to shut down the program. Too funny.

On a side note, I bought the iPhone also. When I was trying to text on my wifes phone I was pushing the screen and going WTF, it isn't working. Then I realized I was on a verizon chocolate phone.... LOL. I had to chuckle.

 

[jbg232]

I just recently switched to Mac. I have been wanting one for a very long time. There are a couple of things I am still trying to get a hold of but for the most part I love it.

I am used to having the screen full sized, but in Mac land you don't need it. Hard for me to get around that fact. Also having the File Edit etc always across the top, instead of on top of the program. IE if you have firefox not taking up the full screen in windows the File Edit etc on the top of the program not the top of the screen. Does this make sense?

At work I have found myself also hitting the command +Q to shut down the program. Too funny.

On a side note, I bought the iPhone also. When I was trying to text on my wifes phone I was pushing the screen and going WTF, it isn't working. Then I realized I was on a verizon chocolate phone.... LOL. I had to chuckle.

You can maximize a screen to the whole viewable area in some programs by hitting option+maximize screen button

 

[jfull15]

On a side note, I bought the iPhone also. When I was trying to text on my wifes phone I was pushing the screen and going WTF, it isn't working. Then I realized I was on a verizon chocolate phone.... LOL. I had to chuckle.

Haha. Yes, is it just me, or are Verizon phones just extremely confusing? I mean I consider myself a tech person, but those verizon phones make me want to pull my hair out, the menus just don't seem organized well, but hey I guess people get used to it.

 

[156457]

I don't see why people moan about having no right click. Just set it so that the right button is the secondary mouse click.

 

[smogsy]

i recently converted to OSX 3 weeks ago i got so used to doing stuff in osx after a week i forgot how in Windows lol

 

[jfull15]

yeah, the mighty mouse works great for secondary click, but I guess it is harder on notebooks, use the two finger click, or whatever that trackpad shortcut is. it worked everytime I've tried.

 

[rhett7660]

Haha. Yes, is it just me, or are Verizon phones just extremely confusing? I mean I consider myself a tech person, but those verizon phones make me want to pull my hair out, the menus just don't seem organized well, but hey I guess people get used to it.

You are telling me. I didn't realize how bad they were until I got the iPhone. All my friends now have an iPhone also they saw how easy it is. Verizon phones nav/gui just flat out suck IMHO.

As far as the right click issue.. If you have been used to something for say 20 years and then all of sudden you don't have it. It sucks. But you are correct, you can just assign the right click.

Another thing I thought was freaking cool was how easy my Mac pro recognized my wireless mouse and keyboard. Hell I bought a Microsoft wireless mouse to use on WinXP. For crying out loud, I had to download the newest drivers in order for it work correctly.

Remember back in the day when Mac had those commercials, "It just worked" or something to that effect. Boy they nailed it on the head. No need to wait for windows to say "your new usb device is ready to work", you plug it in and it bam, it shows up.

I for one, won't be using a Windows machine (except at work) at home for a very long time.

 

[jfull15]

You are telling me. I didn't realize how bad they were until I got the iPhone. All my friends now have an iPhone also once they saw how easy it is. Verizon phones nav/gui just flat out suck IMHO.

As far as the right click issue.. If you have been used to something for say 20 years and then all of sudden you don't have it. It sucks. But you are correct, you can just assign the right click.

Another thing I thought was freaking cool was how easy my Mac pro recognized my wireless mouse and keyboard. Hell I bought a Microsoft wireless mouse to use on WinXP. For crying out loud, I had to download the newest drivers in order for it work correctly.

Remember back in the day when Mac had those commercials, "It just worked" or something to that effect. Boy they nailed it on the head. No need to wait for windows to say "your new usb device is ready to work", you plug it in and it bam, it shows up.

I for one, won't be using a Windows machine (except at work) at home for a very long time.

AMEN. that's the beauty of a mac - they little things - the fact it just works. And everyone asks me, well what's so great about macs? And I go, you just have to use one, it's the little things like exposé and spaces and time machine, and i could go on forever, but you just have to use it. Sure enough, they fall in love.

 

[HLdan]

In regards to the OP what in heck Expose and the Windows Taskbar have in common? The Windows Taskbars shows all open apps, Expose is for "exposing" all open windows so you can see all of the actual pages at a glance. The dock shows all open apps by way of the LED under each icon.

At any rate, it only took me a day to learn the Mac OS. Actually it's really the other way around as far as a learning curve if anyone REALLY thinks about it. If we started out on the Mac OS and Windows was the OS to switch to the learning curve on Windows is much harder.
I will explain, installation for most apps on the Mac OS is drag n drop, Windows requires the install wizard. There's no Registry on the Mac OS to upkeep and by golly it's the biggest pain dealing with the Windows Registry.
If I had to show my parents how to find applications on Windows the would throw the lappy at me. The Leopard Finder is much more straight forward for a new learner over the Start menu so for me it was easy and I use to be die hard Windows.

 

[HLdan]

Wow, The poll says almost 50% went back to Windows. Thas a high number.

Am I misreading the poll, where does it have a radio button that mentions about going back to Windows? Nearly the entire posting of comments mentions everyone using the Mac OS.

 

[mr.light]

My wife cursed it for about two weeks. Now she wonders why anyone would want to suffer through windows.

 

[jfull15]

I agree with the expose-taskbar simmilarities? I've never seen them in the same regard..

 

[aditghai]

Looks like its 65% people says its going to be more than a month.