Just switched to OS X from Windows... not so impressed.

[wrldwzrd89]

No it's not, it's the alt/option key. To see what I mean, click on the flag in the menu bar and then "Show Keyboard Viewer". That can show you what all those weird symbols are. Another place to look is at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/cdb_symbs.html

Huh? That doesn't make any sense at all. I think we're talking about two completely different keys. That is a handy tip - but in order for it to work you must turn the input menu on in the International pane of System Preferences, and turn the Keyboard Viewer option on.

 

[hopejr]

Huh? That doesn't make any sense at all. I think we're talking about two completely different keys. That is a handy tip - but in order for it to work you must turn the input menu on in the International pane of System Preferences, and turn the Keyboard Viewer option on.

Yeah, we are talking about different keys. I'm talking about the key that generik was asking about which is this: ⌥. If you look at the View menu in Safari and the View Source item has the shortcut key combo ⌥⌘U (that's the one he was talking about, see ⌥ looks like a slide with a dash above it).

 

[WehoMacUser]

I switched and love that I did

All I can say is that I am really impressed with my new G5. I have always used PCS up until I chucked it in October '05. I have worked on DOS, OS/2, Winblows (Original, '95, and XP) and Linux.

Heck when I bought my first PC in the early '80s I took it home, hooked it up, plugged it in and all it did was have the green square blink at me until I "learned" on what I needed to do to make it work.

I knew that there would be a "learning" curve with the Mac but heck that is the fun of "having" something new to play with.

I have the 2.0 Dual Core, w/2.5 GB and 2 internal hard drives. FYI, the 2nd hard drive was sooooo simple to install. Soooo simple! There I said it again..simple.

When I first opened the case of my new Mac, I was so impressed. There wasn't a mish mash of cables, etc. clogging the insides. I saw all. To me it just seems like a work of art. Clean and straight lines, etc.

I was sort of nervous after using Quicken since the late '80s and having all of my financials together on the PC but not being able to carry the info to the Mac version of Quicken but I knew I could start fresh. I always kept up with my financials so I wasn't nervous of losing track of money but just the feeling of not having it all at my fingertips. All is fine with that now.

I have sinced getting my new Mac purchased shapeshifter and all of the other aps they sell on their site, and have had a blast tweaking, and playing with the look and feel of the Mac.

I downloaded Silverkeeper and have it scheduled to backup all the files that I need backed up. Smart program.

I have the Microsoft Office Suite for the Mac and rarely use it. Only for work that I do for the office.

I enjoy the mail program Apple has supplied with the Mac. It is simple and easy to use. It really works for collecting the junk that comes in every hour on the hour.

I guess I should wind down because I think I have rambled on for a bit.

Mac users don't let anyone tell you different. The Mac is a great machine that anyone can use, and if anyone tells you differently, they are only trying to get your "goat."

 

[seriypshick]

1) I have a 23" 1920x1200 display. Safari wants to scale to content on maximize. I can fit 2-3 scaled windows on my screen. How can I tile these windows? (The mac store guy opened 6 safari windows and tiled them to unreadable sizes with expose. This is not what I mean.)

Use tabbed browsing, it's a lot more convenient.

 

[jayscheuerle]

Use tabbed browsing, it's a lot more convenient.

Or maybe switch your browser. There's a lot of them for OSX.

http://darrel.knutson.com/mac/www/browsers.html

This one does 4 web pages in one window:

http://jm.marino.free.fr/Software/Mac/SplitBrowser/introduction.html

 

[Chinashaw]

Trash still empties with no warning

You can fix this: in Finder--Preferences--Advanced, check the box indicating you want to be warned before emptying.

No it doesn't. I have had that set up and when I right click on Trash and click on Empty, it just does it.

 

[RedTomato]

1) I have a 23" 1920x1200 display. Safari wants to scale to content on maximize. I can fit 2-3 scaled windows on my screen. How can I tile these windows? (The mac store guy opened 6 safari windows and tiled them to unreadable sizes with expose. This is not what I mean.)

Use tabbed browsing, it's a lot more convenient.

Have your cake and eat it.

Firefox has an extension that will tile all tabs on your screen. I use it less than I thought I would as I'm mostly happy with tabs.

Viamatic foXpose 0.2 - xpose for firefox

By Vivek Jishtu

Click on the icon in the status bar to view all the browser windows with a single click.

Includes a toolbar icon Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + X​

 

[AdamR01]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but if you want to view hidden files in the Finder, you don't have to download some 3rd party program. Just run "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true" from the terminal. Also I would recommend using Camino as your web browser. In my opinion, it combines all of the best features from Safari and FireFox www.caminobrowser.org

 

[jayscheuerle]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but if you want to view hidden files in the Finder, you don't have to download some 3rd party program. Just run "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true" from the terminal.

The reason nobody has mentioned it is that most people don't want to have anything to do with the terminal and never open it. Since OSX has come around, there's been an influx of techies to the Mac world, but opening a terminal and typing something such as that goes against everything that the Mac OS has ever stood for–simplicity and ease of use in a point and click environment. Typing commands like that were the type of DOS-like things that Mac users berated PC users for.

Sure, it's very efficient for you if you're a terminal using type of person, but most people aren't.

 

[AdamR01]

The reason nobody has mentioned it is that most people don't want to have anything to do with the terminal and never open it. Since OSX has come around, there's been an influx of techies to the Mac world, but opening a terminal and typing something such as that goes against everything that the Mac OS has ever stood for–simplicity and ease of use in a point and click environment. Typing commands like that were the type of DOS-like things that Mac users berated PC users for.

Sure, it's very efficient for you if you're a terminal using type of person, but most people aren't.

I can understand where you are coming from, but several people have mentioned using the terminal as a replacement for the Finder. Instead of going that far, why not just make the Finder display hidden files and do so without installing a program with tons of features you'll never use or is shareware that you have to register. Besides, the type of person that would want to view hidden files is probably quite comfortable in the terminal anyways.

 

[dmetzcher]

You have some very good questions, most of which I cannot answer because I'm stupid like that. But as far as screen maximizing goes, the best way is to just drag the corner to you liking--the application (like safari) will remember where you like it next time upon launching.

Command-Tab will do the same thing as Alt-Tab in windows

I think he wants to use Command+` (the key just above the Tab key on the keyboard). This will allow him to cycle through the windows in the current application, rather than the apps themselves.

 

[dmetzcher]

I'm a desktop architect for a Fortune 100 company. I build XP and 2K images all the time, and I code apps and script application installs using .msi, wise installer and VS.NET. I would even go far enough to say that I'm somewhat of a Windows expert.

My home machine? A 20" iMac G5.

Believe me when I say OS X is a far superior OS in almost everyway than Windows. It takes time to learn how to use it effectively, not very much time, but there is a learning curve. If you're having trouble, pick up a book at Borders or something.

I think this is a great point. There are going to be different ways to do things in every OS. Saying, "I can do this in Windows, so where is it in Mac?", isn't always going to have an answer. I have switched from Windows to Mac, and, though I still maintain and few Windows machines, I find the Mac easier to use and more intuitive.

I'll put that a different way. You would think that, coming from Windows, the learning curve would have been higher, or, at least, I thought it would. I've found that I've picked most things up by just trying to do them, and looking up certain things when I get stuck. I never really found myself trying to use Windows shortcuts (something I use quite a bit when I'm on a Win machine) on my Mac. I have, however, found that I do the opposite. Frequently, I find myself trying to use Mac shortcuts in Windows. They just seem more intelligent to me...better thought out. My point is that the Mac seems to make sense to me, even though I had conditioned myself, over several years, to understand and work very efficiently with Windows. Frankly, I didn't know what efficiency was until I wrote my first AppleScript, or used Xcode.

There are a few annoying things that the Mac doesn't do as well as Windows, and I'll admit that, but, overall, I find using my Mac a joy, and my Windows machine more of a drag. Maybe Vista will bring improvements and I'll be able to say that I like using both systems equally. Who knows? I'll refrain from holding my breath.

 

[jayscheuerle]

Besides, the type of person that would want to view hidden files is probably quite comfortable in the terminal anyways.

I've found myself looking at package contents numerous times, trying to find a useful image file, movie element or sound file, just to tinker with, without ever wanting to use the terminal. "Back in the day", my tinker tool of choice in the Mac OS was ResEdit. To those of us with that kind of "fooling around" knowledge of previous Mac systems, the terminal feels a lot more like "programming", and seems far less straightforward than the categorized fooling around of yesteryear.

I've also looked for hidden files, like Quicktime temp files in order to save protected Quicktime movies, by using the Finder search feature with "show invisible files" selected.

The terminal's an intimidating beast to ignoramuses such as myself!

 

[jhu]

Your signature says you're running OS X 10.2.8 on a beige G3...and you're wondering why it's slow?

i'm saying it's not all that it's cracked up to be.