Mac essentials and organization

Looking for a little help here. I am pretty new to the Mac universe and have engulfed myself reading all things Mac since buying my iPhone and Mini. The problem is that it seems kind of overwhelming with so much to learn in terms of the "Mac way to do things".

Although I work on Unix daily at home I've always used Windows for the sake of the wife. Now switching to Mac its like I'm starting all over again. I knew about all the apps and things to watch out for on Windows. What I need to know is the best way to go about getting things organized and get settled in a Mac. Using Windows I had everything organized in folders etc and its hard to get out of that folder hierarchy mentality.

What I've done so far is transfer my photos to iPhoto, bring over my iTunes library, rip the rest of my CD's (still doing that) and install some apps. The Mini is used as a media center so there are a few things I still need to get (external HD). But I wanted to know how those that switched from Windows were able to achieve the same comfort level they had on Mac.

 

Yes OS X use folders as well but in a much different way. What I was getting at was understanding the Mac file structure (Library files etc) and how it handles system files etc differently from Windows. I guess the best way to look at it is from a Unix perspective but even that is a different flavor.

Right, for the most part I just leave the iTunes lib file alone. The only thing I did do is move it to my public folder so that other accounts on the Mac can have the same music. Which I'll have to move again once I get my external HD.

And that kind of hit the nail on the head. Trying to define a "workflow" on the Mac with how I handle and organize files, user accounts, backups, and overall management.

 

Something weird is happening. I have my iTunes library shared so other user accounts can all have the same music. On the music folder I gave the account read write privledges. I have been ripping my cd's just fine up until two min ago and now it tells me I dont have the perms to do it! I checked the folder and the perms are there but iTunes wont let me import the cd's to the library basically out of the blue.