Moving from old Mac to new Mac

[silentownage001]

I was reading Apple's support to move data from an old Mac to a new Mac. Most of my folders are small enough that I could use Dropbox and don't need to use Migration Assistant. Basically I have a lot of old apps I don't need so I want to start off as clean as possible and add things as I need them.

For the folders that are too large would it be possible to go into Time Machine and individually add them to my new computer?

Is there a way to move Photoshop and Bridge CS6? When I looked it up it seems like it's attached to my hardware and it may not be possible to move it to a new computer.

Will my Time Machine backups function as normal if I use a different name for my home folder?

 

[Fishrrman]

First, it would help if you told us HOW OLD "the old Mac" is, and what version of the OS is on it.

My suggestion as "the best way" to migrate from old to new:
1. Download CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (both are FREE to download and use for 30 days)
2. Use an external drive. Use CCC (or SD) to create a bootable cloned copy of the internal drive (doing this is as easy as it gets)
3. When you get the NEW Mac, BEFORE you turn it on, connect the external drive.
4. Boot up the new Mac.
5. Toward the end of the initial setup, the setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate data from another Mac or drive. YES, you want to do this.
6. "Point" the setup assistant to the cloned backup.
7. Choose to migrate apps, accounts, data, and settings.
8. Let setup assistant do its thing.

NOTE: It's possible that some older apps may "break" with the new OS. If that's the case, you can either update them, or delete them. Just something to be aware of. Many older 3rd party apps will still run fine.

I'm told the process goes faster from a cloned backup than it would from a TM backup. I've never once used Time Machine so can't answer myself.