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new to macbook, need a couple quick answers

S

SR 7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 30, 2009
718
433
Hey I just bought my macbook yesturday and im loving it so far.

I have a couple quick questions.

1) Is there a light that is on somewhere while the computer is on and hwen u shut it off it goes off so you konw the computer is 100% off? I ask b/c its so quit itself you dont even know when its on.

2) I have the new aluminum macbook and yesturday when I was using it, the trackpad if im not mistaken opened up dashboard when I swiped up i believe with 4 fingers...now today I tried all the fingers possible and its not coming up unless I click it with my mouse on the dock or F12. Did this somehow change or was there never a way to do this?

3) I installed a couple programs yesturday, and the file where u click to install was on the desktop and I had the shortcuts on the dock...they all worked but today I woke up (computer was off overnight) i turned it on and those install saves on the desktop were gone and the shortcuts on the dock was gone except for the AIM one...why so? Where did it go and why? loll.

btw, the new computer comes with ilife correct?
I rem i was at the store and it had a notepad, similar to the one that iPhones have, the yellow notepad but mine doesnt it has edit txt and stickies...does that yellow notepad come with iwork or something? or is it already on the computer i just haven't found it?

THANKS a lot!
 
1) Not really. If the computers sleeping then the sleep light will pulse...

2) I can't get Dashboard via a 4-finger swipe...

3) Read the Guide: you probably didn't actually install them...

Try the program called Stickies in /Applications
 
1) The power button in the upper right hand corner of the keyboard will either be solid (if on), pulse (if in sleep mode), or have no light if the computer is completely shut off.

2) Expose is supposed to come up with the 4-finger up/down swipe, and unless you mod the OS there's no way to rebind it, even in the Trackpad system preferences.

3) For downloaded applications, to have them permanently affixed to the Dock, you typically have to take the first step and drag the .app files from the disk image they downloaded as into the Applications folder of the hard drive. Opening applications from the downloaded disk image is a pain, not to mention not the proper way to install them. The .dmg files you downloaded from whatever website are located inside of your Downloads folder, which is probably on the Dock next to your Trash. Open the Downloads folder up, open the downloaded .dmg's one at a time by double clicking, then drag the .app files into the Applications folder of the hard drive. Then add them to the Dock. When you're done, drag the mounted disk images (the ones on the Desktop) to the Trash icon which will change to the eject symbol.

iLife comes with several applications but none of them match up with what you describe: Garageband, iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb. The Notes feature is integrated into the Mail application but it doesn't auto-sync to the iPod/iPhone without a special app installed on the mobile device. Hope I was able to answer most of your ?'s...
 
thanks guys!

Jedi that was a great breakdown thanks! :)
 
ok, the laptop charges when its off correct? as long as its plugged in or does it need to be on to charge?

and also does the battery life go away while its off? No right? just asking cuz the life was 5 hrs then 4 hrs when i turned it on.
 
also i was online at school and it showed other members with a macbook i think that were on? it said connecting when i clicked to see what it was.

is there a way to make it so they dont know i am on? So my name doesnt show on other peoples computer.

is it under security? then firewall? and the 2nd box?
 
SR 7 said:
also i was online at school and it showed other members with a macbook i think that were on? it said connecting when i clicked to see what it was.

is there a way to make it so they dont know i am on? So my name doesnt show on other peoples computer.

is it under security? then firewall? and the 2nd box?
Click to expand...

This is what you do:

141976368849FA5B21D465E_m.png


THEN:

22582677249FA5B1D09545_m.png


And your done. That should do it ;)
 
Laptop will charge while off when plugged in. The battery life can drain some even while off, though fairly slowly in comparison to when you simply have the lid closed and it's sleeping. The difference you saw was most likely because it updates the time continuously and when you first reawaken it, it goes through a number of things that kick up the CPU causing the battery life estimate to show lower.

Security-wise I would recommend turning on the firewall, though that won't stop people on your network from seeing your computer, though they won't be able to access your machine anyways as long as you have a password setup on the account. I think in System Preferences > Sharing, as long as you have stuff unchecked (namely File Sharing) it should stop your machine from showing up in their Finder.
 
thanks waffles! where did u get those pics? or u took em from ur own comp? if so how?

It was unchecked...so im good to go?

also, Watts, how do i check to see if my firewall is on?
and password setup u mean hwen i log in or want to install something it asks for the password? that one?

what exaclty is keychain? when i go on ichat it asks to use that PW from my AIM pw.
 
Also, that LOCK thing means you can't change the options in that box but when u click to UNLOCk u can? or does it mean no one can see it?
 
btw where is that battery time or something ligh that everyone said was on the outside of hte computer as opposed to before where it was on the buttom of the laptop.

sorry for al the questions and thanks for answering!
 
Well, from System Preferences > Security > Firewall, as long as you don't have "Allow all incoming connections" checked then the firewall is on in some fashion. I have the third option set for specific services and applications. If you hit the Advanced button on this window you can also turn on Firewall logging ad Stealth Mode, which I do.

Yes, the password I refer to is the same you use to login to your computer.

Keychain is Apple's password manager. When you save a password in Safari on a web site, it gets stored in your keychain. It also stores your login information and other applications can work with it as well.

The lock simply means that they settings on whatever window you're looking it can only be changed by an administrator.

Here's a thread about the lights.
 
thanks for the responses.

so is keychain safe? security reasons that isif it stores all ur log in info and PW.
 
SR 7 said:
thanks for the responses.

so is keychain safe? security reasons that isif it stores all ur log in info and PW.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's pretty good quality security. It has preferences and such that can make it even more secure, but that's not something I want to get into right now.
 
SR 7 said:
thanks waffles! where did u get those pics? or u took em from ur own comp? if so how?
Click to expand...
To create a snapshot (that's what there called) of your full screen, you hold down
COMMAND-SHIFT-3. The command key looks like this:

512px-1_9_2_30.svg.png


To take a screenshot of a selected area, you hold down COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and drag to make a square with your mouse and when you let go it will take a screenshot.

To take a screenshot of a window, like I did, you hold down COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and position the sights above the window you want and press the SPACEBAR. Once you do that the sight icon will change into a black camera and the window will highlight blue. Then just click your mouse button.

P.S. The pictures are saved on the desktop.
 
waffles123 said:
To create a snapshot (that's what there called) of your full screen, you hold down
COMMAND-SHIFT-3. The command key looks like this:

512px-1_9_2_30.svg.png


To take a screenshot of a selected area, you hold down COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and drag to make a square with your mouse and when you let go it will take a screenshot.

To take a screenshot of a window, like I did, you hold down COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and position the sights above the window you want and press the SPACEBAR. Once you do that the sight icon will change into a black camera and the window will highlight blue. Then just click your mouse button.

P.S. The pictures are saved on the desktop.
Click to expand...

thanks a lot! how do i use isight? like the web cam or to take a picture of myself or whatever.

also, i dono if any of u have experience with this but i installed office and it works fine, then i did one update and it works fine, but once i get to the most recent update, April 14 i believe it is, it never opens again. I click open it pops up the mic office setup assitant, theni click finish and it pops up the update box and once i lcose that nothing else happens. whats the probleM?
 
If you want to take an iSight picture or movie, this is what you do:

1. Go to Finder.

2. Go to your applications folder.

3. Look for an application called Photo Booth. It looks like this:

PhotoBoothLeopard.png




4.

210246164049FB9213805BB_m.png
 
i tried the COMMAND shift and 4 to take a picture the cursor comes where you pick where to take a pic but how do you take hte picture when i let go of the mouse nothing happens.
 
SR 7 said:
i tried the COMMAND shift and 4 to take a picture the cursor comes where you pick where to take a pic but how do you take hte picture when i let go of the mouse nothing happens.
Click to expand...

The picture will have been saved into the default location.
 
SR 7 said:
i tried the COMMAND shift and 4 to take a picture the cursor comes where you pick where to take a pic but how do you take hte picture when i let go of the mouse nothing happens.
Click to expand...

there we go,i saw it on desktop loll.

btw is there a program like Microsoft paint?

and how come u can't CUT and PASTE a file thats in applictions under finder or in downloads or documents etc.
 
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