recent switcher like a week ago need help understanding the Os

[mith]

hey , well first of all just like to say i love the mac!! best computer i ever bought my first mac -24-inch imac core 2 duo! anyz am a recent windows switcher, so bear with me cause just want to learn some basic stuff... go so so far i know this :

the dock is like the start button in windows onli better since u don't have to go press all that (start-program-then application), u just launch it good stuff

finder is like windows explorer ...and system preferences is like control panal...

and to uninstall application u just take it to trash......

the minimize maximizes and close button or in colors on the left instead of right

\and i also see it look like there is no registry ,,,(hated the registry )this is good stuff
am sure am missing stuff so what other controls are there??

anyz what other sruff should i know about.....

 

[Benjamin]

Welcome to the Mac and MR forums. That looks like a good comparison list of thing from OS X and XP. You should check out a few other places.

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/ just to get familiar a little more and
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/ another good overview of things from a switcher and
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/226403/ for some good applications to get you started

of course feel free to ask whatever on the forums.

 

[mith]

thx

well i reali don't need the basic stuff,,,,i read all that and understand it....

i am using my mac like i knew it all along....
but i wanna know is that stuff that they don't tell u ,,advance stuff,,, like windows we have a run button where u run commands..am sure mac has it to somewhere??

i know stuff like if i delete something in this folder will my computer not function.like what to beware.....what to take care off...is there a defragmenter>for the hard drive///>?..u know like where is the system folder and all so i know...cause wouldn't wanna mess with that....where are certain preferences stored?

 

[NewSc2]

well, the beauty is most of the things you're used to in Windows don't need to be done on Mac.

- I've never defragged.
- Don't delete the Applications folder
- Closest thing to Run (what you're used to) is probably Spotlight, which just brings up finder and there's your app. There actually might be a more DOS prompt-like surface for OSX but I've never used it. There are a lot of programs in Applications I've never touched.
- Some preferences are stored in username/library/application data
- Some other things are stored in Applications/Utilities

 

[thewhitehart]

OS X is a flavor of UNIX (I'll skip the debate). Commands are run from the UNIX shell, which is run from the application called "Terminal".

Be careful with the Terminal. It can be a useful tool, but it is very powerful, especially when running it as an admin user. Google 'Unix' for some basic tutorials on how to get started learning, it is different from MS-DOS.

 

[macman2790]

spotlight is like the search function in xp accept it takes forever and you get to watch a stupid dog wag his tail.

 

[MrSmith]

spotlight is like the search function in xp accept it takes forever and you get to watch a stupid dog wag his tail.

Anyone mentioned Quicksilver yet?

 

[apfhex]

spotlight is like the search function in xp except it takes forever and you get to watch a stupid dog wag his tail.

I hope you were talking about XP's search function taking forever (even with indexing on). What dog?

mith, I think a lot of those things you're just going to have to figure out as you go. I get what you're asking, but it's kind of general and there is so much stuff that could be said.

A few tips that come to mind in line with what you've asked so far:
- Never rename your Home folder, bad things will happen
- There is no "Run..." equivalent, but there is the Terminal which offers a command line interface. You won't need to ever touch this.
- OS X doesn't come with defragging software. Generally, you don't need it (it auto-defrags small files), but they are commercially available solutions out there if you do.
- You shouldn't need to perform any regular maintenance at all, only if you experience problems.
- The OS X system folder is the one labeled "System" at the root of your hard drive. It's protected with file permissions, so you'll have to enter an admin password to do any damage here.
- Preferences are stored in Username/Library/Prefrences (for your user account) and /Library/Prefrences (for all users)

 

[willybNL]

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otherwise: see http://flernk.blogspot.com/2006/07/guide-to-os-x-software-for-switchers.html