super newbie in search of easy answers (:

[mac.moron]

hi everyone. so i have officially been a mac owner for one day i have a brand new white macbook (2ghz, 160gb hd, 2gb ram, running leopard), and while it is adorable and somewhat self explanatory i find myself a little confused by a couple random things. i've scoured forums, guides, and such and while the answers there have helped me muddle through some processes i don't think i'm understanding the whole picture.

so issue 1- downloading stuff?
i heard the downloading process is way different from windows so i downloaded a free solitaire game or something like that just to practice. it put a thing on my desktop under the harddrive icon. i doubled clicked it, it asked me some questions, and i dragged it to my applications folder and in my dock. however, i must have missed a step because whenever i restart my computer, the solitaire icon in the dock turns into a gray question mark. the file is still under applications, but when i click on that it prompts me to install or run the disk image thing again. after i do that the game works fine, but i dont think i should have to go through that every time i restart?

issue 2- gmail and mac mail?
i opened the stamp icon from my dock and it asked me my email address. i put in my gmail account info and it proceeded to take like 2 hours to import my thousands of messages saved in my gmail account. whatever. so when all was said and done, i went through and deleted or stored the misc emails. when i get a new email, the stamp thing shows me, however if i read it or delete it or anything, it doesn't register in my gmail account. so if i get a new email i have to delete it from my mac mail thingy, and then go to the gmail website and delete it there. is there a way to get them to link or something so if i only check one, the action will affect the other?

issue 3- quitting/closing stuff?
so i also heard that a big mistake new mac users make is thinking they've quit a program but it's really still running. i used ichat yesterday and to close it i hit the red x button. does that close it or am i still floating around in the instant messenger somewhere? haha. and vice versa, is there a way to close or hide the buddy list thing but stay online/away and just be notified if someone ims you?

so those 3 questions should make me good to go for awhile. i really appreciate any help, and i hope i didn't insult any seasoned mac users by my insanely novice questions

 

[gauchogolfer]

Issue 2 - use IMAP instead of POP for gmail and changes you make on your machine will reflect on Google's webmail server.

Issue 3 - Most programs, the red close button only closes that particular window, not the whole program (There are exceptions to this, like iPhoto). To quit, hit command-Q or choose quit from the file menu. To hide, click the yellow button or hit command-H. Command-option-H will hide all programs except the one you are currently viewing.

Issue 1- I'm too tired to explain disk images and how to install programs, so here you go.

 

[abijnk]

Just to add to the first response on whether an application is closed or not, the easiest way is to look at the dock. There are two different things to look for.

1) If the application is in your dock permanently then look at the bottom of the icon. If there is a blue dot (Leopard) or a triangle (Tiger) then that application is still running. Just right click it, and hit quit. You will see the symbol disappear.

2) If the application is not in your dock permanently, then the only time it will appear there is when that app is running. So, you can just right click and quit and the icon will quit and won't appear in the dock anymore.

Also, something to save time, get in the habbit of using command+Q to quit stuff. It alleviates any issue of an application remaining open.

Good luck!

 

[slu]

1. It sounds like you dragged the disk image (what was downloaded under the hard drive icon on the desktop) to the dock, not the application itself. Delete the icon you created (by simply dragging it off the dock) and drag the icon from the applications folder to the dock.

2. Don't know, but sounds like you need to verify your IMAP settings for gmail. I use gmail from the browser myself (I know that can be heresy around here), so I am not an expert, but maybe this will help. It looks like Mail sets up POP by default. You want to use IMAP.

That makes sense to me. Log in to gmail from a browser and check your POP/IMAP settings. I'd bet that the setting "2. When messages are accessed with POP" is set to "Keep Gmail's Copy in the Inbox" which is the default. This is why when you delete them they are still there. Switching to IMAP will solve this problem.

3. You are correct in that the red x will not close the program, only the window. To close the program, use command(apple key)+Q, or go to the menu bar and select the same thing, for example Mail > Quit.

 

[mac.moron]

thank you!

thanks so much to each of you who responded! your suggestions worked wonders i was afraid i'd get attacked for asking such silly questions but your patience and explanations were truly appreciated.

 

[GadgetNeil]

Wow! I didn't know about command-q -that just saved me a lot of hassle!

thanks for the advice for the OP - there are other mac newbies out here reading the threads too.