Switcher with many questions - please help

[bollweevil]

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought a MacBook Pro, base model. I have some questions, and I will list them from most to least urgent:

1. How should I move my data from my PCs to my new Mac? Ethernet cable? Does it need to be a crossover cable? I tried with a regular ethernet cable, and it seemed like absolutely nothing was plugged in.

2. How do I see how large a folder is in the finder? There doesn't seem to be a "Properties" option when I right-click.

3. Can I get the three-finger multitouch gestures to work in Firefox? Is that a configuration option? Do I have to wait for someone else to write the code, and if so, when will they release it?

4. How do I see the system performance, what processes are running, how much RAM they each use, and so on?

Here are some more philosophical questions:

5. What text editor should I use to write code? I want something with good syntax highlighting that is really, really easy to use. I liked Notepad Plus Plus on Windows.

6. What is the risk of the computer getting really slow after I install 15 different programs on it? That happened to my PC, and after a lot of detective work I determined that it wasn't any single program, but rather at least four or five of them were colluding to bog down the PC. It didn't matter if I didn't have the programs running, they had corrupted the registry or something.

7. Should I create two different users, one that I abuse with lots of programs and one that I keep squeaky clean? That way I could quarantine all of the risky, sluggish, potentially viral software, and keep one reliable and bare-bones user. Would I want to do this with two users, or would I need separate partitions on the hard disc to be really safe?

Thanks.

 

[MacNut]

Ill tackle a few of those.

To see what you have running and to check memory use the Activity Monitor. It is in Applications > utilities folder.

In the finder use the file drop down use "get info" to find info on folders.

Installing programs won't matter as long as they are not all running at the same time.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought a MacBook Pro, base model. I have some questions, and I will list them from most to least urgent:

1. How should I move my data from my PCs to my new Mac? Ethernet cable? Does it need to be a crossover cable? I tried with a regular ethernet cable, and it seemed like absolutely nothing was plugged in.

Migration Assistant from the Utilities folder under the Applications folder.

2. How do I see how large a folder is in the finder? There doesn't seem to be a "Properties" option when I right-click.

Right click the folder, get info.

3. Can I get the three-finger multitouch gestures to work in Firefox? Is that a configuration option? Do I have to wait for someone else to write the code, and if so, when will they release it?

go to system preferences. keyboard/mouse and then mouse. self explanatory from there.

4. How do I see the system performance, what processes are running, how much RAM they each use, and so on?

use activity monitor from the utilities folder. cool tip for launching apps, command + space, and type in the app.

Here are some more philosophical questions:

5. What text editor should I use to write code? I want something with good syntax highlighting that is really, really easy to use. I liked Notepad Plus Plus on Windows.

Xcode. Free. Download. google it, it should come on the grey install disks. the first one, optional installs.

6. What is the risk of the computer getting really slow after I install 15 different programs on it? That happened to my PC, and after a lot of detective work I determined that it wasn't any single program, but rather at least four or five of them were colluding to bog down the PC. It didn't matter if I didn't have the programs running, they had corrupted the registry or something.

nope, unless you run out of ram space and the cpu has to swap out/in. upgrade ram to 4GB and you should be fine. I run about 10 apps at once. it's fine and everything is smooth.

7. Should I create two different users, one that I abuse with lots of programs and one that I keep squeaky clean? That way I could quarantine all of the risky, sluggish, potentially viral software, and keep one reliable and bare-bones user. Would I want to do this with two users, or would I need separate partitions on the hard disc to be really safe?

Thanks.

there aren't viruses in leopard. sorry about that if you're used to anti virus programs. use appcleaner to fully get rid of apps. or appzapper (paid app) pr appdelete. either one works.

I hope that answers all your questions, just ask if you need help. Welcome to the Mac, and I hope your experience goes well.

 

[richard.mac]

1. you can use Migration Assistant which is in your Utilities folder or at that first startup over Wifi, Ethernet Cable or Firewire. you could also connect an Ethernet cable to each or use Wifi to drag and drop files. make sure that file sharing is enabled on both and that your on the same wireless network if using Wifi.
2. click on the file/folder and press "command-I" or "command-opion-I" for multiple files.
3. iStat Pro or iStat Menus.
4. Text Wrangler or Xcode (Developer Tools on first install DVD).
5. this wont happen as there is no registry in OS X. obviously Macs will get slower when lots and lots apps are open and RAM fills up or a process is using most of the CPU load..
6. if you want this is good secure practice. i used to do it but i got annoyed a how many times i had to eneter my admin password. OS X currently has no viruses. there are a couple of trojans in the wild mainly disguised as QuickTime codecs but need your admin password to install. so be smart.

 

[sammich]

4. TextMate

Absolutely flawless, scriptable, and very lightweight. Then again, I haven't really tried too many others in the category.