What are the first things I should do with my new MBP i5?

[loganwhy]

Hi everyone!

I ordered my new MacBook Pro 15" i5 2.4 and I wanted to know what are the first things that you do with your new laptop (aside from the obvious transfer of files)? Do I try to calibrate the battery right away? Install any particular software? This is my first Intel Mac so I got a copy of Windows 7 for Boot Camp for some software for work and some gaming.

What else do you do and do you think is the best way to get your Mac set up to use?

 

[vasuba]

Hi everyone!

I ordered my new MacBook Pro 15" i5 2.4 and I wanted to know what are the first things that you do with your new laptop (aside from the obvious transfer of files)? Do I try to calibrate the battery right away? Install any particular software? This is my first Intel Mac so I got a copy of Windows 7 for Boot Camp for some software for work and some gaming.

What else do you do and do you think is the best way to get your Mac set up to use?

Probably have the battery run down while installing softwares etc is the way to go so you can calibrate right away. That way you are productive while getting ready to make sure battery is running perfectly.

 

[rmbrown09]

install all of this
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/910313/

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I ordered my new MacBook Pro 15" i5 2.4 and I wanted to know what are the first things that you do with your new laptop

I would highly encourage you to _not_ load any software other than what you need as a minimum for the first few days.

That will allow you time to run the computer and be sure it's operating properly. In the rare event there is a problem the fewer changes you have made to it the better.

There is nothing worse (I know, I've learned the hard way) than to spend lots of time setting up a new laptop, only to have a huge crash or other problem within the first few days. If you have to send it back for a replacement, you lose all that time and effort. So that's what I do, I only install what I _must_ have, use it for a least four days, logging as much time as possible. Then if there are no issues I proceed to do the rest of my setup. As far as what you should ad, I would suggest you learn your computer well before adding more new software to learn. Especially if you are new to Mac, or switching from a PC.

Here's a link:
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/

Enjoy...

 

[iamrawr]

I totally agree on what wirelessmacruser said and also calibrate your battery.

Another thing is to customize it!
go tinker with the system preferences such as hot corners, wallpapers, etc.
If you like the trackpad also try the BetterTouchTool software

 

[jmdMac]

I totally agree on what wirelessmacruser said and also calibrate your battery.

Another thing is to customize it!
go tinker with the system preferences such as hot corners, wallpapers, etc.
If you like the trackpad also try the BetterTouchTool software

BetterTouchTool is a must! This is my first Mac and it has made my user experience so intuitive, I love being able to set my own touchpad shortcuts! Makes multitasking and just everything much more time efficient, try it out.

Also, wouldn't be a bad idea to not put too much time customizing it like wirelessmacruser said, as it would definitely lead to more frustration if something did go wrong.

But after those few days have passed I would also recommend checking out these apps/programs:

Either GPUInfoMenu or gfxCardStatus, they display which graphics card is in current use. Try them both and keep the one you like, I prefer GPUInfoMenu but I know many like the simple look of gfxCardStatus.

A good video player. I use VLC player, it seems to very reliable and highly recommended.

I also put windows 7 on my mac via bootcamp, and am also using parallels 5 for the same partition. Works like a charm unless you need to do some heavy lifting or gaming, at which point you can just boot into windows.

Other than that, I have customized how everything looks, added a couple web browsers(firefox and chrome), and that's about it so far. I will add more as I see necessary. I just love having such a clean and fast PC to use, it really is a joy everytime I use it after using Windows for 10+ years.

Regards,
John