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Windows user to MacBook Pro

D

dtdyer01

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 18, 2009
41
0
Hi all

I have had iPhone 3G to 4S, ipad 1,2 & 2 3G.
However being a little bit of a Apple fan boy, well man. But who is counting the years.
I have always been a PC user since the mid 80's and understand pretty much anything Windows throws at me. Today I took the jump to get a Macbook Pro 13" i5 processor.
The guys at the Apple store showed me the basics, although there are a few things which I would like help with.
1: Monitoring net traffic on the Mac. Windows example "Netlimiter"
2: Is there something like "Notes" found on iOS, or "wordpad" found in windows.
3: Is there a way to see your HardDrive in your Desktop, like "my computer" in windows.

Can't think of anything else but I will update if i get more questions. Thanks in advance for your help
 
simsaladimbamba said:

1. Activity Monitor > Network or iStat Pro widget.
2. TextEdit or Stickies or Dashboard > Stickies
3. Finder > Preferences > General > Show these items.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help.
How can I get widgets? where would i download istat pro or network from.
Sorry to come across like and idiot. Really am new to Mac. Although I love it
 
dtdyer01 said:
Thanks for your help.
How can I get widgets? where would i download istat pro or network from.
Sorry to come across like and idiot. Really am new to Mac. Although I love it
Click to expand...

Nah, you're not coming across like an idiot.

Just Google "Dashboard widgets" and click on the Apple one. Below is a link to iStat Pro.
iStat Pro
 
Thanks I downloaded it. Works great.
However this wasn't what I expected. I was looking for something where I can shape various applications download and upload speed to the net.
For example, I'm currently downloading WOW, but their client is a p2p and there for uploads as well as downloads. The upload is being maxed and therefore killing my download.
Normally I would limit upload to 30kbps.
Here is a screenshot of Netlimiter. Was looking for something similar
nl2shot_limit.png
 
Thanks, its hard to know which port a program is using. Not sure if anyone knows how to see this.

Also do I need to do anything to make my mac secure.
Heard a rumour that macs can't get viruses. Not sure if this is gospel or not. How about firewalls. I currently use maCaffe on the PC which keeps everything as secure as I can be.

I know I could hunt around on Google for these answers, but find I can get conflicting messages. I feel that it is easier to ask likeminded people.

Thanks again
 
dtdyer01 said:
Thanks, its hard to know which port a program is using. Not sure if anyone knows how to see this.

Also do I need to do anything to make my mac secure.
Heard a rumour that macs can't get viruses. Not sure if this is gospel or not. How about firewalls. I currently use maCaffe on the PC which keeps everything as secure as I can be.

I know I could hunt around on Google for these answers, but find I can get conflicting messages. I feel that it is easier to ask likeminded people.

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Can't help you with NetMonitor I guess, I looked myself several times over the year, I only found some Terminal script.
As for viruses and malware:
There are currently no viruses for Mac OS X in public circulation, only a handful of trojans and other malware, which have to be installed manually via entering the administrator password.
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.
Also know, that the term "virus" is often used to refer to other kinds of malware, but there are differences, which you can find out by reading the following:
Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios​

As for security settings:
 
dtdyer01 said:
Heard a rumour that macs can't get viruses.
Click to expand...
They can, but they don't, since no Mac OS X viruses exist. You don't need any 3rd party antivirus app to keep your Mac malware-free. Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released 10 years ago. You cannot infect your Mac simply by visiting a website, unzipping a file, opening an email attachment or joining a network. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which cannot infect your Mac unless you actively install them, and they can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.

dtdyer01 said:
How about firewalls.
Click to expand...
Go to System Preferences > Security > Firewall and make sure it's enabled.
Go to Safari > Preferences > Security > Enable Java (uncheck this. Enable JavaScript is ok to leave checked)
Go to Safari > Preferences > General > Open "safe" files after downloading (uncheck this)
 
Thanks guys for all your help.

Just found something else which I'm not sure of.

If a program crashes on Windows I would Ctrl, Alt, Del to get task manager and force the program to close.

I was just playing a game in full screen and it seemed inactive, and was almost at a point of 'what to do'. Luckily it sorted itself out. Just needed some patience. However would do I do for the above scenario.
Again thank you for helping a newbie, who is enjoying his first day with a mac
 
dtdyer01 said:
If a program crashes on Windows I would Ctrl, Alt, Del to get task manager and force the program to close.
Click to expand...
There are a few ways to do this in Mac OS X.

As thundersteele said, Command-Option-Esc will bring up the Force Quit Applications menu

You can also hold the Option key while right-clicking the app's Dock icon, then select "Force Quit"

You can also launch Activity Monitor, select the process, then press the Quit button.
 
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