Got my first Mac (Pro) any tips?

[Imagination]

Hello,

FedEx just dropped my new Mac Pro off.

Case looks beautiful inside. Its my first dealing with a Mac so i can't tell how to benchmark it to see if everything is running optimally. Takes about 20-30 seconds to boot up. For the most part loading apps and stuff seems smooth. I was able to freeze Safari a couple times (beach ball kept spinning for 5+ minutes). It wouldn't let me load anything or do anything so I hit the power button, it went to sleep and turned it back on and safari wasn't froze no more. Didn't crash, just froze. (that normal of safari?)

Anyway.. This Mac Pro is for Audio/Video work only.

Any tips or things I should look out for since this is my first mac? Is there some software thats bundled w/ the mac that I should get rid of or replace w/ something else?

Also big question. Do i need a anti-virus? If so, which?

OK thats all now. Back to figuring this sucker out!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Kmax82]

Safari crashes A LOT for me. I would recommend Firefox, or Camino. I personally like Camino the best, but some people prefer the extensions of Firefox (which I do use occasionally).

Pretty much most of the software that the Mac comes with can stay. They don't bundle as much junk with them as they used to, so you're fine with what's included. You might want to get rid of some software depending on your use, but it won't hurt anything being on your system. Apple doesn't load up your startup system like PC manufacturers do.

I haven't used an anti virus on my Mac yet, and all's well. I recommend listening to a few podcasts "Mac Attack", for one, as it details a lot of the steps you can take to make sure your Mac stays in tip top shape. Just simple scripts that you can install which you'll run every month to 6 months, and it keeps things well oiled. BTW, The Mac Attack host is a bit hard to listen to, for me, but it's good information. Just listen to the specific episodes that correlate with system maintenance and then ignore the rest, if you find he's too hard to listen to.

The same user rule applies on Macs, as on PCs, IMO. Don't open anything that looks suspicious. Which I would hope most people don't. But you still see so many people who get hit by email/website trojans. Yuck..

But to my knowledge I don't know of any reason to have Mac anti virus, yet.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

There are no free trials or anything that you have to worry about except for iWork. Use Firefox I guess and make sure you get Final Cut Pro or Express for that video work.

 

[Imagination]

Thanks for the replys....

I have another question. after a week or two and I have learned my way around this mac pro, i'm going to upgrade the memory and hard drives. I'd like to take out the current hard drive (320GB) and put one of my 750GB's in its place. Is the installation of the Mac OS easy? The only CD's that came w/ the Mac Pro is Mac OS 10.5.1. Is there a CD Key or something I Need to look for, for when i'm about ready to exchange the hard drives and reinstall Mac OS?

I bought the apple care plan when i bought the Mac Pro and I am suppose to receive some type of paper work and a restore cd.. not sure if thats the cd i would use or should i use the mac os cd's.....

Sorry i'm new to macs.. i'm learning...

Thanks!

 

[keeleysam]

You don't need to reinstall, I'd just use Carbon Copy Cloner:

http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

There is no CD key for Mac OS. If you're going to reinstall, put the disc in that came with the machine, and hold down C while rebooting.

 

[Silversierra]

OS X is easy to install, easier than windows IMO, but if you get stuck, there are a lot of guides online that you could read. Apple's guide is pretty good, here's the direct link.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/...pard_Install-Setup.pdf

You don't need a cd key for the os. If you wanted to, you could put the 750GB drive in another drive bay and use something like carbon copy cloner to just "image" the original install over to the new drive. Either way will do the job, but if you have stuff installed or a lot of documents/projects, then imaging it is easier. The applecare "physical product" is a small box that has your registration key and warranty info inside, as well as a diagnostic disc. Your os disc(s) came with the system. If you got the system from apple direct, then they might have activated the warranty already, but if not, then you'll have to either call apple with your applecare number and system serial number or register it online.

 

[Imagination]

Wow cool.. Thanks a lot guys.. I'm really loving this whole thing!!!!

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
There are no free trials or anything that you have to worry about except for iWork. Use Firefox I guess and make sure you get Final Cut Pro or Express for that video work.

I think with a new Mac, the install CD's include a 30-day trial of Office 2004.

 

[Imagination]

So far i'm not impressed w/ installations of software.

On windows, theres a setup.exe. Some of my software is cross platform. I Place the CD in, an image of the CD is loaded and it tells me to copy an icon or a folder to the Application folder. So i copy it and then there is a folder where iDVD, iPhoto, Time Machine, System preferences, on and on. So i have a bunch of neat little icons and then a bunch of folders. Its like looking at Windows Explorer. I figured the Applications folder would just show icons to applications... Then i go into the folder and click on an exe and then it installs...But then after it installs, that ugly folder is still there and i'm not sure if i can delete it or not.... i think i need to buy a book....

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Imagination
So far i'm not impressed w/ installations of software. On windows, theres a setup.exe. Some of my software is cross platform. I Place the CD in, an image of the CD is loaded and it tells me to copy an icon or a folder to the Application folder. So i copy it and then there is a folder where iDVD, iPhoto, Time Machine, System preferences, on and on. So i have a bunch of neat little icons.... and then a bunch of folders. Its like a graphical version of MS-DOS 6 in regards to directory structure. It looks ugly. I figured the Applications folder would just show icons to applications... Then i go into the folder and click on an exe and then it installs...But then after it installs, that ugly folder is still there and i'm not sure if i can delete it or not.... i think i need to buy a book....

Applications in OS X install in one of two ways:

1. Drag-and-drop
2. Installer

Smaller programs such as Cyberduck and NetNewsWire operate in the drag-and-drop manner. Larger programs such as Adobe CS3 use an installer. Everything installs to the Applications folder for easy access. Some applications are listed as icons while some icons are in the folders. It is completely up to you to add the ones you want to the Dock. If it's a program you don't use that often, just use Spotlight to type in the name to find and open it quickly (Command + Spacebar is the shortcut).

You can re-arrange the folder view however you want - a list of files, big icons, or even Coverflow. It's completely up to you; you have a variety of options. You can make OS X look and feel pretty much however you want with the combination of settings they offer.

If you are looking for a good book, I'd highly recommend David Pogue's "Leopard: The Missing Manual":

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-L...&qid=1205979452&sr=8-1

In fact, you may want the "Switching to Mac" version instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Switchin...&qid=1205979452&sr=8-2

 

[Imagination]

Kaido,

Thanks for clarifying it for me. At least I know i'm not doing it wrong then.

I'll buy both those books right now.

Thanks again!

PS.. i am loving this Mac Pro more then my PC in the few hours i've been on it....lol..

 

[Megatomic]

Welcome to the club Imagination. I recently joined the club myself and I'm just as pleased with my Mac as you appear to be.

I got the Missing Manual book for Leopard for reference, but I haven't needed it yet. I've figured out most things on my own and gotten some help here in AT Apple. But I'm sure the book'll come in handy soon enough.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Imagination
Kaido,

Thanks for clarifying it for me. At least I know i'm not doing it wrong then.

I'll buy both those books right now.

Thanks again!

PS.. i am loving this Mac Pro more then my PC in the few hours i've been on it....lol..

Here's some more useful information:

How to play a variety of Multimedia files on OS X

How to work with Compressed files (ZIP) in OS X

Firefox as a Safari alternative

Be sure to download all the latest Apple updates. Here are some other useful apps:

Little Snitch $ (similar to ZoneAlarm)

AppZapper $ (completely deletes all files support files of a program as well as the program itself)

NetNewsWire Free (RSS reader)

Transmission Free (BitTorrent client)

Cyberduck Free (FTP client)

 

[Illusio]

I actaully prefer installing apps on macs as opposed to the PC. For a lot of them, it's just drag the icon to the Apps folder and your done. Makes deleting them a snap. Just delete them. With Windows, the apps put junk all over your hard drive. And a lot of times, even the uninstaller's don't get rid of all the bloat.

 

[erikistired]

drag your applications folder down to your dock (beside the trash can). set the view as to list. it gives you a quick way to get at your apps while you decide what you want on your dock, and it's a bit more like the start menu so it's familiar. i still have mine down there after a few years in os x, because it gives me access to apps i don't use often without digging thru the finder.

 

[Imagination]

I did order a book from amazon.com.

I think cause I was on windows for so long, i think everything must have a registry and a certain way it installs. Never in my wildest dreams did i ever think you could just copy a directory or an icon over and thats it. I figured there had to be tons and tons and tons of files like on windows when you have exe's, dlls, inis, bats, ect....

To bad MS (or any of the other companies that code for windows) never thought of that..

 

[erikistired]

there are tons of files, but they are all contained within the app file.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: fisher
there are tons of files, but they are all contained within the app file.

Yep, the app is a container that holds all the files within. But sure as hell makes life quite a bit easier

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: fisher
there are tons of files, but they are all contained within the app file.

Yep, the app is a container that holds all the files within. But sure as hell makes life quite a bit easier

yeah it does. a file or a small folder and a pref file beats the mess that is windows any day.

 

[Imagination]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: fisher
there are tons of files, but they are all contained within the app file.

Yep, the app is a container that holds all the files within. But sure as hell makes life quite a bit easier

It boggles my mind how simple it is. At first I couldn't believe it. No registry.. no .dll, .bat, .ini, .cfg, .ini, ect.... Just 1 file. DAMN!

BTW, thanks for the replies all. I bought books from amazon to help me along the way.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Imagination

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: fisher
there are tons of files, but they are all contained within the app file.

Yep, the app is a container that holds all the files within. But sure as hell makes life quite a bit easier

It boggles my mind how simple it is. At first I couldn't believe it. No registry.. no .dll, .bat, .ini, .cfg, .ini, ect.... Just 1 file. DAMN!

BTW, thanks for the replies all. I bought books from amazon to help me along the way.

It took me a while to get used to it as well...

You want something that you could basically never do in windows (at least in my experience) If you don't want to clone your whole drive, when you do a reinstall, back up the files that you want, as well as the library, your apps folder, and your user library. Then, when the reinstall is complete, copy back the app folder. Now, open each one once. Now, copy back the libraries. Reopen the apps, all your settings have been restored, as well as everything else.

Wicked non?