Looking at some light reading titled "Everything Mac"

funklord · November 10, 2006 7:20PM

Oh man... I have a brand spanking new 15" Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33 in my lap as I write this. I worked on a powerbook for my brief time as a web designer, but that was OS 9, and for less than 2 years.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed

. I feel like I'm learning the OS from scratch, so this is a warning in advance... expect a bunch of newbie questions from me, but don't worry, I'll read the manual first

Last thing... OMG this thing is freaking light... and sexy

The more I'm reading and using it... the more I like it. My hardcore PC buddy is going to give me soo much crap for buying this

.

Ok, sorry about the rambling... I'm still dealing with the warm glow of a new computer

jaketherock · November 10, 2006 7:55PM

Wlcome to the world of mac, man!

funklord · November 10, 2006 8:12PM

Thanks a lot.

LOL, I've been on this reply field for about 5min now, but every time I have a question that I'm just about ready to write, I try something that I at first thought would be too simple... and it works

. I was digging all over and reading about the dock trying to figure out what I do to add or remove programs from it... then I tried dragging things off and on

. I'm really going to need to time to get used to this. I'm over thinking just about everything.

Oh, 2 quick qustions:

what do you all recommend for essential software? (just the stuff you can't live without)

Do you all stick with quicktime to play all your video files?

funklord · November 10, 2006 10:33PM

ok, just hit an issue that I 'm stuck on: is there a way to right-click (ctrl-click) with the trackpad?

chucker · November 10, 2006 10:42PM

Yes, tap it with both fingers. (You need to have this enabled in System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Trackpad -> Tap trackpad using two fingers for secondary click.)

funklord · November 10, 2006 10:52PM

cool, thanks. I was hoping I could use the right side of the "clicker", but that works alright too.

amorya · November 11, 2006 4:46PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

what do you all recommend for essential software? (just the stuff you can't live without)

Do you all stick with quicktime to play all your video files?

I use quicktime for most things. (Quicktime Pro is pretty nice.) You'll need to download a few extra codecs, like DivX and the like.

If you don't want to use Quicktime, try VLC. It can play pretty much anything, and does fullscreen without paying extra. It's free, too

Amorya

funklord · November 11, 2006 6:25PM

cool, I'll check out that player too

Um, I've got a new issue that I'm dealing with... two actually

#1: I plugged in an external HD that I used to transfer files from the PC. It sees it and I can copy files just fine, but for some reason my permission is such that I can only read. Need a little help with that.

#2: I'm trying to hook up my laptop with my monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. That's going well except that I would like to be able to close my laptop without putting the whole thing to sleep. The guy at the Apple store said that it would be possible to get everything set up so that I can plug in an external monitor and just close up the laptop. Was he talking out his arse or can I mess with some settings and do this?

thanks

edit... one more question: I have a Logitech cordless desktop. While it looks like they don't support Mac OS, is there some way to untilize and configure the extra buttons on my mouse? I don't do a lot of gaming, I do enough to really miss the loss of 5 buttons.

mr. h · November 11, 2006 6:49PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

#1: I plugged in an external HD that I used to transfer files from the PC. It sees it and I can copy files just fine, but for some reason my permission is such that I can only read. Need a little help with that.

The disk is probably NTFS formatted. OS X has a read-only NTFS driver. If you don't need to use the disk with a PC, copy everything off the disk, then reformat it using "disk utility" (found in /Applications/Utilities/) to HFS+. If you do need to use it with a PC, either reformat to FAT-32, or use HFS+ and buy "MacDrive" for your PC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

#2: I'm trying to hook up my laptop with my monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. That's going well except that I would like to be able to close my laptop without putting the whole thing to sleep. The guy at the Apple store said that it would be possible to get everything set up so that I can plug in an external monitor and just close up the laptop. Was he talking out his arse or can I mess with some settings and do this?

When the laptop lid is closed, press the spacebar on the external keyboard and the machine should wake up.

However, why don't you try running the machine with a dual-screen set-up? With the external display plugged in, launch "system preferences", go to "Displays" and have a good tinker.

On the video-player front, VLC and MPlayer are good. On the QuickTime front, you should definitely get the DivX and Flip4Mac WMV components. If you don't need the extra functionality of QuickTime pro, you can get a number of freeware solutions to enable QuickTime fullscreen playback. My personal favourite is QuickTime FS.

funklord · November 11, 2006 7:45PM

you guys seriously rock

thanks for all the fast responses. they're making my Windows to Mac transition a LOT easier

ok, so along with the keyboard thing, are any of you World of Warcraft players? I was just wondering if there was some way to alt-tab out of it, or other programs. I'm not having much luck.

majormatt · November 11, 2006 8:42PM

Switching apps on a mac is command (apple) tab

funklord · November 11, 2006 9:03PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MajorMatt

Switching apps on a mac is command (apple) tab

I have figured that part out, but thanks. What I was wondering about was doing the switching during a game (specifically World of Warcraft). Just wondering if anyone knew if it was possible.

That and I'm still trying to get the extra buttons on my Logitech mouse to work. I've been to their page, but it looks like the drivers are only WinXP. I'd really really like to be able use them, so any ideas on how to get that going would be HUGELY appreciated.

Thanks again for all the help guys. you do your kind proud

. Seriously though, I have been very impressed by how welcoming everyone has been

icfireball · November 11, 2006 10:53PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

Thanks a lot.

LOL, I've been on this reply field for about 5min now, but every time I have a question that I'm just about ready to write, I try something that I at first thought would be too simple... and it works

. I was digging all over and reading about the dock trying to figure out what I do to add or remove programs from it... then I tried dragging things off and on

. I'm really going to need to time to get used to this. I'm over thinking just about everything.

Oh, 2 quick qustions:

what do you all recommend for essential software? (just the stuff you can't live without)

Do you all stick with quicktime to play all your video files?

Search the forums for similar threads about Mac OS X software essentials (free and pay for). There is currently one going about free programs with a lot of links, and there have been many threads about what applications people use the most/like the most.

I'll give you a sample tho:

Adium - excellent AIM program. (Much better than iChat and a HELL of a lot better than AIM for mac which hasn't been updated in 3+ years I think. (FREE)

Cyberduck - FTP client (FREE)

HandBrake - If you want to rip DVDs into your computer in a movie file. (FREE)

BlueCoconut - Copy iTunes songs that are shared from another computer and otherwise not obtainable via the network (FREE)

EarthDesk - Put's the satellite image map of the world with current cloud cover, lighting around the world and lights from earth when it is dark in a place. (NOT FREE BUT CHEAP)

mr. h · November 12, 2006 5:54AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icfireball

Search the forums for similar threads about Mac OS X software essentials (free and pay for).

Unfortunately, search on AppleInsider is still rubbish. It's not as broken as it used to be, but it still isn't great.

jabohn · November 12, 2006 2:39PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

edit... one more question: I have a Logitech cordless desktop. While it looks like they don't support Mac OS, is there some way to untilize and configure the extra buttons on my mouse? I don't do a lot of gaming, I do enough to really miss the loss of 5 buttons.

I have a Logitech mouse and I don't even use the Logitech drivers... I use USB Overdrive which will let you use mice etc. even if there is no mac driver. You can try it before you buy it, but it's cheap.

funklord · November 13, 2006 7:48AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabohn

I have a Logitech mouse and I don't even use the Logitech drivers... I use USB Overdrive which will let you use mice etc. even if there is no mac driver. You can try it before you buy it, but it's cheap.

Well, the legitech software detected the mouse just fine, but not the keyboard. I Just got an email back from Logitech about that:

"Thank you for contacting Logitech Customer Support.

Based on your email, I see that you can't get the LCC software to detect your Cordless Desktop MX 3100.

Currently the Cordless Desktop MX 3100 has not been tested on MAC platform. Therefore, it is not compatible.

Therefore, please visit our website periodically to get updates on future developments for the Cordless Desktop MX 3100.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

So... yeah... that sucks. Also, it seems that the USB Overdrive, while it looks like a great program, does not accept keyboards.

Anyone know of 3rd party software that lets you configure a keyboard's extra function buttons?

jabohn · November 13, 2006 3:29PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

Anyone know of 3rd party software that lets you configure a keyboard's extra function buttons?

Try looking here. The program is no longer in development but may work for you, and it also lists an alternative.

Also try this one?

funklord · November 13, 2006 5:37PM

Those look good, but it seems like they only let you do certain preset configurations like swapping the alt and windows key, disable caps lock, and the like.

I'm trying to get the full (or as full as I can get) functionality out of this kind of desktop. I couldn't find my exact one on the site.

So I'm looking to have the media player button call up quicktime or vlc (or whatever I decide on), have the eject button work, and things like that. It's not a big deal, but it would be cool

to have all the buttons still do what they say.

edit: don't mean to sound like I'm being uber-picky. I'm just dealing with the growing pains of a "switcher"

jabohn · November 13, 2006 5:46PM

Right, I gotcha. I had a similar Logitech media keyboard once... used it for a few months then went back to the Apple keyboard. Apple's has, IMO, a much better feel to the keys and and I found Logitech's drivers buggy and the keyboard had a few drawbacks like you can't use it for example to hold down the OPTION key to choose a startup disk at boot time.

funklord · November 13, 2006 7:06PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabohn

you can't use it for example to hold down the OPTION key to choose a startup disk at boot time.

Ahh, that's good to know. I'm kinda peeved at Logitech now and their half-arsed support of the Mac platform

. Too bad as I really like my cordless desktop setup.

aryayush · November 14, 2006 5:04AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funklord

Oh, 2 quick qustions:

what do you all recommend for essential software? (just the stuff you can't live without)

Do you all stick with quicktime to play all your video files?

No, I don't and for ONE reason. Do you use the MacBook Pro's in-built speakers or do you connect external speakers? If you use the on-board speakers a lot, try NicePlayer for playing your video files. Crank up the volume level of the software to the maximum and compare it to QuickTime. It is significantly louder. I have some videos which when played on QuickTime are totally inaudible and NicePlayer does a decent job with them, I can at least hear most of what is being said. So, give it a try. Other software you can use:

1. Fan Control - Cool your MacBook Pro.

2. Skype - You don't need me to tell you what it does.

3. Overflow (paid) - A very handy launcher, keeps the dock uncluttered.

4. Disco (paid) - Best CD/DVD burning software available on any platform.

5. Opera - It is not a Cocoa app so it does not look as good as Safari and lacks some of the cool functions available to Cocoa apps (such as extensive drag-and-drop support), but it can beat Safari any day due to the sheer number of features available.

6. Parallels (paid) - Takes you back to the uncivilised way of getting things done. In other words, lets you run Windows (XP and Vista) on Mac OS X simultaneously on a virtual machine.

7. Stuffit Expander (paid) - Supports most arhive formats out there.

8. Chax (free iChat plug-in) - Gives you a taste of Leopard, enables tabbed chatting.

9. iGetter or Speed Download (both paid) - If you feel the need for a download manager.

Keep track of sites like MacUpdate and VersionTracker to remain on top of whatever is the latest and greatest in the Mac applications arena. I am sorry for not providing the links to these apps but I did not have much time. You can use this nifty site called Google - oh, but I bet you knew about it!

Looking at some light reading titled "Everything Mac"

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