New to MAC

[Lavachyste]

Hello guys,

 

So yesterday I bought an iMac, my first Mac ever. I've had a Hackintosh in the past and as I really enjoy the OS I decided to make the jump.

 

I am enjoying it so far, very pleased with it. If you guys have any tips for me, not the usual stuff you find online please to have them. But really I just wanted to say Hi!

 

David

[SCHISCHKA]

hi shit post that should be a status update.

[Rustation]

I've been using macOS as my daily driver for over 11 years now - since just before the Intel switch.  I've been getting back into Windows for the sake of PC gaming and VR a bit lately, but still prefer macOS for getting most of my work done.

 

Off the top of my head, here's what I can think of that any new Mac user should know:

• Many useful little apps in the Utilities folder (under Applications).  I use things in the Utilities folder so frequently that I've added it to my Finder sidebar
  • Audio MIDI Setup - configure weird and wonderful audio behaviours
  • Console - view system debug messages
  • Digital Color Meter - measure on-screen colours
  • Terminal
    • You can drag a file from Finder into Terminal and it will paste the file's full path
    • If you have spent much time using Linux, FreeBSD, or other unix OSes or want to learn any development, you should install a package manager like Homebrew, Macrpots or Fink
      • I personally prefer Macports, it works similarly to BSD and Gentoo Ports style packaging.  It has a very large collection of packages that install reliably
      • Homebrew is a unix-like package manager designed for macOS specifically.  It's the most popular in the community at the moment
      • Fink provides debian-like packaging.  It is less popular so doesn't have as broad a base of packages as other tools, but the essentials are there.  Unlike the other two, it downloads binary packages so installs should be a lot faster.
• Spend some time clicking through every option in System Preferences - macOS gets thought of as an operating system where Apple dictates their opinions to you, but actually there are a lot of little customisations you might like to make that might work better for you
  • Two UI tweaks I like to make are under General - "Use dark menu bare and dock", and also I like to change the text highlight colour
• Download Xcode from the App Store, then register for free at developer.apple.com, then download the "Additional tools for Xcode".  This includes Quartz Composer which you can use to make your own screen savers without writing code
• You can fill in PDF forms with the built-in Preview - even forms that were not designed to be fillable - using Tools -> Annotate.  You can even save an image to user as your signature
• There's a built-in print-to-PDF button in the bottom left corner of the system print dialog.  Whenever I use Windows I'm annoyed by this not being a built in feature

That's all I can think of for now.  I'll add to this thread as I think of more.

[mrchow19910319]

I think that everything you might find interesting is here: 

 

For me personally there are a few tips I would like to share: 

1. Windows users do almost everything with their mouse. Mac users often have their left hand on the keyboard. There are a lot of convenient keyboard shortcut you can use. (other than the most common one like ⌘+c ⌘+v ). You will form a habit of it within no time.
2. And a continuation of point one, use keyboard shortcut all the time.
   • In macOS, if you want a screenshot, just ⌘+shift+3 (for full screen screenshot) or ⌘+shift+4 (for selected area). 
   • (Almost) every app's settings shortcut is ⌘+, if they are not, don't worry, the devs will change it eventually.
   • ⌘+delete is to delete the whole line. option+delete is to delete word by word.
   • Go to alfred, type in trackpad, hit enter, and click the option of: "tap to click". 
   • There are a lot more shortcuts that is out there for you to find out. Google it I only listed what popped out of my head right now. 
3. Get alfred. When you are used to it, get the powerpack. It is a huge time saver. And use it and ⌘+tab to replace dock. I don't use the dock anymore. There are faster ways to do things. For example, if I want to copy some text and google it, on windows I normally do: copy text--open chrome-- open google's main page--paste the text-- enter. On my mac when I use alfred workflow it goes like this: copy text-- wakeup alfred (keyboard shortcut)-- paste it in-- enter. Trust me it is a huge difference when you got used to it. If you are used to this kind of workflow when you go back to windows in the future it will feel like it is so clumsy and tedious. 
4. Use different desktop spaces to multitask. What I normally do was I open a certain number of desktop spaces, and group them like : 1-3 text editor and webpage I am working on, 4 blank, 5 chrome window with 20 tabs in it, 6 black, 7 other programs that is work/study related, 8 blank, 9&10 twitter and entertainment. Some people prefer the old school way, only open one desktop space and command+tab the shit out of it. Me myself never got used to that. 
5. Most of the time, the mac app store's app are quite limited. Go online and download apps from the developers directly is a better option. But, you have to be careful. Mac does not get virus as often as windows, but, there is history of people downloading ransomware without noticed. If you want to enable download apps from anywhere, you need to open terminal and key in some command. It is really easy, but I won't paste those commands here cos it is kind of risky,. When you know the ins and outs of a mac, you can't use your mac without it. 
6. If you opened activity monitor you will find that your ram usage is fairly high, higher than windows machine. It is completely normal. Mac handles ram like linux machines. It is okay to have a 80% ram usage all the time. The thing you need to look out for is ram pressure and swap memory. And if your machine isn't noticeably slowing down, don't worry about ram usage. The machine is just doing its job and it is fine. 
7. From my experience apps on macs are generally more stable than apps on windows. 
8. You do not need to download any sort of "anti virus" on your mac. I haven't installed any of it and never run into any trouble. (Always download software from reputable brand and their official webpage). If you do, I suggest you download those ones that are in the mac app store. But take what I say with a grain of salt, as I am not an expert into this. But you really don't need a antivirus. Just open your system preference and under security and privacy turn on firewall. DO NOT under any circumstances, install a software that is called: MacKeeper. It is a malware that runs by scumbags. 
9. There is a podcast that is called: mac power users. It is on pocket cast as well as apple podcast. They sometimes discuss useful mac utilities, some of the apps are really useful. 
10. If you really want some input on this, go to reddit. r/mac or r/os x or r/apple. As this forum sometimes can be anti apple a bit. Enjoy your machine anyway, don't let others persuade you. 

 

[JakeNTech]

I use Mac OS X for everything but gaming or some coding, OS X is great and a lot better then windows,but don't get me wrong it still isn't perfect.  The hardest thing though is getting used to all the keyboard commands, switching between windows still has me pressing the start/command key instead of the control key. 

The best pice of advice that I can give is that therecommand+x to cut, its command+c to copy and then command+alt+v to move the file(cut)

[DrMacintosh]

btw I appear to be this forums resident Mac guy so if you need any info on special quirks of how Mac hardware works just tag me. 

[DrMacintosh]

18 hours ago, fixitnow said:

used to all the keyboard commands

tbh for me I think the Mac has a more logical approach to this. 

 

The command key is closer to the space bar and the word command is more accurate to what you are doing with the computer when you are telling it to copy, paste, cut, print, etc. 

 

Oh and idk how you think window management is hard on the Mac. Swipe up with 4 fingers (on trackpad Macs) or tap twice on the Magic Mouse with two finger and you get expose. Command+ tab works great too. 

[JakeNTech]

15 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

tbh for me I think the Mac has a more logical approach to this. 

 

The command key is closer to the space bar and the word command is more accurate to what you are doing with the computer when you are telling it to copy, paste, cut, print, etc. 

 

Oh and idk how you think window management is hard on the Mac. Swipe up with 4 fingers (on trackpad Macs) or tap twice on the Magic Mouse with two finger and you get expose. Command+ tab works great too. 

I agree with the cut command, it's just hard to get used to if you have use windows for years. I do know about window management but as a long time windows user it's hard to adjust, especially as I still use it. 

[mrchow19910319]

1 hour ago, fixitnow said:

I agree with the cut command, it's just hard to get used to if you have use windows for years. I do know about window management but as a long time windows user it's hard to adjust, especially as I still use it. 

If you think that switching from windows to mac is hard, try the other way around.

 

[JakeNTech]

13 minutes ago, mrchow19910319 said:

If you think that switching from windows to mac is hard, try the other way around.

 

Lol. That's not something I plan on doing

[mrchow19910319]

1 minute ago, fixitnow said:

Lol. That's not something I plan on doing

You are not the only one.  I sold my gaming desktop and got a macbook pro 2017 and use it as my main machine for coding as well as everyday tasks. And 2 external drives.

Spoiler

• i7-4770
• 16GB of ram
• GTX480
• 5TB of HDD in total
• RM650 PSU
• GA-h87-d3h mobo
• More than 10 fans in total (NFF12s corsair SP120s)
• Corsair 780T Case

 

[JakeNTech]

2 hours ago, mrchow19910319 said:

You are not the only one.  I sold my gaming desktop and got a macbook pro 2017 and use it as my main machine for coding as well as everyday tasks. And 2 external drives.

  Reveal hidden contents

• i7-4770
• 16GB of ram
• GTX480
• 5TB of HDD in total
• RM650 PSU
• GA-h87-d3h mobo
• More than 10 fans in total (NFF12s corsair SP120s)
• Corsair 780T Case

 

I got into macbook repairs as a hobby, but have recently dropped it for a while as the A1181's prices are too high. I have a 2009 A1342 macbook as its powerful enough to do everything I want; I still have my gaming PC, but have a OS X partition and a windows 10 partition, windows for games, OS X for everything else.

[mrchow19910319]

31 minutes ago, fixitnow said:

 

I blame mac mini. That's the gateway drug for me.

 

[Lavachyste]

thanks a lot for these advices. So far I've enjoyed every minutes of it. even the keyboard is great, but I am going to buy a mechanical 60% instead with customs key caps.

 

I have to admit the shortcuts are quite hard as I am used to PC and windows for so long. But I've been using much more the keyboard on Mac than Windows.

 

I am probably at some point buy an external HD to lighten up the one integrated. I might as well add some RAM but I am not sure if that is really needed as I ain't using heavy software or what not. But might be good for future proofing a little bit. I was unable to find any relevant data on that if it's actually needed or not.

 

The only problem I am having is my Zowie mouse buttons 5 and 4 (the side one) are not recognized and unusable (for back and forth in safari or chrome).

 

Thanks again guys

David

[mrchow19910319]

2 minutes ago, Lavachyste said:

 

Some of the imacs is user serviceable. Some aren't. 

Which model do you have? Care to share a list? 

 

I think for everyday compute, 8GB is fine. But knowing that, I got a 16GB macbook pro myself. 

 

[Lavachyste]

On 8/22/2017 at 7:08 PM, mrchow19910319 said:

Some of the imacs is user serviceable. Some aren't. 

Which model do you have? Care to share a list? 

 

I think for everyday compute, 8GB is fine. But knowing that, I got a 16GB macbook pro myself. 

 

I got the latest 27' iMac. Basic configuration, I did not wanted to add anything else as I know the RaM is really easy to instal and If at some point I want to replace the hdd by a 2tb SSD, it's also fesable.

[KingSamson]

Hey Lavachyste,

 

Congrats on your new mac.

 

I would advise that you install a fan control app (I bought iStat Menus), and then set your fan speed to a fairly high setting (if you don't mind the noise).

 

Macs tend to run hot, because Apple likes to keep them fairly silent. The tradeoff in Apple's approach is that your chips will be unduly strained by the rapid heating and cooling caused by the fan throttling.

 

My Mac's GPU actually died, from what was likely a combination of thermal strain, and a faulty chip design for my computer model (Macbook Pro 2011). I did get my logic board replaced once, but Apple is no longer stocking logic boards for my mac (so just keep that in mind regarding the longevity of your own device).

 

On the power user side of applications, if you are interested in automating your filing system, I highly recommend taking a look at Hazel (https://www.noodlesoft.com/).

 

Respectfully,

Sam

[KingSamson]

*Bonus Tip*

 

If you are into RSS feeds, I would suggest subscribing to "macworld", and "OSXDaily" (or just visit their websites from time to time). They tend to post articles with tips and tricks regarding features of Mac OS that are easily overlooked, but often prove useful.

 

When I first got my mac I visited their sites (and others like it), and after a little while I became very proficient with the OS!

[mrchow19910319]

3 hours ago, KingSamson said:

*Bonus Tip*

 

If you are into RSS feeds, I would suggest subscribing to "macworld", and "OSXDaily" (or just visit their websites from time to time). They tend to post articles with tips and tricks regarding features of Mac OS that are easily overlooked, but often prove useful.

 

When I first got my mac I visited their sites (and others like it), and after a little while I became very proficient with the OS!

And if you are into that kind of thing, there is a podcast called: MacPowerUsers. 

Go listen to it right now!

You can find it on pocketcasts and apple's podcast as well.