Tips: Switching to Mac

For those of you exploring your Mac with enthusiasm, you can check out the following list of free mac programs that do various handy things: http://lifehacker.com/5826449/lifehacker-pack-for-mac-our-list-of-the-best-free-mac-downloads (I highly recommend VLC (plays a lot of different video files) and Unarchiver (opens compressed files, like .rar; Mac is already equipped to zip and unzip for you, just right click and hit 'compress').




The free security antivirus program Jason and David recommended is: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition/download.aspx

I wrote this ages ago for friends and family that switched, so if you're interested, I hope it is helpful to you.

If you eat complicated for breakfast, you can get real in detail with this comprehensive “Switch” page: http://lifehacker.com/224674/hack-attack-a-guide-for-switching-to-a-mac

Official Mac switching support videos can be found here: http://support.apple.com/videos/#macos 

Otherwise, some basics:

• Number one thing to know right off the bat: any time you used ctrl on windows, use command on macs. Cmd+C is copy, Cmd+V is paste, Cmd+W closes a window, Cmd+Q quits. If you ever want the equivalent of ctrl+alt+del, it's called "Force Quit" and it's located on the top right menu from the apple icon, or apple+option+esc.
• Remember that Macs find things for you rather than forcing you to move through menus/folders, and it's far easier to let them. Use the Finder (magnifying glass in top right of your screen).
• Instead of slapping menu bars on every window, Mac's one top menu bar simply changes according to which window you have selected. Change preferences, close programs, etc.
• You can customize the dock if you want to, make it only appear when you need it to, size, turn that annoying zoom thing off, etc. Ctrl+click an empty space on the dock to mess around with "Dock Preferences." You can also drag things off into the desktop and let go to delete them.

How to install programs...

You'll likely download programs for the most part. These will come in:
1. Zip Files: there is no need for a program to zip and unzip files on a mac--"archiving" is built in, and you just right click a folder you want to "create archive" or zip, and it will create one, or just open a zip file to unzip it.
2. .rar Files: If you ever get any rar files, you can extract them with Unarchiver.
3. .mpkg Files: basically like a zip. Just double click to open.

• You might open a zip file to find a ".dmg" file. This file will "mount" a drive onto your computer. Think of it as virtual disk drive.
• You can open this drive and you'll find the program, represented by one main icon. Sometimes there's an installation program for bigger ones like iTunes, but for the most part, you'll just find the program icon.
• From there, "installing" is basically just copying the application into your "applications" folder, which you can find by typing it into the finder on the top right, or going through your Macintosh HD file (on the desktop) by hand.
• After, you can right click the mounted drive to "eject" it and delete any zip files by dragging them to the trash, or highlighting it and hitting command+backspace.

To "uninstall," simply delete the icon from your applications folder. Presto.

P.S. Watch out for .exe files. Macs CANNOT RUN .exe files. Don't make it try. BAD. There is always an alternative of some kind for any major windows exe file/program, I promise. http://lifehacker.com/5809879/how-to-get-windows-best-features-on-mac-os-x

P.P.S. If you had complicated as an appetizer and as an entrée you chew on difficult salted with patience, you can run both windows and mac on the same machine. http://lifehacker.com/384256/have-your-mac-and-windows-too-with-boot-camp