I just switched from Windows to Mac.  Now what?  I was counting on no adjustment to a different computer.  I didn’t know what I needed to know; I couldn’t even begin to ask the right questions.  So here I am with my shiny new Mac.  Now what?

When someone showed me the power button at the lower back of the computer that was at least a start; I know how to turn the computer on.  I felt pretty encouraged when I saw the beautiful screen.  Colors seem super vivid.  Apple says the screen is backlit and has an enormous number of pixels.  This means that I’m looking at a screen that’s even sharper than an HD TV.

Sure is pretty, but where are my documents?  Well, I’m told that I can use the externals that I was already accustomed to using such as my USB flash drive.  I can plug my flash drive, for example, into the USB port in the back.  An icon will show on my Desktop and I can double-click to open any file.  My external hard drive that I bought to back up files, to transport really large files and for extra storage will work well via the Firewire port located on the back.  Files can be copied onto the Desktop simply by dragging them.  I could drag them into folders that I create either on the Desktop or in the Document folder on the Desktop.

What about my files on the “H” drive (It’s the Home drive on a Mac.)?  How do I access those using my new Mac?  This task takes a few steps but only the first time.  Here goes.  Click on the Go menu.  Select Connect to Server.  Choose from the list or type the name of your server.  For example, ITS staff would type “admin3.smith.edu.”  Click OK.  Now, log on with your username and password.  Good.  You’ll see that an icon has mounted on the Desktop.  Double click and in the directory window you will be able to navigate to your “HOME” location on the server and then your personal folder that has your username on it.  To avoid many steps each time that you want to reach your Home drive, drag your new Home drive icon to the Dock.  When you want to access your files on your Home drive then click on the icon on your Dock.  Log in.

The Dock is a fancy bar at the bottom of the screen that “docks” my most likely to be used applications (software).  I can add more applications by dragging an icon onto the Dock and I can delete the ones displayed by dragging an icon off the Dock.  That is, I can add or delete the icon for an application simply by dragging and dropping.  The Dock has a second purpose of holding an icon for each of my open and minimized windows.  These will always appear at the right end of the Dock.  And, one more thing:  I can click on the icon on the Dock for each of my open applications in order to switch from one to the other.

Of course, I discovered that there is no “My Computer” on a Mac, however; if I double click on my Macintosh HD icon in the upper right corner of the Desktop, I’ll see the Finder directory that reminds me very much of Windows Explorer (the Windows directory).

One of the first things that I noticed about my Desktop was that it had a folder called Documents.  It’s just like old times with My Documents on my Windows-based computer.

Trash is still Trash.  I can drag icons or files or folders to the Trash which sits on the right end of the Dock.  Empty the Trash by clicking on the Trash icon or by going to the Apple menu and selecting “Empty Trash.”

I used to change time, display and other settings on my PC from my Control Panel.  I can do the same by going to the Apple menu and choosing System Preferences.

There is so much more to tell, of course, but all the information about what’s alike and what’s different about a Mac compared to a Windows machine is extremely simple and easy to understand.  I recommend viewing the brief video tutorials at apple.com:

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#pctomac

Additional information can be found at:

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101

http://www.smith.edu/its/tara/macintosh.html

Apple Mail FAQs and setup instructions can be found at:

http://www.smith.edu/its/tara/groupwise.html#applemail

If you’re familiar with the text-editor Emacs (and even if you’re not) you may find these shortcuts really handy:

• Control-A: Beginning of line (like Home)
• Control-D: Forward delete (like the Forward Delete button, ⌦)
• Control-E: End of line (like End)
• Control-K: Kill/remove text between cursor and the end of the line
• Control-U: Remove/delete current line
• Control-V: Page down

For a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts, check out this Support article from Apple: Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts

It’s also good to know that you can find keyboard shortcuts for most of your common activities if you look in the menu of an application. The relevant keyboard shortcuts are listed right next to the menu item. For example, in this Firefox menu, I can see that to make a New Tab, all I need to do is hit ⌘T, and to close the current tab, ⌘W.

If you’re ever unsure what the symbols mean in a keyboard shortcut diagram, here’s a dictionary:

• Control = ⌃
• Command = ⌘
• Delete = ⌫
• Eject = ⏏
• Escape = ⎋
• Forward Delete = ⌦
• Option/Alt = ⌥
• Return = ⏎
• Shift = ⇧

[Emacs-like shortcuts via Lifehacker]

Simply right-click (or ctrl-click) on your contact’s address and choose “Map Of.” A Google Map of that location will open in your default browser!

[via The Unofficial Apple Blog]

Open Dictionary (from your Dock or in the Applications folder) and select Wikipedia from the source bar near the top of the window or from the Search menu.

Type your search term and select an article. It’s that simple!

[via The Unofficial Apple Blog]

The first thing to know is that all the applications on your computer live in the Applications folder. And it’s good practice to install all software there as well. Some software won’t run properly if it’s installed on the Desktop, and it makes maintenance on your computer easier if you follow Apple’s organizational guidelines.

Installing Software

Most of the time, when you download software from the internet for Mac OS X, it arrives as a disk image, or a .dmg file. DMG files are treated like hard drives or disks by the operating system. You can mount and unmount DMG files. Double-clicking on a DMG file “mounts” it on your computer, allowing you to read the contents of the disk image.

When you mount a disk image, it opens automatically in the finder so that you can install the software you just downloaded. Often, the disk image will even have an alias of your Applications folder that you can drag the icon over to install the software onto your computer.

If the disk image does not include an alias of your Applications folder, simply open two finder windows, one with the Applications folder open, and one with the disk image open. Drag the icon from the disk image over to the Applications folder, and voilà, your application is ready to use.

Installer Package

Some software comes as an application installer, or package, which is even easier. Simply double-click on the package installer and follow the on-screen directions to install the application.

Once you’ve finished an application installer or just dragged the icon into your Applications folder, you can unmount (or eject) the disk image by dragging it’s icon from the Desktop to the Trash. You can also delete the download file if it’s a program that you got online.

Uninstalling Software

The nice thing about Mac OS X applications is that, for the most part, they are very nicely self-contained. To uninstall an application, you can usually simply drag it’s icon from the Applications folder to the Trash.

This won’t remove the application’s preferences, but it does remove the application itself, so for most purposes, deleting the application from the Applications folder is enough.

Some programs come with uninstaller scripts that remove all traces of the application. For instance, McAfee VirusScan comes with an uninstaller script. Usually, the uninstaller is included in the disk image (DMG) that you used to install the application.

Apple recently updated this article about protecting your computer (and your data) from malicious applications: Safety tips for handling email attachments and content downloaded from the Internet

Smith College ITS also recommends McAfee Virus Scan for Mac OS X, which is a free download from the Smith Software page.

In accordance with the college’s Acceptable Use Policy, Smith computer systems, data networks, and information technology services may be used only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with college policies. Some of the actions prohibited by law and/or Smith’s policy include (but are not limited to):

• Sharing your account or password with anyone.
• Copying software, documents or other intellectual property in violation of state and federal laws.
• Downloading, or making available for download to others, audio and video files without the permission of the copyright owner.
• Use of copyrighted audio, video, images, text, or software without permission of the copyright owner.
• Use of audio, pictures, videos, movies, or likenesses of people without their written consent.

We strongly encourage all students, faculty, and staff to read and become familiar with the college’s full Acceptable Use Policy.

If you’re new to iCal, take a look at Apple’s Mac 101: iCal.

And if you use Google Calendar, check out this tutorial: How to: Subscribe to a Google Calendar using iCal [The Unofficial Apple Blog].

Previous Mac User posts about iCal: How to: Backup iCal

Apple recently published this handy article with step-by-step instructions: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive