Moving from Windows to a Mac? 16 Ways to Get Up to Speed
December 26th, 2007 (4:00pm) Samuel Dean 24 Comments
Are you a Windows user who received a brand new Mac system over the holidays? Or, did you choose to make the switch yourself and you’re just getting to know your new Mac? There are a lot of important things to learn in order to stay efficient if you’re just making this switch. In this post, I’ll round up top tips to brush up on so that you can work better, faster and more securely on your new computer.
Get to Know Finder. Mac OS X is much better than Windows at quickly finding what you need on your computer. Click the icon that looks like two smiley faces staring at each other (at left) to work with Finder. If you’ve used iTunes at all, you’ll find the interface for Finder to be very similar. In your sidebar, you’ll have a view of everything on your Mac, and everything connected to it. If you’re running the Leopard version of Mac OS X, use the Cover Flow button atop your Finder screen to get a slick graphical view of your documents and files.
New Keyboard Shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts are quite different in Mac OS X than in Windows. Apple has a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with them. A few top shortcuts to note: Command-W (close window); Option-Command-W (close all windows); Shift-Command-Q (Apple menu logout); Option-Command-D (show or hide the Dock). Also look into the many keyboard shortcuts for working with windows in Mac OS X.
Learn How to Use the Dock. The Dock (the toolbar with icons at the bottom of your Mac OS X screen, seen below) is an extremely useful navigational tool. Do a little homework on shortcuts and hidden features for it, available at Apple’s site.
Hardware Tips. Apple systems are different from PCs in several ways. You may have a Power button directly on your keyboard, rather than your computer. If so, it looks like a circle with a slash through it. How do you do the equivalent of a right mouse click in Windows? To do so, hold down the Control key on your keyboard and click the mouse to bring up a context menu. Also, on your keyboard, the Command/Apple key is the replacement for the Ctrl key on a Windows system, and the Option key is the replacement for the Alt key.
Going on Safari. If you’re used to the Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera browsers on Windows, spend a little time brushing up on the Safari browser. There are quick video tutorials online for how to use tabs in Safari and how to configure your RSS feeds.
Investigate Free Mac Apps. There are a lot of good developers out there who provide good, free software applications for the Mac, and you can quickly download lots of gems. Investigate TinyApps.org’s long list of Mac OS X apps, and Version Tracker, and see my previous post and the reader comments there on other sites for finding free, useful applications.
Easy Uninstalls. One of the really nice features about the Mac operating system as opposed to Windows is that you’re applications don’t get littered all around your hard drive; instead, they’re in one central Program folder. Just drag an application from the folder to the trash can to uninstall.
Optimize Your Improved Wi-Fi. If you have a new Mac notebook and you previously used 802.11g Wi-Fi for your home wireless networking with Windows, you can greatly improve the Wi-Fi performance you get by purchasing an Apple Airport Extreme router. These routers use next-generation Draft-802.11n wireless technology, which you should have in your new Mac notebook as well. The performance is miles ahead of 802.11g Wi-Fi with a Windows notebook.
Stick with Windows. Many Mac users now run both Windows and the Mac OS on their machines. A good way to do this is to run Parallels, which lets you have Windows as a virtual machine on your Mac. You can also use Apple’s own Boot Camp software.
Taking Screenshots. Taking screenshots doesn’t work on the Mac the same way that it does in Windows. Review Apple’s notes for quick ways to get up to speed.
Built-In Security. Mac OS X ships with firewall software built in. Especially if you use public Wi-Fi hotspots a lot, get to know your configuration options with the firewall.
There are many other good sources online for information on switching from Windows to the Mac. A little research is well worth the effort.
Do you have any good tips for new Mac users coming from the Windows world?
24 Comments Post your own comment
Chris Brogan... says: December 26th, 2007 5:01pm
This continues to be one of my Top 10 favorite blogs. I fell in love with Anne’s writing, but really appreciate Leo, Samuel and Mike a great deal, too. (I don’t know if I’ve ever knowingly read Dian’s contributions).
Thank you for a great year.
Bill Lennan says: December 26th, 2007 5:10pm
Regarding running Windows apps, if you really only need Outlook Calendar (MS Office on Mac works fine for me), Crossover (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/) works great, is cheap, and doesn’t require a WinXP license.
Speedmaster says: December 26th, 2007 5:40pm
Good stuff, thanks!
Brian Carnell says: December 26th, 2007 6:30pm
I’m planning to switch from Windows at some point, but I think it will be to Ubuntu rather than Mac.
Om Malik says: December 26th, 2007 6:35pm
I would love to know how to switch from Mac to Windows/ I am dreaming of a Sony VAIO.
GigaNET PM: Almost All About Apple - GigaOM says: December 26th, 2007 6:54pm
[...] Staff, Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 6:54 PM PT Comments (0) WebWorkerDaily: Switching to Mac? 16 tips to make it easy. (And another great guide for those who walk on the geek [...]
ka1347 says: December 26th, 2007 8:04pm
For those that have switched from Windows to Mac, there is a great learning tool called “It’s about time to learn the switch to Mac”. You can buy it from Apple Stores or online.
Zac Garrett says: December 26th, 2007 8:58pm
I have to comment on your suggestion about buying an airport with Draft N support. Your comment is outright incorrect in saying its faster than Windows. You can easily get a PC with Draft N support, Apple is far from the first nor the best supporter of this protocol.
The only reason to upgrade to Draft N wifi is if you are going to be moving large files over your LAN. Other than that your network speed is listed my your internet connection.
Also, the OS X firewall is known to be not so good. I would suggest going with something like little snitch if you want real protection.
Other than that, good tips.
- A Windows Admin who’s ran a MacBook Pro at home for almost a year now.
ajr says: December 26th, 2007 9:16pm
Nice post. I switched full-time about 6 months ago after about 15 yrs of heavy Windows usage and software development.
I have a post here describing some replacement apps that I’ve found and some other things I’ve experienced during the switch:
http://www.thechannelzero.com/?p=36
Steven says: December 26th, 2007 9:31pm
I’ve been looking for info to help switch my family (and extended family… 12 households in total :-S ) from windows and this helps a lot. Makes my job as the resident IT guy a lot easier :-D
Thanks!
Joseph Pally says: December 26th, 2007 9:49pm
Have a Mac to get rid off. Contact me.
Marc Thayer says: December 26th, 2007 10:22pm
Concerning the “Easy Uninstalls,” although the application itself is simple to remove, many create additional files throughout the computer, such as in the Documents folder or in the user’s Library. One application which might warrant mentioning, in the effort to obtain a full uninstallation of a program, is CleanApp (by Synium Software).
http://www.synium.de/products/cleanapp/index.html
The current version, 2, is not Leopard-compatible, but the developers have stated in their support forum that a new version should be out soon.
Judi Sohn says: December 26th, 2007 11:28pm
AppZapper is another good one for getting rid of all the stray bits an unwanted application leaves behind. And it appears to be Leopard-ready.
Al Willis says: December 27th, 2007 2:04am
The firewall in Mac OS X is fine; it has some additional options that were misunderstood and not documented correctly when Leopard shipped; the 10.5.1 update addressed that. Check out Macworld’s article for the details.
Al Willis says: December 27th, 2007 2:09am
Regarding using an AirPort extreme vs. another brand of 802.11n device: Macs include the software for configuring Apple-branded access points. It’s a much better experience than using a browser to configure a Linksys or Netgear box.
Victor says: December 27th, 2007 7:08am
Step 17, realize that you were duped and bought into the hype. Step 18 switch back to real OS - Windows.
Arnold Ziffel says: December 27th, 2007 8:44am
@Victor, is that the best you can come up with? I have to work with Windows 8 hours/day through my job–I know how much better our Macs at home are. How about you? Any real experience with OS X? You forget that almost every single Mac user has vast experience with a “real OS - Windows,” whereas few Windows users have even touched a Mac since OS X was released.
We’ve run Macs at home for 18 years and have never had a single malware issue arise. Have fun with Windows and all its maladies!
Samuel Dean says: December 27th, 2007 8:55am
Zac, yes it’s true that you can switch to Draft-N inexpensively and have a good experience if you’re a Windows user. However, people who have just bought new Mac notebooks get them Draft-N ready right out of the box–so all they need is the Airport Extreme router to get rolling. Few Windows notebooks come ready for Draft-N right out of the box.
Another Moving from Windows to Mac List | Rick Tech says: December 27th, 2007 9:59am
[...] Web Workers Daily has a nice list of 16 ways to get up to speed when moving from Windows to Mac. Even better they provide links to a lot of resources to help out with the transition. [...]
Zac Garrett says: December 27th, 2007 10:58am
Samuel, that is because it is a DRAFT at this point in time. The IEEE has not standardized the specs yet and will change by the time it has been finalized. This means that almost all hardware that supports Draft-N will have to at least have a firmware upgrade if not a total hardware refresh when it it standardized.
As for the hardware not being available in most Windows laptops, that is true by default. If you are looking for Draft-N support, it is a $75 addon for Dell’s cheapest laptop.
Once again, 802.11n is a draft and the only reason to use it would be to move huge chunks of data. If you are going to be moving huge amounts of data then you should plug into a gigabit switch and be that much faster.
Maybe its just me, but I see no real benefits of being an early adopter to this wireless spec.
eLearning Service » Blog Archive » Tech links for December 28, 2007 says: December 28th, 2007 12:25pm
[...] embrace Macs. If you are doing the same, there are things you need to know and Web Worker Daily lists 16 ways to successfully make the [...]
Larry says: December 28th, 2007 8:24pm
I hear allot of bashing of windows PC’s , but have never seen a real reason given for the preference. The security issue is always mentioned by Mac fans. I’ve been curious about Macbooks for a while , but have never used one , or known anyone with one. Just what is it that makes Mac products so superior for the visual arts?
SolSie.com » Blog Archive » New To Mac? says: January 2nd, 2008 6:19pm
[...] top tips to brush up on so that you can work better, faster and more securely on the Mac. Read more HERE! Technorati Tags: [...]
links for 2008-01-12 « Inside Conversation says: January 11th, 2008 10:26pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive Moving from Windows to a Mac? 16 Ways to Get Up to Speed « (tags: apple mac) [...]