Just got a Macbook

[nastytrucker]

My wife got a Macbook so we can get familiar with Macs. Im a diehard PC guy and thats what I have to use for my business. What are some of the essential programs for Mac? I've heard something about Parallels or something like that to allow the Mac to run PC programs. I dont think I would switch to MAC because I cant get over not having a right click. Any advice would be helpful......

[laanba]

I'm not sure why you would need parallels unless there was some essential piece of Windows software that you absolutely had to run on the Mac, especially since you have PCs in your household.

I don't notice the right click thing because I use a mouse. Macs will take any mouse and they do recognize right clicks.

As for software I would recommend exploring iLife. It should be included on her computer. They just released iLife '09. If you don't have '09 you could probably get Apple to upgrade your copy for free since you just bought the Macbook. Apple has a good tutorial section for iLife to get you started. iLife really shows off the fun things you can do with a Mac and seamlessly integrated software and hardware.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/

One place I would definitely bookmarks is the Apple Discussions. I am my own tech support because I can find the answer to almost any question I have there.
http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

[mdurisseau]

I've been working cross-platform for the past few years, and got a BlackBook just under a month ago. You need either Parallels or VMWare Fusion (my preference) to run your Windows programs on your Mac, or you can go the Boot Camp route, which to me, isn't as flexible. At least with Fusion, you can copy info between your Mac stuff and Windows, including cut and paste...

[ggeen]

I switched from Windows to Mac about five years ago, about a year after I got my Mac. I have not found any essential Windows only software yet. I am still using my PowerBook, so if I do find that essential Windows app, I will have to upgrade.

I use Capture NX2 for my photo editor, iWork for my productivity software, and some various applications for mail merge and the like.

It took me a while to get used to the way Mac's work but I finally got there. Read the manual. If you are using the one-button track pad, Ctrl-Click is the same as right-click. Also, click-and-hold will do the same thing. The easiest way is to just buy a three button mouse and attach it to the USB port.

I'm a 4 OS kind of guy: Windows, Solaris, Linux, OS/X, and have Perl loaded on all of them. I find this the one killer app that I must have. It makes life tolerable.

Good luck with your new computer. Take your time in getting used to it. There will be frustrations along the way. I know there were for me.

[culvsy]

If you are using a mighty mouse, you can set your mouse to recognize a "right click". As for software, Mac offers the essentials(Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adobe,........) I switched over to Mac about a 1 1/2 years ago and haven't looked back since. We have about 7 iPods, 1 iMac, 1 Macbook, and an iPhone. Life is great on this side of the fence.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by nastytrucker

I dont think I would switch to MAC because I cant get over not having a right click. Any advice would be helpful......

2 fingers on the touch pad and single click give the right click..

[culvsy]

Go to system preferences and click on mousepad or trackpad, there you will see mini videos of how to use the trackpad. 2 fingers=Scrolling, 3 fingers side to side swiping=page forward or backward, 4 fingers=top to bottom displays apps that are open. Very easy to adjust.

[av1]

Don't overlook VirtualBox for running Windows inside OS X. Its free from Sun and works quite well. Not quite as polished as Parallels or VMWare, but much cheaper.

http://www.virtualbox.org

[Rcowan]

If you are going to do photo editing, I would recommend Aperture. It does more than iPhoto and still integrates with the other software well.
Look into the MobileMe service. I use it for syncing with my iPod Touch and uploading quick photo galleries for my customers to see.
MobileMe also hosts my website I create in iWeb.
My wife and I switched about a year and a half ago and we are crazy for Mac!

[ggeen]

Originally Posted by Colyn

2 fingers on the touch pad and single click give the right click..

Oh, that reminds me of the scrolling feature. Place two fingers on the mouse pad. Dragging them together or apart scrolls the screen. I keep trying the with my Dell, still no luck.

[ovimo]

Yep, push on the pad with two fingers at the same atime, and you get the right click. Scroll with two fingers. Go page back and forward with three fingers or choose a different window with 4 fingers on the touch pad. I love this. Gave up my external mouse completely.
Price aside, Mac wins hands down.

[photostein]

I recommend if you get VMware fusion to run Windows, use Windows XP and see if you can get it without SP 2 or later. I have a version with only SP 1 on it and it runs fast as heck when first installed.

However, when you download SP 2 and later updates, the computer immediately slows way down and you have to basically reinstall to get back to square one. Most programs that say they need SP2 or later for compatibility simply isn't so. I downloaded Adobe Reader for XP with SP2 when I only had SP1 loaded and it ran fine.

[texfoto]

Two button mice do work on the MAC. There is a right click on the touch pad too, it means tapping with 2 fingers. Tapping with 4 fingers minimizes everything, etc.

ESSENTIAL PROGRAMS
I recommend you go to macupdate.com (singular) and look for programs you need. You can download for free. Just do a search at the top or filter the types of programs you might be interested in. Here are some of my essentials and they are almost all free. Don't be scared of free, they work.

- cyberduck = FTP program
- istatpro = tells you all the stats on your computer such as mem, cpu temp and usage, HD usage, etc.
- quicksilver = Allows you to quickly launch programs
- adium = replaces all IM clients into one single client except Skype.
- steermouse = If your aftermarket mouse doesn't work just right, download this and tweek your mouse settings with it.
- chicken of the VNC = desktop remote control for PC's or Macs.
- proximity = allows the bluetooth of your phone to unlock the desktop when you get near to the Mac.
- Caffine = When running you click on it and it fills an icon of a cup with coffee keeping the Mac from going to sleep. Mac laptops like to go to sleep often to save power.

That's my contribution to this post. :)

[toverman]

Microsuck no longer makes a Mac version for Explorer, which is actually good because then you can reap the benefits of Firefox (free, auto update alerts, blazing fast, etc.).

As for right click, Macs have just about always had this, you just have to use "control+click." Apple opted for simplicity, and it's something I've found really easy to get used to.

[mchong75]

You can buy mouse that offers right click option.

I have a logitech mouse for mac.