any tips?

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MadAtter

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yo guys. yesterday i finally got my Black MacBook (2ghz C2D with 2gigs of ram). the thing is awesome. i just wanna know from you guys if there are any programs or anything that i should definately install. also, any tips and stuff would be appreciated. :)

viva le mac!!
 
MadAtter said:
yo guys. yesterday i finally got my Black MacBook (2ghz C2D with 2gigs of ram). the thing is awesome. i just wanna know from you guys if there are any programs or anything that i should definately install. also, any tips and stuff would be appreciated. :)

viva le mac!!
Click to expand...

There is lots of valuable info in this very section of the forum, but straight out the gate I have to recommend quicksilver. It will take some time to get the full functionality out of it but it is worth it.

If you plan on using safari and mail.app primarily then these 2 sites will come in handy:
http://pimpmysafari.com/
http://www.hawkwings.net/

Lastly, for IM I would recommend Adium
 
icyrus said:
There is lots of valuable info in this very section of the forum, but straight out the gate I have to recommend quicksilver. It will take some time to get the full functionality out of it but it is worth it.

If you plan on using safari and mail.app primarily then these 2 sites will come in handy:
http://pimpmysafari.com/
http://www.hawkwings.net/

Lastly, for IM I would recommend Adium
Click to expand...
Damn - Quicksilver was my staple recommendation :o

Safari - AcidSearch and Pith Helmet
 
bwana said:
Damn - Quicksilver was my staple recommendation :o

Safari - AcidSearch and Pith Helmet
Click to expand...

You must be slipping for a part-timer like me to have snuck it in here before you ;)
 
Suggestions...

Adium is an awesome application!

Other suggestions from my side would be to learn some of the keyboard shortcuts. There are some awesome features that allot of people do not know about.

Holding CTRL down and using the trackpad/wheel on mouse will allow you to instantly zoom in and out anywhere on the machine.

Pressing APPLE+SHIFT+4 will put the mouse in target mode and allow you to take a print screen of a selection and save it on your desktop.

In Safari press APPLE+I and Mail will open and embed the Whole Page as HTML into the mail. No more copying URLS! :-)

These are just some of the few shortcuts.

Also another one would be the Right click! I don't like the one button on the Macbook's and Macbook Pro's so what you can do is Goto your Preferences and then to keyboard/Mouse and finally to the track pad. Select the option that allows Finger Tapping. Basically tab the trackpad with one finger and it counts as Left click and tap the trackpad with Two fingers will count as Right click.

Really cool feature. hope you enjoy your Macbook!
 
C3 - Applecart said:
Adium is an awesome application!

Other suggestions from my side would be to learn some of the keyboard shortcuts. There are some awesome features that allot of people do not know about.

Holding CTRL down and using the trackpad/wheel on mouse will allow you to instantly zoom in and out anywhere on the machine.

Pressing APPLE+SHIFT+4 will put the mouse in target mode and allow you to take a print screen of a selection and save it on your desktop.

In Safari press APPLE+I and Mail will open and embed the Whole Page as HTML into the mail. No more copying URLS! :-)

These are just some of the few shortcuts.

Also another one would be the Right click! I don't like the one button on the Macbook's and Macbook Pro's so what you can do is Goto your Preferences and then to keyboard/Mouse and finally to the track pad. Select the option that allows Finger Tapping. Basically tab the trackpad with one finger and it counts as Left click and tap the trackpad with Two fingers will count as Right click.

Really cool feature. hope you enjoy your Macbook!
Click to expand...
Some nice tips :D . . . .

but I prefer iChat - afaik Adium doesnt support video, correct?

As an addendum to the +shift+4 - hit the space bar and it turns the cursor into a camera and you can take a snapshot of any window. To change the format of the screen shot open a terminal and enter
Code: 
sudo defaults write com.apple.screencapture type image_format
where image_format would be jpg, pdf, etc
 
Something new Everyday!

Holy smokes! You learn something new everyday! I did not know about pressing spacebar! :-D Thanks for that one...
 
Adium
Skype
Quicksilver
Firefox if you have problems with internet banking
Transmission for torrent downloads
gmail notifier
Istat Pro widget
Mactheripper for DVD rips
Onyx for cleaning up the Mac
Toast Tit 8 if you have cash lying around
VLC player if Quicktime dont have all the right Codec

Work stuff I use
Remote desktop
SecureRemote VPN1 client (Remote Support)
Cisco VPN client (Remote support)

If you want to format your external drive to Mac format and still be able to use it on your Windows machine
Macdrive version 6

Hope this helps

Gun
 
thanks so much for all the help guys :) i downloaded most of the programs u suggested and they all work like magic... except for handbrake/mediafork. when i try rib a dvd (regardless of the codec and settings i use) it rips and encodes a mere 3seconds then stops. am i runnin a trial version or summin? or am i missing something?
 
MadAtter said:
thanks so much for all the help guys :) i downloaded most of the programs u suggested and they all work like magic... except for handbrake/mediafork. when i try rib a dvd (regardless of the codec and settings i use) it rips and encodes a mere 3seconds then stops. am i runnin a trial version or summin? or am i missing something?
Click to expand...
Some movies have different copy protection than others - try ripping the movie to your hdd with mactheripper first and then run handbrake.
 
Wait till you try a Disney movie - they're the worst :o
 
C3 - Applecart said:
What exactly does Quicksilver do?

I haven't had the time yet to explore it.
Click to expand...
It's primarily an app launcher but that's just the start of it.
Quicksilver is a free utility made by Blacktree Software for Mac OS X. It allows users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform commands such as launching applications, manipulating files and data, running scripts or sending e-mail. It is similar to the Mac OS X applications LaunchBar and Butler, though it differs from these in terms of the interaction paradigm it employs. Although Quicksilver is a complex application, it is centered around a very simple three-panel interface (called the "command window"): the user performs complex tasks using simple, configurable key-combinations.
Click to expand...
One of the features I use the most these days is the clipboard drawer which stores however many of the most recent clipboards you want - I set mine to 100.

Try it - give it a chance and you'll love it. :D
 
I use Quicksliver so much that I catch myself using the short cut key on my XP laptop all the time.
 
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