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Getting used to using a Mac » February 28th, 2009 · See comments
I’m a Windows user. I’ve been using Windows since one of the first times I even used a computer. My laptop runs Vista, my netbook runs XP. At work, though, I use a Mac.
There are so many differences between using a Windows and Mac, but I think after four months I’m finally starting to get used to it. I want to share with you some little things I’ve picked up on in case you’re in the position where you’re a Windows user using a Mac for the first time.
Keyboard Shortcuts
One of the first things you’ll notice when you use a Mac is that control + anything has no effect whatsoever. Try the “command” key instead. (That’s the one with the wiggly square on it.) Keyboard shortcuts should then be fairly familiar. Command + P will print stuff; Command + S will save stuff; Command + C will copy stuff, etc.
The Dock
When I first used a Mac, I was all “what the hell where is the start button? how do I access my programs?” This is where the dock comes in. You can drag your favourite programs to the dock and easily access them. If you want to find the rest of your programs, they’ll be in the “applications” section of the Finder.
Finder
This is like Windows Explorer, except more annoying. I’m still not entirely used to it, and I don’t think I ever will be. That’s probably down to user incompetence rather than design flaw on Apple’s part though!
Force Quit
When something goes drastically wrong (because it’s not an ‘if’, it’s a ‘when’), control + alt + delete won’t do anything to help. Right-click the icon in the dock for the program you’re using, and select “force quit”. That should get you up and running again.
Those are the 4 biggest problems I had / have with using a Mac.
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MACCCCC! I want one
So how do you like using a mac though? I’ve never used it, and because there are so many “mac fanatics” out there I’ve decided I’ll never get a mac, lol :p Do you prefer it over a windows computer?
Keyboard shortcuts on the mac annoyed me. Apart from the unnatural positioning of my fingers that was required to do certain things, there are FAR more keyboard shortcuts in Windows than in Mac OS and it was an arse to keep having to move back to my mouse.
I first used a Mac at work, it took me a good week to get used to it but after that I loved it and I wanted one for myself! Now I can’t use Windows anymore, I tried Alt + everything for shortcut commands as a habit. =/ I know have to look at the keyboard when trying to shortcut in Windows…not cool.
Both Mac and Windows do there job, but Linux does it too and gives you true freedom with it!
A lot of the keyboard short cuts in Linux are the same as Windows. You get force quit with Linux too.
I guess if you need to run software that is very specific to a proprietary platform you can be stuck with it though.
Reply: You make being “stuck” sound like a bad thing. I’m not stuck with my OS at all. I can change it if I want to, I just don’t want to. I’m perfectly happy using OS X at work, Vista at home, and XP on the road. I have different computer habits in these three locations and my computer suits me well.
Funny, I’m in the same situation being a Windows user so far and for a month having to use a Mac a work.
Speaking of keyboard shortcuts, I really miss Shift+Home & Shift+End to select an entire row. And yes, the finder kind of sucks.
Reply: I think command + arrow takes to to the end of the line on a Mac (I can’t be 100% sure right now as I don’t have a Mac in front of me). It might work if you press Shift + Command + arrow?
I’m the only person at work using windows. There is a Mac available and there are a couple of reasons why I really want to make the switch – I’m thinking about macifying my eee pc!
So thanks for the tips, let me know if you think of any more!
I think your post outlines one of the main reasons why a lot of people just don’t get on with Macs; They’re different!
When I got my first Mac I was all over the place. I didn’t know how to install applications, I didn’t know how to close them properly, I couldn’t get used to the keyboard – especially the command key (the wiggly square ^_^), I was all over the place. After a month of solid use I was getting used to the Mac way of things and I really started to enjoy it. I was doing things quicker, being more creative, spending less time tackling problems.
If I had started on Mac when I was a kid I’m sure I wouldn’t have had a problem. It’s the Windows way of doing things that has been drummed into our heads (at school for me) which makes Mac feel wrong and backwards, yet everyone I know who’s made the switch hasn’t regretted it. Personally I haven’t used Windows for more than IE testing since I bought my first Mac all those years ago.
I understand that Windows is right for some people (please tell me the reasons why if you know them!) but Mac is right for me and seems to be right for most people, especially in the creative industry. Mac feels ‘right’ and strips away the complexity from using a computer, allowing you to get on with whatever you’re using the computer for. The applications are much better on OS X as well, but that’s an argument for another day!
Want proof that anyone can use a Mac? I converted my girlfriend to it the other week when I lent her my old MacBook for a while. She won’t stop banging on about it and how she wants to keep it, but that’s women for ya I ’spose…
All in all I think everyone should try using a Mac and see which platform works best for them, I just wish Macs were a little cheaper for that to be reality.
Reply: I first used a Mac back when it was OS 7. I think my favourite Mac OS version was 9.1. I love the old school Macs so much more than the ‘new’ school Macs. Windows is right for me because all I need is GIMP and Notepad++. I don’t need a £35873958764695456 249583749587345″ Mac to run those, haha. I think there’s a lot of ‘assumptions’ that Macs are a somehow ‘higher quality’, but… you shouldn’t just switch because ‘everyone is doing it’. Find a Mac, try it out, and THEN decide if it’s the one for you. A lot of people in the creative industries use Macs, but you shouldn’t feel forced to do the same. Use whatever works for you, you know?
I like Finder better than Windows Explorer. It’s just smoother and more logical for me. But I’ve grown up with both Macs and PCs, so I’m familiar with Windows and OS X.
I occasionally use Macs at uni when I’m using their lab computers..
I don’t really use it any more than the usual stuff that I would on a Windows so haven’t really encountered any problems, other than one or two that you mentioned~
Really good pointers!
I understand that Windows is right for some people (please tell me the reasons why if you know them!)
Right clicking.
Very nice post. I’ve only used a Mac when I go into the shop to test stuff out. They drive me insane, although they are pretty, they are also not very “environmentally friendly” Hence why they actually have a “green” version now. lol. And relatively expensive. Someone.. somewhere has proven that if you have a Mac, you are a “upper class” person. Er. Rather snobby.
I guess that’s because they like to spend their money on the best, which is funny, considering you get more for your money on a Windows OS then a Mac.
Hope you get used to using them. I hope my job never consists of a Mac. Although farmers don’t really use computers… that much anyhow
I first used Macs when I was at University in 1994 and loved them. However this didn’t stop me having successive Windows machines at home, until fortunately my Dad bought a Mac to do some language translation work for training manuals that were all laid out in Pagemaker!
It was at that point I first got into Macs, Desktop Publishing and eventually onto the web and creating web sites.
I moved out of home and relocated and started freelance work using the first Mac I could call my own, a G3 Powerbook laptop. It was a beast! When freelancing didnt work out I got a job in an Arts and Design department at University where they used predominantly Macs.
So basically, despite my actual opinions of Macs, and whether they are “better” or not than the alternatives, my history with them in successive jobs has bred the kind of familiarity thats difficult to let go of. I have dabbled with Windows and Linux several times over the years, but I will always come back to the Mac, and I will 100% always recommend a Mac over any other computer.
By the way Rachael – you are right about the Finder… its probably the worst thing about the Mac, and no, its not just you that thinks so
As a reply to your reply earlier…
I agree with you and that’s the point I was trying to get at. Try both and see which one works better for you. For me it’s Mac, for others it’ll be Windows. I know the price is a major put-off to most people but you get what you pay for (which isn’t crazy expensive tbh), a quality piece of hardware – Macs are higher quality (you can’t deny Apple have design down to a tee), beautiful, consistent and usable software, and the Apple experience – the whole having fun and spending less time troubleshooting thing I was banging on about earlier.
There are hundreds of reasons I’d chose Mac over Windows. Many of the reasons are to do with Apple as a company and the direction they are heading. For example, do you see Microsoft producing free industry quality software (ie. Xcode, Dashcode) to produce applications on their hardware (both OS X and iPhone)? Do you see Microsoft producing documents for developing said applications and making icons look and follow the OS X design guidelines? It’s these little things that make me excited about the future of Apple. If Microsoft produced a better experience then I’d happily swap. I told myself I wouldn’t say it but the lack of viruses is a big plus to OS X as well.
Oh, and those applications you mentioned have free counterparts on Mac as well – under different names of course.
I’ve just started using a Mac since December as well. Loving it loving it. So pweeettty
And what’s wrong with the Finder? D: It searches for things much faster than in Windows. The biggest shit I have with Mac though is that I can’t “restore” trash items to their original place. I’d need to remember where they were and drag them. <_<
I got used to my Mac pretty quickly, though it sometimes remains a little confusing if you have to switch between Mac (at home) and PC (at work) all the time. I sometimes wonder why Alt + S has no effect on the PC
I think the Finder has better options than Windows Explorer if you use the right view
The Dock I don’t use so much, I only have the most common application in there, anything else I usually start with Spotlight
(Note: this comment quotes Rob’s comments but is not specifically aimed at Rob, more of a general response/talk about things from a Windows users perspective… it just so happens Rob brought up some good points to talk about
)
Not all are specific to Windows (i.e. you could run Linux instead) but;
* Not wanting to spend 4x the cost on hype – you can get high quality hardware for a bog standard PC
* Upgrade-ability – I can swap out any component in a beige box for another by any range of manufacturers, without having to send my computer back to the factory
* Windows/*nix supports a proper uk keyboard layout (having to re-map certain keys on my keyboard just to get a usable # key/’real’ British keyboard layout was a total arse)
* Not all of us are mouse-users; I’m a keyboard jockey at heart and navigating through the mac os and programs is oft near-impossible (because the tab did nothing, or didn’t behave in a logical way, same with backspace)
Then of course there are people who work with Microsoft software day to day… wouldn’t make sense putting them on a mac. (I don’t “get” these people who buy a mac only to run Windows in a VM all the bloody while – what’s the point?? If you buy a mac, use the OS!)
The idea that you can pop any user in front of an Apple Mac and convert them within a few days is total bollocks perpetuated by hardcore fanboys (not necessarily people like Rob up there, he’s fairly easy-going as mac users go
). As well as the few fellow geeks I know who’ve rejected macs (some who use linux, some who use windows), I have my own experience… forced to use a mac at work for over a year, finding it both inefficient for my purposes and with free mac software not matching up to linux/windows equivalents. My productivity doubled (tripled?) when I finally got my boss to buy me a PC (and I got a payrise for the privelige).
I started with DOS back in the day, and had very little access to computers at school, so there was no “drumming Windows into me”; the simple fact of the matter is that not everyone is bowled over by Apple’s marketing. Anyone who thinks those of us who prefer to stick to a PC are just waiting to be “enlightened” or “shown the mac path” can kiss my bum
Microsoft don’t have hardware, they’re a software company. And yes, they produce plenty of free stuff – no point me summarising when this link does it loads better:
http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!1231.entry
See in partic. Virtual PC, Visual Studio, Paint.Net (maintained by Microsoft employees), and my personal favourite – the BSoD screensaver
& if you really want to talk about “the direction in which the company is heading”, why not talk about the direction in which Bill Gates took Microsoft’s profits – the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is an amazing thing. Steve Jobs (may good health return to him soon) opened his foundation, did bugger all with it and then shut it down again.
Bugger all to do with Apple though, is it. It’s down to the strong unix backend. Apple nicely demonstrated their lack of any skill in alternate environments when Safari for Windows was exploited within 2 hours of release ( http://www.betanews.com/article/Day-One-for-Safari-for-Windows-Becomes-ZeroDay-Nightmare/1181661606 / http://larholm.com/2007/06/12/safari-for-windows-0day-exploit-in-2-hours/ ) The sad thing is that Vista – don’t even get me started on that though – increased the security in Windows and users complained. Can’t have it both ways…
FWIW, I ran Windows ME (yes, ME.. don’t laugh
) for years without AV software and had no problems. Not all of the “problems” with Windows is the down to the OS. One quickly learns to identify ID10T errors 
I don’t like all of Microsoft’s decisions, I don’t like the fact that they’re suing TomTom, and I really don’t like Steve Ballmer, but I dislike the myths Mac users try to convert Windows users with even more. Until I find the patience to deal with the (self-induced) bugs in xfce on a linux distro I’m sticking with Windows.
Rachael, you need to style blockquotes in comments
Some excellent points there Jem. I’m going to lay the Mac vs. PC debate to rest now but I really agree with some of your arguments, particularly:
Upgradability – This is a definite plus to having a PC. Maybe one day Apple will release their deathgrip on the OS X license and let people install it on any Intel hardware.
You can’t convert anyone to Mac in a few days – I agree. I’m fairly computer literate and it took me about a month to get confident enough to say bye bye to my Windows machine.
I’d like to clear up my point about the “free industry quality software to produce applications on their hardware”. What I meant was XCode and Dashcode. Apple are extremely accommodating and encouraging with novices and experts to use and develop application on OS X and the iPhone. What I meant was that there isn’t anything remotely similar on Windows. Yes, you have Visual Basic and all that jazz but no-one can deny it’s complex and doesn’t have documentation anywhere near the Apple Developer Connection.
As for the direction Apple (and Microsoft) are heading I was aiming that more at the technology and innovation in both the hardware and software. For example, Apple have really pushed themselves into new markets and have been introducing loads of new products and technologies. An example of these would be the multi-touch functionality they introduced with the iPhone and then later incorporated into the MacBook laptops. Even their open and consistent development of the Safari browser (know as WebKit) to bring it inline with web standards and recommendations that aren’t even needing to be implemented for years to come.
I know Microsoft are dabbling with their Surface technology but it’s still in a conceptual form, they aren’t pushing the boundaries on their own, not unless they are pushed. A perfect example of this is with Internet Explorer. Microsoft were quite content to sit on their bums with their generous share of the browser marker, not bothering to innovate and introduce new features or truly bringing their product inline with web standards. It was only when Apple with Safari 3, FireFox 3 and the release of Chrome did IE really take the kick in the balls it needed for MS to start reconsidering their position. It’s this attitude from (the old?) MS that I don’t like and is the reason why I personally don’t think Windows works as a whole unit. However, the new Windows 7 OS does look like a big step in the right direction.
My point is that Apple haven’t been scared to push and try new things, even if it goes tits up (Mac Mini, Rockr phone, etc). I’m by no means an Apple fanboy (I just like their products better than others) but I think the domination that Microsoft held over the computer market is to blame for their bad rep. They had no real competition and basically had no incentive to try anything new and risky. Maybe the new non-indestructible MS is going to be a better MS. Either way I’m excited to see what comes out of both camps now Apple and other companies like Google have become competitors to MS.
[Rachael, you need to add an edit function to these comments!]
I nearly forgot.
It’s true what you mentioned about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the success Bill brought to MS. We can’t forget though that Steve Jobs single handedly raised Apple from it’s grave and took it to the position it is now. His personal foundation may be crap but he has been successful in other aspects like his involvement with Pixar, for example.
I’m quite sad that Bill has left his throne at MS as I would’ve liked to see how he’d deal with the exciting times ahead now MS have real competition. Although saying that, maybe the new regime is exactly what MS needs right now. It certainly seems to be baring fruit with Windows 7 and IE 8…
I’ve not touched the documentation so I can’t dispute that, but the interface is very similar to all of Microsoft’s products (office etc). Consistently bland
Be fair – IE8 is rumoured to pass the Acid 2 test which is a long way from the days of IE5.5 and IE6 (not even going to attempt to defend IE as a product though; it’s probably the worst thing to come out of Microsoft – if we pretend that Microsoft Bob never happened…)
Of course it is. Everyone loves to have a bad guy to blame too. What I don’t understand/like is the fact that until quite recently iTunes was loaded down with DRM and I believe still releases its tunes in a proprietary format locking you in to Apple hardware products. Google has a similar monopoly on the web (doesn’t need explaining…) Other companies play dirty and and yet geeks tend to overlook this. It’s not wrong if it’s not Microsoft.
Meh, I think I’m going off on a bit of a tangent
Jem, for what it’s worth, iTunes default is AAC (which my phone will happily play), but if you go into the iTunes preferences, you can change the ‘import’ format to MP3, allowing you to rip CDs for pretty much any device, whilst still using iTunes to organise it all.
AND OH GOSH I WILL GET RIGHT ON THE BLOCKQUOTES AND EDIT COMMENTS ABILITY. GEES. YOU GUYS DON’T WANT MUCH DO YOU.
Thanks Rachael
[Edit] Ooooo I like this sexy edit function!
Reply: Me too. Especially because it gives me POWER to do things like change your name.
Importing existing mp3s is not what I’m on about – can you BUY mp3s from the itunes store yet?
Reply: No idea. But you CAN convert them to mp3 within iTunes itself. I don’t need mp3s because all my technology can cope with other formats.
I knew that command = control, but what is the control key for? (on a mac, that is)
^ It’s for right-clicking, pretty much. At least, that’s the only use I’ve ever found for it.
I HATE YOU RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND YOU SPELT YOUR NAME WRONG! ITS RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply: And you spelt your name wrong. It’s ROBB. AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
I found that dragging the application folder onto the dock really speeds things up. I use it when I want to get to something I don’t use often (eg. Skype, Terminal, Word).