Bye PC, Mac Got Me

I have slowly been learning my around my new MacBook Pro, and in doing so, I’ve been searching for software and applications that allow me to do the same tasks that I was able to accomplish on a PC. Thus far, I’ve been able to find replacements that are as good, if not better than their PC counterparts. In this series, I’m going to attempt to outline my desktop setup and my software setup that I allows me to be my most productive while blogging.

As with most of you, the blogging platform is the most important part of your blog, in my case, that platform is Wordpress. Without our blogging platform, we’d have no blogs. There are 10’s if not hundreds of blogging platforms out there, it is more or less just a matter of choosing one that you like. I’ve chosen Wordpress for two primary reasons:

1. Wordpress is a free software, and very powerful. It does what it says it does.
2. Wordpress is community driven. This is probably the best feature because it means for hundreds of thousands of available themes and plugins, and the Wordpress platform itself is updated constantly.

Initially, my primary method of publishing posts to my blog was through the built in Wordpress web admin system, but as I became a more “seasoned blogger”, I began using local tools that would allow me to write and save posts to my local machine prior to publishing them to my blog. The first tool that I began using was on a PC, and it was offered by Microsoft – it was called Windows Live Writer. This tool was great and really introduced me to the idea of “offline blogging”. Since converting to a Mac, I’ve found a comparable software that makes offline blogging an absolute breeze. That program is called ecto and it is actually available for both Windows and OSX users.

written by Brady \\ tags: Apple, best programs, blogging, offline blogging, OSX

Having been a PC user all of my life, one of my biggest concerns in switching from a PC to a Mac was whether I’d be able to learn and navigate OSX. How’s the old adage go???

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but I was unsure if I’d be able to have any sort of productivity while learning an entirely new operating system. Let’s be honest, can I really make an adjustment from Start Menu at the bottom left, to the Apple logo at the upper left?

To be completely honest, the change thus far has been relatively smooth. I’ve been able to adapt to some of the subtle differences between the two operating systems, but as a whole, the two OS’s are now pretty similar in terms of navigation, functionality and ease of use. As a switcher, the 2 biggest things that I’ve been having a hard time getting used to is the always stationary menu bar (or menubar as I’ve seen it referred to on many other blogs), and the other issue really isn’t an operating system issue, but more of a keyboard shortcut issue. The Apple Command key being located right next to the spacebar is a big difference from the Control key on the PC being at the far left edge. This has made common tasks like Copy/Paste become more hunt and peck.

Stationary Menu Bar
I’m sure that this is probably one of the toughest things to overcome for all users. The fact that the menu bar changes state based on whichever program is open in the foreground has taken me a little time to get used to. Don’t get me wrong, it makes perfect sense, but having been a PC user for the past 10+ years, I have gotten very used to the fact that each program had its own menu bar and set of actions internally and attached to the program itself, whereas on the Mac, the main menu bar acts as the starting location for all actions for all programs.

Command Click vs. Control Click
I’m dealing with it. I don’t necessarily like it, but I’m learning to deal with it. I feel like I need a little nub sixth finger between my thumb and my index finger in order to successfully use the Command button. I’ll have to become an Apple alien.

The Best Features of OSX
This list is based on my limited experience with the OSX operating system this far.

• Expose - this feature is irreplaceable, I don’t know how I’ve lived without this on a PC for so long, maybe because of the fact that windows always keeps a huge listing of all open programs in the taskbar.
• Hot Corners – being able to throw your mouse into any corner of your screen to complete any common action is a very useful feature. I have my computer automatically lock when my screensaver comes on, so prior to leaving my computer, I always just throw my mouse into the corner that activates my screensaver.
• Quick Look – This is a great feature that Windows could/should learn from. Quick Look allows you to open nearly any type of file (at least common file types) by clicking on the space bar.

Features that I have yet to explore, but will most likely become familiar with them sometime in the future:

• Spaces - This sounds like it might be very useful for me since I primarily use my MacBook Pro as a personal computer, but will occassionally use it for work. It sounds like spaces will allow me to setup desktops for each “life”.
• Boot Camp – Dual boot Windows and Mac OSX on my MacBook Pro, this will definitely come in handy.
• Time Machine – I haven’t yet used this as I typically do all of my own backups, however this will most likely be something that I setup for my wifes computer.

written by Brady \\ tags: boot camp, Expose, Hot Corners, menu bar, menubar, operating system, OSX, PC, Quick Look, spaces, start menu, task bar, taskbar, Time Machine

Since purchasing my MacBook Pro, I’ve been scouring the internet for the best Mac apps – preferably free apps, that can be installed to make me just as, if not more productive than I was on my PC laptop. I’ve found quite a few great apps thus far, and have started my own list of Must Have Mac Software and Mac Applications.

Mac News Online put together The Ultimate Mac Apps List that has some great freeware and shareware programs. They’ve also got a great “More Info” link on each app that gives you a great overview of each program when you click on it.

Q8mug put together the type of list that I was looking for – Must-Have Mac Apps for the new Mac Switcher! Being a PC convert, this list is exactly what I was looking for because it offers many programs that are comparable to PC programs. If you to are a PC convert, I’d recommend checking this page out.

MacInstruct put together a list of Twenty Must-Have Mac Apps that I’ve been living by thus far. Every app on this list is something that I’ve give some serious time either reading about and/or trying and testing.

FreelanceSwitch has gathered a larger than the rest list titled 35 Absolutely Essential Mac Apps. This list has apps for every type of Mac user. Don’t forget to check out the comment section, there are quite a few reviews and other recommendations.

Mind Mining Medium (say that 3 times fast!) has a part one list which consists of only free apps. If you’re on a budget, be sure to check out Must Have Mac Apps: Part I – Free Apps.

I’ll be posting more of the Top Mac Apps lists soon, but these were some of the ones that I found particularly helpful.

written by Brady \\ tags: best applications, Leopard, Mac, must haves, OSX