Mac Me Baby! Day 1

I sit at the virgin screen of a new MacBook Pro with no idea what to do next. I have been a Win/PC expert since Star Trek: The Next Generation was running new episodes. I can bring up a new Windows system in my sleep.

• Install Antivirus


• Install WinZip


• Fix Explorer so it doesn't hide anything for me


• Firefox


• DAEMONTools


• Microsoft Office

I start my adventure by doing updates. People have been talking about Snow Leopard on twit.tv and other such podcasts and web sites. By checking the version, apparently I have it. Huh.

Since I have a Windows game plan, I will see how it works for Mac.

Antivirus - Skipping for now

Install WinZip - Macs seem to use DMG or disk images for installs, it's build nicely into the OS so I don't yet have a need for that. Stuffit Expander handles the rest.

Switch the OS into expert mode - I'm not crazy enough to try that yet. I don't even know if there is an expert mode apart from the terminal prompt.

Firefox - I need at least something familiar in this odd jungle of a new OS. Safari is rumored to be faster but I need something to compare it to.

I have noticed the touchpad already, very nice. I am trying to get used to a click feedback since I have been tapping on the pad on my Dell D630 forever.


Noticed ctrl-click works in Safari - good. So far, very good experience.

Whoops, lost already. It shows dragging a big Firefox Icon to a folder with an A on it. Using brain leads me to guess this is the Applications folder, ah-ha, there is an icon like that in the dock.

Ok, now I am a little perturbed with the touchpad. Why when I hit the edge does it not keep moving the icon in the direction I was going. Fine, I will try again starting from further up on the touchpad, that will take some getting used to.

I click on the Applications folder and it nicely pops up the applications but I don't see the happy FireFox icon. I finally get to reading the titles of the icons and see a missing icon one named FireFox. Clicking launches a download/setup and I am up and running in FireFox. I can see where someone would get lost in this process. Missing Next -> Next -> Next -> Finish install process that pops the icon on the desktop and in the Start Menu.

Installing LastPass in FireFox, easy, good.

DaemonTools - No idea, don't have Mac software in iso format yet so no need. (Later I found out this is also, built-in, noticing the theme yet?)

Microsoft Office - I think I am going to try Open Office and see how close I can be to making a complete break from Microsoft. It may not work out but I can be idealistic.