Clarification for a noob (MB)

Hello Again

So i went into the Apple store yesterday (in canada) and they demoed the macbook for me.

I need some clarifications before i go buy this machine.

1. In a Macbook, one is not able to "Maximize" with a double click or a click of a button (like windows)

2. Using Remote Connection 2. Can i do any of the following?

a) Remote connect to my HTPC (vista OS) and install updates, or click start menu and run solitaire, or run ccleaner?

b) Remote connect to my HTPC (vista OS) and run Quicken (money manager application) and update my books? or run ms word for kicks? (so basically running a windows program)

This is a major confusion for me, as my initial impression was that it is possible to do anything, running everyday stuff just though remote connection, however apple people told me that it is not possible, that i must install bootcamp and then windows.

 

For that you can just press the little green button that is located on the top left of the window, just like in Windows you have the close, minimize and maximize buttons on the top right, there's the red button = close window, yellow button = minimize, and the green one = maximize.

 

1. The one thing you'll eventually learn about a Mac is you don't need to "Maximize" things like you're used to in Windows. You CAN always resize the window so it takes up the entire screen, but the "Maximize" button does not work the same as in Windows.

2. Remote Desktop for Mac works the exact same way it does on a Windows machine. You can use it to remotely connect to Windows machines and do exactly as you've asked.

Perhaps they misunderstood you when you asked them about running Windows apps. You certainly can connect to a Windows machine and run them there, or you can install Windows via Boot Camp or Parallels/VMWare and run them locally.

 

Although you are correct, you're slightly wrong as well. The Maximize button in Mac doesn't work the same was as it does in Windows. Sometimes you will need to resize the window to actually make it "full screen".

 

I know, but it's the closest thing to maximizing without having to drag the corner of the window.

 

what i found is that when you press the green button, it simply expands the window without shifting the window, but i dont see its usefulness, i had my macbook for only 3 weeks and then the harddrive malfunctioned due to vibrations from my club's PA system, still trying to sort the details with appletech support, but they're really pissin me off, neways, i still think they should do a full screen maximize

 

ok, so i can do it! Nice. I left the store thinking that $hit... i cant do it. i no longer want a mac, must find an alternative...

So i can do anything when remote connecting.

i3urtongirl - how come you didnt get the upgraded version of the macbook, white, but with the 2.4 ghz cpu?

 

I have the mid-2007 model of the middle MacBook, I don't know if that makes any sense to you...

 

its the same model offered now. But i guess this specific model was the upgraded model then, as the upgraded model now is a 2.4ghz and 2g of ram and bigger hdd.

 

I'm in the market for a laptop and seriously considering MBP. Aside from the higher price holding me back I'm a bit unsure of switching from windows to mac. I've always been a windows user and just wondering how much of a learning curve is it to "get" mac. Is it difficult, easy, middle of the road ?

 

I would say really easy...its not that hard at all. There's tons of guides out there (in all modesty, I wrote a long one myself ) to help, and I would say within two days you'll be used to the way OS X works, within two weeks you should have no problems at all!

 

One thing I don't get is why can't I just maximize a window to use the full screen?

I just bought myself a MBP and I am happy with it but that maximize feature drives me crazy ... I have to move the window to the top-left and then resize it .. stupid! Is there any shortcut to do it faster?

I see some of you don't need to maximize anything, but I do with pretty much any new window of Safari for example.

 

That is true, but at the same time, remember that you switched for a reason: you needed a change. If you're expecting everything to work exactly as Windows, then its no switch, is it?

 

Cool. Thanks !!! sounds simple enough

 

At least with the latest version of Safari, once you drag a window to the top left and drag it full screen, as long as you don't change that setup, all new windows of Safari will open fullscreen, even after you quit Safari, reboot, etc.

Safari deserves to be maximized. Otherwise it's damned useless.

 

Does the Mac OS X come on a dvd when you buy the macbook. Just in case you need to reinstall or re format?

 

Yeah they all do. You can just pop the DVD in and be on your way. It's really that simple.

 

Dude, this is EXACTLY the same problem that was driving me nuts and almost stopping me from further considering buying a mac! (haha, i know its petty).
I kept double clicking the tab at the top of the window and it was driving me nuts.

BUT

The guy at the apple store showed me how to maximize windows. First, open the app (i.e. WORD), then manually max out the screen. Then press the green "maximize" button.

Then if you close the app and reopen it, it should be in the size that you manually changed it to as a default (which would be full screen).

If this doesn't work, you may have to click that green maximize button twice.

haha, and if THAT doesn't work, go talk to someone at apple store....that's where they showed me how to do it.

 

No offense to Apple here, but that will take me much longer than just clicking on a button. I mean the resizing of the window and just then clicking on the button. What is the points of having that + button anyway??

Well .. I think I just need some shortcuts to fix the problem. I am no good with programming, but do any of you guys know some application that will do things like "maximize", "move to second/external display","move to third display", "resize to half size of the second display" etc ??? There is something like that for Vista, it only takes like 0.1MB to install and run it, but's a great little app.

 

It's a different experience, guys. I know you think you need things full screen now, but give it a go and I bet you'll change your minds, I know I did.

And about having Safari full screened... What web pages are you looking at that are 1200+wide? That's simply a ridiculous design if it exists.


Also, Remote Desktop Connection for Mac works better than the Remote Desktop software bundled with Windows

 

A bunch of forums where I go (like car forums) have wider than usual pages because of the HUGE pics posted. So instead of scrolling left >right >left > right and so on in order to read the text (cause if the pics are enlarging the thread than the text will go wide!!) I would rather just read it maximized. Considering I have a 30" display, I don't mind having all the estate used. The website looks functional in the middle of the screen if the resolution is too wide for it.

But then when I unplug the external display ...to go away with the laptop all the pages are messed up, the Safari especially will stay extremely LONG and instead of me just Maximizing to the current screen I have to first resize it to make it smaller, and that takes a few steps to move the window to the left, resize, move to the left again, resize again, maybe one more time .. to fit the screen

Also, on the photo editing I do I like having all the real estate I can have >> maximize is the word

Anyway, I'll stop blaming on Apple or anyone else once I can find a small application that will take care of my windows exactly the way will help me work faster.

System_159: it's definitely a different experience, pretty positive one until now, with just a few minor steps back. Once I can fix those I will be happier. Now I just have issues with buying all the Office and CS3 stuff again (that's like $1000$$$), although I already have on MS Vista - paid for.
Is there a way to do some kind of "upgrade" to also receive a Mac Office/Adobe?

 

As others have already stated, once you get your mindset out of "Windows" mode, you'll realize that things don't always need to be maximized.

I've got a 24" monitor and I rarely have single programs take up the entire screen. If anything, the larger your screen, the less you should have maximized. If you keep things at their optimal size, you can have more programs showing on the screen at any given time.