Out of the box

What should I do with a new macbook or pro out of the box? I am still debating between an Apple or another PC laptop. But when I get it, is there anything important I should download or install? I am coming from an all PC use.

 

It really depends on what you're planning on doing with it.

 

I would say first thing would simply be to run Software Update, much as you would run Windows Update on a new PC. Other than that, I can't think of much else. Like M@lew said, it all depends on what you plan to do with it.

 

I'm just worried that I'll hate macs since I have been using Windows all this time. Can anyone tell me where I can find useful information on Macs from Window users.

 

mach_zero made a good point, run Software Update. After that, or before does not matter, make a limited user account and use that as your everyday account. DO NOT RUN AS ADMIN. It is unnecessary and less secure. Other than that it is just a matter of finding out what is what. We are here to help you with that!

 

So have two accounts, Admin and User? And use User ignoring the Admin one?

 

Yep, infact you should do that with XP as well; problem is a lot of software simply refuses to run that way (and it is not as secure anyways).

 

I´m planning to get mine this week as well, and have a question related.
When I run this Software Update, will it automatically download all of the fixes i´ve read here, like for the moo sound, or for the overheat problem, for the sudden turn offs, that were all fixed, or will I have to download each by each? I mean, this Software Update is only related to the OS updates or for all of the bug fixes concerning the whole machine?
Thanks!

 

You will need to calibrate your battery pretty soon after you have got it out of the box but that is pretty standard across most laptops.


The software updates have already been mentioned but other than that i cannot think of anything else that you may need to do.

This not essential but you may also want to delete some extra language keyboard packs that maybe taking up some of your hard drive space also.

 

your not gonna hate osx it is much more stable then windows and much more intuitive . the genious of the MBP is you can run windows. so if you hate it you can switch back. you wont have that option if you buy a windows computer.
i had 2 viaos in the last 3 years after macs. i finally couldn't stand it and went from a 160p/c to the mbp. the mbp is much heavier but other then i love being back

 

rachuk,

What do you mean by “calibrate your battery”?

 

What updates? When I got my C2D it was fully updated out of the box except for iTunes if I recall correctly. With Bootcamp operational I never use my Windows laptop anymore. It's sitting in the closet, soon to be sold, given away, or otherwise forgotten.

I think the correct calibration process is to fully charge the battery, let it drain completely till it goes to sleep and let it remain asleep for about 5 hours, then you can use it normally. This process helps your battery to last its longest on a full charge.

 

When I first got my MBP, i had a ton of updates to do on it. Had to restart during updates 3x. Note, thats not due to problems, it just asked to restart several times. But since I've reinstalled OS X 2x since then, it's only done a few updates. I guess most of it was some sort of firmware update.

 

Hollownail, does that mean that i'm not gonna have to download these updates separately? for the overheat problem and the mooing I mean, these kind of updates....

 

I doubt you'll have to worry about it. Any unit you buy now will have different hardware and such.
So I doubt you'll have much to worry about. If you have any updates, you should be able to do them all at once. That is unless they come out with a few SMC updates between your order and arrival times, then you shouldn't have many updates to do, besides normal software updates.

 

Never heard of "battery calibration"... is this another Mac-only RDF stuff?
I had half a dozen different laptops in the last 10-15 years but I can't recall anything...

 

Nope, every single Lithium Ion battery should be calibrated. It makes a difference. I was in a rescue squad for a few years, and we experimented on the batteries (we weren't using trickle chargers) for our radios and pagers. Those that we just threw on teh charger all the time had their battery life lowered considerably after a year. Those that we ran all the way down before charging last a lot longer.

All cellphones and laptops work on the same principle.

 

so just charge it full, then let it on the battery till it shuts down?