Now that we know Apple’s new iMac will be available starting Friday, November 30, it’s time to prepare yourself – especially if this is your first time using a Mac. Mac newbies will find that the homescreen appears foreign, the trackpad will do confusing things, and there will likely be a plethora of helpful tricks that you’ll never unearth. Luckily, we’re here to help. You don’t have to learn everything from scratch, but Apple’s OS X is different enough that you might just find this guide useful.
First things first: You don’t need to install Windows on a Mac computer. You certainly can if you want to, but you don’t have to. Mac computers come with Apple’s own operating system (OS) called OS X, with versions named after big cats. Think Leopards, Lions, and, according to rumors, even Lynxes. The newest release to date, version 10.8, is called Mountain Lion.
OS X isn’t a complete departure from Windows. Nothing’s so shockingly different that you’d feel as if you’re navigating something that’s not a computer. That said, there are many OS X-exclusive features and applications that you won’t find on a Windows machine. Some applications, like Reminders and Notifications, are tightly connected to the cloud. You can write a reminder on your computer and access it on your iPad or iPhone if you happen to have either.
A handful of the OS X features you need to know to get started are:
Dock and menu bar: You can use the dock at the bottom to launch apps or go back to an open app if you’ve temporarily navigated to another homescreen. You can customize your dock to display oft-accessed programs. The menu bar is at the top of the screen. Here, you can find small icons of programs that work in the background (cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, among others). At the top left-corner of the menu bar is the Apple icon where you can find the Log Out and Shut Down commands.If you have an external hard drive you’ve been using on Windows that you also intend to use with your Mac, know that it won’t work right out of the box. All hard drives used with Windows use the NTFS proprietary file system, and that – surprise, surprise – doesn’t work on OS X. You can either choose to convert your drive into a Time Machine for exclusive use with a Mac, or follow either of these instructions so you can use it with both systems:
Download and install compatibility programs on Mac. Two programs you can use are Paragon ($20) and Tuxera ($32). Simply installing them on a Mac computer will make it compatible with the hard drive you use for Windows. We recommend going this route as it is easy and hassle-free, but if you’re really not willing to shell out that much for a program, you can choose the option below.One way to convert your external hard drive to FAT32 on a Windows computer is to download third-party software programs. Search for “NTFS to FAT32 converter” on Google to find a number of free programs, such as FAT32 Format.
You can also format your drive on Windows via the Command prompt. Click the Start button, type “Run” (without the quotation marks) in the search box, then type “cmd” in the box that pops up. This will launch the command prompt. Type “format /FS:FAT32 X:” in the prompt, changing “X:” with the drive’s letter. You can find the drive’s designated letter by checking Windows Explorer – it will look something like “Removable Disk (X:).”
On OS X, go to Applications with your external hard drive plugged in. Find the Utilities folder and click on Disk Utility. Choose the hard drive you want to format on the left-hand side, choose Partition, and pick FAT under the Volume drop-down menu.
Did you know that you can share your MacBook’s Internet connection? If you only have a USB Wi-Fi dongle instead of a mobile hotspot that you can wirelessly connect to, simply plug the dongle into your Mac, go to System Preferences, click Sharing, then tick the check box next to Internet Sharing. Your phone or tablet can now hitch a ride on your MacBook’s Internet connection via Wi-Fi.
We’ve barely scratched the surface with this guide. Don’t be afraid to discover what a Mac can do. After some exploration, your Mac will soon become more of a familiar sight than an intimidating alien environment.
Anything to add for Windows users new to OS X and Mac computers? Sound off in the comments!
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