Seriously Considering Buying a Mac - Question

asphaltgambler · 03-14-2007, 04:22 AM

After much thought and looking I'm thinking of purchasing a Mac desktop. Does anyone make/have a tutorial DVD that demostrates the basic features and functions?

Sales guy says only third party companies offer this, not directly from Apple.

Looking to purchase from local CompUSA as they are going out of business and offer an extra 5% off of the price and 10% off of any acc.

I do not mind sitting down to learn the OS but my free time is limited and would rather have a DVD that outlines the basic stuff.

Advice please

maxnine11 · maxnine11's Garage

When i bought my first Mac, a Mac Mini, I picked up a couple of books. "The Mac Mini Guidebook" by Coursey , and, "Switching to the Mac- The Missing Manual" from O'Reilly Press.

max

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

http://howdoimac.com/

Aurel

stomachmonkey · 03-14-2007, 05:44 AM

Do you have an Apple store nearby?

Apple Store Tysons Corner
1961 Chainbridge Road
McLean, VA 22102

They are really good about sitting with you and giving you one on one introductory training.

Scott

stomachmonkey · 03-14-2007, 05:47 AM

http://train.apple.com/learningcenter/index.html

asphaltgambler · 03-14-2007, 08:05 AM

Thanks !!

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

Here's a link to Apple w/ a basic tutorial and also switching over from Windows to Mac.
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

jyl · jyl's Garage

Consider getting a refurb Mac from Apple's online store. Should be well more than 5% off, and they are like new.

Spend the saved money on memory (2GB ideally, www.memoryx.net or other third-party source, much cheaper than buying from Apple).

stomachmonkey · 03-14-2007, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jyl
Consider getting a refurb Mac from Apple's online store. Should be well more than 5% off, and they are like new.

Spend the saved money on memory (2GB ideally, www.memoryx.net or other third-party source, much cheaper than buying from Apple).

Good Advice.

Porsche · Porsche's Garage

It's actually quite easy to pick up - the only things to learn are the keyboard short-cuts which are slightly different. And one tip: you can right click (if using a laptop) by hitting CTRL-mousebutton.

Drew001 · 03-15-2007, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by asphaltgambler
I do not mind sitting down to learn the OS but my free time is limited and would rather have a DVD that outlines the basic stuff.

Advice please

There's a great feature in OS X (since version 10.4. Current version is 10.4.8) called Spotlight.

Spotlight helps you find anything fast.
Here's a little example of Spotlight: Say you want to change your wallpaper (it's called the desktop or desktop picture on a Mac. Coming from a PC, you'd probably type "wallpaper" in the Spotlight window of the System Preferences and as you type it will start narrowing your search visually by "spotlighting" what it thinks you are looking for and give you a list of possibilities.

Any system setting can be found this way by searching in the System Preferences:
Type "IP" to get your IP address.
Type "Windows" to set up Windows file sharing.
Type "port" to show or setup network ports.

Spotlight is available system-wide and is the fastest way to find anything (file, picture, email, etc.) on your Mac.

Here's Apple's Spotlight page.

You're going to love OS X.

rammstein · 03-16-2007, 04:52 AM

A bit OT, but if you do buy it, give us your impressions after a couple of weeks. It would be interesting to hear from a PC guy right after the transition, before the Mac has time to brainwash you