Making the Move to Mac

July 9th, 2008

You probably already own an iPod and, if you don’t have one yet, are pining for a lovely shiny iPhone, so why not bite the bullet? Do more than just accessorize and switch your whole operating system. If you’ve been thinking of changing from Windows to Mac OS X but been too scared before, here’s our brief guide on how to survive the new format.

Right clicking is wrong
Something that will definitely take a bit of getting used to. With a Mac, to do an “alternative click” (right click to us techno-illiterates) you will have to hold down the Control key before clicking. Can’t get into the click of things? If you have a non-Apple mouse attached, you can set it to enable the right clicking option.

To close is not to close
Wanna close a program? Hitting the red X just won’t cut it. The red X makes your program disappear from view, but it is still running in the background. To actually close a program you need to select “Quit” from the tool bar.

Relearning the shortcuts
What you used to “Ctrl” on a Windows you will now have to “Command” instead (that’s the key with the little apple icon). Just move your finger two buttons to the right.

Oh, so it does crash
Yes, programs on Macs do crash. But unlike Windows, you can still move your mouse around and it doesn’t completely stall your whole system. To close a crashed program, there’s no more “Ctrl+Alt+Del”, it’s simply a case of clicking on the Apple icon, selecting “Force Quit” (or Command+Option+Escape) and the program you want to kill.

Trash isn’t just for junk
The Trash can is every Mac user’s pride and joy. Not only does it function as a junk trunk, the Trash can also eject disks and drives as well as uninstalling a program. To eject a CD or a thumb drive, simply drag the icon to Trash. Wanna uninstall a program? Drag the program from the Applications list to Trash and *poof* it’s gone.

Those are just the basics for you to get by. For more serious Mac training, try signing up for a course at Macintosh Solutions (3/F Room 3C, IT Mall Fortune Town, Ratchadapisek Rd., 02-642-1236) or at iSchool (3/F City Street Buidling, Rama 4 Rd., 02-233-2055). Don’t have the time or the money (as you’ve spent it all on your new Mac) check out the online guide at www.apple.com/support/switch101.