As of today, I'm one step closer to being a full-time mac user. I just bought a pretty little twelve inch iBook that I figure I'll be using about a third of the time in parallel with my Thinkpad. It's really nice having two quiet little systems that can share my desk with room to spare for all of the other clutter around here. I really don't think I'll ever be going back to the obscene fan noise and overall bulkiness of desktop computers. It makes me cringe just turning on the big ole dual G4 I've been borrowing from my brother for the past few months.
This may be common knowledge to mac users the world over, but while installing applications today I discoverd a handy little freeware widget from Everyday Software called Show Desktop, which sits in the dock and emulates the behavior you get in Windows with the same feature. Even with Exposé sometimes I just want to see the clean desktop to find a file there or something and this works really beautifully.
So, I've used macs before, but never for more than basic functions and for browser testing. What little gems are there that will make my experience even better?
Comments
Rob Hyndman - March 13, 2005 6:19 am
Lots of tips in the comments to this post.
Isaac Grant - March 13, 2005 10:51 am
Try F11 as an expose alternative to show desktop - works well, and when you are done, just hit F11 again, and everything is back the way it was before.
Stephen - March 13, 2005 11:47 am
I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on moving to a smaller resolution. 1400x1050 to 1024x768 is a significant drop.
Steven Marshall - March 14, 2005 7:31 am
One stunning little gem I've grown to love, of late, is QuickSilver - it's the ultimate launcher - press a user-defined keyboard shortcut, and start typing the name of the application/folder/song/document/whatever that you want to access/add to/play/open, hit enter, and you're there. Done. Open. Playing. Whatever.
It sounds a bit of a useless application ("Why not just use the dock and Finder?", I hear you cry), but it's stunning how much it changes the way you work with a Mac. For example, I listen to all my music in iTunes, but I don't think I've seen iTunes in about 3 weeks (since the last time I ripped a new album, in fact) - everything I want to do with my music (browse, queue, play, pause, skip) is available with a couple of keystrokes.
If you want to get an idea of how cool it is, there's a good post on MamaMusings about how it does its thing...
Daniel Von Fange - March 14, 2005 7:54 am
A second for Quicksilver.
Jay - March 14, 2005 5:27 pm
I just assign Expose hot corners. Eg, I have Show Desktop as top right hand corner; fling my mouse to the top right, grab the file off the desktop and fling mouse back up to top right again. I find it much easier than using F keys on my keyboard because I am already performing a mouse action anyway.
Tommy - March 19, 2005 2:29 pm
A few applications I love include:
Menubar Items:
GmailStatus | Lets you check and management your gmail account.
http://homepage.mac.com/carsten.guenther/GmailStatus/
BurnoutMenu | A simple calendar and to do program. Syncs w/ iCal.
http://www.clichesw.com/products/burnoutmenu2/
Programs:
Voodoo Pad | A wiki-like based note pad. My favorite app on my mac.
www.flyingmeat.com/voodoopad
NetNewsWire | A great feed reader.
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/
iPodderX | I've fallen in love with this app.
ipodderx.com
Ulysses | A program for creative writers. Very neat if you spent much time writing.
http://www.blue-tec.com/ulysses/features.php
I found a lot of these programs through Jon Hicks and Merlin at 43 Folders. Also, 43 Folders is a huge fan of QuickSilver and he has dozens of posts on how he uses it. Enjoy.
Mandy - March 20, 2005 10:23 pm
ooooooh, congratulations :-)
I'm getting a new eMac soon. I'm a fan of the desktops. I'd love an new iMac, but funding points more towards the eMac.
Maria Maund - March 22, 2005 3:18 pm
I second Mandy's Congratulations. Welcome to the wonderful world of Mac. :)