I just bought my first Mac!

[the_tech_eater]

My 2013 MacBook Air 13" model will be in tomorrow evening! What are some free and paid apps from the Mac App Store that are must haves? And I would appreciate any OS X tips and tricks as this is the first Mac I've ever owned, or used ( For more then 45 minuets). Thanks in advance!

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[taz323]

Congrats on your new Mac, looking to grab one myself. Enjoy

 

[phreddyl]

nice! congrats on the new Mac! I like the air mail app- streamlines all my email accounts

 

[pr1nce]

Congrats on your new Mac. Enjoy

 

[kataran]

Nice


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[pearlyrob]

I just an air last week. I love it so far.

 

[TurboTiger]

Congratulations. You'll love it.
Here are a few apps that I have:
FireFox
Dropbox
Flip Player
All are free.

Good Luck

 

[Bazza1]

If you have come from a PC, save yourself some function frustration and use an ordinary 2 button/ scroll wheel mouse when you can - wireless or wired, it doesn't matter.
Macolytes love their keystroke combos (and you'll learn them in time) and the trackpad is nice, but if you want familiar access to right-click functionality and scrolling, a mouse is still the way to go. And no need to blow the big bucks on a cool looking Mac one. The OS will see and use a regular one exactly as you would expect.

Further, if you're coming from PC (and maybe you've used older versions of Word, etc), you may want a familiar-looking Office Suite. While Apple's own iWork Suite (Pages, etc) syncs with iCloud - if that's important to you - you may find its layout, frankly, bizarre and it's proprietary file system nearly worthless if you plan on creating and sharing documents with others. Short of the online options (like Google Drive or Microsoft Office 365), if you want an onboard office suite, I'd recommend the free LibreOffice product - https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/
You can set it to Save in the Microsoft format (Word, Excel, etc) of your choice by default and its rendering of existing files is pretty accurate.

 

[the_tech_eater]

If you have come from a PC, save yourself some function frustration and use an ordinary 2 button/ scroll wheel mouse when you can - wireless or wired, it doesn't matter.
Macolytes love their keystroke combos (and you'll learn them in time) and the trackpad is nice, but if you want familiar access to right-click functionality and scrolling, a mouse is still the way to go. And no need to blow the big bucks on a cool looking Mac one. The OS will see and use a regular one exactly as you would expect.

Further, if you're coming from PC (and maybe you've used older versions of Word, etc), you may want a familiar-looking Office Suite. While Apple's own iWork Suite (Pages, etc) syncs with iCloud - if that's important to you - you may find its layout, frankly, bizarre and it's proprietary file system nearly worthless if you plan on creating and sharing documents with others. Short of the online options (like Google Drive or Microsoft Office 365), if you want an onboard office suite, I'd recommend the free LibreOffice product - https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/
You can set it to Save in the Microsoft format (Word, Excel, etc) of your choice by default and its rendering of existing files is pretty accurate.

Thanks for the advice! I've read up on differences between the trackpads/mice on Macs and PC's. So I think I'm good to go on that. As far as office suites go, I'm 16 and this is my first computer. I've never used office at all. The only office software I've used is pages on my iPad. So i don't think that will be a problem either, but I'll definitely check out LiberOffice.


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[bravesfan007]

I recommend Wunderlist as a great way to keep track of lists. The good thing is that it'll sync between devices to keep the lists updated.


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[Bazza1]

Thanks for the advice! I've read up on differences between the trackpads/mice on Macs and PC's. So I think I'm good to go on that. As far as office suites go, I'm 16 and this is my first computer. I've never used office at all. The only office software I've used is pages on my iPad. So i don't think that will be a problem either, but I'll definitely check out LiberOffice.

Cool.
As for Office Suites, Pages on iOS operates quite differently from on the Mac, but with iCloud, its kinda cool to have stuff you create on one device in Pages show up on the other automatically. That said, the app does save in a proprietary file format which - for school or, eventually, college or university - might be problematic, even though you can Export it in Word .doc or .pdf format. But it is worth blowing $20 for that?

As for other useful apps: I'm guessing (at 16) you're relying on purchasing iTunes cards to pay for apps for your iPad and, now, your MacBook via their respective stores, but, as an Air user (with it's limited onboard storage), there's an app out there - not in the store (and therefore will require a credit card from a sympathetic owner) - that I cannot recommend too highly.

Its called Xslimmer and it automatically scans and pulls unnecessary bumpf from apps (unused languages, unnecessary code for older machines and OSs, etc) which take up a lot of room on our Airs. Its Genie is very accurate and I was stunned the first time I ran it how much I was able to reclaim and I've never had a issue with it or the cleaned apps. I run it every month or so to catch any updated software that has stuff that can be culled. Its the best $15 I've spent on an app.
There's also a trial version you can try - it'll cull 50MB of junk. Check it all out here - www.xslimmer.com

Also on the maintenance front, there's also the freebie Ccleaner, available in the Mac Store - and I would be remiss if I did not suggest that you should pick up a free anti-virus app (I use Avira). Yeah, I know, Macoytles will tell you that Macs don't need it - blah, blah, blah - but it will help stop you passing on stuff accidentally to PC users and/or issues with malware, etc. And if it's free and automatic, why not?

Enjoy your new Air!

 

[the_tech_eater]

Pages come free on OS X. But thanks for the advice! I've had others tell me about those apps you mentioned, so I'll be sure to check them out cuz every one likes them!


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[Speedygi]

Make sure to load your Mac up with some good apps. I know you need those. The Mac App Store is perfect for that.

 

[saichick04]

Congrats! I love my Macbook Air. My partner uses it more than I do for school but when I do I love it. Enjoy yours!

 

[pearlyrob]

Another question. Hope I make sense. On a PC. When the delete dialog box came up. The "cancel" selection is highlighted and I could push tab to forward the highlight to the "ok" box. On my Mac. Pressing tab doesn't move the highlighted option. How can I do this

 

[Bradley Spence]

Congrats! Welcome to the Mac family. I love my Macbook Pro. My tip: To take screen shots hold down Command + Shift + 3. A tad more tricky than the PC but everything else works just so much better.

 

[smileyboy]

Don't forget to backup. Buy a 500/1T hdd just for that


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[the_tech_eater]

Don't forget to backup. Buy a 500/1T hdd just for that


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Spring Sale: http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jsmileyboy/library/stuff for sale

Already have a SeaGate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro 500GB hard drive with FireWire 800 support.


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[Tartarus]

Congrats with your Mac

 

[smileyboy]

Congrats!


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