The Reluctant Apple User… April 8, 2008
Posted by Andrew Wee in : stuff , trackbackI like multi-tasking, although the latest Guru-Du-Jour Eben Pagan says it’s a “no-no”
So having eaten my lunch while MythBusters was playing on Discovery, I finally opened up the box containing my new MacBook 2.1 Ghz machine (a freebie bundled together with my new 10mbps DSL plan).
While Jamie and Adam are firing machine guns into the side on a car on the screen, I’m pulling the polycarbonate-sheathed laptop out of the box.
First reaction: This thing is pretty heavy compared to my Fujitsu Lifebook ultra-portable.
Second reaction: The graphics are really pretty (I can see why Sam Harrelson and Shawn Collins get into their Asus eee/Apple/Dell Vostro bickering matches)
Third reaction: I don’t quite like the tactile feel of the keyboard. The keys don’t have the “sink” of a traditional keyboard (but that could be easily remedied with a regular-sized USB keyboard). I am just wondering why the Apple developers don’t include the “double tap” on the touchpad simulating a mouse click - that would greatly enhance productivity.
Fourth reaction: I’m not too certain what the Mac equivalents of “control-a”, “control-c” and “control-v” are on the Mac. I think it’s the “open Apple” button.
My first “proper” computer ever was an Apple ][e and I spent 3 years as a desktop production editor working on Apple Quadras in the early 1990s, so I think I’ll be able to make the transition.
I’m still mulling over Geordie Carswell’s advice to ditch the default 1GB of ram and go for the 4GB max.
The MacBook seems to have a proprietary interface for connecting an external monitor, so I still have to figure that one out.
And yes, the absence of a mouse is sorely missed.
As far as I’m aware, Google AdWords Editor does not run on OS X, unless you’re running Basecamp or Parallels or some other cross-platform…It’ll all have to wait till tax season is over and I’ll have time to fiddle with it.
The iSight built-in webcam seems to take pretty killer pictures though…
At times like this, I’m glad that my skype contact list is filled with a host of Apple geeks.
More updates after April 15th.
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Glad to see another Apple user!
Here’s my input for you…
Reaction 3: Open System Preferences (in the dock & applications folder) > Keyboard & Mouse > Trackpad > “Trackpad Gestures” - You can set clicking, dragging, etc.
Reaction 4: Apple-A, Apple-C, Apple-V, etc. And a tip: You can “right click” by holding down the ctrl and clicking.
Google Adwords Editor IS available on mac! Just go on over to http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwordseditor/ and you can choose Windows or Mac to download.
Hope this helps.
JC
Tks for the tips, I see myself picking up a dummies guide or two after tax season is over.
Andrew,
I’m going through a learning curve too with my new Mac Pro. Overall I like it though.
FYI - you can get AdWords native on Mac.
Cheers,
Ken
Welcome to the dark side…the chiclet keyboard will grow on you. You need a dongle from apple to hookup an external monitor. One thing you’ll also shortly notice is how fast it wakes up from and goes to sleep, it’s a major time saver.
Thank goodness my 5-button logitech gaming mouse works with it.
Even the right mouse button works!
I plan to live on the edge and hook up my favorite USB keyboard soon…
Hi Andrew, the equivalent of CTRL + C is Command + C (aka Apple + C) etc.
Have fun with the new toy!
The keyboard is kinda blah in my opinion… but yes I like to multi-task hahaha
from: http://www.google.com/support/adwordseditor/bin/static.py?page=about.html&hl=en#30511
What are the system requirements for AdWords Editor?
AdWords Editor is available for Windows 2000, Windows XP (Home/Pro), Windows Vista, or Mac OS X (10.4 or later). The OS X version works with both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. We’re working on expanding to additional operating systems, such as Linux.
Tks for the heads-up.
Who cares what Eben Pagan says?
Hi Andrew,
Welcome to the Apple community!
Yes there’s bit of a learning curve when you first switch over to an Apple, but within a week you’ll be up to speed.
I LOVE my Mac Pro and will NEVER use a Windows machine EVER again. I actually had a Mac Consultant come in and optimize my whole home office.
I got parallells running and everything it’s awesome!
I find I rarely use parallells, I can do 95% of what I need to do on the Mac side.
As for Adwords Editor, they have a Mac version.
Sincerely,
Amit
Yeah, the next stage after I beat up my machine a little after tax day is to decide if i want to go from 1gb ram to 4gb.
and maybe try a spot of video blogging with the isight camera.