Re: Newbie with 10's of questions

In article <DrJamesSidbury-580F08.22091228102005@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
*** Sidbury <DrJamesSidbury@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> OK, I got my Powerbook G4 17" on Tuesday morning and have been trying to
> learn it for the past several days. I'm an experienced Windows user so
> the transition has been in some ways difficult but in some ways easy.
>
> Anyhow there are several questions that I'd like the answers to before I
> screw up too much.
>
> 1) First does it cause problems with the system to continually install
> and uninstall applications? I've been downloading software to try out
> (such as MT-NewsWatcher that I'm using now) to try to pick the ones that
> I like and discard the others. I know that Windows tends to deteriorate
> over time with lots of installs and uninstalls.

It shouldn't. For the most part, you'll just end up with some extra
files in ~/Library/Preferences. If something you tried came with an
installer, check the distribution media/package/whatever to see if
there's an uninstaller. Most Mac software doesn't need an installer, so
if the developer bothered to use one it _might_ be an indication that
the removal process isn't "drag this one item to the trash." Then again
it might be that the developer just felt really strongly about
installers.


> 2) Can someone recommend a good relatively technical book on Tiger (and
> the Powerbook G4 for that matter)? As a matter of personal pride and or
> idiosyncracies I refuse to buy any book with the word "dummies" or
> "idiots" in the title.

That's too bad. There are some very good books in the Dummies series, at
least. I'd have to answer this question with a question: What are _you_
looking for in a technical book on those topics? I can think of more
than a couple, but they vary in their specifics.


> 3) One of the areas where I think the Windows interface is superior to
> the mac is that I can resize a window by grabbing on any boundary of the
> window and dragging. At least the way my mac is configured originally I
> can only resize by grabbing the lower right corner and dragging. Can
> this behavior be modified and if so how?

There is no built-in way to achieve this. I don't know of any 3rd-party
alternative, but that doesn't mean a whole lot.

> Alternatively, can you convince me that I don't want to change the
> default way?

Probably not. ;)


> 4) How do I install and uninstall apps? It appears that the standard
> way seems to be to download a file and double click the disk image and
> then move the contents to the Applications folder and to uninstall just
> drag the folder or app to the trash? I know some programs have
> installers but for those who don't am I missing something?

Nope. Not unless you care about pref files that typically take up one
allocation block on the disk. There _may_ also be things created in
~/Library/Application Support, so I suppose it's worth looking there,
too, if you're really set on completely eradicating something.


> 6) What are some good Web sites that I should be reading to learn
> whatever I need to learn to become comfortable with the "mac way of
> doing stuff"?

To become comfortable with the "mac way of doing stuff" really is more
about experience than about being convinced through rhetoric. Mac OS X
has several subtle and not-so-subtle differences from Windows. Most of
those differences have some pretty good objective justifications. Some
are just coin tosses that fell the other way. But all the objective
argument in the world isn't as convincing as keeping an open mind about
the differences and letting yourself use the system as it was designed
instead of trying to hammer it into the shape you've become used to.

There are some good sites to bookmark in general, though:

<http://www.macosxhints.com/>
<http://www.macintouch.com/>
<http://www.versiontracker.com/>
<http://www.macupdate.com/>


> 7) How should I treat the battery? On my Gateway notebook I have
> typically plugged in the battery charger whenever it's convenient to do
> so and the battery (which has a one year warranty) has died two and a
> half times in three years. I did calibrate my battery on Tuesday night
> but I'd like to know if anyone has experience and would recommend using
> the powerbook on battery power only until the power goes down relatively
> low and then recharging.

I believe the common recommendation is to drain the battery (through
use) once or twice a year. Other than that, use it on- or off-leash as
need and mood strike you. I'm still on the original battery from my
4-year-old iBook and getting decent enough life out of it that I don't
expect to replace the battery before I replace the notebook - which I
think will probably be in the second half of 2006.


> 9) What do you recommend for a reasonably priced carrying case? I'd
> prefer light weight but with the ability to carry a bunch of stuff. I'm
> undecided about wheels, but would probably prefer nylon or some kind of
> cloth instead of leather (or imitation).

Can't answer this. I'm still using the case I got in 1997 from Targus,
and as far as I know that model's not available any more. In general,
I'll heartily recommend their stuff. I've been using their bags since
the one I got to haul around my SE 17 years ago. No complaints yet.

> 10) I will be essentially the only person who uses my notebook (except
> for the occasional time when someone uses it to check webmail or
> browse). Is there some particular way that I should organize my
> applications and other data files?

Not really, and the answer wouldn't change even if there were other
users. There are _some_ apps - regrettably including some from Apple -
that need to be in specific locations (usually /Applications) in order
for updaters to find them or, in especially obnoxious cases, to run at
all. I don't know of a definitive list of those; it wouldn't be a long
one as far as I know.

--
Goal 2005: Convincing James Hetfield to cover the Strawberry Shortcake
"Are You Berry Berry Happy?" song.
.