Welcome … if you are thinking of getting a Mac:

• Do you qualify for the Apple Education discount?
• Don't overlook good deals on refurbished units at: Apple, and smalldog.com, powermax.com, lowendmac.com, everymac.com. and, dealmac.com. And compare prices at the Auction sites.
• Check to see if the PC apps on which you now rely, are supported. Of course, if you must use any Windows stuff, you can use, Parallels or Bootcamp with the newer mac Intel models.
• Pack in the Ram and get Applecare before your warranty expires.
• Desktops are more bang for the buck. Portables require bigger long term investment; batteries, etc.
• If you already have a display & keyboard, you might consider a mini or a tower.
• Your choices will depend greatly on how you use your computer:
  making movies, recording band & music, heavy graphics, gamer? Have lots of family photos?
• Now that you have a Mac:
• Apple stores have free classes, and online seminars & tutorials.
• Have you looked at the info on the Apple website www.apple.com?

For Switching:

www.apple.com/support/quickassist

www.apple.com/support/switch101

www.xvsxp.com

www.switchingtomac.com

For Apps, Fun & Work:

guide.apple.com/index.lasso (all made4mac apps, utilities, games etc.)

www.apple.com/pro

www.apple.com/macatwork

For Questions, Problems, and lots of answers:

• Always try the Help feature in the top menu of the finder and any app for lots of info
• Apple.com/support and Apple.com/discussions try: macfixit.com forums and www.everymac.com, as well. They have excellent forums, and tutorials.
• Do not put Norton/Systemworks on your Mac, nor anything Microsoft, if you can avoid it.
• Do not use Internet Explorer is no longer supported for Macs, anyhow. NeoOffice is good substitute for Word, etc. or Netscape; causes massive problems, and is no longer used on Macs.
• Browsers: Safari, Firefox, Camino, and, SeaMonkey, from Mozilla, and also Opera, with built-in mail. be sure to do regualr clean-ups: clean out cache, dump history & icons & cookies.
• Videos at websites:If you are having probs with videos playing in a website, then make sure you have the latest versions of: Flip4Mac, VLC, DivX.
• Get a Unix utility for regular maintenance, like: Macaroni from www.atomicbird.com, or Onyx or Cocktail or macJanitor. These work automatically. You can also find out more at VersionTracker www.versiontracker.com & Macupdate www.macupdate.com
• Back-up, back-up, back-up. I, and others, like, SuperDuper, for its ease, and the fact it makes complete actual bootable copy and, incremental back-ups, too! Caution: an external firewire HD may state it is Mac Compatible but, unless it is also, mac bootable, with the proper Oxford Chipset, it will not boot! Reliable dealers: headgap.com, smalldog.com, lowenedmac.com, everymac.com.
• For more help try MacUser group in your area: http://www.apple.com/usergroups
• David Pogue's, The Missing Manual Series of books are indispensable! Just make sure to get the correct version for your particular OS! Panther,Tiger, & Leopard.
• When doing upgrades for Apple, Don't Do it from the automatic software upgrade (turn this off) but, rather go to the Apple site, and download complete Combo upgrades from there. Be cautious with any upgrading and check for problems first, via the forums. For instance, the recent Apple Security update, is causing many problems.
• You can also sign up for Kbase info from apple, too. search.info.apple.com
• Another invaluable resource, is the great Randy B. Singer: www.macattorney.com/ts.html
• Other good forums at: google groups, and craigslist.
• At a pinch your iPod is an external hard disk!

Have Fun,

Cali