E-mail lists to wonko_the_sane48@sbcglobal.net. Include your name if you want credit.

Thanks, Austin.

1) Trillion – Trillion is a multiprotocol messenger for Windows that supports AIM, MSN, IRC, and ICQ.

2) Firefox Firefox web browser. If you have to ask, then GOT OFF MY INTERNET NUB!

3) The GIMP – It’s basically Photoshop that is free and open source.

4) AVG Anti-Virus – This is not a Mac. Not having a good virus program is like sleeping with a hooker.

5) Notepad++ – Notepad, but with extra tools and such. A must have for anyone doing web pages.

6) VLC Media Player – Lets face it, WMP is full of bugs. And Real Player is annoying. VLC is a must have.

7) Pagefile Defragmenter – De-frags your hard drive far better than the preinstalled Windows version.

Smart FTP – SmartFTP allows you to transfer files across the Internet. It features an Explorer-like, customizable interface and supports drag-and-drop functions.

9) WindowsBlinds – Change your Windows theme without having to hack anything yourself and risk damaging anything you cant fix.

10) Audacity – Audacity is a free audio editor that is free and simple to use.

~Cyanide~

1) AdiumX – Its a multiprotocol messenger for OSX that works with AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and a plethora of others. Its free, and works like a charm.

2) Firefox – Firefox web browser. What more can I say? Its skinnable, open source, and free. Next to Apple’s own Safari, its the best browser on the market today.

3) NeoOffice – NeoOffice is a free and open source word processing program. Built off of OpenOffice just for the Mac, its like nothing that I have ever used. Unless you want to shell out the $399.95 for Microsoft Office, this is the way to go.

4) VLC Media Player – If you don’t want to buy the pro version of Quicktime, or you are just wanting an alternative to QT, VLC is for you. It allows you to float video over anything on the screen to make your viewing experiance just right. Did I mention its free?

5) ClamXav – Ok, I know that I have mentioned ClamXav before, but with a new wave of viruses and worms for OSX floating around, its even more important to have than ever before.

6) GIMPshop – For any graphic designers or just basic PhotoShop users out there, the GIMPshop is for you. Its basically PhotoShop that is free and open source.

7) Flip4Mac – If you didn’t know already, Microsoft has discontinued the development of Microsoft Media Player for Mac, and they are now giving Flip4Mac away. Flip4Mac is a little codec for Quicktime that forces WMP files to play in Quicktime.

Yahoo Widgets – Ok, I know that Mac OSX comes with its own Widgets, but I have to say that Yahoo’s are a lot more functional and fun to use. If you don’t know what I widget is, its basically a little floating program that tells you little things like the time, or the weather. Things like that.

9) Shiira Web Browser – Based on Apple’s Safari web kit, Shiira is a great alternative to Safari.

10) ShapeShifter – ShapeShifter is a program similar to WindowBlinds that alters the Mac OSX interface to something more to your liking. Its the only program on the list that isn’t free, but its worth the measly $20 that you have to pay for it.

If anyone would love to point me in a direction that helps you learn, feel free.

Buying a Mac

The first step to switching is of course to go out and buy a Mac. Buying a Mac is generally easier than buying a PC because of the fewer options. With so many PC vendors its very easy to get confused while looking for that perfect deal. With the Mac, there’s only Apple. In addition to selling Macs, Apple also designs, tests, creates software and puts together the Macs you’ll be buying so you can be sure that every Mac you buy is a quality product running on a stable platform. By the way, did you know that Macs never crash?

The main thing you’ll consider is price. If you’re getting your first Mac, I suggest sticking to the lower-end models (the ones without the word ‘power’ in their names) just in case you really can’t get used to the Mac, in which case your investment wouldn’t have been too big. If you’re not in a real hurry to get your Mac, it’s also a good idea to check out the MacRumours Buyer’s Guide to have an idea if the model you want to buy will be updated soon.

One sticking point about buying Macs for PC users is the price. Macs are generally more expensive than PCs, but what I always tell my friends is that you have to see the Mac as more than just a machine. Buying a Mac is about thinking different, about being part of a lifestyle that is known as the ‘Cult of the Mac’. Perhaps some would prefer running OS X on cheap PC boxes when the Intel version is later this year, but generally Mac fans are connoisseurs of style and appreciate the fine and detailed design of Apple hardware. It’s the same reason you would choose an iPod over the cheap brands, or a BMW over a Chevrolet. Ahem

Getting to know OS X

So you finally got your Mac and its time to get acquainted. The first thing you realise when you boot up the Mac operating system, OS X (that’s “OS Ten�, ‘X’ = 10 geddit?), is that it’s quite different from Windows. The first tip I have is to get it in your head that OS X is not like Windows, let’s make that absolutely clear. If you’re a Windows power user, don’t expect that you’ll just ‘figure out’ OS X in a day. Cosmetic differences aside, OS X is way different under the hood as well. Be prepared to re-learn ways of doing things, and be prepared to take more than a week to get used to this brand new operating system.

First thing you’ll want to master is working with windows. I use both Windows and OS X on a daily basis and I have to say that window management in OS X is simply better. In Windows, all running applications and its related windows are represented by a button in the taskbar, even if the application is not active.

In OS X, inactive application windows are hidden. Application windows are only revealed when you Ctrl-click or right-click a running application icon in the Dock. A better way to switch between windows is Expose, OS X’s method of window management. By default, pressing F9 reveals all open windows, F10 reveals all windows within the current application and F11 reveals the desktop. You can even set mouse gestures to activate Expose. If you’re interacting with a Mac for the first time you simply have to try Expose. Just hit F9 and you’ll be blown away by the simplicity and style of how OS X manages windows.

To quickly switch between apps, use Cmd+Tab. It’s similar to Alt+Tab in Windows except that it only cycles through apps and not windows. To cycle through windows use Cmd+~. Used in conjunction with Expose, OS X beats Windows anytime for window management.

One feature I love in OS X is Spotlight search, which is the advanced desktop search engine for the Mac. Spotlight doesn’t just recognise files by their names but it also knows the ‘who, what and why’ of the file. For example, type “date:yesterday� to show a list of all files you opened yesterday. Spotlight is only available in version 10.4 and above of OS X.

Something else to adjust to while switching is installing applications. Most applications arrive in a disk image with a .dmg extension. If you double click that disk image, it will ‘mount’ onto your Mac’s desktop. Then you can open it like a normal folder and you will find the application inside. To install it, just drag the application into your Applications folder. Others come with installers. In that case just double-click the installer, OS X will double-check with you by requesting your password, and your app will be installed. To uninstall apps, simply drag it into the Trash. No uninstallers, no hassles, no worries.

Another thing which catches Windows users by surprise is that moving a folder on top of another with the same name will replace the folder and not merge them like in Windows. I’m telling you in advance, but every switcher gets caught by this at least once.

Customising your Mac

Now that you’re acquainted with OS X, lets move on to customising your Mac. First step – go get a two-button mouse with scrollwheel. They work fine with Macs and it makes the switch much easier.

Finder is sort of the equivalent of Windows Explorer. I like to enable icon previews in Finder, meaning I can see a thumbnail of files in the Finder window instead of just the default icon. You can enable icon previews by switching to icon view in Finder (Cmd+1) and then showing view options (Cmd+J). Then check ‘Show icon preview’ in the options box and remember to tell Finder to apply this behaviour to all windows.

Still in Finder, you add shortcuts in the sidebar by dragging the folder into the sidebar. To remove a shortcut, drag and drop the shortcut out of the sidebar and it will (literally) disappear in a puff of smoke.

If you miss the Start button in Windows, you can mimic it on the Mac by dragging the Applications folder onto the right side of the dock. (The left side is for apps, the right side is for files and folders). Now right click the Applications folder icon and you’ll get a contextual menu to all your applications, similar to the Start button.

In Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, you can also create ‘Smart Folders’ by saving a search. You could search for all documents opened this week with the keywords ‘project’ and ‘work’ and then save the search as a Smart Folder. The contents of the Smart Folder will be dynamically updated everytime you add new files to your Mac.

Essential applications

Go install OpenOffice right now. There are lots more applications I’d like to share with you but this article is getting way too long and OpenOffice is the only really essential application you need. Let’s face it, we live in a Windows world, and we need to communicate with Word and Excel files, and OpenOffice lets you do that.

Many Mac users will tell you that “the Mac is invulnerable to viruses!� The Apple shop which I bought my Mac from doesn’t offer any form of protection. Despite this bravado, please go download the free, but excellent ClamX AV antivirus. While OS X is definitely more secure than Windows, the platform’s increasing popularity makes it a bigger and more attractive target for virus writers, and I believe its only a matter of time before I go back to my Apple center and tell them, “I told you so�.

Enjoy

The last step to switching is to sit back and enjoy. Embrace the Mac lifestyle. Like I said earlier, part of the joy of buying a Mac (or an iPod for that matter) is to be part of the Mac Community. Keep learning about OS X, participate in local Mac events and read up the many Apple related websites out there.

Last of all, welcome to the Mac world. I promise you, once you’ve discovered how great the Mac is you’ll absolutely fall in love with it. In time you’ll learn to go deeper and see how powerful OS X really is. I hope this article has covered most of the issues that new Mac users face. If there’s something more you’d like to know do feel free to comment. I’ll be posting more Mac articles in the future too so keep coming back!