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    New to mac, just got Macbook pro 13" retina

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Fluttershy, Dec 11, 2014.

  1. Fluttershy

    Fluttershy Notebook Geek

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    So I just got my macbook pro 13" retina yesterday. I am wondering if there is anything that I should know (any tips & tricks), and I was wondering if I should upgrade to Yosemite.

    Also is there anything I can do to make my mac more secure. Maybe any add-ons I should know about, or anything to just generally improve my mac.

    Thanks
     
    Fluttershy, Dec 11, 2014
    #1
  2. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    I have seen comments about bugs in Yosemite still, so you may want to wait a little for those to get fixed before upgrading. You could also make a backup of your install and upgrade, that way, you can easily revert back if needed.

    Anti-virus/malware may not be a bad idea, I know they exist for mac, but I'm not familiar with the recommended ones these days. Most threats are of the social engineering nature, but being careful can't hurt.

    Other than that, use the system as intended, no need to go tweak the heck out of everything for the sake of tweaking. Install your browser of choice, chrome and co. have mac versions, so pick whichever is your favorite and enjoy your mac.
     
    tijo, Dec 11, 2014
    #2
  3. kais91

    kais91 Notebook Consultant

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    look into getting cinch or better touch tool. Similar to the auto snap feature that was included with windows 7 and up.
     
    kais91, Dec 11, 2014
    #3
  4. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Window Magnet ($.99) and Spectacle (free) are better Windows 7-style window managers than Cinch. I know Spectacle works in Yosemite, not sure if Window Magnet has been updated.

    As far as upgrading to Yosemite, I would wait until it its version 10.10.2. It still has a few bugs in it.
     
    saturnotaku, Dec 11, 2014
    #4
  5. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    What bugs are you guys seeing? I'm on Yosemite and don't see any.

    If you want secure then use FileVault2 to encrypt the laptop.

    -Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk
     
    RMXO, Dec 12, 2014
    #5
  6. darkloki

    darkloki Notebook Deity

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    get GFXcardstatus it's a greet ap, or does the 13 inch only have one gpu?
     
    darkloki, Dec 13, 2014
    #6
  7. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    13 inch has been Intel iGPU only since 2011.

    The biggest bug for my use of Yosemite is that I can't access my NAS unless I have WiFi on.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    saturnotaku, Dec 13, 2014
    #7
  8. paradigm

    paradigm Notebook Deity

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    What about the ultra slow boot up
     
    paradigm, Jan 31, 2015
    #8
  9. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    No such issues here. Startups and shutdowns are super fast with my 840 EVO SSD.
     
    saturnotaku, Jan 31, 2015
    #9
  10. paradigm

    paradigm Notebook Deity

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    I have the apple ssd and it takes a good 12+ sec to desktop using Yosemite
     
    paradigm, Feb 1, 2015
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  11. Algus

    Algus Notebook Deity

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    Resolution
    TBH I don't care how gorgeous it is. This is 2015 and I'm not using a 1280x800 desktop! Hit Apple Icon->System Preferences->Display and check out your scaled options. Apple doesn't allow for you to set it to the max without third party apps but you might like a larger resolution and they still keep the machine looking gorgeous. I run 1680x1050 and it looks great.

    Browser
    I don't dislike Safari but in terms of security, it isn't very safe. It's probably worse than IE, it just doesn't have the reputation IE does. Get yourself Firefox or Chrome right away and get some Adblock Plus all up in there. That combined with safe browsing practices will keep 99% of the bad stuff off your system.

    Yosemite
    What can I say? Warts and all I love it. Handoff was a huge draw for me because I own a lot of different devices and being able to move all my work between them easily was big. It also finally got me to go full Apple (well, except for my phone...I'll wait until my contract date for that)

    Trackpad
    Apple Icon->System Preferences->Trackpad to fix the crappy default options. In general System Preferences is a good place to root around in your first few days to find and change any settings you might want to. One thing I like about the Trackpad and Mouse panes is that they actually include visual tutorials on all the different taps and clicks that work! Nifty!

    Enjoy your new computer. Some stuff is laid out differently but it isn't that much different from Windows. It just looks better and still has my precious file menus instead of the ribbon! :D
     
    Algus, Feb 2, 2015
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  12. ygohome

    ygohome Notebook Deity

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    another snap tool that I like (and has alot of other features I just don't use but are nice).... BetterTouchTool

    Is free but they gladly accept donations


    regarding yosemite... I've been on it since day one of it's release and no complaints. There may be bugs in it here or there but they don't affect anything I do and I'm oblivious to them.
     
    ygohome, Feb 3, 2015
    #12
  13. davewm24

    davewm24 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Get aquatinted with touchpad gestures, mission control etc. The touchpad on MacBooks is amazing.
     
    davewm24, Feb 19, 2015
    #13