Thread: Just Got a Macbook Pro

Originally Posted by Pagliacci

What kind of things will you be doing on it? I do a lot of music and wireless stuff at home so I can recommend a lot of software.

Anythimg from DVD ripping, etc. There's a lot of free stuff that I can't live without.

I'm interested in hearing about music stuff. The Garage Band program is pretty cool, but I haven't messed around with it too much yet.

Originally Posted by Palffy3314

I'm interested in hearing about music stuff. The Garage Band program is pretty cool, but I haven't messed around with it too much yet.

You're going to need:

1) Handbrake - All video and DVD encoding/converting to all video formats including apple formats.

2) MacTheRipper - great DVD ripping program.

3)MPEG Streamclip - video converter and audio extractor.

I use all three because I find each one to be better at something than the other although I'm sure they all are similar sounding.

For music stuff you will definitely want to learn garageband. There's nothing out there for free that comes close to what it does.

I have logic express and I'm still learning how to use it, but from what I can tell, it does EVERYTHING.

If you want to to do wireless stuff (speakers, etc.), Mac makes it a breeze with an airport express or airport extreme. **** isn't cheap but it is extremely reliable and worth it IMO.

great gadget to have

Can someone explain to me what all these programs in the utilities folder do?

Originally Posted by Palffy3314

Can someone explain to me what all these programs in the utilities folder do?

Most of them you can ignore. Some give you different info about your computer. Open them up to see what they do.

I've been using macs regularly since '95 and I've never needed a bunch of them lol, but I'm a computer noob which is a shame. As long as what I need the computer to do works well I don't need to have hacker knowledge. My macs over the years have worked very well.

There's also a lot off shareware/freeware Utilities you can download to change/add features to how the computer operates so you can personalize your computer experience a bit more.
An easy place to start for this is to google Apple Utilities

Originally Posted by Fisch

Most of them you can ignore. Some give you different info about your computer. Open them up to see what they do.

I've been using macs regularly since '95 and I've never needed a bunch of them lol, but I'm a computer noob which is a shame. As long as what I need the computer to do works well I don't need to have hacker knowledge. My macs over the years have worked very well.

There's also a lot off shareware/freeware Utilities you can download to change/add features to how the computer operates so you can personalize your computer experience a bit more.
An easy place to start for this is to google Apple Utilities

opening then is a good idea. dont change any settings. You can google the names of them to see what they do too.
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The missing manual is 23 bucks from amazon, about 20 shipped for a used copy

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Snow-Leopard-Missing/dp/0596153287]Amazon.com: Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (9780596153281): David Pogue: Books[/ame]

if you but the new one buy something else cheap to get the free shipping
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The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW.com) runs a few series for people who are new to macs.

Ask Tuaw, Mac 101, and Switchers. Here are the links for the articles tagged with that info.
Ask Tuaw -- TUAW
Mac 101 -- TUAW
Switchers -- TUAW

I've been a proud Macbook Pro owner for a few years and due to recent events one thing i need to say is, extend your Apple care before it expires and get a external hard drive and run Time Machine regularly. I did not do this and paid dearly when my logic board went out. The repair costs alone were over 500 bucks, not including any data backup needed, thankfully i have a friend who deals with Apple a lot so i was able to pay a little over 300. But still, just pay for the Apple Care it is more than worth it.

I just got a Line 6 UX2 interface, along with a microphone. I have never had more than just a guitar and an amp. Never any effects pedals or anything, so this really kicks ass. I think I will play a lot more now that I can record and have more than just a standard guitar/amp sound...and singing...I love singing when I'm listening to music, but having a mic makes me love it even more. So glad I got this Mac, perfect computer for dong all of this.

Originally Posted by ianmonsta

I've been a proud Macbook Pro owner for a few years and due to recent events one thing i need to say is, extend your Apple care before it expires and get a external hard drive and run Time Machine regularly. I did not do this and paid dearly when my logic board went out. The repair costs alone were over 500 bucks, not including any data backup needed, thankfully i have a friend who deals with Apple a lot so i was able to pay a little over 300. But still, just pay for the Apple Care it is more than worth it.

Words of wisdom right here.