I bought a broadband dongle from 3 Mobile about 3.5 years ago. I’ve barely used it and, to be honest, it’s really just for emergencies. For this reason, it’s good to know I have it, just in case.
Installing it on my MacBook Pro, however, was not quite as smooth as the 3 help pages would suggest, though. After installing the software included on the dongle it simply wouldn’t recognise the device. It wasn’t until I found the latest drivers and installed them that it worked.
I now have a Mac after having used a Windows PC all my life (and will continue to do so, I should add). Moving to a different OS is a bit of a shock and there’s a lot to learn. So, here are some tips based on what I have learnt so far…
Don’t assume all your favourite programs for Windows are available for Mac
Make a list of them and search for their Mac equivalents. They may be the same, there may be an equivalent built in or you may have to search for a new program. If you have to go down the latter route, I’d recommend looking for an alternative that works on both platforms, so you can then replace it on your Windows PC as well.
Personal examples include…
Don’t just go out and download software you know from using Windows
Having made the previous point, you should also bear this in mind too. There is an awful lot of good software and utilities built into Mac – give some time to explore what you have before downloading another program. You may not need it, after all.
Get a book
Whilst waiting for your shiny new Mac to turn up get a book on using OS X – particularly one that’s up-to-date with the version of OS X that you’re going to get.
Think about all those little things you do on Windows now and find out how to do them on the Mac
You know, how do you kill an application? Can you boot into safe mode? This article should help with a lot of these – Google for any other than you think of.
Apple provide a site to help those who are switching from Windows to OS X. Unfortunately, it’s out-of-date and I couldn’t find essential help such as how to install a program in OS X (rather a basic task, you’ll agree).
Here are a few other thing hat I found that you might find useful – many of which cover features in Windows that you might search for in OS X and, in some cases, you simply can’t do…
Reading a lot of forums and blogs on accessories that Macbook owners recommend, it seems that they like nothing better than to put plastic covers on their keyboard. And trackpad. And screen. And on their cover. And put their Macbook on a stand in case they spill anything.
Personally, I can’t see the point in buying a good looking and very robust laptop and then covering it up. I can’t imagine that a plastic cover over the keyboard can’t hinder typing – and quite how you’ll easily damage a glass trackpad, heaven knows.
How much for a mouse?
There seems to be a distinct lack of market when it comes to Apple mice, except those that Apple sell. And at £50 a pop it’s an expensive market. I’ll stick with the trackpad.
Other things I’ve learnt
After Googling and forum posting, here are a few other things I’ve had answered…
If you think I’ve missed anything, please let me know.
It wasn’t too long ago that I would always talk about Apple products negatively. However, reading Steve Jobs’ autobiography I began to understand a little more of what he was trying to achieve (even if I didn’t like the man himself). This, coupled with frustration at the way that hardware and software often don’t “gel” together, has lead me to appreciate a lot more the walled community that Apple has created – control over both elements has meant that they can ensure that everything just works.
Not literally mind you.
Users of the iPad 3 (sorry, New iPad) are reporting a much reduced battery life than expected and problems with over-heating.
The latter doesn’t cause any problems other than a very warm or hot section of the back case.
As you know, the battery life on the New iPad is supposed to be the same as that on the iPad 2. However, users are complaining that it drains quicker, particularly when using them intensively – such as playing games. Of course this is probably due to these drawing more use from the new chipset.
With regard to the heating problem some users are reporting that proper draining and recharging seems to resolve this. It would appear that many new owners, keen to try it out, didn’t perform the requested initial charge and the battery is not working efficiently.
In all cases it’s too early to tell exactly what the problem (or cure) is and there’s no official word from Apple.
Oh, and to the person complaining that it takes longer to charge the New iPad – it’s a bigger battery, what did you expect?
The recent announcement of the iPhone 4S was met, pretty universally, by disappointment. People were expecting the iPhone 5.
However, the release of the 4s is quite consistent with Apple iPhone releases.
