First Time MacBook Pro User would appreciate advice, tips, things to do first etc.

Discussion in 'MacBook Pro' started by Bogtsie, Jun 3, 2014.

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  1. aaron

    aaron Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    If you often use your mac on a desk, these PWX postballs are really useful. I bought a pair in 2007 and have used it on every single laptop that i owned. I love how you can easily slide and glide your mac across the desk just by lifting the front a tiny amount. It also doesn't leave any residue at the bottom since it uses this silicon rubber thingy.
     
    #21 aaron, Jul 13, 2014
  2. RiverSong

    RiverSong Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Thanks Aaron! Do you know where I can get those locally?
     
    #22 RiverSong, Jul 13, 2014
  3. blackestn1ght

    blackestn1ght New Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    When you're done charging pull it near the plug and not the cable. Will definitely save your charger and your wallet.
     
    #23 blackestn1ght, Jul 13, 2014
  4. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    First time rMBP user here too. Just installed jcpal skin. Now on the lookout for a slim sleeve so that it gets an extra layer of protection when it's inside my bag. Any recommendations from fellow 15-inch MBP owners?
     
    #24 porkypork, Aug 16, 2014
  5. mokmoki

    mokmoki PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    i just got my 15-inch rMBP from Beyond the Box earlier this evening. this is my first mac ever! :)

    (but my wallet is crying a little haha)
     
    #25 mokmoki, Aug 16, 2014
  6. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Congratulations! :)
     
    #26 porkypork, Aug 16, 2014
  7. redtamayo

    redtamayo Well-Known Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    i remember the first time i got a mac (powerbook) - first thing i did (by myself) was upgrade the memory then clean installed the OS and at the same time partitioning the hard drive into 2 - one dedicated to apps and the other dedicated to data (downloads and itunes data also live here) :)

    those were the days. here is the list of apps i install on my mac every time i do a clean install:
    0. enable keychain access across all devices
    1. chrome
    2. vlc
    3. ms office
    4. creative cloud (ps and bridge initially)
    5. ibeamer
    6. transmit
    7. taco html edit
    8. utorrent
    9. dropbox
    10. vpn app
    11. acrobat reader
    12. stuffit expander
    13. paragon ntfs
    14. 1password
    15. drivers for: wacom and spyder4pro
     
    #27 redtamayo, Aug 17, 2014
  8. Amaru

    Amaru Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    prior to using a MBP, I'm using a hackint0sh on my company assigned laptop, "kapa kapa" is what I did prior to really watching or reading tips in the web. Not I'm using a 2013 MBP 13" retina and 8GB RAM, installed VirtualBox to load Windows 7 for my Visip :D
     
    #28 Amaru, Aug 18, 2014
  9. mokmoki

    mokmoki PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    one consideration i have right now is that both of my external drives are NTFS. i don't want to reformat those drives as much as possible, so it seems that I have to use a 3rd party NTFS driver. although will Time Machine backups work with NTFS drives and third party drivers?
     
    #29 mokmoki, Aug 18, 2014
  10. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Hmmm.. Same question as mokimoki as I'm planning to buy a raid system that should be accessible to both windows and Mac systems.
     
    #30 porkypork, Aug 18, 2014
  11. renelou

    renelou New Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    I don't use a dedicated laptop bag as well. I bought a slim sleeve from Crumpler last year and have no complaints with it. (still in great condition)
     
    #31 renelou, Aug 18, 2014
  12. renelou

    renelou New Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    I use Paragon NTFS in order to write to my external NTFS drives. NTFS doesn't work with Time Machine though.

    For sharing purposes (between systems), exFAT should do the job.

    Take note though that you would still need dedicated NTFS or HFS+ partitions if you plan on doing OS specific things. Note also that Time Machine would not work on NTFS partitions. (I think there is a tweak for Time Machine on exFAT but that is not officialy supported)
     
    #32 renelou, Aug 18, 2014
  13. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Thanks for the reply. I might just buy a 500gb hard drive just for time machine. And then another raid system for backup of both my windows and Mac system. Am I doing it right if I go that route?
     
    #33 porkypork, Aug 18, 2014
  14. madmax168

    madmax168 Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Why not just get the 1TB one or larger. The price difference between the 500GB and 1TB is very minimal and at least you can keep more time machine backups with it. You can also partition it to use with the Windows for backup too.
     
    #34 madmax168, Aug 18, 2014
  15. renelou

    renelou New Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    I agree with MadMax. Time Machine recommends an external drive that is at least 2-3x larger than your laptop drive. Incremental backups tend to consume space :)
     
    #35 renelou, Aug 19, 2014
  16. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    So time machine doesn't just copy your existing HD but just appends new files from the last time you did a backup?
     
    #36 porkypork, Aug 19, 2014
  17. red

    red Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Initial will be a whole back up. Subsequent back ups will just be the changes made after your last back up. Once Time Machine detects not enough space, it will delete your oldest back up automatically or notify you that it will delete your oldest back up.
     
    #37 red, Aug 19, 2014
  18. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Oh.. I thought what time machine do is just copy/overwrite existing and new files and then delete non existing files anymore. That's why I thought of buying the 512gb model only for my mbp's 512gb SSD
     
    #38 porkypork, Aug 19, 2014
  19. red

    red Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Nope. With a larger Time Machine drive it allows you to have multiple versions of the same file. It comes in handy let's say you edited an Excel document several times in a span of multiple day, Time Machine allows you to restore or view the Excel file version that you need and not necessarily the last backed up version.

    Time Machine saved me several times when I had to retrieve a deleted file file or rollback to the previous installation of an app after a failed/buggy update.

    General rule for back up drives is that it is at least double the capacity of your main drive.
     
    #39 red, Aug 19, 2014
  20. porkypork

    porkypork Active Member

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    Re: First Time MacBook Pro User would apreciate advise, tips, things to do first etc.

    Wow. Nice to know that. Thanks Red!
     
    #40 porkypork, Aug 19, 2014
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