[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

It's a no brainer. Follow the instructions explicitly, if you want easy. Take it out of the box & it wills step you through everything.

Originally Posted by New Englander

The message they sent me this morning stated I had to sign for this at delivery. I was sitting here waiting for it and I just looked outside and it was sitting in my entrance way for anybody to see. No signing, I'm flabbergasted. Should I complain? Oh well. I'll open the Mac now.

Apple always does that. I'm guessing it has something to do with security, but it's happened to me, at least a dozen times, with various Apple products.

As for the advice you're getting ... people are making it sound like you're moving to foreign country, don't speak the language and have trouble with your eyesight.

If you can manage to work a smart phone, a Mac computer is a no brainer. You almost can't screw anything up and whatever you want to do, go with your first inclination as to how to do it and 98% of the time, that will work. If you can manage to spell W I N D O W S, you'll be a Mac genius by tomorrow.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Apple always does that. I'm guessing it has something to do with security, but it's happened to me, at least a dozen times, with various Apple products.

As for the advice you're getting ... people are making it sound like you're moving to foreign country, don't speak the language and have trouble with your eyesight.

If you can manage to work a smart phone, a Mac computer is a no brainer. You almost can't screw anything up and whatever you want to do, go with your first inclination as to how to do it and 98% of the time, that will work. If you can manage to spell W I N D O W S, you'll be a Mac genius by tomorrow.

I ordered a $2,000 laptop from HP. It came by FedEx and was supposed to be signed for. I was home, but the FedEx guy just left it on the front porch and didn't even ring the doorbell. Go figure.

[New Englander]

No USB ports. I need at least one. What's the best way to add some USB ports?

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by New Englander

No USB ports. I need at least one. What's the best way to add some USB ports?

Are you sure you need USB Ports? (I assume you mean old fashioned USB 1 type?).

I've only needed a USB Port (Type 1), once in the last 2-3 years.

If you insist you need one, order these, they're inexpensive.

Amazon.com

While you're at it, order one of these ... they're cheap:

Amazon.com: uni SD Card Reader, High-Speed USB C to Micro SD Card Adapter USB 3.0 Dual Slots, Memory Card Reader for SD/Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC, Compatible with MacBook Pro/Air, Chromebook, Android Galaxy : Electronics

(I assume your MacBook Air has Thunderbolt or a USB C port?)

MacBook Air is designed to do everything "over the air", as in wireless networking, BlueTooth, etc.. "Ports" are lacking, as that's not the design intent of that model.

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by New Englander

No USB ports. I need at least one. What's the best way to add some USB ports?

Modern MacBooks have USB-C ports. I guess you mean that you need a USB-A port.

I have a USB-C hub similar to the one below at the link. That Anker product has 2 USB-A ports.

Amazon.com

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by spinner1001

Modern MacBooks have USB-C ports. I guess you mean that you need a USB-A port.

I have a USB-C hub similar to the one below at the link. That Anker product has 2 USB-A ports.

Amazon.com

EDIT: A Thunderbolt port is effectively a special USB-C port that has higher speeds.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Are you sure you need USB Ports? (I assume you mean old fashioned USB 1 type?).

I've only needed a USB Port (Type 1), once in the last 2-3 years.

If you insist you need one, order these, they're inexpensive.

Amazon.com

While you're at it, order one of these ... they're cheap:

Amazon.com: uni SD Card Reader, High-Speed USB C to Micro SD Card Adapter USB 3.0 Dual Slots, Memory Card Reader for SD/Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC, Compatible with MacBook Pro/Air, Chromebook, Android Galaxy : Electronics

(I assume your MacBook Air has Thunderbolt or a USB C port?)

MacBook Air is designed to do everything "over the air", as in wireless networking, BlueTooth, etc.. "Ports" are lacking, as that's not the design intent of that model.

Brian, thanks for your help. Right now I'm not sure. I'm not great with computers and cell smartphones. The Mac is a new world to me and I'm just going slow.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Brian, thanks for your help. Right now I'm not sure. I'm not great with computers and cell smartphones. The Mac is a new world to me and I'm just going slow.

Does the side of your MacBook Air look like the attached?

It's got (3) ports. 1 Magsafe port for charging and (2) USB-C ports (takes a thin, oval shaped connector)?

Those USB-C ports will function exactly like a regular, old-fashioned USB Port, you just need an adapter (like you can get from the link I posted from Amazon). Or you could connect an old-fashioned USB Hub to one of those USB-C ports, with an adapter (USB-C to USB-A) and plug in as many USB devices as you want. (A Thunderbolt port uses a USB-C connector, but I think it gives you faster transfer speeds.)

I assume you've unpacked the computer and have it up & running? What do you need to do next? I assume you transferred everything from your old computer, that you wanted to transfer, using Apple Migration?

[MrChip72]

Originally Posted by New Englander

No USB ports. I need at least one. What's the best way to add some USB ports?

Oh yes, I forgot about that aspect. I ended up ordering a couple of "USB-C to USB" adaptors off of Amazon for something like $10 so that I could plug in some older stuff into it and also got a few USB C cables to connect to my other devices.

[M2inOR]

Good luck to you, and I suggest you visit Barnes&Noble to see some of the Mac how-to books.

You'll experience a big change if all you've worked with was Windows.

Both Microsoft Windows and Apple MacOS computers, desktop or laptop will get-er-done. Sometimes, just differently. It may frustrate you at times, too.

I've been in the business since before day one of Microsoft and Apple. Yepp, even had my own personal computer that I built from scratch.

Over the years I've seen and done a lot with both companies. You'll still find my company team's products being sold at Best Buy, B&H, Amazon, and Apple Stores worldwide.

I've been thru multiple generations of Apple and Microsoft Windows based laptops and desktops, and in recent years Apple iOS and Android cellphones and tablets.

For me in my senior years, Android cellphones and tablets, and Microsoft Windows laptop and desktop, along with Chromebooks "get-er-done" each day.

The Apple stuff is there but is used rarely.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

Oh yes, I forgot about that aspect. I ended up ordering a couple of "USB-C to USB" adaptors off of Amazon for something like $10 so that I could plug in some older stuff into it and also got a few USB C cables to connect to my other devices.

I think you mean "USB-C to USB-A" adapters.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Does the side of your MacBook Air look like the attached?

It's got (3) ports. 1 Magsafe port for charging and (2) USB-C ports (takes a thin, oval shaped connector)?

Those USB-C ports will function exactly like a regular, old-fashioned USB Port, you just need an adapter (like you can get from the link I posted from Amazon). Or you could connect an old-fashioned USB Hub to one of those USB-C ports, with an adapter (USB-C to USB-A) and plug in as many USB devices as you want. (A Thunderbolt port uses a USB-C connector, but I think it gives you faster transfer speeds.)

I assume you've unpacked the computer and have it up & running? What do you need to do next? I assume you transferred everything from your old computer, that you wanted to transfer, using Apple Migration?

Yes it's exactly like that and I had it running right away. It's the latest one. 15"- M3 chip- 24 gigs ram- 512 HD. I'm still on the windows right now. The display screen is beautiful.

Question, should I use Safari or load Chrome that I'm using now on This windows PC?
Where do I put bookmarks?
How do I close these small windows that pop up?

Thanks, David

[New Englander]

Thanks everyone! :wave

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Yes it's exactly like that and I had it running right away. It's the latest one. 15"- M3 chip- 24 gigs ram- 512 HD. I'm still on the windows right now. The display screen is beautiful.

Question, should I use Safari or load Chrome that I'm using now on This windows PC?
Where do I put bookmarks?
How do I close these small windows that pop up?

Thanks, David

24G of RAM? That's serious power. I've never seen one with that much, as max memory was 16G up until recently. I have 16G and Apple told me I was nuts when I bought it a year or 2 back.

I use Chrome, but if I were you, I'd use Safari until you're really familiar with the way Mac's work. Safari integrates much better with the rest of the MacOS environment.

Safari (I think under the File Menu at the top) will give you an option to import any Bookmarks you have from previous browsers. If you don't have any, you can create new ones fairly simply. Go to a page you want & click "Command D" or select "Bookmark" from the menu. See attachments.

[M2inOR]

Originally Posted by New Englander

...
Question, should I use Safari or load Chrome that I'm using now on This windows PC?
Where do I put bookmarks?
How do I close these small windows that pop up?

Thanks, David

If you are comfortable with Chrome, and make sure you update, stick with Chrome. To me, Chrome is what I'm comfortable with.

Yes, I've used Safari, and know it backwards and forwards.

One more thing about those USB-C ports: they are actually Thunderbolt ports that also have USB-C capability. One nice thing is they are universal, and can also deliver more power to connected devices than a typical USB only port. Useful for external hard drives and external SSD drives and other gadgets. Delivers outstanding transfer times.

I worked on the committee when USB and Thunderbolt were both invented, and Apple used one of my products when Thunderbolt was first introduced.

I have quite a few external drives but rarely use them except for local backup. I prefer cloud storage for everything these days. For redundancy I use Google Drive, Apple iCloud, and Amazon Drive. All 3 are accessible on all my devices - computers, cell phones, and tablets.