New MacBook Air
 

Never used one before, but tomorrow a new 15" MacBook Air is arriving. Please be patient with me because I most likely will have some really dumb questions.

1st Question. Any advice on the initial setup?

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.

I'm on about my 30th personal Mac. I stared with the very first Mac 128 and now on a MacBook Pro (didn't buy the "Air" this time & it was a mistake).

if you get lost somewhere, send me a message and I'll walk you through it.

Thank you.

I climbed over the fence headfirst into the Apple garden back in 2009 after I got my first iPhone. Once I figured out how to do the things I wanted to do on the MacBook, Windows and its ilk are happily far in the rearview mirror.

Use the search engines on the browser (Safari) to ask/answer all the inevitable questions you're going to have like "How to X, Y, and Z" that are second nature to you in the Microsoft environment. It will be a bit of a learning curve and will take a little bit of time, but I am certain you will have no regrets after that. Everything just works everything lasts much longer, and you don't have nearly as many issues as one does with Windows.

Good luck!

I switched to Mac around 15 years ago from Windows. I think one of the biggest changes is learning the different file system management systems so that you can easily locate your downloads and documents. Using "Finder" instead of "File Manager" or whatever they called it on Windows these days.

I would suggest watching a quick tutorial on that specific topic on YouTube as soon as possible.

Second, if you're someone that is used to keyboard shortcuts on Windows, you're probably going to want to re-learn the equivalent keyboard shortcuts on Mac. They're not so difficult though.

Once I get familiar with the Mac I'll put a new battery in my windows laptop and sell it.

Since after this year Windows 10 will no longer get security updates, good luck with that.
A good alternative is to convert it to Linux Mint. It is a very close look-a-like to Windows 7 or 95. No one spies on you, no collects your data, you decide if you want updates and when, or not. You can do just about anything you can do on Windows in Linux (just a little different). I gave up on Windows 7 six years ago and will never go back.

I don't need any luck. It's windows 11.

Apple rules in our family, new device just transfer to the next. You will find Mac very easy to add whatever is important

Without the extra navigation keys, moving around on a Mac can be confusing ... UNTIL you get used to the Mac keyboard shortcuts. Here's a link to the list of shortcuts, to speed you on the way:
Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

Like some others here, I made the switch about 15 years ago and have never looked back. I suspect you will also be pleased. The biggest difference is that Windows lets you modify anything and everything, which makes it more complicated to do anything. Mac OS just works, simple and straightforward.

MS Office
 

You're probably used to using MS Office; there is MS Office for the Mac.

If you're willing to try something new, your new Macbook Air will come with a suite of applications, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, that provide the same functions. They just take a bit of getting used to. Also they will open and "save as" to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. As others advised, Youtube as a lot of "How To on the Mac" videos.

The entire basic design of the original Mac inter-face, was to not use "keyboard commands". It's a graphic interface and the only reason keyboard commands were even made available, was to accommodate previous uses of DOS.

"Point & Click" is the method of choice. I have 40+ years of using MacOS, 5-6 hours a day and I don't know 90% of the keyboard "short cuts" nor have I ever used a "Function Key" ... those things are all left over from the DOS world or early Windows world, back when a mouse or trackpad was a novelty.

If the keyboard command uses any modifier other than the "Command key", it's most likely an added command to accommodate DOS/Windows user and contrary to the graphical interface MacOS derives from ... which is why the Command Key was called the "Apple Key" ... it's the only Function Key Macs had.

Folks who learned computers in the MacOS environment, typically don't use keyboard commands, as they're not necessary. It's like buying an automobile with Cruise Control and not using it on the highway, because it's too "new fangled" for your taste.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back. Enjoy!!

Find the closest Apple Store an enroll in the free clases they provide I went to four, same level but every time I learned something new.

It bugs me that there's no forward delete on a Mac. It'll take some time to get used to that.

As someone suggested, you might consider attending a getting started with Mac event at a nearly Apple Store. Below is a link to nearby events. I see some events in Orlando.

Get Started: Mac - Apple

Alternatively, you have lots of YouTube videos available. Some are good and some not. The Tech Talk America channel on YouTube has many good instructional videos on Mac.

In addition to initial set up, you will need to decide which applications (programs) to install and get them installed. Some apps can be found on Apple’s App Store for Mac. That source is considered safe from viruses and malware. On your Mac, press CMD key + Space Bar to open your local search window (called Spotlight) and type ‘App’ to get to the App Store.

Some of the biggest initial challenges (easily overcome with time) include differences from the ways of the Windows operating system and Windows computers such as:
(i) different ways to change you local computer settings,
(ii) different file manager interface (it’s called ‘Finder’),
(iii) Mac has no ‘Alt’ key; Mac has a ‘Cmd’ (called ‘command’) key,
(iv) the Delete key deletes backwards, not forward (you will get used to it),
(v) the Mac operating system has a good file back-up system called Time Machine; I suggest that you use it with a local external drive and schedule back ups at least daily,
(vi) Apple will encourage you to use their iCloud service. It’s handy for many things Apple but not necessary for storing documents if you already have another cloud storage service such as Google Drive or OneDrive,
(vii) On a Mac, the Chrome browser is considered a memory hog by many people. That may or may not be relevant for your case.

This is a start. You will quickly love the simplicity of the Mac compared to Windows (‘it just works’). Be patient during the first week. If you run into questions, a Google search will often lead to Apple’s very good online help documentation. Have fun.

Welcome to the 21st century of technology. I started with Apple back in the 70’s while I started my high tech career. Never ever used windows because it was a flawed system even up until now. I worked for some web companies that banned Microsoft products and I also worked for high tech companies that I had to get a VP sign off for me to use a Mac instead of windows, it was either get a signature or I wouldn’t work for them.

You don’t need to learn any keyboard commands, just learn how to use the mouse/trackpad and you’ll be fine (left click, right click, 2 finger movements).
But, learning how to use the shift or command keys with the mouse are a necessity if you want to increase productivity. The key commands that you will use often are: command-c, command-v, shift-command-3 or 4 or 5.

Make sure you get a large hard disk for backup and then configure Time Machine to start your backups. You can use iCloud for backups but I would only recommend d this if you have a fiber network, not a copper network like xfinity or spectrum, fiber gives you the same network speeds for both uploads and downloads where xfinity/spectrum only gives you 20-30Mb uploads.

After setting up the backup, change all of your iPhones/iPads to backup to this Mac and setup photos on the Mac so you can transfer all of your photos to the Mac and then they will be backed up and only keep the photos on your phone/ipad that you want to handy.
Search online for MS Office and you can get a non-365 version for $50-$60, or just learn the Apple equivalent apps that you get for free.
Try out Apple mail, and safari 1st, and if you want something different, you can always download Firefox/duck duck go/chrome for a browser and outlook or spark for mail. I’ve tried all of these and still use Mac mail and safari.
I use Mac servers along with Mac user machines in my home because my whole house is automated using Apple HomeKit and I stream music from the server to all my music systems in my house plus to my cars while on the road.
Good luck

Years ago when I switched I called apple, told them it was my first mac and they emailed me some links that helped with the windows to apple conversion. Knowing what windows called it vs not knowing what apple called it was the worst part.

Years later still with mac, will never go back to windows

Good luck.

Congratulations! Your first Mac is like moving up from some Chevy to a BMW in feel, but unlike a BMW, they don’t often break. I bought a 512K Macintosh in 1987, and I’ve used only Apple products ever since. I’m not smart enough to use other computers, but with my Mac I’ve published over twenty books.

Your MacBook is like a HUB for all your needs. I use mine when I need to type a document with Microsoft Word (or Office, actually) or or do the layout for a book. I have a $40 CD/DVD player from Amazon that plugs into the Mac when needed and lets me download all of my CDs onto Apple Music. (I did that and then sold over 400 CDs last fall.) I have 11,000 songs on my Apple Music app that comes with the computer. I also use it when I use the iMovie app that comes with it to create YouTube videos. I have around 10,000 family photos on my Mac, too. (I pay $12 a month to also pay for a huge amount of backup for all this in the Apple Cloud. If you don’t have a huge amount, you can get by with the free version. But for me, if my computer was stolen or destroyed, all those precious things are backed up and easy to recover.)

Here’s what I mean by it being a Hub. I also have two iPads (one with an 8 1/2x11” screen I use for musical activities) and an iPhone. They are all SYNCED together. This is easy to do the first time if you follow the directions. Your Mac will download all of your photos, music, games, apps, etc. onto you iPad and iPhone. Once you tell it to do it, it does it. You don’t have to transfer those files a bit at a time. Thereafter, if you buy a CD on iTunes or download one using a CD drive, your Mac will Sync with your iPhone and/or iPad and you will have them on all your devices. They also serve as backup.

I used to carry my Mac everywhere, but for years, I’ve carried my iPad instead, as it is much lighter and in some ways more convenient, though if I’m writing an article, I use the Mac with its full-size keyboard and great word processing ability. I only use my iPhone for phone calls if I can, as I like the bigger screen of an iPad for visuals. I buy things online a lot, and I nearly always use my iPad. I also use it for watching YouTube videos, checking my bank account, etc., as it’s so much easier to see things.

So if you want to make the best use of your new Mac, get an iPad and an iPhone, too. And welcome to the family.

I figured a real Mac person would show up in the thread, eventually. I laughed when I saw the post about "Keyboard Commands" and the list on the Apple site. 90% of them, I had no clue and would never use them. They're way more convoluted than Apple's simple graphical interface.

Command C, Command D, Command V &, Option,+Command Escape is about all you need to use. Function Keys? WTH are they?

Unless of course, you got into real trouble and needed to grow another hand, so you can use the old Command+Option+P+R

I want to thank all of you for your advise. Truth be known, I'm not great with computers and smartphones. I'm so looking forward to this new experience. Amazon messaged me it's out for delivery. :posting:

Mac book has a Migration Assistant
 

i bought a new Mac Book Air 15 M3 last week. I have been an Apple user for many years but the Migration Assistant makes it easy to setup. Open the Mac book and the computer powers up immediately. Follow the prompts and Migration Assistant. I had an external drive set up thru Time Machine and the data transfer was complete and easy. You can also manually go thru each item in the setup.

Fact!!

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.

Call the Apple 800 number. Ask for a test and they will run you through the whole process and answer any questions. 800-692-7753.
easy to remember 800- MYAPPLE

No need to complain and no need to be flabbergasted. It happens all the time. If someone stole the computer, then you could complain, and the carrier would be responsible to replace the item.

Apple computer clubs in The Villages
 

You may also find some of The Villages clubs to be beneficial:

Apple Users Drop In | Lady Lake, Florida
MUD Macintosh Users Dropin - meets every 2nd Wednesday at Paradise from 9 to noon.
AUDI Apple Users Drop In - meets every 3rd Friday at Paradise from 9 to noon.

MUD (Mac Users Drop-in)
"This site is the idea of MUD founder Tony Cottell. He wants new Apple (Macintosh & iOS) users to be able to learn the Apple simply and easily. No fancy books, no hard-to-follow videos, just Apple users helping Apple users."

The Villages Apple User Group | Learn - Share - Teach
The Villages Apple User Group
"Join TVAUG to attend our in-person and Zoom meetings, see our library of presentations, and have access to our Support Forum where you can get your Apple questions answered."

Apple Care is a great source for help. Their phone number is (800) 275-2273.

There is an apple users group in the villages. You should be able to find it by googling.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.