MAC SPECIAL GUIDE - GETTING STARTED WITH MAC

MAC GUIDE - GETTING STARTED WITH MAC





Finally made the jump from Windows to Mac?
Here are some essentials to get you on your way

So you bought your first Mac.

Congratulations! After you're done admiring its sleek, shiny exterior, it's time to get down to the business of installing applications and customising OS X. To help you get started, we've come up with a common list of software you should be on the lookout for, along with recommendations for each type.

THE BROWSER

We recommend sticking with Safari, which comes bundled with your Mac.It's lightweight, fast, and if you use an iPhone and iPad, you can share bookmarks, Reading List and tabs via iCloud between devices.

If you use Chrome, Firefox, or Opera on Windows, you may simply prefer to switch over to its Mac counterpart, but we still recommend trying Safari. If you can, avoid using Chrome on Mac as your primary browser until Google fixes the problems that wreak havoc with your Mac's battery life.

CLOUD STORAGE

Depending on whichever cloud storage service you use right now, you may feel inclined to just get its desktop client. That's great! But if you are interested in jumping ship, iCloud Drive is the most obvious choice on OS X. iCloud is tightly integrated into the Apple ecosystem and designed to play nice with the other apps in it, and you'll get 5 GB free when you sign up. Still looking? Go with Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive. These are the top choices even on a Mac.

PASSWORD MANAGER

If you haven't used a password manager ever, why not start with Apple's iCloud Keychain. It's already on your Mac, and setting up Keychain is painless. Once you set up Keychain, it does a good job of saving every last password you create when you're using your Mac or iOS devices. Passwords are backed up to your iCloud account, so you can retrieve them anytime.

Keychain is not a full-featured password manager, so you might prefer to install a third-party password application anyway. If you already use LastPass or RoboForm, it's best to install its Mac client.

If you want an OS X password solution for use with Android (iOS works too) that's truly free and secure, try the open-source KeePassX.

Among the paid options, 1Password ($64.99) is the most popular choice.Dashlane is another good password solution. It comes with a free plan, but you'll have to cough up $39.99 per year if you want features like web access to your passwords, cloud backup, and all-important device sync. I use Sticky Password ($29.99 per year) on my Mac and I'd definitely recommend it for its simplicity and ease of use.

MEDIA PLAYER

Jump right into installing VLC, the free and open-source media player that plays everything. If you also want a dedicated music player, try VOX Music Player. It's lightweight, powerful, and free. Be sure to install the VOX Player add-on to control VOX using the media keys on your Mac's keyboard.

Don't dismiss OS X's default multimedia player, QuickTime Player, just yet ­ it's underrated. Apart from playing media, QuickTime Player actually performs several handy tasks like movie recording, screencasting, and audio recording (for free!). You can even record video straight from your iOS device.

DIGITAL NOTE-TAKING

If you already use Evernote or OneNote, you could just get the corresponding desktop client and leave it at that, or you could give Apple Notes a shot.

In case you use Evernote, but are not a fan of its desktop version, you could opt for one of its third-party clients, of which Alternote seems to be the most popular.Unfortunately, it will set you back $6.99.

EMAIL CLIENT OS

X's mail client, Mail, is good (and getting better), but it's a long way from perfect.A third-party client can give you several added benefits. Having said that, Apple Mail's integration with other Apple services and apps makes a pretty good case for using it as your primary desktop email client.

If you use Gmail and prefer its web interface, you'll love Kiwi (free). It's the Gmail you know, with the benefits of a desktop program. If you have moved over to Inbox by Gmail and want to use it on OS X, you'll have to go with the unofficial client Boxy ($6.99) for now.

INSTANT MESSAGING & VOICE CALLING

Messages is the default OS X instant messaging client, and it's great for chatting with OS X and iOS users. It also allows you to chat using other IM services like Google Talk, AIM, and Jabber. If you want a dedicated third-party IM client, Adium (free) is the way to go on OS X.

For voice calling, OS X's in-built app (FaceTime) is good, but it allows you to communicate only with other OS X and iOS users. If you're used to Skype, stick with Skype's Mac client. If you prefer Hangouts, Google's Chrome version of Hangouts is the closest thing you'll get to a decent free client. Willing to pay up for a better Hangouts application? Check out Hangouts Plus ($9.99).

OFFICE SUITE

Your Mac already comes with an office suite ­ iWork. It has Pages for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for Powerpoint presentations. iWork will serve you well, but it might take some getting used to. You can always use Google's Docs, Sheets, and Slides as a backup.

If you're a regular Microsoft Office user, you'll need Microsoft Office for Mac. Of course, it's not really a musthave for everyone when there are good open-source alternatives like LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice.

RSS FEED READER

In this category, Reeder ($9.99), ReadKit ($9.99), and NetNewsWire ($19.99) are the three apps that you'll hear about the most. Before you go about buying one of the above apps or any others, consider these three alternatives ­ Safari, if you have a limited set of feeds; Vienna, if you want something free and open-source; Feedly for Mac, if you like Feedly's web interface.

ARCHIVE EXTRACTION UTILITY

You need The Unarchiver, period.

Think of it as VLC for archives. It handles any kind of archive you throw at it.

APP AND WIDGET UNINSTALLER

You'll probably need a piece of cleanup software to help you get rid of residual files and folders when you uninstall an app. We recommend going with AppCleaner. It's a lightweight utility that does one thing ­ uninstallation ­ and does it well.

CALENDAR

If your calendar needs are basic or minimal, you won't mind OS X's default Calendar app. If your daily life revolves around your calendar, you might want to invest in something that's feature-rich and versatile, like Fantastical 2 ($49.99). BusyCal 2 is a well-known, equally expensive alternative.

POMODORO TIMER

This one's important if your computer doubles up as your workspace. You need a proven time management strategy to work on tasks, and the Pomodoro technique is as good as it gets.

For working with Pomodoro on your Mac, you'll need a nice Pomodoro timer.You have several choices, but we'd suggest sticking with something non-intrusive, like Pomodoro Time (free). It stays in OS X's menu bar until you need it. You can create a list of tasks and work on each of them in short Pomodoro bursts, all through a popup panel via the menu bar.

VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) CLIENT

Hotspot Shield has a free version that's impressive. It's a reliable place to start exploring VPNs. CyberGhost and TunnelBear also have decent free versions.If you're ready to move on to paid alternatives, NordVPN is a good choice. The super simple Cloak VPN is also garnering great reviews. Its plans start at $2.99month and come with a 30-day free trial, so we'd recommend giving Cloak a shot.

BITTORRENT CLIENT

Bittorrent has several legit uses including downloading game updates and distributing videos. We recommend installing Transmission to get started with Bittorrent.It's the standout Bittorrent client on OS X.Transmission got infected with malware recently, so be sure to install the fixed version, 2.92, to stay safe. qBittorrent is another Bittorrent client worth trying.

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON MAKEUSEOF.COM

Akshata Shanbhag MM25APR16