Apple MacBook Pro etc. owners - I have questions!

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Apple MacBook Pro etc. owners - I have questions!

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:20:03 PM EDT

I just got my new 15" MBP i5 today fresh from China

Anyways I have a question, I downloaded Firefox and installed it and added it to my Applications folder, now what the hell is that thingy on my desktop that looks like a DVD player with a slot? And can I delete the original downloaded file .dmg?

I'm so confused!
ETA: I'm typing this on my Dell PC

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:24:27 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:

I just got my new 15" MBP i5 today fresh from China

Anyways I have a question, I downloaded Firefox and installed it and added it to my Applications folder, now what the hell is that thingy on my desktop that looks like a DVD player with a slot? And can I delete the original downloaded file .dmg?

I'm so confused!

ETA: I'm typing this on my Dell PC

I think it is the mounted disk image. mouse it and the trash can should change shape, then drag it to trash and it will be ejected. yes you can delete the dmg.

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:24:40 PM EDT

[#2]

right click it and say dismount..

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:29:10 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
right click it and say dismount..

In before someone says "you can't do that with a Mac"

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:29:29 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:

right click it and say dismount..

i'm a complete noob, but why was it mounted or whatever in the first place?

my pc doesn't need that?

i assume once i installed the software you can delete the original downloaded file?

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:30:25 PM EDT

[#5]

yup..

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:35:04 PM EDT

[#6]

That's your hard drive. double click and you can access all your applications and other stuff. I'd say it's like using the start button on a pc. Idk about deleting the original file though?

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:36:53 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:

right click it and say dismount..

In before someone says "you can't do that with a Mac"

but you can. I right click simply by clicking with two fingers instead of one.

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:37:16 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Quoted:

right click it and say dismount..

In before someone says "you can't do that with a Mac"

but you can. I right click simply by taping with two fingers instead of one.

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:44:27 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Quoted:
right click it and say dismount..

i'm a complete noob, but why was it mounted or whatever in the first place?

my pc doesn't need that?

i assume once i installed the software you can delete the original downloaded file?

A DMG is basically just a compressed installer package. When you doubleclick on it, it'll "mount", or unpack itself into a virtual "disk". Usually, you then run an installer or copy an application file out of the disk image. You can then unmount the image, and toss the compressed DMG file.

You can drag the Firefox app from the Applications folder to the dock to keep a shortcut there, or click and hold on the icon if it's running, then select "Options", and "Keep in Dock" for the same thing.

Enjoy

Posted: 9/13/2010 5:59:41 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
right click it and say dismount..

In before someone says "you can't do that with a Mac"

but you can. I right click simply by taping with two fingers instead of one.

I right click on my MBP by.... right clicking on the lower right corner of the track pad.

Posted: 9/13/2010 6:05:30 PM EDT

[#11]

thanks guys! it worked and it downloaded 1.2 gb of updates also

Posted: 9/13/2010 6:22:29 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
thanks guys! it worked and it downloaded 1.2 gb of updates also

You need help, shout.

Posted: 9/13/2010 6:27:20 PM EDT

[#13]

Definitely drag firefox to your dock (thing with the icons at the bottom). As a PC guy I must admit the Mac pro laptops are pretty snazz and I really like mine so far.

Posted: 9/13/2010 7:21:54 PM EDT

[#14]

is there a trick in "clicking and dragging" stuff across the screen?

I noticed i need to do it twice to get it all the way across sometimes, i'm so use to a mouse for doing this task so easily.

Posted: 9/14/2010 5:35:56 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
is there a trick in "clicking and dragging" stuff across the screen?

I noticed i need to do it twice to get it all the way across sometimes, i'm so use to a mouse for doing this task so easily.

Click on it with one finger, then use another finger to drag it around. You may want to change your trackpad options around.

Posted: 9/14/2010 5:38:16 AM EDT

[#16]

Click and hold with your thumb, drag with index or middle finger.

plus, ensure you've got that multitouch feature activated. That is a super handy feature.

Posted: 9/14/2010 6:01:43 AM EDT

[#17]

FYI-macrumors.com has a great forum section that has some great tutorials to make sure your getting the most out of your MBP. Congrats...I just made the switch back in June and I love the thing.

Posted: 9/14/2010 8:13:48 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

FYI-macrumors.com has a great forum section that has some great tutorials to make sure your getting the most out of your MBP. Congrats...I just made the switch back in June and I love the thing.

been a member since i ordered my mbp, good info. the gui kind of looks lame compared to mac forums iirc?

Posted: 9/14/2010 8:45:17 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:
FYI-macrumors.com has a great forum section that has some great tutorials to make sure your getting the most out of your MBP. Congrats...I just made the switch back in June and I love the thing.

been a member since i ordered my mbp, good info. the gui kind of looks lame compared to mac forums iirc?

Yea, but good info/FAQs/Wiki's to be found. Did you end up ordering the magic mouse?

Posted: 9/14/2010 8:52:57 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:

FYI-macrumors.com has a great forum section that has some great tutorials to make sure your getting the most out of your MBP. Congrats...I just made the switch back in June and I love the thing.

been a member since i ordered my mbp, good info. the gui kind of looks lame compared to mac forums iirc?

You should join up at MacAddict/MacLife forums and watch the foaming mouth libs go after each other. These people are why macs have the image they do.

Posted: 9/14/2010 8:59:32 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:

FYI-macrumors.com has a great forum section that has some great tutorials to make sure your getting the most out of your MBP. Congrats...I just made the switch back in June and I love the thing.

been a member since i ordered my mbp, good info. the gui kind of looks lame compared to mac forums iirc?

Yea, but good info/FAQs/Wiki's to be found. Did you end up ordering the magic mouse?

not yet, maybe later i will

Posted: 9/14/2010 9:01:39 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
right click it and say dismount..

i'm a complete noob, but why was it mounted or whatever in the first place?

my pc doesn't need that?

i assume once i installed the software you can delete the original downloaded file?

Software is delivered as disk images so you have to mount the image to access and install the software. You can pull up the finder window (square smiley face) and see it under devices. Click on the button to the right of the image and that will unmount it. You can also right click on the disk icon and unmount it that way.

Posted: 9/14/2010 9:14:07 AM EDT

[#23]

Welcome to the world of Mac. Some things just work better in that world than the PC world... others are about the same. Is one better than the other? It's debatable. I personally use both and like them both for different reasons.

Mac is awesome because of the OS... it's not really affected by most viruses out there whereas a PC is more vulnerable. (Surf away and download some .MSI or .EXE file like some pr0n sites have... it won't bother your Mac because it won't know what to do with the file).

If you stick a CD or DVD in the superdrive (if it has one... I think it does) you won't get it back out until you right click on it and select dismount.

Posted: 9/14/2010 9:15:31 AM EDT

[#24]

Think of 'unmounting' on a OSX like ejecting a thumb drive on Windows.

You have to unmount the image before you can delete it.

Posted: 9/14/2010 11:43:28 AM EDT

[#25]

Does anyone recommend some kind of utilities software like CCleaner or MalWarebytes, if that's even needed?

Posted: 9/14/2010 11:47:47 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Does anyone recommend some kind of utilities software like CCleaner or MalWarebytes, if that's even needed?

lol what?

not needed.

but if to make you feel better kaspersy has AV/anti malware for it.. running it on wifes system and it found some windows trojans in the temp directory..

Posted: 9/14/2010 11:50:33 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
Does anyone recommend some kind of utilities software like CCleaner or MalWarebytes, if that's even needed?

It won't do any damage or be detrimental to the operation of the computer, but I have never needed any of it.

Posted: 9/14/2010 11:54:42 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

is there a trick in "clicking and dragging" stuff across the screen?

I noticed i need to do it twice to get it all the way across sometimes, i'm so use to a mouse for doing this task so easily.

Use three fingers to drag. Open up system preferences, go to trackpad, and turn it on.

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:03:51 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Does anyone recommend some kind of utilities software like CCleaner or MalWarebytes, if that's even needed?

It won't do any damage or be detrimental to the operation of the computer, but I have never needed any of it.

All antivirus software is detrimental to the operation of the computer. It all falls into the "TSR" category, so you need to wait for it to load at boot and put up with any resource demands it makes while resident. Some are just worse about it than others.

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:20:28 PM EDT

[#30]

ClamX AV can be run on your Mac... it's not as intuitive as anything Windows has but then again, it's not really needed. Most of the bad stuff on the internet is targeted directly at Windows machines. You're in an overlooked minority now which is good and bad.

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:32:53 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

Quoted:

is there a trick in "clicking and dragging" stuff across the screen?

I noticed i need to do it twice to get it all the way across sometimes, i'm so use to a mouse for doing this task so easily.

Use three fingers to drag. Open up system preferences, go to trackpad, and turn it on.

i currently have the 3 fingering on navigate

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:34:18 PM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Does anyone recommend some kind of utilities software like CCleaner or MalWarebytes, if that's even needed?

lol what?

not needed.

but if to make you feel better kaspersy has AV/anti malware for it.. running it on wifes system and it found some windows trojans in the temp directory..

yeah i know

just wanted to make sure it's not really needed. i plan to use bootcamp and that i'm sure an anti-virus is definitely needed for the PC half.

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:34:34 PM EDT

[#33]

did you pay out right for it or finance it? if the later whats teh payments on it?

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:37:01 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

did you pay out right for it or finance it? if the later whats teh payments on it?

i paid outright for it, used my amex for the points and then electronic bill pay. all mine!

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:48:44 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
ClamX AV can be run on your Mac... it's not as intuitive as anything Windows has but then again, it's not really needed. Most of the bad stuff on the internet is targeted directly at Windows machines. You're in an overlooked minority now which is good and bad.

Not sure what options Clam-X has for Windows, but on Mac it's useless to me. It can't clean files, only flag and delete 'em. Fine for files that are wholly viruses, but a world of suck with a pile of macros.

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:55:34 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

Quoted:

ClamX AV can be run on your Mac... it's not as intuitive as anything Windows has but then again, it's not really needed. Most of the bad stuff on the internet is targeted directly at Windows machines. You're in an overlooked minority now which is good and bad.

Not sure what options Clam-X has for Windows, but on Mac it's useless to me. It can't clean files, only flag and delete 'em. Fine for files that are wholly viruses, but a world of suck with a pile of macros.

do you need to defrag or fix registry issues on a mac?

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:58:06 PM EDT

[#37]

How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

Posted: 9/14/2010 12:58:55 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

Quoted:

ClamX AV can be run on your Mac... it's not as intuitive as anything Windows has but then again, it's not really needed. Most of the bad stuff on the internet is targeted directly at Windows machines. You're in an overlooked minority now which is good and bad.

Not sure what options Clam-X has for Windows, but on Mac it's useless to me. It can't clean files, only flag and delete 'em. Fine for files that are wholly viruses, but a world of suck with a pile of macros.

do you need to defrag or fix registry issues on a mac?

NO registry on OSX, and defrag is managed by the OS like Vista and 7.

The biggest thing I run across is disk and file permission getting fucked on OSX, which is a OS DVD reboot and process to run.

Posted: 9/14/2010 1:16:48 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

does casual porn surfing count?

it runs really cool, but i haven't really pushed it. probably had about 5 web pages opened and pandora running. i'm waiting on my MS Office 2008 for mac

Posted: 9/14/2010 1:20:46 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

It can get too hot to hold on your (bare) lap.

Posted: 9/14/2010 2:13:16 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:

Quoted:

How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

does casual porn surfing count?

it runs really cool, but i haven't really pushed it. probably had about 5 web pages opened and pandora running. i'm waiting on my MS Office 2008 for mac

Go snag some video benchmarks and loop it for 30 minutes and see.

Posted: 9/14/2010 2:13:54 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:

How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

It can get too hot to hold on your (bare) lap.

The one I have purview over shuts down after about 30 minutes of heavy video work.

Posted: 9/14/2010 2:15:44 PM EDT

[#43]

I don't know if this has been said, but click the finder. Then go up to the menu up top and click "preferences". On the general tab, you can uncheck those things so they don't show on the desktop. They'll only show in the sidebar of the finder.

Posted: 9/14/2010 2:16:35 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How hot does it get when doing serious crunching?

It can get too hot to hold on your (bare) lap.

The one I have purview over shuts down after about 30 minutes of heavy video work.

I've never had mine shut down on me.

Posted: 9/14/2010 2:22:08 PM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:

Quoted:
ClamX AV can be run on your Mac... it's not as intuitive as anything Windows has but then again, it's not really needed. Most of the bad stuff on the internet is targeted directly at Windows machines. You're in an overlooked minority now which is good and bad.

Not sure what options Clam-X has for Windows, but on Mac it's useless to me. It can't clean files, only flag and delete 'em. Fine for files that are wholly viruses, but a world of suck with a pile of macros.

do you need to defrag or fix registry issues on a mac?

Not really. Keep the system updated. That's about it.

There's a nifty free tool called Disk Inventory X that can be somewhat helpful in managing a full hard drive, there are sometimes minor repairs made by the built in Disk Utility, but for the most part it will run on an even keel right up until either the hardware or the file system just shits it's brains out.

When it's the hardware, you're either under warranty or fucked. When it's the software, you're either backed up or you're fucked.

So make sure you get that extended Applecare plan, and get a backup drive. Use Time Machine. Keep the disks that came with the machine handy and safe.

Oh, and unplug it in thunderstorms. All the plugs