The transition from a Windows operating system to a MacOS is almost like changing your religion. It’s a whole new world with a lot of new challenges. The first commands I fed into the computer was on a Windows 98 machine, and now I am working on a MacBook Pro (and still confused between the ‘Command’ and ‘Control’ key on the Mac).
For a die hard windows fan like me, to give up the ease of Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Alt+F4, has been tough, very tough. Though, my experience has been disconcerting, I wouldn’t want you to go through the same. So, here are a few tips for the ones looking to embark on the MacOS journey.
A Mirror Image
To start off with, the buttons to minimise, close and maximise a window are on the top right corner on a Windows machine. Right? On a MacOS machine, the same buttons are on the top left corner of the screen with close, minimise and maximise aligned from left to right. Mostly, if you are working on a full-screen window, the buttons are hidden, so you’ll have to scroll to the top left area to access them. Also, additional options like File, View, Edit are also present on the top left corner in an attached window.
A Re-Modelled 'Touchpad'
Okay, the touchpad on a Mac can be very tricky to navigate, but once you get the hang of it, its a smooth sailing afterwards. There are lot of gestures available for a MacOS, like swiping right or tapping with two fingers for a ‘right-click’. For a ‘right-click’, you can also use the ‘control+touchpad’. It is a bit confusing at times when you are tapping on the touchpad as it’s too sensitive, so you end up clicking twice accidentally.
There are some other gestures that come in handy, like-pinching the trackpad with thumb and swiping three fingers up which brings up the Launchpad, swipe with three fingers from left to right to switch between full-screen apps, and swipe down with three fingers for app expose. Don’t worry, in time you’ll get used to these gestures.
‘Command’, The True Commander
I feel the the ‘control’ key is the most essential part of a Windows PC keyboard. You end up using commands like ctrl+alt+delete, ctrl+C, ctrl+V a lot of times. In MacOS, all you have to remember is the ‘Command’ key is the true alpha. When you want to cut, copy, paste or take a screenshot or perform any other task, you will have to use a combination of ‘Command’ and other keys.
A look at some more MacOS shortcuts here.
Installing Applications
Installing applications on a Windows operating system is not that tough. You just download the software from any website and run the program. Whether or not the software is harmful, you only get to know if your system is running an anti-virus or a protective software.
On a MacOS installing software can be tricky. Just like Android, Apple also offers an App Store from where one can download and install software. Each and every app on the App Store goes through a number of verification processes, which help to ensure that your Mac is safe from virus and vulnerabilities.
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