Members nomenclature Posted June 30, 2012 Members Share Posted June 30, 2012 found out yesterday that my macbook has officially shipped two weeks ahead of schedule and should show up on the 4th, so I guess its time to think about what I'm going to need to do to get things going. so first question: this is my first mac. any tips for the initial setup and must have applications? before I do anything I'm going to set up filevault for encryption, get ESET for antivirus and firewall (unless there's something better for mac?), and then install my default applications (lightroom, photoshop, cubase, vuscan, chrome, dropbox, maybe steam if I decide to use it for other things than work). what else should I look into? or any helpful settings in OSX I should make sure I turn on? getting a windows machine generally takes me a few days/weeks to get everything perfect as I remember what else I was using, being completely unfamiliar with OSX will take longer, I'm assuming. second question: what interfaces are you using? I'm still going to use my windows desktop as my go-to machine for recording and whatnot, but it'll be nice to work on stuff away from the desk. I use an old Edirol FA-101 on the desktop, it's a little large to carry around and I'd rather not unhook it anyways (plus its firewire 400, the macbook is USB3 and thunderbolt, with firewire 800 adapters available). so what is portable, low latency, and thunderbolt or USB3 ready? from what I can see, nothing. I only need a couple ins/outs, midi would be nice but I have a USB box I can use for that. the only thunderbolt interfaces out are large rack units and NOTHING is USB3? in the Apogee Duet 2 any good? I'm a little apprehensive about getting something USB2, its basically outdated tech that can be phased out at any time now, but interface manufacturers seem slow to update. I'll be doing more photo and video work on the macbook anyways, so maybe I should just hold off on cubase for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrChrisos Posted July 1, 2012 Members Share Posted July 1, 2012 Cool, well I hope you enjoy it. Setup should be refreshingly easy. I wouldn't bother with anti-virus, but make sure you learn how to back stuff up (cos you do it once with the program provided, and then it's automatic from then on). One thing to have a look at is getting to grips with the multi-touch stuff - makes a track pad so much better than a mouse. There's a free app called caffeine for keeping your screen from going onto screensaver/dimming if you're reading something, which is nice. Other than that, it's not like ipads, which seem 90% arsing about, it's more minimal, good for just getting on with things. For interfaces, I'd get an Apogee Duet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Time Machine should do everything you need in terms of backups. As far as audio interfaces, that's a whole 'nuther subject... You might want to check out this thread. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2921181-Just-curious...-what-s-everyone-using-for-their-audio-interfaces I am using a HD2 Accel setup on my PC, but a 3rd Gen Mbox on my Mac. The right interface for your needs will depend at least in part on how many simultaneous inputs you need to have available. If you're recording a full band all at once, you obviously need more than if you only record yourself playing guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nomenclature Posted July 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 cool, I'll have to do some reading up then. I really only need 2 inputs at any given time I think, to record guitar in stereo. I don't expect to really do much more on the go, certainly not a full band or a drum kit, though I suppose if needed I could run a bunch of stuff into a mixer and pre-mix for demos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdegrande Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Don't run antivirus. The OS has a built in firewall, but running third party ones is fine. Download this http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scotutor-for-mac/id484046801?mt=12 from the Mac App Store (the app comes built into Lion). Don McAllister does first rate tutorials. This one normally costs a few dollars but is currently free I think until Mountain Lion is released. It is a great resource for someone switching to the Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RadioSilence Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 I run Sophos anti-virus. It's free and has found at least three bad things since I installed it. Haven't noticed any down sides like slowing the computer down or anything. Time machine is brilliant. Just set it and forget it. It's saved my bacon once of twice and made swapping out the hard drive super-easy. I use AppCleaner for properly uninstalling programs, coconutBattery is a useful battery monitoring tool and the iStatPro widget is worth its weight in gold. Other things I find useful are VLC (universal media player - plays anything), TunnelBear for viewing stuff that is region-blocked, and HandBrake for ripping DVDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.