new to mac .... useful shortcuts? and hackintosh questions

Hi I haven't used a MAC since my first computer, the macintosh "performa" (powerPC), which was probably the greatest thing a kid could have back in those games. That reminds me - I would love to be able to get some of the games that came with the old powerpcs, such as powerpete, lode runner, etc.

Anyway, I am trying to get used to MAC OS X (10.5.2 i think I have). I basically know nothing, but I am a quick learner.

I have figured out how to hide everything using Command + F3 (which on the macbook is a special button I guess).

How do you....

1) See all applications which are OPEN (sometimes the program is running but the window is hidden..).

2) Have sort of a "start menu" instead of going to the hard drive and going to "applications" folder.



Now, If I were to build a "hackintosh" (mac os x on PC parts), would I need to buy a "mac keyboard" to be able to have the same shortcuts features such as dashboard etc.

Thanks!

 

1) All open applications are shown in the Dock with a carat beneath the icon. You can also Command-Tab to page through currently running applications.

2) You can put anything you want into the dock for easy one-click application starting. There are other third-party options out there, but this is sufficient for most users.

You will get no assistance in installing or using the Mac OS on a non-Apple computer, as this is a clear violation of the licensing agreement which is agreed to when installing the OS, and, as such, is a violation of a host of laws at state, federal and international levels. Sorry.

 

1) You could use expose to put everything on your screen into little thumbnail-like windows, and click on which one you wanna use.

2) You can make stacks/grids of your favorite apps if you want (and makes the dock look cleaner)

As for the other thing, as stated above you'll get no help here. That goes against Apple's EULA. You can't put Mac OS X on a non apple-labeled computer.

 

Hold shift when using expose, or minimising apps to the dock.

See what happens!

Also, Ctrl + Option + Cmd + 8 = Invert Colours

Also, Cmd + Shift + 3 = Screenshot,
Also, Cmd + Shift + 4 = Crosshair Screenshot

Here is a website with a useful document in it:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/614/Mac-OS-X-Keyboard-Shortcuts

 

... you can learn all you wan to know just by looking through all your settings in your system preferences. just go through one by one from top to bottom and look through all the commands and shortcuts on each the dashboard/expose/spaces one is really useful (on 10.4 is dashboard/expose, 10.5 it's expose/spaces).

you can even just try out all this stuff while you're reading.

but really quick to answer your questions directly, which not many people did, the function keys F9-F12 all have functions through the exposé feature. default for 10.4 (should be the same as 10.5) is this... F9 is "see all open windows"... F10 is "see all open application windows" (just the windows for the current application)... F11 is "show desktop" (moves all windows so you can work on the desktop) ... F12 shows the dashboard. you push them once to do the action, and then again to go back to where you were.

with 10.5 you can press F8 to use spaces. spaces is a feature that enables you to run more than one desktop at a time (default is 4 spaces, but you can have up to 16). for example you can be working with imovie in space #1 and press F8 and select a different space and open safari and check your email without covering up your imovie windows. it's similar to the F9 function switching between windows, but it leaves more space so one desktop won't be a mess with multiple windows open at a time. it's a nice feature if you run a lot of stuff at one time.

you can also change the 'hot corners' ... it used to be a popular mac thing to have a certain corner that would activate the screen saver just by simply placing the mouse there (which you can still do nowadays). but now you can use the exposé features with the hot corners. for example you can turn on your screen saver by placing your mouse in the bottom left corner, or you can 'see all windows' in the top right corner, and 'clear desktop' in the bottom right. it's pretty fun. on older macs it slows down your computer sometimes, but with faster machines it shouldn't be a problem at all. and it may get in the way sometimes. depends if you like it or not. ... try it out.

as for the dock and your applications... if there are applications that you use often all you have to do is do a one time shortcut creation by click-dragging the applications from your applications folder, into the dock (by default it's on the bottom of your screen, and should be there all the time, you can change that in your dock preferences if you like.). they'll appear there immediately and won't go away until you drag the icon off the dock. it will then disappear in a "poof", deleting *only* the dock shortcut not the actual application (don't worry ).

pretty fun huh?


anything other questions?