My tips to people new to Mac

Well I have had my MacBook Pro for almost a 3 weeks and I have surprised myself on how fast I have adapted to OS X...since I have always been a Windows person. I have even begun forgetting shortcut keys on Windows when I venture onto a different machine.

Some of the standout features for me coming from Windows to Mac are:

1. Speed of startup - I know its a new machine, but its just amazing how quick Macs boot up
2. Application installation - No more "please restart your machine for changes to take effect..." Installation of applications on OS X is just so simple...even my Mum could do it with no hassles
3. Ease of configuration - Having a fair bit of experience with Unix in the past, Im not one to shy away from the command line when needed. But I must comment on how easily configure Macs are

But what I really wanted to make mention of are some of the best tips I have discovered since I bought my MBP. There are countless pages out there with various tips for Mac...and I know im adding to those, but I just wanted to outline some of the tips I found most useful!

Combining PDF pages in Snow Leopard
When using OS X, you dont actually have to install a PDF reader like Adobe, there is an application pre-intstalled called "Preview". This allows you to quickly view PDF's and images on your Mac. One of the other useful things it allows you to do is create new PDF's from existing ones. 
For example by selecting various pages in the side bar of the preview and the dragging your selection to the desktop, you will have created a new PDF with only the selected pages in it. Also you can drag other PDF pages into your PDF and restructure the page order by playing with the side bar

Spring-loaded Folders in Finder
Click and drag the item you want to move to the volume or folder that contains the eventual destination. Hover the item over this volume or folder and that v or f opens. Drag it to the next folder and hover until that folder opens. Repeat until you reach the destination folder and then let go of the mouse button. The item drops into the folder.

Show hidden files in Finder
This is a commonly asked question, how do i show hidden files in the Finder. All you need to do is open the terminal and execute the following:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Then restart the finder and you will see all your hidden files/folders

See more information when clicking top bar
When you click on items in the top bar (ie. Airport, Bluetooth... etc), you see a list of options. But if you want to see a more detailed list of options, hold the "option" button as you click on the option and you will see a list with more information


Organising your Spaces
As you are working across multiple spaces, you may find that they are getting out of control you feel the need to organise things. To do this open up the Spaces screen and hold the "Command" key and then use the arrow keys to move around the spaces you want to collect the content from. This will allow you to collect the content from the different spaces and have it all in the same space

Screenshots
There are a few different options for taking screenshots, the main ones are:

1. Command + Shift + 3 - Whole Screenshot
2. Command + Shift + 4 - Current Screen Screenshot
3. Command + Shift + 4 + Space - Select which screen for Screen Screenshot

 Dictionary
Select a word on the screen, the press Control + Command + D and the dictionary will open up for that word

I know a lot of these tips would be useless for people who have been using Mac's for a long period of time, but for me a first time Mac user, they stood out so far. Im sure as I have more fun with my MBP I will have more things to talk about later