5mm5 - Five Minute Mac
I've been hearing from a lot of people lately who have just purchased their first Mac. "Hey Dave, I just bought a new MacBook Pro and I was wondering what I ought to do next?" is a question I hear frequently.
My first recommendation is to protect what you have. Using a good surge protector is basic. Make sure that you protect every copper wire connected to your computer. For years, I've been an evangelist for American Power Conversion. I've been a satisfied user of their equipment for over 10 years.
Make sure that the power cord on your computer, and the power cords of anything else (printer, scanner, speakers, etc.) that's connected to you computer, are protected by a quality surge protector. The same goes for any cables that come from outside your house like a phone cable going to a modem, a dsl cable going to a DSL adapter, or a cable television (broadband) cable going to your cable modem.
When you buy a surge protector, look for a meaningful guarantee, a good reputation in the industry and the right kind and amount of connections.
The APC APC PF11VNT3 covers power (11 outlets), ethernet, telephone and Co-ax (cable/broadband) in one box. If you buy one, I'll make a few cents so thanks in advance.
OK. You've got your system isolated from transients and surges. So far, so good. Next, you need to decide what to do about backup. Computer's fail. Big deal. A failing gizmo is no big deal. Losing your data is a huge deal. Back up the stuff that's important to you. If it's vital, make multiple backups.
I use a layered approach to computer backups. External hard drives are one option. Look for a drive that has both FireWire and USB 2.0 connections, and especially look for one with a cooling fan. I've never owned one but hear great things about drives from One World Computing.
Once in awhile, clone your hard drive using a program like SuperDuper!.
I keep a backup of my keychain on a pen drive and on .mac, use the vast capacity of gmail to archive my email and archive projects to CD's and DVD's. Having an off-site backup of your data can be important in case of a fire, hurricane or seizure by the authorities.
If you are eligible for it (within the first year of ownership), buying an AppleCare service agreement is well worth it, especially for laptops.
You don't get much of an owner's manual with your mac. I'd recommend buying a copy of one of Robin William's book, Mac OS X 104 Tiger, from Peachpit Press or
Episode graphic is by Shht! and is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution License. Music on today's podcast is by Ken Tucker and James Swafford. The tune is Computer Blues and comes to us from the Podsafe Music Network. 5 Minute Macintosh is a production of Radio MacGuys and the Grumpy Old Guys Broadcasting Network. This is Dave Brightbill reminding you that notes from this and all our shows can be found at http://www.macguys.com. Find me on twitter.com.
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