On Windows, holding Alt and clicking tab allows one to switch between different windows, even from the same app. On macOS, you first need to switch to the app using Cmd + Tab, then switch between different app windows by pressing Cmd + `. You've made the leap from a Windows PC to the Mac, but now that you're here, you might feel a bit lost. This chart will help you find the features you're looking for. Plus using Mac does makes it very easy to setup multiple Python environments. Things that made the transition easier. My development tools are cross platform (nodejs mostly). Using Console2 with bash shell inside (from Github tools) on Windows. Storing my.files from my home directory in a public repo that I could pull to the new Mac. Similar to the Windows Settings app, System Preferences allows you to oversee every aspect of your Mac, from security, to hardware, to design. There are even some features that can make OS X more comfortable to Windows users. Make your Mac your own!
- Change Windows To Mac Os
- Mac Os To Windows 10
- Mac Os X Vs Windows
- Mac Os X On Windows 10
- How To Get Mac Os On Windows
TL;DR Going from Windows to Mac is very easy for a nodejs developer
who uses a distributed workflow already (github, web apps).
Before actually making the switch, I asked a friend of mineJeff Whelpley to write a blog postabout his recent experience making similar transition.Which he did.Thanks to Jeff, I had much easier time figuring outsome steps.
Background
I am a senior software engineer at uTest, working mainly on front-end (think JavaScript),back-end (Python) and everything in between. Before this job I worked a lot in image processing andcomputer vision field (think C++, OpenCV and OpenGL). I use Windows both at home and at work,which is very typical for image processing jobs. Windows has a very wide variety of input and outputdevices supported, plus a lot of libraries written for these tasks.
My Windows machine is a sweet, sweet Samsung Series 9 ultra portable laptop. Light, fast,excellent battery life. Beautiful 1600x900 screen resolution, great build quality.It does have issues with trackpad, but to me these were minor.Overall, this laptop is like a cool puppy; it turns heads and strikes conversations.
I am transitioning to MacBook Pro, since everyone at uTest, including the developers is using Macs,and the IT department really wants to minimize the number of configurations. While I could doeverything on my personal laptop, I would still prefer to use the company's hardware. Plus usingMac does makes it very easy to setup multiple Python environments.
Things that made the transition easier
- My development tools are cross platform (nodejs mostly).
- Using Console2 with bash shell inside (from Github tools) on Windows.
- Storing my .files from my home directoryin a public repo that I could pull to the new Mac.
- I updated settings again so they work nicely with Mac, use branch mac.
- Using iPhone and iPad personally. The user interfaces among the Apple products are similar,which makes it easy to find things.
- Using web applications, like pivotaltracker, Google drive, gmail instead of platform specific local apps.
Baby steps
Install, login, domain, linking my user profile to Google services at work - all done by the ITdepartment.
App called Finder is like Windows Explorer on steroids.
- Enabled single tap = click on the trackpad (Settings icon / Trackpad)
- Changed the background to something different from the night sky (Settings / Desktop & Screen Saver)
- Installed Chrome and logged in (google.com/chrome, download for Mac, click on the downloads icon)
- I had to guess that dragging Chrome icon into the Applications folder in the popup dialog isApple's way of installing Chrome.
- Extensions, bookmarks, websites are synced by Chrome.
I removed most of the items from the Dock row at the bottom, because my contacts, email, etcare all inside the Google web profile. Tap on each icon with two fingures at the same time, select
Options | Remove from Dock
. I even removed Safari from the Dock.Nice touch: applications that are currently running have light dots underneath them in the Dock.
Hidden files
A lot of system files are not displayed inside the Finder by default. To display them:
Restart Finder by clicking on the Apple icon in the top left corner | Force Quit | Finder and relaunch.Hidden files should now be visible, check your home folder.
Hint: you can quickly show your home folder by pressing
Shift + Command + h
inside Finder.Common applications
- We use Skype at uTest to communicate, the install was very simple.
- Installed git tools from github. The install included a wizard, where I logged in, created SSH keyand installed command line tools. If only I could see how to open the terminal.
- Sublime Text 3 is super fast text editor, its installation was very straightforward.
- To run it from command line I created a symbolic link in the /usr/local/bin folder pointingat the installed application
sudo ln -s /Applications/Sublime Text.app/Contents/SharedSupport/bin/subl /usr/local/bin/subl
.From now on, inside the Terminal I can just typesubl
to open Sublime.
- To run it from command line I created a symbolic link in the /usr/local/bin folder pointingat the installed application
- I blog using a combination of Dropbox + calepin.co, the Dropbox installationis very simple, including a short tour showing where the folder and the quick access button is.
- I keep my blog entries in the Dropbox / Apps / Calepin folder.
- I also have a git repo in this folder, remoted to private bitbucket repo, just as a precaution.
update after blogging for an year I moved blog to github gh-pages atglebbahmutov.com. See 1 year of blogging.
Keyboard shortcuts
I do miss the dedicated Home / End / Page Up / Page Down buttons Windows laptops have.
- Fn + Down arrow = Page Down
- Fn + Up arrow = Pade Up
I had to guess the meaning of the weird key symbols, because only the Command key actuallyhas an icon, the rest - just guess.
I am ok using Command key instead of Control key, but it took some time to figure out how tonavigate quickly inside the text documents.
- Command + (left | right) arrow moves to the (start | end) of the line.
- Option + (left | right) arrow moves to the (start | end) of the word.
- Text selections can be made by holding Shift key.
- To quickly switch the previous application use Command + Tab
I have yet to figure out how to move the selected text up or down a line using shortcuts.
Application / tab shortcuts
- Command + tab switches between the running applications
- Control + tab switches between the tabs inside an application (Chrome)
Window position shortcuts
Almost every application can be viewed in fullscreen mode (Control + Command + F).
Change Windows To Mac Os
I used quick application window position and resize shortcuts a lot (Fn + left | right).After doing some internet searching, I settled on SizeUpas a window manager. Now I can use
Control + Option + Command + (left|right)
to move and resizean application window to take left|right half of the screen. I am not 100% happy with thisapproach yet, because the positioning shortcuts have no effect when the application is infullscreen mode. SizeUp can change the application to occupy the entire client desktop area, usingControl + Option + Command + M
, which is excellent shortcut.Mac App store
I do agree with Jeff that every Windows developer should try installing an application fromMac app store. Once they stop sobbing, ask them how many steps it took. One. Just beautiful,and very similar to the iOS app store.
I installed Alfred, and I do like using it to search for things, which goes back a couple of yearswhen I used Google desktop search on Windows (I believe it has been discontinued). There is alsoan awesome collection of Alfred extensionsadding nodejs, development and github shortcuts to the search.
Terminal setup and first git call.
Initially the Terminal application is not part of the Dock. To add it, first find it, for exampleusing Spotlight. After starting it once, it will be displayed in the Dock.The default terminal window is small with white background / black font. Not optimal, but works.Other color schemes can be selected, if you want to, and they will be used for new terminalwindows.
Having standard copy / cut / paste commands is super sweet.
To initialize my terminal settings (bash prompt, aliases, git shortcuts) to what I am used toon Windows:
The bash settings worked almost perfectly, except for some minor unary operator syntax errors.Git aliases worked right away, but I had to change the text editor to Sublime.
Ignoring stupid Icon files
Often Finder places Icon file in each folder, which is hard to tell git to ignore from command line.I could not get the .gitignore solution to work properly, see open question.
Developer tools
Install Brew
brew provides super easy command line package manager. Seems lots of toolscan be installed through brew without need for compiling, for example to install wget:
That's it.
The installation requires single ruby command execution, plus installing Apple's command line tools.brew comes with a diagnostic command
brew doctor
that you should run first to makesure all environment settings (like PATH) are set properly. Run it and fix all (if any) issuesuntil you get the message Your system is ready to brew.
Things I have not figured out yet
Any help in figuring out how to do these steps is welcome
- Should I look into boxen?
- How to ignore Icon files, still a problem, even after tryingthis solution
Almost everyone here uses Macs. When a new hire joins us, sometimes they're not familiar with OS X at all. For someone coming from Windows operating system, switching to OS X can be troublesome at first.
OS X is the operating system running on all Apple computers. My first experience with OS X was 6 months ago, when I started working at Infinum. That's why I needed a couple of days to get a grip with it. Everything from the keyboard layout to the user interface is different than on Windows.
Considering the fact that most people who join our firm are not familiar with Apple's platform, I've decided to write a couple of tips and tricks to help them switch to Macs more easily.
Like I mentioned, at first I was having trouble with the keyboard layout. It took some time to get used to the CMD (⌘) button being the primary key modifier, instead of CTRL on Windows. But after a couple of days, it gets easier.
Soon after, I realised why Macs are the preferred weapon of choice for doing work at Infinum. Plain and simple, they are just generally easier to work with. Most things work without installing additional drivers. For example, there is no need to install OEM drivers for Android devices.
They have the stability of Unix and Linux, but also a great user interface. They're equally good for programmers (used to spending 50% of their time in the Terminal) and designers (used to working with visual tools). Mac notebooks (Macbooks) also have awesome battery life.
Installing applications
For most applications on OS X there's no installation process like on Windows. When you want to install an application on Windows, you have to run an installer that will install it for you.
On OS X you can download an application from the Mac App Store or download a .dmg file from Internet and just drag it to your Applications folder. And that's it. No installing. You are switching to another Mac? No problem, Apple iCloud will help you switch over without pain.
OS X offers plenty of productivity raising features without installing any third party application. However, we use apps like Alfred to extend OS X features even more.
Using the keyboard
Getting familiar with keyboard shortcuts is essential to becoming more productive. OS X offers many shortcuts by default. You can browse through them in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.
CMD is the magic key you'll use for most of the shortcuts and commands. ALT (⌥) button is also often called option key.
Useful shortcuts to remember:
- cmd + tab - Move focus to next application
- cmd + ` - Move focus to next window
- ctrl + tab - Move focus to next tab
- cmd + w - Close tab
- cmd + q - Close application
- cmd + , - Open preferences of active application
Finder file manager
Finder is OS X's default file manager. It's similar to Windows Explorer but with some differences. For example, there's no classic Cut option which I really missed. If you want to Cut something like on Windows, you have to select the file, press cmd + C and then cmd + alt + V where you want to paste it.
Shortcut keys
Here are also some useful shortcuts to remember:
- cmd + ↑ - Up to higher folder (in the folder structure)
- cmd + ↓ or cmd + O- Open file or folder
- cmd + backspace - Delete selected item
- enter - Rename selected item
Hidden files
In case you want to be able to see hidden files in the Finder, paste this line into your Terminal.app (works for OS X 10.7 and above):
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
Apply changes by holding ALT key and press right click on Finder icon and select Relaunch.
If you just need to see hidden files in the Open/Save dialogs, press cmd + shift + . to display them temporarily.
Navigation in text documents
Getting familiar with the text manipulation is especially useful for developers. There are no HOME and END buttons on most Mac keyboards. But, there's an alternative - CMD + left/right.
Mac Os To Windows 10
- cmd + shift + ↑/↓ - Select a whole document from the cursor position in a desired direction
- cmd + shift + ←/→ - Select a line to the left or right
- alt + shift + ←/→ - Select a word left or right from the cursor position
If you ditch shift from shortcuts above, your cursor will be moved without selecting text.
Window management
Windows comes with a Snap feature. It's a way of resizing windows by dragging them to the edges of the screen after what they automatically cover screen halves. That's the only feature I was missing on Mac. That is, until I met Spectacle. Spectacle is a simple OS X application which lets you reorder open windows with keyboard shortcuts, even without using your mouse.
- cmd + alt + ← - snap window to the left edge of the screen
- cmd + alt + → - snap window to the right edge of the screen
Alfred app
Alfred is a substitute for native OS X Spotlight application. It's a tool that saves you time when opening new apps or searching local computer or web. It can also be used as a calculator and has a bunch of other features.
To find and start an application just enter the application name and press enter. Alfred is super-fast for searching documents. Just type keyword find before name of the document you are trying to open in Finder. Use open if you want to open a file.
Fig 1. Start an application
Fig 2. Finding a file
Fig 3. Using Alfred as a calculator
Mac Os X Vs Windows
Mouse and Trackpad
Magic Mouse is awesome. At first I was shocked with the lack of the scroll button. How am I supposed to scroll now? However, there's a trick - the whole surface of the Magic Mouse is scrollable, you just need to swipe your fingers over it. It also offers some great gestures in System Preferences > Mouse > More Gestures.
Virtual machine mac windows 10. Fig 4. Magic Mouse gestures
Right click
Mac Os X On Windows 10
By default, the Magic Mouse and Trackpad come with the right-click option turned OFF. I recommend turning it ON in the Mouse preferences/Trackpad preferences section of the System preferences panel.
Screenshots & screencasts
How To Get Mac Os On Windows
OS X comes with a lot of built-in features. Taking screenshots is one of them. Without having to install any application, you can easily save a screen or a desired screen area. Of course, it's possible to do this on Windows as well, but the whole process is simpler on OS X.
- cmd + shift + 3 - Saves whole screen
- cmd + shift + 4 - Saves user selected part of the screen
- cmd + shift + 5 - If you use Skitch - selects part of the screen and opens it in Skitch ready for editing
Recording screencasts
Easy way to record screencast is by using the QuickTime Player application and selecting File > New screen recording. Of course, you can choose to record the whole screen or just a part of it.