The next heartache

I should have checked this out first, and I thought I had. Everything I had read said you can license Photoshop across platforms. I called Adobe today to do just that, and found out otherwise. Sure, they'll license across platforms if you're switching from one to another. But they demand monogamy. You can't have the same activation on both a PC and a Mac.

So far my other programs--Photo Mechanic, Eye One--are loading just fine. I oughta read something on this, because installing a program is way different from what I'm used to. Basically, it seems like nothing has happened. There's no desktop icon (except some file you have to throw away--what's that about?) and nothing conclusive about the process. After the download I had no indication that Photoshop was already on my system, because I couldn't find it, until I reinstalled over it. And then it's a manual procedure to drag it over to that Dock thingy, so that it's possible to someday find it again.

I hope all you Mac users are amused by the observations of an alien in your culture. I am not, repeat, not bashing anything here. I'm just documenting my awkward baby steps.

Comments

[Colin Jago]

For any application that is running you can click on the icon in the dock and get a menu. One choice should be 'keep in dock'. This anchors all your most used items in one place.

[Doug Plummer]

Thanks Colin. I'm still trying to figure out how to find the things that I want to get into it, and how to get things out of it that I don't want. My steps are way baby ones.

[Jeff Carlson]

The applications are stored in the Applications folder; the difference is that most (but not all) Mac installers don't automatically crud up your desktop with shortcuts.

You can also go to the Apple menu (the icon, not the word "Apple") and find Recent Applications.

I think a commenter on the previous post put it best: try not to think about how Windows did it (though I know that's hard, because it's the previous frame of reference). You are taking first steps, but once you get the hang of it, you'll feel more comfortable.

And, in fact, your observations about switching are very helpful, because it demonstrates what real people must deal with versus what Apple expects will happen.

[romanlily]

I'm glad you got a Mac. I'm pretty loyal to the brand myself (though I stopped short of applying the Apple bumper sticker to my car). I was secretly hoping you would come on over to join the Mac world. I've worked on PCs professionally and Macs personally for years, but always have preferred Macs, just because they feel friendlier. Congratulations on the new purchase.

[cehwiedel]

To remove an icon from the dock, click-and-hold on the icon. A menu should appear. One of the choices will be to remove the application from the dock.

[Felicity]

This is even more fun than when you got an ipod!

To add and remove applications from the dock, you can also click and drag. For instance, to add an application, find it in the Applications folder (if you open a Finder window, there should be a shortcut to this folder on the left). Click and hold over the application icon, and drag that icon to the dock. The icons already in the dock should make room for it - once it is on the dock, release the mouse button, and it will stay there.

To remove an icon from the dock, just click and hold that dock icon and drag it out of the dock. Poof! It will disappear! (the application will still be found in the Apps folder)

[Doug Plummer]

Felis,
It better be more fun than iPod, since I'll gladly bash them (another indicator of the demise of civilization and all that). But I feel like everyone here is trying to hold my hand as I feel my way through this weirdly different environment.

[Martin McClellan]

Hi Doug -- long time Mac user here. I think it's great that you're giving it a try. One warning I always give to Windows users on Macs: On Windows when you drag two folders together, it merges them. On Mac, the one you are dragging will replace the one you are dragging to.

That one thing has burned many of my friends by losing files, and is one way that I prefer Windows.

Other than that, in my experience, Windows demands too much attention of itself. The Mac interface gets out of your way more and let's you do your job, which is what we all want to do, regardless of platform.

Hope you dig it!

[Adam Maas]

YOu can drag your applications folder to the dock to get a pseudo Start Menu. Right clicking/CTRL+Clicking on the folder in the dock will get you a popup listing of everything in the folder, with cascading menus, just like the Start Menu.