About 30 years ago IBM Corporation introduced a computer called the model 5150, better known today as the IBM PC. It made incredible history, and when it came time for me to buy my first computer, I bought a PC. And I remained a PC devotee up until last year when I changed over to the Macintosh and Apple platform.
Now every computer I’ve got in the house is made by Apple. But boy, I wish I had seen this site when I made the switch: My First Mac. This is a terrifically helpful Web resource. It’s got a ton of information to help you get rolling if you are making the changeover from a PC to a Mac.
The first thing this site offers is a section called Before You Buy. This is where you can read about some of the pitfalls and some of the things you might want to know about switching to a Mac. It also lists reader questions about buying a Mac. And there’s even an article about what happens when a Mac user buys his first PC — or how the $550 laptop can cost more than $1,200. There’s lots of great information: how to buy Mac stuff on eBay, the best places to buy software, how to set up a Wi-Fi network. It’s a very strong website.
Another section, called Getting started, takes you by the hand and leads you step-by-step through a variety of topics including Instant Messaging and iChat and five things to do after starting up your Mac.
Under Switching from Windows, you’ll learn how to make the logical step-over to the new computer — something you need to know about. And of course as you learn more about using your Mac you can check out the Mastering the Mac section, where they get into some of the hints and tricks of the trade that will really make your work go a lot easier.
But maybe you’re already an expert in the topic. In that case, you might want to head over to Be an MFM Contributor — they’re happy to have you contribute to some of the stories they’re going to publish on the website.
The site’s Alexa rating places it at 173,086 out of all the websites in the world, which is pretty decent. A lot of people are coming here, that tells me there’s pretty good information. Overall, I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with My First Mac.