New switcher joins Mac community

Question

I have finally ordered my iMac G5 (1.5Gb RAM, 500Gb disk & wireless keyboard/mouse), and hope to get it next week sometime. After 20 years with PC's including obtaining Microsofts MCSE technical acreditation, I am about to embark on a whole new adventure!!
When my new work of art arrives, are there any golden rules for a new Mac user. Some initial concerns are these, but am sure there are some I have not thought of:
1) I will be sharing the work of art with my wife, so when setting up accounts, should I create my account as admin, or should I use a seperate admin account for maintenance and use a normal account for each of us for everyday use?
2) As I am thinking of getting a .Mac account for backup, the webpage functionality, and more importantly the Learning Centre. Should I start my initial trial via my PC before starting the Mac for the first time, so that it will setup with a new .Mac e-mail address?
3) Can the Mail application cope with several accounts at once, seemlessly. I currently have e-mail with BT Yahoo, Hotmail, Tiscali & Orange. BT Yahoo being my main one.
4) Is it really safe not to use Anti-Spy, Anti-Virus etc., apart from ensuring you are not a carrier. My BT Yahoo e-mail has anti-virus, and I think .Mac has too.
5) Can I run a Mini-DV CAM import on my account in the background, whilst my wife switches into her account and work for a while? (I have several tapes to import!)
5) Any golden rules for a) my novice phase & b) for when I gain more experience?
Cheers,
Simon

Answer 1

1) I will be sharing the work of art with my wife, so
when setting up accounts, should I create my account
as admin, or should I use a seperate admin account
for maintenance and use a normal account for each of
us for everyday use?
My wife and I both have admin accounts, with managed users for the kids.
2) As I am thinking of getting a .Mac account for
backup, the webpage functionality, and more
importantly the Learning Centre. Should I start my
initial trial via my PC before starting the Mac for
the first time, so that it will setup with a new .Mac
e-mail address?
You can configure .Mac via the .Mac preference pane in System Preferences, so I don't think it's important that you have your .Mac account setup beforehand. Also, many features of .Mac can only be used on a Mac, so you might not be able to do much with your trial account from your Windows PC.
3) Can the Mail application cope with several
accounts at once, seemlessly. I currently have
e-mail with BT Yahoo, Hotmail, Tiscali & Orange. BT
Yahoo being my main one.
I used to have Mail setup to retrieve e-mail from 5 accounts. It all worked fine.
4) Is it really safe not to use Anti-Spy, Anti-Virus
etc., apart from ensuring you are not a carrier. My
BT Yahoo e-mail has anti-virus, and I think .Mac has
too.
.Mac does not have anti-virus anymore. But it's not much of an issue as there are no viruses or spyware for Mac OS X yet. As always, practice safe surfing and don't go clicking on suspicious links in e-mails. It's wise to use the built-in firewall or else use a firewall in a router. Someday there will probably be a virus or something that can affect your Mac, so you'll have to decide if you want to buy anti-virus now, later or never.
5) Can I run a Mini-DV CAM import on my account in
the background, whilst my wife switches into her
account and work for a while? (I have several tapes
to import!)
Dunno. I suspect so. I just got a camera for Christmas, so I don't know anything about video yet.
5) Any golden rules for a) my novice phase & b) for
when I gain more experience?
Use the built-in help, ask questions on this forum. Always make regular backups.