What things can I do on my new Macbook Pro Retina?

Question

Hello all, I am VERY new to OS (Been #TeamWindows for 17 years of my life). However, I've had iPhones and iPads for a couple of years now, so I'm a pro (No pun intended) with iOS. But OS on the other hand is something else! Now I'm a techy nerd by heart, but I've never played with a Mac for more than 5 mins, and definitely never owned one! So I've had my Mac for about 24 hrs now, and I love it! However, I feel like I'm missing something on here. I know there's TONS of things to do on a Mac, but I need some ideas. What kind of suggestions do you guys have for me? Games, programs, apps, whatever, let me know what cool/fun or nice to do on a Mac that you couldn't do on a Windows. Thanks guys!

Answer 1

Hello enigmahimeros,
    I got my Retina MacBook Pro the same day you did, what a coincidence! Congrats on your first Mac computer, this is my fourth one. I bet you are going to love it. There is so much to do on a Mac. If you are a creative, you can use creative software to make movies, music, and picture editing. If it didn't come pre-installed on your MBP, go ahead and download the iLife and iWork suites. They are available for free on the Mac App store. These are tools to create the music, pictures, or videos. There are some pro version applications that Apple sells for these counter-parts, but when I started as a beginner these were the easiest tools of the trade, and they aren't to shabby! I now use Logic Pro X and Final Cut Pro for music and video editing, respectively. I don't do much with pictures so Aperture the pro version of iPhoto is not on my new notebook. I do love making music on Logic Pro X (it's like GarageBand "Pro") and I have fun with videos on Final Cut Pro, the pro version of iMovie. I also love to read books from the iBooks store, there is many free titles to choose from, some of the paid books are really nice but most of the free titles are amazing none the less. Which brings me to another point, I love to write, so I downloaded Apples free iBooks Author app and am now currently working on my first full length Sci-Fi novel! It's an amazing app if you have ever thought about writing, it also gives me something to do while sitting in StarBucks in the mornings when I stop by for a coffee before work! The good thing about this app is that you can publish directly to the iBooks store as soon as your projects is finished in a few simple steps. This can make you some money in the future if your book catches on. As for games, let me list a few free ones that aren't too bad on here for you to dive into today! If you like first person shooters go to the app store and download Frontline Commando, awesome game right there. Real Boxing is a fun one as well. Another FPS is Contract Killer2. Eternity Warriors is a simple but fun and well designed RPG. Gun Bros 2 is right up there with it. If you used to play Super Mario as a kid then you should download Lep's World 2. I know, I know, it's just not the same, but hey we're not in 1992 anymore! Regardless it is a very fun side-scroller. Slide Soccer is fun, as well as TouchGrind. If you like puzzle games download Rail Maze 1 and 2. They are addictive so be careful! Also download League of Legends from their website it's a fun Strategy Action RPG type game with a massive community. If you like card games like Magic, Pokemon, or Yu-Gi-Oh, then download Shadow Era from the Mac App Store. These games are all free as well, hope I helped out a bit. Feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions about how to do something on your new Mac, or even if you just want to play online with me on some games! Hope you have fun with your new rMBP, I know you are going to love it!
Sincerely,
Bryan
P.S.
    You don't need to lose touch with your Windows side on your new mac. Unlike PC's which can't install Apple OSX, Macs CAN install Microsoft Windows. Just get your hands on a copy of any windows software you like and use BootCamp (it's free and comes on every mac) to partition your drive and install it so it can dual boot systems (don't worry you won't lose files or data when doing this or when removing it.) I personally enjoy having Windows 8.1 on my rMBP just because of the fact that I like their new Metro design. If you do this you have the best of both worlds on one great Apple product. Just remember to install anti-virus software on windows because it needs protection just like if it was a real PC. A free one is AVG Free. I would use it along side Malware bytes Anti-Malware. Just make sure you don't accept the free trials on either programs during installation, it can cause compatibility issues and make the Windows system to go a bit crazy some times. Macs have never really had a problem with this, even though there is A/V software for Mac. Every time I scan my Mac I don't find a thing. Well, I guess that is all, good luck on your new Mac adventures!