New Mac User (Split Topic)

[bldene]

i am so new to this mac i have no idea what it does.....i bought it while deployed to iraq but so far i like it even though i dont really do alot on it but check email play games online and IM. Ok sorry i was rambling but can someone tell me how i can get something like microsoft excell and stuff like that for this computer or where to go on line to download it and possible free. And it take a long time for my computer to get to my home page when i turn it on. How do i defrag and stuff. I do have Mackeeper and stuff but it seems really slow. Please help.

DENELL

[Turboladdade]

Hello, and welcome to Info-Mac and Macs in general! Before I answer some of your questions, be sure to start a new topic rather than replying to an existing unrelated topic.

i am so new to this mac i have no idea what it does

It does whatever you want it to do, and only what you tell it to do.

can someone tell me how i can get something like microsoft excell and stuff like that for this computer or where to go on line to download it and possible free

Microsoft Office is not available for free. You can buy a copy here: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products although I personally would much more recommend you try out Apple's iWork instead, which you can find here: http://www.apple.com/iwork/ and you can download a free demo (which you can activate to full version) here: http://www.apple.com/iwork/download-trial/

And it take a long time for my computer to get to my home page when i turn it on.

Is this Mac new? Do you have a hard drive full to capacity or is there still 20% or more space left? This is important as it relates to virtual memory efficiency on Mac OS X.

What kind of Mac is it exactly? Can you share some specs with us? Memory? Storage space? Etc...

I do have Mackeeper and stuff but it seems really slow.

I'm skeptical whether Mackeeper is useful at all. It does a lot of stuff you can do yourself, and none of which is drastically important on a Mac.

How do i defrag and stuff.

The concept of defragging doesn't really exist on the Mac. The only routine maintenance you should familiarize yourself with is Permissions Repair, and PMU/SMC/PRAM/NVRAM resetting, depending on what model of Mac you have. The articles linked below will explain all...

About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

[24bit]

Hi bldene,
once you get familiar with it, you´ll find your Mac is one of the best computers ever.
Regarding an alternative Office suite you might look here:
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/
or here for even more freebees:
http://opensourcemac.org/
GIMP e.g. will be a perfect alternative to Photoshop.
Thinking of dowstream/upstream issues, I don´t think your Mac will be the limiting factor.
Do you use some proxies or other boxes between your Mac and the internet?

Best wishes!

[Turboladdade]

I would describe OpenOffice and GIMP as merely adequate. They're free which is always great, but pale in comparison to the payware alternatives.