OS X Yosemite is a new operating system that was released in October of last year. It’s a major update to the Mac platform and includes many changes and improvements over OS X Mavericks. One of the biggest changes is the lack of a Start button, which is something Microsoft didn’t include in Windows 8.
There is no Windows equivalent of the Start button or Start Menu in OS X. The only thing you can do is get a list of all your applications in the OS X Dock, which is like the Windows taskbar. In this article, I’ll go through all the Mac equivalents of Windows programs and hopefully you’ll find using a Mac just as easy as a Windows machine.
Windows Taskbar – OS X Dock
The Dock is a bar at the bottom of your screen that shows you currently open programs and you can add or remove icons for any other applications installed on your Mac.
The recycling bin is located on the Dock and in order to eject any device connected to your Mac, you drag and drop it into the trash. You can also go to System Preferences and adjust the settings for the Dock: allow it to remain visible at all times, increase the size, change the position on the screen, etc.
Open Finder and drag Applications from the sidebar and drop it onto the Dock.
Windows Explorer – Mac Finder
Windows Explorer is pretty good, but I actually like the Mac Finder more. For one thing, it allows you to have multiple tabs open in the same Finder window, making it easy to drag and drop files to a different location without having to open multiple Finder windows. ..
In Windows, the sidebar is a list of items that are shown when you open the Finder. In Mac OS X, the sidebar is a list of items that are shown when you open the Preferences window.
Windows Control Panel – Mac System Preferences
The Control Panel is the place to go in Windows to manage how Windows operates. You can manage pretty much everything from here including backups, encryption, default programs, audio, fonts, Java, Flash, languages, mouse and keyboard settings, user accounts, firewall settings and lots more. ..
You can manage all the settings for your Mac from System Preferences. ..
Windows Notepad – OS X Text Edit
Notepad is a basic text editor that comes pre-installed on all Macs. It’s useful for working with plain text files, but there are other editors that are better suited to specific tasks. TextEdit is a basic text editor that’s available on all Macs, and it’s perfect for working with plain text files. That’s really the only reason I use Notepad, and I doubt you’ll ever need to use another editor on your Mac. ..
You can use Format to change the text of a document, just like you would in WordPad and Notepad.
Windows Task Manager – Mac Activity Monitor
The Task Manager in Windows is a great way to see which process is taking up memory or the CPU, and you can also get a lot of extra information about your system from it. ..
The CPU tab shows how much time is spent on specific activities, such as running the operating system or browsing the web. The Memory tab shows how much memory is used and the amount of free memory. The Energy tab shows how much energy is used and how much battery life remains. The Disk and Network tabs show how many files are created, accessed and deleted on the computer.
The Energy tab is unique to Macs and can be helpful for determining which processes are using the most power on a laptop. You can also use Activity Monitor to end a process or run system diagnostics. ..
Windows Command Prompt – OS X Terminal
The Command Prompt and Terminal are two tools that you can use on your computer to do technical things. They’re both very useful if you need to fix something on your computer or change an obscure setting. ..
sudo ls -l This will list all the files in the current directory, as well as any subdirectories.
You can now see hidden files in Finder. This is useful if you need to copy and paste a command, but you’re unlikely to use Terminal for this purpose. ..
Windows Paint – OS X Preview
If you use Paint in OS X, the closest tool in Windows is Preview. It can’t match everything that Paint can do, but it allows for basic drawing.
You can use Adobe Photoshop to make basic edits to images, like cropping, removing backgrounds, adding outlines, adding text, adjusting colors, etc. You can also use Adobe Photoshop to add signatures to your PDF files and fill in forms.
Windows Disk Management – OS X Disk Utility
The Disk Management tool is a great way to manage hard drives in Windows. It lets you format them and partition them, and it also has other features. The Disk Utility tool on Macs is a great way to do the same thing.
If you’re having trouble getting your Mac to start up, or if you notice that your hard drive is filling up quickly, you can use Disk Utility to fix the problem. You can also partition a hard drive, erase a drive, and see what kind of data is taking up space on the hard drive. ..
Windows Netstat, Ping, Tracert – OS X Network Utility
OS X’s Network Utility is one of the best places to get information about your network connection and run tests. It has features like netstat, ping, traceroute, Whois, Finger, and port scans. ..
You can use the Netstat tab to quickly see all the connections your computer has made. To do this in Windows, you have to open a command prompt and type in commands! It’s way more technical and not nearly as nicely implemented as it is in OS X. ..
Windows Event Viewer – Mac Console
The Event Viewer program in Windows can be used to see a log of everything that is happening on your computer. This can be really useful for debugging problems.
The Console is a great tool for monitoring your computer’s performance and activity. You can see what programs are running, how much memory and CPU are being used, and more.
When you are looking for something specific, you should only look at the log files.
There are a few basic things you need to know if you’re switching from Windows to a Mac: keyboard shortcuts, filetypes, and the Dock. Keyboard shortcuts are essential for quickly accessing common tasks, like opening a document or web page. Filetypes are the way that your computer recognizes different types of files, like text or photos. The Dock is a bar at the bottom of your screen that offers quick access to your applications and files. ..
