I have a MacBook. Make me like it, I beg you.

[Bigeggsinapackoften]

Dc persuaded me to get a MacBook. I’ve had it 6 months and I keep going back to my old laptop. It’s ridiculous. It’s an expensive piece of kit and it’s beyond time I used it.

I use an iPad and an iPhone.

Make me like the MacBook!

What are the shortcuts or quirks I need to know?

Talk to me like I am 3 and don’t understand please.

I’ve tried videos and things and they make my head want to explode.

What do you want to do with it? I prefer mine so much to my old laptop that was filled with bloatware and I hate the ms interface.

I want to

Do my university work on it. I can’t get my head around making Mendeley (my referencing software) work with it

I want to make it work with my extra monitors and it has a shit fit at that and only displays on one )I know I can sidecar the iPad but I have two monitors set up)

I want to learn how to make it do the clever stuff like show all the open apps in wee small windows and swap between them

And finally. I don’t understand the file saving - I understand folders on the laptop but I can’t get my head around how it works on the MacBook.

I have Monterey I downloaded the beta yesterday to match with iOS 15 on the iPad and that’s what made me think of it

And thank you.

I know if I got my head around it I’d use it coz I love the iPad and phone and I love that they sync and I’m cross with myself you know?

I don’t think it’s a question of talking you through it. The concept is that it’s intuitive which is true a bit if you have an iPhone. But like any software or programme you only get used to it and know where things are through constant use.

I suspected that would be the answer.

Me sigh 😁

Mission impossible. I love my iPhone and iPad. Detest MacBook. I sold it.

Oh god, I've just switched to a Mac at work and can't use the thing, it's a nightmare. It really is a whole different operating system and way of thinking!

No advice OP but sympathy!

Thank god I am not alone! 😊

I think you need to make a list of all your issues and then make an appointment to see a Genius in an Apple store who will be able to sort out all your issues. alternatively, use the online chat with Apple.

I am in the same boat OP. My son now uses my mac book for his homework and I use my work laptop for everything. I just can't get on with Apple OS except for ipads.

I don't like mine either. I've given it to my DS and gone back to a windows laptop.

I’d be happy to go to the Genius Bar - that’s a great idea thank you.

Also would be happy to sell it and buy a decent windows Laptop 😂

I'm sorry but I just can't.

We bought one about 3 years ago through work. I still can't get my head round it!

About to sell it and buy a "proper" laptop.

Oh and re the uni work - you will struggle as everything saves in pages. You then need to change the file to a word document for most places.

(Found this out when I had about 5 job application rejections because they couldn't open my c.v)

@cricketmum84 Microsoft Word is available for Mac so you could have bought a copy. Obviously it isn’t preloaded because they are rival companies.

@Bigeggsinapackoften Do you have an M1 MacBook Air by any chance? I’m pretty sure they can only power one external monitor. A quick Google of your referencing software suggests that it doesn’t work properly with the latest edition of macOS. It’s probably worth looking on some forums to see if anyone has found a work around.

My DH has the opposite problem and just traded in a Windows machine for a MacBook after a year because he’s so used to using a Mac for work that it’s a pain to keep switching back and forth. I manage just fine but I know that a lot of people do struggle to switch between two different operating systems because all your little tips and tricks don’t work on the one you’re less familiar with.

Thanks @thecapitalsunited

I'm still selling the bugger though

[quote thecapitalsunited]@cricketmum84 Microsoft Word is available for Mac so you could have bought a copy. Obviously it isn’t preloaded because they are rival companies.

@Bigeggsinapackoften Do you have an M1 MacBook Air by any chance? I’m pretty sure they can only power one external monitor. A quick Google of your referencing software suggests that it doesn’t work properly with the latest edition of macOS. It’s probably worth looking on some forums to see if anyone has found a work around.

My DH has the opposite problem and just traded in a Windows machine for a MacBook after a year because he’s so used to using a Mac for work that it’s a pain to keep switching back and forth. I manage just fine but I know that a lot of people do struggle to switch between two different operating systems because all your little tips and tricks don’t work on the one you’re less familiar with.[/quote]
Thanks @thecapitalsunited. It is an m1 I think (will have to ask the child) so that’s probably the issue. Sigh. Again.

And yes - mendeley has gone to an arse and is now basically useless on the Mac. I’ve asked on the Facebook forum and people are moving to a different program because of it but that means re-doing all I’ve already done. Which is a pain.

I wish I’d never bought the thing to be honest. It’s a big fat waste of money at this point.

Flog it and get a Windows laptop (Dell XPS if want something really good).

I have Microsoft products on my Mac. I couldn’t cope otherwise. I’ve got 365 for the family. I think I pay £7.99 or some such per month.
I couldn’t get on with the Mac either. I was like ‘WTF?’ Much better now I have word, excel, PP.

@Bigeggsinapackoften If it's the latest MacBook Air then it's almost certainly the M1. I think a fix is coming for the external monitor issue but I know it's a massive pain for a lots of people. I already had one giant monitor instead of two slightly smaller ones and that works well for me but I'd be annoyed if I already had a set up which had to be adjusted.

I can't really comment on the referencing software but it does look like it gets borked every time Apple release a new OS update (which suggests that it's fragile as heck) and they are slow as molasses at fixing it. Probably because Elsevier are a publishing house and don't have enough real software development know how.

There are some docking stations which allow you to run two external monitors with the M1 MacBook Air. Have a google, but it'll be a display link docking station of some sort.

I don't know about Mendeley but is it supported on Monterey (which is still in beta like you say), did it work on Catalina ?

Making apps appear - do you mean if you swipe up with 4 fingers on the track pad?

Cool stuff is continuity - copy something on your iPhone, and as long as the Mac is on the same wifi you can paste it onto the Mac (and vice versa, iPad etc.). Or open a doc or browser etc. on the iPad and continue working on it, on the Mac.

It didn’t work on big sur either - it’s just buggy on the Mac.

I just can’t get my head around it. To be fair I just keep reverting to my laptop - because it’s familiar. Doesn’t help I use a Windows laptop for work I suppose.

I would recommend getting a professional computer help person in. They advertise in our local press and are not expensive. In a couple of hours you will be taught most of what you need to know in a one on one situation. I understand that macs are meant to be intuitive but for some of us, me included, that is not the way we learn and end up getting in even more of a mess. For info, I love my macs and have used them for years but I did need someone next to me teaching me at the start.

I’ll book a geek bar thing and take it from there.

If I still don’t get on with it I’ll just sell it and get a quality windows laptop

Thanks everyone. I was feeling very stupid and alone with it coz the kids love it and I just don’t.