Setting up a new Mac

I thought it would be a good idea to write down every application and step that I’m doing now, when setting up the new beast I just purchased. This way, when a new one will be needed, hopefully in not less than 5 to 10 years :-), I will be able to compare or refer to this list again. It’s pretty interesting stuff. I probably missed some stuff, but while I transfer all my work from the Macbook Pro to the iMac this week, I’ll figure out what’s missing and keep updating the list. Okay, so as soon as I opened the Mac and filled the user information, here’s what I did or installed, in this order precisely. :-)

1. Software Update
2. Moved Dock to left, removed icons I don’t need from dock, set it to autohide and made it smaller
3. Google Chrome – then synced it with my other mac (bookmarks, extensions, etc)
4. Sync Address Book (Contacts) and iCal with iCloud
5. Set Google Chrome’s default search, to english (right click on search field, and add a new entry with this value - http://www.google.com/search?{google:RLZ}{google:acceptedSuggestion}{google:originalQueryForSuggestion}sourceid=chrome&ie={inputEncoding}&q=%s )
6. From the Mac App Store ->  Evernote, The Unarchiever, Wunderlist, Twitter, Cloud, Stuffit
7. Droplr - as Cloud, except there’s no limit to uploading images.
8. Teleport (and settings – as I use more than one mac)
9. Skype
10. Yahoo Messenger
11. Dropbox (the web app)
12. 1Password
13. App Zapper
14. Adobe Air
15. Balsamiq Mockups
16. iWork
17. Microsoft Office
18. Overflow
19. TextExpander
20. iOS SDK
21. Transmit
22. uTorrent (don’t ask)
23. xchm (to open this type of files)
24. Coda
25. SublimeText
26. Onyx (maintenance)
27. TinkerTool (settings MAC OSX)
28. Watts (battery health)
29. Suitcase Fusion 3 – for fonts management
30. iShowU HD
31. Arthropod Air App (for Flash Tracing)
32. Adobe CS5 and CS4 (many apps)
33. FDT (for Flash development)
34. Netnewswire (RSS Feed)
35. Phone Viewer
36. Billings – invoicing app
37. Sopcast – online television
38. Battery Health Monitor – if you use a laptop
39. Setup Mail + Mail Preferences – Accounts – Mailbox Behaviors – Store draft messages on the server. Unchecked! :D
40. Synced Address Book, iCal, Authorized iPhones.
41. Magic prefs – for Magic Mouse ( 3 Clicks for Dashboard, 2 Fingers Swipe for displaying all apps open, pinch in/out for hiding/showing all apps)
42. Setup the mac with these settings+ Double click a window’s title bar to minimize

Then, I installed the Chrome Extensions that I use almost daily. Chrome Extensions

1. Install Smooth Gestures for Chrome (since the original developer removed it from the Webstore, drag these two items on your Extensions Window) – this is the latest version ;)
2. Window Resizer (it’s needed when you’re using a big-ass monitor)
3. 1Password (works very well with the desktop app)
4. Screen Capture

And finally, the Dashboard.   Dashboard Apps

1. Currency Converter

That’s about it. I am sure I’ll keep tweaking the system while I use it in the following weeks, but I’ll make sure to write here everything that’s missing.   UpdatesAs I presumed, there was still stuff I needed. Hope I didn’t miss any:

1. Set the default width of Finder’s side bar here.
2. Installed LittleIpsum
3. VLC (so I can abuse the 400% volume feature)
4. Xmarks Chrome extension
5. Canon 7D software
6. MacHG - https://bitbucket.org/
7. Team Viewer
8. Prevent MAC from asking each time if you can open a file from the web by typing this in terminal defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO
9. Show status bar in Finder.
10. Toggle hidden files – Houdini app.
11. Tweetdeck – for checking searches, twitter activity and more.
12. Little Snapper Actions Chrome Extension and Application.
13. xScope – for screen measuring.
14. Actionscript 3 Search Chrome Extension.
15. Set Chrome to english as the default language here.
16. Moom – this little app is amazing! I’m using it daily. It resizes the windows of your apps with ease. Check the site and you will be sold.
17. Grooveshark – comes with the pro account, which you have to pay for. You should also get this to control the app with your keyboard.
18. Integrity – checks dead links on your website.
19. SequelPro – database management for MAC.
20. Gaget – Google Analytics widget for MAC OSX dashboard.
21. Istatnano – shows information about your MAC system.
22. SpamSieve – a perfect add-on to Mail. Keeps spam away. :-)
23. Audio Hijack Pro (to mute Chrome when browsing)