Since I get new Macs somewhat more regularly than most folks and since I want a consistent work \/ productivity environment across all of them, I have gotten a pretty decent way set up for going from zero to hero on a new, tabula rasa Mac.<\/p>\n
It basically comes down to four things: dropbox, homebrew, github, and the App Store. \u00a0But here are the steps in more detail:<\/p>\n
This step is easy. \u00a0I just install & configure both Dropbox<\/a> & CrashPlan<\/a>. \u00a0After a while, Dropbox has downloaded my essential data and CrashPlan has got a backup going.<\/p>\n 1Password<\/a>. \u00a0Having some password manager is essential and increases both security and convenience. \u00a0And if you only use Apple products, 1Password is a no-brainer. \u00a0Otherwise I would still use it, but I could see arguments for LastPass. \u00a0Now with Mavericks, these aren’t quite as essential, but there are some web sites that Mavericks won’t save the password on, which is annoying and one of these apps can help with.<\/p>\n Alfred 2<\/a> — it’s the launcher I use for everything and a must-have.<\/p>\n Install Xcode<\/a>\u00a0— it’s required for homebrew, which is up next, and I use to get most unix tools. \u00a0In my experience it causes less frustration than macports.<\/p>\n Setup Homebrew<\/a>. \u00a0I use this to make sure things like zsh, vim, git, etc. are installed and up to date:<\/p>\n Then I get my some ssh keys set up to connect to github, where I store my .dotfiles as well as some vimwiki files. \u00a0This way I can make sure that my my zsh, vim, etc. configurations are the same on all my machines:<\/p>\n Vundle<\/a>\u00a0— I switched from vim-pathogen to this a couple months ago after using pathogen for ages. \u00a0It really is better.<\/p>\n Programming Font: Panic Sans<\/a>\u00a0— super awesome (though I’m evaluating Fantasque Sans Mono<\/a>\u00a0and really liking it so far).<\/p>\n Evernote<\/a><\/p>\n Airmail<\/a>\u00a0— I’ve been going back & forth between this and Postbox<\/a>\u00a0for my email client on MacOS. \u00a0I think in the end, I prefer Airmail. \u00a0It does tend to crash a lot, but it’s better when it works…<\/p>\n Intego VirusBarrier and Internet Security<\/a>\u00a0— Macs get viruses, but more importantly, malware. \u00a0People that don’t think their Macs are vulnerable to getting owned are kidding themselves.<\/p>\n Flux<\/a> — if you use your computer for things other than playing games in dim light (e.g.: at night) this app makes the screen much easier on your eyes. \u00a0It changes the gamma to match the hour.<\/p>\n Bartender<\/a> — if you have a bunch of apps that put icons in your menu bar, this will go a long way toward tidying them up.<\/p>\n Pocket<\/a> — I used to use Readability<\/a> for saving my reading list, but switched to Pocket. \u00a0It works better with PDFs. \u00a0I actually keep them in sync using ifttt<\/a>.<\/p>\n VPN support has been built in to MacOS for a while now, so this is pretty easy.<\/p>\n ScanSnap<\/a> — have to install the software for my ScanSnap S1500M. \u00a0This thing is indispensable. \u00a0A ScanSnap or something like it is pretty critical to a reasonably organized life. \u00a0Getting the software installed is something of a pain unless you prepare \/ hoard, because you can’t just download everything from Fujitsu. \u00a0So I’ve made a disk image of the install media and squirreled it away on my Synology.<\/p>\n Aperture<\/a> — since this is going to be my new main productivity machine at home, I need to copy my photos from my old Mac. \u00a0They’re in iPhoto and Lightroom. \u00a0I’ve decided Lightroom is just too clumsy for library management (though great for editing), so I’m going to give Aperture a try on the new box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since I get new Macs somewhat more regularly than most folks and since I want a consistent work \/ productivity environment across all of them, I have gotten a pretty decent way set up for going from zero to hero on a new, tabula rasa Mac. It basically comes down to four things: dropbox, homebrew, … Continue reading Setting Up A New Mac Redux<\/span> Step 2: Configuration Essentials<\/h3>\n
brew install zsh\r\nbrew install git\r\nbrew install macvim --custom-icons --override-system-vim --with-lua<\/pre>\n
git clone\u00a0git@github.com:jsholmes\/dotfiles.git ~\/.dotfiles<\/pre>\n
Step 3: Other Apps I Recommend<\/h3>\n
Step 4: Work VPN<\/h3>\n
Step 5: Etc.<\/h3>\n