Just upgrading to Lion will do your Mac the world of good. It has a slightly smaller footprint than Snow Leopard and will make your machine run faster too.
1) Learn gestures
Spend a few minutes in System Preferences watching the video in your Trackpad section. Here you’ll find guides on all of the new gestures. A good grip of these and you’ll be a much more savvy Mac user in no time.
2) Protect your kids
Setting up Parental controls is easier than ever on a Mac. Go to System Preferences where you can limit the time your kids spend online, as well as monitoring the apps they use and information they can access.
3) Set up keyboard shortcuts for apps
You can quickly and easily set up shortcuts for apps like Mission Control and Launch Pad. This gives you an extra-quick way of launching them. Set this up in seconds using your System Preferences.
4) Clean your machine
The biggest piece of advice for Mac users is to do a bit of housekeeping now and again. It may sound monotonous but just making sure you don’t let your Machine fill with clutter will keep it feeling fresh and fast. It also means you avoid that horrible moment when your Mac warns you that you are nearly out of drive space and you then need to have a panic induced clear-out.
5) AppleJack your Mac
Another essential tip is that every Mac user should immediately download AppleJack to their machine and begin using it right away. This little script will instantly clear your machine of unnecessary junk like caches and VRAM. Run AppleJack regularly to keep on top of errant files and keep your Mac in tip-top condition – the free script can breathe life into the oldest machines.
6) Update your apps
Updating apps is key. As well as making sure your system runs smoothly by ironing out any bugs or security issues, software
updates can include some great new features, so you’re effectively getting an upgrade for free. Much like doing the ironing, the longer you leave it to update your software, the bigger the job gets, so always try and check for any software updates once a week.
7) Delete files safely
As a safety precaution, always make sure you do a Secure Empty Trash when disposing of any files you want to get rid of, as this helps make sure that those files are permanently erased. It’s also a good idea to make the effort to use Disk Utility to erase free space on your drive, so you know for a fact that no one can gain access to your old files. This also helps to speed up your machine, which is never a bad thing.
