Need a quick and painless way to move lots of data from one Mac to another? Maybe you just got a MacBook and need to port files and folders – and even applications – over without having to copy to a DVD or hard drive first. It’s simple. Just plug a FireWire cable into each Mac (you’ll need a 6-pin plug on each end), open the System Preferences on both units and from the pop-up menu, choose Network Configurations. Click “New” and type a name (like FireWire, for instance). Then, from the pop-up Port menu, choose Built-in FireWire, then click OK and your FireWire connection appears on the list. Here’s a critical step: Drag the word “FireWire” to the top of the List and click Apply Now and your Mac will assign itself an IP address (because it’s really, really smart).
Now repeat these steps on the second Mac (your new laptop, for instance). Next, turn on File Sharing in the System Preferences of both machines and you’re ready to move whole directories or copy the contents of an entire drive with blazing speed. Once you’ve discovered this little trick, you’ll find yourself using it a lot.