Windows User Switching to Mac – System Install/Setup Help

Is this basically what I should do with the mac?

No! Stop immediately prior to executing Step 1. A Mac is about as comparable to a Windows PC as apples are comparable to ice cubes. Unlike Windows PC box vendors Apple does not ship Macs with any third party junk that needs to be removed.

When you first unpack your Mac follow its setup instructions. There are only a few. Don't create a new Apple ID if you already have one - use your existing one.

You will be presented with the opportunity to migrate your existing information from your Windows PC if you still have it. You can elect to do that then, or at a later time. When you are finished with that, back up your installation using Time Machine or "clone" software such as Carbon Copy Cloner. No offsite or subscription-based backup services are advantageous and most of them don't work well at all. Time Machine is incredibly simple to use, and you already have it. All you need is an external hard disk drive. Plug it in and Time Machine more or less does the rest, unobtrusively and with no intervention from you.

Install your required programs such as Adobe CS, and start using your Mac for the reasons you bought it - presumably, that does not include constant daily pampering and "tweaking". Macs are designed to be used when needed, and ignored when not.

Omit Step 4. OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it that way with software updates from Apple. Third party "anti-virus software" accounts for a significant number of Mac related problems reported on this site.

... Does the system every get so jammed up that a complete wipe out and re-install of OS and software is required?

Only if you bring that upon yourself by intentionally installing garbage products that claim to "protect" or "clean" or "optimize" your Mac. Never install any of that junk. Those products are all scams with only one goal: to extract cash from gullible Mac users, especially former Windows users inured to the need for such things. Don't be one of them.

Enjoy your Mac. If it should ever do something odd or unexpected, your first step is to avail yourself of AppleCare. Telephone support is free for the first 90 days. After its warranty period expires, your next best (free) option is to ask for help on this support site. No other company has anything like it, and it's free forever.

By the way if you did not already purchase your Mac, I recommend you purchase it directly from Apple. Shipping is free.

Avoid big box department stores. Users reporting difficulties with Macs purchased from them are represented on this site in disproportionate numbers, for reasons that are not easily determined. You can save a few dollars by purchasing from resellers, but not enough for it to be worth the problems you are likely to encounter. Volume purchasers receive only modest discounts, so if the price seems too good to be true, caveat emptor. If you are motivated to save money, Apple's Special Deals page is the place to go for attractive prices.

Here is one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FE294LL/A/refurbished-154-inch-macbook-pro-23g hz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Just to clarify the Mac includes anti-virus software and updates with no additional software purchase required?

Yes. Unlike Windows OS X was designed from its inception to be a secure multiuser operating system incorporating many protections specifically intended to isolate one user's space from another. Each succeeding release has only added more protections, and Apple updates its virus / malware database regularly.

Third party "anti-virus" products abound, but none of them improve upon anything OS X already includes. Most of them are simply worthless junk. Some will only cause problems, while others are arguably malicious. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.

Apple is the most famously secretive company since E-Systems, yet the vast majority of Mac related problems reported on this site are the direct result of using ill-conceived products from third party developers claiming unique knowledge of OS X's inner workings. The companies selling them are desperate to assert their continued relevance in a market that is seeing rapid contraction of Windows PCs in favor of iPads - and to a lesser extent, Macs - that have never had the need for their products. Many AV vendors have been reduced to sordid scare tactics as they see their market and revenue stream diminish. Unfortunately, scare tactics work, resulting in widespread misery among Mac users gullible enough to swallow them. That represents a threat all to itself.

If it were not for Windows' predilection for malicious alteration from viruses and malware we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Even though I’m doing some heavy lifting e.g. video editing, audio recording (full band), large folders of music files/video clips/animations etc. no system/drive maintenance is required by me or if it is the software to do so is already included?

Correct. As a professional you may not be satisfied with the bundled apps such as iMovie but Apple has professional video and audio recording apps as well. Even they are not very expensive. You can find out more about them in the Professional Applications forum.

A Mac needs no third party maintenance utilities. Like "anti-virus" products most of them are worthless also.

Time Capsule: I thought that was Apples hardware for backup, remote access, streaming etc.

Yes. The Time Capsule is Apple's combination wireless router and backup device. You can just as easily use any inexpensive hard disk to use in conjunction with Time Machine.

Time Machine is Apple's backup software and it's included with OS X. You can use either one, or both. You can also use inexpensive commercial "clone" software such as Carbon Copy Cloner. Each one has its advantages, as well as their limitations. In the interest of redundancy I use all of them.

B&H Photo is a highly reputable vendor, one of the few I recommend.