Migrating from one computer to another

If it was easy to find all of the system items associated with an application, Migration Assistant would've done it for you; generally, if it can't figure it out, the easiest solution is to reinstall the software that didn't come over cleanly.

There is an alternative, however: clone the entire volume with something like Carbon Copy Cloner. This'll get all of the add-on software fine (except things like hardware-tied license keys and such), but may run into compatibility problems with the new computer. For example, if you clone from an older system to a new one that requires a special build of the latest OS version (with new drivers & such for the new hardware config), you may have to reinstall the OS (from the disc that came with the new computer) to get that to work. Pick your poison...

I've migrated between many macs over the years, and I've always found that the best way to do it, is manually. Normally I use a firewire cable (but you can also use WiFi, USB, external hard drive, dvd/cd, etc) to hook up the two computers, then just drag over files from one computer to the other.

Mostly everything the average user has on their mac will be found in their user folder (home folder). You can just drag/copy this entire folder over, or you can be more selective about which folders in your home folder you move (for instance, you may not want the Library folder). Then, anything outside of your home folder (Applications, for one) you can drag/copy over if you want.