Synopses & Reviews
You finally took the plunge and bought a Mac. Whether yours is a MacBook, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or iMac &mdash it's still a Mac, and it runs the Macintosh operating system, Mac OS X.
But what do you do with your Mac after you turn it on? Do you even know how to turn it on and off properly or put it to sleep? You need a book like My New Mac to make everything easy.
Wallace Wang, author of the best-selling Steal This Computer Book, will show you, step-by-step, how to use tools like iPhoto to organize your photos, track birthdays with iCal, and clip and save information from the Internet so you can find it again. You'll find simple projects that will show you how to:
- Organize your files and folders by color and keyword
- View stocks, flights, and the weather
- Set up and manage parental controls to limit your children's computer and Internet access
- Play and burn CDs and DVDs
- Transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer
- Share songs, images, and documents wirelessly between Macs
Don't put off learning how to use your new computer. Let Wallace Wang show you the ropes with
My New Mac.
Synopsis
Mac OS is a beautiful and reliable operating system, but it can be confusing to brand new Mac owners-especially if they come from Windows. After all, Mac OS is not Windows, and that's a good thing. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's easy for new users to penetrate this different operating system. Fortunately, with My New Mac, it won't be long before readers are relishing those differences. Rather than focus each chapter on a specific program or feature of Mac OS (as most beginner books do), Wallace Wang takes a project-oriented approach that mirrors the sorts of things people want to do with their Mac. For example, rather than offering a tedious, step-by-step walkthrough of Photo Booth or iChat, Wang focuses on using Photo Booth to organize photos and post them to a website or using iChat to chat with friends. Key aspects of each program needed to perform a task are discussed and indexed for easy reference, but this is not a reference book: it's designed to teach new users how to get the most out of their Mac by having them use it to actually do things.
Synopsis
Wang takes a project-oriented approach that mirrors the sorts of things people want to do with their Macs. This book is designed to teach new users how to get the most out of their Macs by providing practical, usable examples and instructions.
About the Author
Best-selling computer book author Wallace Wang (The Book of Nero 6, Steal This File Sharing Book, both No Starch Press, and Visual Basic 6 for Dummies), is a former contributor to Boardwatch Magazine, where he wrote a monthly column called "Notes From the Underground." He is a successful stand-up comic who has appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and appears regularly at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas.
Table of Contents
Dedication; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Understanding Computer Terms; How This Book Is Organized; Part I: Basic Training; Chapter 1: Turning a Macintosh On and Off Manually or Automatically; 1.1 What You'll Be Using; 1.2 Turning a Macintosh Off the Normal Way; 1.3 Forcing Your Macintosh to Shut Down; 1.4 Restarting a Macintosh; 1.5 Scheduling a Time to Turn Your Macintosh On or Off; 1.6 Starting Programs When Your Macintosh Turns On; Chapter 2: Learning to Use the Mouse; 2.1 What You'll Be Using; 2.2 How to Point and Click the Mouse; 2.3 Dragging the Mouse; 2.4 Double-Clicking the Mouse; 2.5 Right-Clicking the Mouse; 2.6 Using the Scroll Ball; 2.7 Using the Side Buttons; 2.8 Additional Ideas for Using the Mouse; Chapter 3: Choosing Commands on the Menu Bar; 3.1 What You'll Be Using; 3.2 Understanding the Menu Bar; 3.3 Understanding Dialogs; 3.4 Understanding the Parts of the Menu Bar; 3.5 Additional Ideas for Using the Menu Bar; Chapter 4: Controlling Programs with the Dock; 4.1 What You'll Be Using; 4.2 Understanding Program Icons; 4.3 Understanding the Dock; 4.4 Switching Programs from the Dock; 4.5 Quitting Programs from the Dock; 4.6 Additional Ideas for Using the Dock; Chapter 5: Manipulating Windows; 5.1 What You'll Be Using; 5.2 Arranging Windows; 5.3 Hiding and Displaying Windows with Exposé; 5.4 Working with Multiple Desktops with Spaces; 5.5 Additional Ideas for Manipulating Windows; Chapter 6: Navigating Through Folders with the Finder; 6.1 What You'll Be Using; 6.2 Understanding Drives, Folders, and Files; 6.3 Understanding the Finder; 6.4 Viewing the Contents of a Drive; 6.5 Viewing a Folder Hierarchy; 6.6 Additional Ideas for Navigating the Folder Hierarchy; Chapter 7: Creating, Copying, Moving, and Renaming Files and Folders; 7.1 What You'll Be Using; 7.2 Creating Files and Folders; 7.3 Changing the View of Folders; 7.4 Peeking Inside a File; 7.5 Renaming a File or Folder; 7.6 Deleting a File or Folder; 7.7 Copying a File or Folder; 7.8 Moving a File or Folder; 7.9 Additional Ideas for Creating, Copying, Moving, and Renaming Files and Folders; Chapter 8: Conserving Energy While Using Your Macintosh; 8.1 What You'll Be Using; 8.2 The Parts of Your Macintosh That Will Go to Sleep; 8.3 Forcing Your Macintosh to Sleep; 8.4 Making Your Macintosh Sleep on a Schedule; 8.5 Additional Ideas for Conserving Energy; Part II: Making Life Easier with Shortcuts; Chapter 9: Working Faster with Shortcut Commands; 9.1 What You'll Be Using; 9.2 Using Keyboard Shortcuts; 9.3 Using Buttons; 9.4 Using Shortcut Menus; 9.5 Additional Ideas for Using Shortcuts; Chapter 10: Learning to Drag and Drop; 10.1 What You'll Be Using; 10.2 Dragging and Dropping Text; 10.3 Dragging and Dropping Website Addresses in Safari; 10.4 Dragging and Dropping Graphics; 10.5 Dragging and Dropping Files into Programs; 10.6 Additional Ideas for Dragging and Dropping; Chapter 11: Controlling Your Macintosh with Hot Corners; 11.1 What You'll Be Using; 11.2 Defining a Hot Corner; 11.3 Using a Hot Corner; 11.4 Additional Ideas for Using Hot Corners; Chapter 12: Finding Files Fast; 12.1 What You'll Be Using; 12.2 Finding Specific Files with Spotlight; 12.3 Using Smart Folders; 12.4 Placing Folders on the Sidebar; 12.5 Placing Folders on the Dock; 12.6 Peeking at Files Without Opening Them; 12.7 Additional Ideas for Finding Files; Chapter 13: Organizing Files and Folders by Color and Weird Words; 13.1 What You'll Be Using; 13.2 Labeling Files and Folders by Color; 13.3 Searching Files and Folders by Color; 13.4 Adding Spotlight Comments; 13.5 Additional Ideas for Labeling Files and Folders with Colors and Comments; Chapter 14: Putting Information at Your Fingertips with Dashboard; 14.1 What You'll Be Using; 14.2 Starting Dashboard; 14.3 Adding and Removing Dashboard Widgets; 14.4 Finding More Widgets; 14.5 Erasing Widgets; 14.6 Additional Ideas for Using Dashboard; Chapter 15: Giving a Macintosh Multiple Personalities with User Accounts; 15.1 What You'll Be Using; 15.2 Understanding User Accounts; 15.3 Creating User Accounts; 15.4 Logging Out of and In to an Account; 15.5 Fast Switching Between Accounts; 15.6 Deleting an Account; 15.7 Additional Ideas for Using Accounts; Chapter 16: Slapping Parental Controls on Your Kids; 16.1 What You'll Be Using; 16.2 Creating a Managed with Parental Controls Account; 16.3 Setting Parental Controls; 16.4 Additional Ideas for Using Managed Parental Controls Accounts; Chapter 17: Making Your Mac Easier to See, Hear, and Control; 17.1 What You'll Be Using; 17.2 Enlarging Text on the Screen; 17.3 Replacing Beeps with Screen Flashing; 17.4 Turning on Sticky Keys; 17.5 Using Mouse Keys to Control the Keyboard; 17.6 Additional Ideas for Using Universal Access Features; Part III: Putting Your Macintosh to Work; Chapter 18: Jotting Down Notes; 18.1 What You'll Be Using; 18.2 Storing Notes in the Stickies Program; 18.3 Storing Notes in the Stickies Dashboard Widget; 18.4 Additional Ideas for Jotting Down Notes; Chapter 19: Turning Your Mac into an Electronic Reminder; 19.1 What You'll Be Using; 19.2 Scheduling Events in iCal; 19.3 Displaying a Reminder on the Screen; 19.4 Opening a File; 19.5 Sending an Email Reminder; 19.6 Additional Ideas for Setting Reminders; Chapter 20: Never Forget a Birthday Again; 20.1 What You'll Be Using; 20.2 Storing Names and Birthdays in the Address Book; 20.3 Automatically Creating a Birthdays Calendar; 20.4 Additional Ideas for Tracking Important Dates; Chapter 21: Playing Audio CDs and Audio Files on Your Macintosh; 21.1 What You'll Be Using; 21.2 Playing Audio CDs; 21.3 Importing Digital Audio Files; 21.4 Deleting Digital Audio Files in iTunes; 21.5 Playing Music; 21.6 Using Playlists; 21.7 Additional Ideas for Playing Music on a Macintosh; Chapter 22: Ripping and Burning an Audio CD; 22.1 What You'll Be Using; 22.2 Picking an Audio File Format; 22.3 Ripping Songs from a CD; 22.4 Choosing a CD Format; 22.5 Burning a Custom Audio CD; 22.6 Additional Ideas for Ripping and Burning CDs; Chapter 23: Playing Your Favorite Parts of a DVD; 23.1 What You'll Be Using; 23.2 Switching Between Full Screen and Window Mode; 23.3 Viewing DVD Movie Chapters; 23.4 Playing Specific DVD Chapters; 23.5 Using Bookmarks; 23.6 Using Video Clips; 23.7 Additional Ideas for Viewing Your Favorite Parts of a DVD; Chapter 24: Storing Files on a CD or DVD; 24.1 What You'll Be Using; 24.2 Identifying the Discs Your Macintosh Can Use; 24.3 Erasing a Read/Write (RW) Disc; 24.4 Choosing Files to Burn to a CD or DVD; 24.5 Additional Ideas for Burning CDs and DVDs; Chapter 25: Transferring Images to a Macintosh; 25.1 What You'll Be Using; 25.2 Transferring Photos from a Digital Camera; 25.3 Transferring Images from a Scanner; 25.4 Copying Images from a Web Page; 25.5 Capturing Screen Images; 25.6 Additional Ideas for Storing Images; Chapter 26: Organizing Digital Photographs in iPhoto; 26.1 What You'll Be Using; 26.2 How iPhoto Works; 26.3 Working with Events; 26.4 Viewing All Your Photos; 26.5 Working with Albums; 26.6 Deleting Photos and Albums; 26.7 Additional Ideas for Organizing Digital Photographs in iPhoto; Chapter 27: Tagging and Sorting Digital Photographs in iPhoto; 27.1 What You'll Be Using; 27.2 Tagging Photos; 27.3 Sorting Photos; 27.4 Additional Ideas for Sorting Digital Photographs in iPhoto; Chapter 28: Editing Digital Photographs in iPhoto; 28.1 What You'll Be Using; 28.2 Rotating and Straightening Photos; 28.3 Cropping a Photo; 28.4 Touching Up a Photo; 28.5 Creating Unusual Visual Effects; 28.6 Adjust a Photo Manually; 28.7 Additional Ideas for Editing Digital Photographs in iPhoto; Chapter 29: Turning Your Macintosh into an Electronic Picture Frame; 29.1 What You'll Be Using; 29.2 Creating a Slideshow Folder; 29.3 Storing Pictures in Your Slideshow Folder; 29.4 Capturing Pictures with iSight and Photo Booth; 29.5 Creating a Slideshow; 29.6 More Ideas for Displaying Slideshows; Chapter 30: Sharing Files Without Connecting Cables; 30.1 What You'll Be Using; 30.2 Checking for Bluetooth Capability; 30.3 Turning on Bluetooth; 30.4 Sharing Files with Bluetooth; 30.5 Additional Ideas for Transferring Files Wirelessly; Chapter 31: Retrieving Files Back in Time; 31.1 What You'll Be Using; 31.2 Retrieving Files from the Trash; 31.3 Backing Up and Retrieving Files with Time Machine; 31.4 Additional Ideas for Backing Up Files; Chapter 32: Typing Foreign Languages; 32.1 What You'll Be Using; 32.2 Typing Foreign Characters; 32.3 Clicking to Choose Foreign Characters; 32.4 Typing on a Foreign Language Keyboard Layout; 32.5 Typing in Foreign (Non-Roman) Characters; 32.6 Additional Ideas for Typing Foreign Characters; Part IV: Touching the World Through the Internet; Chapter 33: Remembering Your Favorite Websites; 33.1 What You'll Be Using; 33.2 Using Bookmarks; 33.3 Organizing Bookmarks in Folders; 33.4 Using the History Menu; 33.5 Additional Ideas for Using Bookmarks and the History Menu; Chapter 34: Reading the Latest Updates on Your Favorite Websites; 34.1 What You'll Be Using; 34.2 Using RSS Feeds; 34.3 Reading RSS Feeds by Email; 34.4 Additional Ideas for RSS Feeds; Chapter 35: Keeping Your Internet Activities Private; 35.1 What You'll Be Using; 35.2 Identifying Safe Websites; 35.3 Clearing Your Internet Tracks; 35.4 Avoiding Fraudulent Websites and Phishing Scams; 35.5 Hiding Your Browsing from Others; Chapter 36: Saving Research Information from a Web Page; 36.1 What You'll Be Using; 36.2 Saving a Web Page as a File; 36.3 Emailing a Web Page; 36.4 Saving the Text of a Web Page; 36.5 Listening to Text on a Web Page; 36.6 Additional Ideas for Researching on the Internet; Chapter 37: Creating an Electronic Clipping Service for Web Pages; 37.1 What You'll Be Using; 37.2 Clipping a Web Page; 37.3 Viewing a Web Clip; 37.4 Changing the Appearance of a Web Clip; 37.5 Deleting a Web Clip; 37.6 Additional Ideas for Web Clips; Chapter 38: Watching Video on Any Website; 38.1 What You'll Be Using; 38.2 Downloading and Installing RealPlayer; 38.3 Downloading and Installing Flip4Mac; 38.4 Downloading and Installing Windows Media Player for Mac; 38.5 Additional Ideas for Watching Videos on the Internet; Chapter 39: Expanding Your Mind by Listening to Free College Lectures; 39.1 What You'll Be Using; 39.2 Choosing a College in iTunes U; 39.3 Listening to Downloaded Lectures; 39.4 Additional Ideas for Listening to Lectures; Chapter 40: Listening to News, Music, and Talk Shows over the Internet; 40.1 What You'll Be Using; 40.2 Finding and Listening to an Internet Radio Station; 40.3 Finding Podcasts; 40.4 Listening to Saved Podcasts; 40.5 Additional Ideas for Listening to Radio Stations and Podcasts; Chapter 41: Setting Up an Email Account; 41.1 What You'll Be Using; 41.2 Getting Your Email Account Information; 41.3 Configuring the Mail Program for Your Email Account; 41.4 Configuring Mail Manually; 41.5 Additional Ideas for Creating Accounts in Mail; Chapter 42: Reading and Writing Email; 42.1 What You'll Be Using; 42.2 Retrieving Email Messages; 42.3 Reading Your Messages; 42.4 Deleting a Message; 42.5 Saving Email Addresses; 42.6 Writing a Message; 42.7 Saving Messages as Drafts; 42.8 Additional Ideas for Reading and Writing Messages; Chapter 43: Making Email Look Pretty; 43.1 What You'll Be Using; 43.2 Using Stationery; 43.3 Using Signatures; 43.4 Additional Ideas for Making Email Look Pretty; Chapter 44: Organizing Your Email; 44.1 What You'll Be Using; 44.2 Sorting Messages; 44.3 Searching for Messages; 44.4 Using Smart Mailboxes; 44.5 Using Rules to Sort Messages; 44.6 Additional Ideas for Organizing Email; Chapter 45: Dealing with Junk Email; 45.1 What You'll Be Using; 45.2 Bouncing Messages; 45.3 Using Junk Mail Filtering; 45.4 Additional Ideas for Dealing with Junk Email; Part V: Maintaining Your Macintosh; Chapter 46: Learning About Your Macintosh; 46.1 What You'll Be Using; 46.2 Identifying Your Operating System Version, Processor Type, and Memory; 46.3 Identifying the Types of CD and DVD Discs Your Mac Can Use; 46.4 Additional Ideas for Identifying the Parts of Your Macintosh; Chapter 47: Installing, Updating, and Uninstalling Software on Your Macintosh; 47.1 What You'll Be Using; 47.2 Installing Software from a CD or DVD; 47.3 Installing Software Over the Internet; 47.4 Updating Software; 47.5 Uninstalling Software; 47.6 Additional Ideas for Installing Software on Your Macintosh; Chapter 48: Performing Preventative Maintenance on Your Macintosh; 48.1 What You'll Be Using; 48.2 Caring for Your Hard Disk; 48.3 Running Operating System Maintenance Tasks; 48.4 Additional Ideas for Maintaining Your Macintosh; Chapter 49: Ejecting Stuck CDs or DVDs; 49.1 What You'll Be Using; 49.2 How to Eject a CD or DVD Normally; 49.3 How to Eject a Stuck CD or DVD; 49.4 Additional Ideas for Ejecting and Preventing Stuck CDs or DVDs; Chapter 50: Password Protecting Your Macintosh; 50.1 What You'll Be Using; 50.2 Password Protecting Screensaver and Sleep Mode; 50.3 Password Protecting System Preferences; 50.4 Disabling Automatic Login; 50.5 Turning Automatic Login Back On; 50.6 Logging Out Automatically; 50.7 Choosing and Changing Your Passwords; 50.8 Additional Ideas for Password Protecting Your Macintosh; Chapter 51: Encrypting Your Data; 51.1 What You'll Be Using; 51.2 Encrypting Your Home Folder; 51.3 Additional Ideas for Encrypting Your Data; Chapter 52: Troubleshooting Your Printers; 52.1 What You'll Be Using; 52.2 Adding a Printer; 52.3 Stopping and Canceling Print Jobs; 52.4 Changing the Settings on a Printer; 52.5 Deleting a Printer from Your Macintosh; 52.6 Additional Ideas for Controlling Printers on Your Macintosh; Colophon;