When we learn a new language, it’s helpful to start with the basics, such as vocabulary and grammar. If we were to dive in without knowing these things, we’d have a hard time becoming fluent. In the same way, Take Control of Mac Basics is a primer for your Mac, giving you the basic facts and concepts you need, then moving on to explain how to put them to use in order to become “fluent” in macOS.
But Take Control of Mac Basics is also meant for anyone–whether beginner, intermediate, or beyond–who wants to fill in any missing gaps in their knowledge of the Mac. Providing a carefully arranged and cross-referenced guide to the Mac, Take Control of Mac Basics brings together dozens of essential Mac topics in one place. Drawing on her years of experience as the former editor in chief of Take Control, author Tonya Engst presents a wealth of information in an easy-to-use format.
After you read this book, you’ll be able to:
- Get Your Bearings: Find out the names of the interface elements on your Mac screen and learn what you can do with them, including the menu bar, Apple menu, application menu, Siri, Spotlight, Notification Center, Finder, Finder windows, Dock, and Desktop. You’ll also be introduced to each built-in app and utility on your Mac, and get expert advice on how to locate, install, and update additional apps.
- Use the Finder: Become confident with using the folders available to you on your Mac and with filing your files in both default and custom folders that work well for you. You’ll find lots of tips for working on the Desktop, customizing the views in your windows, resizing windows, and understanding Mac paths.
- Manage Customization: Discover the many ways you can make your Mac work better for you, including making it easier to see, less of a power hog, more beautiful to look at, and easier to share with a child by creating separate accounts. Also learn how a wide variety of settings in System Preferences can improve the way you carry out essential tasks, such as copy/paste between your Mac and your iPhone, speaking through headphones on a FaceTime or Skype call, and viewing recent text messages or upcoming calendar events.
- Run Apps Effectively: Understand the best methods for getting in and out of apps, having apps launch on their own, quitting apps, dealing with frozen apps, opening new files, saving files, and more.
- Master Essential Tasks: Build your expertise with core Mac tasks and technologies including printing, copy and paste, keyboard shortcuts, connecting to a Wi-Fi network (in certain cases even if you don’t know the password), Universal Clipboard, Mission Control, AirPlay, Sleep, Shut Down, what to do if you need to enter a Unix command in Terminal, how to think about backups, and more.
Get Take Control of Mac Basics now.
Might I be crudely sarcastic? I thought the Mac was so intuitive, so easy to use, that there was no need to learn anything. The description of this book’s contents make the Mac OS sound almost as complex as Windows.
Does anyone remember the early Mac TV commercials, in which the Mac’s skinny instruction leaflet was tossed on the table, followed by a thick Windows tome?
Might I be crudely sarcastic? I thought the Mac was so intuitive, so easy to use, that there was no need to learn anything. The description of this book’s contents make the Mac OS sound almost as complex as Windows.
Does anyone remember the early Mac TV commercials, in which the Mac’s skinny instruction leaflet was tossed on the table, followed by a thick Windows tome?
You can be crudely sarcastic William, and your right… if we were talking about 20 years ago when I first started using a Mac. Using Robyn Williams ‘The Mac is not a typewriter’ I picked it up pretty quickly having had very little computer experience and immediately found it far easier than any dabbles I had had with a PC. However, we are talking about now, there are so many more things to learn and understand. I have a friend who’s used a PC for 15 years and I gave him an old Mac (with an up-to-date OS) I was replacing. 3 years on and I still get questions from him about some fairly basic things, he thinks it’s far harder to use than a PC, not that I agree. There will always be room to dive into a book, manual, magazine etc and people will always write and sell these additional aids. I think you can find your way around pretty quickly on your own but additional help will always help you get the best, even with a relatively easy to use machine.
You can be crudely sarcastic William, and your right… if we were talking about 20 years ago when I first started using a Mac. Using Robyn Williams ‘The Mac is not a typewriter’ I picked it up pretty quickly having had very little computer experience and immediately found it far easier than any dabbles I had had with a PC. However, we are talking about now, there are so many more things to learn and understand. I have a friend who’s used a PC for 15 years and I gave him an old Mac (with an up-to-date OS) I was replacing. 3 years on and I still get questions from him about some fairly basic things, he thinks it’s far harder to use than a PC, not that I agree. There will always be room to dive into a book, manual, magazine etc and people will always write and sell these additional aids. I think you can find your way around pretty quickly on your own but additional help will always help you get the best, even with a relatively easy to use machine.