What are some Mac terms I should I learn?

Learning a few techie words will help you understand how to read instructions on using your Mac in this book.

Operating System – The operating system is the software that runs your computer and it comes with your Mac (unlike applications, which you can add later). Apple computers use an operating system called Mac OS X. The OS X operating systems have a version number and a cat nickname. You can check which one your Mac has by going to the Apple menu () in the upper left corner of your screen and choosing “About This Mac”.

• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard - released in October 2007 (if you're running this operating system or ealier, download an earlier edition of the Mac FAQ
• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - released in August 2009
• Mac OS X 10.7 Lion - released in July 2011

Apps or Applications – These are the programs (aka software) that allow you do things on your Mac. Microsoft Office, iTunes, and Safari are all examples of applications.

Memory or Random Access Memory (RAM) – Your memory (RAM) is temporary storage that your computer uses to store information that you’re actively using. Ok that sounded really complicated. Think of RAM as your counter top in the kitchen and your files and applications as food. The more space you have on your countertop, the more food you can work with at one time. If you have more RAM, you can mix dough (word process) while you prepare appetizers (watch an online video). This is useful when you like to work with multiple applications and files open at once. If you get the rainbow beach ball often, you may need more RAM.

Hard Drive (HD) – Your hard drive is like your refrigerator. Your files (food) stay in there until you’re ready to work with them on the counter top (RAM). The larger your hard drive is, the more files you can store.

Drag and Drop – This is the action of selecting a file, holding down your mouse button or trackpad and dropping it in another location. Try this first if you can’t figure out how to move a file into or out of an application. For example, you can drag a photo on top of the iPhoto icon in your Dock to add it to your iPhoto library.

Dock – This is the bar of application icons found (by default) at the bottom of your screen. You can add and remove applications from the dock by dragging and dropping them.

System Preferences – This is where all computer-wide options are located, such as changing your desktop picture and managing printers. You access it by choosing “System Preferences” from the Apple menu () in the upper left corner of your screen.

Gestures – This is what Apple calls how you move your fingers on a trackpad to scroll, rotate, or secondary (right) click/tap. Select “System Preferences” from the Apple () menu and then choose the Trackpad panel to learn the gestures available on your Mac.

Spotlight – This is the built-in search tool for your Mac. Think of it like Google search for your files. Press Command-Space bar to activate the Spotlight search bar. Or you can click on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of your screen.

Finder – The Finder allows you to access everything on your Mac. When you are looking at files and folders in a window, that window is called a Finder window. You can access the Finder at any time by clicking on your desktop or selecting the first icon in your dock (a blue smiling face).

Command ⌘, Control ^, and Option ⌥ Keys – These keys are in the lower corners of your keyboard. They are used in combination with other keys to do a variety of functions and keyboard shortcuts. If you’re not sure where to find them, see "What are keyboard shortcuts I can use?" for pictures. Hold down Control and click with your mouse/trackpad to do the equivalent of right-clicking on a Mac (we call it secondary click, because we’re cool like that).

Time Machine – This is Apple’s data backup application, included with new Macs. It will back up your files, music, photos, etc., to an external hard drive in case your Mac is ever lost, damaged, or malfunctions. See “Getting Ahead by Backing Up” learn all about it.

Folders and Slashes (File Paths) - We use the forward- slash character ‘/’ as shorthand to indicate folders on your Mac. This notation is called a path in Mac OS X. Each word between slashes is a folder name. Start in any Finder window, then open each folder in order. So for Macintosh HD/ Users/YourName/Documents, open your startup disk (typically called Macintosh HD), next double-click Users, then your User folder (typically with your name and a house icon), and then the folder Documents.

Published November 17, 2011 4:38 PM
Last modified on November 25, 2011 11:19 AM