Icebreaker

Activity 1

In this activity, we will briefly explain what a Mac actually is and how it differs from PC. We will also look at the basics of navigating your Mac and using the trackpad.

About Mac

Mac is a computer platform. We use it to install and operate software & navigate our files. It is one of two major platforms that we use on laptop, desktop, and tablet computers - the other being known as PC.

What's the Difference?

Mac & PC are not quite as different as we might think. They both run on similar hardware, and can achieve pretty much the same stuff. Perhaps the biggest difference is how they are distributed and marketed, and how this impacts the user experience.

PC consists of the Windows operating system (built by Microsoft), which is licensed out to many computer manufacturers, such as ASUS, Acer, HP, or Dell. Those manufacturers then have freedom to add software on top of Windows as a means to customise it, interact with their hardware, and even bring the cost down by allowing other companies to pre-load their software; a bit like advertising space.

The end result is more choice and affordability at the expense of user experience, and often performance and security.

Mac, on the other hand, consists of the MacOS operating system and Mac hardware, all provided by the same company - Apple. This gives Apple full control over the user experience by designing the hardware and operating system to work together naturally and efficiently.

So what does Mac do well?

Better support - Apple is responsible for all possible points of failure, software or hardware, and they know their products well. The presence of Apple stores means you never need to send your computer off for repair.
Longer effective life - while a PC and Mac might both function for 5-8 years (or even longer), a Mac usually 'burns bright' to the very end, while a PC tends not to age quite as well. Many PC's have frustrating quirks the moment you take them out of the box!
Better design - Design is very important and often overlooked, especially for a laptop. Arguably, the intuitiveness of the trackpad, the comfort of the keyboard, and how harmoniously the hardware & software work together, is more important than raw performance.

A depiction of how Macs and PCs are distributed.

Task 1. About your Mac

Lets discover the basic details of your Mac.

Wake your Mac up by lifting the lid. If it doesn't turn on immediately, press the power button to turn it on.
Sign into your computer (if you're not already signed in). By default, we configure your login to be the same as your school login.
Open the About This Mac utility: click on the Apple logo () at the top left corner and choose "About this Mac"

What can you find? Look out for..

Your serial number and model.
CPU, RAM, Graphics information.
Breakdown of Storage use.
Links to get Apple service*

* Consult with the school's I.T. department before approaching Apple for servicing.

Look for this icon throughout the course for contextually relevant system preferences.

Task 2. System Preferences

Throughout this course, there will be opportunities to customise and configure your Mac to suit you. A lot of this can be done through System Preferences. This is the equivalent of the Windows Control Panel or Settings screen.

To open System Preferences from anywhere on your Mac, click on the Apple logo () at the top left corner and choose "System Preferences".

In system preferences, you will find a number of icons, called preferences panes, that relate to various aspects of your Mac.

When you have time, go through some of these panes to discover ways that you can configure and personalise your Mac.

Task 3. The Mac Trackpad

The trackpad on your Mac doesn't look like a whole lot, but it is a capable substitute for a mouse, and also accepts gestures as though you were using a touch screen on an iPad or iPhone.

Practice moving the cursor around and clicking with your trackpad.

Secondary Click

There is a common misconception that Macs do not 'secondary' or 'right' click like a PC does. But that's not true!

To perform a secondary click, rest two fingers on the trackpad, and click with both. This usually takes a few attempts to get right - but now is the time to practice!

If two fingers just isn't working for you, you can also secondary click by holding down the Control key and clicking normally (i.e. with one finger).

Scrolling

To scroll through documents and webpages, rest two fingers on the trackpad and slide them up and down.

Later in this course, we will discover some helpful gestures you can use to do even more with the trackpad.

Access the Trackpad preference pane for more options relating to your trackpad, and to see short video demonstrations on how to use it.

Task 4. Dock & Menu Bar

The Dock and Menu Bar are two core elements of the Mac user interface, allowing you to open, switch between, and close applications, and see the system status at a glance.

The Dock

Your Dock is a row of icons appearing along the bottom of your screen. It is used to:

Open your favourite applications or folders
See which applications are running
Switch between and close applications

To open an application, click on the icon for that application. It will begin to bounce. A bouncing application indicates it is starting. Once it stops bouncing, a white dot will appear next to it indicating it is ready to use.

Running applications have a white dot next to them.

Explore the dock further. If you get stuck for ideas, complete the guide available on the Apple website.

Application Bar

The application bar sits along the top of your screen. It is used to:

Access File/Edit/View style menus for the active application.
Access quick controls for your system - e.g. volume, wifi, date/time.
Access the system menu - to log out, sleep, restart, open system preferences, etc.

The name of the active or focused application will always appear next to the Apple logo (). This is the application at the 'front' that is currently responding to keyboard input.

Explore the application bar further. If you get stuck for ideas, complete the guide available on the Apple website.

The dock appears along the bottom of your screen, while the menu bar appears along the top.

Access the Dock and the General preference panes for more options relating to your Dock and Application Bar.

Task 5. Taking care of my Mac

There is also a separate guide available to demonstrate some good practices for taking good care of your device.

What do I do whenever I've finished using my Mac?

Whenever you finish using your Mac, the best thing to do is not to turn it off, but to put it to sleep by simply closing the lid.

With sleep mode, your Mac remains switched on but in a very low power state, keeping everything you were working on in its memory so that you can instantly return to what you were doing later.

Unlike most PC's, your Mac will last days on battery while it is sleeping - if not weeks!

To wake your Mac up again, just open the lid and re-enter your password. Everything will come back as though you had never left.

When should I turn the Mac off?

If your Mac is behaving strangely, or if it is bugging you to perform updates, you could choose to restart or turn the Mac off in an attempt to rectify the issue. You can also turn the Mac off if you know you won't be using it for a number of days.

How often should I charge my laptop? How do I care for my laptop's battery?

There are many approaches for when and how to charge your laptop. Our recommendation is very simple: If you have the charger and a powerpoint nearby, plug it in!

The more you are plugged in, the less the battery needs to be engaged, and so the longer it will last when it really matters!

Access the Energy Saver preference pane for more options relating to how your Mac deals with sleep and power.

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