Mac OS X Beginners' Tips

Mac OS X Leopard is on the prowl. After months of hype and anticipation, Apple’s latest operating system is the company’s best launch ever, and it brings plenty of innovative (and just plain cool) features to potential switchers, such as Desktop Sharing, Spaces, and Time Machine. With Apple holding a solid 8.8 percent of the U.S. notebook market, according to research firm IDC, more people than ever are being introduced to Apple’s computing platform. For many, this will be the first foray into the world of Mac, and although the OS is fairly easy to use, there’s a definite learning curve for those accustomed to the Windows interface.

Upon booting up, you’ll notice that the Mac’s desktop is laid out differently than the ones found on PCs; it’s remarkably clutter-free. This cleanliness is attributed to the Dock, the bar located at the bottom of the screen, which houses OS X’ applications. At the top of the desktop you’ll find the Menu Bar, a dynamically changing bar that displays the functions and commands available to the currently active program or window (this differs from Window’s individual menu bars for each application). The lone desktop icon is Mac’s hard drive icon, the Apple equivalent of My Computer.

We’ve put together this Mac Switcher’s Guide to help you get used to these small but significant differences. We’ll walk you through the important shortcuts, features, and programs that you’ll need to familiarize yourself with in order to get the most out of your Mac. Here’s to your successful migration.