Computer Tips

I could really use some help here. A client gave me a MacBook Air for Christmas and suddenly I feel computer illiterate! I never knew they were so different from a Dell. Wow. It took me an hour to realize I had to bluetooth the magic mouse to make it work. And no right click??? I stumbled across the copy and paste accidentally. And the touch pad.. well, its a navigational launch pad for the whole computer??? I have an iPad and an iPhone. Are they similar in any way? Does this system use apps? Are my apps interchangeable with all my devices? Will the iCloud work on all three?

If anyone knows how to attach items to an email I sure would like to learn. I would appreciate any PM's with advice or tips on how to work this computer system.

Thanks,
LilRed

OMG..... my brain nearly blew up just READING your post! That is one area where I am completely inept! I know there is someone out there who can walk you through it. Enjoy your new toy!

I sure would like to help, but don't know much about te Mac, with the exception of the iPhone.

I do know this, a MacBook WILL be my next laptop

It is pretty amazing. I have been playing with it all day on and off and I have found all kinds of things. It only weighs about a pound and that is with a 13" screen! And talk about fast. It loads up in seconds! It is also over-whelming to someone who has never used one before. I think having other Apple products has helped me a little, but not that much.

Hi Red, Glad to see you home. Hope you had a great trip. I never used one before but I am pretty good at figuring things out. Let me know if you are still stumbling through it. We can plan a work date, lol

The great thing about Apple is the customer service. Look up the nearest Apple store and you can sign up for free classes and they will show you some tricks and answer all your questions. I've been an Apple user for 4 years, never had a virus or a blue screen. The warranties are amazing.

Hi Red, Glad to see you home. Hope you had a great trip. I never used one before but I am pretty good at figuring things out. Let me know if you are still stumbling through it. We can plan a work date, lol Originally Posted by neglecedpole

.

It is nice to be home on solid ground again. The water was the most beautiful blue I have ever seen!!! I took sooooo many pictures. I ran out of time before I ran out of things to do. Got drunk in Mexico at Senior Frogs I had a GREAT time.

Sorry I missed you last week, but lets re-schedule that appointment and I'll match your time for your help. I am definitely still stumbling through it!

The great thing about Apple is the customer service. Look up the nearest Apple store and you can sign up for free classes and they will show you some tricks and answer all your questions. I've been an Apple user for 4 years, never had a virus or a blue screen. The warranties are amazing. Originally Posted by myn4kix

The more I am learning, the more I am loving my new toy! I had heard they were wonderful about deterring viruses. My daughter called me yesterday and told me about the Apple classes. She said they help a lot.

What is a blue screen?

Red, keep playing around with it. The only way to really learn about it is to play with it. Oh, and there is right click. Its the right side of your mouse pad. BUT, apple is more of a highlight and drag machine rather than cut and paste.

Home and work I am all apple. They are amazing machines. You will never go back once you have one. Best of luck!

What is a blue screen?
Many times when Microsoft PC's quit working the screen turns blue and the computer will not respond. It's better known as the "Blue Screen of Death".

Red, keep playing around with it. The only way to really learn about it is to play with it. Oh, and there is right click. Its the right side of your mouse pad. BUT, apple is more of a highlight and drag machine rather than cut and paste.

Home and work I am all apple. They are amazing machines. You will never go back once you have one. Best of luck! Originally Posted by Stick1969

Stick, I have been playing with it for days now. I finally figured out that all my needed right click activities are at the top of the screen like a word document! I can change the color of my text but yet to figure out how to highlight a whole sentence. And I thought I was pretty savvy on computers. Guess my college classes with a Commodore64 are waaaaaay out of date!! ( yes, I am THAT old, Graduated UGA in 92'!!!) But you are right. I am learning more and more each time. Still going to sign up for a tutoring class and I have a couple of 'working' appts this week too!

Lil Red,Stick is right once you get the hang,it will be so easy you will never look back.
Your tutorials will help.You just need to try and re-learn.
Bit like the iphone was so different at first, then when you get the hang it is so easy.

Your other option for right click (if you don't have a 2 button mouse) is to hold the CTRL key and click with the mouse. If you have a magic mouse, you have right click. Just have to keep your finger off left side of the mouse surface while you click on the right side for it to work.

If that doesn't work, then its not enabled in settings. Click on the little Apple Logo (  ) in the far top left of the screen and select system preferences. Under the hardware column, select mouse and you'll see settings that can be changed. Make sure the check box next to 'secondary click' is checked and the dropdown says right.

Most of the Windows shortcuts work the same in the mac. You just hold the Command Key (next to space bar) instead. So Command C is copy, command v is paste and command x is cut. Shift Option - (minus sign by the zero, plus/equal and delete key) is emphasized dash. Shift option K is the apple logo - always fun.

If you open System Preferences, select Language & Text from the Personal category bar, you can enable a little app that helps with the key codes. At the top of that panel is something saying 'Input Sources'. Highlight that tab and you'll see a lift of input methods. Scrool down until you see something called "Keyboard & Character Viewer". Highlight the checkbox next to it. This'll place a small icon in the upper right corner of your screen by the date that looks like a Window with a star in it. From there you can select the Character Viewer (lots of weird things) or the Keyboard Viewer. With the keyboard viewer open, you can see what the combinations will give you. For example, hold the Sift and Option keys after doing this and you can see where each special character is. Option only has some, mainly for foreign languages. Option e the pressing e again gives you é, if you do option e then a you get á. After the option e, the accent is highlighted and the keyboard viewer shows it over the letters that can be used with it.

Screenshots are Command Shift 3 for the entire desktop, Command Shift 4 (continue to hold one before) for a selection (you draw over what you want) or Command Shift 4 then after the crosshairs appear press the spacebar key and it'll take a picture of whatever open window you highlight.

What is a blue screen?
Many times when Microsoft PC's quit working the screen turns blue and the computer will not respond. It's better known as the "Blue Screen of Death". Originally Posted by myn4kix

what version of windows is this applicable to?

I know this applied to Windows 3.1 & win98se.

the newer windows version (vista & win7), if it crashes its black

apple is more of a highlight and drag machine rather than cut and paste. Originally Posted by Stick1969

Stick, I finally just fully comprehended the "drag" concept of Mac!!! I accidently drug an email address across the screen when I was trying to copy it to start a new email. I get it!