Chapter 1. Mac OS X Leopard 101 (Prerequisites: None)
In This Chapter
Understanding what an operating system is and is not
Turning on your Mac
Getting to know the startup process
Turning off your Mac
Avoiding major Mac mistakes
Pointing, clicking, dragging, and other uses for your mouse
Getting help from your Mac
Congratulate yourself on choosing Mac OS X, which stands for Macintosh Operating System X — that's the Roman numeral ten, not the letter X (pronounced ten, not ex). You made a smart move because you scored more than just an operating system upgrade. Mac OS X Leopard includes a plethora of new or improved features to make using your Mac easier and dozens more that help you do more work in less time.
In this chapter, I start at the very beginning and talk about Mac OS X in mostly abstract terms; then I move on to explain important information that you need to know to use Mac OS X Leopard successfully.
If you've been using Mac OS X for a while, you might find some of the information in this chapter hauntingly familiar; some features that I describe haven't changed from earlier versions of Mac OS X. But if you decide to skip this chapter because you think you have all the new stuff figured out, I assure you that you'll miss at least a couple of things that Apple didn't bother to tell you (as if you read every word in Mac OS X Help, the only user manual Apple provides, anyway!).
Tantalized? Let's rock.
If you're about to upgrade to Leopard from an earlier version of Mac OS X, I feel obliged ...
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