Macs All-in-One for Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Chapter I.4. Running, Installing, and Uninstalling Programs

In This Chapter

• Running programs from the Dock

• Double-clicking icons to start programs

• Switching between programs

• Using Spaces

• Shutting down programs

• Finding software

• Installing software

• Uninstalling software

After you power on your Mac and have the OS X operating system up and running, you can run any additional programs, such as a word processor, a video game, a Web browser, or an e-mail program. The number of programs you can load and run simultaneously is limited only by the amount of hard drive space and memory installed inside your Mac.

This chapter explains how to run, install, and uninstall software — also referred to as programs, or applications — for your Mac. Of course, before you install any software, you want to know how to run the programs that come with your Mac. When you're comfortable running your Mac's bundled software, you can then find new programs to install.

Because you have a physical limit on the amount of software you can install on your Mac, you have two choices. One, you can get another hard drive (an external drive or a larger internal drive) so you can keep installing more programs. Two, you can delete some programs that you don't want or need, which makes room for more programs that you do want and need.

Launching a Program

Running a program or application is also referred to as launching a program or application, or starting up a program or application. Very hip Mac users shorten the term by saying they ...