MacBook for Dummies

by Chambers, Mark L.

• ISBN13: 9781118209202
• ISBN10: 1118209206
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-19
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Get more out of your MacBook with the help of this savvy and easy Dummies guide Lighter, faster, and way cooler, the new MacBooks put the power of a desktop into your hands anywhere. Mac expert Mark Chambers shows you how to personalize your Desktop, stay connected while on the road, make movies with iMovie, create and share photos and videos, compose your own music with GarageBand, build a website with iWeb, and much more. Packed with coverage of the latest MacBook hardware including the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro plusOS X Lion, iCloud, iLife, and iWork, this new edition is completely revised and updated to let you in on all the secrets of the magnificent MacBook. Features updated coverage of the latest MacBook devices, OS X Lion, iCloud, iLife, and iWork Shows how to navigate with Mission Control and LaunchPad, sync everything with iCloud, and add some apps to your desktop experience Explains how to customize the dock and desktop; connect from the road; take your music mobile; use iWeb, iMovie, iPhoto, and GarageBand; and get to work the Mac way with the iWork productivity suite Gets readers acquainted with Multi-Touch gestures, Mail, and the Mac App Store MacBook For Dummies, 4th Edition helps you make friends with your MacBook the fun and easy way!

Author Biography

Mark L. Chambers is an author, a tech editor, and an unabashed Mac fan. He is the author of more than 30 computer books, including OSX Mountain Lion All-in-One For Dummies, Macs From Seniors For Dummies, and iPhone 5 First Steps for Dummies.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
What's Really Required	p. 2
About This Book	p. 2
Conventions Used in This Book	p. 3
How This Book Is Organized	p. 4
Icons Used in This Book	p. 6
Where to Go from Here	p. 7
A Final Word	p. 7
Tie Myself Down with a Desktop? Preposterous!	p. 9
Hey, It Really Does Have Everything I Need	p. 11
An Overview of Your Mac Laptop	p. 12
Meet the MacBooks	p. 19
Location, Location, Location!	p. 25
Unpacking and Connecting Your Laptop	p. 26
Great, a Lecture about Handling My Laptop	p. 28
An Overview of Mac Software Goodness	p. 29
Other Stuff That Nearly Everyone Wants	p. 31
Turning On Your Portable Powerhouse	p. 35
Tales of the On Button	p. 35
Mark's Favorite Signs of a Healthy Laptop	p. 36
You're Not Going to Lecture about Batteries, Are You?	p. 37
Setting Up and Registering Your Laptop	p. 40
Importing Stuff from Another Mac	p. 42
Importing Stuff from Windows (If You Must)	p. 45
The Laptop Owner's Introduction to OS X	p. 47
Your Own Personal Operating System	p. 48
And Just in Case You Need Help	p. 54
Shaking Hands with OSX	p. 57
Opening and Closing and Tapping and Such	p. 59
Using the All-Powerful Finder	p. 60
Wait a Second: Where the Heck Are the Mouse Buttons?	p. 62
Launching and Quitting Applications with Aplomb	p. 65
Juggling Folders and Icons	p. 69
Keys and Keyboard Shortcuts to Fame and Fortune	p. 75
Performing Tricks with Finder Windows	p. 77
Getting to the Heart of Mountain Lion	p. 81
Home, Sweet Home Folder	p. 81
Personalizing Your Desktop	p. 84
Customizing the Dock Just So	p. 86
What's with the Trash?	p. 88
Working Magic with Mission Control and the Dashboard	p. 90
Printing in OSX	p. 94
A Nerd's Guide to System Preferences	p. 97
An Explanation - in English, No Less	p. 97
Locating That Certain Special Setting	p. 100
Popular Preference Panes Explained	p. 101
Sifting through Your Stuff	p. 115
A Not-So-Confusing Introduction to Spotlight	p. 115
Other Search Tools Are Available, Too	p. 123
With Widgets, the Internet Is Your Resource	p. 124
Using Reminders, Notes, and Notifications	p. 127
Remind Me to Use Reminders	p. 127
Taking Notes the Mountain Lion Way	p. 130
Staying Current with Notification Center	p. 132
Connecting and Communicating	p. 135
Let's Go on Safari!	p. 137
Pretend You've Never Used This Thing	p. 137
Visiting Websites	p. 139
Navigating the Web	p. 141
Setting Up Your Home Page	p. 144
Adding and Using Bookmarks	p. 145
Downloading Files	p. 147
Using History	p. 148
Tabs Are Your Browsing Friends	p. 148
Saving Web Pages	p. 150
Protecting Your Privacy	p. 151
iCIoud Is Made for MacBooks	p. 155
So How Does iCIoud Work, Anyway?	p. 155
Configuring iCIoud	p. 157
Managing Your iCIoud Storage	p. 158
Your Laptop Goes Multiuser	p. 161
Once Upon a Time (an Access Fairy Tale)	p. 162
Big-Shot Administrator Stuff	p. 163
Mundane Chores for the Multiuser Laptop	p. 175
Working Well with Networks	p. 181
What Exactly Is the Network Advantage?	p. 181
Should You Go Wired or Wireless?	p. 182
Be a Pal - Share Your Internet!	p. 184
What Do I Need to Connect?	p. 186
Connecting to the Network	p. 194
Use Your Firewall!	p. 199
Spreading the Word with Messages and Face Time	p. 201
Configuring Messages	p. 202
Working with Messages	p. 203
Changing Modes in Messages	p. 205
Will You Be My Buddy?	p. 207
Chat! Chat, I Say!	p. 208
Conversing with iMessages	p. 211
Sharing Screens with Aplomb	p. 212
Sending Files with Messages	p. 213
Eliminating the Riffraff	p. 214
Adding Visual Effects	p. 215
Conversing with FaceTime	p. 216
Living the iLife	p. 219
The Multimedia Joy of iTunes	p. 221
What Can I Play on iTunes?	p. 221
Playing an Audio CD	p. 223
Playing Digital Audio and Video	p. 224
Keeping Slim Whitman and Slim Shady Apart: Organizing with Playlists	p. 229
Know Your Songs	p. 230
Ripping Audio Files	p. 233
Tweaking the Audio for Your Ears	p. 235
A New Kind of Radio Station	p. 236
iSending iStuff to iPod	p. 238
Sharing Media across a Network	p. 239
Burning Music to Shiny Plastic Discs	p. 240
Feasting on iTunes Visuals	p. 242
Exercising Parental Authority	p. 243
Buying Digital Media the Apple Way	p. 245
The Masterpiece That Is iPhoto	p. 247
Delving into iPhoto	p. 247
Working with Images in iPhoto	p. 250
Producing Your Own Coffee-Table Masterpiece	p. 265
Putting Photo Stream to Work	p. 269
Making Film History with iMovie	p. 271
Shaking Hands with the iMovie Window	p. 272
A Bird's-Eye View of Moviemaking	p. 275
Importing the Building Blocks	p. 276
Building the Cinematic Basics	p. 283
Creating an Honest-to-Goodness Movie Trailer	p. 289
Sharing Your Finished Classic with Others	p. 291
Recording Your Hits with GarageBand	p. 293
Shaking Hands with Your Band	p. 294
Composing and Podcasting Made Easy	p. 296
Automatic Composition with Magic GarageBand	p. 309
Sharing Your Songs and Podcasts	p. 311
Getting Productive with iWork	p. 315
Desktop Publishing with Pages	p. 317
Creating a New Pages Document	p. 317
Opening an Existing Pages Document	p. 318
Saving Your Work	p. 319
Touring the Pages Window	p. 320
Entering and Editing Text	p. 321
Using Text and Graphics Boxes	p. 321
The Three Amigos: Cut, Copy, and Paste	p. 322
Formatting Text the Easy Way	p. 323
Adding a Spiffy Table	p. 324
Adding Alluring Photos	p. 325
Adding a Background Shape	p. 327
Are You Sure about That Spelling?	p. 327
Printing Your Pages Documents	p. 328
Sharing That Poster with Others	p. 329
Creating Spreadsheets with Numbers	p. 331
Before You Launch Numbers…	p. 332
Creating a New Numbers Document	p. 332
Opening an Existing Spreadsheet File	p. 333
Save Those Spreadsheets!	p. 334
Exploring the Numbers Window	p. 335
Navigate and Select Cells in a Spreadsheet	p. 336
Entering and Editing Data in a Spreadsheet	p. 337
Selecting the Correct Number Format	p. 338
Aligning Cell Text Just So	p. 339
Format with Shading	p. 340
Insert and Delete Rows and Columns	p. 341
The Formula Is Your Friend	p. 342
Adding Visual Punch with a Chart	p. 344
Building Presentations with Keynote	p. 347
Creating a New Keynote Project	p. 348
Opening a Keynote Presentation	p. 349
Saving Your Presentation	p. 349
Putting Keynote to Work	p. 350
Adding Slides	p. 351
Working with Text and Graphics Boxes	p. 352
Adding and Editing Slide Text	p. 353
Formatting Slide Text for the Perfect Look	p. 354
Using Notes in Your Project	p. 354
Every Good Presentation Needs Media	p. 355
Adding a Background Shape	p. 356
Creating Your Keynote Slideshow	p. 356
Printing Your Slides and Notes	p. 357
Necessary Evils: Troubleshooting, Upgrading, Maintaining	p. 361
When Good Mac Laptops Go Bad	p. 363
Repeat after Me: Yes, I Am a Tech!	p. 363
Step-by-Step Laptop Troubleshooting	p. 364
Okay, I Kicked It, and It Still Won't Work	p. 375
Adding New Stuff to Your Laptop	p. 377
More Memory Will Help	p. 377
Considering a Hard Drive Upgrade?	p. 382
A List of Dreamy Laptop Add-Ons	p. 386
Tackling the Housekeeping	p. 389
Cleaning Unseemly Data Deposits	p. 389
Backing Up Your Treasure	p. 393
Maintaining Hard Drive Health	p. 397
Automating Those Mundane Chores	p. 397
Updating OS X Automatically	p. 400
The Part of Tens	p. 401
Top Ten Laptop Rules to Follow	p. 403
Keep Your Laptop in a Bag	p. 403
Maximize Your RAM	p. 404
Install a Tracker Application	p. 405
Keepest Thy Drive Encrypted	p. 405
Brand Your MacBook	p. 406
Disable Your Wireless	p. 406
Bring a Surge Protector with You	p. 407
Use Power-Saving Features	p. 408
Use an External Keyboard and Mouse	p. 408
Not Again! What Is It with You and Backing Up?	p. 409
Ten Things to Avoid Like the Plague	p. 411
USB 1.1 Storage Devices	p. 411
Phishing Operations	p. 412
Oddly Shaped Optical Discs	p. 413
Submerged Keyboards	p. 414
Antiquated Utility Software	p. 414
Software Piracy	p. 414
The Forbidden Account	p. 415
Unsecured Wireless Connections	p. 415
Refurbished Hardware	p. 416
Dirty Laptops	p. 417
Index	p. 419
Bonus Chapter 1: Putting Bluetooth to Work	p. B1
Bonus Chapter 2: Running Windows with Boot Camp	p. B9
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