Mac - The Beginners’ Guide

Macs are great. They’re robust, user friendly and unlike many other computers, they’re ideal for beginners; but there’s still a lot to learn. If you need a helping hand as you take your first tentative steps with your Mac and macOS, its operating system, Mac - The Beginners’ Guide is here to help. We show you how to set up your Mac out of the box and upgrade your operating system to the latest version: the brand new macOS High Sierra. All the Mac’s key bundled apps are covered, with in-depth, plain English guides to Safari, Mail, Photos, iTunes and more. As well as showing you how to use these apps’ basic features, we also bring you their more advanced functions; even if you’ve been using an app for a…

Desktop. iMac Apple’s popular desktop Mac goes from strength to strength. It’s a computer and a monitor, all in one unit. The iMac is ideal for home or home office use. With the computer, hard drive and screen all in one unit, you only have one thing to plug in. Available in 21-inch or 27-inch versions, all but the cheapest iMac have amazing 4K or 5K displays, for incredible clarity. The iMac’s only drawback is it’s definitely not suitable if you need to transport it from A to B regularly, but apart from that, it’s great. Price. Most expensive: £2,249, $2,299, 2.599 € Cheapest model: £1,049, $1,099, 1.299 € Mac mini Apple’s small form factor computer is the cheapest way to own a Mac. But is it the right model…

iMac. Mac mini. MacBook. MacBook Pro. MacBook Air. Your Ports Explained. Now you know what the ports on your Mac are called but what do they do? Here’s a guide to your computer’s various connectivity options. Audio In You can use this port to connect an external audio device to your Mac. This might be an external microphone, a CD player, audio mixer or a musical instrument. Dual Mics The Mac’s internal microphones are great for FaceTime calls, Siri and more. Dual mics help reduce background noise by focussing on your voice alone. Ethernet Port All current Macs have built-in Wi-Fi but if you want to use a cabled connection to your router instead, use the Ethernet port and an Ethernet cable. Headphone Socket This is a standard 3.5mm socket…

Switch it On! Before you can get started with your new Mac, you have to switch it on. The power button is in the top right corner of the keyboard on a notebook or on the back of a desktop Mac. Press it and you hear the start-up tone that indicates your Mac is booting up. Terms and Conditions Next comes the notorious Terms and Conditions page. We’d recommend that you read through this, since it is a legal document, but since you can’t use your new Apple laptop computer unless you agree to the terms, you have to click Agree when ready to. Sign In If you already have an Apple ID, enter your email address or username, and then your password to sign in. If you’ve forgotten it,…

Upgrading Your Mac to High Sierra It’s time to upgrade to macOS 10.13: High Sierra. If you’re upgrading a notebook Mac, make sure it’s connected to the mains. 1 First of all, open the App Store and find the High Sierra operating system. Do a search if it’s not immediately visible on the front page. Click on macOS High Sierra to get to the download page. 2 When you get to the High Sierra download page, you can read all about the new OS. When you’re ready, click on Download. It may take some time if you have a slow Internet connection. 3 When the installer is fully downloaded, it automatically launches with this screen. Click Continue if you’re ready to install and if not, quit it and install from…

Going Online with Your Mac This short guide teaches you how to take your Mac online, by setting up and using a Wi-Fi or an Ethernet connection. 1 Make sure your Mac is within range of your wireless router. Click on the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar as shown, and look at the list of available Wi-Fi networks. If Wi-Fi is currently turned off, switch it on using this same icon. 2 Find the name of your own Wi-Fi network. If you don’t know it, check your router’s instruction manual, or maybe look for a sticker on the router itself. Choose that network, and if prompted, enter the password. This too should be in the router manual or on the router. 3 Make sure Remember this Network is checked,…