Datasheet

18
Part I: Introducing OS X Lion: The Basics
✓ Don’t forget to back up your data! If the stuff on your hard drive means
anything to you, you must back it up. Not maybe. Must. Even if your
most important file is your last saved game of Bejeweled, you still need
to back up your files. Fortunately, Mac OS X Lion includes an awesome
backup utility called Time Machine. (Unfortunately, you need either an
external hard drive or an Apple Time Capsule device to take advantage
of it.) So I beg you: Please read Chapter 18 now, and find out how to
back up before something horrible happens to your valuable data!
I strongly recommend that you read Chapter 18 sooner rather than
later — preferably before you do any significant work on your Mac. Dr.
Macintosh says, “There are only two kinds of Mac users: those who will
not lose data and those who will.” Which kind do you want to be?
✓ Don’t kiss your monitor while wearing stuff on your lips. For obvious rea-
sons! Use a soft cloth and/or OmniCleanz display cleaning solution (I love
the stuff, made by RadTech; www.radtech.us) to clean your display.
Point-and-click boot camp
Are you new to the Mac? Just figuring out how to move the mouse around?
Now is a good time to go over some fundamental stuff that you need to know
for just about everything you’ll be doing on the Mac. Spend a few minutes
reading this section, and soon you’ll be clicking, double-clicking, pressing,
and pointing all over the place. If you think you have the whole mousing thing
pretty much figured out, feel free to skip this section. I’ll catch you on the
other side.
Still with me? Good. Now for some basic terminology:
✓ Point: Before you can click or press anything, you have to point to it.
Place your hand on your mouse, and move it so that the cursor arrow is
over the object you want — like on top of an icon or a button.
✓ Click: Also called single click. Use your index finger to push the mouse
button all the way down and then let go so the button produces a satis-
fying clicking sound. (If you have one of the new optical Apple Pro mice,
you push down the whole thing to click.) Use a single-click to highlight
an icon, press a button, or activate a check box or window.
In other words, first you point and then you click — point and click, in
computer lingo.
✓ Double click: Click twice in rapid succession. With a little practice, you
can perfect this technique in no time. Use a double click to open a folder
or to launch a file or application.
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