Macintosh Basics | Macs at Tavelli | PSD-Net | IT Standards | Other
Max I. Macintosh Basics
If you have never used a Mac or even any computer before, one of the best places to start is to have a student, colleague or Mr. Durkin show you how to activate the Tour of Macintosh Basics that comes with every Mac. Please also check the current PSD Staff Development Catalog for introductory and advance classes regarding Macintosh use. The following Two Overviews section contains two examples from the web of general instructions for the Mac.
The general rule is (from the folks at Apple): If it is going to be used within the next eight hours, it is better to leave the computer ON. It is not a good thing for a Mac to be continually turned on and off during the course of a normal working day. Excessive heating and cooling of the hardware is a source of wear.
Therefore, if you use your computer at all, it is a handy practice to just turn on your computer(s) at the beginning of the day and then off at the end of the day. Doing this also helps with the maintenance of your computer. Software pdates are often done remotely during the school day. Having your computer off during that time can cause significant delays in your machine being updated.
Most classroom Macs have a security program called BDW Protector. Among other things, BDW serves to protect the computer from misuse. BDW operates at various user levels. Some of the levels are Guest, Internet, Staff, and Manager. For more information regarding BDW, please contact Mr. Durkin.
Macintosh computers use AppleShare and AppleTalk to allow users to share files, programs and even entire computers over a network. The PSD wide-area-network enables such sharing within Tavelli and with others throughout the district. For example, it is this concept that allows for the use of a central server (computer) to house all student work at Tavelli instead of it being spread out over scores of floppy disks and hard drives.
This portion of the PSD Network is made up of AppleTalk Zones. Tavelli is in the TAV_Elementary zone. Locations of the computers, applications, and files that are shared on the network within these zones are referred to as File Servers. As shown in the following graphic, there are many file servers at Tavelli. This display should be similar to what a user would see after selecting Chooser from the Apple menu of any networked Mac at Tavelli and then clicking once on the AppleShare icon that appears:
Tavelli Server and Reservations are two of the more commonly used file servers at Tavelli. Detailed instructions on how to use these and other files sharing features are included in the File Sharing section of Macs at Tavelli.
Please note: For convenience, aliases for commonly used file servers may be placed on the hard drives of workstations. This eliminates the need to activate Chooser in order to connect to such file servers . . . which is a good thing since BDW Protector at the Guest level disables Chooser. Confused? Don't be. Just read File Sharing in Macs at Tavelli.
More Macintosh Tips and Techniques
Macintosh tips from Cindy O'Hora.
The AppleMasters Program
Not so basic, or is it?
As Apple states, "Astronauts. Photographers. Authors. Filmmakers. Physicists. Entrepreneurs. The AppleMaster program recognizes a handful of extraordinary users who are using Apple technology to change the world."
This is an interesting site that profiles dozens of Macintosh users of various backgrounds. Several members of this site are famous in and out of their fields. This site depicts enlightening, practical and groundbreaking examples of Macintosh use. Many individual member sites contain helpful tips, tutorials and other resources to facilitate replication.
AppleMasters Index of Members
AppleMasters Program
Macintosh Basics | Macs at Tavelli | PSD-Net | IT Standards | Other
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