Every high school and junior high student in the Ballinger school district near San Angelo has been given a brand new MacBook. Lucky them.
Let’s assume that most of these youngsters have not owned a Mac before. What advice should we give them? What tips would make their computing life a happy one?
Here’s my list, which in some respects is similar to Alex Payne’s, linked above:
- don’t let your Mac automatically log you in. Pick a good system password and make sure you have to enter it to gain access
- back your stuff up. If your computer is going to die, the chances are good that it’ll die the day before you have to hand in that important assignment
- don’t overload your Applications folder with stuff you don’t need
- use a text editor to write. Only use a word processor for final formatting, if it’s necessary; even then, TextEdit or Bean are just fine for most of the basics
- learn about properly quitting apps (not just closing their windows); about using disk images and installing software from them; about grabbing screenshots with Command+Shift+3 and Command+Shift+4; about Expose and Spaces and Quick Look
Just a few tips off the top of my head. If you were in that school hall while those MacBooks were handed out, what advice would you have been giving the kids?
Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He also writes for the Press Association and The Morning News. You can find out more at his website, and follow him on Twitter @gilest.
