A Man and His Machine - The Dilemma of a First Time User June 16th I recently saw statistics right here in The Mac Observer that said that 32 percent of the people buying iMacs are first time computer buyers. That percentage goes up to 49 percent in Japan. My friend "Sam" seems to be typical of some of those first time users and I asked him to tell me some of the confusing things he has encountered since he got his very first computer. "Sam" is over 70 and retired. He got his iMac as a Christmas gift from loving family members. Those family members live very far away so are not available to help him with daily problems and/or questions. The machine was set up and a brief demonstration was given to "Sam" before he had to pack it up again and return to Texas. Once back home he was easily able to set up the machine because iMacs are just so easy to set up. However, he had problems with the Internet hookup and he really did not know where to start using his machine. His family members gave him an iMac handbook that is really quite good. However, in "Sam's" case it is a little like having to competently speak French before he can order a simple meal. How does he keep from starving to death before he masters French? In May he had a professional technical support company go to his home and get everything working properly. However, he had lots of time between Christmas and May to become thoroughly intimidated. Without the ability to successfully surf the net, he didn't have much in the way of resources to get more comfortable. And he had one more problem – "Sam" has never learned to type or even used a typewriter so he didn't know how to utilize the keyboard. For instance, he was particularly frustrated by the fact that he couldn't figure out how to make the @ sign type for e-mail addresses. Mostly when he tried all he could get was the number 2, but sometimes he got the @ sign and was able to actually send an e-mail. He just couldn't figure out why it worked some of the time and not at others. "Sam" and I spent some time together in front of his iMac and I think other brand new users might benefit from his questions and, perhaps, from my suggestions. So send this column to any Mac users you think might need some help. Also, feel free to print it out and snail mail it or hand it to them if you think that might help. I have gotten lots of letters from users who have thanked me for helping their parents do something on their Mac and hope that these Questions and Answers will help someone else. Questions Question: How do you make the @ sign work all the time? Answer: The @ sign, and any other symbol featured on the top of the number keys are accessed by holding down the Shift key while you type the number key. That is also the way you type capital letters. If you want to type whole words in all caps then you can push down the Caps Lock key. Everything will type in all caps until you push down the Cap Lock key again. Question: How do you use a CD? Answer: When you insert the CD (printed side up) into the CD tray and push it in, the CD will automatically load on the machine and when it has finished, a new icon will appear on your desktop. Unless your machine has very little hard drive space, the best thing to do with a program that comes on a CD is to load it on your hard drive. That way you can put the CD back in a safe place in case you need it in the future. Question: What do you do with a CD once this icon appears on the desktop and how do you load a CD on your hard drive? Answer: When you open that new CD icon on your desktop by double clicking (clicking twice) on it, a window will open. One of the items in the box should be a diamond shaped icon that may or may not say install. If you click on that diamond shaped icon the program will load on the hard drive. During the process you may be asked questions such as where do you want to save it. The best thing to do is follow the suggestions from the computer itself. For instance, it may say where do you want this saved and then offer you the option of your hard drive. You can usually just click yes, or ok. Question: What is the difference between a hard drive and a CD? Answer: The hard drive is permanently inside your computer. It is what holds all the data, software, and information we mean when we talk using a computer. On a Mac it is usually represented as an icon in the upper right corner of your desktop. A CD is more like a portable disk that usually conatins programs to be installed on your hard drive. Another way to think about it is that the hard drive is like your television and a CD is like your remote control. A CD gives you options, but the computer will run just fine without one. Question: How do you throw things away? Answer: The easiest way is to drag things to the trash. On my computer I do that by clicking once on the icon of what I want to throw away, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the icon to the trash. Question: How do you close programs? Answer: When you are in a program, just go to the "File" pull down menu and select "Quit" by dragging the mouse down to where it says "Quit." When you let go of your mouse button, your program will close. Question: What happens if you throw something away when you didn't mean to? Is it gone forever? Answer: So long as you have not emptied the trash you can retrieve anything from it. Click on the trash icon and when the box opens, drag the program or document you want back out onto your desktop somewhere in an unused space. That is all there is too it. It won't go back in the trash unless you once again physically put it there. You can not open documents while they are still in the trash so be sure to drag them out first. Question: How do you empty the trash and why is it necessary? Answer: Click anywhere on your desktop in a blank space. If you have programs open that will let the computer know that you don't want to work on them. When you do this the title bars for the open programs will be grayed out. Click on the Pull-down menu labeled "Special" and, holding down the mouse button, move the cursor down to the option for empty trash. When you let up on the mouse button, the trash will be emptied. Your computer may or may not ask if you really want to empty the trash before it does so. It is necessary to periodically empty your trash because even though something has been thrown away, it will continue to take up space while it is in the trash. Question: What should I do first to learn to use my computer comfortably? Answer: (a) Learn to type. 10 words per minute are fine so long as you can become more comfortable with your keyboard. My father worked in the typewriter business for 40 years and he still types using the Columbus System; i.e., hunt for a key and land on it. However you really must understand about the shift keys and the control keys and the arrow keys on your keyboard. The teaching programs you can get now are great and much more fun than when I learned on that old standard typewriter in high school with the teacher who would swat our hands with a ruler if we didn't sit up straight. You can get shareware programs to help you learn to type at www.download.com, search for "typing." (b) Play games that you enjoy. As I have said in previous columns, I learned more about using the computer that way than reading all the manuals in the world. (c) Pick tasks and learn them one at a time. You can't learn it all at once. Think of it as learning how to order steak in French to hold you over until you learn how to ask for dessert. I suggested that "Sam" take some of my columns or other aids and work his way through tasks one by one until he was comfortable with each thing. It is amazing how your skills will grow using this method. (d) Read some of the great Mac web sites on the Internet. I will, in all humbleness, point to my own columns which are aimed at new and older Mac users. But there are lots of other sites out there and most of them have some great Mac information. I will also suggest that you use a resource like our own MacOS News Around The Web found at http://www.macobserver.com/macosnews/. This web page has links to other Mac articles, columns, stories, and editorials from the best Mac web sites. We even have a section of "Tips," some of which are ideally suited to novice users. There are new links every day so that even though not all stories or sites will interest everyone, if you keep looking at Mac web sites, you will find yourself learning more and more about your Mac. I envy "Sam" the new world of exploration that he has in front of him. I can hardly wait until he starts designing and printing his own birthday cards or making news letters or learning to play chess, or whatever else he wants to do; and I plan to check back with him in a few months and see how he is doing and what he recommends to other new users. If you have any tips, hints, or thoughts on these topics, make sure you write me so that I can share your thoughts with other readers.