If you learned to use a computer at school as my children and grandchildren did, then you were able to process the whole thing slowly and had the extra benefit of a teacher to guide you. But if you're someone who who has had a more abrupt transition, learning can be more difficult.
When I learned to use a computer as a tool, not a typewriter, I was 55 and just out of graduate school. Everything about it tended to be frustrating and my usual solution to problems was to (a) annoy my children with questions, or (b) turn my computer off and then back on to see if the problem would go away.
Today our computers are even more sophisticated. For crying out loud, we have tablets that we can talk to and that talk back to us. We have phones that we can carry in our pockets, and there are three types of mice that we can choose to use, that is, if we don’t have to learn to use a trackpad. Users moving from a PC to a Mac are often confused by the terminology and by the set up.
And so, for the beginners among us, I am going to go back to the basics and I am putting together printed material that can be downloaded by anyone who needs it. If you are helping someone learn to enter the computer universe, or if you know someone who is trying to learn it on their own, then feel free to share this information. It may be too basic for some, but I know from teaching classes that others will be glad to have the resource.
The first two parts are available now. The first covers the Finder and different kinds of mice or trackpads that can be used.
The second covers the Mavericks desktop and what each part is for.
The third part, when ready, will cover definitions of words that Mac users throw around like candy, and frequently totally confuse new users.
I hope some readers find this to be useful.