A Visual Tour of Mac OS X Tiger

For more information on the topics in this section, see Chapter 8.

How are Mac OS X and Windows different?

At one level, let me count the ways. But at another, they are both operating systems and offer the same features and functionality, just presented a little differently.

To me, the main difference is philosophical: Mac OS X sometimes trades off functionality in favor of ease of use. A Mac is very easy to use when Apple wants users to be able to do somethingprint, for examplebut at some point, features just seem to stop. On the Mac, performing a task goes from easy to impossible in no time at all.

Windows, by comparison, tries to do everything you might wantand lots you never will. The common tasks are easy, but the more esoteric a job is, the more difficult Windows functionality can become. Windows users tend to interact with the guts of their operating system more than Macintosh users do.

How do I learn to operate a Mac mini?

In my previous book, written for people switching from Windows to Mac systems, I went to probably excessive lengths to explain the Mac OS to Windows users. In this book, I have tried to include just enough information to make readers feel comfortable sitting down in front of Mac OS X and exploring the Mac mini.

I think you can learn the basics of the Mac mini in about two hours. There's not much you can do to mess up the machine (unless you start messing around in the Utilities folder, that is), so go ahead and have fun.

Regarding the new features in Tiger: I am a big fan of the Spotlight search feature, which has already significantly changed how I use my computer. Generally, I've stopped trying to find lost files or e-mails "the old way" (manually) and now just type what I am looking for into a Spotlight search.

Dashboard, which provides useful small applications that can be accessed easily from just about anywhere on the system, is interesting, especially if Apple can convince third-party developers to support it.