Using Mac OS X on a Mobile Computer

Using Mac OS X on a laptop Mac, such as an iBook or a PowerBook, isn't that much different than using it on a desk-bound machine. The three primary tasks unique to mobile Macs are the following:

• Managing your Mac's power

• Controlling your Mac with function keys

• Configuring and using the trackpad

Although managing locations isn't unique to mobile Macs, you are more likely to need to switch among network configurations when using a PowerBook or an iBook, so you need to understand how to use the Location Manager to make reconfiguring your Mac's network connections fast and easy.

Many users who have a mobile Mac also have a desktop Mac. When you use more than one machine, it is annoying to have to try to re-create certain information, such as your Safari bookmarks, on each machine you use. Fortunately, with Mac OS X you don't need to do that if you also have a .Mac account. Using .Mac and Synch preferences, you can synchronize key items that you use frequently on all your Macs so they are available to you at any time. When you make a change on one machine, such as updating an address in your Address Book, that change is made on each computer you have synchronized via .Mac. This is especially useful for keeping a mobile Mac in synch with your desktop Mac, and vice versa.

To learn how to use .Mac to synchronize computers, p. 512.

Another challenge to using more than one Mac, such as a mobile and desktop Mac, is accessing the same versions of the files you use. For example, you might work on a Word document on your mobile Mac and then want to use that same file on your desktop Mac. Fortunately, there are many ways to access the same files from different computers.

To learn how to use the same files on different computers, p. 333.