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Learn how to drive the coolest laptop on the planet

You took the plunge, paid extra, and—even though it looks and feels like perfection—have that fleeting doubt: is my MacBook really worth the investment? You'll be pleased to know that the answer is totally yes, and MacBook For Dummies is the ultimate way to learn the thousand and one reasons why the MacBook Pro or Air you now own is a modern masterpiece—as well as the ten thousand and one (and counting) things you can do with it. With its super-smooth performance, top-shelf LED screen, rugged reliability, and powerful, trouble-free operating system, you're going to have a lot of fun.

Keeping jargon to a minimum, Mark L. Chambers—prolific tech author and all-round Mac whiz—gives you a friendly, step-by-step welcome to everything MacBook, from reviewing the hardware and powering up for the first time to getting familiar with files, security settings, launching apps, and entering the digital netherworld of iCloud. Then, with the basics reassuringly in place, you can begin your journey to power-user mastery in whatever areas of MacBook-ing you're most interested in, from doing the accounts in Numbers to perfecting that soon-to-be-released cinematic classic (with original score) using iMovie and GarageBand.

  • Get familiar with the latest macOS, Big Sur
  • Communicate with Messages and FaceTime
  • Stream music, movies, and TV shows
  • Manage and edit photos and video clips

Whether you're a PC convert, Mac veteran, or completely new to the astonishing potential of the MacBook world, you'll find everything you need to get the most out of the technical marvel that's now at your command.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. Foolish Assumptions
    2. About This Book
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Part 1: Tie Myself Down with a Desktop? Preposterous!
    1. Chapter 1: Hey, It Really Does Have Everything I Need
    2. An Overview of Your Mac Laptop
    3. Meet the MacBooks
    4. Location, Location, Location!
    5. Unpacking and Connecting Your Laptop
    6. Great — a Lecture about Handling My Laptop
    7. An Overview of Mac Software Goodness
    8. Other Stuff That Nearly Everyone Wants
    9. Chapter 2: Turning On Your Portable Powerhouse
    10. Tales of the On Button
    11. Mark’s Favorite Signs of a Healthy Laptop
    12. You Won’t Lecture Me about Batteries, Will You?
    13. Setting Up and Registering Your Laptop
    14. Importing Stuff from Another Mac
    15. Importing Stuff from Windows (If You Must)
    16. Chapter 3: The MacBook Owner’s Introduction to macOS Big Sur
    17. Your Own Personal Operating System
    18. The Big Sur Desktop
    19. Wait a Second: Where the Heck Are the Mouse Buttons?
    20. Launching and Quitting Applications with Aplomb
    21. Performing Tricks with Finder Windows
    22. Juggling Folders and Icons
    23. Keys and Keyboard Shortcuts to Fame and Fortune
    24. Home, Sweet Home Folder
    25. Working with Mission Control
    26. Switching Desktops with Spaces
    27. Personalizing Your Desktop
    28. Taking Control of Your MacBook
    29. Customizing the Dock
    30. What’s with the Trash?
    31. All You Really Need to Know about Printing
    32. And Just in Case You Need Help …
  6. Part 2: Shaking Hands with macOS Big Sur
    1. Chapter 4: What’s New in macOS Big Sur?
    2. Introducing the Control Center
    3. The Return of the Widgets
    4. Your Guide to the Perfect Trip
    5. Safari Covers New Ground
    6. Messages Adds Effects, Images, and … Pins?
    7. Becoming One with Your Battery
    8. Chapter 5: A Nerd’s Guide to System Preferences
    9. An Explanation — without Jargon, No Less
    10. Locating That Certain Special Setting
    11. Popular Preferences Panes Explained
    12. Chapter 6: Sifting Through Your Stuff
    13. Doing a Basic Search
    14. How Cool Is That? Discovering What Spotlight Can Do
    15. Expanding Your Search Horizons
    16. Customizing Spotlight to Your Taste
    17. Chapter 7: Using Reminders, Notes, Notifications, and Maps
    18. Remind Me to Use Reminders
    19. Taking Notes the Big Sur Way
    20. Staying Current with Notification Center
    21. Introducing the Maps Application
    22. Switching Views in Maps
    23. Getting Directions Over Yonder
    24. Creating and Using Guides
  7. Part 3: Connecting and Communicating
    1. Chapter 8: Let’s Go on Safari!
    2. Pretend You’ve Never Used This Thing
    3. Visiting Websites
    4. Navigating the Web
    5. Configuring Your Home Page and Start Page
    6. Adding and Using Bookmarks
    7. Working with the Reading List
    8. Downloading Files
    9. Using History
    10. Tabs Are Your Browsing Friends
    11. Printing Web Pages
    12. Protecting Your Privacy
    13. Chapter 9: iCloud Is Made for MacBooks
    14. So How Does iCloud Work, Anyway?
    15. Moving, Saving, and Opening iCloud Documents
    16. Putting Handoff to Work
    17. Expanding Your Horizons with Sidecar
    18. Configuring iCloud
    19. Managing Your iCloud Storage
    20. Chapter 10: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser
    21. Once Upon a Time (an Access Fairy Tale)
    22. Big-Shot Administrator Stuff
    23. Tackling Mundane Chores for the Multiuser Laptop
    24. Chapter 11: Working Well with Networks
    25. What Exactly Is the Network Advantage?
    26. Should You Go Wired or Wireless?
    27. Be a Pal: Share Your Internet!
    28. What Do I Need to Connect?
    29. Connecting to the Network
    30. USE YOUR FIREWALL!
    31. Playing Buck Rogers with FaceTime
    32. Sending Instant Messages Across the Network
  8. Part 4: Living the iLife
    1. Chapter 12: The Multimedia Joys of Music and TV
    2. What Can I Play in Music?
    3. Playing Digital Audio Files
    4. Keeping Slim Whitman and Slim Shady Apart: Organizing with Playlists
    5. Know Your Songs
    6. Ripping Audio Files
    7. Tweaking the Audio for Your Ears
    8. A New Kind of Radio Station
    9. iSending iStuff to iPhone and iPad
    10. Burning Music to Shiny Plastic Circles
    11. Feasting on Music Visuals
    12. Exercising Parental Authority
    13. Watching Video with TV
    14. Buying Digital Media the Apple Way
    15. Chapter 13: Focusing on Photos
    16. Delving into Photos
    17. Working with Images in Photos
    18. Exploring iCloud Photos
    19. Putting My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing to Work
    20. Chapter 14: Making Film History with iMovie
    21. Shaking Hands with the iMovie Window
    22. A Bird’s-Eye View of Moviemaking
    23. Importing the Building Blocks
    24. Building the Cinematic Basics
    25. Creating an Honest-to-Goodness Movie Trailer
    26. Browsing Your Video Library
    27. Sharing Your Finished Classic
    28. Chapter 15: Recording Your Hits with GarageBand
    29. Shaking Hands with Your Band
    30. Composing Made Easy
    31. Sharing Your Songs
  9. Part 5: Getting Productive and Maintaining Your MacBook
    1. Chapter 16: Desktop Publishing with Pages
    2. Creating a New Pages Document
    3. Opening an Existing Pages Document
    4. Saving Your Work
    5. Touring the Pages Window
    6. Entering and Editing Text
    7. Using Text, Shapes, and Graphics Boxes
    8. The Three Amigos: Cut, Copy, and Paste
    9. Formatting Text the Easy Way
    10. Adding a Spiffy Table
    11. Adding Alluring Photos
    12. Adding a Background Shape
    13. Are You Sure about That Spelling?
    14. Set Your Font Defaults and Speed Things Up
    15. Printing Your Pages Documents
    16. Sharing That Poster with Others
    17. Chapter 17: Creating Spreadsheets with Numbers
    18. Before You Launch Numbers …
    19. Creating a New Numbers Document
    20. Opening an Existing Spreadsheet File
    21. Save Those Spreadsheets!
    22. Exploring the Numbers Window
    23. Navigating and Selecting Cells in a Spreadsheet
    24. Entering and Editing Data in a Spreadsheet
    25. Selecting the Correct Number Format
    26. Aligning Cell Text Just So
    27. Formatting with Shading
    28. Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns
    29. The Formula Is Your Friend
    30. Adding Visual Punch with a Chart
    31. Printing Your Spreadsheet
    32. Chapter 18: Building Presentations with Keynote
    33. Creating a New Keynote Project
    34. Opening a Keynote Presentation
    35. Saving Your Presentation
    36. Putting Keynote to Work
    37. Adding Slides
    38. Working with Text, Shapes, and Graphics Boxes
    39. Adding and Editing Slide Text
    40. Formatting Slide Text for the Perfect Look
    41. Using Presenter’s Notes in Your Project
    42. Every Good Presentation Needs Media
    43. Adding a Background Shape
    44. Creating Your Keynote Slideshow
    45. Printing Your Slides and Notes
    46. Chapter 19: When Good Mac Laptops Go Bad
    47. Repeat after Me: Yes, I Am a Tech!
    48. Step-by-Step Laptop Troubleshooting
    49. Using Mark’s MacBook Troubleshooting Tree
    50. Okay, I Kicked It, and It Still Won’t Work
    51. And Now … Windows?
    52. Chapter 20: Adding New Stuff to Your Laptop
    53. More Memory Will Help
    54. Considering an Internal Drive Upgrade?
    55. A List of Dreamy Laptop Add-Ons
    56. Chapter 21: Tackling the Housekeeping
    57. Cleaning Unseemly Data Deposits
    58. Backing Up Your Treasure
    59. Maintaining Drive Health
    60. Automating Those Mundane Chores
    61. Updating macOS Automatically
  10. Part 6: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 22: Ten Laptop Rules to Follow
    2. Keep Your Laptop in a Bag
    3. Maximize Your RAM
    4. Keep Tabs on Your MacBook
    5. Keepeth Thy Drive Encrypted
    6. Brand Your MacBook
    7. Disable Your Wireless
    8. Take a Surge Protector with You
    9. Use Power-Saving Features
    10. Use an External Keyboard and Mouse
    11. Not Again! What Is It with You and Backing Up?
    12. Chapter 23: Ten Things to Avoid Like the Plague
    13. USB 2.0 Storage Devices
    14. Phishing Operations
    15. The Twin Terrors: Viruses and Malware
    16. Submerged Keyboards
    17. Antiquated Utility Software
    18. Software Piracy
    19. The Forbidden Account
    20. Unsecured Wireless Connections
    21. Refurbished Hardware
    22. Dirty Laptops
  11. Index
  12. About the Author
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement
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