My New Mac
52 Simple Projects to Get You Started
by Wallace Wang

April 2008, 480 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-59327-164-0
Contents | Reviews | Updates

"Highly recommended for newbies and switchers."
—MacWorld

Download Project 29: Turning your Macintosh into an Electronic Picture Frame

Download instructions to build your own origami Mac

You finally took the plunge and bought a Mac. Whether yours is a MacBook, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or iMac—it's still a Mac, and it runs the Macintosh operating system, Mac OS X.

But what do you do with your Mac after you turn it on? Do you even know how to turn it on and off properly or put it to sleep? You need a book like My New Mac to make everything easy.

Wallace Wang, author of the best-selling Steal This Computer Book, will show you, step-by-step, how to use tools like iPhoto to organize your photos, track birthdays with iCal, and clip and save information from the Internet so you can find it again. You'll find simple projects that will show you how to:

  • Organize your files and folders by color and keyword
  • View stocks, flights, and the weather
  • Set up and manage parental controls to limit your children's computer and Internet access
  • Play and burn CDs and DVDs
  • Transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer
  • Share songs, images, and documents wirelessly between Macs

Don't put off learning how to use your new computer. Let Wallace Wang show you the ropes with My New Mac.

About the Author

Wallace Wang is the author of several best-selling computer books, including My New Mac, My New iPhone, and Steal This Computer Book (all No Starch Press). He is also a successful standup comic who has appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and appears regularly at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Table of Contents

PART I: Basic Training
Introduction
1. Turning a Macintosh On and Off Manually or Automatically
2. Learning to Use the Mouse
3. Choosing Commands on the Menu Bar
4. Controlling Programs with the Dock
5. Manipulating Windows
6. Navigating through Folders with the Finder
7. Creating, Copying, Moving, and Renaming Files and Folders
8. Conserving Energy While Using Your Macintosh

PART II: Making Life Easier with Shortcuts
9. Working Faster with Shortcut Commands
10. Learn to Drag and Drop
11. Controlling Your Macintosh with Hot Corners
12. Finding Files Fast
13. Organizing Files and Folders by Color and Weird Words
14. Putting Information at your Fingertips with Dashboard
15. Giving a Macintosh Multiple Personalities with User Accounts
16. Slapping Parental Controls on your Kids
17. Making Your Macintosh Easier to See, Hear, and Control

PART III: Putting your Macintosh to Work
18. Jotting Down Notes
19. Turning your Mac into an Electronic Reminder
20. Never Forget a Birthday Again
21. Playing Audio CDs and Audio Files on Your Macintosh
22. Ripping and Burning Audio CD
23. Playing Your Favorite Parts of a DVD
24. Storing Files on a CD or DVD
25. Transferring Images to a Macintosh
26. Organizing Digital Photographs in iPhoto
27. Tagging and Sorting Digital Pictures in iPhoto
28. Editing Digital Photographs in iPhoto
29. Turning your Macintosh into an Electronic Picture Frame
30. Sharing Files Without Connecting Cables
31. Retrieving Files Back in Time
32. Typing Foreign Languages

PART IV: Touching the World Through the Internet
33. Remembering your Favorite Websites
34. Reading the Latest Updates on Your Favorite Websites
35. Keeping Your Internet Activities Private
36. Saving Research Information from a Web Page
37. Creating an Electronic Clipping Service for Web Pages
38. Watching Videos on any Website
39. Expanding Your Mind by Listening to Free College Lectures
40. Listening to News, Music, and Talk Shows over the Internet
41. Setting Up an Email Account
42. Reading and Writing Email
43. Making Email Look Pretty
44. Organizing your Email
45. Dealing with Junk Email

PART V: Maintaining your Macintosh
46. Learning About Your Macintosh
47. Installing, Updating, and Uninstalling Software on Your Macintosh
48. Performing Preventative Maintenance on Your Macintosh
49. Ejecting Stuck CDs or DVDs
50. Password Protecting Your Macintosh
51. Encrypting your Data
52. Troubleshooting Your Printers

View the detailed Table of Contents (PDF)

View the Index (PDF)

(top)

Reviews

"Highly recommended for newbies and switchers."
—MacWorld

"Wallace Wang has hit the nail on the head...some people just learn better and faster by doing projects rather than trying to stay awake doing tedious lessons."
—InfoWorld (Read More)

TechtalkRadio conducted a great interview with Wallace Wang, author of My New Mac. Wallace says that he "basically wrote My New Mac for [his] dad because he’s the type of guy that’s never going to read a computer book from cover to cover. He’s just going to pick and choose the things he needs."
—Listen to the interview here!

"Those who have recently purchased a Macintosh, and are unfamiliar with its use, will find this book an essential hand-holding experience that moves them rapidly from learning how to turn the computer on and off, to fixing unexpected problems that might arise. Through the experience of completing 52 non-intimidating projects, the reader learns how to control all of the everyday aspects of computer usage so that they can work and play trouble-free."
—The Kleper Report, Issue 13.3 May/June 2008

"Wang's book is a fine text, written with knowledge and wit."
—James Pyles, tech reviewer (Read More)

My New Mac is "a fairly ideal guide for someone who has just fled Vista land to try something new - and there are a heck of a lot people doing just that."
—Mstation Book Reviews (Read More)

In My New Mac, "explanations of Mac features and step-by-step instructions are clear and concise, while many screenshots both break up the text and illustrate the directions well. 'Additional ideas' for utilizing the different Mac applications conclude each project's section. Recommended."
—The Tech Static

(top)