New To The Mac?
OK, So you've just got a new Mac
and you're wondering where to start!
There are over 130+ ScreenCasts available from ScreenCastsOnline with a new one added each week, so it's not really that suprising!
ScreenCastsOnline has lots of video tutorials to help out new Mac users, the only problem is finding out which ones are appropriate for you and working out in which order to watch them.
So to help out, I've put together this page to guide the new Mac user through the most useful ScreenCastsOnline video tutorials. Even better is that the shows are in sequence so all you need to do is start from the top and work through them in sequence!
Please note that some of the screencasts are only available to ScreenCastsOnline Extra! Members and are indicated as such. However, A full six months membership with access to the entire back catalogue of shows in high resolution plus all the shows published over the next six months (26 episodes) costs only $25 USD plus a one-off joining fee of $24 USD for the full six months! (plus VAT for UK residents).
You can get more information on signing up for a six months membership plus accessing all the high resolution versions of the episodes below over on this page.
Extra! Members get access to a
special version of this page with links to the
various resolutions of the shows plus any Extra!
content.
If you've bought a Mac since November 2007, you're probably using the latest version of the Mac operating system called Leopard (or Mac OS X 10.5). This has some subtle differences since the previous version called Tiger but most of them are "under the hood" and the basic operations are pretty much similar to Tiger. We'll be introducing more Leopard specific screencasts over the next couple of months but to get up to speed quickly, start with the OSX Tiger Basics section and work your way through at your own pace
If you want to get up to date with all the Leopard specific screencasts now available, just click here!
Please be aware that some of the Tiger tutorials are several months old and they are the versions released as part of a weekly show. Best to ignore the intros and outros as any time relevant information may have expired. The main content of each show is still very relevant!
Setting Up Your Mac
These two recent shows are squarely aimed at the new user who has just taken delivery of a brand new Mac. They take you through some basic steps in setting up your Mac and introduce you some some "must have" freeware applications.| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0131 - Setting Up Your Mac - Part 1 | This first show looks at several different aspects of setting up a brand new mac from the view point of a new Mac user. I look at: Basic Dock Customisation, Converting to a Standard Account, Using Parental Controls, Switching on the FireWall, Setting a Screensaver Password, Pointers to Using Time Machine | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0133 - Setting Up Your Mac - Part 2 | A section on configuring your new shiny aluminium keyboard to get the most out of it, then onto a list of some of the top freeware and donationware applications to install on your brand new Mac (or existing Mac if needs be!). Finally, a few suggestions on commercial software I can't live without | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0136 - 10.5.2 and Spaces | Some information on the recent OS X upgrade that just came out plus a section on Spaces | View Tutorial |
OS X Tiger Basics
These are must watch tutorials. They will give you a basic grounding in using OS X (pronounced OS TEN) Tiger and enable you to get up to speed with your Mac very quickly!| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0016 - The Dock | The dock is the equivalent of the Windows taskbar but can do so much more. This lesson will give you an understanding of the dock and how to configure it to access all your applications easily. | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0016a - The Finder | The Finder is the equivalent of Windows Explorer and is the means of navigating your files and folders. This lesson will give you an understanding of the Finder and demonstrates some of its cool features! | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0022 - Expose | Expose has no equivalent in Windows! It's the Macs amazing way to handle the multiple windows that invariably end up being left open on your desktop. Use this tutorial to learn how to work smarter and become more productive on your Mac | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0014 - Spotlight | Spotlight is the technology introduced in OSX Tiger which enables you to search for files and information stored on your hard disk. Constantly updated, Spotlight will find all your information rapidly and present it to your in an easy to access view | Extra! Members Only |
OSX Tiger Features
Once you've mastered the basics, OSX Tiger has some other really useful features that will help you become more proficient and enable you to have a more enjoyable computing experience! Each feature covered in the tutorials below will give you more control over your Mac and start to use it more effectively!| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0061 - OSX Mail | No additional software required as OSX comes with its own eMail application. So how do you set it up and transfer all your mail across? This lesson will give you an overview on using and configuring mail including a great tip on how to migrate your mail from a Windows PC. | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0079 - File Sharing at Home | OK - So you've got a Mac. You've got a home network. You've also got a Windows PC with all your files and data on from the past few years. So how do I access the PC from my Mac to access the files. It's easier than you realise! Just follow this tutorial to setup seamless File Sharing between your Mac and your Windows PC | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0013 - Automator Basics | Another new technology introduced in OSX Tiger is Automator, a graphical interface to automating lots of repetitive tasks. Learn how to access the Automator interface and create some simple Automator workflows using simple drag and drop | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0036 - OSX Maintenance | So what do you have to do to keep your new Mac in tip top form? Suprisingly little actually! But if you want some hints and tips on keeping your Mac running smoothly, this tutorial will give you the low down and make some simple recommendations. | Extra! Members Only |
iLife 06
Ah, iLife 06 - The hidden gem available free with every new Mac. This suite of software is absolutely amazing and is even considered to be reason enough in itself to buy a Mac! There's a tutorial on every application in the suite with enough information to allow you to experiment and become proficient in creating, editing and distributing your own digital content. You might even be inspired enough to make your own website, musical score, photo album or even podcast. All the tools are here and these tutorials show you how to get started!| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0043 - iPhoto 6 | A supremely powerful yet, simple to use photo package to collect, edit and publish your photos in so many ways. | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0083 - iPhoto 6 - Part 2 | Part 2 which covers Slideshows and iPhoto books with some additional view supplied hints & tips! | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0056 - iMovieHD | Use iMovieHD to capture and edit your Home Movie footage, even if you have a HD video camcorder. The professional themes included with iMovieHD will blow you away and the integration with iDVD, iTunes and iPhoto allows you to pull all sorts of media togther to make your masterpiece. Once finished, one click export to iDVD or publish your movie on the web, or send it to your iPod, or email it - Seriously easy and seriously fun! | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0060 - iDVD | iDVD comes with a set of professionally produced themes which match iMovieHD themes allowing you to create stunning DVDs from your home movies or downloaded video clips | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0042 - Garageband 3 | A fully featured multitrack audio mixing tool with added support for podcasting. This tutorial explains the basic GB interface and shows you how to create an Enhanced Podcast | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0073 - iWeb | Finishing off the iLife 06 suite is a look at iWeb and how you can use it to create stunning websites using the inbuilt themes | Extra! Members Only |
.Mac
As a new Mac Owner you may have taken out a trial for .Mac, Apples online service with email, shared file stored, syncing and more. It's quite difficult to fully understand exactly what benefits .Mac can deliver but hopefully this short series of screencasts will bring you up to speed!| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0029 - .Mac Basics | An introduction to the basic features of .Mac | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0030 - .Mac Backup | Included in your .Mac subscription is Backup 3, a really useful backup utility that allows you to backup your data to iDisk, DVD or to another Mac. | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0032 - .Mac Groups | Groups are a new feature of .Mac that allows you to build a community website within your .Mac account. | Extra! Members Only |
iWork
Also included with your new Mac is a time limited trial of iWork 06. iWork consists of a great page layout program called "Pages" together with Apples "Powerpoint Killer" presentation package called "Keynote". The tutorials in this section demonstrate how powerful doesn't have to mean complex.| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0049 - Pages 2 Overview | With this primer, you'll be creating quality Newsletters and Flyers in no time | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0052 - Keynote Primer | I didn't call this a "Powerpoint Killer" lightly - Apples presentation tool gives you access to professional themes and animations to create extremely impressive presentations. | Extra! Members Only |
Some Essential Applications
You should be pretty much up to speed with your Mac now! Time to introduce some "must have" applications| Title | Description | Link |
| SCO0050 - BootCamp and Parallels | If you really can't be without some of your Windows Applications, why not run them on your Mac and ditch the PC. All new Intel based macs can now run Windows! This tutorial gives you a rundown on using Apples BootCamp to create a Windows partition on your Mac so you can dual boot between OSX and Windows. If you don't want to ever boot into Windows again, the tutorial also introduces Parallels. Parallels is an OSX application that allows you to run a Windows environment from OSX - It sounds harder than it is - checkout the tutorial | Extra! Members Only |
| SCO0011 - Launchbar | One of my personal favorites and something that should be built into OSX. Launchbar is basically an Application Launcher but is fully intergrated with lots of OSX apps - Again, it's easier to see what it can do for you rather than explain it so have a look at the tutorial! | Watch Tutorial |
| SCO0067 - OmniOutliner - part 1 | OmniOutliner is difficult to describe but is basically a personal information management system. If you've recently bought a Mac you may be suprised to find out you've probably already got this application installed on your Mac | Extra! Members Only |
So that's a suggested start in working your way through the ScreenCastsOnline archives. Now that you've mastered your Mac there are plenty more screencasts to catch up on as well as a brand new screencast published each week.
To see the rest of the screencasts, just go to the Home page and check out the various categories available and the numbers of episodes available. At the time of writing there are:
Applications (14)
Blogging (2)
Google (2)
For Switchers (10)
iLife 06 (5)
iPod & iTunes (3)
iWork 06 (2)
.Mac (3)
Mac+Windows (2)
Podcasting (6)
Productivity (6)
RapidWeaver (9)
Remote Access (3)
SCO Updates (14)
Storage (1)
Video (3)
Web 2.0 (5)
Web Hosting (1)