Articles

/

Category

/

Computers

Now that you have got all your data back onto your computer its time to setup preferences and to turn on some of the new features within Panther. So go ahead and open the System Preferences.

So go ahead and open the System Preferences and it should look like this:

Starting from the top:

Personal

1. Appearance: You can open this up and change your settingif you wish or leave them alone.
   
2. Desktop & Screen Saver: Select your desktop and screensaves.
   
3. Dock: You can turn on magnification for special effects.To speed up your mac you can select Scale effect instead of Genie effect.The scale effect doesnt look as "oooh aaahh" as the genie effect but itsaves on the CPU and is a lot faster.
4. Expose:
   
   This is one of the best new features within Mac OS X Panther. Ever had loads of windows open at once and then try to findthe one window you want to use. Takes a while huh? This new cool feature helps with that by showing all the windows, or clears the desktop for easy access.
   1. Open the control panel to set it up. I set it up like this:
   
   
   2. On Active screen corners I turn on bottom left for "All Windows", bottom right for "Application Windows", and top right for "desktop".
   
   
   3. To test expose, open loads of windows and applications with multple windows.
   4. Go to one of the corners specified above and see the windows move.
      


5. International: You could leave this alone or choose the country that you are in if it is wrong.
   
6. Security:
   1. FileVault. This allows your home directory to be encrypted so that other uses can't try to get your data if they aren't logged in. This is a good security feature to have. You can turn this on from here and set the master password.
      i. Be Warned. If you forget your password, your data is lost!
      
   
   
   2. I like to turn on "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screensaver". This does exactly what it says. I like this because I can leave my computer and then come back knowing that no one woke it up and accessed it.
   3. The other features are if you have other users on the computer. Set them accordingly.

Hardware:

New Features in the control panels:

1. Energy Saver: You can now schedule your Mac to turn on or shut down at certain times. Set this up if you wish.

2. Print & Fax: Set up your printer from here if it is not already been setup. You cannow fax within Panther.

Internet & Network:

 

1.  
   1. Network: You can set up your internet configuration here.It should be set already but you can make adjustments if you wish (onlydo so if you know what you are doing!)
      
   2. QuickTime: Set up the QuickTime preferences. If you havea QuickTime Pro key enter it here under Registration.
      a. Change your Connection Speed under Connection.
      
   3. Sharing: Name your computer. By default it is your name, but I like to choose something different. Something unique yet simple.
      If you are on a network and wish to share files etc turn on:

      
      i. Personal File Sharing.

   ii. Windows Sharing (If you have windows computer you wish to share with).

   i. Scrolldown the Allow section. Turn on ports for the programs you will use.

4. Firewall: Turn this on if you are the internet. Its for computer safety. Always a good thing.

System:

1. Accounts:This is where you set up multiple accounts on your computer so that otherscan use it but not have access to your files.

a. Use the "+" at the bottom of the window to add new users.

 

i. You can set up their name, password etc.
ii. You can also limit what programs and access they have under the security tab.

b. Click on Login Options.

i. Enable Fast user switching. This is a cool feature. It adds a menu bar in the top right corner where you can switch to different users. Also on new Mac's this is graphically enhanced so it just looks cool!
ii. You can also select if you want a user to automatically Log in. To enhance security do not turn this on.

2. Speech:You can talk to your Mac and give it commands. Turn these features on from here. You can also select other cool talking features all built into Mac OS X.

Finally, its done.

This article hopes to get you started by installing and setting up some of the features with Panther. Of course this is no way near comprehensive. There are a lot of new features to use within Panther.

Also, check out some books about Panther. These will help you get to know your new operating system.

If you have problems or issues, please visit the Apple Support pages for more information.

Or if you have issues with 3^rd party products checkthe manufacturers web site.

Note: For comments please contact me. However, please don't contact me regarding support issues. Again, check Apple Support pages or manufacturers support pages.

< Previous 1 2 3