Mac OS X Unleashed

By John Ray and William C. Ray

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Introduction to Mac OS X
  • Chapter 1. Mac OS X Component Architecture
  • Chapter 2. Installing Mac OS X
  • Chapter 3. Mac OS X Basics
    • Welcome to Mac OS X
    • The File SystemWhere Did Everything Go?
    • Windows
    • The Apple Menu
    • The Application Menu
    • Menu Extras
    • The Finder
    • The Dock
    • Other OS Components
    • Summary
  • Chapter 4. The Finder: Working with Files and Applications
  • Chapter 5. Running Classic Mac OS Applications
  • Part II: Inside Mac OS X
  • Chapter 6. Native Utilities and Applications
  • Chapter 7. Internet Communications
  • Chapter 8. Installing Third-Party Applications
  • Part III: User-Level OS X Configuration
  • Chapter 9. Network Setup
  • Chapter 10. Printer and Font Management
  • Chapter 11. Additional System Components
  • Part IV: Introduction to BSD Applications
  • Chapter 12. Introducing the BSD Subsystem
  • Chapter 13. Common Unix Shell Commands: File Operations
  • Part V: Advanced Command-Line Concepts
  • Chapter 14. Advanced Shell Concepts and Commands
  • Chapter 15. Command-Line Applications and Application Suites
  • Chapter 16. Command-Line Software Installation
  • Chapter 17. Troubleshooting Software Installs, and Compiling and Debugging Manually
  • Chapter 18. Advanced Unix Shell Use: Configuration and Programming (Shell Scripting)
  • Part VI: Server/Network Administration
  • Chapter 19. X Window System Applications
  • Chapter 20. Command-Line Configuration and Administration
  • Chapter 21. AppleScript
  • Chapter 22. Perl Scripting and SQL Connectivity
  • Chapter 23. File and Resource Sharing with NetInfo
  • Chapter 24. User Management and Machine Clustering
  • Chapter 25. FTP Serving
  • Chapter 26. Remote Access and Administration
  • Chapter 27. Web Serving
  • Part VII: Server Health
  • Chapter 28. Web Programming
  • Chapter 29. Creating a Mail Server
  • Chapter 30. Accessing and Serving a Windows Network
  • Chapter 31. Server Security and Advanced Network Configuration
  • Chapter 32. System Maintenance
  • Appendix A. Command-Line Reference
  • Appendix B. Administration Reference

Welcome to Mac OS X

The Mac OS X desktop, seen in Figure 3.1, looks simple enough. Many of the visual cues that Mac users have come to rely on are present, along with a few new elements.

Figure 3.1 The Mac OS X desktop looks familiar.

Let's take a look at many of the Mac OS X system components and how they compare to their Mac OS 9.x counterparts.

• The file system layout— Where did everything go? Mac OS X imposes a strict structure on the file system. Learn where you can find your files and applications.
• The Apple menu— The Apple menu provides access to recent applications and common system-wide function. Gone are desk accessories and access to individual control panels.
• Windows— The new Mac OS X look extends to the windows themselves, which sport new features as well.
• The Application menu— Previous versions of the Mac operating system started program-specific menus with File. In Mac OS X, each application has its own self-named menu that contains functions common to any program.
• The desktop and Finder— The primary playground of many a Mac user, the desktop and Finder still operate in much the same way as under earlier versions of Mac OS.
• The Dock— Taking the place of the task menu located on the right of the Mac menu bar in earlier versions of the operating system, the Dock also includes components from the traditional Mac desktop and Apple menu.
• Menu Extras— Mac OS X 10.1 introduces Menu Extras—replacing much of the functionality lost when the Control Strip was removed. Many of the system preference panels (Sound, Date and Time, Network, and so on) offer the capability of adding a menu extra to the menu bar for quick access to settings.

Let's take a look at each of these elements of the OS X environment, its basic use, and what problems/differences you might encounter as you work with it.

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