Macintosh Operating System or in short Mac OS, is a series of graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac family of computers. Within the market of desktop, laptop and home computers, and by any web usage, Apple's Mac OS is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows.
Mac OS is also the second major series of Macintosh operating systems. In 2016, with the release of Mac OS 10.12 Sierra, the name was changed from OS X to Mac OS to streamline it with the branding of Apple's other primary operating systems, like: iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Mac OS 10.12 Sierra's main features are the Optimized Storage, improvements to included applications, and greater integration with Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch.
As a Mac OS owner, you should know how to get the operating system work properly during your everyday computer activities and working projects. Here are the most available tips that you should know if you are a Mac OS user...
1. Setting up a backup plan
No matter how much you store in iCloud, you should always back up your Mac. Time Machine is the easiest method, but there are other plans that might work better for you.
Time Machine is the built-in backup solution in Mac OS, automatically making backups of your Mac onto an external drive. It is easy to set up, and after that, you don't even need to worry about it. But if you want to customize your experience to fit more particular needs or use cases, you absolutely can.
You can connect an external hard drive over USB or Thunderbolt for a wired connection, or over a network for a wireless connection. Time Machine backs up every hour, deleting older backups as the backup drive starts running out of space.
If you want to use Time Machine, you will need an external drive to get started. The most recommended is G-Technology G-Drive 1TB the latest drive version especially for Mac OS desktop computers.
2. Sign into iCloud
One of the best reasons to switch to Mac is the Apple ecosystem, which is largely fueled by iCloud syncing. You can access photos, documents, movies, music, and more, all with your iCloud account. So, make sure you are signed in to iCloud using the Apple ID you use, to sync your iOS, tvOS, and watchOS data.
iCloud is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. When you upgrade your iOS operating system or start using an iPhone for the first time, you will be asked whether you want to use iCloud Drive to store your data. If you tap "Yes," you are all set. If you tapped "No" during setup but have since decided you want to use iCloud Drive, you can still enable it manually, for example:
1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID banner.
3. Tap iCloud.
4. Toggle the iCloud Drive switch on.
You can repeat these steps to your another Apple's devices, and all will be sync for you.
For Mac computers, there is also a method how to set up the iCloud, for example:
1. Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
2. Click on System Preferences... from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on iCloud.Enter your Apple ID and Password.
4. Click Sign in.
5. Click the checkbox next to Use iCloud for Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes, and Safari.
6. Click the checkbox next to Use Find My Mac (highly recommended).
7. Click Next.
8. Click Allow when prompted to allow Find My Mac to use the location of your Mac.
9. Enter your Apple ID password to set up iCloud Keychain.
10. Click Request Approval to confirm approval from one of your trusted devices (iPhone, iPad, or another Mac).
11. Enter your Apple ID password on the trusted device (iPhone, iPad, or another Mac).
12. Click OK on the Mac you are setting up iCloud on.
3. Sign into iTunes
iTunes is installed on your new Mac when you get started. If, for some reason, you don't have the iTunes app, you can manually download it from Apple. iTunes is where you store all of your movies, tv shows, iBooks, apps, music, and more. Even if you don't keep your media on your Mac, you can download purchased content right from iTunes.
iTunes on the Mac has played a number of different roles over the years. First, it was a jukebox to play, store, and organize music copied from CDs to your Mac's hard disk. Soon after it became the means for transferring your music from your Mac to an iPod, so you could take your music collection with you anywhere you wanted to go.
Then iTunes became the storefront for purchasing and downloading music and movies, television shows, audio books, podcasts, and more. It was the conduit for syncing information between your Mac and iOS devices. It became the way to store all your music in the cloud and, most recently, the doorway into Apple Music and the world of streaming content.
The key to doing many things with iTunes particularly things that have to do with the internet is an Apple ID. An Apple ID is the account you use to access any of Apple's online services including iCloud, the iTunes Store, Apple Music, and more.
An Apple ID consists of an email address that you already have and a password you choose. Chances are close to 100% that you already have an Apple ID because whenever you set-up a Mac.
4. Setting up Optimized Storage
Apple has developed a great way for you to keep your Mac's hard drive from getting too full. Using a number of iCloud syncing options, as well as a healthy clutter cleaning regimen, you can keep your hard drive free for more important downloads.
As we use desktop and laptop computers, we tend to fill up our hard drives with stuff we have collected over the years. It is like an attic, basement, or garage that slowly fills up over the years. Some stuff gets used often, other stuff sits in a box gets forgotten about. Eventually, though, the clutter becomes too much and you have to start getting rid of things.
Optimized Storage takes files you have been storing in iCloud and moves them off of your computer if your local storage gets too full. It also leaves behind an icon of the item that has been removed so that, when you finally do want to access it again, you don't have to go somewhere different to find it. You can just click on the file and it will download back onto your computer.
There are four features to Optimized Storage that you can enable separately or all together. You can Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter.
5. Download apps and games
As much as Apple gives you plenty of programs to help get you started on your Mac, there are still plenty of apps you will need for productivity, entertainment, and more. That is where the Mac App Store comes in. You can find almost every type of app in the Mac App Store. Once you download an app, it is available on all other Macs synced with your Apple ID for as long as the app is in the Mac App Store.
If you are new to the Mac, the Mac App Store is going to become one of your best friends. Macs come with free, pre-installed software that helps you surf the web, create great-looking documents, edit photos and videos, listen to music, and more.
But there are thousands of additional apps that you can download through the Mac App Store to give your computer even more capabilities. They run the utilities, productivity tools, games, and everything else imaginable. Thousands of Mac developers offer apps from the Mac App Store, and they are yours for the taking.
Downloading apps from the Mac App Store is easy. It uses the same login as the iTunes Store and the iPhone and iPad App Store. It's also safe. Mac App Store apps aren't just signed by the developers who make them, but they go through Apple's app review process.
** If you want to know something more about mobile apps development, CLICK HERE **
6. Spotlight
Spotlight is your program for finding practically everything you need on your Mac or on the Web. You can look up directions using Maps, open a Terminal window, find utilities you didn't know you had, and more. All you have to do is to click on the search icon in the upper right corner of your Mac's screen and type in a word or phrase. Spotlight will search through all of your files, folders, emails, and documents to find the right content. If that is not enough, Spotlight will also search through your entire computer system, and even looks stuff up on the web.
If you use your Mac every day for work and your personal life, chances are you have a lot of files, photos, folders, documents, and other data all over your Mac. It can make finding one specific file a pain in the butt. Luckily, Spotlight lets you search your Mac for pretty much anything, making it easy to find whatever you need.
Spotlight helps you find pretty much anything on your Mac. It indexes the contents of your Mac's hard drive to make it easier to find documents, emails, apps, music, contacts, and other information. It can also help you find information on the web, perform equations, and now in High Sierra, it can even find your flight information.
7. Migrating the files
Just because you have moved from Windows to Mac, doesn't mean you can't take your important paperwork with you. You can move data from your old PC to your new Mac using Migration Assistant.
Migration Assistant is a utility Apple includes in the Utilities folder of every Mac. You will see it when you first start up your Mac, when your Mac asks you if you want to transfer data over from another Mac, a Time Machine backup, or a PC. Apple makes the app freely available for download for transferring to your Mac. You will need specific software, depending on what Mac OS or OS X operating system you're transferring to.
You will need to download the Migration Assistant software to your PC before you begin.
Migration Assistant will help you transfer files from a PC running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 operating systems. The Mac and the PC both have to be running Migration Assistant.
Email, contacts, and calendar information are where it gets a bit tricky. The bottom line is that Migration Assistant will pull over your email account information, and if you are using Microsoft Outlook, it should pull over your email messages, your contacts, and your calendars. Other programs may vary.
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