How to Choose among the iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro

A protocol for connections to your Ethernet network and your Apple TV unit.

The place for addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the Mac. You can also add a picture and note about the person.

A pointer to another application of folder.

A short-range wireless technology that lets your Mac communicate with other compatible gadgets, from up to 30 feet away.

A printer setting that lets you add black and white, blue tone, sepia, or other filters.

A small file that a web site automatically saves on your hard drive. It contains information that the site will use on your future visits. For example, a site might save a cookie to preserve your site preferences for the next time or ¯ in the case of a site such as Amazon.com ¯ to identify you automatically and help customize the offerings that you see.

A translucent screen that lays on top of your desktop and houses clever little applications called widgets.

The whole of your Mac’s computer screen. Also called the Finder.

Helps other Bluetooth devices find your Mac.

The colorful bar on the bottom of the Mac screen. It’s a rough cross between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu.

Left-clicking twice in rapid succession while keeping the cursor in the same location.

Positioning the cursor on top of a symbol or icon and then holding down the mouse button and rolling the mouse across your desk, which moves the symbol or icon to a new location.

A software program provided by the printer manufacturer that tells Mac OS X how to communicate with your printer.

A protocol that enables a computer to automatically get connection information for communicating with a network or your ISP.

A Mac feature that, with a click of a button, organizes your Mac desktop.

A Mac feature that automatically scrambles, or encrypts, the data in your Home folder.

The application that Mac OS X runs to display the operating system’s menus and windows.

A speedy connector often used with digital cameras.

Part of the TCP/IP protocol suite; (the hoary acronym FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is one of the oldest methods for sharing files between computers

Housed on the top row of the Mac keyboard, the keys with the letter F followed by a number.

The Mac’s built-in calendar.

The application that lets you burn movies onto a disk.

A Mac desktop computer.

The application where you store and touch up digital images.

The application that keeps your calendar, Address Book, and Internet bookmarks synchronized across multiple devices.

Apple’s renowned musical jukebox.

The tool that lets you create personal Web sites, blogs, and podcasts.

With LDAP, you can search a central company directory from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.

An encryption protocol developed by Cisco Systems for superior security in the business world.

Apple’s budget desktop computer. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it’s portable, but not in the same sense as a notebook.

The operating system that Apple included with all new Mac computer systems since 2002.

A Mac desktop intended for professionals facing demanding graphics and other computing tasks. Its arrival completed the transition of the Mac line to Intel processors.

Apple’s super-thin Mac. Encased in aluminum with a 13.3-inch display, Air measures just 0.16 inches at its skinniest point and just 0.75 inches at its thickest. But it still boasts a full-size keyboard and very good battery life.

Apple’s successor to the PowerBook.

Apple’s built-in calendar.

The application that keeps your e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronized, no matter what device you’re using.

A hardware device that your computer uses to talk to the rest of the network.

The software that makes a Mac work.

Safety features that let you place limitations on your child’s computer use.

A formatted section of a disk that contains data.

A special document display format developed by Adobe; they display like a printed document but take up minimal space.

A form of Internet fraud where identity thieves, posing as a respectable financial or Internet company, tries to dupe you into clicking phony links to verify personal or account information.

A group of multiple separate disks, working together as a team.

A barebones summary of articles viewable in Safari.

The Mac’s Web browser.

The pane on the far left of the Finder window. It contains your network, hard disk, home folder, applications, documents, movies, and more.

A way to group contacts in your Address Book.

Searches for e-mail that matches specific search criteria.

The Mac’s search technology.

The boot drive that contains the Mac OS X system you’re using at the moment

Contains an original message and all related replies, which makes it easy to follow the flow of an e-mail discussion without bouncing around within your Inbox, searching for the next message in the conversation.

The smooth surface below your Mac keyboard that’s your laptop’s answer to using a mouse.

The place on your Mac where you plug in devices you want to connect, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and more.

A screen reader designed to make using a Mac easier by speaking the contents of the screen.

Lightweight programs that generally serve a useful and singular purpose, such as tracking an overnight package.

A network that isn’t connected by wires but uses radio waves, instead.