How to Update Mac OS X Snow Leopard
As any good software developer should, Apple constantly releases improvements to Mac OS X Snow Leopard in the form of software updates. Apple makes it easy to keep Mac OS X up to date with the Software Update controls in System Preferences. These updates can include bug fixes, improvements and new features, enhanced drivers, security upgrades, and firmware upgrades.
You don’t even have to display the System Preferences window to check for new software updates manually. Click the Apple menu in the Finder menu bar and then choose Software Update to perform a manual check immediately.
To check for new updates periodically, display the Software Update pane in System Preferences and click the Scheduled Check tab.
Schedule updates here.
Select the Check for Updates check box and choose how often you want these updates from the pop-up menu.
Check weekly, if not daily.
For a manual check, make sure that you’re connected to the Internet and then click the Check Now button.
To download updates automatically, mark the Download Important Updates in the Background check box to enable it; the Big X politely downloads the updates behind the scenes and then alerts you that they’re ready to be installed. (With automatic downloading disabled, Mac OS X displays any available updates with short descriptions, and you can toggle the installation of a specific update by enabling or disabling the check boxes next to it.)
After you specify the updates that you want to install, click the Install button to begin the update process. You might have to reboot after everything has been installed.
To see which updates you’ve installed already, click the Installed Updates tab on the Software Update pane in System Preferences.
Macs and OS X Glossary
802.11x wireless
A protocol for connections to your Ethernet network and your Apple TV unit.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Address Book
The place for addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the Mac. You can also add a picture and note about the person.
Macs and OS X Glossary
alias
A pointer to another application of folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Bluetooth
A short-range wireless technology that lets your Mac communicate with other compatible gadgets, from up to 30 feet away.
Macs and OS X Glossary
ColorSync
A printer setting that lets you add black and white, blue tone, sepia, or other filters.
Macs and OS X Glossary
cookie
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dashboard
A translucent screen that lays on top of your desktop and houses clever little applications called widgets.
Macs and OS X Glossary
desktop
The whole of your Mac’s computer screen. Also called the Finder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Discoverable mode
Helps other Bluetooth devices find your Mac.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dock
The colorful bar on the bottom of the Mac screen. It’s a rough cross between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu.
Macs and OS X Glossary
double-clicking
Left-clicking twice in rapid succession while keeping the cursor in the same location.
Macs and OS X Glossary
dragging
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
driver
A software program provided by the printer manufacturer that tells Mac OS X how to communicate with your printer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol; DHCP
A protocol that enables a computer to automatically get connection information for communicating with a network or your ISP.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Exposé
A Mac feature that, with a click of a button, organizes your Mac desktop.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FileVault
A Mac feature that automatically scrambles, or encrypts, the data in your Home folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Finder
The application that Mac OS X runs to display the operating system’s menus and windows.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FireWire
A speedy connector often used with digital cameras.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FTP
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
Macs and OS X Glossary
function keys
Housed on the top row of the Mac keyboard, the keys with the letter F followed by a number.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iCal
The Mac’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iDVD
The application that lets you burn movies onto a disk.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iMac
A Mac desktop computer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iPhoto
The application where you store and touch up digital images.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iSync
The application that keeps your calendar, Address Book, and Internet bookmarks synchronized across multiple devices.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iTunes
Apple’s renowned musical jukebox.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iWeb
The tool that lets you create personal Web sites, blogs, and podcasts.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol; LDAP
With LDAP, you can search a central company directory from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol
An encryption protocol developed by Cisco Systems for superior security in the business world.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Mini
Apple’s budget desktop computer. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it’s portable, but not in the same sense as a notebook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac OSx
The operating system that Apple included with all new Mac computer systems since 2002.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Pro
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook Air
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook, MacBook Pro
Apple’s successor to the PowerBook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mail
Apple’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MobileMe
The application that keeps your e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronized, no matter what device you’re using.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Network interface card
A hardware device that your computer uses to talk to the rest of the network.
Macs and OS X Glossary
operating software
The software that makes a Mac work.
Macs and OS X Glossary
parental controls
Safety features that let you place limitations on your child’s computer use.
Macs and OS X Glossary
partition
A formatted section of a disk that contains data.
Macs and OS X Glossary
PDF
A special document display format developed by Adobe; they display like a printed document but take up minimal space.
Macs and OS X Glossary
phishing
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
RAID set
A group of multiple separate disks, working together as a team.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Safari
The Mac’s Web browser.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Groups
A way to group contacts in your Address Book.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Mailboxes
Searches for e-mail that matches specific search criteria.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Spotlight
The Mac’s search technology.
Macs and OS X Glossary
start-up disk
The boot drive that contains the Mac OS X system you’re using at the moment
Macs and OS X Glossary
thread
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.
Macs and OS X Glossary
trackpad
The smooth surface below your Mac keyboard that’s your laptop’s answer to using a mouse.
Macs and OS X Glossary
USB port
The place on your Mac where you plug in devices you want to connect, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and more.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Voiceover
A screen reader designed to make using a Mac easier by speaking the contents of the screen.
Macs and OS X Glossary
wireless network
A network that isn’t connected by wires but uses radio waves, instead.
