Mac at Work

Chapter 1

A Tour of the Mac

So you’ve decided to use a Mac at work. Great decision. Once you get your hands on the fantastic Mac-only applications in this book, you are going to dazzle your bosses, co-workers, and clients. Now you just need to decide which Mac is right for you.

A Macintosh History Lesson

Once upon a time, people said that if you wanted a computer, you needed a multimillion dollar budget and a team of engineers. Then two guys named Steve (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) started selling the first personal computer, the Apple I. It came in a plywood case.

Next, Apple released the Apple II and started a revolution. Computers of that era ran on the command line using obscure textual codes, which was empowering for nerds and baffling to everyone else. In 1986, Apple started another revolution with the Macintosh, the first consumer computer with a graphical user interface. In other words, it gave us the mouse.

Although the Macintosh changed the world, Apple soon fell on hard times and the two Steves left the company. By the early 1990s everyone was predicting Apple’s demise.

In 1997 Steve Jobs came back to Apple and kicked off a reboot of the company, including the release of the iMac. The company is now more successful than ever with Macs, iPhones, iPods, and iPads. The Mac’s market share is on an upward march. Indeed, the Mac is now entrenched at work.

The Mac Family

There was a time when Apple had so many different Mac models that you needed a slide ruler to pick the ...