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Mac 101: Apple's Mac 101

Welcome back to Mac 101, the TUAW classroom full of Mac tips for beginners (and veterans who might have forgotten them). Commenter Kris noted on a previous Mac 101 post that we hadn't mentioned the obvious: Apple has a collection of basic Mac tips, also called Mac 101. In our defense, we did blog about Apple's version almost two years ago.

Apple's Mac 101 tips are organized by topic, walking a novice user through initial setup and various Mac OS X features, as though you were paging through the manual; you can see a complete list here. An accompanying collection, Switch 101, covers hints specifically for switchers from Windows. The level of instruction in the Mac 101 hints? Well... here's the intro to the Ports and Connectors article:

On the sides of your Mac are a few small, geometric-shaped holes on your computer that may differ from one another. These are your computer's ports, which are used to connect other devices (aka peripherals) to your Mac. You've probably heard the words "FireWire" and "USB" tossed around at work or your local computer or electronics superstore, but what exactly do these terms mean? This lesson will tell you.

Ah yes, the geometric-shaped holes, I've been wondering about those! Elsewhere on apple.com, you'll find the Pro Tips section, mostly culled from Scott Kelby's well-regarded Mac OS X Tiger Killer Tips book. We'll pick some winners from this list for a future Mac 101 post.