question for Mac people

[wendyzski]

My boss is an elderly greek man who it horribly confused by technology.

He wants to be able to check his e-mail, and asked me to explain it to him.
(because right now we go through his e-mail, print the stuff that he needs to know about, and fax it to him at whichever of his homes he is at)

I need a bit of info about mac software and what it looks like (so I can say "click on the button up on the left that has a picture of a magnifying glass" kind of thing)

So I need to know
1) what is the web browser called and how do you open it?
2) how do I set up a bookmark?
3) how does he use his bookmarks?

The end goal is for me to set up bookmarks for his office and personal e-mail accounts and get the passwords saved, and explain to him in VERY simple terms how to use them.

I'm pretty good at explaining tech-stuff to non-tech people but I'm almost entirely Windows-based. His son has tried but he has absolutely NO pateince and as is typical for families they end up arguing about something totally unrelated to what they are trying to do.

Comments

[kitlizzy.livejournal.com]

I have lots of mac people on my list, at least a few of which do tech support. If you don't get any replies here, let me know and I can ping my list. :)

[aedifica]

The main web browser for Macs is called Safari, though lots of people install Firefox these days, and some have an old, old version of IE. I'm guessing he's not in the Firefox camp, so it will most likely be Safari. Unless he's had the computer for several years, in which case he might still be using that old version of IE.

And that's about as much help as I can give. If I were sitting right there in front of the computer, I could whiz through what you want to do, but I don't know Macs well enough to talk anyone through it remotely.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

At this rate I might just install Firefox on it so that I can support it for him! THAT I know how to use!

[ladyniniane.livejournal.com]

Yes, do that...
Our school Macs have either Safari or Camino; neither one of them works very well. And Firefox on a Mac is very much like Firefox on Windows.

Just be sure to follow the given directions very carefully when you first install it; I was stupid and ignored the last (and most critical) step because it didn't make sense to me (a Windows-type person), and my install disappeared after I booted the machine a couple of days later...

[telaryn.livejournal.com]

Forwarded a link to my friend tinne. If nobody gets to you before she has a chance to pop over here, she should be able to answer what you need. I'm in pretty much the same boat as aedifica.

[wifeofset.livejournal.com]

Main browser is, as kitlizzy mentioned, called Safari.

To set up a bookmark, on the apple keyboards use the command (the key with the apple on it) + D will open the dialogue box to set up a bookmark in safari.

To use his bookmarks? Aaaum, the only time I really use Safari anymore is on my phone and it's sort of an altered version. I imagine it's still the same as Firefox with a bookmark tab he can use. I remember it having one.

[dragonsblog.livejournal.com]

On my MacOSX
1) what is the web browser called and how do you open it?
You open safari from the dock (bit at the bottom of the screen with programs in it). The safari icon looks like a compass. Click on said icon, and program should open.

The magnifying glass, for me, is on the upper right and is called "Spotlight" once you click on it. If you wanted to open it from here, click the magnifying glass, enter Safari into the field. There is a line in there that says "Application Safari". Click on that.

2) how do I set up a bookmark?
Bookmarks: Add bookmark- will make a bookmark from the page you are on. You can also select where to put it- create a folder to organize them, put it on the bookmarks bar, or put in a folder, or the Bookmarks Menu.

To make a folder for bookmarks. Bookmarks: Add Bookmark Folder.

3) how does he use his bookmarks?

You can add the bookmarks to the bookmarks bar, which will appear on the browser itself, below the address bark. If they are in folders or you have a lot of them, there are is a little open book shaped icon on the left side of the bookmark bar. Click on that, and all of them will appear. Double click on a bookmark, and you will go to the page.

I am guessing you mean add a bookmark, not import a list of bookmarks, but if you do:
Open Safari. File-Import Bookmarks. Which then puts you to the window/file browser bit, where presumably you can find your file with saved bookmarks. Similarly, Export bookmarks is there.

Hope that helps. I can make some screencaps later, if that would help too. But now I have to go take a final!

[museclio]

1. It's probably Safari. It's going to probably be in the Dock, looks like a blue compass kind of. If it's not int he Dock, it's in Double click the hard drive icon in the desktop, double click applications, double click Safari, Double click the safari icon.

2. open apple D will set up a bookmark.

Anythign else I'll need to be in fornt of my machine for.

[hawkshadow.livejournal.com]

Go ahead and install Firefox. You'll both be happier with that. Safari has too many display oddities and occasional incompatibilities. I do occasionally use it, but that's mostly to check how compatible my web pages are with other browsers.

[ashtalet.livejournal.com]

If you want to see either Safari or Firefox (I personally use Safari for no obvious reason) live in Leopard, just ask when you drop by next. Otherwise, the instructions above seem reasonably adequate.

Copilot.com

[stevefava.livejournal.com]

Is a service which allows you to get onto his machine, and walk him through waht you need remotely

ping me @ steve@favarger.net if you want a demo