Another dumb noob question.....

[dr. jimmy]

Hi again, new guy here. You may remember me from yesterday's post (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/omg-what-have-i-done.2099789/) in which I celebrated the fact I am a soon to be iMac owner and mentioned how I may be leaning on the minds here for assistance etc...

I actually need some explanations on some stuff since apart from my iPhone/iPad I am brand new to the whole Apple scene. Basically I'm a bit confused about the OS and its nomenclature. I've been a lifelong Windows guy and have followed their evolution since 3.0. Can someone explain (in layman's terms lol) the current Apple OS (OSX? is that shorthand for OS 10?) and how it gets upgraded if and when it needs to? Also I keep seeing reference to "High Sierra" is this a different OS? Is it a program? Do I need it?

Sorry if this is all basic and simple stuff for you all, but it's new for me and I can feel myself getting overwhelmed the deeper I go, I'd rather just stay whelmed for now.

Thanks much in advance, hopefully someday I can make it up to you all (I do know quite a bit about repairing guitars and laboratory blood analyzers, so if you have any issues with those feel free to ask!).

Bill

 

[QuickstartBridg]

OSX is the overall name of the macintosh operating system. The operating system is updated on a yearly basis. Each yearly update is given both a numerical and a new alphabetic descriptive name. For the numerical names, each one currently begins with 10 and is followed by a dot followed by an integer. At the last yearly update, the numerical name was 10.13. The alphabetic descriptive name is High Sierra. Each yearly update gets interval tweaks. Numerically, each tweak is labelled with a third integer number. Currently, the complete numerical name is OSX 10.13.2. The alphabetic name will remain High Sierra until the next yearly update in September when a new alphabetic name will be assigned and the numerical name will become 10.14.

You may see other operating system names in this forum. These are older names. For instance, the previous operating system was 10.12 named Sierra. 10.11 was named El Capitan and 10.10 was Yosemite. In recent years, the names have referenced California landmarks. In years prior to that, the names referenced various cats like snow leopard and mountain lion.

 

[MacDawg]

Technically it is no longer referred to as OS X, but rather macOS

 

[Glmnet1]

QuickstartBridg gave a very thorough explanation. I would add one thing: OS X has been renamed to macOS in 2016.

 

[jday7757]

I actually need some explanations on some stuff since apart from my iPhone/iPad I am brand new to the whole Apple scene. Basically I'm a bit confused about the OS and its nomenclature. I've been a lifelong Windows guy and have followed their evolution since 3.0. Can someone explain (in layman's terms lol) the current Apple OS (OSX? is that shorthand for OS 10?) and how it gets upgraded if and when it needs to? Also I keep seeing reference to "High Sierra" is this a different OS? Is it a program? Do I need it?

Bill

Since you mentioned you have an iPad and iPhone you should be basically aware of how Apple does their OS updates and how simple it is. For MacOS it is as easy as going to the App Store on your Mac and updating the OS just like you update other apps.

 

[dr. jimmy]

Ahhhhh cool! Thanks for the insights gang. So I assume that when I unbox my shiny new setup it will have the latest macOS 10.13.2 High Sierra, and I can hit the ground running?

 

[bopajuice]

Ahhhhh cool! Thanks for the insights gang. So I assume that when I unbox my shiny new setup it will have the latest macOS 10.13.2 High Sierra, and I can hit the ground running?

When you unbox, go to software update and see what it says. There may be some incremental updates that you can choose to install. Also Apple Apps will be updated from the same App Store. You can set it to update automatically or manually when you check for updates. Your choice. Whats great to, is with every new software update or release you just go to the App Store and download it or update it with Software Update. When a new Apple OS comes out there is no cost. You don't pay for an OS upgrade with Apple.

 

[maflynn]

(OSX? is that shorthand for OS 10?

Yes, its pronounced "o s ten", but I like many people pronounce it "o s ex". I do the same for the iPhone x.

Also I keep seeing reference to "High Sierra" is this a different OS? Is it a program? Do I need it?

OSX is the generic term, like Windows is the generic term for MS' OS. Then we have the version 10.13, but instead of using version numbers (which we still have), Apple uses names. Such as High Sierra. Sierra is 10.12, and before that was El Captian.

 

[dr. jimmy]

All starting to make sense now! Thanks for the help gang, it's appreciated very much!

 

[dr. jimmy]

Whew, so I finally got around to setting it up and I'm impressed! I have to say I'm lost a bit though. I have some real dumb questions so feel free to yuk it up at my expense!

- Does the keyboard and mouse run off batteries? Is there a way to recharge them?
- Where exactly can I find info such as software version, hard disk space and other settings/specs?
- Where is my Chrome????? Do I need to download/install it and sign in etc....
(Told you these were dumb questions)
- How can I set it up so my wife and daughter have their own separate accounts?

I'm sure there's more to come, so far so good though! Thanks!!!

 

[curmudgeonette]

- Does the keyboard and mouse run off batteries? Is there a way to recharge them?

They have a rechargeable battery inside. Your computer came with a cable to charge them.

- Where exactly can I find info such as software version, hard disk space and other settings/specs?

Apple Menu -> About This Mac. You can access further information using the System Report button in that window. This runs a program that lets you examine lots of specs.

Settings are in Apple Menu -> System Preferences.

- Where is my Chrome????? Do I need to download/install it and sign in etc....

You need to download Chrome from Google. You'll need to use Apple's browser (Safari) to do this.

- How can I set it up so my wife and daughter have their own separate accounts?

Start System Preferences. Then click on Users & Groups. You can create more accounts from there. To add a new account, click on the "plus" sign. (To delete an account, click on the account, and then on the "minus" sign.)

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Whew, so I finally got around to setting it up and I'm impressed! I have to say I'm lost a bit though. I have some real dumb questions so feel free to yuk it up at my expense!

- Does the keyboard and mouse run off batteries? Is there a way to recharge them?
- Where exactly can I find info such as software version, hard disk space and other settings/specs?
- Where is my Chrome????? Do I need to download/install it and sign in etc....
(Told you these were dumb questions)
- How can I set it up so my wife and daughter have their own separate accounts?

I'm sure there's more to come, so far so good though! Thanks!!!

Just a quick note on safari vs chrome as a browser, chrome is a not very well optimised for mac OS. I would give safari a try unless you are using a lot of chrome services like docs etc.

Also use apples website they have tutorials on almost everything you may need to do as a noob and some tips and instructions on swapping from windows to Mac OS.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204216