Tonight I learned more about the Apple!!!

      I heard about computer when I was in elementary school, but the first time I really saw one and used it was when I entered into the middle school. I still remember we were  using Windows 97 in school. We had one computer class every week. So I didn’t really get a lot of chances to explore this new amazing technology until I entered to the college. As technologies transform the ways people work, think, teach and learn, I realized I need to get acquainted with the basic computer knowledge. It was the second year of my college, I saved enough money to purchase one. It was a desktop, put together by one of my friends that ran Windows XP. Since then I started to explore this amazing technology. But due to the lack of knowledge of maintaining my computer, a lot of problems began to occur. It  was constantly being attacked by viruses, which led to it suddenly shutting down and eventually never waking up again. Its totally lifespan was not over two years. I like to use computers, but I really don't know how to maintain them.

      After my first computer wore out, one of my American friends lent me his Macbook Pro. It was back in 2010 when I started to get to know about Apple computers. The first experience was amazing, even though I had to learn how to get used to the new operating system. The Windows and Apple OS software are two very different systems. The first thing I needed to adjusted to was the different locations of the close/minimize/maximize buttons. Apple put all these buttons on the left side of its window, while Windows put them on the right. The longer I used Apple computers,  the more I loved them. Apple computers can do a lot more than I know, so it keeps me motivated as I learn more about how to use them and how to possibly use them to benefit me in my future teaching career.

        I had my first experience of the Apple mouse in JU's computer lab. I had experience with the typical two button mouse with a wheel so it was kind of hard to get used to the Apple mouse. Plus I got used to using the magic trackpad and I loved it. I can do so much with it. I can zoom in and out with two fingers pinching on the trackpad, view all the running programs with four fingers swiping across the trackpad, scroll the screen up and down with two fingers moving up and down on the trackpad, and so on. The magic trackpad makes full use of my entire hand to interface with the computer.

      One of my really amazing discoveries was iCloud, which seamlessly integrated into all apps, so I can access my content on all my devices. For instance, if I use iPad to take a picture and I want to put it into my desktop. I used to have to email this picture to my email account and then download to my desktop. But since I can use iCloud, all I need to do is connect my iPad to the internet  it will then synchronize the picture into my desktop, which won’t even take a second. Once I have downloaded a song from iTunes, it will appear on all my devices. This new technology really makes my life much more productive.

       The multiple spaces the Apple computer offers has made my life a lot more productive and easier. In the System preferences, once I click Expose/ Spaces icon, Spaces let me organize my windows into groups in order to reduce desktop clutter. Currently I have four spaces on my laptop. Every time I use my computer, I can organize my different windows based on the different contents. By doing this, I won’t have trouble in finding the window I want to work on.

        Another really exciting and assuring discovery was how Apple computer keeps my computer safe from every possible aspect. Since the software and hardware are both created by the Apple company,  they hold tight control  of what kind of software can be used on their hardware. Because Apple computers only share their software with small percentages of the computing market, it is more difficult to develop malware, such as viruses and trojans for Apple computers. They designed the OS with powerful, advanced technologies that work together to constantly scrutinize, update, and ultimately keep my Mac safer. There is another security feature, called Gatekeeper, what it does is it helps me keep an eye on what my apps come from and it protects me from downloading and installing malicious software on my computer. There are a lot more safety features that Apple computers provide. I still need to learn more about it in order to maintain my computer better. But Apple computers are really worth the price. 

        My partner Greta and I checked out some of the online keyboarding program. One of my favorite is the typing club, http://typingclub.com/typing. It uses images with highlighting correct fingers to demonstrate how to use the ten fingers to type properly, which would be really good for the beginners. I tried some of its practice sessions, and it actually did help me correct some of my typing problem. Another one I tried is the speed typing online, http://www.speedtypingonline.com/typing-test, which users can practice their typing speed. Learners who already know the basic typing skills but want to improve their tying speeds might find this kind of program is useful.