Once your MacBook is running and you give it the once-over, your next chore is setting up your laptop. Apple tweaks the MacBook setup questions on a regular basis, and they’re very easy to answer. Everything is explained onscreen as you familiarize yourself with your new MacBook. It even comes complete with onscreen Help if you need it.

Take a tour of the macOS Catalina interface Get organized and save time with macOS applications Find pro tips on speeding up your Mac Back up your data macOS Catalina For Dummies is perfect for new and inexperienced macOS users looking to grasp the fundamentals of the operating system.

It’s a good idea to know what to expect, however, as well as what information you need to have at hand. There are also support opportunities and neat features like Apple’s iCloud. Consider this to be a study guide for whatever your MacBook’s setup procedure throws at you.

Your iCloud account is your friend

Apple offers you the chance to create an iCloud account (which you access with your Apple ID) during the initial setup of Catalina. (If you already have an iCloud account from an earlier version of macOS, or if you created an Apple ID while using your iPad or iPhone, you skipped ahead without a second thought.)

If you’re careful about your online travels and decide not to supply your personal data, however, you may decide to pass up the chance to create your iCloud account during Catalina setup, most likely thinking that you’ll take care of it later.

Unfortunately, all sorts of macOS features and applications hinge on your iCloud account, including the App Store, Messages, the iTunes Store, and FaceTime. If you skip the iCloud account-creation process during setup, you can take care of that chore at any time. It’s free and painless, and makes you one of the “in crowd.”

When you’re prompted for an iCloud password by one of the aforementioned applications, click the Create Apple ID/iCloud Account button to start the ball rolling. The application leads you through the process step by step. You can also create your ID through the App Store or the iTunes Store. Click the Account link in either of these applications, and you’re prompted to create your iCloud account.

Note that Apple now uses what it calls 2 Factor Authentication for your Apple ID. This feature provides much tighter security for your Apple ID. But if you share your Apple ID among multiple Macs or between iOS devices (such as an iPhone or iPad), 2 Factor Authentication involves entering a code on each of those computers and devices. Code entry isn’t a huge hassle, but if you’re switching from a Windows PC, it may seem a little strange!

Setting up macOS Catalina

After you start your MacBook for the first time — or if you’ve just upgraded from macOS Mojave — your laptop launches Catalina setup automatically. The setup process takes care of several tasks:

• Setup provides Catalina your personal information. Your MacBook ships with a bathtub full of applications, many of which use your personal data (such as your address and telephone number) to fill out your documents automatically.

  If that stored personal information starts you worrying about identity theft, I congratulate you. If you’re using common sense, sharing your personal data at any time should make you uneasy. In this case, however, you’re fine. Apple doesn’t disseminate this information anywhere else, and the applications that use your personal data won’t send it anywhere either. Also, Safari (the Apple web browser) fills out forms on a web page automatically only if you give your permission.

• Setup creates your user account. You’re prompted for a username and password, which Setup uses to create your administrator-level account.
• Setup configures your language and keyboard choices. macOS is a truly international operating system, so you’re offered the chance to configure your laptop to use a specific language and keyboard layout.
• Setup configures your email accounts in Apple Mail. If you already have an email account set up with your Internet service provider (ISP), keep handy the email-account information that the ISP provided to answer these questions. The info should include your email address and your login name and password. Catalina can even configure your email account automatically for you (including many web-based email services such as Google Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and Outlook) if you supply your account ID and password.
• Setup allows you to open an iCloud account. Apple’s iCloud service just plain rocks — especially the free storage. Take this advice: Join up, trooper, and create your iCloud account during setup. The standard iCloud service is free, and upgrading to additional space is a breeze if you decide that you like the service’s benefits. For now, just sign up (or sign in, if you already have an iCloud account) and take the opportunity to feel smug about owning an Apple MacBook.
• Setup sends your registration information to Apple. As a proud owner of a MacBook, take advantage of the year of hardware warranty support and the free 90 days of telephone support. All you have to use ’em is register. Rest assured that all this info is confidential.
• Setup offers to launch Migration Assistant. This assistant guides you through the process of migrating (an engineer’s term for moving) your existing user data from your old Mac or PC to your laptop. Naturally, if your MacBook is your first Macintosh computer, you can skip this step with a song in your heart!

Registering your MacBook

Many people don’t register every piece of computer hardware they buy. You may not register the wireless Bluetooth adapter, for example, because the expenditure is small, the gizmo has no moving parts, and you’re not likely to need technical support to use it or get it fixed.

Your MacBook is a different kettle of fish, so it’s strongly recommended that you register your purchase with Apple during the setup process. You spent a fair amount on your MacBook, and your investment has a significant number of very expensive parts.

In fact, the purchase of an AppleCare Protection Plan extended warranty to go with your new MacBook is a good idea for the ultimate in peace of mind. If you can invest a couple of hundred dollars more, you’ll have a full three years of service coverage from the purchase date.

Even the hardiest of technowizards know the value of an extended warranty for your MacBook

If you don’t register your MacBook, you can’t receive support.

Rest assured that Apple isn’t one of those companies that constantly pesters you with email advertisements and near-spam.

Have you upgraded to Catalina from the previous version of macOS, Mojave? If so, you’ve opened the door to several new features. (And if you’re not rubbing your hands together with gleeful anticipation, you should be.) Here, you’ll find descriptions of the new features that ship with the latest version of macOS.

Note that some other new Catalina features are available, such as the new Day, Month, and Year display options for Photos, for example. The new features you find here, however, are the real standouts in macOS Catalina.

Let the fun begin!

Catalina’s protected system volume

For the first time in the long and storied history of our favorite operating system, macOS (and Mac OS X before that, and just plain OS X before that), the critical system files that make up Catalina are now housed in a separate volume from your applications, documents, and data.

Macos Catalina For Dummies Pdf

This separate system volume is marked as read-only, so you can’t change it manually (even using your Administrator account). Neither, of course, can viruses or malicious applications written by hackers, which is the entire point. This new, protected system volume effectively secures Catalina from unwelcome interference and eliminates accidental damage that MacBook owners could inflict upon their own laptops!

It’s important to note that the new Catalina system volume is limited only to operating system files. Because your applications and documents are kept in a separate volume on your internal drive, they’re still subject to attacks from viruses and malicious applications. Therefore, it’s strongly recommended that you still install antivirus software on your MacBook!

Also, your applications and documents can still be accidentally erased or overwritten as before, so it’s still vitally important for you to back up your important documents and data (preferably with Time Machine). In other words, your stuff is still vulnerable, and you still need to safeguard your system.

Catalina’s protected system volume won’t slow the operation of your MacBook (and requires no configuration or maintenance on your part), so if you like, you can promptly forget about it! (Don’t forget to enjoy that feeling of security from time to time, though.)

Porting iOS applications to Catalina

The arrival of Catalina makes it easier for software developers to port their iPad and iPhone applications to macOS. In other words, it now takes less time and effort to create a version of an iPad or iPhone app that will run on your MacBook.

Naturally, this situation results in far more applications in the App Store that will be available for your MacBook in the future (A Very Good Thing indeed). Apple has also enhanced its support for third-party cloud storage providers such as Dropbox and OneDrive, so you’ll likely see more configuration and display options for your third-party online storage within Catalina.

Catalina brings the arrival of Music, TV, and Podcasts

It’s downright hard for macOS old-timers to believe, but the arrival of Catalina officially marks the retirement of the iTunes application! Naturally, you won’t lose a single song, movie, TV show, or podcast subscription that you’ve collected in your iTunes libraries over the years.

iTunes is simply being replaced by three separate applications: Music, TV, and Podcasts. These three applications have been staples of iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad for some time now. (Consider this move to be part of a continuing effort on Apple’s part to bring successful elements of iOS to the world of Mac computers.)

Instead of taking an integrated approach to playing music and video or listening to podcasts, Catalina separates and simplifies the three applications, with each application concentrating on one type of media. (Note, however that Apple’s online media shopping center is still called the iTunes Store. Go figure.)

Catalina has a new home for Apple ID

Looking for all the specifics on your Apple ID account? In Catalina, your Apple ID account receives its own pane in System Preferences. The Apple ID pane is the clearinghouse for displaying and changing your account information, and you’ll find all the options for iCloud features here as well. You can manage your iCloud use, as well as purchase additional iCloud storage if you need it. Convenience is the key!

Catalina extends your MacBook with Sidecar

Do you own a late-model iPad running iOS version 13? If so, rejoice! Catalina introduces a new feature called Sidecar, which allows your iPad to act as a secondary display for your MacBook. You can use Sidecar to extend your Catalina Desktop (giving you more screen real estate for applications and Finder windows), or you can use the Apple Pencil input device to turn your iPad into a drawing tablet.

To turn Sidecar on, click the AirPlay icon on the Finder window’s menu bar, and choose your compatible iPad from the menu that appears. If you decide on a wired connection, you’ll need a USB-C cable that can connect to your iPad. As long as your iPad is within 30 feet of your MacBook, however, you can connect wirelessly by using Bluetooth. Sidecar can be configured from a new pane within System Preferences.

When you’ve made the connection between the two devices, Catalina re-creates the MacBook Pro Touch Bar display at the bottom of the iPad — a genuine boon to owners of older MacBook and MacBook Air models that don’t have a Touch Bar.

Catalina tells you about your Screen Time

Another new feature inherited from iOS, Catalina’s Screen Time application makes it easy to monitor how you use your MacBook.

If you’re interested in controlling access to applications or setting limits on the time you spend surfing, gaming, or chatting, Screen Time is the solution. (Imagine being able to schedule a consistent downtime period every day so that you no longer end up working until the wee hours of the morning.)

You can also control your children’s access to Catalina’s applications and features, making Screen Time a powerful parenting tool. The Family Sharing feature has also been moved to Screen Time, allowing you to configure your family’s iOS devices as well.

Macos Catalina For Dummies

Screen Time is configured from a new pane in System Preferences.

Catalina makes unsubscribing easy

It may not be a major feature, but it’s Catalina’s answer to some MacBook user prayers: Apple has added an Unsubscribe feature to Mail! If you’re like some other diehard Mac users, you often find yourself added to a company’s email mailing list — without your permission — and desperately desire to be left alone.

Macos Catalina For Dummies

In the past, you’d have to search the list messages for an Unsubscribe link, or even contact the source of the list directly to demand that you be removed. Within Catalina, if Mail detects that a message is from a mailing list, it displays an Unsubscribe button in the message header, allowing you to unsubscribe from the mailing list quickly and conveniently. Huzzah!