Most of us have a go at it at least one somebody who ’s not merely a Mac user , but a dyed - in - the - wool Mac geek . You live the type : someone who has a large collection of Macs and is warm to tell you the chronicle of each one ; who keeps up with all the latest Apple news and hearsay ; and who seems to know the answer to any Mac question , no matter how obscure or expert . Though you may be tempted to ridicule a Mac geek ’s obsessiveness , you ’ll plausibly resist that temptation because you want to remain on the geek ’s good side — since he or she will be the first soul you go to for aid when something goes incorrect with your own Mac !
What made me a Mac geek from the starting signal , and not just a guy with a Mac , was that I dive flop in and set about research , tinkering , and learning .
I buy my first Mac , a used Mac SE , in 1991 — but that does n’t mean I eased into geekdom over a period of decades . The first affair I did after lend my SE home was to take it apart and instal more random-access memory . The second matter I did ( and this is only a slight exaggeration ) was to start customizing the Finder , usingResEdit(if you have to ask , you do n’t demand to know)—in other password , a bit of modest hacking . Within a brace of calendar month , a large local Mac user group appoint me Disk Librarian . My job was to research , download , and catalogue all of the good freeware and shareware products , compose new accumulation of cool tools every month , and duplicate them on floppy disc to enhance money for the nightclub . I throw myself into that job and quickly acquired the reputation of being a know - it - all ( in a honest way ) .
My degree is that earning a eccentric badge does n’t necessitate years of Mac utilization ; it ’s all in how you approach it . What made me a Mac eccentric person from the start , and not just a guy with a Mac , was that I dove in good order in and begin explore , tinkering , and find out .
Maybe you ’d never want to be a Mac eccentric yourself , but if you ’ve ever begrudge the simpleness with which a Mac oddball speeds through complicated tasks or confidently nil in on the cause of a tricky problem , you might happen it utile to cultivate the skill of thinking like a Mac geek . Doing so wo n’t give you magical troubleshooting powers , but Mac eccentric person do n’t have magic powers either . Everything we do , you may do , too .
Be curious
When I run into a new app , I start by exploring . What does this button do ? What difference does change that preference make ? What would happen if I oblige down the pick samara while snap a menu ? I watch practically everything I excuse in my Macworld how - to articles by engaging in that sorting of experimentation . I try something , see what make for and what does n’t , change something , and stress again . My experiments are full of questions that begin with “ What if … ? ” and “ Why … ? ” I keep pry around until I get the issue I demand , and then I drop a line down what I did .
Do n’t be content not to bonk how that expensive machine on your desk deeds . Is there a brochure you have n’t looked in yet ? Look ! Is there an app you ’ve never tried ? open up it ! You ’ll have interrogative ; you ’ll receive things that puzzle you . That ’s salutary . inquiry are what drive Mac eccentric to instruct . If you ca n’t find the answer by experiment , seek the Web or necessitate a geek booster . Repeat indefinitely . As fourth dimension go on , more of the answers will make sense .
Be systematic
Iwrote a book on Mac troubleshooting , but I still encounter bewilder Mac demeanour all the metre . When I ca n’t figure out why something is befall the path it is , I do n’t guess arbitrarily ; I take a methodical approaching .
Mac eccentric person , like physician and scientist , tend to name unmanageable problems by race test … gradually toss wrong answers until they get to the right one .
For example : Ever since I turned on my young iMac , my cablegram modem has been resetting itself every 2 hours . That ’s a new and weird matter . Is it a coincidence , or is it the fault of the iMac ? Test by flex off the iMac for a while . The problem go away . plow the iMac back on , more resets . Aha ! So it ’s the iMac , not the modem . What if I turn off Wi - Fi on the iMac and utilise only ethernet ? Still bump , but less often , so have ’s commence looking at every app that accesses the meshing . By consistently narrowing down the generator of the problem , I eventually find out that some out-of-date piece of software that I had migrated from an quondam motorcar has been honk garbage onto my connection and gross out out my cable modem .
Like doctors and scientists , Mac geeks lean to name hard problems by running test to harness out group of possibilities , gradually toss improper answer until they get to the right one .
Be lazy
Mac geeks have a singular kind of laziness . They hate to macerate keystrokes and mouse bowel movement , so they be given to be fond ofkeyboard shortcuts , macro , scripts , and other tactic for automating tasks or eliminating superfluous steps . I have sometimes pass total day trying to automate what would otherwise be a 2 - minute manual procedure , just because I could n’t resist the idea of having to endure those 2 minutes of tedium several times every day . Was it deserving it ? Absolutely !
Always assume that there may be an prosperous way to do anything on your Mac . Then systematically research fashion to make it happen . You wo n’t always succeed , but sometimes you will , and you ’ll larn a great hand about your Mac in the process .
Be confident
AsRichard Bachsaid in his novelIllusions : “ Argue for your limitations , and certainly enough , they ’re yours . ” If you evidence yourself that your Mac is too complicated or that you ’ll never get it , you ’ll be correct — you’ve made a self - fulfilling prognostication . alternatively , assume that you ’re smart enough to figure out anything Apple can throw at you , and certainly smarter than any guy who would refer to himself as a “ eccentric person . ” You probably are ! You ’ll get it if you conceive you’re able to . All geeks believe they are , or can be , master copy of their computing machine .
And do n’t forget to hug your Mac .
