Lesson Structure

Each lesson in this book begins with an opening page that lists the goals for the lesson and an estimate of the time needed to complete the lesson.

The explanatory material is augmented with hands-on exercises essential to developing your skills. For the most part, all you need to complete the exercises is a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.4.1 or later. If you lack the equipment necessary to complete a given exercise, you are still encouraged to read the step-by-step instructions and examine the screen shots to understand the procedures demonstrated.

NOTE

The exercises in this book are designed to be nondestructive if followed correctly. However, some of the exercises can be disruptivefor example, they may turn off network services temporarilyand some exercises, if performed incorrectly, could result in data loss or damage to System files.

As such, it's recommended that you perform these exercises on a Macintosh that is not critical to your daily productivity. Instructions are given for restoring your Macintosh to its functional state whenever necessary, but reasonable caution is highly recommended. Apple Computer, Inc. and Peachpit Press are not responsible for any data loss or any damage to any equipment that occurs as a direct or indirect result of following the procedures described in this book.

We refer to many Knowledge Base documents throughout this book, and close each lesson with a list of recommended documents related to the topic of the lesson. The Knowledge Base is a free online resource (www.apple.com/support) containing the very latest technical information on all of Apple's hardware and software products. You are strongly encouraged to read the suggested documents, as well as learn how to search the Knowledge Base for answers to your particular questions.

At the end of each lesson is a short "Lesson Review" that recaps the material you've learned. You can refer to various Apple resources, such as the Knowledge Base, as well as the lessons themselves, to help you answer these questions.