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20 October 2006

What is a literate Macintosh user? It's quite different than an expert Mac user. An expert Mac user is someone who understands both Unix and the architecture of Mac OS X. They can diagnose deep problems, work on the command line, write shell scripts, and utilize advanced tools for trouble shooting. They may have written software or done consulting. They're the the person you call when things go very wrong with your Mac, and you need help.

But you don't have to be an expert Macintosh user to be a literate user. For example, in the English language, a literate reader is someone who is aware of and well read in various literary forms and styles, notable authors, and the history and culture of English literature. They can put what they read into context while other less experienced readers cannot.

Why would one want to be a literate Macintosh user? The reason is because the combination of a complex operating system with vast storage connected to the Internet and various forces on the Internet (popups, spam, malware, phishers and splogs), creates an environment in which security and your time can get out of control. Even though using a Macintosh makes us a little more immune to these exploits by its design, knowing something about the design and function of the Mac allows us to put into context what we read about the dangers on the Internet. It also allows us to be more efficient with our time. A literate Macintosh user, in other words, is not just someone who lives in the relaxed comfort that they're using a superior computer. Rather, they're the ones who do some studying and learn how to actually exploit the advantages of their Mac.

How does being literate differ from having a nice collection of tips and tricks? Every day on the Macintosh Web or in the Mac-oriented Magazines you can find an interesting tip or trick. Some may have the Eureka! effect: they provide the answer to a problem you've had for a long time. Sometimes the trick relates to a piece of Apple software you may not use so much, for example, Keynote. So it's not so handy. Simply having your own collection of tips, even if it's in a SoHo Notes database may not make you literate, just as having read a lot of science fiction doesn't make you truly literate.

Other tricks are just very basic to the Mac OS X experience, and we pick them up along the way. We see those come to the surface when we read about, typically, a PC analyst or someone new to the Mac, making one of those astounding statements, like, "Macs don't have a built-in screen shot capability." Or, "Apple's don't ship with a C compiler." We know these things because, basically, we were born knowing them, but other users, when thrust into a Macintosh experience, don't have enough experience to even ask the right questions. After all, it's not like Macs ship with a 1,500 page manual, and you just go to the index and look up "screen shot."

One of the things that help you become a more literate Macintosh user is to have a good library of Mac OS X books. One may argue that the body of information on the Internet makes buying books about the Mac unnecessary, but that would be a mistake. Book publishers have a fairly good sense about what constitutes a well written book. It has to have a valuable theme, and it must organize that knowledge in a useful way. The Internet, on the other hand, doesn't generally organize information in useful ways. (Wikipedia is one exception.) And so, if you want to structure your own personal knowledge about Mac OS X in a literate way, it's a good idea to be exposed to books that organize their own knowledge in a constructive way -- one that you can exploit.

A Personal Business Plan

One of the secrets to being a a literate Macintosh user is to realize that a lot of marketing by Apple and hype by others is designed, like propaganda, to get you into or retain you in the Macintosh camp. After Apple sells you a computer, and cashes the check, their job is mostly done. (Admittedly, they have some support and warranty issues to attend to.) And of course, they want you to be a happy customer so you'll buy more Macs and iPods. Other Websites want you to come and visit so that they can put some kind of advertisement in your face. Some are very subtle and some are not, but the Webmasters and authors can't put food on the table and pay their ISP bill if they don't entertain, inform, and occasionally delight you.

Your idea of delight may vary.

But your job, after the sale is completed, is quite different. Let me give you a good example. You've had a Mac for years. You've accumulated 4,500 family photos and photos related to your photography business and 20 gigabytes of iTunes music. You diligently back up your home directory every day to an external disk.

One day, someone breaks into your apartment and grabs not only your iMac but that cute little external drive on which you had your backup. Now what?

Clearly the business of being a Macintosh user consists not only in understanding the key technology issues surrounding the Mac and its ecosystem but also some fairly practical details of family data security, banking security, file encryption, time management, trusted vendors, and information management. Basically, you are a mini-corporation. You have assets and information to be managed and protected.

Here's another example. You go to a Website, say CNN, and there's a news item with an accompanying video. You want to watch the video, but it won't play. You wonder what's wrong with your Mac. Is it something you did?

These things are not something you are typically reminded of as you read Mac Websites or watch Apple's cute "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads.

Being a literate Mac user means that you are aware of the core issues surrounding the life of a Macintosh user. You have trusted sources and resources. You can put what you read into context and you're not distracted by trivia and Internet innuendo. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun now and then. But just as your idea of fun probably doesn't include walking around the shipyards at 2:00 in the morning with hundred dollar bills stuck to your clothes, Internet fun must also be prudent.

Being your own IT manager requires that you have a plan. So much is thrown at us these days, it's all to easy to skip over the part where we decide what's important to know and what's important to do. Being a literate Mac user helps us do both. Remember, you're not just a surfer. You are, possibly, the family banker. You're the family historian. Someone in your family probably manages the family Website. Perhaps you're the family librarian of music, movies, TV shows and photos. Maybe some medical records. As we saw recently when notebook computer taken home by an employee of the Veteran's Administration was stolen, the integrity and security of quite possibly a terabyte of your own data in the home is not something to be taken lightly. Mishandling that data can affect not only you but other family members in not so amusing new ways as Internet thieves get better and better and the technologies change faster than you can assess them.

Being the family librarian, for example, means you have to worry about the things that professional librarians worry about: data migration. For example, what are the long term prospects for your archival media? If you've stored a lot of data on, say, ZIP drives in the past, you've come to realize that these removable media types are risky business and don't migrate well into the future.

There was a time when we used analog modems and our total storage consisted of perhaps a few hundred megabytes. Fairly soon, I promise you, home users will have to learn about a storage concept called RAID. Trust me on this one.

In summary, being Mac literate means that you are aware of, technically conversant with and can assess the various Macintosh technologies that you will need to use in your digital lifestyle. You don't make silly mistakes. You have a feel for what to expect. You are aware of the limitations and capabilities of your Macintosh imposed by the current state-of-the-art. You are also aware of issues related to using 3rd party software. It also means that you strike a wise balance between using the Internet for entertainment and building skills.

Just what are some of the elements that go into becoming a literate Macintosh user in terms of Macintosh knowledge, home IT management, and system security? What are the best sources for learning this information? In the coming weeks, we'll discuss more details about all these matters.

This is Warp Core column #80. The Warp Core archives are here:

Year 2000

Year 1999

* Your humble author also writes a column for TMO.

John Martellaro is a senior scientist and author. A former U.S. Air Force officer, he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple Computer. During his five years at Apple, he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager for science and technology, Federal Account Executive, and High Performance Computing Manager. His interests include alpine skiing, SciFi, astronomy, and Perl. John lives in Colorado. He can be contacted via his Website or the Applelinks Contact link.