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Mac OS X Training

Macs are one of the simplest computers to use but everyone can still benefit from training. Many people use their Macs on a daily basis not realizing what more than can do or how many “hidden” features there are waiting to be unlocked and make your work easier, faster and more enjoyable.

I offer a whole range of Mac OS X training courses.

If you’re just getting started with Macs you are in for an enjoyable experience. You’ll be able to do all the things you want to do with a computer more quickly and with less effort than before. No matter what you do or what your interests may be, there’s Mac software to meet those needs. Here’s just a few items of interest.

Learn the Mac interface and basics quickly.
Worry less about viruses.
Share information easily between your Mac, your iPhone or iPad, and iCloud (Apple’s online cloud storage).
Find the software you need for what you want to accomplish.
Spend less time figuring out what to do and more time being creative and getting stuff done.

Macs come with a variety of software to help you get started as soon as your turn it on and hear those startup chimes. Here are just a few of these.

Preview a good application for viewing pdfs and graphic files as well as having a few basic tools for image manipulation.
iCal, Mail, and Contacts for your basic day-to-day office work.
Utilities for checking the health of your Mac such as Activity Monitor, Disk Utility and System Profiler.
Software for entertainment such as iTunes, DVD player, Quicktime,
Other apps includes iPhoto, Garageband (for making audio), and iMovie.
App Store for downloading new apps and keeping them up to date.
Messages and FaceTime for communicating with others.

Setting up your Mac for the way you work can make you much more productive. There are many settings and applications that can make the use of your Mac much more enjoyable.

Spaces utility allows you to have different work areas with differnt applications open. As an example, you could have Mail and iCal open in one space and your web browser in another to allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. Think of it as having multiple desks with different functions for each one.
Organize your dock so you have the software you use the most readily at hand.
System Preferences is where there are a whole lot of settings that you can set up to make working on your Mac a more gratifying experience.
There are many keyboard shortcuts to help you work more productively and some utilities that allow you to see the shortcuts without having to memorize a whole bunch of shortcuts, KeyCue for example.
If you have kids you will appreciate the Parental Controls in the System Preferences. Here you can manage your child’s access to applications and the Internet.

Apple is constantly updating the system software that runs your computer and the latest version has a bunch of features to get excited about. Many of these features are borrowed from iOS for iPads and iPhones and make the two system more similar and easier to use together. Best of all it’s free!

Tabs just like in browsers in the Finder.
Add tags to files.
A shared link tab in Safari.
Store passwords in the cloud with iCloud Keychain.
Notification Center is more interactive.
iBook is now available on Macs with Maverick.

Apple has a page describing all the new features.

Twitter: @qdinfo
Ph: 503-999-7347
evawter@nullqdinformation.com
Located in Salem, OR
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I recently hired Ed Vawter to clean up my Google database of contacts, which had numerous duplicate records and conflicting information from more than one original file. Ed took on this onerous task with enthusiasm and brought both his technical skills and ingenuity to the assignment. He worked through numerous problems and technical glitches, and gave me a great outcome for a reasonable price! I recommend him for both his technical knowledge and his positive manner with customers.

Christine Hamilton-PennellPresident Growing Local Economies, Inc.

Ed Vawter has the unusual and remarkable ability to not only understand the intricacies and details of technology (both software and hardware), but to also understand and be responsive to the novice trying to learn that technology. He speaks tech with a “newbie” in mind, always encouraging, able to simplify the complex in a way that is informative without ever speaking down to his audience/students. He is the “go-to” guy for training on new technologies!

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I worked with Ed Vawter for training on using Devon Think. He was incredibly helpful and insightful to my case. He was able to quickly understand how I needed to be able to access the information but also use Devon Think to organize the case in order to best utilize time and money for the client. After the session Ed was available by phone and email to assist and was always very helpful and prompt. I would not hesitate to hire him again and refer him to others.

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We chose Ed Vawter for a sophisticated, demanding project focused on the Middle East, and he came through with a professional well-written report on time and on budget. The client was so pleased it led to a referral to another engineering firm for another project.

Richard Halpern Overbrook Scientific

CultureWorks is in the process of creating a massive 8-hour long radio series aimed at introducing thousands of Americans to the beauty and power of Shakespeare’s plays. His help in programming a system which allows us to aggregate, collate and manage thousands of pages of text of transcribed interviews has been a huge asset. We thank him for his kindness. It means a lot to me personally, and means a lot to our efforts.

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Ed Vawter’s guidance was invaluable in helping me construct a work flow within DevonTHINK Pro Office to meet my needs. He was prompt, generous with his time, and he quickly tailored our sessions to meet my level of experience without wasting time on things I didn’t need. His knowledge of the product, and his relationship with Devon Technologies made it feel as though I had a direct line to the developer. This was time and money well spent!

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