Have you just installed Mac OS X? Are you planning to do so soon? If you’re looking for detailed technical information on the operating system or you want to be apprised of potential pitfalls before taking the plunge, then make sure to visit Apple’s inimitable Tech Info Library.
The Tech Info Library isn’t new — it’s been online for years, and many Mac users consider it an indispensable help tool (it’s also searchable using Sherlock, the search tool built into Mac OS). Although Apple makes no secret of the Tech Info Library, it isn’t heavily publicized either, so don’t fret if you’ve not been made aware of it until now. The library contains detailed technical documentation compiled by Apple’s own support engineers. The Tech Info Library is a freely available part of Apple’s Web site, and it has just been updated in the past few days with dozens of new entries focused on Mac OS X.
Newly posted and updated bulletins in the Tech Info Library range broadly in focus. Mac OS X users can find out what a kernel panic is (it’s a UNIX-style system error), for example, or how to optimize their graphics system for best performance with games (if you’re using an older ATI card, drop the bit-depth). Apple lists the OS X drivers included for third-party ink jet printers (popular Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard models are supported), and also notes that brightness and volume keys on PowerBooks and iBooks may not work correctly in OS X. Some of the issues are minor, some are significant, and many are bound to affect a great number of Mac OS X users as they transition to their new operating system.
Our cursory test showed more than six-dozen new articles posted since Friday related to Mac OS X. To find them for yourself, visit the Tech Info Library and for your search string, use “Mac OS X 10.0” (without the quotes, of course). That’ll narrow the field to specific issues related to the newly available operating system.