Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [8]
If any of these settings don’t make sense to you, get in touch with your ISP’s tech support people. It’s their job to help you make the connection, so stick with it until you have what you need.
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Note: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
You might notice different tabs in the Network preferences pane, but don’t worry. For example, when you’re configuring Ethernet, you see PPPoE settings that don’t appear when you’re configuring a phone modem.
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Click Assist Me if you’re having trouble and want your Mac to walk you through the steps to set up your network.
Click Diagnostics if your existing network settings aren’t working; click Assistant if you want help making the settings.
Follow the remaining steps in the Network Setup Assistant.
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Note: If Your Mac Is a Laptop
If you connect using different methods in different places, you should definitely look into creating custom locations so you don’t have to change all these settings every time you switch connections (see Chapter 5, “Customizing Your Mac”).
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Note: Status Quo
After your network settings are in place, you shouldn’t need to change them unless you buy new hardware (such as a router for Internet connection sharing) or your service provider changes the way its service is set up.
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Connecting to Your ISP
If you use a phone modem or a DSL modem with PPPoE, you need to initiate a connection when you want to go online. You can store more than one configuration, in case you connect in different ways at home, at work, and on the road. System Preferences always remembers the last connection you made.
Choose Apple Menu, System Preferences.
Click the Network button to see your connection settings.
Click to choose your modem.
Type in the connection data, including your username and password.
Click Connect.
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Tip: Getting Offline
You need to disconnect when you’re done surfing and checking your email. Go back to System Preferences and you’ll find that the Connect button has changed to a Disconnect button. Click that and you’re offline again.
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Tip: Status Symbol
In System Preferences, check the box labeled Show modem status in menu bar to add a Modem Status menu to your menu bar. And in the Modem Status menu, choose Show time connected to display how long you’ve been online.
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Using Universal Access
Universal Access provides alternative ways of viewing the Mac’s screen, hearing the sounds it makes, using the keyboard, and using the mouse. For example, if you can’t hear alert sounds, you can set the screen to flash instead, calling your attention to what’s happening just as clearly as an alert sound would.
Choose Apple menu, System Preferences.
Click Universal Access.
Click the Seeing tab and click the buttons to turn on the Zoom feature or switch to white text on a black background.
Click the Hearing tab and click the check box to flash the screen when an alert sound is played.
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Tip: Shortcuts to Access
No matter which Universal Access settings you want to use, you should click Allow Universal Access Shortcuts. This option activates the keyboard shortcuts shown on each tab of the Universal Access preferences pane.
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Note: Yakkety Yak
VoiceOver is the first setting in the Seeing section of the Universal Access preferences. This feature enables you to control your Mac with voice commands. Turn to the next task to learn more.
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Click the Keyboard tab and choose from the various keyboard options.
Click the Mouse & Trackpad tab and choose from the various mouse options.
Choose System Preferences, Quit System Preferences to apply your changes.
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Note: Special Assistance
The Enable access for assistive devices setting at the bottom of the Universal Access preferences pane enables you to use special equipment to control your Mac, such as head tracking devices with which you can move the cursor by moving your