Welcome to “Networking and Performance macOS Essentials.” After watching this video, you will be able to: Explain how to locate system-level hardware, network, and software information. Update the computer’s network connection. And use the Activity Monitor to evaluate system performance. Here’s how to locate and connect to new wireless networks. Within System Preferences, begin typing the word “Wi-Fi.” Apple uses predictive text, so you should quickly see the word “Wi-Fi.” Then, select the Network app. Select an available network and enter the network password. After you enter the password, you’ll be able to click Join. Optionally, you can display the network password while typing, and you can choose to have the computer remember the network for automatic login when you’re near this network. Next, let’s learn how to view system information. To view system information, click the Apple logo and select “About This Mac.” You’ll first see the Overview tab. Here you can quickly identify the macOS version, the MacBook model, processor, installed memory, graphics type, and the computer’s serial number. Select Software Update to determine if the operating system files are current. You can opt-in for automatic operating system updates. Next, select the Displays tab, to view basic display information. Select Displays Preferences, and you can adjust the resolution, brightness, color profile, universal control, and night shift settings. Now let’s view the Storage tab. You’ll first see an overview of the onboard storage. Click Manage to see an overview of what’s being stored, view iCloud storage options, optimize storage, empty the trash automatically, and review and remove files that are no longer needed. Next, let’s check out the System Report. So, now that you’ve seen the overview information, it’s time to select System Report. The System Report provides a detailed look at the system’s hardware, networking, and software. You’ll first see the default hardware view that includes the computer’s model name, identifier, processor name, speed, cores, RAM, serial number, and additional essential information for support. You can expand the view and click any of the items, such as Power. Click Network, and let’s check out the Wi-Fi information. You’ll first see system networking hardware-related information, including the machine’s MAC address. Then view information about wireless networks and other network-specific details as you scroll the page. Okay, next let’s check out the Software category. Select Software and review the System Software Overview. You’ll see operating system version information, the computer’s name, the logged-in user’s name, and the time elapsed since the computer’s most recent restart. And next, within Software, select Applications. Here you can view application names, versions, sources, dates last modified, and software” kind” or type, such as if the application is a universal app for all Mac devices. Next, let’s check out the Support tab. Select the Support tab. Use the displayed information to: Find out if the machine is still in warranty. Find service locations, and obtain help via chat and phone support. Next is the About This Mac, Resources tab. Here you’ll find links to online documentation and support for the macOS operating system and Mac hardware. So, next, let’s explore the Finder for folders and files. Use the Activity Monitor app to monitor system performance. Press the Command key and the spacebar to display the Spotlight. Then, type “Activity Monitor” in the search bar and click the Activity Monitor icon to open the app. You’ll first see the CPU tab, where you can identify: Which applications and processes are using CPU resources. What percentage of the CPU’s capacity is in use for each application. How much of the total CPU power is in use, and how much of the total CPU power is idle. Next, on the Memory tab, you can see: The amount of memory each application is using. The total physical memory installed. How much total memory is in use. The number of cached files. The amount of memory used by apps in total and the wired memory, or the memory needed for the machine to run. When you view the Energy tab, you’ll be able to determine: How much energy each application is using and whether the application is using the graphics card. The type of graphics card installed. The amount of battery charge available in both percentage of battery and time formats, and The most recent amount of time on battery. The Disk tab view provides disk performance information. You’ll see how fast data is read and written for each application and as a total. You’ll also know the amount of data transferred per second. The Network tab displays the number of data packets sent and received individually and in total. You’ll also see total data sent and received measured in megabytes based on the amount of data transferred per second. What if you need system diagnostics? Select the drop-down arrow where you can run a Spindump. A Spindump report helps troubleshoot why programs are crashing. You can run a systems diagnostics test for hardware issues. And you can run a Spotlight Diagnostics report to focus on evaluating system processes. In this video, you learned that: You can click the wireless icon to locate and configure login information for new networks. You can view the computer name by selecting System Preferences >System Report and then the Network Overview. And, selecting System Preferences and then selecting Network displays the computer’s name, IP address, related networking information, and the computer’s MAC address. You also learned that: Within System Preferences > System Report, you can view hardware, network, and software overview details. Press the Command key and spacebar to open the Spotlight. Using the Spotlight, you can type “Activity Monitor” and click the icon to open the app. Activity Monitor provides you with performance information organized by CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network, and finally a Spindump report helps troubleshoot why programs are crashing.
