Pulse College launch Mac for Beginners Course

Pulse College is delighted to launch the first in their series of short courses “Mac for Beginners” which will be run on the 15th of April. As Ireland’s leading creative media Pulse is constantly evolving and striving to come up with new creative course that are industry relevant. The “Mac for Beginners” course is aimed at those wishing to get the most out of their Mac. In simple, easy steps you will learn how to get started with Mac software, set up your Mac for email, printing, web browsing, file management and entertainment.

“With more people converting to Mac from pc, we designed the “Mac for Beginners Course” specifically to help smooth the transition” explains Naomi Moore, Director.

What you will learn

•Setting Up
•Getting Started
•Navigation
•Connecting your Devices
•Common problems and getting help
•Tips & Tricks

Lecture Profile

Shane Power is Pulse Colleges’ most experience Protools and Mac Instructor who is set to head up the “Mac for Beginner” course. Having being educated in one of the rare secondary schools to have a Mac lab he has never looked back. He has gone on to develop over 3 decades of experience working with Apple software and hardware. Shane explains to Pulse College news, the reasons behind the setting up “the Mac for Beginners” course and how it can help students get them most from their first Mac.
1. How long have you worked with Mac’s?
I've been using Mac's since 1984, I was lucky enough to have access to one in secondary school. The 'Mac Classic' was the first computer I ever used.
2. What makes you choose Mac over PC?
In the 18 years I've been using Mac's professionally, I've never had a major problem with them, no viruses, no loss of data. The last Mac Book Pro (Laptop) I bought, I used it for six years. PC users I know went through between two to four PC Laptops in that time. I find them to be extremely reliable and real workhorses.
3. Tell us the background of your Mac training.
I'm self taught I suppose. There wasn't a lot of 'technical support' available when I started using Mac's professionally, so I had to learn how to keep the machines running smoothly myself. For example, when I was running a commercial recording studio, everything needed to be up-to-date, ready and working. From taking a booking, to recording, invoicing, updating the company's website, whatever the task at hand. Learning the hard way has taught me some valuable lessons. These days there's a huge amount of support, training and information available through Apple's website and other online forums.
4. What make a Mac so different from a PC.?
As far as I'm aware, Apple are one of the very few companies who design their own operating system and software to run on their own hardware... to me it makes perfect sense that this adds up to a much better user experience. When you take your Mac out of the box for the first time, it's already loaded with all the software you need to start working with the Internet, Email, Music, Photos, Word Processing, Movies, Podcasts and more.
What are the main difficulties people have when they decide to move from PC to Mac?
Like any transition, it takes a little time to get used to where everything is on a Mac if you're used to working with a PC. Quitting and closing programs is different, menus look different etc. In my experience, once they've moved to a Mac, most people say that they don't know how they ever used anything else. There's a great 'Migration' software tool build into Mac's these days which makes it easy to transfer all your data from your old PC to your new Mac.
5. How do you feel the Mac for beginners course will help smooth the transition?
I hope the 'Mac for Beginners' course will give new Mac users a good basic understanding of how to get the most from their Ma and also teach them the basics of how to keep their Apple computer (and other devices) in good working condition for years to come.