New mac user: Help please! Task bar?

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Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Does the MAC OS X have a "task bar" option? How do you know which programs are running in the background? Can the active ones be highlighted on the DOCK?



Thanks in advance.



Big Al

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  • Reply 1 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Big_Al View Post


    Does the MAC OS X have a "task bar" option? How do you know which programs are running in the background? Can the active ones be highlighted on the DOCK?



    Thanks in advance.



    Big Al



    Open applications are all shown in the dock, and have a bluish white dot below the icon to indicate they are running. Alternately, you can hold down the command (⌘) key and tap the Tab key and a list of active app icons will appear in an overlay on the screen. You can continue to tap the Tab key to cycle through these, and release when the one you want to activate is highlighted. An elegant solution!



    For a complete list of running processes, including hidden programs and daemons running as background tasks, you can open the "Activity Monitor" which is pretty much the same thing as the Windows Process Viewer.
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    big_albig_al Posts: 24member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    Open applications are all shown in the dock, and have a bluish white dot below the icon to indicate they are running. Alternately, you can hold down the command (⌘) key and tap the Tab key and a list of active app icons will appear in an overlay on the screen. You can continue to tap the Tab key to cycle through these, and release when the one you want to activate is highlighted. An elegant solution!



    For a complete list of running processes, including hidden programs and daemons running as background tasks, you can open the "Activity Monitor" which is pretty much the same thing as the Windows Process Viewer.



    Thank you!
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  • Reply 3 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Big_Al View Post


    Thank you!



    Glad to be of help, and welcome to the Mac world!
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Big_Al View Post


    Thank you!



    To open "Activity Monitor" click on magnify glass icon in the right upper corner and type Activity Monitor - the app will show up on the top of a list.
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    marvfoxmarvfox Posts: 2,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    Glad to be of help, and welcome to the Mac world!



    You are a wealth of knowledge.tell me what % would I see as an average user with the core 2 duo I own now and the i5 processor? I have a new 2010 MBP 13 inch
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    marvfoxmarvfox Posts: 2,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    Glad to be of help, and welcome to the Mac world!



    what is your solution to my answer tonton? thanks
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by marvfox View Post


    what is your solution to my answer tonton? thanks



    It's dependent on the meaning of the phrase "average user".



    If all you do is surf the Internet, you'll see zero change. If you play games, encode movies with HandBrake, and use the processor-intensive iLife applications, you'll see 20-50% speed boosts, I believe.
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