IMovie/Iphoto

I've been struggling to find helpful info with problems I run into, with my Macbook Pro, generally.
eg.I don't know how powerful (or not) my Mac is, nor how to save my photos, nor haow to navigate my way around generally.

I mostly use Iphoto & Imovie to make DVD's for friends and family and sometimes need help here also.

I'm recovering after illness and seem to take a while to pick things up...but it IS happening,
so please be patient with me.

Am I in the right place for the help I require?
Cheers,
Photodudess

You could start telling us which OS you are using, but depending on what you have I would recommend one of these books

Amazon.com: Mac OS X Lion: The Missing Manual (9781449397494): David Pogue: Books

Amazon.com: Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals) (9780596153281): David Pogue: Books

Thanks louishen,
but what is an OS? (told you I need help!).

I have a copy of David Pogue & Aaron Miller's iMovie'11 & iDVD which is invaluable to me.

My Son loaded Photoshop onto my Mac also, but I took a peek and closed THAT door until I am far more informed re the basics...which I'm finding difficulty with. Seems one is expected to have a certain degree of tech knowledge when they begin, however, I dont have it and am seeking it here...amongst you informed dudes.

Next question:
How do I know how much 'stuff', ie photos, documents etc my comp can hold?...I have over 1000 photos, and 12 projects in iMovie on the go, and am concerned I may be overburdening my Mac and they may all disappear off into cyberspace never to be seen again.

Photodudess said:

Thanks louishen,
but what is an OS? (told you I need help!).

I have a copy of David Pogue & Aaron Miller's iMovie'11 & iDVD which is invaluable to me.

My Son loaded Photoshop onto my Mac also, but I took a peek and closed THAT door until I am far more informed re the basics...which I'm finding difficulty with. Seems one is expected to have a certain degree of tech knowledge when they begin, however, I dont have it and am seeking it here...amongst you informed dudes.

Next question:
How do I know how much 'stuff', ie photos, documents etc my comp can hold?...I have over 1000 photos, and 12 projects in iMovie on the go, and am concerned I may be overburdening my Mac and they may all disappear off into cyberspace never to be seen again.

Click to expand...

OS stands for Operating System and if you click the apple in the top left corner, then click 'about this mac', it should give you some info including your current version. If it is 10.6.x then it will be Snow Leopard, if 10.7.x then its Lion, this will help you out in the future by allowing you to specify the actual OS that you are running.

1000 photos isn't really that much, maybe 2 - 3 GB, although I do not know what size HD (hard drive) you have, I'm guessing you do not have to worry just yet.

What I would suggest, if you aren't doing it already, is utilizing Time Machine which is a built in software that automatically backs up the contents of your Mac to an external hard drive at a time specified by you each day. Should anything ever happen to your Mac and your file disappear, you would simply use Time Machine to roll back to the last back up and everything is there again. This does mean you have to buy an external hard drive, but those are reasonably cheap. If you have the money, consider a Time Capsule which will back up all your stuff wirelessly, but, do some research on this first.

It sounds to me like you would benefit from some Mac 101 learning, and maybe a membership with a local Mac User Group or classes at the nearest Apple retail store.

Maybe you should try one of the tutors available from the App store.
I know it helped me a lot when I made the switch from Windows to Mac.