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Glossary of Mac and Apple Terminology: M-P

Definitions of common terms, words, and technical jargon associated with Apple and the Macintosh computer.

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.Mac

Originally known as iTools, .Mac was a collection of online services and software for Mac users.

Mac Book Pro

Mac Book Pro is an often used but incorrect name for a line of Apple portable computers. The correct name for this product is MacBook Pro, with Mac and Book concatenated to produce the combined product name.

MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro is Apple’s professional line of laptop Mac computers. First introduced in January of 2006, the MacBook Pro was the second computer from Apple to make the transition from the PowerPC processor to processors supplied by Intel.

Malware

Malware, or malicious software, is any type of software that is designed to cause damage, disrupt activities, provide unauthorized access to a computer or network, or collect data about you without your knowledge.

.Me

.Me is a top-level domain country code for Montenegro. It’s often confused with Apple’s MobileMe service.

The OS X Menu Bar

The Mac OS X menu bar is a thin horizontal bar that spans the top of the Mac desktop. The menu bar always contains the Apple menu (identified by an Apple logo icon), as well as the basic File, Edit, View, Windows, and Help menu items. The menu bar may also contain items placed there by currently active applications. Unlike the Dock, the menu bar cannot be moved to other locations.

Multifunction Printer

A multifunction printer (MFP) combines several different functions in a single printer, usually printing, scanning, copying, and faxing.

Optical Drive

In addition to a hard drive, most desktop and laptop computers come with an optical drive, which is designed to read or read and write optical media (CDs and DVDs).

Optical Media

Optical media is a generic term that refers to any type of data storage media that uses light, usually in the form of a laser, to read and/or write data.

Pages

Pages is a full-featured word processor included in Apple’s iWork office suite. Pages comes with over 40 templates, and can import and export documents in Microsoft Word format.

Partition or Partitions

Partitions are separate sections of a hard drive. Partitioning is the process of physically creating separate sections on a hard drive.
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