Being thrown into a Mac environment

[RhysAndrews]

Hey guys!
I've been hanging onto the possibility of becoming an assistant IT consultant at a private school - I'm very experienced with Windows but with Mac I have little to no idea; and the school uses Mac's, including a Mac server.

At first this didn't phase me too much as I was just going to be an assistant and I would have the necessary training, plus I am quick to pickup things computer-related. However, now the IT consultant has resigned and I am going to be interviewed for a temporary part/full-time job controlling the whole network until they work out who needs to be employed for what, etc.

While I'm still confident I can manage the schools network despite not being too experienced with Mac's, I don't know how I can justify my ability at the upcoming interview. So in short, where are some resources to quickly learn how to troubleshoot common Mac problems, including network problems? I will hopefully have access to a Mac laptop soon to play with so I will be able to create hypothetical problems and fix them.

Any help would be really appreciated.
-Rhys

 

[01001010]

So in short, where are some resources to quickly learn how to troubleshoot common Mac problems, including network problems?

For one, you can start by reading discussion forums based around Mac OS. That'll give you an idea of the most common problems experienced. If you want to dive into detail, I'm sure there are numerous books available to you.

 

[RhysAndrews]

@01001010
Thanks! I was talking to a mate of mine who used to go to the school, and he said that the most common problems were slow network / net access, and people unable to login. Apparently the server overheated too and overloaded because people kept putting their stupid music into the iTunes library, which is stored on the server too, apparently.

 

[01001010]

To be honest, Mac OS isn't too different from Windows. When I started to run Mac OS as my primary operating, the transition was easier than I thought it would be. There are some simple differences, but all the fundamentals are the same.

 

[vampist]

I would suggest you do one of two things..

One (recommend) Rebel! and demand a switch to linux or windows xD

ORRRRRRRRRRRR I suppose you could look at this (Link, Link, Link, Link)

 

[01001010]

One (recommend) Rebel! and demand a switch to linux or windows xD

Go ahead and rebel. I'm sure there are fifteen other people looking for a job they could hire.

 

[vampist]

Go ahead and rebel. I'm sure there are fifteen other people looking for a job they could hire.

Lol that is true. I heard about some job fair down in Michigan from a friend. I guess it turned out people from near by states even went to it.. It's pretty bad when people are hopping states..

 

[LukaszR1]

Get the "Dummies" book for the Mac OSX. But i have a mac myself, and they are not hard to learn at all. Spend sometime on a mac...and you should be able to learn it in no time.

 

[RhysAndrews]

The most common problems are network-related...
I know networks work pretty much the same way as PC's, its just the user inteface I'd have to get used to.

I think in my interview I would be asked things like "If the internet was cut off to all the computers in the school, what steps would you take" and "If nobody could access the network, what would you do?" - Answers to those two questions, even in a PC environment, I actually struggle with. Because I say "Check the server, check the telephone line, restart the server / router... etc etc" and then they ask "Ok, and if none of those work?"