System Preferences on Mac

The System Preferences are your personal configuration of your Mac.
A brief overview:

Appearance: you can find the 'anti-aliasing' level here. It manages the sharpness and contrast of the text on your screen.
Dashboard & Exposé: fast appearing and disappearing programs => I'll explain later
Desktop and Screen-saver: you want a nice picture on your desktop?
Dock: all those icons at the bottom of your screen
International: use the computer in another language
Security: choose if you want all your data encrypted yes or no
Spotlight: the powerful search engine of Mac OS 10.4

CDs and DVDs: what should your Mac do when an empty disc is placed in its drive? => I'll explain later
Displays: obvious
Energy Saver: save power, save money, save the environment
Keyboard & Mouse: how fast do you want to have your little rodent running across the screen?
Print & Fax: obvious => I'll explain later
Sound: choose your input and output device, internal or external microphone and favorite alert signal

 Mac: get your own .....@mac.com email address, a huge amount of storage with iDisc and your own site on the Apple servers for USD 99 a year
Network: this is the place where you fill in your internet-account or networking data => I'll explain later
QuickTime: play movies, music, midi etc.
Sharing: give your Mac permission to communicate in a Network, and configure the Firewall here. => I'll explain later

Accounts: here's the place to change your password, add new users and instruct what they can and can't do. Very handy when there's only one Mac in the family
Not present on Intel-Macs=Classic: for long-time Mac users who want to use ancient - pre Mac OS X software OBSOLETE
Date and time: obvious
Software Update: links to Apple to inform you of the latest software updates. You can schedule this, or do it yourself every once and a while.
Speech: talk to your Mac and let it talk back to you. Very funny!
Startup Disk: tell the Mac which disc to start up from the next time it reboots
Universal Access: people with disabilities (hearing, seeing, movement functions, repetitive strain injuries) should take a look here

Other: In case of installing certain drivers or programs, more System Preferences may appear:

TIP
Removing system preferences
Sometimes, when you install new hard- or software, a new System Preference panel appears into System Preferences. You can remove it by Control clicking:

To shut down a program
You can stop a program by clicking on the Menu bar at the program's name. You'll find the command to quit the program there:

To quit the System Preferences program An easier way to do this is to use the keyboard. Push the Command-key and the Q-key simultaneously.




Command keys are the keys next to the space bar on your keyboard, with this symbol on them:

Note: Nearly anything can be done with both mouse or keyboard. The more experienced you'll become, the more 'shortcuts' you'll use. More of this later.

SWITCH TIP
Quit a program
In the MS Windows operating system it is common to shut down a program by closing all open windows. On the Mac, that is not the case. A program can run at the background with no windows present. Use Quit to shut it down completely.