When using a computer at home, you’re working on the same computer that physically holds all your files. When using college computers, things are different. In most cases, your files are on a completely different computer than the one in front of you; you are looking at them remotely.
This gives us the following benefits:
- You are mobile, you have access to the same files on any computer you sit down at.
- You can see the same files whether you’re logged into a mac or a PC.
- Safe, Protected storage – The data centre that holds your files is extremely fast and fault-tolerant against flooding, fire, plague and alien invasions. It’s also far too heavy to steal.
- It’s easier for us to help you, to restore a file from backup, or to help you find something you’ve lost.
With this in mind, let’s look at how this works when you log into a mac – here’s how your Home Folder looks in the OS X Finder:
Your Home Folder is initially populated by some default folders – things like Desktop, Music, Pictures; they’re all fairly easy to work out. A Music application like Logic Pro X will save work into your Music folder by default, and files downloaded from the internet will end up in Downloads.
As you go about your lessons, using applications and saving files, you’ll see applications make their own folders, and you’ll make some of your own too. In fact, how you organise your Home Folder is really up to you. Something you should keep in mind is how much space you have available to you.
Every student gets a 5GB space allowance, and every file that you save/keep inside your Home Folder will take up a portion of that allowance.