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      FIGURE 2-1: Monitor your battery usage from the System Preferences Battery pane.

      HOT PATOOTIE! IS MY LAPTOP STEAM-POWERED?

      Laptops generate heat. Today’s superfast multicore processors can work up a head of steam (pun intended) while you’re using them. Some of that heat radiates from the bottom of the computer, even though current MacBook Pro models have a fan. (Note that Apple’s M1 processor produces far less heat than Intel processors.)

      What you might not realize, however, is just how much heat your MacBook can produce. You won’t get burned if you shift your MacBook from a desk to your lap (Apple dislikes lawsuits as much as the next company), but that laptop will be uncomfortably hot if you’ve been using it for hours!

To avoid that burning sensation, buy a laptop stand or cooling pad for your desk. These nifty metal or Plexiglas pedestals raise your laptop off your desk, allowing air to flow under the computer for better cooling. Also, a laptop stand elevates the screen to a more-ergonomic position. Some stands even include a built-in fan powered by one of your USB ports. (The keyboard might suddenly be harder to use, naturally, but that’s yet another reason why I recommend an external keyboard when you’re using your Mac laptop at a semipermanent desk location. The other reasons are that an external keyboard saves wear and tear on your laptop keyboard, and you get the ease of using a full-size keyboard.)

Setting Up and Registering Your Laptop

      After your MacBook is running and you give it the once-over for obvious shipping damage, your next chore is setting up your laptop. I won’t cover the setup process step by step, as I do for other tasks in this book. Apple tweaks the questions you see during setup on a regular basis, and they’re very easy to answer. Everything is explained onscreen, complete with onscreen Help if you need it.

      I do want you to know what to expect, however, as well as what information you need to have at hand. I also want you to know about support opportunities and neat features like Apple’s iCloud — hence, this section. Consider it to be a study guide for whatever your MacBook’s setup procedure throws at you.

      Your iCloud account is your friend

Apple offers you the chance to create an iCloud account (which you access with your Apple ID) during the initial setup of Big Sur. (If you already have an iCloud account from an earlier version of macOS, or if you created an Apple ID while using your iPad or iPhone, you can skip ahead without a second thought.) If you’re careful about your online travels and decide not to supply your personal data, however, you may decide to pass up the chance to create your iCloud account during Big Sur setup, most likely thinking that you’ll take care of it later.

      Unfortunately, all sorts of macOS features and applications hinge on your iCloud account, including the App Store, Messages, the iTunes Store, and FaceTime. If you skip the iCloud account-creation process during setup, you can take care of that chore at any time. It’s free and painless, and makes you one of the “in crowd.”

      When you’re prompted for an iCloud password by one of the aforementioned applications, click the Create Apple ID/iCloud Account button to start the ball rolling. The application leads you through the process step by step. You can also create your ID through the App Store or the iTunes Store. Click the Account link in either of these applications, and you’re prompted to create your iCloud account.

      Note that Apple now uses what it calls 2 Factor Authentication for your Apple ID. This feature provides much tighter security for your Apple ID. But if you share your Apple ID among multiple Macs or between iOS devices (such as an iPhone or iPad), 2 Factor Authentication involves entering a code on each of those computers and devices. Code entry isn’t a huge hassle, but if you’re switching from a Windows PC, it may seem a little strange!

      Setting up macOS Big Sur

      After you start your computer for the first time — or if you’ve just upgraded from macOS Catalina — your laptop launches Big Sur setup automatically. The setup process takes care of several tasks: