PoliBlog

Mac OS X (that's a Roman numeral ten) is a multi-user operating system capable of managing multiple independent user accounts.

When you start your Mac, you are technically logging in to a single user account. Each account has its very own Home directory. Not all, but many roads lead to Home.

The following ways to find your way Home are the easiest:

• Select Home in the Go menu in the Finder (Desktop) window.
• Click on the Finder icon in the Dock

Even if you are the sole user of that Mac, store all of your files in the Home directory. The folders you'll want to use are named Movies, Music, Pictures, and Documents. Save all documents in the eponymous Documents folder. Are you looking for a file? You know right where to look if you save all files in your Home.

Files stored on your Desktop are in fact residing in the Home directory but although convenient, doing so measurably slows your Mac. The more files piled on your Desktop, the slower your Mac will operate. Store all your files in the Documents folder and access them quickly through an alias of that folder in your Dock.

Files stored in folders other than your Home directory may be accessible to other accounts on the computer and may be easily lost among the thousands of other system and application files. Your file backup program may fail to back up those errant files, too.

It was of course that venerable Geek philosopher, Megapythagoras, who wisely implored us to: Know Thy Home Directory.