If you use a Macintosh computer to tour the Internet, read email, and whip out letters and to-do lists, you know how intuitive Apple has made its computers and how seldom you are inclined to toss your machine out a nearby window.

Thanks to the Internet, help for those rare moments of frustration is often only a click away.

Want to track the currency of your favorite software package? Stop by Version Tracker and go to the Macintosh section to check. You can even list all your software, and the site will notify you when upgrades become available.

Get an error message from Apple with one of those inscrutable numbers? Check out Apple Error Codes to see, for example, what -36 means. You can always google the problem to decipher a fix on your own. Or you can try for free online tech support

Tired of mousing around the page and want some keyboard shortcuts? Just visit >a href=”http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343” Apple keyboard shortcuts at the Apple site. And while you are there, stop by the Apple store to scope out the available models as well as peripherals and software you can purchase at the site.

You can even find an exhaustive history of Apple and its computers at several sites, including this Low-End Mac page site.

One software suggestion: if you are constantly losing little pieces of paper with passwords written on them, check out an inexpensive software program called Web Confidential that records and encrypts your passwords until you need them.

And when it is time for some close-to-home help, stop by our Mactutor & Service site.

Sharon Shaw works with Authorized Apple Service Provider and business owner Melanie McDonald at MacTutor & Service in Southern Pines.