Back end, internals, file system structure etc...learn linux

years ago they had free classes if you bought a mac.. One of the better computer moves I've done. LOve the mac, like the iphone..hate the ipad.. just a big glorified iphone.. I'll take a small laptop anyday. YMMV
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Or some cloud provider like that. AWS ec2 won't do it.

Of a local college, and they may have Macs members can use.

It looked good to me when he was using it.

Apple doesn't support it. It's a different structure entirely

Nothing current will run on it. No browsers, no iTunes nothing. Just Mac OS 9 native apps

Awesome project and I will do that.

explaining how they work...

No other way
Good luck the support learning curve is steep versus the user learning curve.

Mac's are ridiculously easy -- basically UNIX commands, though I can't say I've ever actually needed support -- software is dead simple too. If something is whack, you can just drag to trash and start over (usually).

You can learn the basics on YouTube, just start searching for whatever terms make sense to you.

I originally taught myself how to use a PC by buying books -- this was before I actually owned a computer, and by the time I got one, I pretty much felt comfortable, so maybe buy a book or two? Good luck, but as I said, Macs are really easy to use and work on -- unlike PC's which I shudder to even think about

Had a couple of jobs way back when where users had apple but its been a long time. Most companies use Windows PCs.

I learn a lot through online classes... maybe I can find something on LinkedinLearning. And will check out YouTube.

The macOS hasn't changed all that much in the last many years. You can get a great deal on a used/refurb machine. Spend a few days with one, it'll beat watching youtube by a mile. Or borrow one. Or lease one. Or pester your employer to get you one since you're expected to support them!

Btw, the "terminal" application is in the Utilities subdirectory of Applications. And that will give you an honest-to-god Unix (bash) shell prompt. So if you have Unix experience, drop into the shell and go for it. Note the Unix underpinnings of macOS has been enhanced over the years. So while it has parentage of Mach and NetBSD, there are a lot of Mac-specific features blended in as well.

But for sure, there is a *lot* to macOS. While the user-interface is intended to be easy to understand, pulling back the curtain on what is really going on is not trivial. Depending on how broad & deep your knowledge is expected to be, expect to spend time learning and figuring it out.

I mean I do know, but don't use a smart phone. Just no time to learn. But realize it's time. Where do I start?

First ... get a friend to demo one to you and answer some basic questions. And in this time of corona, preferably one you're already sharing living space with

Second ... get yourself one to use. Good luck deciding on a model at this point. Basic choices are big or small, old or new. The prices will vary a lot.

Then ... try and focus on one area at a time. Of course you need to learn how to make & receive phone calls and set up a voice mailbox. But then .. sending and receiving texts? Direct access to your email? Browsing the web? Taking and sharing pictures? Chatting? Video chat? Running budgets and keeping track of spending?

There are 1001 useful things the little buggers can do. You can always do a drunkard's-walk and randomly explore. But nothing beats having a friend that can show you how stuff is done.

And don't forget you'll lose or break your phone at some point. So if there is anything on there you don't want to lose, back it up routinely! Either to a Mac (or PC) or to the cloud. I can't count the number of people I know that have lost priceless pictures when they've lost their phone.

Oh, and don't click on links in email unless you know exactly what it is (i.e. learn about phishing attacks before you get bitten by one).