Lesson 21: Sherlock

For those times when you're looking to find specific information fast, such as movie showtimes, driving directions, phone numbers, stock quotes, eBay listings, or even help with your Apple products, enlist the help of Sherlock. Instead of searching and navigating through your web browser, Sherlock can help you find specific information faster through its unique channels.

Sherlock displays a bunch of preloaded channels in the toolbar,
but offers many third-party channels in its Collections column.

Each channel focuses on a particular topic that you can customize for your specific location and interests. Once you enter what you're looking for, Sherlock retrieves information from the web and displays it in its channel window. Here are just some of the ways Sherlock can scope out what you seek.

• View Available Channels—Open Sherlock (it's in the Applications folder). The Sherlock window displays some preloaded channels in the toolbar at the top of the window. To see what other channels are available, click the Channels button to display the Collections column, which provides access to other channels.
• Get Movie Showtimes—If you want to see a movie, click the Movies button to display its channel in the window. To see the movies or theaters near you or another location, type a zip code, a city and state, or an address in the Find Near field, or choose a location from its pop-up menu. Click Movies to see a list of available movies that are playing near there, or click Theaters to see what's playing at each local theater. Select a movie or theater in the first column to get showtimes. You can also watch the trailer for the selected movie and read a movie synopsis in the Sherlock window.
  
  
  
  The Movies channel not only lets you view local movie showtimes, you can view trailers and movie synopsises too.
• Get AppleCare Support—If you need to troubleshoot an issue with your Apple product or need help with software, click the AppleCare button to display its channel. Type a few words that describe your issue or what you're looking for (such as forgot password or iTunes create playlist), and click the search button. Sherlock displays all matching AppleCare Support articles in the window. Select one to read it online.
  
  
  
  You can use Sherlock to scour the Apple Support site for technical articles if you need help.
  
  
  Tip: One of the best places to get help from Apple is to visit the award-winning Apple Service & Support site, which houses a treasure trove of troubleshooting, how-to, and informational articles for every Apple product. Just choose your product from the pop-up menus on the main page, or use the search box to search the entire database for what you want.
• Find Yellow Pages Listings—Need a phone number and address of a business? Click the Phone Book button to display its yellow pages channel, type a business name or category (like "pizza") in the appropriate field, enter a location in the Find Near field (or choose one from its pop-up menu), and click the search button (the magnifying glass). Select any result to view a map of the location. To get driving directions, enter your starting location in the Driving Directions From field.
  
  
  
  Get phone numbers, addresses, and driving directions for a business in the Phone Book channel.