Where can I find the manual for my Mac OS?

Question

ver. 10.7.3: 2.4 GHz core 2 Duo with 4 GB of DRAM.
I have three questions:
1. Where can I find the manual for my machine i.e. hardware manual and or consumer/connaisseur manual?
2. Does it have a zip media drive? I'm looking at the left side of the machine and I see small square shaped slot for a disk of this sort. I know this is a common type of media storage for cameras and would like to confirm that it is zip.
3. And while i'm at it, could you remind me of the uses of the two ports advancing towards the back of the computer next to the USB inputs.
PS: I'm also interested in any technical information concerning Apple hardware and if you could direct me to the appropriate forums I would appreciate it.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely
Shawn

Answer 1

I will dubb the theme of this thread: the mass storage data problem and by problem I mean how can we store data in the most cost-efficient and efficacious manor possible if we can classify data storage strategies into two groups respectively: 1) the individual stragegy and 2) the corporate stragegy. The individual, we will say, is rational and seeks to store as much data as possible in the megabyte range, the gigabyte range and the terabyte range. How will he or the corporation, of conglomerate, large, mid-size or start-up size i.e. 2 - 200 people procede. Please feel free to enhance the dialog of this post in the framework of the corporate schema vs. individual and change the estimations, exp: 2 -200, to fit a realistic scenario of what i'm trying to evoke here.
I'll start of with
MB range = 4 GB Lexar standard USB bought at Dwain Reed (note: this is just a starting point to provoke dialog and don't intend this as a suggestion)
GB range = the portable hard drive at the suggestion of Michael Black of NC
TB range = tape media, at my suggestion that older devices could be used to read the data where an external hard-drive could be used as an intermediary component to transfer data to newer devices, say the portable hard-drive of Mr. Black and an internal-hard drive which is standard in an older machine. We will say that the labor/work required to remove either is irrelevant as our time is assumed to be worthless within reasonable bounds.
-Shawn