Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue
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Book Reviews of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
Book Review: Pogue hits another homerun!
Summary: 5 Stars
David Pogue is one of the best technical authors of our time, and once again he hits a homerun!
I've been using Mac OS X as my primary operating system for the last month, and I've had absolutely no trouble learning Mac OS X in record time. It's such a great operating system... so elegant, so user-friendly, so intuitive, so crash-resistant.
And so I wondered, "Okay... do I really need to purchase David Pogue's manual on Mac OS X? I mean, I have a really firm grasp on the OS to begin with!"
And as I started reading the book, the answer became a resounding YES! Before I had even finished the first chapter, I had already learned dozens of new tips, tricks, secrets, explanations, and reasonings that I did not know! Stuff that I didn't REALIZE I wanted to know until I read them in Pogue's book.
And as always, Pogue's breezy, friendly, & cheerful writing style makes this manual read like a gripping novel. You can read this from cover-to-cover without ever losing interest.
This book is a must read. It should come bundled with every copy of Mac OS X.
Book Review: A Required Reference
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are reading this review, you are like I am, a devoted Mac fan. Furthermore, you probably own a David Pogue book. It is time to buy another."Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" is a necessary addition your technical libary.
Technical manuals for the Mac OS are abound, but Pogue manages to steer clear of the techie-talk that so often plagues the other books. In keeping with the tradition of Apple, and the creative nature of Mac users, he approaches "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" with a tongue-in-cheek sensiblity.
Pogue sorts out the pros and cons of OS X, while acknowledging the future of the Mac OS. He keeps his explanations simple, honoring the basic truth that Macs are easy to use.
Users new to Macs will be pleased as Pogue points the way to a transitioning to from a Windows-based OS. No reason to be intimidated by the 400+ pages. The book is organized well, and will be comfortable to use either as a manual, or as a reference book.
I fully recommend "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" by David Pogue.
Anthony Trendl
Book Review: Good, but should decide who the audience is.
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is up to Pogue's usual fine standards with some caveats:1. OSX is still a moving target. This book does the best job of any book to date in being current on OSX, but it is still missing recent developments. This is a tough issue, because now is a tough time to write a book about OSX. The book was delayed twice in order to wait until OSX was in some stable and complete form (10.1), and it is a better book than its competitors because David waited for 10.1 before finishing the book.
2.Sometimes the book can't quite decide who the target audience is. A Mac user converting from the old MacOS? A new computer user? The book gives lots of details that will be helpful to a brand new user and perhaps overkill for a long-time Mac user. On the other hand, there are many references to how things "used to work" under MacOS 9, and these will be meaningless to a new user or a Windows convert.
In spite of these minor problems, this is still the best intermediate level book on MacOS X and another fine book in the Missing Manual series.
Book Review: Missing manual
Summary: 3 Stars
As a longtime Mac user, one who appreciates the simple, fast, intuitive feel of the Mac, OS X has been a real change: the installation, the desktop, the lost data, the new crashes, and booting and running two systems. As a seventeen-year Mac user, I was near wit's end when I went for this manual, needing just what its title implied.The "missing manual" helps but also misses the mark. Hey, I'm no techie. That's why I've always loved Mac. I've spent fifteen joyful years watching my PC friends suffer through Microsoft operating systems. Yes, I got some help from picking up the "missing" manual. I learned there was a chess game. I found out more about the use and misuse of buttons. I learned it might be helpful for me to know Unix . I expected a lot more from the "missing" manual: help, fixes, firm and fast reassurances, and direct and simple solutions.
What I have loved about my Macs is to not need a manual. Maybe I just don't like manuals. The bottom line is that I don't see much improvement in my pleasure with OS X with the "missing manual".
Book Review: Doesn't Answer Any Questions
Summary: 2 Stars
I used a Mac years ago, but I am new to the eMac and its systems. Not once have I been able to have my questions answered and/or problems solved by referring to this book.I tried to like this eMac and found myself working very hard to do so. But I am very sorry I bought this thing. The user has absolutely no access, let alone control, of the basic OS. Some users seem very happy about that; most don't know what I mean.
I've used every type of computer and operating systems during my 30- year career, and I cannot see how the eMac ever became popular. But Mac users seem delighted with it, which hints of the nightmares they experienced using past versions of Mac OSs.
Although I can only guess, it seems as though Mac users have never had system reference material before. And although the book has huge gaps in its coverage, for some reason it's being raved about as a great asset. After 2 months with this eMac, that doesn't surprise me.