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 -- the Best Macintosh Author!
Summary: 5 Stars
Based on my positive experiences with Pogue (and Joseph Schorr's) "Mac Secrets", I preordered this book in September, choosing to wait for it to be published despite a number of Mac OS X books already on the market. Let me tell you: I'm glad I waited. I solved my three biggest OS X issues within an hour of receiving my copy, and learned a great deal more after reading through more thoroughly.
David Pogue's writing style is clear and detailed without being confusing -- he has a gift for explaining complicated computer issues in a plain, informal style, all the while demonstrating his unique sense of humor.
He also covers the gamut of OS X issues (including the updated version, X version 10.1) from simple to complex, from opening programs to working in the UNIX terminal.
In my opinion, this is the Mac OS X book to buy.
Book Review: Incorrect information!
Summary: 2 Stars
Maybe everyone else thinks all of the information is wonderful, but I don't. Pogue doesn't seem to have the same Power Mac G4 OS X (10.1.4) with two hard drives that I do! His information on setting up and using email doesn't work on my computer. His information on how to send email document attachments from the Mac to a PC is incorrect: you cannot utilize .doc--nor am I able to send anything created in an Appleworks 6 document to any PC. There are many missing topics, and I don't care what the OS 9 had! He doesn't even note that some major videocams with still camera mode will NOT connect to Image Capture! If the easy tasks don't work the way he says they do, then I have no chance of ever learning Unix! Maybe he'd like to intercede with Steve Jobs about responding to HELP! letters? There are more problems with a Mac than with PCs....Book Review: Best yet for OS X
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a worthwhile purchase, even for a person that may consider themselves a "power user." I do agree, however, with a previous reviewer on the comments concerning the intended audience - the author can't quite decide if it's for OS 9 ingrained, long-time MAC OS users, or those new to computers entirely.
That doesn't seem to jive with my previous statement concerning "power users," but I stand by that statement, so as you get over the annoyance of everything being explain by "icons," you will learn quite a bit from this book - I certainly have, and I'm a UNIX vet, but not a MAC OS vet.
Some of the other titles out there for OS X now are very dated, based on 10.0, or worse, the public beta. Additionally, I've perused some that are utterly useless, and could've been labeled "for dummies."
Book Review: Best map to a great computing experience
Summary: 5 Stars
I second Ronster42's assessment for the most part. I too remember the thrill of first encountering the Mac in 1984 - and my reaction on seeing 10.1 in 2001 comes pretty close. David Pogue's book is an excellent companion - in my opinion, it's a good thing that Apple doesn't ship a manual - nothing they could write would come close to this. What I like best about it is that it combines readability with heft. I usually hate to read manuals, but with this book I'm tempted to read it cover to cover both because it's easy to do and provides valuable information in each sentence. You've got to love a book that tells you everything from how to play chess with your computer by speaking to it to the key Unix commands you need to know to look like a power user of the Terminal window.Book Review: Very worthwhile
Summary: 5 Stars
I poured over this book for a week when I got it and I'd have to say it is in hot competition with the Ray et al. Mac OS X Unleashed book for the winner of the "must have" category. This book is probably best for the Mac OS X Aqua power user who wants to get the most out of the Aqua environment in Jaguar, including how best to run Classic apps without cramping OS X's style. You probably couldn't go past this book for its great design, excellent writing style and breadth of handy tips. If you want to go further, say: set up your computer as a mail server; learn the basics of using mySQL or get a command of the CLI, then Ray et al.'s Mac OS X Unleashed is probably more for you - but then again, you could do what I did and get them both - I'm really glad I did!