10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
worth the money but there needs to be a disclaimer, December 29, 2008
This review is from: Big Book of Apple Hacks: Tips & Tools for Unlocking the Power of Your Apple Devices (Paperback)
First off, this is a great book. If you like to tinker with your computer you'll probably already know 1/3 of the information that they discuss.
The next 1/3 of information will be things that you'll have had no idea existed or new ways of doing them (interfacing with terminal - although could have used more explanation on how other parts of it worked). Here's were the problem comes up....
In the last 1/3 of the book I found some of the information to be a little 'dated'. Which as sad as it is, is still very true. This is a very recently published book, but the computer field is moving so quickly that as I mentioned, some of what it talks about either no longer exists (like the Mozilla hack) or there have been updates to the software so that doing things the way they are explained in the book is near impossible and requires the reader to think of alternative ways to get the same end result (quartz composer - as an example).
Still, armed with the above information, I would still buy this book for the general information that's in it, and the way that it explains how to manipulate various parts of the computer. Definitely worth the price. I would have just liked to know ahead of time that some of the hacks were already outdated.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get beyond the manual, April 29, 2008
This review is from: Big Book of Apple Hacks: Tips & Tools for Unlocking the Power of Your Apple Devices (Paperback)
First off, a disclaimer: I contributed three articles/hacks to this tome, so I'm a bit biased. And I also must admit that Chris Seibold, the editor/writer of this book, was easy and inspirational to work with. That being said, I really can't recommend this book highly enough, especially for intermediate and advance Apple computer and software users. If you're ready to move beyond the sort of rudimentary features of your computer, the Big Book of Apple Hacks is just for you.
This book assumes you know how to open folders and applications, set up Mail and Address Book, and even how to add photos to iPhoto. You're wanting to get beyond the basics. You're ready to automate, customize, maximize, and better secure your Mac computer, software, and data.
You may be at the point of wanting to hide some precious files so no one but you can find them. You may want to kill the Dashboard because you never use it. Or you think the Dashboard is hella cool and you want to create your own widgets. In fact, you've downloaded a lot of great third party applications and now your curious about creating your own.
Apple Hacks assumes that you know how to use the Finder to get at stuff. So maybe you're ready to get underneath the hood of Leopard and have some command-line fun with the Unix system. You're not scared. You're ready know about Shell Scripting and Unix Daemons. You want to customize folder icons, the Dock, or even the freakin' Boot image. You wanta convert audio files using iTunes, rename the un-renameable. You're ready to hack your iPod or iPhone, partition your hard drive nondestructively, run Windows on your Mac.
Dude, you want to be in control your Mac, rather than it controlling you.
You want to get more out of iTunes or iPhoto, or use Apply TV with a standard definition television set. You want to get beyond the supposed limits of Time Machine, or tweak an existing Widget. You're ready to tear into your old or new iBook or set up a dual drive for your MacBook Pro. Shoot, you've heard about BitTorrent, but now you actually want learn how to access and use it. You wanta keep some web trafficking secure and private. You're a Mac addict, so installing an old Mac Mini in your car so you can run iTunes or the programs without a hitch is really not a crazy idea.
There's so much more to this mammoth guide of hacks. Like me you'll be marking selected pages with yellow stickies and discovering more "how-tos" each time you flip through the book.
Serious kudos to Chris Seibold for this well put together book. If you've found
Mac OS X Tiger: Missing Manual powerfully useful over the years, you're now ready to move beyond it with the Big Book of Apple Hacks.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the book I've been waiting for!, May 4, 2008
This review is from: Big Book of Apple Hacks: Tips & Tools for Unlocking the Power of Your Apple Devices (Paperback)
I'm not through reading this yet, but I'm definitely impressed and happy to have it. This is not just the typical collection of "Tinker Toy" type stuff - yes, there's some of that here, but it goes way beyond and even gets into hacking hardware.
I feel like a kid in a candy store.. yes, yes, there's stuff here you'll find all over the web, but there are also hacks and tips I have never seen anywhere else.
And it's not just Macs, though that's a lot of it. There are also hacks for iPods and iPhones and Apple TV.
If you own a Mac, you want this. Period. Met and exceeded my expectations.
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