Customer Reviews

Ibook Fan Book: Smart and Beautiful to Boot

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If you can get someone else to buy your son or daughter, your sister or Grandma, an iBook from Apple, then you can buy the perfect stocking-stuffer for that lucky person - the" iBook Fan Book" by Derrick Story. This is a little 6 by 6 inch square, thin white volume which mimics the look of the iBook itself and is designed to provide a gentle introduction to the iBook.

The basic approach of this book is to provide just the amount of information and guidance needed to get a new iBook owner up to speed in using it and getting comfortable with it. It does not cover all you can know about the iBook or the Mac OSX operating system and applications. There are other books available for that, including many published by the same publisher of this book, O'Reilly Media, Inc. Each of them is noted in this book as additional resources for those who want more in-depth information and guidance.

This book is designed to point out (to primarily non-techie types), for example, what the ports on the sides of the iBook are for, how to select a carrying case for the unit, how to clean it and care for it, and more importantly, how to configure it to do the things most people want to do. Those things include personalizing the System Preferences to make the iBook work space reflect the personality and work habits of the owner.

IBook owners, like most Mac owners, are likely to have special relationships with their machines. They like to personalize it and organize it to allow them to do what they really bought the computer for - to listen to music, view photos, make movies, surf the web, and send email. It becomes less of a tool and more like a friend.

Derrick Story has a casual easy-going writing style which provides an almost-soothing voice to the presentation of information and guidance on setting up the iBook. He is an Apple fan, obviously, and provides tips and suggestions to the reader based on his own experience with the iBook and Mac OSX operating system. These guides are likely to be sufficient for most users to get comfortable early on with their iBook.

Story "walks" the new iBook owner through the relatively minimal number of steps to customize the desktop, set up the email and web browser programs, create contacts files for the Address Book, and get up and running with the included iLife programs - iTunes, iPhoto, and others.

After the Introduction, there are five chapters covering care and maintenance, personalizing and connecting to the Internet, setting up the organizing applications already installed on the iBook, like the Address Book and iCal calendar program, managing music, photos, and movies, and a concluding chapter on Wi-Fi networking, syncing with the iPod and being mobile with the iBook. After all, that's primarily why you get a laptop, right?

Beyond the basics of setting preferences and learning how to use the iLife applications, Story supplements each section with suggestions for buying and using accessories, including many of which he owns and uses himself and can vouch for their utility and value.

When one considers the whole of the book's look and packaging, its minimalist themes, the writer's style, and the Apple "karma", there is an almost a zen-like experience here in learning how to make the iBook your friend.

This is compact and short introduction to the hardware and the operating system of the iBook. The hardware section covers both the hardware you get in the box and the third party stuff you can add on later. On the software side Derrick does a good job walking through the basics of the operating system as well as pointing to good third party software.

Definitely a good book for first time Mac owners, or people looking for a gift for first time owners.

Since I just purchased a new 12 inch iBook, this little 6 inch by 6 inch book has been a big help to me in getting it personalized. Although the operating manual that comes in the box does a good job of explaining how to get started, it does not cover the iBook the way Derrick Story does. He focuses on the things that you need to know so you can start feeling comfortable and bond with your new computer. He does not go into detail explaining all that the iBook can do; however, he does mention books and web sites where you can get additional information. The introduction does a great job of covering how to get connected by explaining what the ports on the left side are for. It also covers some keyboard highlights that I found helpful.
Chapter one explains how to maintain and protect your expensive machine and shows some very useful accessories. The next chapter covers the system preferences where Story makes recommendations and shows you where to set the controls to help you personalize your iBook. He also covers the preferences for connecting to the internet, surfing Safari, getting mail, and using iChat. Chapter 3 covers organizing you life with Address Book, iCal, and Stickies and offers many helpful hints. The next chapter introduces iPhoto, iTunes, and iMovie with some very helpful tips that will enhance your digital life. The last chapter shows some of the author's favorite accessories, many of which he owns and uses himself. In addition to an explanation of each accessory, he also provides an approximate cost and a source for purchase.
This book is small but it is packed with helpful tips and useful information. The author's style is easy to follow and the examples are in color. It is one of those books that is hard to put down without reading it from cover to cover.

If you are a new iBook user, as I am, then this guide is for you. Most new Mac users want to feel comfortable with their iBook. They want to learn the helpful and cool stuff right away and leave the innermost technical details to those who appreciate that level of complexity.

The introduction explained connecting with your iBook. Your iBook is truly the "think different‚ computer." It does not look like the average computer in basic black, the exterior is glossy white bulletproof polycarbonate. The iBook comes loaded with all the productivity software you need to manage everything from your appointment calendar to a digital photo library.

The iBook Fan Book goes into detail about all its distinguishing traits. The iBook comes in two sizes: 12" and 14". The 12" iBook actually measures 11.2" by 9.1" The 14" actually measures 12.7" by 10.2". This is handy to know when you start thinking about cases and other accessories.

There are many tips provided throughout the entire book and step by step instructions to guide you. All the buttons and ports, and slots were thoroughly explained with pictures
provided and even tips on how to save battery power. Then came the shortcuts, too numerous to list.

Each chapter explained a specific function. For example, one entire chapter explained the System Preferences, step by step how to individualize the iBook to you. Anything you could imagine was detailed in this chapter. Another chapter is about connecting to the Internet. It includes how to shop online with a special icon called AutoFill in Safari, which automatically fills in forms with your personal information each time you buy something on the Internet.

Each chapter also highlighted a special detail. One was The Default Web Browser Trick, comparing Safari to Firefox as the default and how to change to it.

I found this book enlightening and followed the reading in order to get to know my iBook, and have it up and running to my specifications. It is a step by step instruction book, or a guide to the advanced user to customize the iBook to their liking.

Ellen H. Michigan Apple User group

Recently I bought an old G3 iBook with Mac OS X (Panther) on it from a friend. I already had some knowledge of Apple laptops -- but not much.

What did I expect from this book?

I was hoping this book would

* teach me a few things I didn't know about the iBook.
* help me get more comfortable using the iBook.

This book doesn't pretend to cover all the details, and I didn't expect it to. Rather it aims to tell you what you need to know.

I thought this book would be only marginally applicable to an old iBook like the one I have.

What did I especially like?

Layout and Graphics: The layout of this book and the graphics are superb. This is appropriate for a book about something as fine as the iBook.

Bonding: I hadn't expected the encouragement I got to bond with my iBook. It turns out that helping the reader to bond with his/her iBook is the heart of the book's purpose. The book does a really good job of this, especially in the Introduction.

Keys: I learned some useful keys.

System Preferences: I especially liked the tour of System Preferences. Mostly I left things the way my friend had set them up. However I did change a few things including

* the alert sound
* the date format
* the desktop background

Accessories: Many of the accessories described are enticing. I appreciated being introduced to them.

Applied to my laptop: I had expected that much of the information in this book would not apply to my somewhat dated G3 iBook. So far everything I've tried has worked. How very nice.

Now that I think of it, my iBook itself is old but the OS on it is not so old.

Comfortable: What with the bonding, the things I learned, etc., I feel very comfortable with my iBook.

Summary: Overall, I got what I expected and more.

Your interests and knowledge are almost certainly different from mine. But there's a surprising amount of well-chosen information in this small book. Assuming you are new to the iBook, likely there are some nuggets here for you.

Who's the Book for?

This book would be ideal for someone
* who has recently acquired (or is about to acquire) an iBook
and
* who wants to learn more about his/her iBook and bond with it

Some good reasons to not get this book are
* To you, any machine made by Apple is best used as a boat anchor.
* You don't have an iBook and don't plan to get one.
* You do own an iBook but have mastered it.
* The whole idea of bonding with a machine makes you sick.

Final Thought

The intent of this book is for you to bond with your iBook. Everything in the book contributes to that.

If you just got an iBook (or are about to get one) and wish to learn the things you need to know about your iBook and to bond with it, get this book.

An Excellent Book. :) :) :) :) :) of 5.

George Woolley of Camelot.pm and Oakland.pm

I liked this book. While saving up for my iBook, I just had to have this book!!! I needed something to satisfy my ibook craving.. :P LOL.. But really, it's a good book.. I could prepare myself for my ibook.. ;)

Great gift for the iBook owner - treat yourself or your friends. Full color pictures and an overview of why you are (or someone you know is) a fan of their iBook. The book doesn't go into a lot of detail - that's not the point of the book - but provides tidbits of great info about the iBook; from cases, screen protectors and travel kits to the included Mac software.

A lot of the information is shared with the "PowerBook Fan Book" from the same series, so if you're getting this as a gift, make sure you get the right one.

I bought the book and was a bit dissapointed when I received it. Just a tiny booklet -How much information could this contain? It seems to have three goals: to convince you the Ibook is nice (true), to give general information about some features of the Ibook (which you could also find in a manual), and to sell accessories (A considerable part of the pages are dedicated to accessories, mentioning how good they are, the website of the company that sells it, and the price)
Useful information? Yes. How much? Not a lot.