Customer Reviews

Mac OS X 10.2 (Visual QuickStart Guide)

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Contrary to her usual standards, normally very high, Maria Langer gave us a practically useless book this time. It doesn't even mention (forget about covering them in detail) all of the official features of 10.2. The whole book is a great disappointment. It is so superficial, it barely takes you through the minimum basic information. For instance, it doesn't even mention the Location settings, despite the fact that, being such a fundamental feature, it is one of the few still to appear in the apple menu. In a chapter called "Advanced Finder Techniques" such 'advanced' features are described as "Making an alias", "Use the file info window", or "Use spring-loaded folders". Sorry, but I can't find a single reason why this book should be purchased. As others mentioned, if you need a really good book about Mac OS X 10.2, buy David Pogue's The Missing Manual (Second Edition), which is packed with really useful information, and in depth coverage of every known and unknown feature of OS 10.2. By the way, Pogue's book is 714 pages packed with useful info and costs USD 29.95. Langer's useless book is only 354 pages, at USD 21.99.

I found this to be a glossed overview of the OS. I needed a book that would walk me through the new rendevous connectivity....specifically, the windows SMB connectivity...not here...

This book is really geared towards the novice user, with really basic stuff.

So you've run out and purchased OS X Jaguar or your new Mac just arrived and you tear the wrappings off, start up the computer and... where's the manual? Not sure what to do next or how to get started?

Well, with Maria Langer's newest book, (book number 50, by the way!) Mac OS X (10.2), you'll be up and running in no time at all. The nice thing about the Visual QuickStart series is that they provide you with enough visual aids and the right amount of well-written text to get you started in whatever topic the book is covering.

Ms. Langer starts at the beginning by explaining OS X, and then gives a quick run-through on 10.1 and 10.2. She then works you through installing OS X (10.2) on your computer, setting up the basic configuration options, including your Internet connections and then drops you back into installing OS 9.2.x on your computer. For previous Mac OS users, it's old stuff, but for the new users out there, it's just what they need.

She then runs you through the basics of the Mac Finder, File Management, basic and advanced techniques of the Finder and applications, and then you journey into the realm of TextEdit. Ms. Langer then walks you through Printing, Internet Connections, using Sherlock and then into the use of the i-Apps; iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. She does not take you into the realm of iSync or iCal, apparently she just didn't have the time to get involved with them prior to the book being printed. The remainder of the book deals with AppleScript basics, Help basics and the other things that would bring a new OS X user up to speed. She does take the time to cover the .Mac information at the end of the book for those that will take the time to use Apple's latest incarnation of its online service.

Mac OS X (10.2) is not a lengthy book; it's not 3 or 4 inches thick. It is not a thesis on OS X.2 nor does it cover X in really great detail. It's only 354 pages long and designed to get the reader up and running on OS X.2 in the shortest amount of time. The text and the pictures are the best way to get someone up and running quickly and Ms. Langer has it down pat. She provides the reader with the right amount of text, tips and pictures and she keeps you going. The book is easy to read and a valuable guide. So if you're in the market to get up to speed on OS X.2, avail yourself of Maria Langer's book. You'll be glad that you did.

MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

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Russ ...

I purchased this as a gift for the owner of a new G4 imac. I was looking for a book that would really go through the basics of file and folder management, saving documents, setting preferences etc. I also wanted a book that would be easy to reference from the index and the TOC.
The writing is clear and straightforward, and each chapter starts with a thorough explanation of what follows. The book's visuals are screen shots and somewhat small. I found the TOC superior to the index for finding topics. The book is a useful reference for system and application features. It fills the gap between Apple's "Welcome to Mac OS X" pamphlet and an advanced technical manual that dives into Applescript, Terminal, Unix, etc.
The book is not a beginner's tutorial. However, it is simple enough to answer the questions a novice or intermediate user would have about Apple's new operating system and the applications that are installed on it.