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88 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ideal book for new Leopard Users! Easy to understand and read, November 4, 2007
This review is from: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series (Paperback)
Robin Williams seems to have a uncanny clairvoyance that not only helps her figure out that William Shakespeare's works were possibly written by Mary Sidney, but also helped her get a Leopard guide in the Apple stores the same day Leopard came out. Ok, she had some help from Apple by getting an advance copy. Maybe she used the Time Machine feature to go back to the days of Romeo and Juliet. It's a pretty powerful feature of Leopard.
Obviously Apple trusted her enough to provide her with a pre-release copy of Leopard as well as make her the featured Leopard book in the store. In the Mac publishing world, she's about as well known and well respected as ol' Bill Shakespeare himself--and written almost as many works. Unlike Bill, reading her books are easy and straightforward arming non-technical users with the skills and understanding to attack Leopard head on.
In particular, Robin's style is to expertly use page layout and screenshots to explain the features of an operating system in small bites everyone can digest. I enjoy the fact she doesn't talk down to her readers. She expects a basic understanding of how to use a mouse and keyboard. This book is designed for a Mac or even a PC user making the transition to Leopard, either via upgrade or by the fact it came with the Mac. She walks the reader through all the features of the Leopard operating system. She apologizes for not covering the iLife or iWork suites, but clearly points out this is a book on Leopard. I'm sure she realizes that if the book were too big, readers would be intimidated. While it's over 450 pages, she uses a great table of contents and index to allow the reader to hone in on just the info they are interested in. Want to know how to do screen sharing..no problem? First, she marks it in a "Tech Stuff" section so novice or intimidated users can avoid it. Then she puts it in a logical chapter of "Get connected and share files." Then a nice screen sharing section appears. Can't find it there? Check the index either under iChat or Screen Sharing. She clearly spent lots of time making sure her book was extremely user friendly, just like the operating systems she covers.
Not only does she cover practically all the "300" new features of Leopard, but includes great troubleshooting advice for when things go wrong. The advice she gives is as good or better than what you'll get on the phone calling tech support or stopping by the "bar". If her troubleshooting section doesn't cover it, you'll need a technician to come out!
My one complaint is she should have marked those features new or different in Leopard. That would allow a upgrader to focus on just those new items of difference in Leopard. Knowing her though, she did a careful analysis and determined there wouldn't be enough white space on the page and left it out.
This book is not intended for intermediate or advanced users. You won't find out which port to open for screen sharing or it's inner workings--just how to initiate it. I contrast her books to more "manual" like books that cover every feature in depth. This book is designed to hold the readers hand through the steps or learning.
I avoided Shakespeare in high school, relying solely on those ubiquitous yellow and black "notes." Hey, her book is kinda the same thing. Avoids all the fluff and gets down to the nitty gritty of what you need to know. Will future generations attribute her expert writings to a man? I don't know, but I'm sure glad our generation has such an expert artist of words and pictures to teach us how to use our Macs.
Pros: Outstanding layout and organization. Excellent descriptions for novice Mac users. Enthusiastically recommend it to all new Leopard and Mac Users. Use this book as a starting point in your learning!
Cons: Not for intermediate users, no clear distinction of Leopard features
Five of Five dogcows.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended for those switching from MS Windows, November 26, 2007
This review is from: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series (Paperback)
A number of recent projects have necessitated a switch from Windows to the MacBook Pro 17 inch. I was initially luke warm about this decision, having basically endorsed the PC world for a long time. I depend on my PC (excuse me, my Mac!) for productivity but Vista proved to be the straw that finally broke it for me. I frankly could not be bothered with all of the rigmarole. I needed a machine that could handle data measured in gigabytes that would just simply work when I turned it on. Enter my MacBook Pro -- and the excellent help that Robin Williams provides (and, she's a she!!)
Even though she covers the basic stuff she does it in a way that is not condescending to a person who does, after all, have a fairly long and sophisticated history of computer use. Her descriptions are engaging, simple, and succinct. She gets the point across quickly via clever use of screen shots, terminology that successfully bridges the PC-Mac gap, and brief but well-focused narrative. Then she moves on to the next topic.
There is much to cover in a book of this scope and she hits the mark very well in the 458 pages included. The organization proved to be very logical to me; she is skillful in the way she builds on the earlier topics as the chapters progress, managing to hold my interest and attention for several longer reading sessions. The level of detail is adequate but not overwhelming, providing a rapid sense of mastery given a reasonable time investment. I made my initial pass through the book, taking each chapter in order, in less than a week. I was then quite able to branch out on my own, exploring and mastering further details in areas that were of particular importance to me and my work.
The book gets 5 stars from me because it does exactly what it sets out to do. I am sure, as I build my skills and expertize in this new environment I will need additional, more detailed, more thorough coverage of some material. But I certainly cannot argue with the quality of the introduction that she has provided.
And one final note: Somewhere along the line Robin managed to move me from my luke warm perspective to an enthusiasm that seems to grow every day. It's hard to believe, but all I have to do is turn on my Mac and it does what I need and want, and she taught me how to do it!
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding as always, November 19, 2007
This review is from: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series (Paperback)
When I was in college (early to mid-90s), I wouldn't have touched a computer with a "buck and a quarter" quarterstaff if I didn't absolutely have to. Then I happened to pick up a copy of Robin's "Little Mac Book" (only because I confused her with the comic actor of the same name). I flipped through the book and realized instantly just how easy & fun Robin Williams could make computers. I carried that book with me the rest of the way through college. Since that time I've been hooked on Mac Computers. Robin's clear, concise, and enjoyable writing style inspired me to become a computer teacher and tech writer myself.
As noted in another review, Robin's books are typically aimed at beginners. She does not overwhelm her Mac novice readers with a lot of technical details that they don't want or need to know.
That being said, I have to point out that some of her books make handy references even for advanced Mac users (especially when it comes to connecting a Mac computer to a Windows network and vice versa).
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