Customer Reviews

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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!

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).

I have done a lot of computing but am new to Mac. So I bought this book to find several things. To my disappointment, most of the things I wanted to find were not there. I cannot cover all, but here are some examples. There is no mention of "Automator" or "International" (in System Preferences). As for the "Terminal", the entry states, "The Terminal lets you use UNIX commands to do all sorts of things. If you don't know anything about UNIX or how to use the Terminal, skip this altogether." That's all; nothing else. Wouldn't a reader be looking for the instructions for the Terminal precisely because he/she doesn't know how to use it? This book was entirely disappointing.

I'm not sure who would benefit from this book. It's basically a superficial overview of Leopard features with no depth or answers to common questions. I'm a new Mac user with years of Windows use and bought this book because it was the only one at the Apple Store. It has yet to answer any questions I have. Most of the information is on topics that I'd already figured out just fooling around with my new Mac or by accessing the help menu (which I don't always find helpful either). I was glad when the "Missing Manual" for Leopard came out, as I've found that line of books much more comprehensive and helpful in the past.

I bought this the day I bought my first MAC because it was the only thing available and I had never used a MAC before. I struggled through it for 2 1/2 months thinking I was really a dunce at understanding Leopard. Then, someone gave me the MAC O X Leopard Edition by DAvid Pogue for Christmas and I realized this book was just not user friendly, it wasn't me.

On most topics, I had to try several times and guess at how the topic might be listed before I was able to locate the issue I wanted in the index. The instructions for progressing from the beginning use of the system forward were awkward and unclear. The Pogue book made more sense and I learned more after 10 minutes with it than I had with all my time with this book. In the author's defense, it may be that I was such a novice that things I know know have made my understanding clearer. That said, several of the topics I had never been able to really understand in this book were fully explained in the other.

I would recommend the Pogue book first.

This book is great if you don't have a clue about computers or the Mac OS (Leopard edition), but if you know your way around a little bit, then this book would be a waste of time. I am going to look for something a tad more advanced that will go deeper into system preferences and things of that nature.

Robin Williams is one woman Mac powerhouse. She's been around a long time, and knows how to write so we quickly understand and grasp her points.
Her first book I read, when I was new to Mac's was an industry favorite called The Little Mac Book. She has a knack for talking to you, not down, and when I picked up that book, I was a newbie. I also read one of her design books, for she is diversified, from graphic arts to now Shakespeare author, and we can catch her on cruises. If you get a chance, do!

This book, was a choice for me to get some basics on Mac's latest OS - Leopard, and I knew Robin would guide me, offer tips, and have illustrations, and yes, they're in color. Peachpit Press is a great company, an old guard company, that publishes just the best, and this is one. The book is designed to take the reader from being introduced to Macs, and it's Operating System, and take you from there. Since I've been into Macs for many years now, not sure how many, I went through the beginning quickly, but often because the catchy design approach, illustrations, I would stop, read, and learn something I'd not known.

The book is laid out in it's Contents at a Glance. It uses lessons, from 1 - Introduction to the Mac OS X Desktop through 24 on page 415: Secure your Mac and it's Files. So I found I could look in general for topics in this organization, or on the next page is a more detailed approach, or a true table of contents, often going page by page, with topics, and sub topics.
For example:

Mac OS X Applications is a section starting in chapter's 3 - 14, with 3 being Introduction to Mac OS X Applications, and topics under it being,
Know your Applications Folder, Applications Integration, What I've Not Covering, and Know the Common Features of the Mac Apps. So you see that it's set up to take you directly to where you want to go quickly.

The color illustrations are excellent, and Robin gives you simple language approach to what you see. She writes, designs and does the type preferences. For example when I wanted some guidance on an Video Chatting ( page 169), she goes step by step, with photos so I could know what to expect/see on my Mac. She uses red circles around what I was directed to use my cursor to hit. The screen shots were excellent. And allowed me to quickly grasp what she was teaching me. Just like if she were sitting next to me, pointing at my computer with a laser pointer.

I highly recommend the book, for beginners to immediate. I only wish she'd added a couple of chapters for more advanced.

I am an advanced PC user just switched to Mac and will not go back. I got this book like many of you because at the time (right after thanksgiving) it was the only REAL Leopard book out. I went thru the first 100 pages and brought it with me to my Mom's house over the holiday. She is also a new MAC user, but not as advanced in PC so it was perfect for her. Since she loved it and it seemed to answer all the questions that she had, I let her have it since I wanted to go for the Pouge bookS, both the OS X Leopard and I Movie and I DVD 08.

I am just purchasing these books now and have not got them yet, so I can't yet comment on if they are better or not.

I will say, as others have, Robin Williams has a very good writing / explaining style, and I found the book well written and easy to understand.

I would say if you just got a MAC and it is your first computer, or if you just got your FIRST Mac, making the switch from Windows and you are feeling a bit LOST, then this book might just be for you, however if you are finding it a breeze to get around on your new MAC as I am, then look for either another book on the OS or just get the books on the particular applications that interest you as they will have WAY more info then any OS book can fit into it.

Hope this helps some of you out there make up your mind which book is right for you.

I recommend this book for anyone new to Leopard, it is very easy to read and understand, plus its offers color diagrams. It's worth the money!