Mac OS X Panther Unleashed (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

John Ray (Author), William C. Ray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0672326043 | ISBN-13: 978-0672326042 | Edition: 3

Often hailed as one of the most thorough, well-written books on the subject, Mac OS X Panther Unleashed is all you will ever need in order to learn the Mac OS X operating system and the BSD Unix underlying system. The new Mac OS X has added performance and interface enhancements, which further extends the capabilities of the underlying subsystem. Unleashed teaches you how to get the most out of your operating system by focusing on the subsystem. It will also show you how to deal with the most trouble-prone aspects of the user interface. Whether you're new to Mac OS X or you're a skilled user, as long as you're familiar with the basics of the Mac OS drag and drop and menu functions, Unleashed will be able to show you how to get the most out of your Mac operating system!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With the release of Mac OS X, a fundamental shift has taken place in Macintosh operating systems. The shift is called Darwin, and it's a complete Unix environment underlying the ever-friendly Mac graphical user interface. This latest edition of Mac OS X Panther Unleashed is one of the few Mac OS books that understands the significance of Darwin and takes time to explain to readers--whom, mostly, are presumed to be unfamiliar with using Unix but reasonably competent with the Mac GUI--how to get the most out of it. The message is clear: Even if you're reluctant to commit to Linux or Free BSD, this book can help you use Unix as it exists in Mac OS X.

There's coverage of the graphical applications, as well as the Unix-style command line of Darwin, and you could do a lot worse than to rely on John and William Ray for guidance in getting the most from the iLife applications. Still, the main attraction of this book--the reason it's worth its cover price--is its introduction to Unix as implemented in Mac OS X. Trust this volume to hoist you up the steep Unix learning curve, then watch your overall productivity with your Mac soar. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to use Mac OS X, with emphasis on the Unix underpinnings of that operating system. Coverage fits someone who knows the Mac graphical user interface pretty well, but needs help with Unix.

From the Back Cover

Underneath the colorful interface of Mac OS X is a powerful, complicated operating system based on BSD Unix. And, Mac users of all kinds continue to need help both in figuring out how to run OS X and in understanding how OS X works underneath the covers as well as how to get the most out it. In late summer 2003 Apple is expected to release a new version of OS X, code-named Panther, that will add performance and interface enhancements, and that will further extend the capabilities of the underlying Unix-based subsystem. The third edition of Mac OS X Unleashed takes the same approach as the best selling first and second editions. The book is known for helping the reader deal with the most trouble-prone aspects of the user interface, including the new features in the latest version, but focusing to a much greater extent on the BSD environment and how the user or administrator can get the most out of both the current operating system as well as the new components expected in the latest version.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1704 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 3 edition (January 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672326043
• ISBN-13: 978-0672326042
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,255,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Excellent Book!, February 9, 2004

By 

Tony Martin "veggiedude" (So San Fran, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mac OS X Panther Unleashed (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

This has to be the be all and end all for every book on Mac OS X. It has good coverage of the Mac and the iLife apps, but it stops short of Garageband - which was released early in 2004. The first 500 pages cover the GUI aspect of OS X, but I don't buy it for this. It is the next 1100 pages that cover the UNIX aspects and web technologies such as SQL and PHP, if you want to get into these things, but don't know much about UNIX, this book does a good job of hand holding you through the basic concepts. It's enough to wet your appetite, and if you want to get to know more, about PHP (for example) then you can get a book dedicated on just PHP (but a dedicated book on PHP won't tell you how to set up PHP on OS X - that's why you need this book).

This is definately a book for thoses wanting to get into the UNIX side of the system. For the casual Mac user, it is overkill, and for them I would recommend "The Missing Manual, Panther Edition" or "Mac OS X Panther Killer Tips".

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally an 'Unleashed' that means it -, February 23, 2004

By 

T. Fitzpatrick "Thornite" (Mid-State NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mac OS X Panther Unleashed (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

This books dives into Mac OS X (Jaguar) with style and grace. The authors make a great
writing team; they balance between graphical and Terminal (Command-line) usage
quite well. The organization is such that any intro user will find a simple and clear
introduction to the new face of Mac OS and the blend of Administrative duties (thanks
to the underlying BSD Unix the administrative coverage is also splendid).
The index is well wrote, with categories where they should be found!

At 1580++ pages, this book is work the price listed, and then some. Trust that it is a proficient
stand-out technical reference for the bookshelf of any
administrator bridging the silent gaps between Mac and Unix; yet applicable to any
interested home user wishing to denounce the old threats and vulnerabilities that
abound in Winblows.

In short, tons of information, from a to itunes to zcat. A great reference AND introductory text. This review
surely doesn't suffice how informative the book is.
If you were looking for a one stop introduction to and admin guide for Mac OS X Jaguar;
This book does what it sets out to do!

One caveat, if you are strictly looking for a GUI reference; preview this book carefully somewhere else.

As an aside, this text reassures that SAMS Publishing has
truly come of age with the Unleashed series. "Kudos" to the authors as well-

hope this helped-

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars for a digital lifestyle, December 21, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mac OS X Panther Unleashed (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I have reviewed other books on Apple's Mac OS X Panther. Most notably by O'Reilly. They have been well done. But usually crafted with an eye towards brevity. For a possibly impatient reader. But this book may be unsurpassed in its comprehensiveness. It shows that while the Mac has a lovely and very intuitive UI, there is a vast amount under the bonnet that you can also access

Most readers may be attracted to Part 2 - Media Tools. They describe how to best use the Mac for audio and video, plus photography and image editing. Packages like iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iTunes and QuickTime. These form the basis for a digital lifestyle, that tracks the huge rise in digital cameras, camera phones, iPods and other consumer electronics. Apple has done an excellent job with these software packages and the book gives them full attention.

Other parts of the book deal with important topics like the sysadmin details of what is a fully fledged unix box. (You knew that about the Mac, didn't you?) Yet these are specialised topics that only a few of you will really be concerned with.