Customer Reviews

Mac OS X Tiger: Missing Manual

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Mac OS X Tiger Edition The missing manual:

This is another outstanding book by David Pogue. This is a much easier read then most technical books that are usually fairly dry reading. This book covers everything that comes with Tiger in great and easy to follow detail with an appropriate number of images for the topic. Chapter one starts with logging into the Mac to organizing your documents to setting system preferences and troubleshooting the Mac and everything in between including Hacking your Mac. The book moves through it's chapters in a nice chronological order.

All of the applications that come with Tiger are covered in good detail. Dash board, creating widgets, Spotlight, Apple remote desktop, Sherlock, iTunes, iSync, iChat .Mac, Safari RSS for internet feeds, Automator, iDVD, iChat, iPhoto, iCal, iMic, iMovie, iDisk, iSync and iTunes, Apple Script and Image Capture to name a few.

Creating user accounts is covered along with file and directory permissions, configuring the user environment and user preferences, passwords and other elements of security.

The books also covers the various aspects of networking including Apple Talk, Rendezvous, Bonjour, IP configuration, Bluetooth, firewire devices, hubs, firewalls, terminal, SSH and routers.

The book arrived three days ago and I have been looking through the book and sitting in front of my Mac and have found that everything in the book is accurate.

For those that are coming from a Microsoft Windows environment there is a nice section on Windows keyboard commands and how they translate into Mac keyboard commands. It also covers things that you are used to seeing in Windows like Control Panel, My Computer, Network places, modem properties and other things and what their equivalents are in Mac. Basic UNIX is also covered as it applies to the terminal session. It also talks about the reasoning behind going to the Intel processor.
There are a lot of great books covering Tiger but I think that this is the best that I have seen. I pre ordered this book four months ago and it was worth the wait.

In summary this is a great book for all levels of end user for the truly novice (just came from Windows) users to the advanced user. The books intended audience is not stated but this is a book that is a 5 star book for the novice to intermediate user and a 4 star book for the advanced user.

Like most of the books in the Missing Manual series, this is well done, full of diagrams, pictures, and other useful information. A few of my favorite parts of the book are the sidebars. There is an occasional "Nostalgia Corner" sidebar which points out various "old way things were done" and the "new way things are done". The "Gem in the Rough" sidebars explain potentially useful, but probably not obvious, features of OS X. There are also "Power User Clinic" sidebars for the true OS X geeks.

The book does go into the iLife apps at a high level, but if you're looking for details you should check out the separate iLife (iMovie & iDVD, iPhoto, GarageBand, etc) Missing Manual books. For that matter, there are a lot of books that would do a better job getting into the nitty-gritty specifics of various applications or features (like AppleScript) of OS X - which is not the purpose of this book. This is a high level introduction to just about everything OS X can do for you.

If you're new - or relatively new - to OS X, this is definately a book I'd recommend. I've loaned it to a few of my buddies (recent "converts" to the Mac) and they've all given it a thumbs up. If you've done Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther and now Tiger - hmmm... it would be good for the new features (Spotlight, Dashboards, Automator, etc) but I wouldn't put it on my "must have" list. Definately on the "nice to have" list, though.

As always, the Mac is less work and more play (unless asked a direct question by spouse or boss, then it's all work and no play). Anyway, for grins (or groans) turn on the Speech Recognition (Chapter 15) and ask your Mac "Tell me a joke".

I only recently got involved with Mac OS, when work required that I shift gears from a PC to a Mac. Therefore I am not familiar with all of the nuances between version 9 and version 10.4, which this second edition covers. In true O'Reilly fashion, however, this book smoothly got this newbie very familiar with the features of MAC OS, which I am finding to be a combination of visual elegance and the underlying stability of UNIX, adding up to a very solid operating system that, quite truthfully, I was not expecting. The book starts out explaining the user interface, and teaches some special characteristics and key combinations on Mac OS X that are not well known to most of the Mac users. There is a lengthy explanation on what is the difference between Carbon and Cocoa and how you can determine with which API an application was built. I really liked how the author drew the distinction between the Terminal and the Unix that lies underneath OS X's graphical user interface. There are also helpful sub-chapters for the new Find function and Menulets. The book explains how to use the included applications and utilities, and even goes as far as introducing AppleScript.
In Part 4 the discussion becomes more advanced, and networking and more advanced graphics and multimedia-related topics are discussed. There is even an introduction to the Terminal and Bash. I never really appreciated the power of the MAC OS in multimedia applications until I read this section of the book. Thus, I think my favorite in this section is chapter 15 on Sounds,Movies,Speech, and Handwriting. I never knew before I read this book that MAC OS had features for handwriting recognition! Part four is rounded out by a chapter on hacking MAC OS X which includes details on Tinkertool, redoing the MAC OS X graphics, and replacing the Finder Icons.
In Part Five, Mac OS X Online, there is a whole new chapter covering Sherlock 3, iChat, and iCal. Also explained in full is Mail's new spam filter and the new personal firewall. At the end of the book there is a very useful "master list" of keystroke combinations.
I recognize that most Mac power-users might not find this book valuable, but for beginning to intermediate Mac users I think it has much to say.I notice Amazon does not show a table of contents, so I include that here:
Ch. 1 Folders and Windows
Ch. 2 Organizing your stuff
Ch. 3 Spotlight
Ch. 4 Dock, desktop, and toolbar
Ch. 5 Documents, programs, and dashboard
Ch. 6 Back to Mac OS 9
Ch. 7 Moving data
Ch. 8 Automator and AppleScript
Ch. 9 System preferences
Ch. 10 The free programs
Ch. 11 CDs, DVDs, and iTunes
Ch. 12 Accounts, firewalls, and security
Ch. 13 Networking
Ch. 14 Graphics, fonts, printing, and faxing
Ch. 15 Sound, movies, speech, and handwriting
Ch. 16 Terminal : doorway to Unix
Ch. 17 Fun with Terminal
Ch. 18 Hacking Mac OS X
Ch. 19 Internet setup, .Mac, and iSync
Ch. 20 Mail and address book
Ch. 21 Safari, iChat, and Sherlock
Ch. 22 SSH, FTP, VPN, and Web sharing

The Missing Manual Tiger by David Pogue

Just the Appendixes C and D make this book worth the price...They tell Mac (Appendix C) and Windows (D) folks where things are in Tiger versus their previous operating system.

It covers the new features in detail: Spotlight - what's the keyboard shortcut to open spotlight; how to search when you only know part of a word (usable also in text edit). He explains how to set preferences, how to keep certain items private, changing sort order, etc. Then he goes on to explain how to use the Find command (you can do much more detailed searching using Find).


Dashboard is another new Tiger feature that is covered in great detail. Dashboard is triggered by pushing the F12 key, but I have a laptop and F12 is the eject key, However by holding down the Fn key AND F12 I can open Dashboard. Did you know that you can refresh widgets by holding command and clicking R, open more than one copy of a widget and open the widget bar with the command = keystroke? Each of the 14 standard widgets are described in detail. He mentions a shareware program that will let you have a widget open while you're using another program. Do you share your computer? Learn how and where to install widgets so they're available to everyone, or just to you!

Another major item Apple features in Tiger is Automator. This lets you build a series of actions just by dragging tiles in the right order. Remember AppleScript that let you build instructions for a repetitive task? This is a simpler version. For the average user, one of the more useful actions might be in Safari to get text from a web page, or make a list of all the URLs from a web page, or the combine PDF files.

Security has been improved. Don't know what a firewall is, let alone how to configure it? Pogue explains this is layman's terms. Don't know what the Root account is? Don't mess with it, but understand it and learn how to activate/deactivate it ( it comes on page 455. Need to understand permissions and be sure they're set correctly -he has pages of data on how to do this. During a download, when Tiger says "this contains an application, do you want to continue?" you can expand that box to see what program it refers to, thus preventing spyware from being downloaded. In addition, if you are installing, it will also ask for permission. In addition to the Secure Empty Trash, Disk Utillity can super erase ALL free disk space. Don't want the people who share your computer to see where you've been surfing (make that present a surprise), turn on Private Browsing in the Safari menu before you begin.

Since this book is over 800 pages, I can't review all of it for you. However, I find it an INDISPENSIBLE Macintosh tool. I always find the answer I need his Pogue's books!

After reading this book, I felt like I had to stand up or at least applaud. It was really a masterpiece: extremely comprehensive, easy to understand, expertly organized. The missing manual series by O'Reilly claims to be "The book that should have been in the box." This book is to computer manuals what iPods are to digital music. Powerful, yet easy to use

The book is designed for someone who has never used Tiger before and is not all that familiar with the Mac either. Unlike a dummies book, he doesn't talk down to you and respects the fact that you can learn things if shown how to use them.

This book doesn't just cover Tiger, but also covers the iLife application suite: iMovie, iDVD and iTunes. In fact, I really don't consider this just a Tiger manual. It's really a iMac User's Guide, covering pretty much every aspect of your new Macintosh. Have a problem with your Mac not working right? There's a great troubleshooting section at the end of the book.

The index and table of contents is well organized so you can focus on the sections you want to learn more about. For example, if you don't use classic applications (most people don't) then skip over the section. Finding out how to burn a music CD or setting up your email was very easy to find and understand. No aspect of Tiger was left unexplained. The book even explains how to use the voice recognition software..something I've never played with but always wanted to learn how to use

Personally, I thought the coverage of Mac to PC and PC to Mac networking was great, since so many people live in mixed computing environments.

The major complaint I think some people might have about this book is it's big. Over 800 pages can be a bit intimidating. I showed it to a customer and their response was: " I thought Macs were so easy to use?" Even though it is easy to understand and find the information you want, I wouldn't suggest it as the first manual to a new Mac user. I still think Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Peachpit Learning Series by Robin Williams is the best beginners book for Mac users. She really walks people through every step with bright colorful pictures.

The ideal user of this book is someone who understands the basics of Tiger and their Mac but says "I don't think I'm using my Mac to it's full potential." After reading this book, they'll have a complete arsenal to understand any aspect of their Mac.

Pros: The ideal book for Tiger users: complete, detailed, and easy to understand
Cons: Not designed for brand new users with no previous Mac experience, the amount of information may seem overwhelming

I'm not a poweruser but I do like to understand how things work and how to do some things without a lot of trial and error actions. This book fills my needs and then some. Macs are pretty simple and intuitive but I had no idea how easy it is to do so many things - and the many different ways to do each of them. For example, backing up info is so important to me and yet Mac doesn't come with an apparent backup program. I've tried a number of simple programs and have been dissatisfied. Right there on Pg. 75 the author explains how to label (color code) your files, use Find to locate all that I've labelled a particular way, and burn them to a CD or DVD. That alone was worth the price of the book to me and there are so many other topics that he explained to me that I've become a Mac disciple rather than a switcher! David Pogue writes in such a clear manner that even a subject as dry as an operating system becomes fun to read. My next adventure with him will be to learn how to make iPhoto really work for me.

The great thing about this Tiger edition (or any of the previous editions, for that matter), is that the entire spectrum of Mac users will get something worthwhile from it. If you're a long-time Mac user, there's detailed info enough to qualify as Power User tips, while complete beginners will find things explained fully so they're not left trying to figure out what's being discussed or what they're supposed to do.

On top of that, it's all delivered in Dave Pogue's extremely friendly and entertaining prose. No comedic stand-up routines to wade through to get at the info, but with a quiet wit and intelligence throughout that keeps you reading. Yes, even though it's a computer manual. Even if you're thinking you'd never want to read a computer manual, this will surprise you. And you'll be instantly rewarded with tons of practical info and how-tos that make such a difference in day-to-day usage of your Mac. For example, I've been using Apples since before there were Macs, and I got a bunch of nifty tips on finessing my use of the Finder in the very first chapters!

Tiger's a whole new beast, and while the obviously new features are covered (Dashboard or Spotlight, say), there are major improvements and tweaks to almost everything, and this is a Really Good Guide for pointing out the new lay of the land (even those things you think you know already. Like the Finder.)

So if you're going to get one book on Tiger, get this one. It's accessible so you can get in, get what you need and get out again quickly if you're looking for specific help, while still in-depth enough to make a more comprehensive reading of it rewarding. If you're brand new to OS X or to Macs in general, get this one because it's the best systematic tour guide to the whole new world you've just jumped into, even going so far as to provide sections on where the things you're looking for from your old system (whether OS 9 or Windows) have gotten to in Tiger.

They could offer money-back guarantees on this book, it's that good.

Excellent for someone new to 10.4 or new to the Apple OS X system and 10.2 and lower. David is a well respected writer and does not disappoint. For those needing to have a more through understanding of OS X Tiger, you may need to wait for the second addition. I rate it a 3 because it does not go deep enough for the user already familiar with OS X. People already using X from 10.3
up should have little problems with Tiger.

For those new to OS X I give it a 5. A must have.
If your new to the Mac, this book is for you, if your new to X, this is the book for you. If your only going to have one book for X. This is it.
It will carry you from the start to finish for just about every function of Tiger.

With no re pre-release of X 10.4 Tiger the the authors of books were at a disadvantage. OS 10.4 Tiger authors had to hustle to get the books out. I bought a copy, as sometimes I can find a obscure fix or idea to a problem that could have taken a lot longer searching the web. If your an experienced user, you may want to wait for the second addition.
I give it 3 stars relating the usefulness for a user based on 1 to 5 for the skill level of the user. Easy to read, to the point, It is 1 of 2 must have Mac books the other being The Mac Bible Tiger edition.
Enjoy
Geoff

This is the quintessential book for understanding OS X. It explains pretty much everything you would want to know about the world's most advanced operating system (that's why it's 800 pages long!)

The author writes everything in very friendly easy to understand language, so that you'll never be lost in computer jargon. At the same time, the author has a very clever and funny sense of humor. His jokes are never off topic and are very refreshing. His sense of humor is what makes it possible for you to actually read the whole book and get all of the useful information out of it without getting bored. His approach is like the cool History teacher who tells jokes and makes fun of everything, but teaches everything you need to know, while you're having too much fun to realize how much you're learning.

I've been using Windows and DOS my whole life, until I bought an iMac this summer. The basics of using Mac OS X were easy enough to understand on my own, but I wanted to master the OS to the same extent I mastered Windows XP from my years of experience. I had a lot to learn, and I wanted to learn it fast. This book was as perfect a guide as I could have imagined. Now I know all the keyboard shortcuts, all the secret gems, all the advance features, everything I wanted to know and more. I finally have as deep an understanding of Mac OS X as I had for Windows XP.

Thank you David Pogue for helping me get the most out of my mac!

I recently switched to a Mac (a MacBook Pro) after 20+ years as a PC user. I primarily use my laptop as a mobile Office suite and I have loaded it with Music programs for composing (Finale & Sibelius) and recording/editing (Ableton Live) but it was OS X that I needed the help with. While there are a lot of similarities between PC and Mac, I knew I was going to have to adjust a lot of my thinking to take advantage of the speed and efficiency of this new machine.

My brother-in-law suggested this book series saying that it was written clearly, thorough and light on pretension or industry talk, but not insultingly simple like the Dummies series or the other "made easy" books. I couldn't be much happier with the book. It's deep, clearly written and full of advice, tips and step-by-step that assumes you've already figured out how to turn it on.

My only complaint, and it's relatively small given the size of the text, is that many of the page number references in the text are wrong. The first chapter had at least two or three references to other chapters that were off by a page or more. It's nothing that a little hunting couldn't fix, but it still caused some minor confusion. The book's introduction refers you to the errata page on their site where most of these fixes are listed, but that's one more step in what could've been fixed with a simple keystroke had it been caught before press...a minor nuisance but a nuisance never-the-less.

As an average user with a solid background in computers (though nowhere near as deep as a programmer or Mac guru), this book fit my needs exactly and with great detail. All in all, it's a great book for the average user seeking to become familiar with all the power Macs can bring to your control.