Customer Reviews

Mac OS X Tiger in a Snap

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by Joseph P. Koss, Jr.; Alaskan Apple User's Group (AAUG) member

Reviewed 08/2005

This book has 590 pages of tips on how to use Tiger to its best advantage-even the inside covers have useful information-and is geared to the beginner. Even so, the advanced user will still find helpful items. The basic premise is one of speed-when you need to learn something new quickly, who has time to sit down with a long text or reference manual? The author, nearly a 20-year veteran of Mac use who has written several other instructional texts for this publisher, organized the book to provide fast lessons on nearly every aspect of the Mac and Tiger.

After a nickel tour of OS X and its basic features, the book goes into detail in five parts-Understanding Mac OS X; Networking and the Internet; Making it Work Together; Making it Work for You; and Administering the System. Each part has chapters and lessons that cover aspects of the system pertinent to working in that general area of the system and how to optimize it for your needs, as indicated by the titles of the major parts.

Though the book is organized in chapters, it is not necessary to read it in sequence. Jump in anywhere to find the task or technique that is needed. Lesson numbers on the edges of the pages augment the table of contents and the index, and there is a glossary of terms. Each short lesson is clearly written and well illustrated, and lists other techniques that might be good to know as background, as well as any other lessons that may be related or that might give more information. Thus, there is a progression of ideas that can lead to other items you didn't know you needed. If you can read, you can navigate Tiger with this book.

No book can manage to cover everything for everyone, and there are limitations. That is why there are intermediate and advanced books, for one thing. As a basic text, this one is very good, and is organized well to find needed items quickly. The price, at $29.99 retail, is affordable. I recommend this book highly.

While this book is well written, it is somewhat shallow in content and missing many details about features that Mac OS X Tiger offers. I also purchased Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Ed., and found it much more helpful, well indexed and the content was more extensive. I strongly recommend The Missing Manual volume over this book.