Mac OS X Unleashed (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0672324652 | ISBN-13: 978-0672324659 | Edition: 2

With the release of version 10.1 of Mac OS X in the fall of 2001, the new operating system was finally stable enough for mass distribution on all shipping Macintosh computers. Yet underneath the new colorful interface was a powerful, complicated operating system based on BSD Unix. An Mac users of all kinds needed help both in figuring out how to run OS X and in understanding how OS X worked underneath the covers and how to get the most out of it.

In late summer 2002 Apple is expected to release a new version of OS X-code-named "Jaguar"-that will add some end user featurs (like iChat), that will increase OS X's stability, and that will further extend the capabilities of the underlying Unix-based subsystem.

The second edition of Mac OS X Unleashed takes the same approach as the best-selling first edition, 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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With the release of version 10.1 of Mac OS X in the fall of 2001, the new operating system was finally stable enough for mass distribution on all shipping Macintosh computers. Yet underneath the new colorful interface was a powerful, complicated operating system based on BSD Unix. An Mac users of all kinds needed help both in figuring out how to run OS X and in understanding how OS X worked underneath the covers and how to get the most out of it.

In late summer 2002 Apple is expected to release a new version of OS X-code-named "Jaguar"-that will add some end user featurs (like iChat), that will increase OS X's stability, and that will further extend the capabilities of the underlying Unix-based subsystem.

The second edition of Mac OS X Unleashed takes the same approach as the best-selling first edition, 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.

About the Author

John Ray currently serves as the Director of Engineering/IT Services at Blue Cosmos Design, Inc. An award-winning developer, he provides customized TCP/IP programming solutions to clients nationwide, including The Ohio State University. In the past three years, he has authored or co-authored several books including Special Edition Using TCP/IP, and Maximum Linux Security.

William C. Ray is a Unix system administrator, programmer, and trainer. He was responsible for developing a computer-graphics center for The Ohio State University's College of Biological Sciences, where he performed such roles as the center's system administrator, Webmaster, and acting Director. He also has provided user support and Unix training for studentss and faculty members.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1560 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 2 edition (December 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672324652
• ISBN-13: 978-0672324659
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,466,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of two very good books, February 14, 2002

By 

Michael Weingartner (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mac OS X Unleashed (Paperback)

I had the luxury of buying several books on OS X recently in an effort to find the right content to get me up to speed on the new OS. The two that turned out to be the most informative were Mac OS X, The Missing Manual and Mac OS X Unleashed. I place them in that order to represent their levels of complexity and coverage.

The Missing Manual is a great read on the OS and the new applications. It also includes a section at the end that covers the tcsh shell. But it is definitely directed at the general user.

The first ~400 pages of Mac OS X Unleashed covers the basics and then rapidly heads off into the details of the underlying Unix operating system at the heart of OS X. If you are determined to get to the details of what makes your new OS tick then this book should be on your list. From common shell commands to process management, shell scripting, and even porting Unix code. It's all here and well written.

One book I strongly recommend taking off your list is Mac OS X the Complete reference. the writing style is not up to these two volumes and the content is too light.

I come from the perspective of someone who wrote software for the Mac many years ago and had to leave the platform for career direction reasons. Mac OS X represents an opportunity for me to get back to a platform that combines what was good about the Mac with what is good about a modern operating system. From that perspective, I recommend this book highly.

If I had to choose just one, it would be Mac OS X Unleashed. But that is due to my background. Power users that are non programmers would likely be very happy with Pogue's book "The Missing Manual".

72 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mac OS X power users pocket guide, December 23, 2001

By 

tmay (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mac OS X Unleashed (Paperback)

It's Christmas and I've just purchased Mac OS X Unleashed.

The thing weighs a ton (1,464 pages!) but is one of the best computer books I've bought. The guys who wrote it are obviously Unix heads but they are also very much in love with the Mac as well so it's got a good feel when reading it.

A long time Mac user I've just started to dig into the Unix side of things, attributes, permissions, owners, mounting volumes as directories, etc... it's actually quite interesting.

If you're going to delve into Mac OS X beyond clicking around in the GUI this is the book to invest in.

I'm currently formatting my "man" pages <rolling my eyes and laughing>

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but..., June 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Mac OS X Unleashed (Paperback)

If this book only had a better index, I would give it 5 stars in a heartbeat. It pretty much contains everything you ever wanted to know about Mac OS X's Unix subsystem (with 1,500 pages probably more than you ever wanted to know!), but finding the information is sometimes a struggle. Remember, this book is seriously techie, don't go here if you're the occasional Mac user that wants to learn the Aqua interface -- get "Mac OS X The Missing Manual" for that. This is for people that want to get their hands dirty with Unix.