Macs For Dummies [Paperback]

Edward C. Baig (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047027817X | ISBN-13: 978-0470278178 | Publication Date: December 3, 2008 | Edition: 10

Whether you’re thinking of switching to a Macintosh computer, are looking into the latest Apple products, or have a Mac and want to learn about Mac OS X Leopard, then Macs For Dummies, 10th Edition will get you going. Here you’ll learn all about how to compare the different desktop and laptop models to choose your perfect match, make Mac OS X Leopard work your way, use the new iLife 2008 digital lifestyle applications, get online and connect to a wired or wireless network, and run Windows on your Mac so you can keep the Microsoft programs you need. You’ll also discover how to:

• Navigate your way around the Mac interface and work with icons and folders
• Best utilize OS X, work with the new Photo Booth, and manage clutter with Exposé and Spaces
• Get connected, start a Web-browsing Safari, use e-mail and iChat, and shop online
• Join .Mac and take advantage of iDisk backups, IMAP mail, and Web Gallery
• Explore all that iTunes offers, process digital photos with iPhoto, make iMovies, and have fun with GarageBand
• Use Windows on your Mac and transfer Windows files

It’s a perfect time to join the Mac generation, especially if you’re a Windows user who’s been thinking of defecting. Macs For Dummies, 10th Edition will get you there, helping you pick peripherals, download freebie programs, set up user accounts, implement security secrets, troubleshoot your Mac, and experience the iLife.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For anyone new to Mac...Mac for Dummies is a must buy." ( geekanoids.co.uk, December 2006)

From the Back Cover

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mac! Here's the fun and easy way® to get going

Simply Mac-nificent — all the cool things your Mac can do! This handy guide helps you figure out the nuts and bolts of your Mac. Navigate the Mac desktop, back up your computer via Time Machine, e-mail photos to friends and family, shoot an iMovie, survive in a Windows world, and more. The fun begins right here.

• Pick a Mac, not just any Mac — compare the different desktop and laptop models to choose your perfect match

• The basic tour — find your way around the Mac interface, understand icons, folders, and windows, and master the mouse controls

• Tame your feline — make friends with Mac OS X, fiddle with Dashboard widgets, and manage clutter with Exposé and Spaces

• O is for online — get connected, start a Web-browsing Safari®, use e-mail and iChat®, and shop online

• Stay in sync — join MobileMe and take advantage of me.com e-mail, iDisk backups, Gallery, contacts, calendar, and more

• Get an iLife — explore all that iTunes® offers, process digital photos with iPhoto®, make iMovies, and have fun with GarageBand®

• Boot Camp — discover how to install and run Windows on your Mac and start up your Mac using either operating system

Open the book and find:

• How to set up user accounts and configure your Mac

• Tips for getting around on the Mac desktop

• Details about the free programs that come with your Mac, including the iLife suite

• Suggestions for exploring blogs and social networking sites

• How to find and buy music online and burn music to CDs

• Steps for networking your Macs

• How to run Windows® on your Mac

• Troubleshooting tips for cranky Macs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 10 edition (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047027817X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470278178
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edward C. Baig is the Personal Technology columnist for USA TODAY and is the cohost of USA TODAY's weekly "Talking Tech" podcast. He contributes other tech-related features, appears on radio and TV, and often moderates technology panels at trade shows. Ed is also the coauthor of iPhone For Dummies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the technologically challenged, April 28, 2007

By 

K. Aszman "KBA" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Macs For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

I didn't purchase this book the first time around. Instead, I purchased Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, because that was exactly what I was doing. When it arrived I dove in, thinking it would answer all my questions. WHOA! Way over my head! I'm sure the book is brilliant but unfortunately, I'm not! I gave it to my husband and had him read it instead. I immediately ordered the more lowly rated Mac for Dummies and gave a big sigh of relief upon reading a few pages in it. Now this was something I could understand. My point is, if you're like me and do well negotiating the web, sending emails and doing a little word processing this book is for you. All I want to know is how the heck to I put someone's email address in my new address book. The other day I got fed up with that little bar that's at the bottom of my screen when I go into Safari - the one with all the icons. I was also frustrated because I couldn't get the whole page to take up the entire screen. Guess what - a little reading in my Mac for Dummies and I not only had that little bar off to the side of the screen, but I figured out how to keep it hidden so that it would pop out only when I needed it! I also figured out how to make the web page take up the whole screen. Print on the screen to small? I enlarged it! This may sound like small stuff to you techies out there, but to a middle aged mom who is completely befuddled by this stuff it was a minor miracle! I had used my PC for so many years that small stuff like this became easy for me. All of a sudden everything was difficult. So for those of you out there who are reading this and going "yeah, I'm right with you", grab this book when you buy your new Mac. For the rest of you, grab Switching to the Mac. They're both excellent books, depending upon your abilities.

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for "switchers" and those new to computing, February 27, 2007

By 

Charles I. Maas (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Macs For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

For years I was exclusively a Windows user, but recently I bought a new MacBook Pro. When one is steeped in the terms and methods of another computer operating system, it's not an altogether easy task to relearn it all overnight. I got another book, "Switching to the Mac," and good as it is I found it a bit too deep and convoluted for where I was at the moment. Then I picked up "Macs for Dummies." The more I read it the more I liked it. Sure, there's a bit of the cute and trite - that's the style that has made this line of books famous and hugely successful after all - but nicely folded into the mix is an easily understood set of descriptions that walks one through how to use a Mac, from the most basic nuts and bolts like turning it on and off, to managing the core (core, get it?) functions of the operating system, and using the iLife serious of "lifestyle" programs. Then it's on to broader discussions of internet communication concepts, networking, dealing with problems, and a nice overview of ten indispensable Mac web sites.

The result is the best "Dummies" book I know of. There are two sorts of persons I think would benefit most from this book: someone totally new to computing (young or old) whose first computer is a Mac; and someone (like me) who has years of experience with PCs and needs a simple but broad-ranging assist in making the platform transition. One other consideration; some learn better with pictures than words. While this book has lots of pictures, the real meat is in the text, so it serves better the person who absorbs information best in that fashion rather than one who is more "visually" oriented.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, especially for those converting from PC to Mac, January 12, 2007

By 

J. White (Woodway, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Macs For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

Lots of good tips to get you started. Accurate and easy to follow. However, if you were as excited as I was to get your new iMac, chances are you figured out much of what this book has to offer during the time it took for Amazon to ship it. I found the Apple Training Series library to be more what I had in mind. Those books have color pics, and are better in a tutorial/training sense. But they're at least double the price. Am I glad I bought the Mac for Dummies anyway? Yes. Money well spent. Good luck. And CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING A MAC!