Macs For Dummies, Eighth Edition [Paperback]

David Pogue (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764556568 | ISBN-13: 978-0764556562 | Publication Date: May 7, 2004 | Edition: 8

The Mac is famous for its user-friendliness. Maybe that’s why you bought one in the first place. But to make the most of all its marvelous capabilities, you’ll be glad to have an equally friendly resource to help you use it.

Written by the renowned New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, Macs For Dummies has long been the bestselling Mac book because it provides just what you need to know to get the best performance from your Mac. And like the Mac itself, this book is easy to use, with plain-English explanations and step-by-step instructions. The revised eighth edition covers

• Basics for beginners
• Setting up your printer
• Working with OS X
• Getting online and using e-mail
• Creating and saving documents
• Using iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie
• What to do if things go wrong

Whether this is your first computer or you’ve just upgraded to OS X, you’ll find help when you need it in this handy guide. You’ll discover how to

• Set up your Mac, connect printers and other devices, and navigate the desktop and Dock
• Establish an account with an Internet service provider, set up e-mail, and start surfing the Web
• Use all the basic software programs and work with files
• Edit home movies with iMovie, download music and use iTunes, burn CDs and DVDs, and edit images with iPhoto
• Share your Mac or set up a home network
• Perform basic Mac maintenance, find and fix problems, upgrade your Mac, and more

With Macs For Dummies, 8^th Edition by your side, you’ll be prepared to take advantage of every exciting feature that Mac and OS X have to offer. Before you know it, you’ll be living the digital lifestyle, cruising the Internet like a pro, printing documents and photos—and even getting some work done!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether you have inherited an older Macintosh or just bought a brand-new one, you'll get more from it with the assistance of Macs for Dummies. In addition to the fundamental information that has put generations of Mac users on the right track, this latest edition of a long-standing bestseller incorporates information about the newest Mac developments, including Mac OS 8.5 and the iMac.

On top of author David Pogue's coverage of the system itself and Mac hardware, Macs for Dummies shows you how to use all the most popular Mac application programs, including AppleWorks (also known as ClarisWorks) and Microsoft Office. There's also an excellent glossary that helps you figure out jargon you may encounter in manuals and on the Internet.

This book would be better if Pogue had included more about creating local area networks (LANs) for Macs--such networks are popping up in homes and small offices everywhere. Setting up Mac LANs is so easy, it seems unnecessary to relegate information about it to More Macs for Dummies, as Pogue and his publisher have done. But by itself, the information here is extremely valuable, especially for people totally new to computing. Macs for Dummies makes you feel welcome in the Mac community. --David Wall --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Release the power of Mac’s newest OS and multimedia tools!

Work with files, set up a printer, use the iLife® suite, get online, and more

The Mac has become famous as the world’s friendliest computer, but this handy guide will smooth out any rough spots that might arise in your relationship. It takes you from the initial turn-on all the way to cruising the Internet, adding music with iTunes®, fixing problems – and it even helps you get some work done!

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Set up your Mac and establish a password
• Navigate the desktop and Dock
• Edit home movies
• Go wireless
• Burn CDs and DVDs
• Perform basic maintenance

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing; 8 edition (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764556568
• ISBN-13: 978-0764556562
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. Each week, he contributes a print column, an online column and an online video. His daily blog, "Pogue's Posts," is the Times's most popular blog. David is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News and a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition." His trademark comic tech videos appear each Thursday morning on CNBC. With over 3 million books in print, David is one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. He launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes 60 titles. David graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He's been profiled on both "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It worked for me ....., November 17, 2000

By 

Geoffrey Brown (Taconic, CT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Macs For Dummies (Paperback)

The reason I bought this book was that I had been away from Macs since I unplugged my Mac IIcx and put it away. I recognized back then that unless I intended to work exclusively with Mac people, the PC competence was THE one I needed most.

Here in my small town, in the last few months I've had a number of requests for help from Mac people. The local Mac guy isn't getting rave reviews at the moment -- possibly because he has too much work -- so the requests for help that I've referred to him have been bouncing back to me.

Before I took any of these people's money, I wanted to make sure that (1) a computer is still a computer and (2) Macs had not totally morphed into something unrecognizable since I last used one. The book convinced me that the answer to (1) is "yes" and the answer to (2) is "no" (but OS X may change that). This book was a VERY fast read, and gave me those answers.

For me the most valuable part of this book were the two chapters on troubleshooting. They were well written, and certainly covered the range of Mac problems I remember from the IIcx. Time will tell if they cover the range of problems the Mac users here are having right now.

I'm trying to decide which book to read next: the O'Reilley book on Macs for PC people/PCs for Mac people, or the Dummies series book on upgrading and fixing Macs. Obviously one (maybe both) will eventually be necessary.

For the person just starting out with a Mac -- or starting out with computers who is thinking about a Mac -- I think this book would be absolutely first rate. And the book seems to have done the job I required of it just about as painlessly as possible!

It gets five stars from me!!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, insightful for the computer literate and illiterate, January 18, 2000

By 

Tom Bux (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macs For Dummies (Paperback)

I have owned several PCs, I recently bought an iMac, and pretty much for the most part knew what to do, but I always knew Macs could do more, and be more friendly to use. This book helped perfectly with some basic problems I faced as well as answer some more higher end questions I had. This book will help the computer literate person who need a quick reference for any questions you have, or if you are buying your first computer, this book will make using it easier and more enjoyable.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Common-Sense Book NOT Written for Dummies, October 10, 2002

By 

Thomas Gabriel "Dr. Morbius" (Solvang, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Macs for Dummies (Paperback)

David Pogue has a genius for making the seemingly-complex simple enough for the average person to understand. This is the perfect gift for a writer writing about the Macintosh system; once you get over your intimidation about computers by following Pogue's straightforward and sometimes humorous examples, the user-friendliness of the Mac makes itself obvious, and you're on your way. An excellent, useful book for beginner and seasoned user alike!