Customer Reviews

Macworld Mac Secrets

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Barring none, MACWORLD MAC SECRETS is the best Macintosh book I have ever read, and there have been many:

*Macs for Dummies

*The Little Mac Book

*My iMac

*iMacs for Dummies

*Programming the Macintosh for Dummies

*The Mac is not a Typewriter....

Yet this book combines the information in all these books and adds some more. Some of the book's secrets aren't secrets just plain old useful knowledge. It goes through each item in the Apple Menu, the Control Panel, and the System Folder and tells what each is for (and what you can Trash).

But it does contain secrets. Lots of secrets never before printed. It also contains a plentiful amount of Easter eggs, and highlights some computer of Macs programing anomalies.

It also contains a CD which is worth the purchase price alone. While some of programs included on the CD are well known to veteran Mac users (the Ambrosia Software shareware games), others are not and some like author David Pogue's Holiday Spoofs are to be found only on the CD.

I regret to say that I would not order the previous editions because MacWorld Mac Secrets is a tad bit pricy & I am extremely frugal. Oh, alright, I'm a tight-fisted cheapskate. But after being told by so many people that I HAD to have the book, and with the overwhelming customer endorsements on amazon.com, I bought the book. I don't regret it.

This has become the most helpful & valuable of all my computer books. It's exceptionally well organized & written, and covers everything:

Hardware-- Every Mac & Powerbook from the beginning to the first generation G3's & iMacs

Operating Systems-- Each Mac operating system through 8.5 dissected and explained.

Software-- Lost of shortcuts for popular titles like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.

Peripherals-- Printers, CD-ROM drives, ADB, USB, SCSI--you name it!

I purchased this book when I bought my first used Mac and had to be my own Tech Support person. It's got a GREAT troubleshooting section and has helped me out even more than the "Mac Upgrade & Repair Bible." The included CD is exceptional--full of useful stuff, including the 4th Edition of Mac Secrets in its entirety.

If you own an older Mac, don't be without this book. Newer Mac owners would definitely benefit from a 6th edition--this one does not cover the Blue & White G3's, G4's, iBook or operating systems 8.6, 9 or OSX. And some of the included software, though useful, has become a little dated.

However, if a 6th Edition comes out--I"ll be getting that one as well!

Yes, it's THAT good. I've read the Mac Bible, The Mac is Not a Typewriter, and Sad Macs, Bombs, and Disasters. While each of the aforementioned books are worthy in their own right, I felt that Macworld Mac Secrets was simply the most comprehensive, covered the most useful subjects, and of course, had the best STUFF on the CD. I used the 2nd edition on a fairly regular basis with my old Performa 6100, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use this current edition. As a matter of fact, I plan on buying the NEXT edition when IT hits the shelves next month. There is some useless trivia (like what note each Mac starts up in) which I could have done without, but, on the whole, this is a very thorough reference that no Mac user should be without.

I have been MacKing on my PowerBook 1400 (with Vpower PB1400 G3 card) for about 9 months now, and I possess just about every 'big' and 'heavy' book dealing with the subject (ah, those long winter nights...).

"Mac secrets 5" is THE book to have. If you can afford to buy one book only, my advice is to buy this one.

Apart from being extremely enlightening (no shortage of information here on 1,300 pages), it is also great fun too. I just cannot stress enough the latter aspect.

Find yourself with half an hour to spare before you leave home to meet your date for only the second time, what better way to overcome your anxiety but to just dip into its pages. Open the book anywhere, and I defy you, not to be entertained, educated, and put into a positive frame of mind. Find yourself with, say, a couple of hours to spare before bedtime, and most likely the clock in the Menu Bar, when you look at it the next time, will tell you that you have just 'wasted' (in my ex-girl friend's opinion anyway) five hours. Yes, the book IS that good.

"M. s. 5" is difficult to put down, because there is so much knowledge being passed on to the reader in an easily understood - although it is assumed that the reader knows the basics about the Mac - and stimulating fashion.

As a bonus, the CD that comes with the book, is, for once, *very* useful too, having the whole of, not just "Mac secrets 5" but also of "Mac secrets 4" on it, plus many very handy programs. Who would not want to be able to download the early 'Chimes of Death' and 'Startup Chimes', in that order, of course? What more could one possibly want?

Good index, too.

Sorry, but I have got to stop writing now, as I want to have another quick browse before bedtime. Sorry, Poppy (Z. Brite), you'll just have to wait.

Thank you David, thank you Joseph.

I like this book because of history- every Mac made, every Mac OS made, etc. I also like the comprehensive lists about every system folder, etc. I also like the Unlimited Edition online content. This book is worth your or someone else's money. (Use AOL? Hate pop-up ads? There's a secret on how to trash the pop-up ads.) (Like easter eggs? This book's got a ton of em')

This book is sort of like a gift from the gods to us Mac users; it's the book I've been waiting for. After waiting two years for an update to the book (so much has happened in the Mac world during these two years), it's finally here.

Covering every new Mac model, including my Titanium PowerBook G4, I also learnt a lot of new facts about the OS's that were released. On the new products and new content coverage: at least a third to a half of what was on the book were things I never knew about.

If you've been 'staying out' of the Mac world for some time (or haven't been well informed for quite a while) and need only one book to replenish your knowledge and to bring you up to date, this would be the one. Worth every penny!

David Pogue and Joseph Schorr should be congratulated for starting this masterpiece and keeping it alive and updated.

I own the 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of Mac Secrets, and in my opinion, if you're an Apple Macintosh lover, or if you're learning the ropes, this book is for you! This book will tell you things about the Macintosh that Apple wouldn't dare reveal, including speed tips and tricks that you wouldv'e never thought possible. Detailed displays and advanced guides, and well as some comedy to lighten the mood. Networking, Internet, Setups, Programs, Applications, and Utilities, it's got it all, and it's the BEST Macintosh book I have ever seen. It's definately worth the buy!

This book is virtually guaranteed to tell you something useful, something that will save you time and make you more productive. The "secrets" are practical and immediately useful. (Turn off appletalk to make a powerbook wake up 6-8 times faster! As Johnny Carson used to say " I did not know that".) There are many, many tips of this sort. The material is presented in a logical style that makes finding things easy, and the book is simply fun to read.

My only quibble with the book is that, despite an appendix, this book is NOT about OS X. That's not much of a criticism, though, because OS X is unfinished at this time and no one can yet write a good book about it.

My hope for the future is that the Pogue/Schorr team will write a book on MacOS X secrets!

Are you looking for the ultimate guide to all things Macintosh? Then look no further! This is definitely THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN about Macintosh computing. Why?

First, there is the wonderful, easy to read writing style of David Pogue (who wrote the hilarious and amazingly informative Desktop Critic Column for Macworld for years) combined with the technical know-how of Joseph Schoor (who wrote the excellent Secrets Column for the same magazine). When you put two computing giants like them on a project like this, you know you're in for something special.

Then, there is the actual content of the book. Complete is too insufficient a word. All-encompassing is more like it. This book covers every version of the Macintosh Operating System, Every Macintosh, and every major program ever made for Macintosh Computers.

But what kind of information is covered exactly? The good kind. In addition to command references, shortcuts, time-savers, and the like, you will find plenty of weird, funny, or just plain cool secrets.

This book should be required reading for Computer Science 101. It covers the basics of pretty much all things computing, from internet and digital video to page-layout and word-processing. You just might learn how to do something completely new that you have never tried before.

To summarize: This book is the best available on Mac Secrets, and a definite must have for any serious Macintosh User. It has saved my life numerous times in the past because excellent info it has on what to do when things go wrong. And you know what, this book is a lot of fun to read.

Wait...I forgot to mention the cool cd included full of software programs! Well, it's a nice extra, and yet ANOTHER reason to buy the book.

This book is definately an excellent investment for the average Mac user. There are literally thousands of useful tips about the Mac OS interface, hardware, software, and much, much more! The authors did an excellent job of making this book informative, yet entertaining at the same time, just like the Mac itself. Five Stars!