Mastering Mac OS X [Paperback]

Todd Stauffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2002 | Series: Mastering...

Mac OS X combines the power/stability of Unix with the simplicity of the Mac. The new Aqua interface makes everything even more intuitive. At the foundation of Mac OS X lies an Unix-based operating system that delivers stability and performance providing advanced features such as protected memory, preemptive multitasking, advanced memory management, and symmetric multiprocessing. It includes easy-to-use tools for making movies, managing music, capturing digital camera photos, burning music and data CDs, playing DVD movies, and even authoring DVDs. The Classic technology runs thousands of existing Mac OS 9-compatible applications.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Easy-to-follow, step-by-step, expert instructions fill the pages of this first-rate, confidently recommended resource and reference." -- Midwest Book Review

"There is a ton of useful information in this book, organized to be easy to find and thoroughly explained." -- Charles W. Moore, AppleLinks

From the Back Cover

Isn't It Time You Made the Most of Mac OS X?

Don't let the fact that Mac OS X boasts over 150 new features, is based on Unix, and is also called Jaguar scare you off. This essential guide will help you get all you can out of it. Mastering Mac OS X, Second Edition shows you how to take advantage of every aspect of Apple's powerhouse operating system. Whether you're a Mac newbie or old-timer or you're converting from Windows or Unix, this book will answer all your current questions and equip you with the knowledge you need to keep moving forward. Over 900 pages of coverage includes:

Personalizing Mac OS X: Dock, Desktop, and Finder Using the Classic environment and Classic applications Encrypting data, storing passwords, and using built-in applications Configuring user permissions and settings Connecting to the Internet Troubleshooting and securing your Internet connection Using, automating, and securing e-mail from viruses Using QuickTime 6, QuickTime Pro, and iMovie to play, edit, and export movie files Burning audio and data CDs and playing MP3s, Internet radio, and DVD movies Importing, exporting, and editing digital images Building a secure network and sharing files locally and over the Internet Using Windows and Unix documents, networking protocols, and applications Working with Terminal and Darwin command lines and Darwin applications Backing up and recovering data, managing your disks and peripherals Configuring and tweaking Apache, FTP serving, PHP, MySQL, and QuickTime streaming Quickly diagnosing and solving common system-level problems Troubleshooting Classic and native applications

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Product Details

• Paperback: 928 pages
• Publisher: Sybex Inc; 2nd edition (October 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782141188
• ISBN-13: 978-0782141184
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,031,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good guide to OS X for intermediate users, June 28, 2003

By 

A Williams "honestpuck" (Neutral Bay, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

I've seen a fair number of books for OS X and they range in target audience from the raw beginner such as Mac OS X for Dummies and Robin William's Mac OS X Book through to those for technical readers such as Mac OS X In A Nutshell (IAN).

Mastering Mac OS X falls firmly in the middle. Unlike IAN it spends a fair amount of time on the GUI and a major section is devoted to QuickTime and the iApps. Unlike Robin William's volume it covers high end topics such as AppleScript and the terminal and has a good section on troubleshooting. One thing lacking that I applaud is that it does not have IAN's large chapter summing up Unix commands.

The Good

The book is well structured, divided into 7 sections, 5 of increasing complexity, 'The Mac OS X Basics', 'On The Internet', 'Multimedia: Images Sound, Video', 'Networking, Coonectivity and Portables' and 'Advanced Mac OS X topics' - which covers AppleScript, the Terminal, and various servers including QuickTime, Samba and Sendmail. These are followed by a hardware and troubleshooting section and finally the appendices. The index is good and it has the by now traditional two level table of contents, the first listing just the chapter heads and the second listing all the sub sections as well.

Given that structure, the book touches all the bases and covers all the required topics well.

The writing is not bad, I think a stronger hand with the editing would have done wonders as it tends to the wordy.

The Bad

Once again a certain amount of the early stuff is either below the needs of the target audience or not really required. Oh, and Sybex do have a page for the book...!OpenDocument which includes a Table of Contents, sample chapter, index and errata but get a load of that URL and the author has a web page for the book but he hasn't touched it in over a year, since before this second edition was published.

Conclusion

It should be said that among all the books in this genre none are badly written, or badly structured. Personally I don't like the style of the 'Dummies' books and so I put it at the bottom of my list but others may not have the same feeling. That said, how do you choose among them? The choice boils down to two things, how close you are to the target audience for a particular book and how well it addresses the target audience. Mastering Mac OS X is targeted at "intermediate beginners (those who have some experience with a graphical operating system) and solidly intermediate to advanced users" according to the Introduction. I think that it covers the needs of the first group well but will probably fall short if you are already an "advanced user." For these people I'd recommend Mac OS X In A Nutshell. If you are a total newbie, then I'd recommend Robin William's Mac OS X Book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars David Weeks MyMac.com Book Review, February 11, 2003

By 

Tim E Robertson "Publisher MyMac" (Battle Creek, Mi United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Mac OS X (Paperback)

Todd Stauffer's Mastering Mac OS X Second Edition is a worthy addition to any OS X user's personal library. Updated with lots of new information for OS X 10.2 "Jaguar," this book (hereafter referred to as MMOSX2 to save my fingers) covers the waterfront for the intermediate and advanced user. While the back cover bills the book as suitable for users of all levels, I think that the raw Macintosh novice would find this book a bit intimidating, with the section Macintosh essentials being swamped by the huge amount of more advanced topics.

Stauffer is exceptionally thorough, with the 804 pages of text covering almost every facet of Mac OS X theory and practice. Rather than recite the various sections from the Table of Contents, you can be assured that almost any question an advanced or power user may have is covered. While not targeted at the hard-core, extreme geek, MMOSX2 does have a good basic introduction to the Unix underpinnings of OS X. Part V Advanced Mac OS X topics spans 100+ pages, and held my attention for page after page.

To my mind, the best sections in MMOSX2 are those on networking and cross-platform operations, as well as the two new chapters on troubleshooting system-level problems and typical OS X problems and solutions. Stauffer provides a well-rounded discussion of these topics, which are not often well served by other general-purpose OS X book, especially the troubleshooting sections.

Unfortunately, MMOSX2 was a bit hard to read, with text just a bit small for my 46 year-old eyes. While a larger type size would have caused the book to balloon to an even greater page count and greater weight, I would have preferred a larger type size. MMOSX2 is not alone, as other "boat-anchor" books often sacrifice readability for portability. Perhaps the publishers should begin to bundle a pair of cheap bifocals with any book over 500 pages.

Mastering Mac OS X Second Edition is clearly a reference book. Stauffer's style is a bit dry, to put it politely, and MMOSX2 will not keep you up into the night, unless you are using it while troubleshooting an OS X problem. But this book is clearly worth buying for its comprehensive collection of OS X information; you'll have all you need in one place on your bookshelf.

MacMice Rating: 4.5 out of 5

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great all-encompassing book on Mac OS X (10.2), December 17, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Davis - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Mac OS X (Paperback)

This book (the second edition) is quite comprehensive and well laid-out. The chapters on the Terminal and on Darwin (chapters 23 and 24) are really good and written with a nod to the traditional Mac user and the traditional Unix user. My only minor negative comment is that the screenshots are in black and white. I understand that color screenshots would increase the printing costs but the Aqua interface is so nice, a black and white picture just doesn't do it justice. However, the lack of color screenshots should not deter anyone thinking of getting this book. It will be a valuable reference to anyone's library.