Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

Brad Miser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

One of the best Mac OS X reference books has just gotten better. Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger is the ultimate guide to your new Mac operating system. Written in a straightforward style with no fluff, You will thoroughly cover everything you need to know to use Mac OS X Tiger as efficiently and effectively as possible. In addition to coverage of the core functionality of the desktop, you will find extensive coverage of topics that enable you to accomplish productive work with your Mac, such as creating digital movies, surfing the Net, and creating and hosting a Web site. This book also contains substantial amounts of information to help you add devices to expand your system so you can accomplish even more. You'll learn about the iLife suite of applications, including iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, Garage Band and iMovie and how to configure the technologies so that they can be used to expand your system and maximize its performance. This comprehensive user's guide provides you with the in-depth, wide-ranging information that you need to get the most out of your operating system.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

One of the best Mac OS X reference books has just gotten better. Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger is the ultimate guide to your new Mac operating system. Written in a straightforward style with no fluff, You will thoroughly cover everything you need to know to use Mac OS X Tiger as efficiently and effectively as possible. In addition to coverage of the core functionality of the desktop, you will find extensive coverage of topics that enable you to accomplish productive work with your Mac, such as creating digital movies, surfing the Net, and creating and hosting a Web site. This book also contains substantial amounts of information to help you add devices to expand your system so you can accomplish even more. You'll learn about the iLife suite of applications, including iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, Garage Band and iMovie and how to configure the technologies so that they can be used to expand your system and maximize its performance. This comprehensive user's guide provides you with the in-depth, wide-ranging information that you need to get the most out of your operating system.

About the Author

Brad Miser has written extensively about all things Macintosh, with his favorite topics being OS X and the amazing "i" applications that empower Mac OS X users to unleash their digital creativity. In addition to Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.4 Tiger, Brad has written many other books, including Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.3 Panther; Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes; Absolute Beginner's Guide to Homeschooling; Mac OS X and iLife: Using iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD; iDVD 3 Fast & Easy; Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2; and Using Mac OS 8.5. He has also been an author, development editor, or technical editor on more than 50 other titles. He has been a featured speaker on various Macintosh-related topics at Macworld Expo, at user group meetings, and in other venues.

Brad is the senior technical communicator for an Indianapolis-based software development company. Brad is responsible for all product documentation, training materials, online help, and other communication materials. He also manages the customer support operations for the company and provides training and account management services to its customers. Previously, he was the lead engineering proposal specialist for an aircraft engine manufacturer, a development editor for a computer book publisher, and a civilian aviation test officer/engineer for the U.S. Army. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (1986) and has received advanced education in maintainability engineering, business, and other topics.

In addition to his passion for Macintosh computers, Brad likes to ride his motorcycle, run, and play racquetball; playing with home theater technology is also a favorite pastime.

Once a native of California, Brad now lives in Brownsburg, Indiana with his wife Amy; their three daughters, Jill, Emily, and Grace; and their guinea pig, Buddy.

Brad would love to hear about your experiences with this book (the good, the bad, and the ugly). You can write to him at [e-mail].

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Que; Special edition (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789733919
• ISBN-13: 978-0789733917
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brad Miser has written extensively about computers and related technology, with his favorite topics being anything related to Macintosh computers. Brad's most recent book is the Mac User's Guide to Living Wirelessly, Brad has written Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes, 2nd Edition; Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger, Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.3 Panther; Absolute Beginner's Guide to Homeschooling; Mac OS X and iLife: Using iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD; and Using Mac OS 8.5. He has been an author, development editor, or technical editor on more than 50 other titles. He has also published articles in MacAddict magazine along with other publications. He has been a featured speaker on various topics at Macworld Expo, at user group meetings, and in other venues.
Brad is the manager of education and support services for a software development company. Previously, he was the lead proposal specialist for an aircraft engine manufacturer, a development editor for a computer book publisher, and a civilian aviation test officer/engineer for the U.S. Army. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and has received advanced education in maintainability engineering, business, and other topics.
In addition to his passion for technology, Brad likes to ride his motorcycle, run, and play racquetball; playing with home theater technology is also a favorite pastime.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Source, January 13, 2007

By 

Ernest Buckley (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger (Paperback)

I`ve owned Apple computers now since 2000, theres no turning back. However, like most first users I was surprised that there was no manual when I purchased my G4 in 2000. So I went out and got the Missing Manuals, the Macs for Dummies and so on. These books are all great. When I got the G5 with the new OS X, I was drooling. This machine was beauty and with the little knowledge I did acquire from my wanderings on my G4, I realized the G5 was even easier to use and so intuitive that I really did not feel the need to get a manual but I did anyway because I knew there were things I was simply unaware of and that I could take this G5 further into my creative endeavors.

Anyway, there are many excellent books out there to get but I try not to stick with one publisher or writer because everyone has their own style and ideas and I try to get as many as possible, not only that but I just feel every book has their own strengths so I seriously sit down and thumb though key sections for me at the book store before purchasing. With the said, I found this book to be the most helpful of the bunch and the easist to read. There are other books that are more colorful but this book gives me the info I need without all the photos and hoopla.

I should add that even though the book can get technical, if you`re into that sort of thing, it also helped me to set up my printer which should be an easy thing to do but this time I was having trouble with my HP. After thumbing through the book, I found what I was looking for and was printing seconds later. So this book can help with the most simple to the most technical aspects of working with your OS.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a Mac lifestyle, July 26, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger (Paperback)

As Miser explains, there is a lot that you can do with a Mac running OS X. The user interface is beguilingly simple to learn. And this has characterised Macs over their 20 plus years. But you can learn here that under the simple UI is a ton of complex capabilities that you can access.

En route, if you can dedicate yourself to systematically go through this book, you learn a version of Unix. Which by the way, and to good first approximation, is equivalent to learning much about linux. Of course, this is not the primary intent of the book. But it is an unheralded extra virtue.

With regards to Unix, you can learn how to use the command line. While the UI lets you do many common tasks, there is a limit even to the ingenuity of Apple's designers as to what should be enabled at the UI level. The book has a relatively short chapter on the command line. For serious, specialised tasks, you may well end up carefully perusing the chapter.

On more general issues, Miser covers the most common usages of any personal computer. For browsing, the Mac has a default browser called Safari. You may not need to consult the book's notes on it, if you just do standard browsing. Then for email, the book shows how the Mac has an application for easy use.

What adds to the book's heft is its description of higher level, value-added applications that Apple has astutely used to build up the Mac's cachet. As in listening to or managing a music collection with iTunes, or even making music with GarageBand. More elaborately, running iMovie to be your own movie director. While it should be no surprise that Miser gives extensive coverage to the iPod and how its use can be integrated into the use of a Mac.

You can think of these sections of the book as being a useful and detailed adjunct to various skimpier books that describe those applications. Here, Miser's narrative lacks the often vivid multihued illustrations in those books, but makes up for this with more comprehensive details of usage. Though some of you might wince at this turn of phrase, the book elucidates a "Mac lifestyle".