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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE DEGUNKERS, September 2, 2005
The source of "gunk" is the way users use their Mac--not the machinery itself. But, a lot of Mac users don't think their machines have gunk. Author Joli Ballew has done an outstanding job of putting together a book that shows you how to keep your Mac running at tip-top speed as long as possible and to make you more productive along the way.
Ballew begins by helping you to determine whether your Mac is really gunked up. Next, the author introduces a proven 12-step program to degunking success--a program that can really and truly get your Mac performing like new again. Then, she explains how to get rid of- or degunking files that shouldn't be in your Mac. The author continues by showing you how to locate and get rid of unwanted applications, including beta applications, unnecessary programs and unnecessary Mac OS X applications. In addition, the author next covers Tiger's new Spotlight feature, including how you can use it to organize data and create Smart folders. She also focuses on getting you working more efficiently by personalizing what you access every day. The author next shows you how to degunk the Dashboard. Next, the author shows you how to degunk new features, so that they don't drive you crazy. Then, she shows you how to manage or eliminate your font gunk. Ballew continues with a discussion of how to degunk your iPod. Next, the author shows you how to prevent spam first, keep what you do get under control, and formulate a plan for reducing or eliminating spam altogether. Then, she covers e-mail housecleaning in more detail, and how to clean up and organize your legitimate mail with spam that gets through your defenses. In addition, Ballew continues by discussing how you can degunk the startup process and optimize the hard drive, so that your Mac runs as efficiently as possible. Next, she explores Software Update; as well as, available software upgrades. Then, she introduces you to the different types of hardware you can acquire to beef up your system. The author then shows you what tools are available to help you maintain your Mac and what tools can be used to search for, find, and fix errors with hard disks, permissions, and similar issues. She then shows you how important it is to secure your Mac and what built-in and third-party utilities and software are available to you. Next, she covers how to back up data, with emphasis on creating a backup strategy and sticking to it. Finally, she shows you how to get started with Automator.
With the preceding in mind, the author has done an excellent job of showing you how to follow the basic steps outlined in this book on a regular basis, with the results of giving yourself an insurance policy and saving yourself from encountering aggravation down the road. So, the belief here is that degunking your Mac will make your time on your computer more efficient, more productive, and maybe even more enjoyable.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for the non-technical Mac user, August 21, 2005
I reviewed a previous edition about a year ago. It was pretty good, but I thought some of the degunking advice/suggestions/techniques were a bit odd. I gave the book to a non-technical family member, who loved it. She passed it on to another family member who also loved it. I lost track of it after that.
So, looking at the book through a non-technical lens, this is a great book to help keep your Mac up and running smoothly. There is lots of good advice around the various features and applications you would normally use. For example; How to keep email spam to a minimum; How to find extra disk space if you're running low; How to keep the Dashboard cleaned up. This book also serves as a great way to explore and understand the various features provided by your Mac and the included applications. It also suggests quite a few 3rd party applications (free or relatively inexpensive) to assist you with the "degunking" tasks.
I guess to sum it up; this isn't exactly for the Slashdot crowd. However, if you're a new Mac user, a home user, or a non-technical user (i.e. no one politely refers to you as a computer geek) this should at least be on your "flip-through-it-at-the-book-store" list. For me, I will be sending it off to a family member. Based on prior experience, they're going to love it.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
So much to degunk, so little time!, September 8, 2005
My new iBook G4 is already gunked up, so I am finding the book a treasure trove of help! The book's beginning pages I found long and redundant; I just wanted to get on with the degunking. The most important message for me at the start was to degunk in the order the book outlines. It has taught me much about what unnecessary items (for me) come loaded onto the Mac at purchase, i.e., foreign languages & fonts I can't use. As a long-time Mac user, I feel qualified to highly recommend the book for its orderly presentation, user friendliness and practical matters. In fact, I'll try to go through it again over time to see what else might have sneaked into my Mac.
M. Thoelecke
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