This guidebook will explore everything these great and powerful computers are capable of by covering three major topics: digital audio, digital video, and digital graphics. The introduction of iTunes, iDVD, the Apple Super Drive (capable of writing DVDs), and improvements to the CD-burning process has made the iMac a powerful tool for audio and video projects. Even a consumer user will find wonderful ways to create their own music libraries and play lists, to import and edit their digital video, and to create DVDs to share imagery and soundtracks with family and friends. The digital graphic section covers many design tools, theories, and concepts so that iMac users can get the most out of their computer. Learn about typesetting and designing with type, animation, and rendering in addition to working with scanned or imported photographic images or artwork.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
iMac Guide explores everything these great and powerful computers are capable of. It begins by first covering the iMac itself and its components. It then follows with introductions and techniques for exploring all the creative tasks and media for which the iMac is best. Each of the creative subjects covered is limited to an introduction; providing an overview with explanations of the terminology, some techniques for getting started, and some examples. The book concludes with practical issues that some readers may run into everyday (such as working in a cross-platform environment, networking a printer).
About the Author
Hans Hansen is the author of five books on using Macintosh computers, including Zen and the Art of Resource Editing and The Tao of AppleScript. For ten years he was a contributor to the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group and editor-in-chief of the prestigious BMUG Newsletter. Hans is a founder and the chief technology officer of Octavo, a digital imaging company specializing in high-resolution electronic access to rare books and manuscripts for libraries and institutions around the world (http://www.octavo.com). Hans enjoys writing about and playing with his multitude of Macs and other technological wonders, as well as hiking along the Pacific coast, cooking organic meals, drinking good wine and stout, driving his SAAB, and otherwise getting away from the digital universe. Hans is a photographer and digital image composer, as well as a typesetter and book designer, who lives and works in Oakland, California. If you'd like to know more about Hans, or better yet, tell him about yourself, you can visit his iMac on the Internet. Just surf on over to http://www.hanshansen.com, or email him at imacway@hanshansen.com. Brad Miser has been living the Macintosh Way ever since he first glimpsed the mighty Macintosh SE (say, "that's a nice machine, but the screen is so small"). In the years since, Brad has written extensively about all things Macintosh. Brad loves to help people get the most out of their Macs, and has even been known to occasionally provide help where none is desired. He hopes that his books help people make the most of the best personal computer on earth. When he is not "making pages," Brad also loves movies as well as any sort of gadget, which has resulted in a deep-seated fascination with digital video and a great appreciation for iMovie. By day, Brad is an engineer (who likes to write?-you must be kidding) who develops technical documentation, online help systems, and other "stuff" for Mezzia, Inc. (http://www.mezzia.com). He has also been a proposal specialist for Rolls-Royce, a development editor for Pearson Education, and a test officer for the U.S. Army. In addition to The iMac Way, Brad has written many other Mac books including Special Edition Using Mac OS X, The Mac OS X Guide, The Mac OS 9 Guide, The Complete Idiot's Guide to iMovie 2, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the iBook, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the iMac, and Using Mac OS 8.5. Brad would love to hear from you about your experiences with this book (the good, the bad, and the ugly). You can write to him at bradmmiser@home.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST BUY . . . IF,
By
This review is from: The iMac Way: Your Guide to the Digital Universe (Paperback)
A MUST BUY . . . IF you want to use your iMac to soar, to do magic, and to bring you into new levels of computing. The iMac: what a wonderful machine! It is high powered, low priced, and you can actually USE it with ease - this in stark contrast to the kludgy, unstable WinTel machines that are now referred to as "99% of a Mac." (Don't believe it.) Yet many an iMac owner uses his or her computer for email and a letter or two; and that's fine, though it is a little like using an F-16 fighter for a trip to the market or for crop dusting, maybe.The iMac has extraordinary power, and that's what this book is all about. It is not the ABCs of the computer that'll explain a double click, but it will lead you with simple language and copious illustrations into our new, digital world of sound, photos, movies, and graphics. It also delves into Web page authoring, networking, and some of the "hidden talents" of the iMac. Mercifully, it is all very understandable. As easy as the iMac is, you're simply not going to reach the next level by trial and error and the Help Screen. Messrs. Hansen and Miser are qualified experts who have the gift of communication. They are adept at taking complexities (e.g. URL language) and factoring them down for us "regular folks" who have inherent creativity but lack an MIT degree. They really do a tremendous job. With the book, a bit of software, and the funky little iMac, you'll be astounded at what you can do. Best of all, you could easily buy separate books on iTunes, MP3s, iMovie, digital photography, networking, building web pages, etc., but this one volume will get you well on your way while saving money and shelf space. Later, if you want a "master's degree" in some subject, you can always buy a specialty book. Two quibbles: I wish Hansen had provided more information on selecting a digital camera. The range of choices and options out there is bewildering and seems to change markedly every day. Second, Miser strongly dissuades you from buying a Digital 8 video camera. Sony markets these, and they have one fabulous advantage. If you have built up a library of Regular 8 or Hi 8 tapes over the years as I have, the Digital 8 cameras are "backwards compatable" and will play these tapes. This means that all your old material can go directly into the iMac in the requisite digital form without first being converted. This, to my mind at least, is a HUGE plus.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent introduction, some disappointments,
By Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The iMac Way: Your Guide to the Digital Universe (Paperback)
In the rapidly evolving field of digital audio and visual, it's reassuring to have a clearly organized, relatively comprehensive reference work such as this. Nevertheless, far from being exhaustive, the book is a starting point--one, moreover, that will inevitably soon be dated information. For example, the authors' publication date doesn't permit them to consider the latest generation of flat-panel iMacs in their discussions.Despite the book's length, I'm surprised that some additional paragraphs weren't devoted to matters such as converting analog audio and VHS tapes to video files suitable for burning, or copying, through use of the iMac. The authors begin by assuming you'll be using "Sound Studio" to create audio files, but since their subsequent discussion soon promotes the advantages of using Roxio's "Toast," it's unclear what the advantages of Sound Studio, if any, might be. My question about how to equalize audio frequencies before burning was not addressed. Moreover, it's not explained if either program is capable of automatically creating individual files from a multiple-track analog LP, as is the free shareware "Coaster." The discussion of "iTunes" is surprisingly brief, containing nothing not immediately observable from using the program. Most disappointingly, the authors do not address the question of memory and disc space. Is it important that virtual memory be turned "off" while recording? More importantly, how many MP-3 audio files can be imported to the iTunes library or stored on the iMac's hard drive without affecting the machine's speed and performance? As for digital video, I would have appreciated some discussion of converting VHS tape to digital files. One school of thought says to use a "bridge" such as the Hollywood Dazzle; another says the job can be accomplished just as well if not better by most camcorders. Which is right? And if the latter, what particular camera is recommended? Less talk about how to shoot a good movie and more about the hardware and software would have measurably enhanced the book's usefulness as far as this reader is concerned.
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