Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition

Rating:
Summary: Pogue delivers again
Review: If you have read any of the Missing Manual book series, particularly ones by David Pogue (on OSX 10.1&2, iMovie, iPhoto, Switching to the Mac), you might expect this OS X Panther Edition to cover all aspects of Apple's newest operating system in depth, to offer plenty of tips not only about what the system and its programs do but why you might want to use them, to provide tips about undocumented features, to suggest additional resources including books, web sites, and news groups, and to employ a writing style that is clear and humorous without being condescending or smug. That's a lot to ask of any book, let alone a computer manual. Pogue delivers all of it. Maybe that's why he's "the #1 bestselling Macintosh author" (back cover). In fact, if all you want to know is whether to buy this book--and you do need a manual if you expect to learn how best to use your Mac--, here's the answer: yes.

Here's a short list of reasons you'll want this book. Apple claims Panther has 150 new features, but Pogue says this is actually an undercount (2), and says about his book there's not "a single page that hasn't changed since the last edition" (7), which covered 10.1 and 10.2. While reading the book, I marked over 50 new features that are important to my workstyle, but in the interests of brevity, these are the ones most likely to appeal to all users. Panther has a new sidebar to complement the dock (18-20); Filevault can encrypt and decrypt your account transparently (363-66); window management is much easier with Exposé (124-28); servers and shared folders--even from PCs--appear automatically in the sidebar (18, 22, 397); Safari is improved and installed as the default browser (640-51); Text Edit can open and save Microsoft Word format, though not footnotes, unfortunately (311); Image Capture can work over a network, and can control scanners and web cams (275-76); Preview works much faster and can search and copy text from PDF files AND can open raw Postscript files, which means they can be saved as PDFs that can be printed at clear resolutions on cheapo inkjet printers (297, 435); print dialog boxes now offer saving as pure Postscript (427); color labels for files/folders are back from OS 9 (74); all menus, dialog boxes, and the dock now can be controlled from the keyboard (18, 138); Digital Color Meter can grab color values from images and web pages (316); Font Book allows you to form sets that you can turn on and off as needed (436-42); the calculator finally acquires scientific capabilities, a "paper" tape, and performs conversions (263, 331); Disk Utility now offers the option to clone a hard drive--good news for people in charge of Mac labs (317-18), and it can burn multiple sessions on a CD (340); faxing is now built in (431-35); GIMP-Print is included, a Unix collection of print drivers for scads of older printers (421); Virtual Private Networking to connect to corporate networks is much improved; Mail has at least nine major improvements, including seamless cooperation with Microsoft's Exchange Server; iChatAV is free along with a free iChatAV account at .Mac is (615-16).

Oh, and the default volume format for hard drives is journaled (692) for better troubleshooting, and for security Panther redoes group designations for user accounts (407, 511) and adds a master password that sits between administrator privileges and root (365, 376). If anything in that last sentence is foreign to you, that's another reason to buy this book. Also, Panther permits scheduling of print jobs (427)--a big boon on networks--and of unattended startup and shutdown (241). It even includes the ability to Zip and unZip files (94), and to clone your .Mac iDisk on your hard drive (564) for greater speed. Overall, it's also faster than previous versions.

The book now contains mini-manuals for iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes, even though the Missing Manual series has book treatments of each. Of course, the Panther book skips all the tips, tricks, and resources for these programs, but it has enough to get you going successfully. And the appendixes include installation (A), troubleshooting (B), and "secret keystroke list" (F).

Also, the book is fun to read. Pogue's style faintly resembles that of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry. For example, in his discussion of AppleScript Studio (216), his aside is "ASS for short--how did that one get past Marketing?"

All is not perfect, however. Grammar snafus occur about one per 100 pages (!) and of five factual errors, only one (583) is really confusing because it refers to a picture that doesn't exist in the text (although what you're supposed to see has just been explained clearly). And two discussions confused me: about Firewire networks (390ff) and about command-line (Unix) file searching (518). But another benefit of the Missing Manual series is that once I've reported these miscues to Pogue, they'll be incorporated into subsequent printings of the book. Pogue pledges (9) to keep the book current with Apple's continuing updates of 10.3 (this printing [11] covers through 10.3.2), and to keep errata lists--along with much of the software mentioned in the book--on the website (www.missingmanuals.com). My previous experience with six other books in this series suggests that Pogue will indeed keep book and web site updated.

Rating:
Summary: Pogue delivers again
Review: If you have read any of the Missing Manual book series, particularly ones by David Pogue (on OSX 10.1&2, iMovie, iPhoto, Switching to the Mac), you might expect this OS X Panther Edition to cover all aspects of Apple's newest operating system in depth, to offer plenty of tips not only about what the system and its programs do but why you might want to use them, to provide tips about undocumented features, to suggest additional resources including books, web sites, and news groups, and to employ a writing style that is clear and humorous without being condescending or smug. That's a lot to ask of any book, let alone a computer manual. Pogue delivers all of it. Maybe that's why he's "the #1 bestselling Macintosh author" (back cover). In fact, if all you want to know is whether to buy this book--and you do need a manual if you expect to learn how best to use your Mac--, here's the answer: yes.

Here's a short list of reasons you'll want this book. Apple claims Panther has 150 new features, but Pogue says this is actually an undercount (2), and says about his book there's not "a single page that hasn't changed since the last edition" (7), which covered 10.1 and 10.2. While reading the book, I marked over 50 new features that are important to my workstyle, but in the interests of brevity, these are the ones most likely to appeal to all users. Panther has a new sidebar to complement the dock (18-20); Filevault can encrypt and decrypt your account transparently (363-66); window management is much easier with Exposé (124-28); servers and shared folders--even from PCs--appear automatically in the sidebar (18, 22, 397); Safari is improved and installed as the default browser (640-51); Text Edit can open and save Microsoft Word format, though not footnotes, unfortunately (311); Image Capture can work over a network, and can control scanners and web cams (275-76); Preview works much faster and can search and copy text from PDF files AND can open raw Postscript files, which means they can be saved as PDFs that can be printed at clear resolutions on cheapo inkjet printers (297, 435); print dialog boxes now offer saving as pure Postscript (427); color labels for files/folders are back from OS 9 (74); all menus, dialog boxes, and the dock now can be controlled from the keyboard (18, 138); Digital Color Meter can grab color values from images and web pages (316); Font Book allows you to form sets that you can turn on and off as needed (436-42); the calculator finally acquires scientific capabilities, a "paper" tape, and performs conversions (263, 331); Disk Utility now offers the option to clone a hard drive--good news for people in charge of Mac labs (317-18), and it can burn multiple sessions on a CD (340); faxing is now built in (431-35); GIMP-Print is included, a Unix collection of print drivers for scads of older printers (421); Virtual Private Networking to connect to corporate networks is much improved; Mail has at least nine major improvements, including seamless cooperation with Microsoft's Exchange Server; iChatAV is free along with a free iChatAV account at .Mac is (615-16).

Oh, and the default volume format for hard drives is journaled (692) for better troubleshooting, and for security Panther redoes group designations for user accounts (407, 511) and adds a master password that sits between administrator privileges and root (365, 376). If anything in that last sentence is foreign to you, that's another reason to buy this book. Also, Panther permits scheduling of print jobs (427)--a big boon on networks--and of unattended startup and shutdown (241). It even includes the ability to Zip and unZip files (94), and to clone your .Mac iDisk on your hard drive (564) for greater speed. Overall, it's also faster than previous versions.

The book now contains mini-manuals for iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes, even though the Missing Manual series has book treatments of each. Of course, the Panther book skips all the tips, tricks, and resources for these programs, but it has enough to get you going successfully. And the appendixes include installation (A), troubleshooting (B), and "secret keystroke list" (F).

Also, the book is fun to read. Pogue's style faintly resembles that of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry. For example, in his discussion of AppleScript Studio (216), his aside is "ASS for short--how did that one get past Marketing?"

All is not perfect, however. Grammar snafus occur about one per 100 pages (!) and of five factual errors, only one (583) is really confusing because it refers to a picture that doesn't exist in the text (although what you're supposed to see has just been explained clearly). And two discussions confused me: about Firewire networks (390ff) and about command-line (Unix) file searching (518). But another benefit of the Missing Manual series is that once I've reported these miscues to Pogue, they'll be incorporated into subsequent printings of the book. Pogue pledges (9) to keep the book current with Apple's continuing updates of 10.3 (this printing [11] covers through 10.3.2), and to keep errata lists--along with much of the software mentioned in the book--on the website (www.missingmanuals.com). My previous experience with six other books in this series suggests that Pogue will indeed keep book and web site updated.

Rating:
Summary: A must-have for Panther users
Review: It shouldn't really surprise anyone that David Pogue has once again produced an unqualified success in the third edition of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. Since OS X came out, I've read and reviewed some dozen Mac books, but when it comes time to pick a single volume to recommend to friends making the switch, I invariably choose Pogue's. It's true that OS X beginners can understand it without any problems, but that shouldn't suggest that it's somehow too simple for veteran users - it's just that the text is exceptionally clear, meaning that even beginners won't find it too scary or confusing. While other books are bigger (Mac OS X Unleashed) and others are written specifically for a more advanced audience (Mac OS X Power Tools), the Missing Manual is the best all-purpose book on the subject, and one that should be in the library of pretty much anyone who runs OS X.

As I see it, there are really two groups of people who might be wondering whether or not they ought to buy Pogue's new Panther book: Mac users who own a previous edition of the Missing Manual, and those who don't. For the latter folks, the short answer is yes - you should buy this book. And for the former, the short answer is probably. Keeping in mind that all the various online retailers offer significant discounts on the book, and that you can also get 30% off if you've registered a previous edition with O'Reilly, it's going to only wind up costing you about twenty bucks, and it's definitely worth it. The book hasn't just been updated to reflect changes and new features in Panther - it's also been updated to reflect reader feedback on previous versions, including things like more information for people migrating from Windows, and mini-manuals on some of the iLife applications. There isn't a single page that hasn't been changed from the Jaguar edition of the book (and there are over seven hundred pages).

Some of my Mac-using friends have told me that they haven't picked up anything from the Missing Manual series because they're under the impression that they're basically novice guides. This is both right and wrong - it's absolutely true that beginners will get their money's worth from a Missing Manual and that they won't get lost in an abundance of overtechnical discussion. The part that isn't true, however, is the implication that these are books only for beginners. I've been using Macs for over ten years now (and various Unix-like systems for five), but my copies of the Missing Manuals get dog-eared and underlined more than any other technical books I own. One of the reasons I'd dispute the claim that this book isn't useful for advanced users is that sprinkled throughout are dozens of little productivity notes - a keystroke here, a shortcut tip there - and this is the stuff that I, at least, really get off on, while it seems like novice users tend to be content with straightforward dragging and double clicking. I dive into Part One ("The Mac OS X Desktop") with my Mac in easy reach not because I don't know how to minimize a window, but because I had no idea that (for example) there's now a Finder keystroke to jump immediately to the parent directory. That's not to say topics typically associated with power users aren't given their due, though. Even people who know their Unices (and Unix workalikes) will probably welcome the coverage of NetInfo Manager and other OS X oddities. If you find yourself stuck on some particular topic, chances are it's covered here. It's not by any means an exhaustive guide to BSD, but it's a good way to get started with Darwin. I end up using this book often enough that it has its own place of honor on top of my G4 (my other Mac books are also nearby, of course, but they're not necessarily quite so handy).

Aside from the little-bit-of-everything approach, one of the most refreshing features of the Missing Manuals series remains the writing itself - surprisingly readable, often funny, and rarely confusing. These are some of the few technical books that I'm willing or able to read cover to cover, and some of them I've even read in bed or on the subway. As for specific parts and chapters that stand out from the rest: the new mini-manuals dealing with iLife applications like iTunes and iPhoto are a welcome addition. They'd been more or less ignored in previous editions of the OS X book, since they've got their own books, but the Panther edition introduces a section on each to get you started. Another of my favorite portions of the book is the addition of Appendix F, the Master Mac OS X Secret Keystroke List. It will take a while before I'm able to memorize all of them, and in the meantime it's great to have them all collected in one place.

Rating:
Summary: A winner
Review: It's this simple: you can't go wrong with David Pogue. His stuff is always very useful, practical, and interesting. Not to metion funny. I've used Macs since '95, and he's taught me most of what I know and I've had fun learning it. There are other good sources and authors out there, but if you're looking to buy one instructional/ reference book - you've found it. I've read reader reviews criticizing the length of this tome, but that just means you can just pick it up every now and then and find something you haven't seen yet. I even find myself buying the new edition every time this particular (OS X) series is updated. This book can be a great part of the whole Mac experience.

Rating:
Summary: The Joy of Unix
Review: Look, if you get this book, you will probably not read it all. Not because it is wrong or badly written. But the sheer size...Over 750 pages, covering every aspect of OS X Panther that the author thinks would be useful to even the rawest newbie to a Mac. In some ways, the bulk is one answer to the question posed on the cover, "The book that should have been in the box". Yes, that is a statement, not a question. But implicitly, behind it is the question of why Apple declined to ship a comprehensive manual with the machine. Apple is trying to claw back the market share it once had. One way is to attract newcomers by offering something that is so easy and intuitive that it is self evident. Whereas a book of this length might scare them off.

This leaves an opening that Pogue is readily trying to fill. There are screen captures on most pages, which in no small part adds to the book's heft. But the figures and text explain their subjects well.

Experienced unix users may well find joy here. If you worked on AIX, HPUX, IRIX, Solaris or others, you know that they have basically standardised on the Common Desktop Environment GUI, which is very nice. But OS X is also a unix. Eerie. An alternate universe where there are the familiar terminal windows and command lines. But the GUI has been totally reworked. Logically very coherent and polished, once you get used to it, perhaps with this book to help you.

Rating:
Summary: Truly the missing manual
Review: Macs are wonderful machines, but their ease of use can be deceptive. Most users can figure out how to do basic functions; but there is so much more that can be done with a little guidance.

Apple, however, provides little documentation - and the online Help files are of marginal value at best.

As a result, a good manual is pretty important to help you get the most out of your machine (and there is way more under the hood than most users realize). Pogue's Missing Manuals are beautifully written and easy to follow, and truly are the manuals that should have shipped in the box! Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Mac user
Review: The book is missing 50 pages and there's no remedy to get the missing pages. Check the book as soon as you get it. Pages 669-716 aren't there.

Rating:
Summary: Nice manual, only covers version 3 of iDVD and iMovie
Review: The manual has some insightful tips but I was disappointed to find that it covers version 3 of iDVD and iMovie and not version 4 of these apps.

Rating:
Summary: Right on the money ... again
Review: The premise that this is the book that should come with every new Mac is right on the money.

I would never dream of upgrading to the latest OS without reading author David Pogue's insights about how to make the most of the new system.

From the start, the beauty of the Mac OS had been that users never had to memorize a lot of random codes and commands to become adequately familiar with the way the system worked. But the way I look at it, it's not always enough to be adequate: why spend so much buying the latest platform software without spending a little more to learn about the two-thirds of it that isn't easy to figure out intuitively?

But it's not just the information in the book that makes Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition - like its predecessors - is so good. It's also Mr. Pogue's breezy writing style: he somehow manages to be easy to understand to beginners without sounding patronizing to those with a stronger background.

Mr. Pogue's essential guides to and articles about the Mac OS have become nearly as central a component to the Mac experience as a user's favorite web browser or that latest version of iTunes. If you use the Panther OS, you can't afford not to have this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good overview but lacks depth
Review: This book is big and covers a lot of territory. It does a very good job describing how to use OS X, the pre-installed applications, and keyboard shortcuts. By far the best parts of this books can be found in highlighted and 'tips' sections strewn throughout the text.

Unfortunately I found this book lacking in details. For example the Keychain feature, which is like a lock box for passwords and other confidential information, is only given ~3 pages. Because applications can query this information and there's no real analog in other systems, I feel that more text should have been devoted to this feature. Fortunately the NSA had the information I was looking for in their "Securing OS X" document.

Over all this book has everything most users would want to know. However, if like me you're looking to get under the hood this book won't get you there. This book gets 3.5 stars; it's not a replacement for a tech manual, it's verbose and yet still misses details.