Rating: 
Summary: I read it cover to cover.
Review: I have been using Macs for over 10 years and thought I knew it all. This book taught me so much that I will never assume that again. The writing style was excellent and easy to understand, while being advanced enough for intermediate users as well. Also, the links to the web sites proved to be handy as well. I would buy any missing manual or David Pogue book from now on.
Rating: 
Summary: It was Useful
Review: I know nothing about computers, but enjoy using software. This helped a bit for my lack of technical knowledge. There's probably a lot more info. in the book that I just can't bother getting around to.
Rating:
Summary: It was Useful
Review: I know nothing about computers, but enjoy using software. This helped a bit for my lack of technical knowledge. There's probably a lot more info. in the book that I just can't bother getting around to.
Rating:
Summary: Geeks like it
Review: I noticed that the people who really like seem to be hardcore Mac users (i.e. 'I've used Macs for 10 years', etc. ). The people who just want to use a computer didn't like it much. So, decide which kind of person you are before you buy.
Rating:
Summary: Geeks like it
Review: I noticed that the people who really like seem to be hardcore Mac users (i.e. 'I've used Macs for 10 years', etc. ). The people who just want to use a computer didn't like it much. So, decide which kind of person you are before you buy.
Rating:
Summary: Missing manual, better than Dummies
Review: I preferred this book over "Mac OS 9 for Dummies", because it has more "meat" in it, and is generally more readable. I found it an excellent book for someone who is essentially computer literate, but wishes to move from a PC to a Mac. The front of the book touts that OS 9.1 is also covered in this volume, but alas only a few dozen words, which seem to have been slipped in at the last moment. The Dummies book does one thing better, which is how to select which Extensions to disable so that your Mac isn't clogged up with bits it doesn't need. My advice would be to buy the Missing Manual book if you have, say, a PC at work, but want to buy a Mac for use at home. It will help you move from one to the other easily and in an entertaining fashion.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST for Windows Converts
Review: I've always been intrigued by how little time Mac users spend dealing with "fixing" thier machines, cursing them, and rebooting them several times a day. So, after being a PC user beginning with Dos 1.0, I switched to a Mac. I hated my first iMac because it lacked documentation, manuals, or decent help. And, being a long standing Windows user, I did not find it as intuitive as it was hyped to be. Guess what, I got frustrated and sold it on the big e*bay auction site. Months passed, Y2K came and went. A few days back I saw this book in my local Borders...and it all came together! THIS was what was truly missing! I had hated most Mac OS books on the market because I found them insultingly oversimplified. I can only speak as a Windows convert: This is not a "dummies" book but a very decent, detailed book that describes all the "power tricks" that I knew for the enemy platform! I liked this book so much that I bought it, read it cover to cover, and decided to buy my second iMac. If you've never used a computer before, then this is not for you. But if you are looking for a book that is perhaps the most detailed, information-dense, well indexed, and handy reference to MacOS 9, this is it. Apple should probably bundle this book with the Mac! Highly, heartily, and strongly recommended, especially for those who have fallen from the Windows empire for the temptation of an iMac.
Rating:
Summary: A must even for longstanding Mac users
Review: I've used Macs since the Mac 30/SE model, and believe, I'mfairly used to how to operate Your Mac. But Pogue's detailleddescription of all the new features of MacOS 9 gave me a lot of new and useful information. Where else can You get a precise instruction on how to customize Sherlock? Apple should ship this book with every computer they sell. END
Rating:
Summary: This book makes up for some of Apple's negligence.
Review: In their negligence to put out decent documentation, Apple created avoid in their user support offering. Fortunately (since you can't buya Mac from anyone else) this book fills some of the holes via a third-party publisher. The PCs I've purchased have always had excellent documentation similar to this book, but then I always buy from a PC manufacturer which offers good docs bundled with their machines (too bad the only people you can get a Mac from are Apple, Inc, and they're not about to improve). I guess Apple is deluded into thinking that their machines are so flawless that they need no manuals. But for those of us with a *realistic* view of Apple and its products, this book fills a lot of the holes, and gets you started on your way to using the product more effectively.
Rating:
Summary: The Must have Mac OS9 Manual
Review: Mac OS 9 - The Missing Manual by David Pogue. This book is an excellent approach from well known Mac author (and Guru) David Pogue in both content and the way it is presented to readers. Pogue fairly and squarely hit the bull's eye of computer users disatisfaction about the lack of user manuals and the inadequacy of almost all user help files. As he points out Apple provides three unco-ordinated and disjointed help files in OS 9 which he states clearly fail to satisfy user needs. Hooray! - don't we all feel this? He quickly establishes a real empathy with us users and I believe his new book goes a long way to fill the void created by these less than adequate help files. In reading through the book I felt that it consistently created a feeling of confidence about its content. I believe that most of us underutilise the features of the Mac OS system; but here is a text that will allow us all to become smarter and more effective Mac Users if we wish and it is sensibly and effectively linked back to the Internet for dynamic appendix type information. Apple should be very thankful! Pogue and his publisher O'Reilly have also broken new ground in the publishing field with a simple and effective system of enlisting any reader to provide effective feedback information about any typo's or technique problems. They have a thousand or more proof readers! In addition I believe confidence and proffesionalism is added through information as to how the book was crafted and by the Colophon. As a long time Mac User and a reader of his other Mac publications, such as Macsecrets, I have now found in one place a reference repository of all the things I may need to know about Mac OS 9. Pogue avoids the problems of producing a purely weighty reference tome through his copious use of screen dumps and tips. Just as I felt the need for an illustration - to assist my understanding - there it was! Pogue also adopts the Mac style of not letting himself or his readers take themselves too seriously - but in such a way that it adds to readability and does not detract from the overall quality of its text or its message. I submit that he clearly understands the needs of the Mac user and to an unusal extent satisfies them. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears perhaps Pogue has gotten it "Just right"! Without a doubt this book should be on the desk of every serious Mac user. RK Melbourne Australia 20 May 00
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