Mac OS X Pocket Reference
by Chuck Toporek
Published by Pogue Press, O' Reilly Books, $12.95.
(Discounts available to MUG members)
Reviewed by Avrum Lapin
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Mac OS X Pocket Referenceby Chuck Toporek Published by Pogue Press, O' Reilly Books, $12.95. Reviewed by Avrum Lapin |
This small slim book (102 pages plus an index) is very similar to the Berlitz French Phrase Book that I bought when we went to Tahiti. It will help you get by, but if you have some prior knowledge this book becomes really useful. Mac OS X Pocket Reference is the ideal book to carry around with your lap-top, especially if you find the On-Line Help awkward to use. On the other hand if your Mac friends consider you the OS X guru then you are beyond this book.
The book is divided into 5 parts:
Part 1 covers the basic differences between OS X and OS 9 as well as some hints for persons who have converted from Windows and Unix.
Part 2 covers the basics - windows (with a small w), the finder, keyboard shortcuts, the Dock, OS X and Classic, and Users and Logging In
Part 3 covers the System Preferences, the Application and the Utilities that were shipped with OS
and the Developer Tools. Brief descriptions are given
Part 4 covers OS X Unix basics - very basic and insufficient if you can barely spell Unix.
Part 5 covers customizing the System, dealing with files and folders, fonts, searching and locating files, obtaining system information (with some emphasis on using the Terminal Utility), accessing and using the Internet, Printing and Troubleshooting. I found this chapter particularly useful in that it filled in some blanks in my personal knowledge base.
A quick assessment -
a) If I had never used a computer I don't think that this is would be the first book to buy.
b) As an experienced Mac user I found it useful after installing OS X Jaguar over OS 9.2.2
c) There is insufficient information to set up a small network for the first time or to make full use of the Terminal mode (Unix).