Browse Books

Reviewer: Edgar R. Chavez

Since their early days, Apple computers have been the object of adoration for a select group of users and developers. It always seemed that Apple managed to put together three essentials-ease of use, integration, and beauty-better than the competition. These are, of course, highly dependent on the eye of the beholder, but the ongoing acclaim accorded to Apple hardware and software cannot be ignored. If you own or work with a current Mac, the operating system you are running is Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Particularly if you have recently switched from other operating systems, your initial experience with Snow Leopard may be somewhat akin to a visit to a foreign country-you recognize a lot of things, you can do quite a bit on your own, but you would find some explanations and help most beneficial. If this sounds like you, this book may be just what you need. Think of this book as you would of a survey course about Western civilization. The subject is vast, the textbook big, and the instructor knowledgeable and authoritative. Because of your background and experience, you are already familiar with some of the material, but you find new information everywhere and you simply must confront the need to absorb a new vocabulary; you also realize that you must carefully think about how to say what you want to say and do what you want to do. You quickly absorb large amounts of new material, but you also know that there are areas still to be learned. All in all, though, you find the process enjoyable and fully expect to be an expert in no time at all. This is a large book. It has nine parts that encompass 26 chapters and three appendices. Part 1 (chapters 1 to 3), "Getting to Know Snow Leopard," covers the basics: the Aqua interface, the file system, and other interfaces (Spotlight, Expose, Spaces, and Dashboard). Part 2 (chapters 4 to 8), "Customizing and Administering Leopard," explains system preferences, printing, peripherals, Mac OS X maintenance, security, and backup and recovery. Part 3 (chapters 9 to 13), "Communicating with the Internet," explains how to set up dial-up or broadband connections, how to use Apple's Safari browser, and how to work with Mail, Address Book, and iCal, three applications that allow you to seamlessly manage email, contacts, and the calendar. Part 4 (chapters 14 to 16), "Working with Applications," highlights QuickTime, iTunes, Preview, Photo Booth, and the family known collectively as iLife: iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band, iWeb, and iDVD. Part 5 (chapters 17 and 18), "Getting to Know Darwin," changes direction from applications to the internals of the operating system itself. Darwin, an operating system in its own right, is the foundation of Mac OS X. Mac OS X makes available many of Darwin's powerful tools and functions. This section covers the basics, including the Bash shell and shell scripting, and a very brief overview of scripting with Perl, Python, or Ruby. Part 6 (chapters 19 to 21), "Snow Leopard Networking," tells you how to work with remote servers and networks, and how to use Snow Leopard as a server. Part 7 (chapters 22 to 25), "Snow Leopard Development and Scripting," shows you how to automate tasks using Automator and AppleScript. It also covers the Mac OS X application frameworks and tools, and an excellent summary of Objective-C, including the recent additions included in Objective-C 2.0. Part 8, "Cross-Platform Solutions," consists of a single chapter that tells you how to work with a wide range of file systems, how to run Microsoft Windows or other operating systems and applications on the Mac, and how to access Microsoft Windows systems remotely. Part 9 includes three appendices: Appendix A, "What's New in Snow Leopard," will be particularly useful to readers who are upgrading from earlier versions of the operating system. Appendix B is about installing and setting up Snow Leopard, and Appendix C, "Our Favorite Applications," is a long list of applications the authors recommend, although they admit that you may find others you like better. This would be an excellent book for new Mac owners and for users who would like to extend their control of these wonderful machines through scripting or programming. The explanations are clear and to the point, the screen shots plentiful, and the pointers to other resources carefully selected. While the writing does not always exhibit the sober, matter-of-fact tone I would prefer, it does not reach the patronizing level of cuteness often found in technical books for a general audience. A Mac is a fun toy to play with. This book can be your guide to increase that enjoyment. Online Computing Reviews Service