[.ca] Mastering Mac OS X (ISBN 0782142834)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Mastering Mac OS X goes beyond Apple's own hardcopy documentation which is minimal at best and lays bare the workings of this state-of-the-art operating system. Apple's Mac OS X is a quantum leap in the operating system for the Macintosh computer, offering stability and depth that is unheard of in a desktop consumer-level operating system. The price for all this strength: OS X is far deeper and more complicated than any previous version of the Mac operating system so a concise guide is essential. Five main parts comprising 25 chapters make up this 800-page tome, covering such topics as installing Mac OS X; comparing X to OS X Server and OS 9.X; the new interface; network architecture; and configuring user accounts, privileges, and network communications. Part III, "Getting Things Done with Mac OS X", discusses the use of the bundled applications (Mail, Address Book, Preview, Keychain Access, Grab, etc.), as well as the new printing architecture and how to set up printers and manage colour with ColorSync, using Quicktime and automating the OS and applications using AppleScript. The book falls short on only a few things. There is little reference to its heritage (Next's NeXTStep OS) or other carryover features from NeXTStep (such as Net Info) and not much about the Unix startup process and the scripts that run during boot-up (although you will learn that you can hold down "Command-V" to see system messages during booting). It is much more focused on bringing up to speed an experienced Mac user, not necessarily a user with some Unix experience who needs to know just how Apple is handling Unix. There are many good things about this book--the troubleshooting section is informative and there's a terrific chapter on using Terminal and writing Unix shell scripts. The appendix "Installing and Setting up Mac OS X" in Mastering Mac OS X goes far beyond Apple's own minimal hardcopy documentation, as do the chapters on the preinstalled applications. Mastering Mac OS X makes a fine handbook for users anxious to dig into the new operating system, and it offers a subtle introduction to some of the core Unix workings. --Mike Caputo

Excellent, comprehensive reference, perfectly written:
Todd Stauffer has done it again -- this version of his book doesn't disappoint. I bought David Pogue's book for the Jaguar edition and couldn't figure out what the fuss was about it. Pogue's book pales in comparison when it comes to meat and detail, Mastering Mac OS X covers everything I wanted and needed. Sure, Pogue's book is smaller and lighter and so maybe more convenient in that sense, but Stauffer's book really helps you learn Mac OS X inside and out. A lot of books on Mac OS X seem rushed, but not this one. Stauffer probably brought on Kirk McElhearn to help get this book out on time and it shows in quality and quantity. Good work, guys! I wish there were more authors like Stauffer and McElhearn.

This suited my specific needs:
I didn't want to buy a book where a significant portion is devoted to introductory comments for beginners. When I bought David Pogue's Jaguar Edition of the OSX Missing Manual, I was new to OSX and it suited my needs perfectly (Pogue is a great writer). However, I've moved on a bit and Pogue's Panther Edition covers too much of the same ground for me. Stauffer and McElhearn's book gets straight to the point and gives me enough details for the tips to be useful. I found the sections on networking especially useful, and liked how many of my questions were anticipated by the authors. I also found the book well-organized and getting to the sections I needed wasn't a problem. If you're an intermediate-to-advanced user, this is probably for you.

Good guide to OS X for intermediate users:
I've seen a fair number of books for OS X and they range in target audience from the raw beginner such as Mac OS X for Dummies and Robin William's Mac OS X Book through to those for technical readers such as Mac OS X In A Nutshell (IAN). Mastering Mac OS X falls firmly in the middle. Unlike IAN it spends a fair amount of time on the GUI and a major section is devoted to QuickTime and the iApps. Unlike Robin William's volume it covers high end topics such as AppleScript and the terminal and has a good section on troubleshooting. One thing lacking that I applaud is that it does not have IAN's large chapter summing up Unix commands. The Good The book is well structured, divided into 7 sections, 5 of increasing complexity, 'The Mac OS X Basics', 'On The Internet', 'Multimedia: Images Sound, Video', 'Networking, Coonectivity and Portables' and 'Advanced Mac OS X topics' - which covers AppleScript, the Terminal, and various servers including QuickTime, Samba and Sendmail. These are followed by a hardware and troubleshooting section and finally the appendices. The index is good and it has the by now traditional two level table of contents, the first listing just the chapter heads and the second listing all the sub sections as well. Given that structure, the book touches all the bases and covers all the required topics well. The writing is not bad, I think a stronger hand with the editing would have done wonders as it tends to the wordy. The Bad Once again a certain amount of the early stuff is either below the needs of the target audience or not really required. Oh, and Sybex do have a page for the book...!OpenDocument which includes a Table of Contents, sample chapter, index and errata but get a load of that URL and the author has a web page for the book but he hasn't touched it in over a year, since before this second edition was published. Conclusion It should be said that among all the books in this genre none are badly written, or badly structured. Personally I don't like the style of the 'Dummies' books and so I put it at the bottom of my list but others may not have the same feeling. That said, how do you choose among them? The choice boils down to two things, how close you are to the target audience for a particular book and how well it addresses the target audience. Mastering Mac OS X is targeted at "intermediate beginners (those who have some experience with a graphical operating system) and solidly intermediate to advanced users" according to the Introduction. I think that it covers the needs of the first group well but will probably fall short if you are already an "advanced user." For these people I'd recommend Mac OS X In A Nutshell. If you are a total newbie, then I'd recommend Robin William's Mac OS X Book.

Good Desktop Companion:
I put this desktop reference and basic "how to" OS X book to work immediately, as I attempted to connect from an internet café and couldn't figure out how to override my computer from continually attempting to connect to the ethernet as opposed to my Airport connection. I quickly found the chapter and section of this 800 page plus book, and focused in on the information I knew was going to assist me. If it wasn't for the graphic on the page, I would not have been sure if I was in the correct place. I skimmed through, and quickly was able to achieve my first task with my new Mastering OS X 2nd Edition reference book. I could tell we were going to get along just fine. I quickly went through the other OS X questions that I had been saving in my head for this exact moment. With a quick perusal of the Table of Contents, and the graphics used in the book, I have had my deepest OS X mysteries solved and my ibook signing to my personal preferences. In the back binding of the book, there is also a chapter reference that anticipates your next move. It seems to have been designed consecutively so that you can also begin to see the natural progression of your own personal network, and to perhaps judge what is missing from it as well. For example, it lists topics such as "Backing up your Mac" (okay- some of us need to still be reminded to do this, and to get advice as to what the best way to do so is!), and "Maintaining and Repairing Disks". Topics that otherwise would may have not crossed my mind are outlined right before me.

Comprehensive and thorough:
I have to confess that I approached the nearly 900 pages of Todd and Kirk's book with a feeling of 'Oh no, not another Mac operating system book - I'll leave that until I have time for it... maybe when I retire'. My shelves contain many such books, dating back to MacOS 7. Most are unthumbed. However, I was wrong: this book stands out by its thoroughness, and the fact that, while thoughtfully catering for OS 8/9 migrants, it also goes well beyond the basics of OS X. Now that MacOS has 'come of age' with the Panther release, this book is appropriate. 'Mastering Mac OS X' covers just about everything you could need to know about OS X and its bundled applications, with welcome mentions of shareware and commercial software where this appropriate. It starts gently for those unfamiliar with OS X, but - and this is where it differs from a lot of its competition - goes well beyond into heavyweight stuff like AppleScript, X Windows, Darwin, using OS X as a web and ftp server, the command line, shell scripts, and even 'secret' features such as Inkwell. I found it hard to criticise anything about this book. There are one or two omissions: AppleScript Studio is mentioned only in passing, and iDVD not at all - but to be fair, AppleScript Studio is the subject of a book in its own right. There are also places where the extra warning or two might not be inappropriate, such as when wildcards are introduced immediately after the 'rm' command, but my only main gripe is nothing to do with the authors at all - I found the italicized paragraphs a bit hard on the eyes. The sections on AppleScript, networking, security and troubleshooting are probably worth the price of the book alone. If you only buy one OS X book, this should be a strong candidate. Recommended.