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O'Reilly Publishing Mac OS X for Unix Geeks

vi-rocks writes "A new O'Reilly book is due for release in October: Mac OS X for Unix Geeks. Brian Jepson and Ernest Rothman are the authors. Details about the book (including a sample chapter) are available on the website. Note the sash on the top right hand of the cover reads 'Switching to Mac OS X.' They say you can't judge a book by it cover -- HUMBUG!, I've already pre-ordered :)" The sample chapter information on NetInfo has helped me already.

26 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. META: Please flag PDF-links by RobotWisdom · · Score: 2, Offtopic
    In my ongoing campaign to encourage the creation of a styleguide for Slashdot blurbs, I'd like to point out again that the link to the sample chapter in this blurb will be a 'gotcha' for many readers, who need to give PDFs special handling (or skip them).

    Just marking it [pdf] would be a big help, for minimal effort. (See my other recent replies for similar style suggestions.)

    1. Re:META: Please flag PDF-links by RobotWisdom · · Score: 3, Funny
      "Obviously you haven't been on Slashdot that long."

      Without even hovering or peeking you should have noticed that my User# is 25776 while yours is 155958.

  2. Online Resources - (Share Windows Printers) by stu42j · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am helping my folks setup their new iMac and I have found Apple's switch site to be rather light on the detail. I don't have time to wait for a book. Are there any good, technical websites for helping people switch Windows to Mac - and use both at the same time?

    For example, I want to share a non-poscript printer connected to a Windows machine, with the Mac. I am assuming that it must be possible since OSX is based on Unix and Unix can do it. I know that I probably need to install Ghostscript but I don't know what to do after that. Any suggestions?

    1. Re:Online Resources - (Share Windows Printers) by qengho · · Score: 4, Informative

      Are there any good, technical websites for helping people switch Windows to Mac - and use both at the same time?

      Dunno about helping switchers, but MacWindows has lots of stuff about interoperating.

    2. Re:Online Resources - (Share Windows Printers) by diverman · · Score: 4, Informative

      Take a look at the gimp-print project. Has lots of drivers.

      I heard that it enables the Samba abilities of CUPS with the installation. It actually only takes a single symbolic link that Apple seems to have "left out" of the release. Once that's installed follow gimp-print's instructions on installing Samba shared printers.

      Also, this is a posting with the link, should you need to create it manually. You don't have to use the web-based CUPS admin utility like stated. You can use the standard "Add Printer" in advanced mode (gimp-print explains). Read some of the follow-up posts, as they discus printing both ways (to and from a Mac).

      Hope that helps.
      -Alex

  3. Re:This is slashdot by JabberWokky · · Score: 2
    Not if you want a laptop - then Apple's hardware is cheaper for the equivelent capabilities, and their highend laptops are arguably the best out there. And you can either run Linux on them, or just run your Linux apps via apt-get.

    --
    Evan (no reference)

    --
    "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
  4. "Switching to MacOS X" = "A UNIX Hackers Guide" by diverman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think it's interesting that the sash on Amazon's site (particularly in the larger image) is different than the link in this post.

    Instead of "Switching to MacOS X", Amazon reads "A UNIX Hackers Guide". Weird.

    I wonder what that's all about.

    -Alex

    1. Re:"Switching to MacOS X" = "A UNIX Hackers Guide" by NeuroKoan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It also says "Mac OS X for Unix Developers" not "Unix Geeks" (like in the original link). Maybe amazon got a press kit for an earlier version of the book....

      --

      "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation."
    2. Re:"Switching to MacOS X" = "A UNIX Hackers Guide" by jgennick · · Score: 2, Informative

      Covers sometimes get changed after they've gone out to Amazon and other electronic book sites. Getting corrections out takes some time and is more difficult than you might expect.

  5. Re: Yay! by realgone · · Score: 3, Funny
    And under the Apple section no less! The audacity!

    Those lil' checkboxes are there in the preferences for a reason. Feel free to use 'em.

  6. Re:This is slashdot by NeuroKoan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    First off, Its not a software hack, its built into the os.

    Secondly, get over it.

    --

    "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation."
  7. Re:This is slashdot by Toraz+Chryx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    what is a "key" ?... could it perhaps be "a button"

    So you're suggesting that it's a "hack" to make a button act like a... button?...

  8. Sorry, but Mac OS X is popular in the geek world. by Xenex · · Score: 3, Informative

    Incase you've been in a cave, on Mars, with your eyes closes, and you fingers in your ears, Mac OS X has become an OS that many geeks are interested in.

    Because of this, there have been a hell of a lot of Mac OS X related stories on Slashdot lately? Why? Because Slashdot covers "News For Nerds".

    However, it is understandable that not everyone is interested in Mac OS X, Apple, or anything at all related. That's why Slashdot has stories put into sections, and you can then change your preferences to not show sections you're not interested in.

    Now, if you can't even figure out how to change your preferences not to show Apple related stories, you're probably not capable of using most of the software that is talked about on Slashdot.

    So, get into your preferences, and check the following boxes:

    Apple
    Desktops (Apple)
    iMac (Apple)
    Media (Apple)
    Networking (Apple)
    OS 9 (Apple)
    OS X (Apple)
    Portables (Apple)
    Technology (Apple)
    Utilities (Apple)
    Wireless (Apple)

    Those topics cover every single Apple related story on Slashdot, and with them checked you should never see them again.

    And, before you ask why there are so many Apple related sections, it is because there is a lot of stories in the Apple section of Slashdot that cover all of those topics. To keep people like you that don't want to see Apple related stories happy, while still not giving each story a generic Apple icon, new topics were added with (Apple) appended. This was done so people like you could exclude them.

    Now, you've been empowered. Use this knowledge well. With any luck, we'll never see you post in an Apple story ever again. And if we do, we'll know you're doing it by choice...

  9. I hate PDF by daviddennis · · Score: 2

    Is there any way on the MacOS X PDF reader, or Acrobat for that matter, to display the document as a single scrolling page of text?

    It drives me nuts to browse by paper page, since inevitablby my screen is just a shade shorter than a complete page, and so I have to scroll down to the rest of page 1 and then move to page 2. It's an incredibly akward way to read.

    Anyone find a decent solution to this?

    D

    1. Re:I hate PDF by DavidRavenMoon · · Score: 2
      OS X is a bad place to be if you hate PDF.

      Tried taking a screen shot lately?

      --
      -- if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic - Lewis Carrol
  10. Re:Big Problem by DavidRavenMoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Does [it] have a CD of the OS included?

    Does a book about Photoshop (or insert your favorite software here) come with Photoshop?

    Of course not.

    Maybe some Linux books do, but this isn't Linux.

    --
    -- if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic - Lewis Carrol
  11. Don't they really need a book the other way around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Mac OS X has those old OS 9 people running scared.
    They know that the evil command line and a swag of unixy software is under the hood - but they don't want to mess with it. That's why they want lovely gui installs for stuff like PHP and MySQL ;)

    But do you teach them emacs or vi?

    People who know unix can quickly come to grips with OS X. Its only a matter of figuring out what wierd directory stuff goes into. What they will get confused with is Microsoft Office X.
    Also seeing a gui environment running all the time will surprise them.

    I just wish that Terminal.app wouldn't unexpectedly quit on me (with the old error message style that will allow os 9 users to fell at home).

  12. What's up with the dog? by alispguru · · Score: 2

    Surely they could have picked a better cover animal than a hunting dog (with the "this old dog won't hunt" association, maybe?).

    I'm not sure what to propose as an alternative, though. Clarus is clearly old-school Mac OS, and a jaguar would be too specific to 10.2. Ideas, anyone?

    --

    To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
  13. Re:Linux users would switch.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    if apple gave us free mac hardware :)

    I'd switch to Windows if Dell gave me free hardware. OK, no I wouldn't but that just shows you how stupid this comment is and Linux users keep throwing out there. Yeah, yeah, all you want is a free operating system, free applications, and top-notch free hardware....Please give me a break! Stop wasting bandwidth with dumb-ass comments like this.

    I'd also drive a BMW if they would just give me one for free....

  14. Re:Linux users would switch.... by yack0 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Don't lump me in with you. I've already switched from a linux desktop to a Mac OS X iBook and use it daily at work. I still use linux for servers, but for my workstation, I have an iBook and I couldn't be happier.

    I've never been a big X user, so I'm not hung up on 'it doesnt work like X' complaints that hold back many people.

    Linux users ARE swtiching, but from my view, they're keeping their servers linux and adding their OS X desktops. Of course, my stats for that are about as scientific as OReilly's. :)

    $.02

    --
    -- There is no sig line, only Zuul.
  15. Re:Linux users would switch.... by reallocate · · Score: 2

    He said: Stop wasting bandwidth with dumb-ass comments...

    You said: ...MacOSX=ppc hardware only=not worth the money. Of course, morons like you don't get that.

    I guess you felt a compulsion to combine a gratuitous insult with an unsupportable assertion. Thanks for proving the guy's point.

    --
    -- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
  16. one continuous page by stego · · Score: 2

    In Acrobat Reader, select 'View->Continuous' on the menu bar. Preview on OS X has a similar setting in a similar place.

    Or did you mean something else?

  17. Re:Linux users would switch.... by fault0 · · Score: 2

    Alright, perhaps I should clarify a bit. I _should_ have said, that MacOSX=ppc hardware only=not worth the money for many people with massive investments in x86 hardware.

    > I guess you felt a compulsion to combine a gratuitous insult.

    A gratuituous tongue-in-cheek insult, perhaps. Anyways, my original post was quite non-serious. I do not expect Apple to ship me free PPC hardware.

    > Thanks for proving the guy's point.

    What was the point or assertion made? That I should "stop wasting bandwidth"? I'm sorry, but that sounds pretty much like a gratutious insult.

  18. Re:Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix User by nonsuchworks · · Score: 3, Informative

    In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department,

    First of all, the vast majority of Apple employees have no idea what is going on in the company at large. And Apple historically regards its marketing people as little more than a necessary nuisance; marketing people are often the last to find out about anything.

    Unless it comes from an engineer, be very skeptical. Otherwise just be reasonably skeptical.

    the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market.

    Apple probably figures Unix users are resourceful enough to fill their own needs, instead of stomping their feet and complaining.

    Apple has about 20 or so million users who still haven't upgraded to OS X. It is simply good business sense to get the majority of the user base migrated before staking out new territory. And your anonymous Apple employee got it wrong. Apple is not just catering to their own users; they're trying to woo Windows users too. Even a small percentage of this market could mean millions of new Apple customers. It is good business (hey, there's that phrase again) to begin making overtures to the Windows market and to leave the Unix market, which is a much savvier and more self-reliant (not to mention smaller) class of users, to itself for now.

    He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath.

    So all that effort to update the BSD layer and add gcc 3.1 was just to make Windows users jealous?

    Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 12 years.

    Apple didn't have a proper Unix-based OS until 2001. Apple was shrewd enough to figure that most Unix-heads weren't going to be migrating in droves to System 7, and so concentrated on the markets where it was strong: publishing and multimedia.

    Also note that my Apple contact indicated that Macs would never ship with a 3-button mouse

    Apple could be ready to ship a 3-button mouse next week and your contact wouldn't know a thing. See above.

    I can't believe people still insist on making an issue of the freakin' mouse. Even if Apple never ships one (which I don't consider a certainty, as the system requirements for Shake include a 3-buttoner), you can buy one for under $30. Or just plug in the one you're currently using; OS X will recognize it without any additional drivers.

    And not to be churlish, but it seems like a lot of users have successfully transitioned to OS X even in spite of the bad ol' CTRL button.

  19. Re:Linux users would switch.... by starman97 · · Score: 2

    It works just like X once you install DarwinX..
    I pull up apps using ssh -X on remote Solaris boxes
    all the time, either rootless to my Aqua desktop,
    or to a Alt-del switched fullscreen Xwindow desktop.
    If I want to run the apps on the Mac, I'll get them using Fink. All of this, I found on the Apple OSX website under UNIX tools. Sinple point and click, no edits or typing needed to set it all up other than
    >setenv DISPLAY -ip-.0:0 on the remote
    and
    >xhost -remoteip- on the mac..

    --
    Starman97@Gmail.com (bring it on spammers)
  20. Re:Don't they really need a book the other way aro by Yarn · · Score: 2

    If you run the console.app it'll grab stack traces of things that crash. Doesn't really help as I lack the source to terminal.app, but it is vaguely consoleing.

    (-50,000, pun)

    --
    -Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent