Mac OS X -- The Missing Manual, Panther Edition

emmastory writes "It shouldn't really surprise anyone that David Pogue has once again produced an unqualified success in the third edition of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. Since OS X came out, I've read and reviewed some dozen Mac books, but when it comes time to pick a single volume to recommend to friends making the switch, I invariably choose Pogue's. It's true that OS X beginners can understand it without any problems, but that shouldn't suggest that it's somehow too simple for veteran users - it's just that the text is exceptionally clear, meaning that even beginners won't find it too scary or confusing. While other books are bigger (Mac OS X Unleashed) and others are written specifically for a more advanced audience (Mac OS X Power Tools), the Missing Manual is the best all-purpose book on the subject, and one that should be in the library of pretty much anyone who runs OS X." That answers the question of "Did she like it?", but read on for the rest of Emma's review, including a mini-interview with David Pogue. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition author David Pogue pages 763 publisher O'Reilly/Pogue Press rating 10 reviewer Emma Story ISBN 0596006152 summary A must-have manual for Panther users

As I see it, there are really two groups of people who might be wondering whether or not they ought to buy Pogue's new Panther book: Mac users who own a previous edition of the Missing Manual, and those who don't. For the latter folks, the short answer is Yes - you should buy this book. And for the former, the short answer is Probably. Keeping in mind that all the various online retailers offer significant discounts on the book, and that you can also get 30% off if you've registered a previous edition with O'Reilly, it's going to only wind up costing you about twenty bucks, and it's definitely worth it. The text hasn't just been updated to reflect changes and new features in Panther - it's also been updated to reflect reader feedback on previous versions, including things like more information for people migrating from Windows, and mini-manuals on some of the iLife applications. There isn't a single page that hasn't been changed from the Jaguar edition of the book (and there are over seven hundred pages).

Some of my Mac-using friends have told me that they haven't picked up anything from the Missing Manual series because they're under the impression that they're basically novice guides. This is both right and wrong: it's absolutely true that beginners will get their money's worth from a Missing Manual and that they won't get lost in an abundance of overtechnical discussion. The part that isn't true, however, is the implication that these are books only for beginners. I've been using Macs for over ten years now (and various Unix-like systems for five), but my copies of the Missing Manuals get dog-eared and underlined more than any other technical books I own. One of the reasons I'd dispute the claim that this book isn't useful for advanced users is that sprinkled throughout are dozens of little productivity notes -- a keystroke here, a shortcut tip there -- and this is the stuff that I, at least, really get off on, while it seems like novice users tend to be content with straightforward dragging and double clicking. I dive into Part One ("The Mac OS X Desktop") with my Mac in easy reach not because I don't know how to minimize a window, but because I had no idea that (for example) there's now a Finder keystroke to jump immediately to the parent directory. That's not to say topics typically associated with power users aren't given their due, though. Even people who know their Unices (and Unix workalikes) will probably welcome the coverage of NetInfo Manager and other OS X oddities. If you find yourself stuck on some particular topic, chances are it's covered here. It's not by any means an exhaustive guide to BSD, but it's a good way to get started with Darwin. I end up using this book often enough that it has its own place of honor on top of my G4 (my other Mac books are also nearby, of course, but they're not necessarily quite so handy).

Aside from the little-bit-of-everything approach, one of the most refreshing features of the Missing Manuals series remains the writing itself - surprisingly readable, often funny, and rarely confusing. These are some of the few technical books that I'm willing or able to read cover to cover, and some of them I've even read in bed or on the subway. As for specific parts and chapters that stand out from the rest: the new mini-manuals dealing with iLife applications like iTunes and iPhoto are a welcome addition. They'd been more or less ignored in previous editions of the OS X book, since they've got their own books, but the Panther edition introduces a section on each to get you started. Another of my favorite portions of the book is the addition of Appendix F, the Master Mac OS X Secret Keystroke List. It will take a while before I'm able to memorize all of them, and in the meantime it's great to have them all collected in one place.

As for bits I didn't like? Well, I was going to complain that as someone who owned a previous edition of the book and who just upgraded to Panther, it would be nice if the "What's New in Panther" section in the Introduction were a little more fleshed out, so that I would know immediately everything that had changed. But after playing around with the new OS and reading the rest of the book, that wish seems a little impractical - after all, every page in the book had to be changed, so the entire thing is really about what's new in Panther. The section at the beginning covers the biggies (like Expos and the new security features), so that's probably all it really needs to do.

It's probably pretty clear by now that I liked the book, but I still had a few questions about Panther in general and the Missing Manual in particular. Lucky for me, David Pogue was willing to answer them for me - and here they are, in case you're wondering the same things I was:

ES: What are a couple of your favorite new Panther features?

DP: I'm just nuts about the secret buried just-for-fun features: the secret graphing mode of the Calculator; the choice of surface textures for the pieces in Chess (including Marble and Jaguar Fur!); the way you can Option-drag in Preview to copy only one column of text without snagging the adjacent column in the process. These are the kinds of grace notes that really distinguish the Macintosh from the more boring operating systems.

ES: Anything from Jaguar or earlier that you particularly miss?

DP: ALMOST all of the stuff that disappeared from Mac OS 9 has now come back into Mac OS X: labels, the clean install, spring-loaded folders, randomized desktop pictures, and so on.

A few niceties still haven't returned, though. Occasionally I miss the Put Away command, SimpleSound (for quick and dirty sound recordings), and the ability to encrypt a folder on the fly without leaving the desktop.

ES: Do you think that Apple's decision to more or less give up on writing their own manuals is a wise one?

DP: Well, as someone who's making a living filling the gap Apple left behind, obviously I have a vested interest in this point.

But the truth is, a lot of people never crack software manuals--I'm told this over and over again by software makers--and they are expensive and, more to the point, time-consuming to create. (Translation: Once the product is ready, the company wants to SHIP it--not wait around for manuals to be printed and bound.) And Apple certainly isn't alone in eliminating paper manuals.

For myself, yes, I rather wish my software programs came with printed manuals--they're infinitely superior to online help. Whether it's "wise" or not depends on whether you're a shareholder, programmer, customer, product manager...

ES: For those just switching to Mac OS from Windows, should they go for Mac OS X: The Missing Manual or Switching to the Mac? (Or both?)

DP: At this point, Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition. Because I haven't yet updated the Switching book to reflect Panther.

ES: What's another Mac book you'd recommend?

DP: There are many books that pick up in technological depth from where mine leave off. For example, if you're interested in digging deeper into the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X, I hear great things about Mac OS X Unleashed. And if you want to become a Mac OS X programmer, of course, the whole O'Reilly line of Cocoa, Unix, and Java books await.

The bottom line: if you're a Panther user, you should probably pick up this book. You'll definitely be getting a lot of bang for your buck, even if you think there's nothing you don't know about Mac OS X.

You can purchase the Mac OS X: The Missing Manual from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Re:Other Title: Mac OS X - the missing mouse butto

[iCat]

If you want extra mouse buttons, buy an extra mouse. Use the original as an emergency backup.

Re:heh

[Anonymous Coward]

But if you passed the class the first time, you wouldn't need to buy the book again, right?

Thank You Mr. Pogue

[MissMarvel]

Major kudos to David Pogue for what sounds like another major success. He has restored my faith in documentation writers.

I've often wondered why we don't see more books of this caliber hitting the market. It shouldn't be that hard to write good documentation, should it? What does it take? As the reviewer states:

"It's true that OS X beginners can understand it without any problems, but that shouldn't suggest that it's somehow too simple for veteran users - it's just that the text is exceptionally clear, meaning that even beginners won't find it too scary or confusing."

OK, here they are!

1. Appropriate for a wide audience, novice as well as veteran
2. Clear
3. Concise
4. Accurate
5. Affordable

Thank You Mr. Pogue for writing yet another great piece of documentation and providing this an excellent of how to do it right. Give the man a medal!

Re:Thank You Mr. Pogue

[gwernol]

I've often wondered why we don't see more books of this caliber hitting the market. It shouldn't be that hard to write good documentation, should it? What does it take?

Well, first the fact that there are so few good manuals should tell you something about how hard they are to write. Here are a few of the reasons its hard:

1) Most technical writers are writers first and technical people second. So they sometimes struggle to understand the complex technical subject matter they are trying to explain. BTW, David Pogue is a clear exception to this generalization.

2) Writing introductory manuals is particularly hard. By the time you are well-versed enough in the subject matter you are something of an expert. Its very difficult to remember which bits need explaining to someone who is not as expert as you are now.

3) The audience for manuals is large and varied. What is too complex and technical for one reader is too patronizing and long winded for the next. Its almost impossible to write something that's pitched at a suitable level for more than 2 readers.

4) Writing clear, concise, accurate English (or any other language) is hard. If it were easy there'd be many more well-written manuals.

5) No-one buys a product because the manual is good, so there really isn't a financial incentive for companies to hire those rare good technical writers.

Of course, some companies just don't try, which is abysmal. Sometimes you see excellent manuals. But most are just mediocre. I agree, a big "thank you" to the real artists like David Pogue who continue to provide excellent manuals and books.

Re:The unnecessary manuals

[flabbergast]

Yes, you might not "NEED a manual in order to be able to use OS X productively," but the book is there to make you even more productive. For instance, my office mate did not know about the Open Apple + Tab feature to switch between windows. And how intuitive is F9-F11 to use Expose? Information like this does not magically pop into my head, I have to learn it somewhere.

And why is utilizing "the UNIX underpinnings to their full extent," so important? Most people who use Macs aren't looking to that to be productive. Increasing my productivity is more important to me than running apache/cron/sudo on my iBook.

Re:Awesome!

[pbjones]

MacOSX source is available free, it's the GUI that's 'proprietry'.

Re:Secret calculator mode?

[Bingo Foo]

That's certainly a lot more secret than the "secret" jaguar-fur chess pieces that you select from a non-secret drop-down list in the preferences dialog.