Mac OS X The Missing Manual 2nd Edition Covers Jaguar 10.2 (Pogue)

Mac OS X The Missing Manual 2nd Edition Covers Jaguar 10.2 (Pogue)

Apple says that 150 new features debut in Mac OS X 10.2, but for once it undercounted. "Jaguar" is a different animal entirely. It's faster, more powerful and much more customizable - but it still comes without a manual. The 1st edition of this book was the #1 bestselling computer book of 2002, selling 100, 000 copies in 6 months. Now David Pogue brings his humour and expertise to this completely rewritten, greatly expanded edition.

It covers:
Getting started: The early chapters demystify the Dock, the Finder toolbar and the unfamiliar Mac OS X folder structure.
New Technologies: Mac OS X 10.2 includes dramatic enhancements in Internet integration (Sherlock 3, iCal, iSync, .Mac, built-in firewall, Internet sharing), networking (Rendezvous, Windows compatibility, virtual private networking) and entertainment (iTunes 3, DVD Player, Inkwell, iChat).

Basics of Unix: You can sail along in Mac OS X without ever realizing that you're using Unix. But if you're tempted by the power of the command line, this book contains a gentle, intelligent introduction.
Finding Familiar Features: This edition includes 2 of the popular "where'd it go?" dictionaries: 1 for veteran Mac fans and one for Windows refugees. Look up any traditional feature - and find out precisely where Apple put it in Mac OS X 10.2.

As always this book offers warm, witty writing and bursts with the shortcuts, surprises and design touches that make the Mac the most passionately championed computer in the world.

Introduction
Without a doubt, Mac OS X is a stunning technical achievement. In fact, it may be the most advanced personal computer operating system on earth. But beware its name. The X is meant to be a Roman numeral, pronounced "ten". Unfortunately, many people see "Mac OS X" and say "Mac O.S. ex:' That's a sure way to get funny looks in public.

Then there's the "Mac OS" part - what a misnomer! Mac OS X is not, in fact, the Mac OS. Under the hood, it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the traditional Mac operating system. Apple designed Mac OS X to look something like the old Mac system software and certain features have been written to work like they used to. But all of that is just an elaborate fake out. Mac OS X is utterly new, written from scratch. It's not so much Mac OS X, in other words, as Steve Jobs 1.0.

If you've never used a computer before, none of this matters. You have nothing to unlearn. You'll find an extremely simple, beautifully designed desktop waiting for you. But if you're one of the millions of people who have grown accustomed to Windows or the traditional Mac OS, Mac OS X may come as a bit of a shock. Hundreds of features you thought you knew have been removed, replaced or relocated. (If you ever find yourself groping for an old, favorite feature, see Appendixes C and D, the "Where'd it go?" dictionaries for former Mac OS 9 and Windows people.)

Why did Apple throw out the operating system that made it famous to begin with? Through the years, Apple kept on piling new features onto a software foundation originally poured in 1984, doing its best to perform nips and tucks to the ancient software to make it resemble something modern. But underneath, the original foundation was beginning to creak and programmers complained of the "spaghetti code" that the Mac OS had become. Apple felt that there wasn't much point in undertaking a dramatic system software overhaul if they couldn't nail every key feature of modern computer technology in the process, especially crash proofness. Starting from scratch - and jettisoning the system software we'd come to know over the years - was the only way to do it. The result is an operating system that provides a liberating sense of freedom and stability - but one that, for existing computer fans, requires a good deal of learning (and forgetting). Most people eventually conclude that the trade off is well worth making. But in fact, you have little choice. Apple is switching to Mac OS X, and if you expect to remain a Mac user, sooner or later, you will, too.

About this Book
Unfortunately, by way of a printed guide to Mac OS X, Apple provides only a flimsy "getting started" booklet. To find your way around, you're expected to use Apple's online help system. And as you'll quickly discover, these help pages are tersely written, offer very little technical depth, lack useful examples, provide no tutorials whatsoever, and often aren't accessible at all unless you're online. You can't even mark your place, underline, or read it in the bathroom. And there's not a word about the powerful Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X. The purpose of this book, then, is to serve as the manual that should have accompanied Mac OS X version 10.2 in particular. You won't find a single page that hasn't changed since the first edition. Not only are the new Jaguar features covered in depth, but you'll also find a great deal of refinement in the discussions of original Mac OS X features: more tips and tricks, clever uses for old ideas, and greater context borne of the passage of time.

This second edition also takes a more inclusive approach. Whereas the original edition was written exclusively for the benefit of former Mac OS 9 fans, this book points out the changes you'll find as you move to Mac OS X from both older Macs and Microsoft Windows. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual is designed to accommodate readers at every technical level. The primary discussions are written for advanced beginner or intermediate Mac users. But if you're a first time Mac user, miniature sidebar articles called Up To Speed provide the introductory information you need to understand the topic at hand. If you're an advanced Mac user, on the other hand, keep your eye out for similar shaded boxes called Power Users' Clinic. They offer more technical tips, tricks, and shortcuts for the more experienced Mac fan.

About the Outline
The book is divided into six parts, each containing several chapters:
Part I, The Mac OS X Desktop, covers everything you see on the screen when you turn on a Mac OS X computer: the Dock, icons, windows, menus, scroll bars, the Trash, aliases, the Apple menu and so on.

Part 2, Applications in Mac OS X, is dedicated to the proposition that an operating system is little more than a launch pad for programs - the actual applications you use in your everyday work, such as email programs, Web browsers, word processors, graphics suites and so on. These chapters describe how to work with applications in Mac OS X: how to launch them, switch among them, swap data between them, use them to create and open files and control them using the AppleScript automation software. This is also where you can find out about using your old, pre Mac OS X programs (by running the Classic program).

Part 3, The Components of Mac OS X, is an item by item discussion of the individual software nuggets that make up this operating system. These chapters include a guided tour of the System and Applications folders on your hard drive.

Part 4, The Technologies of Mac OS X, treads in more advanced topics. Networking, dialing into your Mac from the road and setting up private accounts for people who share a single Mac are, of course, tasks Mac OS X was born to do - and these chapters show you how to do it. Other chapters cover the prodigious visual talents of Mac OS X (fonts, printing, graphics, handwriting recognition), its multimedia gifts (sound, speech, movies) and the Unix beneath.

Part 5, Mac OS X Online, covers all the special Internet related features of Mac Ea OS X, including the built in Mail email program, the Sherlock Web searching program, iChat for instant messaging, Web sharing, Internet sharing, the firewall and Apple's online .Mac services (which include email accounts, secure file backup features, Web hosting and so on). If you're feeling particularly advanced, you'll also find instructions on exploiting Mac OS X's Unix underpinnings for connecting to your Mac from across the wires - FTP, SSH, VPN and so on.

At the end of the book, you'll find several appendixes. They include two "Where'd it '' go?" listings, one for traditional Mac features and another for Windows features (to help you find their new locations in Mac OS X); guidance in installing this operating system; a troubleshooting handbook; and a list of resources for further study.

712 pages.

Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc; Price €29.93; ISBN: 0-596-00450-8; Order Code: 3137