O'Reilly
December 20, 2001

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual--The Book Mac Users Have Waited For

Sebastopol, CA--There's no question that the new Mac operating system is a doozy. With the release of Mac OS X, gone are the former millstones that Mac users had learned to bear stoically: dealing with extension conflicts, allocating memory to applications through the "Get Info" window, and periodically rebuilding the desktop to eliminate the ghosts of applications long-since discarded. Along with these improvements comes a stunning new three-dimensional desktop, a crash-proof Unix core, and what is purported to be the most modern and advanced operating system today. However, many Mac users are dismayed to find that although Mac OS X offers dozens of new features, a manual isn't among them. Once again, best-selling author David Pogue comes to the rescue with Mac OS X: The Missing Manual (Pogue Press/O'Reilly, US $24.95)--the book that should have been in the box.

"If you're one of the 25 million people who've used a Macintosh before, Mac OS X may come as a bit of a shock," says Pogue. "Hundreds of features you thought you knew have been removed, replaced, or relocated. Unfortunately, Mac OS X comes with little more than a pamphlet in the way of printed instructions. To find your way around, you're expected to use Apple's online help system."

Pogue notes that the purpose of his book is to serve as the manual that should have accompanied Mac OS X. As for the numerous differences between this new operating system and the old Mac OS, Pogue explains that Mac OS X is not, in fact, the former Mac OS at all. It's a completely new operating system, a hybrid of Unix with an attractive Apple-designed front end. Says Pogue, "The result is an operating system that provides a liberating sense of freedom and stability--but one that, for existing Mac fans, requires a good deal of learning, and forgetting."

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual offers the warm, witty, jargon-free writing that the Missing Manual Series is known for, with ample coverage of basics for the novice and enough depth for the power user. The book thoroughly covers Mac OS X version 10.1, including understanding its Unix-like folder structure, setting up an office network, capitalizing on its rich Internet features, and even hacking the real power of the Unix underbelly by summoning the command-line interface. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual also explains each of the control panels and bonus programs that comes with Mac OS X, including iTunes, Mail, Sherlock, and Apache, the built-in web server.

For Mac users who have become accustomed to the older Mac OS, Appendix A, the "Where'd It Go?" dictionary, offers an alphabetical listing of every feature that was once in Mac OS 9, with an explanation of what became of it in Mac OS X. Through the entire book, Pogue reveals the refreshing humor, technical insight, and crystal-clear, plain-English prose that made number one bestsellers out of his other books in the Missing Manual Series, including Mac OS 9, Windows Me, and iMovie 2.

Online Resources:

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
By David Pogue
December 2001
ISBN 0-596-00082-0, 583 pages, $24.95 (US)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938

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