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"Mac OS X Panther Hacks": Ideas, Tweaks, Hacks, and Code for Making the Most of Your Mac

July 15, 2004

Sebastopol, CA--Mac OS X Panther Hacks (O'Reilly, US $29.95) celebrates the Macintosh's adventurous spirit with loads of ideas, tweaks, hacks, and code to inspire and guide serious Mac users to get the very most out of their machines--and have more fun with them at the same time.

"Regardless of your skill level--basic user, accomplished user, power user, or wild-eyed developer--you'll find many of the tools you need built right into the system. Because of this rich set of features, there's a way for almost everyone to dig and enjoy the system by hacking on it," say authors and Mac folks Rael Dornfest and James Duncan Davidson. "Combine this with the veritable cornucopia of third-party applications and cottage industry of customizations, tweaks, and hacks, and you've a Mac to be reckoned with like never before."

Mac OS X Panther Hacks is a collection of tips, tricks, and tools gleaned from the real-world experience of Unix experts and die-hard Macintosh users who know how to customize and modify their hardware and software to meet their exacting needs and desires. The book provides direct, hands-on solutions arranged by category: graphical user interface (GUI); scripting; web, chat, and mail; multimedia; gadgets and hardware; networking and network applications; servers; files and backup; and system administration.

The book covers user interface, accessories (iPods, USB devices, mobile phones, PDAs), wired and wireless networking (Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth), email and web servers and clients, messaging (iChat and associated applications), printing and faxing (sharing printers, fax servers), and much more. The hacks in the book range from the quick and easy to the more complex, and they teach readers how to:

  • Discover and hack Panther's interface improvements and delve into the menu tweaks, folder spindles, keyboard and mouse hacks, haxies, and desktop widgets
  • Interweave Mac's own AppleScript with Perl, Python, Ruby, and shell scripting
  • Interact with peers, family, friends, and virtual buddies using best-of-breed mail, web, instant messaging, and other collaborative tools
  • Draw outside of the otherwise nice, clean lines of iLife, remixing the hitherto disparate bits of audio, video, and other multimedia content flowing through a digital hub
  • Draw in and exchange data with WiFi- and Bluetooth-networked devices and FireWire and USB drives, dongles, and third-party devices, and interact with other Macs, Windows and Unix machines, PDAs, and cell phones
  • Turn a Mac into a full-fledged web and mail server
  • Discover, plan, and execute a backup strategy to keep a handle on the chore of storing, organizing, maintaining, and protecting vital data
  • Perform regular maintenance and security tasks to keep the Mac running smoothly and reliably
  • For those who want more than the average Mac user--those who want to explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, create useful tools, and come up with fun things to try on their own--Mac OS X Panther Hacks delivers.

    Additional Resources:

    Mac OS X Panther Hacks
    Rael Dornfest, James Duncan Davidson
    ISBN: 0-596-00718-3, 590 pages, $29.95 US, $43.95 CA
    order@oreilly.com
    1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

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