Macintosh Systems Books

I was trying to decide how to parcel my money out amongst the five Gems until I found this. I might still buy IV and V, but not until I've read the first three.

The Acrobat PDF files are VERY easy to use. The diagrams are all legible, and some of the books include full color photos.

The Gems are the real gems here. They have complete, point-and-click indices, and nothing in the hard-cover versions cannot be found on the CD. The software is here, but you can find that on the web.

The other books are far less valuable.

* The VR book is worthless.

* Radiosity is fairly mathematical and interesting, and its material is not completely out of date. Its photos, in vivid high resolution, are the most elucidating part.

* The Quick Reference is much less useful than I'd hoped because its definitions are all just a little too short to provide practical information, but almost anything you can think of is listed. It lacks an index. It would have been more useful if words in the Gems were cross-referenced into it, but it's still worth having along with the Gems.

The Acrobat reader is included, but I already had the latest version, free to download from Adobe, which works just fine.

The only thing better is to have Joe Torelli sit and teach my class in person. Easy to follow and understand, just what college students need. I recommend it to all my Broadcast Journalism students.

Very informative guide that really helps to understand how the whole Xsan system works. The color graphics help very much to illustrate what is being said. I would highly recommend getting this guide if you are looking into implementing an Xsan system, or even just thinking about it.

This is not a how to book - it is an excellent reference book which follows Apple's tradition of clear and concise guides.

The first two parts of this 3-part book are a collection of monographs and essays on software quality management and certification and testing topics. The third part is devoted to software quality and testing tools.

Since I am more interested in processes and techniques I focused more on the first two parts, which were truly state-of-the-art with respect to subject matter and approach.

Among Part I's highlights were the essays on knowledge and quality management, and cost benefit models for quality assurance. Other essays (paradigms of software quality management and software development, and process-oriented software quality management) were well written and filled with original thinking, but this ground has been covered by so many authors that my interest waned.

Part II, Certification and Testing, had an excellent essay on testing web and e-business applications that I particularly liked. If you are in the embedded or safety-critical development and QA environment, the essay on certifying and testing these systems is definitely worthwhile.

This 288 page book is copiously illustrated with 99 figures and 14 tables. If you are looking for a book on software testing this is not it. It is best suited for advanced SQA practitioners and academics. If you are among that group it is a worthwhile read and will give you fresh ideas and keep you up-to-date in your professional reading. For the audience I cited it is a five star book and highly recommended.

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Color separations are a complex area, at best. This book was clearly the best in the market for clear concise information that will not go out of date. It is not focused on any platform or any specific Photoshop version. Do not hesitate to order it. I have been teaching top end desktop publishing and digital printing since 1991. I still use this book in my classes.

This book was a tremendous help in learning how to use the ibook. Very comprehensive and teaches you every aspect of your ibook from turning it on to browsing the internet. It's a great book.

This book is excellent for setting up preferences in NeoOffice. With the use of pictures, explanations, and training templates, Gabriel Gurley writes in an easily understandable manner without insulting one's intelligence.

I considered myself pretty familiar with my Mac. This book has taught me all those things I didn't know; And things I didn't know I knew. Just poking around my Mac, I've seen a lot of the extras Apple includes for the artistic user. The Mac has been a design tool since it's birth and Apple caters to that by putting many useful mini programs, accessories and utilities in to enhance the design performance.
I've seen some of those tools, used some and merely stared at others. That's where this book comes in. The author clearly lays out the what and how of all those tools. So every time I read a new section, I learn something about a tool I'm familiar with or am introduced to something I didn't know. This book is well organized and easy to understand. It's been well worth the price.