Macintosh Systems Books

The Missing Manuals series has had it's hits and misses. This one is definitely a hit. The first section on of the iMovie portion of the book teaches practical movie making technique, including a 22 shot guide to shooting a wedding. This is what I love about the quality of O'Reilly books. The understand the audience. In this case, amateur movie makers looking to make good movies that won't get them laughed out of the living room. This book has practical insights to get you there.

The manual portions of the book are fine. They provide a step by step walkthrough with screenshots and a menu reference in the appendices.

There is certainly a lot more here for iMovie than iDVD. Of the roughly 500 pages almost 350 are on iMovie. The iDVD section also contains some questionable content, like how to develop on iDVD using the developer's toolkit, which I think is overkill for your overage user.

Small quirks aside, this is a great book. Well worth the money for anybody looking to get the most out of iMovie particularly, and iDVD secondarily.

I've been a fan of iMovie from the first release on Mac OS 9. It made taking home movies fun. The great thing about this book is it goes beyond just a how-to or tips and tricks. A lot of the book is devoted to the dos and don'ts of creating home movies in general. Just as with still photography, the hard work is when your taking the shot, not afterward. The better your movie is at filming, the less work you'll have to do when you get it into iMovie.

The book is packed with a 450+ pages of information. Some examples: how to get your old VHS movies into iMovie, sending movies to your cell phone, creating better looking "title cards", and modifying iDVD itself. If you liked David Pogue's iPhoto 4 Missing Manual and/or GarageBand Missing Manual (both of which I have), this book is a must have.

Anyone who has a Mac should know David Pogue. He's been writing for the Mac community for years. His latest book, iMovie 4 & iDVD, displays all his hallmarks. It is exceedingly well written; it is completely useful and thorough; it is fun to read and funny.

Pogue hits the nail right on the head in the introduction. IMovie 4 and iDVD are simple but not simplistic. Unlike some other Apple programs like AppleWorks or the new OS, you will need this book if you want to make the most of Apple's wonderful new video software. Pogue and his co-author Erica Sadun get you up and burning in no time. Moreover they have created a Missing Manual web site with all the shareware and freeware programs and documentation you'll ever need.

As with his other Missing Manual books, Pogue has done everyone a great favor. Now do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't regret it.

I was fortunate to attend Macworld in July 2004 in Boston and attend the Mac User conference. Dave Pogue was the seminar leader for the iMovie 4 module.

I previously reviewed Pogue's iMovie 2: The Missing Manual. Now, I had the opportunity to see David Pogue in action and to further learn his Missing Manual secrets in Movie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual.

This Missing Manual is divided into five parts:

Part 1, Capturing DV Footage
Part 2, Editing in iMovie
Part 3, Finding Your Audience
Part 4, iDVD 4: The Missing Manual by Erica Sadun
Part 5, Appendixes: A- iMovie 4, Menu by Menu and B- Troubleshooting

My Favorite Page Turners

Page 16 - Figure 1-1: The evolution of the modern camcorder. The photo shows the full-sized VHS camcorder, the 8 mini/Hi-8 camcorder and the modern DV camcorder. This is the type of camcorder you need to work with iMovie.

Page 17 - Figure 1-2: The various sizes of tapes. The miniDV tapes required by most DV camcorder.

Page 20 - Three camcorders not to buy. You should select only Firewire connectors for miniDV camcorders.

Page 23 - Using the FireWire connector. You must have the FireWire connector to use iMovie and other DV software. Figure 1-3: Analog imputes and S-video connector for connecting to a VCR, old 8 mm camcorder.

Page 25 -  Use the camcorder's eyepiece viewfinder instead of LCD panel. This is very useful on bright sunny days and saves your camcorder battery's shooting power.

Page 32 - Special Effects. Avoid using your camcorder's built-in camcorder effects-instead use your iMovie's Special Effects when you do your computer editing.

Page 33- Apple's "Supported camcorders." Review the list on the www.apple.com website for supported camcorders.

Working with Pogue's Missing Manual

I like the Keyboard shortcuts that Pogue mentions in the manual. Using the Command-E, you can switch between the timeline and clip views in iMovie 4.

You have the choice of adding color to black clips (created by dragging a clip rightward in Timeline view). This greatly expands your options for title backgrounds. Also, you can use them for fading to any color other than black or white. When your project requires a gradient fill for the clip, you can create them in Apple Works, Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Pro Reaction

The section of 22 Shots for Wedding Video is worth the price of the book. Pogue showed me how to use the rewind and fast forward that are the missing buttons in the iMovie program. Page 104- Phantom "Save as" Command show you how to create various versions of your saved digital iMovie files.

You need the new parts of the manual before starting your iDVD projects. Pogue lists 17 changes in iMovie4 and ten in iDVD4, making the updated book worth your time and money.

Con Reaction

Page 7 should have been titled: 'Quick Table of Contents' in the book. The manual's white print on gray backgrounds is hard to read and underline. Page 93, figure 4-4, does not have an important sub -headline telling you that are in the edit mode in iMovie.

Final Notes

Movie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual is well written and illustrated for you, the Mac Video editor. With the manual you learn the secrets and tips for using iMovie and iDVD. Also, you can use the powerful Quicktime Pro for adding special effects and for your quick editing of your small movies.

iMovie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual is a solid primer and resource especially focusing on step-by-step video editing techniques for use on the Macintosh. Chapters address forming seamless transitions and effects, the ins and outs of QuickTime Pro, iDVD secreets, and much more. An absolute "must-have" for getting the most out of iMovie 4 and iDVD software, highly recommended for amateur and professional moviemakers and movie editors working on the Macintosh.

this should be read by any user of Iworks.

Will be able to use the program, much easier and faster.

The iWorks'05 Missing Manual is truly a missing manual for Apple Computer's word processor/page-layout software and presentation software Keynote 2. If you are in a hurry to use either Pages or Keynote 2 or a very visual learner, I would recommend looking into a different manual. In the 379 pages, this book has a lot of detail on the two programs which is truly a manual. You can easy skip to the sections you need and do not have to read the entire book to use it. The author has chapters in both Pages and Keynote 2 and are very basic. In the beginning of some of the chapter he lets the reader know you can skip the chapter if you are experienced user. At the end of the book the author gives you resources to help you go beyond the book for additional help and ideas for using Pages and Keynote 2.

Pages

The book covers the basics of word-processing in case your are new to computers and word processing. The book then covers the layout features to Pages. The author gives you advice on different fonts and layouts. He covers why you would use certain fonts in the headers and body of the text. In addition the book covers creating tables, charts and working with objects. Objects include text, pictures and graphic in your document and how to place them in the document.

The author also covers how to use iTunes, iMove in Pages and why you might not want to use Pages to add in iTunes and iMove in to your document. He recommends using Keynote 2 instead. The book also covers exporting Pages to other word processors such as Microsoft Word and publishing the document to a web. The author also gives you example of what will happen if you export to various programs from Pages.

Keynote 2

The book covers the basics of how to develop and give a presentation in case you have forgotten or have never given a presentation before.

The author also spends some time on using Keynote 2 with laptops. He covers the reason why you might want to consider purchasing the PowerBook over an iBook. For instance, iBooks can only perform video mirroring which shows the same image on the screen as the external monitor and PowerBooks can be used in the dual-display mode which can show a different image than the PowerBook's screen. Keynote 2 can display to your audience the normal view of your slides on the external display and on your PowerBook you can show the current slide and the next slide, a speaker's notes, a clock, and time.

The book also goes in to using iTunes, iPhoto, and iMove with Keynote 2. They all integrate nicely together. The author also covers exporting Keynote 2 files to other formats. He discusses exporting to Microsoft PowerPoint, into a PDF, and into QuickTime in case the machine you are using does not have Keynote 2. The book also discussed how to publish a Keynote 2 presentation on a website.

I would recommend this book as a manual for Pages and Keynote 2. If you want use the program right way I would look for another manual if you are not willing to put some time in to the necessary reading.

Jim Elferdink's iWork 05: The Missing Manual covers Pages and Keynote 2 as it provides all the basics of how to create documents and produce presentations with iWork's latest, powerful features. Mac users receive a solid reference which will appeal to beginners and advanced users alike: particularly appealing when covering such new functions as Keynote, which has gone through a major update to make it a formidable competitor to PowerPoint. Business users, especially, will find iWork 05: The Missing Manual an essential reference to maintaining professional standards.

The learning curve for Pages can be steep if coming from Word or new to word processing all together. (Actually, it's probably less frustrating if your new altogether.) That's not Pages fault. I think Pages is actually quite intuitive. It is just different than Word, and in my opinion, far superior. This text does a great job explaining Pages' ins and outs, and also offers great tips that will help when using Pages in projects. The tips captions give the text a real hands on feal. It is written from the perspective of someone who really uses and enjoys Pages, not just a lifeless manual like the one that comes with iWork. (Though the one included in the box serves as a good reference.) I have't read the section on Keynote, as I do not have a need for it. Great Book, and still very useful even if you are an 06' user.

Would you like to create documents with classy and colorful Pages templates that make you appear like you have the art department on your payroll? If you would, you're in luck! Author Jim Elferdink, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that introduces iWork '05, a brand-new software suite that'll eventually replace the venerable but aged AppleWorks.

Elferdink, begins by showing you how to create a basic document. Then, he covers everything you need to know about formatting your documents and introduces you to Pages' built-in spell checker. The author continues by describing how to use Find & Replace, an editing tool that can make short work of sifting through long documents. Next, he shows you how to lay out pages. Then, the author guides you through table and chart creation and formatting--starting with tables. The author continues by exploring the next step in the life of a Pages document: delivering it from your computer into the hands and in front of the eyeballs of your intended audience. Next, he shows you how to make your own templates so you can add them to Pages' built-in templates roster. Then, the author shows you how to plan, prepare for and deliver a better presentation. He also shows you how to build a basic presentation. The author continues by showing you how to add to your slides everything from text boxes and pictures, to tables, charts, and fancy transitions. Next, he shows you how to import presentations created with PowerPoint or AppleWorks, so that you can continue editing with Keynote. Finally, he shows you how to customize Keynote.

You'll find in this most excellent book, step-by-step instructions for using every Pages and Keynote 2 feature, including those you may not even have quite understood. This book's also designed to give you a thorough grounding in planning and pulling off effective presentations enhanced by Keynote.

It is not uncommon that a writer confuses simple mindedness for clarity.
Laporte is an engaging speaker, would that his writing style were so as well.
Still, if one can disregard the phony friendliness, the information is there.

A very well made book who is a must for newbbies in the world of Mac and more if you are passing from years of Windows usage like me. I am a fan of Leo's work but anyway I am sure everybody will enjoy this book

Michel Dugas

All instruction manuals should be this good! On almost every page I learned "how to" and I have used Mac's since the MacPlus was introduced. I would suggest, Apple, should include this book with every machine sold that ships with Tiger OSX 10.4. There are hundreds of "do this and you get this" and the average person probably would never know you can "do" this or that.

I really appreciate all of the effort and work and hours of "learning" by Mr. Laport.

RJ - Arkansas

I have been watching/reading/listening to Leo Laporte since his days on ZDTV and then TechTV and he seems to have an endless supply of knowlege whether it is with PCs or in this case, Macs. Although this particular book is a little more basic/beginner then I would have liked, it still provided much-needed knowledge and information regarding Mac OS X Tiger. Also, be sure to check out his many podcasts and video podcasts available through iTunes for more information.

Leo is the man! He and his co-author have written a must-have resource for those of us who use the Mac but do not necessarally explore the OS much. I have learned something from every page. I have been using a Mac since 1992 and would call myself an enthusiastic user but not an explorer. This book has made me want to explore the OS a little more and has pointed me to easy paths to do that. And I am only on page 60ish!

A comprehensive and well organized aid for Mac OCX (Tiger). I'm a computer novice, but was able to solve several computer problems with the help of this book.

This book is a great step forward for someone who has a Mac Mini, an Apple, or Mac OS X wireless system, and a missing/inadequate instruction manual. However, the book is myopic. It says little about how to hook my Dell desktop or a similar Windows-based PC to the wireless system. Our Mac Mini is in the Game room on the other side of the kitchen. When my AirPort router died [days it's 1 Year warranty expired], I decided not to buy a $130 replacement but to get a more powerful $90 ZyXEL router, researched and bought through Amazon, for my Dell PC and DSL connection. This gives a much stronger signal to my Mac Mini and the rest of the network. No more feeble signal via the AirPort router. The ZyXEL is a joy to have. Of course I can't get my Mac Mini to recognize my Dell PC to trade messages or documents. I plan to sell it while I still can. I am rooting for Microsoft's rumored new PC to blossom and force Apple and Mac to be (gasp!) user friendly. Meanwhile, I will share messages and documents between the Mac and the Dell with a USB flash drive. The book is no help to me.

Ted Landau is one of the most credible and thorough Mac troubleshooters ever. His MacFixit web site is the most potent tool that any Mac user can put in his arsenel. Now, you have all of his collective years of experience and know-how gathered in one place. The topics covered are almost endless, with everybody from novices to seasoned pros benefitting immensely from Ted's expertise. This boook should be included with every Mac as standard issue from Apple.

This book is packed with useful how-to and background information about Mac OS X 10.4. It is especially strong on Unix -- it has the best description of Unix on Macintosh I've ever read.

The book covers the Mac OS X itself and the iLife applications, but not any third-party applications. It has been updated for Tiger but most of the information is applicable to Panther (Mac OS X 10.3).

It is sold as a troubleshooting book, and it does have a lot of information about solving specific problems, but that's not really where the emphasis is. Most of the information is "how to" do various things, such as installing, updating, configuring, turning features on or off, and where things are stored in Mac OS X. It is written as a narrative rather than a book where you primarily look up things. The authors did this deliberately because they believe "the best way to effectively troubleshoot is to understand what is going on, rather than blindly following a set of steps that fix the problem." There is not an emphasis on error messages or tables of symptoms. The book does have a good index and a detailed table of contents, so I think most problems would be easy to look up.

The book is clearly written and explains each topic from the beginning, but it is a fairly advanced book, oriented towards less-common tasks and situations rather than everyday activities. Techies will get the most benefit from it. A good book for beginners is David Pogue's Mac OS X Tiger: Missing Manual.

I was a late bloomer when it came to OS X. I don't like change for change's sake, but recently work forced my upgrade from OS 9. Well, I did it, but I didn't have to like it! It wasn't long before I started getting mauled by the Tiger. This time, however, I had no lifelines... either my own long experience or a "Sad Macs" book... of which I dog eared a couple copies over the years. When Landau recently published his Mac OS X Help Line- Tiger Edition debuted, I was pretty sure it was time to start dog earing another of his books. Well, just today in fact, I wrote "Paid In Full" on the jacket of that book! It helped me through a permissions problem that had me about to rack a round into a shotgun and put my computer to sleep the hard way. Whew, the book was lots cheaper than a G4! Landau saved the day again!

I switched from PC to Mac in 2008. This book was very helpful in understanding the build in WI-FI of my MacPro . It also helped me learned about other WI-FI equipment for my laptop.

My purpose in buying and reading this book was to troubleshoot a Mac wireless problem: a Mac desktop G4 on a multiplatform home network (Mac, W2K, Red Hat Linux 9.0) that does not retain either the SSID or the WEP key in its wireless settings and therefore has to be reconfigured nearly every time it is booted. I am a network administrator by trade and support all three operating systems at work, but the Macs are work are on a wired network. No help there...and no help from this book, either. The book devotes all of three pages to non-Apple access points (mine is a Netgear ProSafe a/b/g firewall/switch/router on a 1.5 Mbps DSL connection) and offers no troubleshooting assistance for Macs trying to connect to such a device. In fact, the book is almost devoid of troubleshooting assistance. All does not always go well with wireless connectivity, even with Macs, and these authors seem unable or unwilling to admit that and deal with it. For an O'Reilly book, this one is a disappointment. It's not good enough if anything goes wrong.

A few months later: another problem with another Mac on the same protected wireless network. This time a brand-new PowerBook's built-in Airport Extreme could not connect to the router--couldn't even see it. This book was the first resource I turned to for troubleshooting, and again it was useless. One sentence in a newsgroup discussion provided the very simple answer, and both Macs are fine now.

If only this book had been available when I started delving in wireless networking! While my network is simple - and getting the AirPort network up and running for my Macs was a breeze - it does involve a DSL modem, a switch, an AirPort base station acting as a bridge to a wired Ethernet network, and several computers, including PCs. I remember spending a fair amount of time when first setting it up to get everything working correctly, especially the link between the wired and wireless network. Negrino and Smith walk the reader through all the steps required to set up and configure an 802.11 network, and cover the sticky issues concerning IP addresses, DHCP addressing and many other acronyms that novice users may be unfamiliar with.

One of the strengths of this book is the authors' tone of voice. Negrino and Smith assume that the reader does not know a lot about the many protocols and acronyms used, and they explain these elements in a cool and patient manner. There is no talking down to the reader, nor is there any obfuscation. The explanations are clear and simple, and readers will be able to set up a wireless network - no matter how complex - with ease.

But the book goes beyond mere WiFi networking, with a thorough presentation of Bluetooth, cellular connectivity, Rendezvous and more. No matter which wireless technologies you want to use with Mac OS X, this book explains them in simple, non-geeky language.

As more people - even home users - have multiple computers, connecting them is the best way to leverage all their functions. Wireless networking is, as the authors say, "simple the most cost-effective and least obtrusive way to connect all of your computers." If you've been tempted by wireless networking, and have been hesitant, thinking that it's complex and complicated, invest in this book - it's the perfect toolkit for setting up all kinds of wireless networking with Mac OS X.

I love the Mac, using it since System 4 (1989), and I wanted a good technical book on wireless technologies on Mac OS X. Naturally, I encountered this book seem to be the book that I needed. And I must say it does an adequate job, but I just don't find it all that exciting and I don't feel there's much value beyond basic information. I browsed Windows and Linux equivelent Unwired books, and those books are much more in-depth.

For getting a sense of what Wi-Fi products are available, this book is not enough. It mostly focuses on only Apple's wireless solutions, and not enough on third-party products that support the Mac. For example, there are 29 pages covering Airport Base Station, but a measely 3 pages for non-Apple wireless offerings. I was sorely disapointed in that.

For general Wi-Fi technologies and security (CHAP3 to CHAP5), it does a decent job. I like the security section, but I still felt there neaded to be more; for example, I wanted to know authentication protocols for WPA that Apple supports. This is useful in determining what products work with the Mac OS X, and also what OSes can work with the Airport BaseStation in regards to WPA features. In contrast, the Windows Unwired book even covers configuring a Radius server for use with WPA..., while the Linux Unwired has better nuts 'n bolts technical coverage of Airport Base station. Why can't Mac readers get the same coverage?

The blue-tooth chapter (CHAP6) was more exciting, and I felt they did a decent job covering cellphone synchronization and general Apple Bluetooth technologies. I do wish though they had more coverage of Bluetooth PDAs like Palm and PocketPC, with third party tools like MissingSync and PocketMac. More in-depth coverage of Bluetooth would be nice, e.g. file transfers especially with photos on the PDA, wireless headsets with the Mac, etc. The security coverage for Bluetooth was roughly a single page. I know there's more info. out there on this...

The other chapters (CHAP 7 to CHAP 9) I did not feel were much of value. Perhaps it is just my personal perference, but I am not much excited about RF and Infrared, or general cell phone technology. Maybe If my laptop could be a remote, that would be fun, but no such luck here...

There was a chapter on Rendezvous (CHAP 8), which is applicable to general networking technologies, but in the context of wireless, I did not feel this should have been in the book. I would have rather had the book focus more on core wireless technologies.

Lastly, I know it is hard to have a book that is technical enough, but doesn't scare away button-clicking users. My review is oriented toward expecting more advanced material for businesses, IT oriented people, or just advanced powerusers. This is what I felt the other Unwired books offered, and this book doesn't seem to keep pace with those.

This is a fairly comprehensive, if brief, book on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for Mac OS X. RF stuff is covered in an appendix at the end. From my read it's meant primarily for end-users. Advanced folks will probably get a tip here and there, but not much more.

Chapter by chapter; Chapter one is basic terminology and an overview. Chapter two covers Wi-Fi hardware. It does have a nifty fix for the Wi-Fi problems on the 15" TiBook. Chapter three covers base stations and antenas. Chapter four is a very brief look at Wi-Fi access from external sources, like Starbucks. The fifth, and last chapter on Wi-Fi, covers the basic protocol layer tools like SSH.

Chapter six covers Bluetooth, it's a good introduction but it's a little screenshot heavy. Chapter seven is on cell-phone connectivity, which is pretty cool new material. If you are serious about that you should get this book. Chapter eight is on rendevous and it's a nice, but short, introduction.

If you are just getting into Wi-Fi on Macintosh you should probably take a look at this book.

Want to have a TV on your Mac?...Buy an external Video Card!! How smart. Talks about the Ipod, but the 2nd and 3rd generation, no Ipod photo, video, nano, etc. This book is completely out of date. Would not recommend it to anyone. Save your money.

A book that revels in the sheer number of playful possibilities of a Mac. Rizzo and Knaster put together a set of projects that should appeal to any creative types that frequently use a Mac. Like being able to be an Internet radio station. Or being able to record and edit TV. Just a few years ago, the disk and RAM requirements for this would have been totally prohibitive.

Apple has been strongly pushing wireless networking, so it should be no surprise that the authors show how to easily implement this inside a home. For over a decade, Macs have been prevalent in the music industry. So you get an extensive tour of MIDI and how it is actually easy to build a synthesiser around a Mac.

The only discordant note is that the authors never really point out that probably everything they describe can also be done on a PC.

Frankly, I'm not too impressed by most of the Mac OS X-centric books out there, and when I bought this, I wasn't sure that my mindset would change. Was I ever wrong... Thanks to the knowledge acquired from this book, my Macs now do far more than what Windows could ever hope to do. Don't get me wrong, for I earn my living with Windows, but thanks to this book, the Macs prove how uniquely strong they are. This is a fantastic book. Keep 'em coming.

A friend gave me this book and I was surprised by how different it was. I had no idea my Mac could do such cool things. The directions are not that hard to follow. The best part is you can show it to your PC friends and they are jealous!

I am not a hard core Mac guy. I just have an old iMac I bought on eBay for fun, running Mac OS 9, so i didnt really know if any of these would work. I bought the PC Toys and Linux Toys books from this same series (yes, I know I have too many old machines laying around,) and really liked them so I thought I might see what I could do with my little Mac in the basement.

Turns out many of the projects will work out fine on my OS 9 machine, although those of you serious Mac users with OS X will be able to do do them all without any problems.

I went straight for the "Classic Video Game Mac" project and am busily assembling a makeshift cabinet for my new MacMAME machine.

Sure beats having that machine sit powered down on a desk in the basement, huh?

I work with Microsoft Word and Excel everyday and thought I was knowledgeable about the software. However, this book presents much more than I ever realized was available. The writing is crystal-clear and addressed to users of the software, not to computer intelligentsia.

The text is supported by examples and graphics that make even the most exotic features understandable. The chapters on Word and Excel have provided me with a number of timesaving features that I did not realize existed. Just incorporating Command-Z into my keystroke repertoire and a couple other features alone is worth the price of the book.

I have no doubt that this is the best-written and most comprehensive text available on this subject. Neither Microsoft nor any other software provider that I have seen has ever offered anything so well done. I recommend it without reservation.

I work with Microsoft Word and Excel everyday and thought I was knowledgeable about the software. However, this book describes many features that I never realized were available. The writing is crystal-clear and addressed to users of the software, not to computer intelligentsia.

The text is supported by examples and graphics that make even the most exotic features understandable. The chapters on Word and Excel have provided me with a number of timesaving features that I did not realize existed. Just incorporating Command-Z into my keystroke repertoire and a couple other features alone is worth the price of the book.

I have no doubt that this is the best-written and most comprehensive text available on this subject. Neither Microsoft nor any other software provider that I have seen has ever offered anything so well done. I recommend it without reservation.

This book exceeded my expectations. It is written in that clear way that helps you to understand processes that are after all, usually pretty hard to understand. The many sidebars of tips are especially helpful and reading it made me want to try out some of the new stuff mentioned.

I picked up this book a couple of weeks back and I have to say that I love it enough that I am going to go back and pick up the OS 9 Missing Manual.
The book is well laid-out, it's clearly written, it's up to date (for now) and I found out enough info for Excel that made it worth the money to buy it.
The book is aimed at someone who is relatively familiar with the Mac operating system but not with Office 2001. It starts from the beginning but does not coddle you. I think it even goes so far as Excel macro programming but I have yet to go so far.
I used to be a computer bookstore manager(Toronto Computer Books) and I've seen a LOT of books in my time. This is one that I would actually pay for full price! :-)

I have been a Wordperfect user forever, I had it on the Atari platform and then I got the Mac version when I switched to Macintosh computers. I was pretty disappointed when Wordperfect dead-ended. I have been using 3.5e for the last little while, but the world has taken to Word and I, until now, refused to go along.
One major sticking point on changing from Wordperfect to Word was that Word could not jump from start of file to end without me having to use two hands. I had learned to hit either the "home" or "end" keys and Word bugged the hell out of me because I had to use the command key as well. A minor annoyance to most, but to me this was big!
I bought Office 2001 for Dummies and got no help. The best I got was to use icons for start and end. A bit of an improvement, but still not what my fingers and brain had become instinctively used to.
I have had the Missing Manual for Office 2001 for a day and I was able to assign the keyboard to do it my way: The Old WordPerfect Way!
Thank you all of you. This book paid for itself with that one tip.

I have been browsing the Missing Manual, and it is overwhelming - in a satisfying way. It has so much more than the average computer manual. Best of all, it explains it in sufficient detail that I can actually do what the authors are writing about without the usual frustration. In the past, it has been my experience, that most manuals were written by computer programmers for their buddies to read, or else were so basic as to be useless.
If you're using Office 2001 on the Mac, get the Missing Manual.

Jim Miller
Victoria, BC

The Visual Quickstart Guide for QuarkXPress 7 is an excellent manual. I recommend it for folks at all levels of expertise.QuarkXPress 7 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)

I ordered this book for a class. It was delivered in record time. However, my class was canceled and I never even opened it. -still have it though.

I have had no classes in any generation of QuarkXPress. The Visual QuickStart Guide has helped me navigate the program like a pro.

I had to purchase this book for my Page Layout class. Having rarely used Quark before the class, I was pleased that this book is clear and concise. It offers a lot of information in a clean, streamlined way. The book also has a list of Quark shortcuts for both Mac and PC which come in handy once you get used to the program (and can start zooming around).

It's a wonderful tool to keep handy when designing in Quark.

QuickStart Guide books have always been my first choice for learning software. They leave out all the conversation and get right to the point. Usually, I don't have time for a chat, I just want to find out how to accomplish something. If you need quick info, the QuickStart Guides are the books for you.

Although I am leaning more toward InDesign for layout now, this book is good for jumping from QuarkXPress 6.5 to version 7, One thing I particularly like and use often is the keyboard shortcut list. I wish I could say I like the application as much as I like the book.

This book should only be purchased by those individuals that have just heard the letters S, A, and P all in a row for the first time. If you have absolutely no idea what SAP is, have no idea what an ERP is, or your company is still using punch cards, then this book is for you.

The authors provide an excellent overview of what to expect when embarking upon the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system like SAP. They provide thoughtful insight on factors that should influence the decision to proceed with such a project as well as sufficient detail on the particulars of SAP.

This book is obviously a bit outdated but since finding good books giving you an overview of SAP is so hard, it may still be worth having a look at this one.

I bought this before starting a project as coordinator of data migration and found it gave me some good insights.

As mentioned though, a bit outdated.

This book is designed for managers and deciders who are in an evaluation phase and compare different ERP solutions. R/3 is a world-class integrated ERP solution and the less risky possible choice. If there is any doubt left, this book will convince the reader. SAP is not just a piece of software, it's also a culture and a club. Belonging to it is a real asset in someone's career.

An excellent introduction to SAP by people who live and breath it.

This book has excellent sections on Business Case, Functionality (showing the links between modules, not just functions)and Deployment Options. It really helped me understand what I was going into implementing SAP for my company.

The Book has only two dissappointing sections. The chapter on process reengineering could have been better structured and applied, Hammer has better material. The walk through of methodology in chapters 17 and 18 was dry, uninspiring and again unapplied. More could have been written on ASAP.

My old G4 desktop suddenly died, with some weird patterns on the screen and, though the power and fan kept going, there were none of the usual sounds from the harddrive. I live in a town with no Apple repairs and being short on money, didn't have funds to ship it off and potentially write a blank check to some repair guy I would never see. I didn't even know if it would be worth doing at all. Peachpit has a good trackrecord for Mac stuff, so I gambled and ordered this book to figure out what to do next, to see if it would even be worth fixing. Well, the book helped a lot, and narrowed things down to a motherboard problem, with either a replacement of the motherboard battery ($15) or the motherboard itself (ouch, over $700 from what I could find). I replaced the battery and that wasn't it, so this book saved me from shipping off my computer and paying for the shipping and then with that money already gone, trying to figure out what to do about a motherboard + repair cost I wouldn't have had the money to cover. So my computer is still dead, but at least I didn't throw a lot of good money after bad money. It is a nice book, attractive design, etc. Worth its weight in gold for those folks stuck in rural areas without Apple repair places nearby. I would have given it 5 stars but I still needed to check some stuff online at Mac FAQ that had some better diagrams and photos of battery replacement.

An Apple repair manual for desktops and portables printed by Apple? I couldn't believe it when I saw it on Amazon; so, I had to order it!

All the essential information for user upgradeable components is covered in great detail with pictures. There are trouble shooting procedures for each recent Apple desktop and portable. When my iBook refused to boot, I diagnosed the need for a logic board upgrade using the book. (I was 99% sure of the problem before since I had a similar issue on a refurb iBook a year or so prior, but I digress...)

Detailed procedures are provided for all the steps up to the point but not including the instructions needed to remove the logic board. (This is true for each model, not just the iBook.) When disassembling and re-assembling the iBook, it is very important that these instructions be followed exactly and the correct screws used for each hole. Failure to put the correct screw type in the proper hole can (and will) damage the iBook logic board, optical drive, and other components. (I almost learned this the hard way, and I don't recall seeing this warning in the book!) I was able to install my own logic board by carefully marking each screw with its location on a set of diagrams I drew. This took extra time, but it saved me from breaking another component. Also, make sure that you attach the heat sink correctly with the proper heat conducting tape.

It would have been nice to expand coverage to include removal and installation of logic boards. This would greatly expand the number of pages of the book, possibly making it unwieldy. Perhaps this should have been two books? one for desktops and one for portables?

Apple makes it very simple. If you are not certified by Apple and you do almost anything inside of an Apple computer and the warranty is void. This is the book that Apple uses in their certification classes for desktop and portable systems.

Apple has integrated their service effort and procedures together just as well as they did their hardware. So part of this manual is how to use their on-line service aids as well as the software tools that they have produced to aid the service technician.

There are some distinct advantages to Apple's approach of having one vendor for the whole system. The motherboards, for instance, are all designed around common design criteria, common interface structure, and specialized to operate with common software. Common service techniques are another advantage. Here in one book everything can be covered from wireless lan to displays to motherboards. Compared with the PC where everything might be from a different vendor, you only need one book. And for service, this is it.

This book is part of the AppleCare training curriculum, designed to be a training manual for people who want to get certified by Apple to be an AppleCare-certified technician. As such, each chapter in the book is a Lesson. Early lessons cover topices such as "General Troubleshooting Theory," and "Safe Working Procedures and General Maintenance."

Lessons 5 through 10 cover common hardware and technologies, including basic computer theory , underlying technologies, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), wired networking and wireless networking.

If you are a person who likes to do your own upgrading and maintenance of your Mac, you'll find this book very helpful. Likewise, if you want to make your living taking apart Macs and replacing parts as repair or upgrade.

This book does not cover Operating Systems. If you want to solve a problem in OS 9 or OS X, you need a different book. But, if you want to see the "Take-Aparts" for certain Mac models, including iMacs, iBooks, mini-towers and PowerBooks, this is for you. Both CRT-based and Flat-Panel based computers are covered.

There is a good section on how to search the AppleCare knowledge base, and doing advanced searches. They recommend you bookmark Apple Knowledge Base document 75178, as it gives good info on how to use keywords to search the Knowledge Base. And another section on locating Apple replacement parts.

The main reason this book has over 800 pages is the copious amount of photos. They support the step-by -step instructions for installing or replacing hard drives, optical drives, RAM, Airport Cards, etc.

I'm glad I got this book, as it will be useful when I want to upgrade the hard drive on our G4 flat-panel iMac and add a second hard drive to my G5 desktop.

Apple states in the beginning of the book, "Whether you are an experienced technician or someone who just wants to dig deep into a Macintosh, you'll find in-depth technical service information as well as a comprenhensive overview of the service tools and procedures used by AppleCare-certified technicians to diagnose, upgrade and maintain Macintosh computers."

I have relied on this book a few times now when repairing the older clamshell style ibooks and also some of the newer G3 and G4 white ibooks. It's got a pretty helpful guide for taking them apart and putting them back together. I have also used this book as a reference tool to determine what configurations various Macs I am selling or working on had when they were first introduced. For example I sold my G4 powermac sawtooth and wanted to know exactly what specifications it had, so I looked in the book and found the 500 mhz powermac G4 (gigabit ethernet) and found it was released in 2000, it also showed the cache, number of memory slots, expansion slots, basic stuff like that for a quick reference. And it covers all models of ibooks and powermacs, imacs, but not all powerbooks unfortunately. It does not have any info on the pismos, lombards or wallstreets powerbooks or any older macs. That would be the only draw-back, I wish it had some information on the G3 powerbooks. It also has chapter tests at the end of each chapter, that are unfortunately pretty basic simple questions. Great big useful book for any mac tech or just plain apple computer users who want a little more info on their computer.