Macintosh Books

A great beginning for working with Macintosh, Christian Boyce's book supplies generic approaches to working with different types of applications. With a sense of humor and style, Boyce leads the reader to "Mac-ing With An Attitude" that instills confidence and immediately boosts productivity.

Wow,

First, I have to state how saddening it is that NO one has entered a review before this. This is one of the most creatively cool Mac books ever made. Let me tell you why: The copyright date on my book (1st printing) is 1986. This means Michael Green likely started working on this in 1984 or '85, the year of the very first Macs. (As a student at Drexel university, I was very fortunate to receive one of the first 128K Macs -- before they went on sale to the public.)

But enough, what it REALLY means is that all or nearly all of this book is done in pure black and white -- and it's mostly illustrations. The amount of creativity Green plugs into a 512K Mac is mind-BLOWING. This book exudes so much effortless cool, I'm tempted to try resting it against my head on a hot Florida day.

Bottom line: If you think you've seen everything that can be done with just B&W dots, if you'd like to experience (or re-live) hanging ten on the screaming edge of one the coolest technological revolutions, or if you'd just like a sweet, cheap source (LESS than $7 -- shipped!-- from Amazon as I write this) of B&W creativity, BUY this book.

PS: Green is still at it today: Plug this "One Song: A New Illuminated Rumi" or this: 0762420871 into Amazon's search bar to see one of his latest works.

This author took what a computer was when Macs first came out and clearly demonstrates why a computer rocks as a digital creation tool. A excellent find and gem if you can find it.

Resources are the building blocks to the Macintosh interface. This book provides an easy way to find out how to manipulate and use resources. The included CD is also an excellent, large source for resources made up of collections designed by Mac users. BMUG is also a wonderful source for Macintosh information and help in the Macintosh User Group community.

Although I am not Jewish I feel the same as the Jews that Holocaust books MUST be read. I was horrified to learn recently that a 37-year-old cousin did not know what a fascist was. This is NOT okay. Already thing are happening in the U.S. that mirror what happened in Germany before World War II, but that is not what you will find in this book.

What you will find in this book is the story from one man's experience and memory. It is both touchingly and brutally honest, written by the son of Holocaust survivors -- the story told to him only by his father.

Spiegelman's use of the comic media to draw Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, Poles as Pigs, French as Frogs, Americans as Dogs and the Swiss as Elk was ingenious. There are some VERY disturbing things that happen in this story which come as no surprise to those who have read other books on the Holocaust, and which make it so difficult to read more on the subject. Somehow reading about it through the comic medium creates an artificial distance from the topic that makes it easier to bear.

I read the whole thing in one day -- would have taken longer if I did not dedicate myself to reading the entire day, but still, that is not bad. It was "just right." I also found the depictions of some of his father's neuroses depicted as very interesting. He sure hated to spend money, but no matter how much money he had you just can't blame him when you see what he has gone through.

Good book. I would recommend this book for ages 12 and up.

Putting something as unbelievably tragic and indescribable as the Holocaust into comic book form with the Jews portrayed as mice and the Nazis as cats sounds as kitschy as it gets and even a little insulting. But Art Spiegelman manages to pull it off. The Nazi's labelling of Jews as "vermin" puts the allegory on a new level with each nationality represented by a different animal. The story is incredibly personal weaving in and out of WWII Poland and the author struggling with his irritable father in 1980s America. It also dabbles in the metafictional, referencing other comics Spiegelman has done, his mother's suicide, and his own disbelief that writing about the Holocaust will change anything, especially after so many books and films have already addressed the subject. Don't be fooled by the comic appearance. Spiegelman takes the graphic novel into new territory with "Maus." Whether or not you read comics, this is a stunning testament to survival, forgiveness, and the human spirit.

excellent book. i already had it in softcover but the pages began coming out; very nice to have it in hardcover. excellent service; received the book in perfect condition in only a few days.

This set of books was a read for our book club. It is a poignant, revealing look at the holocaust. Spiegelman maintains the respect that is due when discussing the holocaust and it's many victims; while still conveying a very personal story. It amazed me how graphic and detailed the story could be told through the use of characters/animals. You would think there would be a certain detachment when using animals to portray humans, when in fact it was a very poignant, personal, private story of survival. The story makes you re-think your views on survival, and what it really means to survive. I highly recommend this set of books.

As a Jew Living in Israel, holocaust related books are important to read, but it's hard to do it actually. I can remember several holocaust-era semi-biographic novels which are great but those are the exceptions. Most of the books are a bit bothersome though true.
Maus just captured me.I consider it one of the best books I've ever read in my life. It was just breath-taking, adding to that the fact that this was my first graphic novel ever, not to say first comic ever.
I gave it to my wife, her parents, brother and so on. The book came back to me after 6 month. all worn out.
The book touched me in the deepest levels, and was able to do what many other holocaust books tried to do and failed. Take you inside one of the the darkest eras of human kind. You NEED to read to. You have to read it.

Like many of Scott Kelby's other books, this is written in plain english and teaches with such ease, I wonder why it's not included with your copy of CS2?

Scott Kelby has a way of teaching you to use this very complicated program that you'll be amazed at how fast you're editing your images like the pro's do.

My edition looks like a tattered mess due to it's use and how many times I've thumbed through it to find a solution to one of my problems.

If you own CS2, than do yourself a favor and buy this book

Yes, that's true!
3 years ago I was a beginner with Photoshop.
I read all the book and learned how to correct all my photos.
People use to say that I take good photos.
You can see some of my photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oscarburd/sets/1524858/ .
Hope you enjoy the book and the photos.

This is the best Photoshop book I've ever purchased. It was recommended to me by a fellow photographer. Scott Kelby is very straght forward, he shows you step by step how to do everything. He makes photoshop easy, I was overwhelmed until I read this book, I use it almost daily, I am no longer intimidated by Photoshop!

This book offers the novice and advanced user a non-technical approach without diminishing the important aspects. I am new to Photoshop and within 5 minutes of reading the first chapter, I could make a contact sheet and went forward from there, I'd recommend this book to any one who wants to learn Photoshop without all the technical jargon.

Absolutamente recomendable...
Escrito en un ingles fluido, ameno y agradable de leer, Scott Kelby es capaz de trasladar al lector con enorme claridad y sencillez todo una serie de conocimientos, facil e inmediatamente aplicables.
Libro didactico y practico, muy bien estructurado, con buenas imagenes y explcaciones paso a paso, claras y consisas. Me gusta.
Estoy encantado de haberlo adquirido.

What a fun, informative, important book. I put it on my summer reading list for my students!

I like everything Adams ever put out, but I consider this one his best. It may not be as appealing to those who are mainly interested in the science fiction aspects of his other work, but the quality of writing and the subject material here are top notch. This book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious, and is one of my all-time favorites. As a popular science book, it is simply without equal, and I really wish he could have lived longer to write more like it.

It is sad that such books are needed, but there's some hope in the book that we can still overcome the extiction of at least some species that we are responsible for pushing to the brink of extinction.
And off course Adams provide some good humorous bits ;)

This book is extremely hard to find outside of Amazon which is a real shame because this is definitely one of Adams' greatest, one that is not only absolutely hilarious but that reveals his own amazing character and interests in a profound way.

If you are an Adams fan at all or just liked the Hitchhiker Guide you really need this book, I'm thinking about becoming a zoologist after reading this but I expect they are not as funny.

Great and witty read as only Douglas Adams seems to be able to. Really sad that he is no longer around to write more gems like this!

Ignacio

WITHOUT THIS BOOK I WOULD BE LOST. I'M INEXPERIENCED, BUT THIS BOOK HAS ALLOWED ME TO COMMUNICATE, AND MAKE ME LESS IGNORANT.

My order arrived ahead of schedule, and the book was just as it was described.

If you own a Mac with tiger, you need this book. This should come with every mac. Easy to read and follow.

Reviewer: Chuck Thomas, Bowling Green Area Microcomputer Users Group

Having recently switched from PC-only to being a Mac and PC user, I was anxious to see if this 514-page book would ease my transition and continue to be helpful for some time. It far exceeded my expectations and has proven to be invaluable.

The introduction begins with a clear list of the advantages of switching to Mac: `What the Mac OS Gives You' and "What it Takes Away." (The latter section actually lists advantages like the lack of viruses!) In the first chapter entitled, "How the Mac is Different," the authors describe each feature of the Mac OS and, wherever possible, relate that difference to the windows action, command, or location.

The second chapter provides a thorough description of windows and icons, the third acquaints the user with the Dock, Desktop, and Toolbars, while the fourth chapter completes the introductory material with extensive coverage of Programs and Documents, including different OS views, running older programs, and installing new programs.

The rest of the book is devoted to clear and extensive descriptions of four areas: 1) A chapter on each of the software products that ships with OS X 10.4 (Tiger), 2) Hardware on the Mac, including disks, memory, monitors (including dual monitors), printers, modem, etc., 3) Other topics like networking with PCs & other Macs, utilities that ship with Tiger, the firewall, etc., and 4) Installation & Troubleshooting, which is a short chapter due to the reliability of the Mac and the simple procedures for installing software in OS X.

Following these chapters is a very helpful appendix entitled "The Where Did It Go? Dictionary," which describes how each feature of Windows can be accomplished with Tiger. The second appendix describes the procedures for running Windows on a Mac in either dual-boot or parallel mode.

The writing style is informal, clear, and consistently focused on describing the Mac's features from the viewpoint of a Windows user. The book uses a logical format, bold sub-headings, and occasional, gray textboxes containing useful tips. There are frequent, screen shots to illustrate OS X features under discussion, but they are not overdone. Finally, the Index is very complete, thus allowing the reader to use the book as a reference tool. As a result, I found it remarkably enjoyable and easy to skim the book, reading in depth the things that were new, skimming the familiar parts, and saving some topics for a later time--when I'm ready to network, to tackle them.

Being a novice Mac owner, this book was a great tool for me to learn why I chose my iMac over a new PC. There is a wide range of audiences that will love this manual as well, from novice to expert. It answers all the questions you may have and provides explanations when necessary. I recommend David Pogue's work for any Mac manual purchases.

This is definitely the book that should have been in the software box. This is the 4th Missing Manual from David Pogue that I have purchased for my Mac OS upgrades, and all of them have helped me master my software. David's writing is easy to understand and gets straight to the point. I keep it on a shelf only an arms length away form my Mac. I use it constantly as my "Go-To reference guide. Thank you Mr. Pogue.

This book is good over all but I found it disappointing that there was nothing on iphoto or imovie, they claim it's not part of OS X yet they came with my mac. So make sure you buy those as well if you are interested in learning how to use those programs.

This is a fantastic book, just what we needed as we were switching from PC to Mac - clear, but detailed enough to really get us going.\

Helen Brown
www.chalets-usa.co.uk

As a newbie to Mac OS, I needed help quickly and found that the Mac help screens, while useful, were just not getting me up to speed. I guess I'm a "book" guy and missed having a printed manual. I have several "Missing Manual" books in my library, so I didn't hesitate to pick this one up.

At almost 900 pages, prepare to be overwhelmed at first, but the chapters are lain out in functional blocks that helped me get started in a logical fashion. The book is well illustrated and the index seems comprehensive. As is the trademark of the "Missing Manual" books, the writing is excellent, occasionally a bit irreverent and light hearted, but always focused on the topic. The book is filled with lots of "newbie" tricks and shortcuts, as well as enough information to serve as a reference manual for standard Mac software included in OS X.

There is no accompanying CD, but all practice file material, listed Web Addresses, and downloadable software are available for download at www.missingmanuals.com.

I recommend Mac OS Leopard: The Missing Manual, for all users new to OS X and those that just want a desk side reference guide to OS X Leopard.

smichael9@yahoo.com

Very helpful, well written book. I have purchased a number of books by his author and as usual have found his books most informative. Highly recommend if you have Leopard.

I am just starting on Cocoa programming and Objective-C and Aaron's book is one very useful guide. I recommend it 100% to everyone who wants to learn fast.

I was first introduced to the world of COCOA and Objective C programming in Aaron Hillegass' second edition and have been looking forward to the third edition for new material on Xcode 3, Objective-C 2 and Core Animation, etc. I was not disappointed.

The third edition has retained the best of the 2nd edition and adds valuable new material on all the essential topics. Well done Aaron! I'd love to attend one of your courses at BNR ( [...] ) but your new book is the next best thing :)

This book is a great book for teaching beginners Cocoa. It gives a broad overview of the development environment and strategies. The updated material for the third edition probably isn't enough to warrant the purchase if you've read the previous versions though. If you are already an advanced developer, you probably won't learn too much new here either.

If you're new to OS/X development, a bit of search will quickly point to this book as the definitive resource for learning Cocoa programming. Having purchased it, I understand why. The book definitely meets all my expectations. It's not meant to be a reference (for that go the Apple's developer site), it takes you through most of the basic Cocoa features and techniques in a very well laid out manner. The 2nd edition was already renowned, so will be the 3rd.

I've gone over the previous revision to this book, and while I did find it the best book on Cocoa/ObjC, I still felt like the Mac world kept moving forward while the book was left behind - things changed too much, and some things were not relevant anymore. These are obviously, things that were introduced in Leopard, but even Tiger features didn't always look the same (interface builder screenshots for example).

This third edition is a massive update to virtually any aspect of the topics being covered. From the garbage collector, to CoreData, to CoreAnimation, properties, Objective C 2.0 in general - It's all there.

Hillegass goes a great length to try to explain the "Why?" and not just the "How?". This is very important if you want to turn a developer into a creative spirit and not just a dumb robot.

All in all, this is a must-have for any new/slightly experienced Cocoa developer. Amazon has a terrific price on it too, so the deal is actually sweeter.