Description:
There's always been more to the Macintosh than the ability to make calculations, store files, and connect to the Internet. A community has grown up around the Mac's (always smartly designed) products and (usually intelligent) software. No one, with the possible exception of David Pogue, understands this better than Robin Williams (no, not that Robin Williams--the author of this book is female, for starters). The Little Mac OS X Book is the latest revision in her series of Little Mac books. Like its predecessors, this one welcomes its readers into the community of Mac users while showing them how to use their hardware, software, and the resources to which they can connect.Although it's well suited for use in an academic environment, with review questions at the conclusion of each chapter, this book is equally good for independent Mac users in need of a home or office reference. The designers of this book have done a great job of presenting screen shots. They're not just lobbed into place as they are in many volumes; rather, they're of modest size and have their key features (buttons, or whatever is under discussion at the moment) highlighted with circles and labels. Williams completely neglects the command-line interface of the Unix core ("Darwin") that underlies Mac OS X, and devotes only a paragraph (with no specifics) to setting up a high-speed DSL or cable connection to the Internet. However, if you're only interested in the graphical user interface, you'll find her treatment of Mac OS X more than acceptable. --David Wall Topics covered: Mac OS X 10.1, from the point of view of a user or (perhaps) a corporate system administrator. Coverage goes all the way from keyboard and mouse basics ("What's the Delete key for?") to setting up a home network with an AirPort hub and wireless network access cards.
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