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iBook Book Review: "Mac OS 9: The Missing Manual" by David Pogue Review by Ted Bade Mac
OS 9 The Missing Manual suggested retail price
is $17.95 and is published
by Pogue
Press/O'Reilly.
The
472 page Paperback Edition of "Mac OS 9 The
Missing Manual" is now shipping. You can order
it now and Amazon will ship it to
you. The
missing manual series fills this gap.
These
manuals are even better then the "included"
manuals of olde. You get an experienced author,
one who knows how to communicate in a simple
language and understands using the items from a
users not a programmers viewpoint. Mac OS
9:The Missing Manual is one such book. Written
by David Pogue (my favorite author of Macintosh
books), it is well written and very thorough.
The
concepts are explained in a manner that should
be easy for the novice user. A book like this
isn't necessarily something a more advanced user
would need, but the novice user will love it.
The
layout of the book begins with basic desktop
concepts, using windows, icons, and so forth,
then moves on to applications, using it Online,
networking, printing, sound, movies, and even
speech recognition. Appendices include a "Menu
by Menu description of controls, a section on
installing Mac OS 9 (Which covers easy, custom,
and clean installations), and a very short
section on troubleshooting. In
addition to describing each concept, the book is
peppered with hints, special tricks, and time
saving techniques. Every experienced Mac OS user
knows there are several ways to accomplish
anything using a Mac. The book makes a good
effort of pointing out several different methods
in a manner that won't confuse the reader.
This
book doesn't include a CD of software. This may
or may not be good, depending upon your view.
According to the author, leaving the CD off
reduces the price of the book. To make up for
the lack of CD, an Internet site was created
where you can download any of the shareware
programs mentioned in the book. The site also
offers feedback features. In these days of high
speed Internet, this is as good as a CD.
Let's
take a look at this book, section by
section. Part
one As
expected starts with the Mac OS desktop; you'll
find basic information on using Mac OS windows,
window views, pop-up windows, dealing with
icons, using aliases, the trash can, changing
the desktop look (fonts, images, styles), and
effective use of the "Apple" menu. Part
two
discusses using applications in Mac OS 9. It
begins with the basics of launching a program
(there are several ways), then goes into more
intermediate features like memory allotment,
using a RAM disk, moving data to the PC
platform, and a basic yet thorough description
of creating your own AppleScripts. The
AppleScript section is an excellent starting
point for anyone new to scripting. You are shown
how to create a simple script using the record
feature and are introduced to writing scripts by
hand. Well worth reading if you are new to
scripting and at all interested. Part
three
describes what is in the system folder and how
its organized. It covers the basics like control
panels, extensions, and the Apple extra,
assistants, internet, utilities folders. Useful
information for those who like to know what's
where in the system folder. In the
On-line section you'll learn to use Internet
related features of Mac OS 9. In addition to
regular internet connections he describes Mac OS
only iTools provides by Apple's web site, using
the keychain, and the many features of Sherlock
2. The
section appropriately called, "Plugging in to
Mac OS 9" is a catch all for learning about,
well plugging things into your Macintosh. It is
somewhat hardware related and one might argue
that it might be inappropriate for an OS manual.
The software lets one use the hardware, so
knowing about the hardware helps one learn to
use the software. Networking
includes wiring the network (basic information)
and setting up the parts of OS 9 to use it.
There is even a little section on using ARA
(Apple Remote Access) which is now included as
part of the OS. The
section goes on to describe using the Multiple
users features and offers great detail on
setting up the different account types. This
description is a must read for people who need
to use the multiple users features. Following
this, you'll learn the ins and outs of plugging
various devices into the Mac, dealing with
various print features (including a useful
description of network printers), working with
sound, digital movies, and finally speech
recognition and synthesis. The
last part
offers some appendices which would be very
useful to anyone getting ready to install and
use Mac OS 9. First there is a section that
describes the menus and all they contain. Next
is an excellent section on installing Mac OS 9
which describes standard, custom, and clean
installations. A short but useful section on
compatibility issues includes a very useful
table listing various programs and the version
required to work with Mac OS 9. An all too short
section describing troubleshooting ends the
manual. The
website (http://www.missingmanual.com)
provides resources for all of the books in this
series. The section offering downloads to
software mentioned in the book lists the
software by title and is organized by chapter.
Ease
of Use.... This
book is arranged like one would expect a well
written user manual to be. The chapters start
out easy and work toward more advanced topics.
Finding
material is easy using either the informative
Table of Contents or index. Side bars and boxed
areas add additional information in the way of
tricks, tips, and many very useful diagrams.
Ease of use gets a high score for this book.
Conclusion... Overall
this book is very good. It is a basic manual for
using Mac OS 9, so it is more appropriate for
beginners and intermediate people new to Mac OS
9 or getting ready to install it. It offers a
great index which makes finding a particular
topic relatively easy, but lacks a really good
troubleshooting section.
iBook-User gives "Mac
OS 9 The Missing Manual"
four iBooks out of five. If you are interested in
buying this book on-line, click on the link
below
to go directly to
Amazon.com or on the Book cover at the
top
page. Happy
Reading!
Ted
Bade has
been using Apple computers since 1982 and Macs
since 1985. Dedicated to the Macintosh, he has
been a member and leader of a Computer user
group since 1983. He has a degree in electrical
engineering and loves to write. To date he has
published a number of articles in
MacHome
Journal
magazine, writes for iBook-User
and writes regularly for H.U.G.E.
a computer
user group newsletter, and freelances whenever
he can find the time and need. While he's not
playing Quake Arena or Unreal Tournament with
his Macintosh G4 or PowerBook G3. Books
By David Pogue Macworld
Mac SECRETS, 5th Edition Macs
for Dummies, 6th Edition (new for Mac OS
8.5) MORE
Macs for Dummies, 3rd Ed. The
iMac for Dummies (NEW SECOND
EDITION!) PalmPilot:
The Ultimate Guide (2d
Edition) The
Great Macintosh Easter-Egg
Hunt
The First web site Dedicated to Apple's iBook ! iBook-User © is a Publication of P1 Publishing LLC 2001 |
Mac
OS 9:The Missing Manual... is well written and very
thorough.! "
The book makes a good effort of pointing out
several different methods in a manner that won't
confuse the
reader."
"Part
three describes the basics...Useful information for
those who like to know what's where in the system
folder." "...offers
some appendices which would be very useful to
anyone getting ready to install and use "...offers
a great index which makes finding a particular
topic relatively easy, but lacks a
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