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iBook Book Review : "The Little iBook Book" Written by John Tollett and Robin Williams
The
little iBook Book is published by Peachpit
press. If you're lucky
enough to have purchased one of Apple's
iBook
(recently
listed as the Best Selling portable computer on the
American market according to PC
Data),
you may have many questions. The Little iBook Book
fills the great canyon between the information
Apple provides and what you really need to know to
use your new m achine to its fullest potential.
It
is well written, very easy to read, and
entertaining. The
book is divided into four parts covering the use of
the iBook "At home", with e-mail, "On the Road",
and an "extras" section for everything
else. "At Home" is a
general section providing an over view of the iBook
itself as well as the software included in the
package. The chapter starts with a description of
where things are on the iBook, how to plug things
in, and where various controls and settings are
located. You'll learn to replace a battery, install
RAM, and use file synchronization. The chapter on
the Keyboard explains special features you might
not be familiar with, including the function keys,
user-definable Fkeys, how to use the embedded
numeric keypad, and the keyboard control
panel. Getting
Online... The chapter
ends with file sharing; how to connect your iBook
to another Macintosh. You'll find step-by-step
instructions on setting up an Ethernet network
using AppleTalk. The instructions not only include
directions on setting up the hard ware, but also
how to set up Apple's file sharing and AppleTalk
control panels. The chapter include information on
working with the Airport base station and
installing the Airport card in your iBook. Missing
from these descriptions are options for connecting
to a Macintosh that doesn't have Ethernet as an
option. The
e-mail section is terrific ! The authors
describe the "how to" of e-mail from top to bottom,
answering most of the common questions new users
have and include a lot of information even
experienced users will find useful. This section
covers the gamut from doing e-mail on your iBook at
home to easily accessing it on the
road. You'll find a
detailed description on using AOL, Netscape, and
Outlook Express for email. You'll learn to set up
the programs as well as how to create interesting
email using HTML features. A brief but important
section on "Email Etiquette" ends the
chapter. Since the iBook
is portable, knowing how to access email when not
at home is very important. The chapter on "Portable
email accounts" considers options for doing just
this. You'll learn everything from getting the best
ISP for travel to setting up a travel only (free)
email account. The
Best Section in this Book May
be ... The
Little iBook Book
includes suggestions for protecting your iBook from
being damaged using digital phone systems, handling
non-standard telephone wiring, and use of surge
protection. Included is an in depth discussion of
using Apple's Location Manager control panel to
easily change settings from "home" to "road"
use. In the chapter
"Connecting on the Road" the authors discuss the
hot to and pitfalls of connecting while away from
home. You'll learn to get online through hotel
switchboards, pay phones, finding AOL numbers and
even connecting when on a jet plane. The next
chapter discusses how to get faxes and even how to
find printing services when away from
home. The section is
rounded out with a chapter on Foreign countries.
You'll learn what might be needed to connect to
these phone systems, how to handle different types
of electrical power, and dealing with many other
"foreign" (meaning non-US) phone
companies. Extra
Extra.... In the extra
tips section you will learn about power
conservation, setting up a RAM disk,
troubleshooting a bad system, airport security,
language translation, and car travel. However, the
section on troubleshooting is very limited. The
Accessories section discusses a variety of items
you can plug into your iBook using its USB
port. The authors
also make use of a cute rat-like animal (named Url)
to help them describe the material. This worldly
experienced rodent knows a lot about traveling with
a portable computer. The descriptions of his
experience tie the book together nicely with a
friendly humorous touch. Conclusion... Pro's
and Con's... Our
Rating...
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 with his Macintosh G4 or PowerBook
G3.
Books
By Robin Williams (and
co-authors): The
Little Mac Book (Little Book
Series)
Beyond
The Mac Is Not a Typewriter The
Non-Designer's Design Book How
to Boss Your Fonts Around, Second
Edition
The First web site Dedicated to Apple's iBook ! iBook-User © is a Publication of P1 Publishing LLC 2001 |
"The
Little iBook Book fills the great canyon between
the information Apple provides and what you really
need to know to use your new machine to its fullest
potential." "...anyone
who uses "The
tips in this book would be very useful to the owner
of any portable computer." |
