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| Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual | 
 enlarge | Author: David Pogue
Publisher: Pogue Press
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $18.94
You Save: $16.05 (46%)
New (52) Used (9) from $18.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 453
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 912
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7 x 1.9
ISBN: 059652952X
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.4465
EAN: 9780596529529
ASIN: 059652952X
Publication Date: December 15, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book. Shipped from our NYC store. Slight Shelf wear to cover. Pages are clean and unmarked.
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| Customer Reviews:
 No better Manual for OS X Leopard January 4, 2008
37 out of 38 found this review helpful
The preeminent general reference source for Mac OS 10 has always been the "Missing Manual Series" written by David Pogue. The latest iteration in the series is its Mac OS 10 Leopard Edition, completely revised, and it is the biggest, most comprehensive, and most useful of all the editions in the series. It covers the OS X desktop and file system, the free applications included with the OS X installation, the system components and technologies, networking and online features and components, and includes welcome appendices on installation, troubleshooting, Windows/Mac comparisons, and a "Master Keystroke" list.
Every one of the editions has been exceedingly well-designed and written combining serious treatment of subject content with style, wit, and humor, as well as honest evaluation and critique of features of the Mac operating system. All of the OS X Missing Manuals have addressed issues for a broad range of users, from the lightly experienced, the intermediate, and for power users. For the most part, however, the primary focus of each edition has been on the less experienced users. This has changed with the Leopard edition.
There seems to have been a deliberate effort to make the book more appealing and useful to upper-end users without losing any utility at all for others. There seems to be more material for power users- -there are more "Power Users Guides" providing advanced information and techniques, more UNIX references for those willing and able to take avail of the UNIX kernel underlying the operating system, more identifications of keyboard shortcuts, and more disclosure of undocumented and advanced features than in previous editions.
For example, Pogue itemizes and describes at least 20 UNIX utilities that only power users would want to use, explains how to configure preferences for the Terminal application, explains how to deal with the file and folder permissions system using UNIX commands, and even notes the existence of the venerable "Eliza" therapist emulator program hidden in a part of the emacs text editor. At each juncture of describing operating system features, Pogue explains from the perspective of different levels of users, including the power user, like himself. Unlike in many other books purporting to cover a broad range of users, this one does not short on the higher-end.
This is all well and good as casual users are still widely well-taken care of by the thorough and well-organized explanations of nearly every feature of OS 10.5. The book is illustrated profusely with screenshots of system features, configuration processes, comparison of the Mac OS X versions, comparisons of Mac OS X to Windows features, and more. Nearly every page is loaded with "Tips," "Notes," FAQ's, lists, tables, and sidebars. Throughout, there are nuggets of insight and technical arcana that even Mac veterans will be surprised to learn about. I learned, for example, that the one-button Apple Mighty Mouse has a secret 2-button feature. Also there is a similar way to operate a laptop with a two finger trackpad technique. There are a lot of tips and tricks like that in the book. Even beyond description and explanation, Pogue provides useful recommendations for configurations of the Dock, recovery from common errors, and using Automator to design practical workflows for common tasks.
The subject content builds upon that of previous editions and updates it with material relating to the 300-plus new features of Leopard. Much of the new material covers the Leopard update highlights - the backup program called Time Machine, a desktop switching application called Spaces, the Stacks organizing feature, the file previewer, QuickLook, and the feature enhancements in iChat, Mail, and especially Spotlight, the search tool.
Spotlight is much more than a mere search tool although it is a great one. A whole chapter is devoted to it alone. Pogue explains how to use it not just for casual and advanced searching (using over 125 types of data and metadata) but as a quick launcher of files, folders, and applications; as a calculator; and as a dictionary. Sophisticated query languages can be used and Pogue lists a series of power user keyboard shortcuts for Spotlight use.
I see the book as especially useful for those Windows users of all levels gravitating to the Mac platform. Not only is the treatment of the Mac OS done well, but at nearly every juncture, Pogue takes the perspective of a Windows user and provides practical comparisons and contrasts of operating systems.
Weaving all of these perspectives into a harmonious, readable manual is a fine achievement. The content discussions and explanations are never abstract but written from the viewpoint of the thoughtful and practical user and no one is better at this than David Pogue who has been cited before as one of the world's best (technical) communicators. The denseness of the treatment of the subject content diminishes somewhat from the readability of the book compared to prior editions and there is a bit less wit, humor and style. That is the trade-off, I presume, for the increased breadth and depth of the content treatment but this Missing Manual is still as well written as a computer manual can be expected to be.
Everything you wanted to know about Leopard but didn't know where to look December 16, 2007
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
I did not think that the Tiger Missing Manual could be beaten but it has been. I pre-ordered this book as soon as I got Leopard and thought I had learned a lot on my own. I was wrong. In the first few chapters I learned more than I thought possible. This book is great for a new user and great for a reference book. I keep it on my night stand for quick look ups.
Steve
Best Way To Learn OS X Leopard! January 8, 2008
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
'Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual' by David Pogue is another home run of an effort from the Missing Manual series, this one written by David Pogue himself. The thing I love most about the Missing Manual series is how incredibly USABLE these books are. Whether you are an experienced user or new to the topic being discussed, you can pick up a MM book with confidence that you are getting your money's worth and that you WILL learn by reading these books. I can't stress this enough... there are lots of books on the shelves available to readers, but if you want top notch content at one of the fairest price points in the industry, BUY THESE BOOKS!!
Having said that, there is a lot of new features in Mac OS X Leopard that truly deserve a new text to discuss and show them off. From the wonderful main layout to things like the new backup features in Leopard, this is one of the greatest operating systems ever created and now you can learn to do the most with it!
If you are a new Mac user or simply want to find out all the new goodies that you can get out of this OS upgrade, pick up this book. Read it, learn from it, and most of all... SAVOR the contents!!
OK enough of reading this review, go get the book, if you aren't happy with it you can contact me and give me your piece of mind!
***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION
Spot-on! Whether starter, switcher or savvy, your Leopard will purr like a kitten March 3, 2008
25 out of 27 found this review helpful
The "Missing Manual" series, originated by this book's author, consistently has delivered the content it's titles promise to the computer world. The 'Leopard' book lives up to that well-earned reputation, delivering top-quality content that reaches far beyond the usual fare in both breadth and depth. Not only that, but the author's style is smooth and even, with a dash of humor that never gets out of hand. The professionally organized manual is a fulsome read that offers easy-to-follow sections to newcomers, then delves deep into the bowels of the beast to satisfy the curiosity of even the most jaded of old hands.
Just a few months ago, I was a disappointed Windows user, tired of constant patches, updates and security alerts. The Vista fiasco convinced me that Microsoft had done too little to remedy the plague of malware, and that the time had come to switch to a more robust and secure operating system. The thought had long been dormant, but with so many productivity tools written for Windows it just hadn't been practical to transfer financial and client data. That is ... until Apple moved to Intel processors, and software like Boot Camp made it feasible to run both OS-X and Windows on the same machine.
Still, when my new Mac arrived, it was obvious that a substantial learning curve lay ahead, barely touched by Apple's anemic 'Everything Mac' booklet. I'd picked up a couple of books promising far more, but most seemed to be geared to shallow casual use rather than to serious productivity. That is, until I read the glowing reviews of this book; yes, Mr Pogue has more than earned those five stars! Weighing in at some three pounds, the nearly 900-page tome may seem daunting at first, but the workflow is so smooth that beginning users need only read the first portion of a chapter, to return later to the sidebars and tips for in-depth reference. The author takes you through the numerous variations of the keyboard, the (to former Windows users) bewildering co-existence of Command and Control keys, installation of application software, device drivers and of course network connection (whether by dialup modem or high bandwidth server). The numerous screen shots are top quality, and very much spot on the mark.
In sum: this truly is the Mac's "Missing Manual" -- a must for serious as well as casual users. Thoughtfully produced, well written and nicely illustrated, it offers useful and practical guidance to any reader, whatever your skill level may be.
 Excellent, thorough but misses bugs and gothca's January 4, 2008
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
David Pogue is one of my favorite technology writers; I read all his NYTimes columns and frequently his blogs.
He shows his skills and knowledge here; the "Leopard" book is an excellent reference (as is the related iMovie/iDVD missing manual). It is thorough without being dry, is accessible enough to pull off the near-impossible of being useful to newcomers, "migrators", and long-time Mac users. It is also pragmatic, rather than being a feature list. The index is well done.
I'd recommend this book for anyone using or about to use Mac OS X.
I have one criticism: Pogue is a Mac-cheerleader and thus his book doesn't truly fulfill the promise that an "independent manual" would in telling you about the problems, bugs, and gotcha's the manufacturer doesn't want to admit exist. For example, Pogue claims the Mac OS doesn't lock up. Well, that's simply not true; within days after getting my MacBook Pro with OS X 10.5 it locked up simply importing into iTunes, requiring a hard-reboot. After which it wouldn't even recognize a USB drive, forcing another restart. How do you fix a corrupted file in iTunes? Is there a work-around for TimeMachine's problems backing up MS Entourage files (it's one large DB, and TimeMachine can't do incremental back-ups)?; TimeMachine can't do a full image restore (unlike MS Vista's back-up), and can NOT work across a NETWORK -- all HUGE, HUGE flaws. Are there work-arounds or is this a showstopper for real back-up? I know this is a manual, not a review, but tips in dealing with bugs are among the most valuable insights, and those are too few here IMHO.
Still, an excellent book.
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