Getting StartED with Mac OS X Leopard

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 328 pages
• Published by: friends of ED November 5, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1590599292
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1590599297
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Description


This book offers a simple to read, fast way to discover all that's new in Mac OS X Leopard, and how to make the most of it, whether you are new to the Mac, or simply upgrading from a previous version of Mac OS X.

New additions to the operating system are showcased, including the changes to the Dock and Finder, and new features such as Stacks, Cover Flow, and Quick View introduced, before the book moves on to give a basic guide to using the Mac—creating folders, moving files, installing applications, and burning CDs, for example.

Communication and organization are covered with chapters on Mail and iChat, including information on how to get the most of the latest features such as creating to-do items, and reading RSS feeds in Mail, and sharing screens in iChat. There are chapters that cover Spaces and Time Machine, perhaps the most talked about feature in this release of Mac OS X.

iLife is fully dealt with, with discrete chapters on iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD, and GarageBand, followed with a chapter on iWeb showing how to share your creations, and using Front Row to be entertained by them.

The final chapters of the book give an overview of some more advanced areas of using a Mac, namely how Mac OS X itself works, and also how to develop for the Mac. These chapters are intended only to give a glimpse as to the possibilities—the book is primarily aimed at regular users.

A number of appendices conclude the book, one providing a guide to those users who are switching from Windows, and another that contains a useful list of recommended Mac applications for a wide array of uses.

In the authors own words "This book isn't a bible or tome about how to do anything and everything with Mac OS X, instead its goal is to introduce the major features of Mac OS X so you can be up and running quickly".

Summary of Contents

• Chapter 1: Mac OS X Leopard's New Features
• Chapter 2: Mac Basics
• Chapter 3: Spotlight
• Chapter 4: Mail
• Chapter 5: Safari and iChat
• Chapter 6: Dashboard
• Chapter 7: Exposé and Spaces
• Chapter 8: Time Machine
• Chapter 9: iCal
• Chapter 10: iTunes
• Chapter 11: iPhoto
• Chapter 12: iMovie and iDVD
• Chapter 13: GarageBand
• Chapter 14: iWeb
• Chapter 15: Boot Camp
• Chapter 16: Front Row and Photo Booth
• Chapter 17: Working with Accounts
• Chapter 18: Networking Your Mac
• Chapter 19: Mac Security
• Chapter 20: Under the Hood
• Chapter 21: Developer Tools
• Appendix A: Switching from Windows to Mac OS X Software
• Appendix B: The Mac Apps List

About The Author
Justin Williams is the owner of Second Gear LLC, a web and desktop application development firm. He is the lead developer of Second Gear's Porchlight bug tracking system for small development teams. He graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, with a degree in Computer & Information Technology. His personal blog is located at carpeaqua.com. Justin is the author of both Rails Solutions: Ruby on Rails Made Easy and MAC OS X Leopard: Beyond the Manual (Apress, 2007).

Reader Reviews
Getting StartED with Mac OS X Leopard Apress and the freindsofed division is a fairly new player to the Mac book industry, having focused in the past on heavier topics for programmers and hard core web designers. They are a welcome addition to the Mac Family. Justin Williams wrote a very first-person account of his adventures with OS X Leopard. This should not be considered a beginners book, especially given the family this book is in. The book is designed for Tiger or other OS X users wanting to know what is new in Leopard. The book is a great effort, but at points I got annoyed that he was stating the obvious things a OS X user knows. Williams writing however was spot-on: easy to understand with plenty of screen shots and detailed examples. He also includes the basics of iLife '08, which is a bonus, though makes the title a bit misleading and leaves the reader with the assumption Leopard includes iLife '08. Unless you upgraded to iLife '08 and Leopard, 30% of the book isn't applicable to you. Even with the iLife '08 the book is refreshingly short and can't be used a child's booster seat like so many technical books can be. Though I'm an experienced Leopard user, I even learned a few tricks from this book, based on Williams personal experience with the operating system. This would be a good book to give a experienced Mac user that wants to know "what's new" in Leopard. It was quick, straightforward and to the point: a good book for people who don't like to read manuals. Pros: Excellent tips, easy to understand for a experienced OS X user new to Leopard Cons: Covers iLife '08 which adds unnecessarily to the book, covers thins many in the target audience would consider obvious Three out of Five DogCows