4698 The Tiger edition is the fourth version of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual that I've reviewed for Applelinks, and I guess I would have to say that these volumes are just about my favorite reads in computer books in the OS X era. I was a big fan of the old Macworld Mac Secrets series that David Pogue co-authored with Joseph Shorr, and indeed, these Mac OS X: TMM editions have a lot of the same flavor and similar content, less of course the hardware coverage in the older books. There's good reason that this is the number one best-selling Mac book.

The first edition back in 2002, and the second (Jaguar) edition later that same year, at 583 and 712 pages respectively, placed considerable emphasis on the transition from Mac OS 9 to OS X plus Classic Mode, as well as getting us up to speed on the new system and user interface.

The third, (Panther edition) volume added 50 more pages, but concentrated a lot less on OS 9 transitioning, recognizing that by 2003, there were a lot of Mac OS X users who had no background in OS 9, and that most of us who did had already got up to speed with OS X. Instead, the focus shifted more to the needs of those making the switch from Windows, or who were entirely new to computers.

With the release of OS 10.4 Tiger, in my view OS X has finally become a truly mature operating system (although OS 10.3.7 through 10.3.9 were pretty solid as well). The fourth edition of OS X: TMM reflects this with just a thin 17 pages on using Classic Mode, plus a 15 page "Where'd It Go?" appendix for Classic veterans in a book that is now 847 pages long. Of course, there is a fair bit of content that has been recycled from previous editions, but Pogue says that not one page has been left unchanged from the Panther edition.

Don't let the increasingly formidable page counts scare you off. These books are packed with great stuff from cover to cover. David Pogue is arguably the most readable author of Mac computer books (although Scott Kelby gives him a run for his money), and his fluid prose style and droll delivery make reading these manuals a pleasure as well as informative.

There is also good reason for those extra 85 pages. While OS X 10.3 Panther added some 150 new features compared with OS 10.2 Jaguar, OS 10.4 Tiger includes more than 200 new features on top of that, and some of them are biggies. Even if you've pretty much mastered the earlier versions of OS X, you're going to need something more formidable than the beautifully illustrated but skinny little pamphlet Apple ships with the operating system install DVD in order to really get your money's worth from Tiger, especially compelling new features like Spotlight, Dashboard, the Automator, Smart Folders, and more.

For example, I've been using Tiger for more than four months, but reading through the sections on Spotlight and Dashboard I quickly learned that there are a whole bunch of aspects to both the that I haven't been making the best use of, and that I might never have discovered on my own. The four measly pages in Apple's Tiger pamphlet dedicates to these new OS features didn't even scratch the surface.

The great thing about Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, aside from the good writing, is its comprehensiveness. Whatever aspect of working with the operating system and the 50-odd programs that come bundled with it, you're almost certain to find it addressed in the pages of this book.

At $29.95, Mac OS X: The Missing Manual is a bargain. It is also designed to accommodate the needs and computer skill levels of Mac users from first-time newbies to power users, an objective that has happily been accomplished without descending into lowest common denominator blandness. Instead, the primary text is written at a technical level ranging from an advanced beginner to intermediate, which covers the preponderance of the Mac-using community, and which should prove neither totally inaccessible to rank amateurs, nor boringly tedious for the power user cohort. However, the specific needs and interests of the latter two categories are addressed with sidebars that appear frequently entitled "Up To Speed" and "Power Users' Clinic" respectively.

As with the previous additions, Mac OS X: TMM Tiger Edition is organized into six parts.

Part One, The Mac OS Desktop, covers what you see on the screen when you start up a Mac running Tiger: the Desktop, the Dock, the Sidebar, Spotlight, the Dashboard, Exposé, icons, windows, menus, scroll bars, the Trash, the Apple Menu, and so forth. This section would usually be of primary interest to new Mac OS X users, but this time around even veterans will want to check out the Spotlight section especially.

Part Two, Applications in OS X, focuses on the software that the operating system supports, such as email clients, Web browsers, word processors, graphics programs, and such. The chapters in this section describe and explain how to work with applications in OS X to get the best advantage from them, as well as controlling and streamlining repetitive tasks using AppleScript and the new Automator automation tool. This section also includes the brief chapter on using Classic Mode, and a new section on Dashboard.

Part Three, The Components Of OS X, consists of an item-by -item description of the elements of OS X 10.4 - the 24 System Preferences panels and the 50 or so programs you will find in your default Applications and Utilities folders.

Part Four, The Technologies Of OS X, deals with a more advanced topics like networking, remote access when you're on the road, setting up multiple user accounts, and OS X's prodigious multimedia, graphics, desktop publishing, and handwriting recognition capabilities, as well as tutorial content on the robust and powerful Unix OS that underlies Tiger's user-friendly interface.

Part Five, Mac OS X Online, walks you through all of the special Internet-related features of Mac OS X, including the OS X Mail email client and the Safari browser, the iChat instant message client, iSync that helps you keep your phone book and Address Book synchronized across Macs, cell phones, iPods, and Palm Pilots. Also addressed are Web sharing, Internet sharing, Apple's online .Mac services, and even information on using Unix on the Internet.

Part 6, Appendices, contains six of them: Installing OS X 10.4; Troubleshooting; the Where'd It Go? Dictionary (Mac version); the Where'd It Go Dictionary (Windows edition),; and a master OS X Secret Keystroke List.

There is also a 28-page Index.

The book is also copiously illustrated with mostly screenshots which show graphically what the text is explaining. It is as up-to-date as possible, referencing the release of the OS 10.4.2 update.

if you have upgraded to OS X 10.4 Tiger or are contemplating doing so, and wondering if you should also upgrade your copy of OS X: TMM to the fourth edition, the answer is "of course." The new Tiger features are reason enough. For the vast majority of OS X users, it's really tough to beat OS X: The Missing Manual for its eponymous purpose. It really is "the book that should have been in the box," and still the Mac OS X book to have if you're only having one.

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition
By David Pogue
4th Edition July 2005 (est.)
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN: 0-596-00941-0
800 pages,
$29.95 US, $41.95 CA, £20.95 UK

For more information, visit:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/macxmmtiger/




Charles W. Moore

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