The Paris iBooks have rekindled excitement about Apple's consumer laptops. In my case, they have simply kindled it for the first time. I have to confess that I never could whomp up much enthusiasm for the original iBook, which, even when they were first introduced, seemed a day late and a dollar short in too many areas.

However, most of those shortcomings have been fixed with the Paris machines. They now have sufficient power -- especially the iBook SE with its 466 MHz IBM 750cx (G3e) processor, and the standard iBook is now also respectably speedy with its 366 MHz chip.

FireWire support, video out (but not VGA), and DVD (on the SE only) plug some serious gaps in the original iBook's specification. The screen is still a tad too small to make full use of the new ATI Rage Mobility 128 video card with 8 MB of VRAM, and there is still no conventional sound-in jack (USB microphones work), but for those who absolutely need or demand such things, there is always the PowerBook.

I think that Apple is going to sell a ton of Paris iBooks, and a lot of those new iBook owners will be looking for information to help them get the best out of their new machines. A good choice for such a reference would be David Pogue's "The iBook For Dummies."

As Pogue notes: "... despite all the free goodies you get with the iBook, a manual isn't among them. You need somewhere to return when things go wrong, when you'd like to know what the add-on software does, or when you want to stumble onto the Internet for the first time."

Most people are familiar with IDG Books' "for Dummies" series of help books, and know that they're not really for Dummies. As David Pogue puts it, "we use the word Dummies on the cover with affection and a twinkle in the eye." However, if you are uncomfortable with having a book on your desk purporting to be "for Dummies," a solution has been supplied. Just rip off the cover to expose a phony cover underneath that carries the title: " iBook Methodologies In Theory And Practice, " subtitled "A technical guide for experienced users.

That tongue-in-cheek overture signalizes what is in store inside. David Pogue obviously believes that there is no reason that solid and useful technical information can't be fun as well.

Also provided is a "quick start" in the form of a frontispiece "Cheat Sheet," which covers categories like "Surviving The First Half Hour," "What All These Little Controls Do," and suchlike.

While this book was published before the release of the Paris iBooks, the nature of these recent upgrades was such that very little in the text has been rendered obsolete or irrelevant, and it still is an excellent reference for Paris iBook owners, as well as people who bought the original machines.

There is of course no mention of FireWire, DVD, or the now bundled iMovie 2 software, since these features were not included in the original iBooks, and if you need help with them, I recommend David Pogue's excellent "iMovie, The Missing Manual, " which you can find out more about here.

Pogue characterizes the iBook as "fast, inexpensive, all-in-one, sensuously designed, see-through" (although not as see-through as it was before the more opaque Paris machines), incorporating the spirit of the iMac in a portable computer.

The iBook For Dummies is structured in seven sections:

Section I: For the Absolute Computer Virgin

• Chapter 1: Your Very First See-Through Fruit-Flavored Laptop
In this chapter, David Pogue walks the computer novice through the basics: turning the machine on, configuring the Mac Setup Assistant, learning to use the trackpad, menu navigation, the sleep function, Finder navigation, windows and views, the Help menu, and he wraps up the chapter with The Top ten Similarities Between You And Your iBook -- e.g.: "both spend much of their time asleep; both have a button on the front, etc."

•Chapter 1 1/2: High-Tech Made Easy
In which it is explained how an iBook (or any Mac) works, stuff like hard drives, megs (but not Meg Ryan or Meg Tilly), RAM, and The Top Ten Differences Between Memory And A Hard Disk.

• Chapter 2: Windows, Icons, and Trashes
Here we discover things like hierarchical folders, keyboard shortcuts, CD-ROMs, the Trash, and The Top Ten Windows Icon And Trash Tips.

• Chapter 3: Actually Accomplishing Something
In this chapter, we finally get down to business, buying software and/or shareware, Apple Desk Accessories, text manipulation, the wonderful world of Mac OS Control Panels, and The Top Ten Control Panel Explanations.

• Chapter 4: Typing, Saving, and Finding Again
Now we begin to learn to do useful work with the iBook , which, as Pogue notes, will for most users be mostly word processing, plus the magic of drag and drop, file saving and backups, an explanation of why there is no floppy drive, and as you might expect by now, The Top Ten Word Processing Tips.

• Chapter 5: A Quiet Talk about Printers, Printing, and Fonts
This chapter is about what it says it's about, explaining how to hook up a printer to the iBook, and tips on how to use it, as well as The Top Ten Free Fun Font Factoids.

Section II: The Internet Defanged

• Chapter 6: Faking Your Way onto America Online and the Internet
In which Pogue endeavors to unravel the mysteries of the Internet, starting with how to get on it , including a little sermonette on why a local or national Internet service provider may be a better and cheaper choice for on-line access than AOL. He goes on to discuss email, newsgroups, free on line storage services, downloading software, and getting online at on the road.

• Chapter 7: The Weird Wild Web
This chapter focuses exclusively on the World Wide Web, including search engines, using Sherlock, and Web browsers for non AOL users.

• Chapter 8: E-mail for He-males and Females
Everything you need to know about the chapter's titular topic, including helpful tips on sending files to Windows people.

Section III: Software Competence

• Chapter 9: Putting AppleWorks to Work
Tips and info on using Apple's bundled do-all application.

• Chapter 10: Faking Your Way Through the Other Free Software
Ditto for the other bundled software.

• Chapter 11: Living on DC
All about the ins and outs of battery management, including how to put them in and take them out, which is not quite as straightforward with the iBook as it is with, say, PowerBooks.

• Chapter 12: System Folder: Trash Barge of the iBook
"Don't have a cow about eliminating stuff here," advises Pogue, who takes you through the System Folder item by item, telling you what is safe to throw out, or as he puts it: "How to ditch the crud you don't need."

• Chapter 13: Great Material that Didn't Quite Fit the Outline
Most everything else not covered in the previous chapters, including more advanced features of the Mac OS, more esoteric keyboard commands, keyboard customize nation, and multiple users.

Section IV: High-Powered Connections

• Chapter 14: USB, Ethernet, and Other Impressive Connections
Making sense of iBook connectivity -- USB, Ethernet, and basic networking.

• Chapter 15: Wireless Networking: Your Ride to the AirPort
How to get the best out of Apple's (optional) wireless networking system.

Section V: Troubleshooting Made Tolerable

• Chapter 16: When Bad Things Happen to Good iBooks
The chapter you hope you won't need, but inevitably will. Pogue observes: "As a new computer user you probably aren't cheered up very much by the fact that this troubleshooting guide is the fattest part of the book." Topics covered here include freezes and crashes, viruses (not nearly as big a deal on Macs as on PC's), error messages, low memory messages, and a whole lot of other annoying stuff that can happen.

• Chapter 17: The Problem-Solving Cookbook
Maintenance advice, which, if followed, should prevent much of what was discussed in the previous chapter from happening .

• Chapter 18: Beyond the iBook: Where to Go from Her

If all else fails . . .

Section VI: The Part of Tens

• Chapter 19: Ten More Gadgets to Buy and Plug In
Scanner; digital camera; mouse; joystick; speakers or headphones; music and MIDI; projector; removable media drives; movie camera; microphone.

• Chapter 20: Ten Cool Things You Didn't Know Your iBook Could Do
Play music CDs; talk; sang; play movies; send and receive faxes; fit in your pocket -- (well, not really), record sounds, run Windows programs, print photos.

Section VII: Appendixes

• Appendix A: The Resource Resource
• Appendix B: The Ultimate iBook Buyer's Guide

If you have ever read a Mac book by David Pogue, you know what to expect. Most readers who buy this book probably haven't, so they are in for a treat.

This is a great little reference for any new iBook user, and an ideal stocking stuffer for someone you might know who will be getting an iBook for Christmas.

The iBook For Dummies
By David Pogue
Pages: 408
ISBN: 0-7645-0647-1
Retail Price: $19.99

Charles W. Moore

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