Teach Yourself The iMac by Jennifer Watson

I have reviewed several iMac and iBook themed computer books this year, and it is interesting to compare the various approaches to similar topics taken by the authors. Of course in some cases -- a notable one being the popular "For Dummies" series, the book's formula tends to dictate the format to a considerable degree.

So it is with the "Teach Yourself" series from IDG Books, which also publishes the "For Dummies" books.

Teach Yourself The iMac by Jennifer Watson (also author of Cliff's Notes On Using Your First iMac) is the first of this series that I've perused, and I am favorably impressed. This book follows the series' new, visually-oriented format with its task-by-task organization of information.

IDG claims that its Teach Yourself books cover, on average, twice the number of skills addressed by the typical computer book, and this claim is believable. Teach Yourself The iMac is physically larger than the average book of this type, which makes it more of a handful but also allows more information and illustrations to be crammed in. Perhaps "crammed" is a poor choice of words, because the page format is quite attractive with enough white space to keep it from looking dense and ponderous.

A nice touch, especially for beginners, is the "Personal Workbook" that appears at the end of each chapter, which includes a review quiz of points addressed in the chapter (answers are in an appendix), some extra picture exercises, a visual quiz, and a real world application quiz. These books really are a self-education course.

Other cool format features are cross-referencing notes on each page spread, which direct you to relevant information in other chapters, and Shortcut Tips. "Take Note" sidebars provide extra information on the page topic, and a "Find It Online" feature tells you where to go on the Internet for more information or to download useful files.

Teach Yourself The iMac is written for beginning to intermediate Mac users who are comfortable taking charge of their own learning experience, who would rather not wade through a lot of technical jargon, and who want to learn how to get the best out of their iMac in a limited amount of time.

To use the book, search through the task headings in the Table Of Contents to find the topic you're interested in, read through the overview text, and then learn by doing by following an itemized step-by-step list of instructions and by looking at the photos or screen shots that appear on each topic page.

If you're a complete iMac neophyte, starting at Chapter 1 will walk you through everything from choosing an iMac color, handling and opening your iMac box, Feng Shui (physically locating the iMac in your home or office) issues, hooking up the cables, turning the machine on, and basic Finder and window navigation.

Chapter 2 delves more deeply into the Mac OS Desktop, while Chapter 3 covers the use of disks and drives and installing software.

Chapters 4 through 9 address actually doing work or play tasks with the iMac -- word-processing, printing, using sound and video, and the like.

Chapters 10 and 11 tell you how to set up a modem, use fax software, and get on the Internet. Chapter 12 deals with networking and file sharing, and Chapter 13 security issues like avoiding crashes and viruses, locking files and folders, data backups, and using third-party disk utilities like Tech Tool Pro and Norton Utilities to optimize your hard drive.

The latter chapters of the book, 14 through 17, are oriented more toward intermediate iMac users, and get into the nuts and bolts of customizing Mac OS configuration, using Virtual Memory and RAM desks, and a chapter on AppleScript and other automation options. The book's final chapter helps you learn to troubleshoot your iMac.

There are also a well-organized glossary and index. Another thoughtful touch is a quick action index inside the back cover (there is also an "At A Glance" abridged TOC inside the front cover).

Teach Yourself The iMac can legitimately claim to be a short course in iMac use, and it is a lot of book for its modest price of $19.95.

Published in January, 2000, Teach Yourself The iMac is reasonably up-to-date, including the second-generation (September 1999) iMacs, but not the July 2000 models. The book is more software than hardware oriented in any case, and will also prove useful to first-generation iMac users. There is not much missing for those lucky enough to have one of the post July 2000 (earth tone) iMacs either -- notably the new Apple USB keyboard and optical mouse.

For more information, visit:
http://164.109.153.102/product.asp?isbn=0764533967

My iMac by Andrew Gore with Jill Baird and Chris Breen

As I just observed in the foregoing review of Teach Yourself The iMac, a problem with writing books specific to a particular model of computer is that it is a moving target. In one sense, the iMac has been a more satisfactory candidate than most, as its basic concept has held for more than two years -- an eternity in the computer world.

However, while the current iMacs don't look a whole lot different than the originals that rolled out in August 1998, internally the current earth tone iMacs are substantially different machines than the Bondi Blue Revision As and Bs of two years ago.

Which makes My iMac by MacWorld magazine's Editor In Chief Andrew Gore (with co-authors Jill Baird and Chris Breen) just a smidge dated. First published in June, 1999, My iMac's attractive cover features the five fruit flavor colored iMac Revision C and D models that debuted at MacWorld Expo San Francisco that year, with a Blueberry "hockey puck" mouse gracing the back cover.

My iMac covers up to the 333 MHz Revision D iMac and Mac OS 8.5, so does buying this book now make sense? The answer is a slightly qualified yes. This is a classy little volume, which includes a foreword by Jon Markoff of the New York Times and an afterword by Colin Crawford, president and C EO of Mac Publishing LLC, which makes him Andrew Gore's boss. If you're familiar with Andrew Gore's editorials and articles in MacWorld, then you know that his style is comfortably informal and conversational.

My iMac is a more conventional computer book than Jennifer Watson's Teach Yourself The iMac, and is targeted at a more advanced user demographic. Gore assumes that the reader is at least familiar with basic Macintosh operation, knows what the Finder and Desktop are, how to select and move files, and other Mac interface basics. If you're not, he suggests checking out the Macintosh Basics tutorial that comes with the iMac before wading into My iMac.

Gore's focus is somewhat different from Watson's, with more emphasis on dealing with specific circumstances rather than basic theory tutoring. My iMac is definitely more a manual and reference than an instructional textbook and workbook. It gets right down to cases in Chapter 1, much of which is devoted to getting on the Internet, a step we don't reach until Chapter 11 of Teach Yourself The iMac.

Chapter 2 addresses the practical problem of getting stuff from year-old Mac (or PC) onto the iMac, which may pose a conundrum to PC folks forward migrating for the first time to computer without a floppy drive. Gore explains how to do file transfers via Ethernet, modem 2 modem, remote-control, imacfloppy.com, (or other Web based storage services), e-mailing yourself, IPrint, SuperDisk , ZIP, or CD-R. This is a very useful chapter.

By Chapter 3 we are already opening up the iMac's case to upgrade memory, install more VRAM, replace the backup battery, install a larger hard drive, and other fairly advanced hardware stuff.

Chapter 4 provides a history and tour of the Mac OS (up to OS 8.5). Chapter 5 is a tutorial on using AppleWorks, the do-all application suite that ships with each iMac.

In Chapters 6 through 8 we revisit the Internet, and hunker down for a while learning the finer points of browsers, search engines, news groups, a tutorial on making your own personal Web page, and e-mail management. One criticism here is that Gore focuses almost exclusively on Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, presumably because they are the default apps that ship with the iMac, but I would have preferred that he had given more space to alternatives.

Chapter 9 explains various money-related matters, like Internet banking and investing, using Quicken, and doing your income tax online. The final three chapters are devoted to troubleshooting both hardware and software in considerably more depth than Jennifer Watson does in her book.

Another distinction for My iMac is that it includes a bundled CD-ROM, something that used to be almost all obligatory with computer books, but which has recently been pretty much phased out, thanks to the ubiquity of the Internet.

The My iMac CD contains both demoware and shareware/freeware, including Norton Anti Virus for Macintosh Version 5 (30 day demo); Dantz Recover It (30 day demo); Aladdin Stuffit Expander 5.1, DropStuff 5.1. 2, FlashBack, and ShrinkWrap (shareware); Graphic Converter 3.61 (shareware); Transmit 1.5 FTP client (shareware); and a bunch of games (shareware and demos), and small utilities. The problem of course is that most of these items are now several versions out of date, although most of them will still work fine.

Rather than a glossary, My iMac lists various computer terms in "Terms And Misdemeanors" footnote sidebars, -- an approach I like. There are also "More Info" sidebars liberally scattered throughout the book augmenting the main text with more in-depth information, as well as lots of web URL references for information sources.

Like Teach Yourself The iMac, My iMac sells for $19.95. For more information, visit:
http://164.109.153.102/product.asp?isbn=0764533177

I liked both of these books, which are well-presented, informative, and useful. If I were purchasing one for myself, I would go with My iMac despite the fact that it is older and a bit dated. However, if I were buying one of these books as a gift for a new iMac user with little or no computer savvy, Teach Yourself The iMac would be my hands-down choice. It really depends on your level of experience and particular needs.

Charles W. Moore

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