The book also has several special formatting features:

• Chapter road maps. At the beginning of each chapter you will find a list of the top-level topics addressed in that chapter. This list will enable you to quickly see what type of information the chapter contains.

• Troubleshooting. Many chapters in the book have a section dedicated to troubleshooting specific problems related to that chapters topic. Cross references to the solutions to these problems are placed in the context of relevant text in the chapter as troubleshooting notes to make them easy to locate.

• Mac OS X To The Max. Many chapters include a Mac OS X to the Max section. These sections contain extra information that will help you make the most of Mac OS X efficiently. Other sections include summaries of information that is outside the scope of the book, but of which you should be aware.

• Notes. These provide up additional commentary or explanation that doesn’t fit neatly into the surrounding text. You will find detailed explanations of how something works. Alternative ways of doing a task, and comparisons between Mac OS X and previous versions of the Mac OS.

• On the Web Notes. These notes provide you with you or else that you can visit to get more information or other resources relating to the topic of discussion.

• Tips. These help you work more efficiently by providing shortcuts or hints about alternative or faster ways of accomplishing the task.

• Cautions. These sidebars provide a warning to you about situations that involve possible danger to your Mac or its data.

• Cross-references. Many topics are connected to other topics in various ways. Cross-references help you week related information together the matter where that information appears in the book. When another section is related to one that you are reading, a cross reference it will direct you to a specific page in the book on which you will find the related information.

The book isn’t quite as liberally illustrated with screenshots as The Missing Manual, but there are still plenty, as well as numerous charts and graphs.

As with all of these OS X books, the first section walks you through setting up in configuring the system, and how to work with the Finder, OS X menus, the Dock, the Classic environment, and so on. There is also an introductory first chapter on OS X history, architecture, and terminology. In this book, part one runs 218 pages and is extremely thorough.

I especially liked Chapter 8 which includes a very useful section on setting preferences, and Chapter 9, entitled “UNIX: Working With The Command Line,” which, despite the book’s orientation toward more advanced users, does the clearest, most explicit, it and use fully illustrated job of bringing one up to speed on just how one approaches addressing OS X’s scary UNIX command line underpinnings. Miser notes that: “Many, many UNIX commands are available, and there is no way that you can do more than scratch the surface in this small chapter. However, you can learn generally how UNIX commands work by trying some specific examples of UNIX commands.”

Then he proceeds to walk the reader through this process in the section entitled “Learning UNIX By Example,” explaining what commands to type, and what they will do. There is also a section on working with some UNIX applications, a list of Terminal keyboard shortcuts, and a page of resource references for learning more about UNIX, including several website URLs.

There is of course a chapter on using the Mail email app, which I find aesthetically attractive but too much like Outlook Express in function for my liking. Sadly, the only browser extensively covered is Internet Explorer, although I give Brad Miser full credit for mentioning it and picturing with URL references both the iCab and OmniWeb browsers, noting that the latter is “the most it Mac OS X like it of any of the browsers.” I agree.

An excellent little tutorial on creating Web sites using Apple’s online iTools service is provided in Chapter 14, along with a section on using OS X to serve Web pages.

Chapter 15 is a wonderful tutorial on working with graphics in OS X, that I’m sure I will be using frequently as a reference in the future. This chapter includes a section on choosing and using a digital camera, capturing images, screen captures, image editing and a very useful graph comparing the characteristics of various popular image file formats. For some reason, PNG was omitted.

Chapter 16 is an excellent exposition on using iTunes in OS X, while Chapter 17 addresses QuickTime, and Chapters 18 and 19 deal with digital audio and iMovie, as well as DVD recording.

In Part 4, Miser moves into hardware issues, including peripheral interface protocols, and input devices, monitors, hard drives, CD burners, and modems.

Part 5 tells us how to network using OS X. I found the graphs on pages 620-621, which decipher all those cryptic acronyms (e.g.: CIFS and DHCP) associated with networking especially informative and helpful. There’s also a short section in Chapter 25 about networking Mac OS X with Windows computers.

Part 6, “Maintaining And Protecting Your Mac,” addresses quite a few things that are not specifically OS X oriented, but still important, such as this directory maintenance and defragmenting hard drives, file backups (including a section on various backup media and software), building and maintaining a Mac toolkit, security issues, and a look at virus protection, avoiding getting hacked, and firewalls.

Chapter 28 is the troubleshooting and problem-solving chapter, which could be worth the price of the book and then some if you run into serious difficulties.

Part 7 is the book’s two appendices: a tutorial on installing and maintaining Mac OS X, and a short section on the particularities of using OS X on PowerBooks and iBooks.
There’s also a highly detailed index that runs an amazing 48 pages.

If you’re looking for a highly detailed and comprehensive resource on 0 SX, Special Edition Using Mac OS X should be right up your alley. As I noted at the beginning of this review, the book is very different from David Pogue’s Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, as might be expected from authors whose professional backgrounds are respectively engineering and music. Pogue is the more entertaining writer, and his book will probably appeal to less tech-oriented users; while Miser’s book is for no-nonsense folks who just want the information delivered clearly and systematically without embellishment.

I can appreciate both approaches, and which one I’d prefer will depend on what mood I’m in and the sort of it help I’m looking for. Actually, the two books complement each other rather nicely.

I had an email last week complaining Post had flubbed the distinction between encryption and user privileges in his volume. That’s something I am not well-equipped to pick up on, it but you would be a lot less likely to find that sort of technical faux pas in Brad Miser’s book. On the other hand, David Pogue is delightfully droll. Different strokes.

I couldn’t find much to complain about in these two books. They both live up to their billing, and readers looking to get up to speed on OS X will find either a valuable and informative resource. You can’t go wrong, whichever you choose. I’m giving Special Edition Using Mac OS X (OK; here’s a criticism: the title is not exactly euphoniously graceful) a five smiley thumbs-up.

Special Edition Using Mac OS X
Author: Brad Miser
Publisher: Que
ISBN: 0789724707
Published: DEC 05, 2001;
Dimensions (inches): 7-3/8” x 9-1/8”
List Price: Ê $39.99

For more information, visit:
http://www.informit.com/books/

Appendix

Special Edition Using Mac OS X

Table of Contents

1. Foundations.
2. Getting Started with Mac OS X.
3. Using the Mac OS X Finder.
4. Living on the Mac OS X Desktop.
5. Using and Customizing the Dock.
6. Installing and Using Mac OS X Applications.
7. Working with the Classic Environment and Applications.
8. Beating the System.

II. MAC OS X: CONNECTING TO THE WORLD.

9. Connecting Your Mac to the Net.
10. Connecting to the Net Wirelessly with Airport.
11. Using Email: Goodbye Post Office.
12. Using Email: Doing What Snail Mail Never Could.
13. Surfing the Web: Getting Your Feet Wet.
14. Surfing the Web: Hanging 10.
15. Putting Yourself on the Net with iTools.

III. MAC OS X. MAKING MULTIMEDIA MAGIC.

16. Watching DVD and QuickTime Movies.
17. Listening to and Working with Music.
18. Creating and Editing Movies with QuickTime.
19. Creating and Editing Digital Photos.
20. Making Digital Movie Magic with iMovie.

IV. MAC OS X: EXPANDING YOUR SYSTEM.

21. Understanding Input and Output Technology.
22. Finding, Installing, and Using Input Devices.
23. Finding, Installing, and Using Output Devices
24.Finding, Installing, and Using Data Storage Devices.
25. Finding, Installing, and Using Connecting Devices.
26. Computing in the Palm of Your Hand (Working with Palm OS Devices).

V. MAC OS X: LIVING IN A NETWORKED WORLD.

27. Building and Using an Ethernet Network..
28. Building and Using an AirPort Network.
29. Sharing an Internet Connection.

VI. MAC OS X: PROTECTING, MAINTAINING, REPAIRING, AND UPGRADING YOUR MAC.

30 Protecting Your Mac.
31. Solving Mac Problems.
32. Upgrading Your Mac.

VII. MAC OS X: MASTERING MAC OS X.

33. Creating an Automatic Mac.
34. UNIX is Not a Dirty Word (Working with the Command Line).
35. Sleeping with the Enemy: Using Mac OS X with Other Operating Systems.
36. Publishing a Web Site on Your Mac.
Appendix A: Installing and Maintaining Mac OS X.
Appendix B: Computing on the Move with PowerBooks and iBook.

Charles W. Moore