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In the case of David Pogue’s new “Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual”, the traditional “the book that should have been in the box” subtitle of Pogue Press/O’Reilly’s “Missing Manual” Series does beg the question of what box it should have been in. Perhaps that’s why in this instance there is a sub-subtitle: “How to jump ship from Windows and love it,” which is more topically appropriate. This is the missing manual of switching.

I approached reviewing this book with both relish and curiosity. I really enjoy David Pogue’s prose, and being personally pretty Windows-ignorant at the hands-on level, I figured I could learn quite a bit from someone who is both articulate and platform -ambidextrous which Mr. Pogue is. Indeed, because of a permanent wrist injury that makes typing difficult for him, this book was composed by voice using a Windows PC running Dragon NaturallySpeaking, then transferred to a Mac for editing, illustration, and final touches.

David Pogue endeavors to be even-handed, noting at the outset that “ This isn’t a Mac-versus-Windows book. Windows certainly has its virtues -- a larger software library and much greater acceptance in the corporate world.” Well, you know what they say about damning with faint praise. Anyway, as with his previous Mac/Windows crossover manual, “ Crossing Platforms,” co-authored for O’Reilly and 1999 with, Pogue makes a commendable effort at the objectivity, a but there’s little ambiguity as to where his personal platform preference lies.

“The Macintosh is a different machine, running a different operating system,” Pogue informs Windows-centric readers, “. . . And built by a company with a different philosophy, a fanatical perfectionists/artistic zeal. When it comes to their missions and ideals, Apple and Microsoft have about as much in common as a melon and a shoehorn.”

David Pogue is a former Broadway show conductor, a magician, and a pianist, as well as author of “Opera for Dummies,” and “Classical Music for Dummies,” so it’s not difficult to understand his bent to the more “artistic” Mac OS.

Pogue outlines Mac OS X’s advantages over Windows thus:
• Stability and crash resistance
• No viruses
• No nagging, registering, activating, or signing up
• Sensational software
• Simpler everything
• A “clutterable” Desktop (Pogue notes that Windows X P actually sweeps the Desktop unbidden every 60 days and dumps infrequently used icons into an “Unused items” folder. And that, a gentle reader, captures perfectly the philosophical dissonance with my way of doing things that would prevent me from ever becoming a Windows user).
• Other cool desktop features
• Advanced graphics
• Advanced networking
• Voice Control/keyboard control
• Full buzzword compliance
• Command line interface at your fingertips if you want or need it.

So why does anyone who has a choice in the matter still use Windows? An enduring mystery to me, although I appreciate the necessity in particular circumstances such as Pogue's requirement for NaturallySpeaking.

Anyway, as for switching, Pogue says Windows users will encounter three main challenges:

1. Moving personal files and contact information, address lists, email contacts and archives, etc.. , from the Windows PC to the Mac.

2. Assembling a suite of Macintosh programs to perform the tasks you are accustomed to doing in Windows.

3. Learning OS X itself

“Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual” is intended to instruct, assist, and generally walk you through these processes.

The book follows the “Missing Manuals” series conventions, with lots of screenshot illustrations and sidebars amplifying details of certain topics without bogging down the main text in geeky complexity. Sidebar categories include “Troubleshooting Moment,” “Frequently Asked Question,” “Gem In The Rough,” “Power Users Clinic” “Workaround Workshop,” “Up To Speed,” and “Don’t Panic.”

“Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual” is structured in five parts of several chapters each.

Part one, “Welcome to Macintosh,” is a crash course in running and using Mac OS X, pretty much the same generic info you find in any get-you-up-to-speed Mac OS X book, such as David Pogue’s own “Mac OS X: The Missing Manual,” but nuanced here specifically for users migrating from the Windows platform.

Chapter 1, “ How The Mac Is Different,” introduces readers to such basic topics as the one button mouse, the Dock, keyboard differences, Dock differences, Mac windows conventions, and terminology differences.

Chapter Two, “Windows and Icons,” provides a nice, in-depth tutorial on the elements of the Mac OS X Desktop, the Home folder, aliases, the Trash, Get Info, finding files, and suchlike.

Chapter 3, “ Dock, Desktop, and Toolbar” does likewise for the titular topics,.

Chapter 4, “Programs and Documents,” notes that “in the era of switchers, most of the big-boy programs are available in nearly identical versions for both Mac and Windows,” and that “the documents you create with the Mac versions are generally identical in format to the ones created in Windows. “ This chapter mainly addresses detail differences one will encounter operating these programs in OS X as opposed to Windows, such as saving and opening dialog box conventions; Column View; the three kinds of Mac programs (Cocoa, Carbon, Classic); running OS 9 programs in Classic Mode; and installing and uninstalling software -- which forward migrators from Windows will find astonishingly simple.

Part Two, "Moving In," is all about moving your stuff from the PC to the Mac, starting with Chapter 5, "Five Ways To Transfer Your Files," which outlines the varioius physical means of effecting cross-platform file transfers, such as Zip drives, external USB or FireWire hard drives (or even an iPod, which will work fine too); Ethernet; or wireless transfers. There is also a sidebar on Detto Technologies’ Move2Mac software, which helps facilitate such transfers (“Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual” includes a $10 mail-in rebate coupon for Move2Mac purchases).

Pogue also notes that small file transfers can be handled via email, a method and I frequently use for moving small files among my Macs, and floppy disks can be used too if you have a floppy drive module on the Mac. There is a section on transferring files using Apple’s iDisk online service, and a discussion of document conversion issues.

Chapter 6 covers “Transferring Email and Contacts” and deals with moving Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, and Netscape email files, and also outlines a method for transferring Outlook or Outlook Express email files to the Mac using Netscape Mail as an intermediary, even if you don’t plan to use Netscape as your email client in OS X. You can of course use any of the equivalent Mac versions of the aforementioned email programs in OS X, or transfer your email operations to OS X’s own built-in Mail app. email client. Address book file transfers are likewise, well, addressed.

Chapter 7, entitled “Special Software, Special Problems,” discusses other programs and utilities, some of which have no direct cross-platform equivalents, and in the latter case walks the reader through identifying Mac programs that can take place of the most popular Windows programs for which there are no precise equivalents available, and instructs on importing settings for from Windows to the Mac where possible.

Some of the applications covered include Acrobat, AOL, AIM, various Microsoft programs, Norton’s AntiVirus and Utilities, Palm Desktop, QuickBooks And Quicken, TaxCut And TurboTax, WordPerfect, and, when all else fails, Virtual PC emulation software for the Mac.

In Chapter 8, “ Hardware on the Mac,” we move out of the software orbit and into the world of hardware peripherals, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, working with this, CD and DVD drives and burners, the keyboard, and monitors.

Part Three -”Making Connections,” is a tutorial on getting Mac OS X connected and how to proceed once you are. Chapter 9, “ Getting Online,” contains instructions for configuring dial-up Internet connections, broadband connections, transferring or copying settings from your Windows setup, the Jaguar Firewall, and Internet Sharing.

Chapter 10, “ Mail and Address Book,” is a tutorial in using these two Mac OS X applications, substantially cribbed from Mac OS X: The Missing Manual.

Chapter 11-” Web and Chat Programs,” carries on with overviews on using Sherlock 3, iChat, the Mac version of Internet Explorer, and Apple’s new Safari browser.

Part 4 -” Putting Down Roots,” is about settling in as a full-fledged Mac user. Chapter 12, “Accounts,” deals with configuring and using Mac OS X’s multi-user functions, setting up accounts, the login/logout process, and the Root account.

Chapter 13, “ System Preferences,” is again pretty much recycled information from Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, edited for switchers from Windows. Ditto for Chapter 14, “The Freebie Programs,” -- ie: the bundle of software applications and utilities that Apple includes with 0 SX.

Part five, “Appendices,” contains three of them:

There is also a 10 page Index.

“Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual” is a book that regular Applelinks readers will probably be more likely to recommend to, or purchase as a gift for, their Windows-user your friends, family, and associates, as opposed to buying for themselves, although if you’re one of the many folks who are obliged to use a PC at work but have a Mac at home, this book will serve admirably as a cross-platform reference manual.

Not much to complain about here. The “Missing Manual” format is solid, attractive, and well laid out. It would be nice to have staggered margin indicators at the page edges identifying chapter breaks for quick reference as is done with some Mac books, but that’s a minor niggle.

For its primary intended purpose, as a manual for Windows to Mac switchers, it’s hard to imagine a better resource. David Pogue never disappoints, and his witty, conversational, and jargon-free writing style makes reading the material a pleasure. If you are making the transition from Windows to the Mac, the $24.95 will be well spent. A full, 5-A Applelinks rating.
--

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual
By David Pogue
March 2003
Series: The Missing Manuals
0-596-00452-4, Order Number: 4524
440 pages, $24.95 US, $38.95 CA, £17.50 UK

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/switchmacmm/

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................. 1
What Mac OS X 10.2 Gives You......................... 2
What Mac OS X Takes Away............................. 7
Three OSes in One.................................... 9
About this Book..................................... 10
About the Outline................................... 10
About•These•Arrows ................................. 11
About MissingManuals.com............................ 12
The Very Basics..................................... 12
Part One: The Mac OS X Desktop
Chapter 1: Folders and Windows .......... 17
Getting into Mac OS X .............................. 17
Windows and How to Work Them........................ 21
The Three Window Views.............................. 31
Icon View........................................... 32
List View........................................... 38
Column View ........................................ 45
Logging Out, Shutting Down.......................... 48
Getting Help in Mac OS X............................ 51
Chapter 2: Organizing Your Stuff ........ 53
The Mac OS X Folder Structure....................... 53
Icon Names.......................................... 58
Selecting Icons..................................... 60
Moving and Copying Icons............................ 63
Aliases: Icons in Two Places at Once................ 68
Favorites........................................... 71
The Trash........................................... 72
Get Info............................................ 74
Finding Files 1: The Search Bar..................... 77
Finding Files 2: The Find Program................... 81
Chapter 3: Dock, Desktop, and Toolbar ... 89
The Dock............................................ 89
Setting Up the Dock ................................ 90
Using the Dock ..................................... 95
The Finder Toolbar.................................. 99
Designing Your Desktop............................. 106
Menulets: The Missing Manual....................... 107
Part Two: Applications in Mac OS X
Chapter 4: Programs and Documents ...... 111
Launching Mac OS X Programs........................ 112
Juggling Programs with the Dock.................... 115
How Documents Know Their Parents................... 121
Controlling Menus from the Keyboard................ 126
The Save and Open Dialog Boxes..................... 129
Three Kinds of Programs: Cocoa, Carbon, Classic.... 135
The Cocoa Difference............................... 137
Installing Mac OS X Programs....................... 145
Chapter 5: Back to Mac OS 9 ............ 149
Two Roads to Mac OS 9.............................. 149
Classic: Mac OS 9 on Mac OS X...................... 151
Restarting in Mac OS 9............................. 163
Four Tricks for Faster Switching................... 165
Chapter 6: Moving Data ................. 171
Moving Data Between Documents...................... 171
Exchanging Data with Other Macs.................... 175
Exchanging Data with Windows PCs................... 180
Chapter 7: An Introduction to AppleScript185
Running Ready-Made AppleScripts.................... 185
Writing Your Own AppleScripts...................... 192
Recording Scripts in “Watch-Me” Mode............... 196
Saving a Script.................................... 201
Writing Commands by Hand........................... 203
Where to Learn More ............................... 212
Part Three: The Components of Mac OS X
Chapter 8: System Preferences .......... 215
The System Preferences Window...................... 215
Accounts........................................... 216
CDs & DVDs......................................... 217
Classic............................................ 218
ColorSync.......................................... 218
Date & Time........................................ 218
Desktop............................................ 221
Displays........................................... 224
Dock............................................... 227
Energy Saver....................................... 227
General............................................ 230
International...................................... 233
Internet........................................... 236
Keyboard........................................... 237
Login Items........................................ 237
Mouse.............................................. 238
My Account......................................... 239
Network ........................................... 239
QuickTime ......................................... 239
Screen Effects..................................... 240
Sharing............................................ 243
Software Update.................................... 243
Sound.............................................. 244
Speech............................................. 246
Startup Disk....................................... 246
Universal Access................................... 246
Chapter 9: The Free Programs ........... 251
Your Free Mac OS X Programs........................ 251
Utilities: Your Mac OS X Toolbox .................. 278
Chapter 10: CDs, DVDs, and iTunes ...... 301
How the Mac Does Disks............................. 301
Burning CDs and DVDs............................... 307
iTunes 3: The CD and MP3 Jukebox................... 310
Playing DVD Movies ................................ 319
Part Four: The Technologies of Mac OS X
Chapter 11: One Mac, Many Users ........ 327
Introducing User Accounts.......................... 328
Setting Up Accounts ............................... 329
Setting Up the Login/Logout Process................ 337
Signing In......................................... 340
Simple Finder and Other “Rubber Walls”............. 345
Logging Out........................................ 349
The Root Account................................... 349
Chapter 12: Networking ................. 351
Wiring the Network................................. 352
File Sharing ...................................... 354
Networking with Windows............................ 370
Managing Groups.................................... 377
Dialing in from the Road........................... 379
Forgettable Passwords: The Keychain................ 380
Chapter 13: Graphics, Fonts, and Printing385
Mac Meets Printer.................................. 385
Making the Printout................................ 388
Managing Printouts................................. 393
Printer Sharing.................................... 394
PDF Files.......................................... 394
Fonts in Mac OS X.................................. 397
Font Fuzziness on the Screen....................... 402
ColorSync.......................................... 403
Graphics in Mac OS X............................... 404
Screen-Capture Keystrokes.......................... 407
Chapter 14: Sound, Movies, Speech, and Handwriting 409
Playing Sounds..................................... 409
Recording Sound ................................... 412
QuickTime Movies................................... 414
Speech Recognition................................. 426
The Mac Talks Back................................. 434
Inkwell: Handwriting Recognition................... 439
Chapter 15: Terminal: Doorway to Unix .. 445
Terminal........................................... 447
Navigating in Unix................................. 450
Working with Files and Directories................. 458
Online Help........................................ 463
Terminal Preferences............................... 465
Terminal Tips and Tricks........................... 469
Chapter 16: Fun with Unix .............. 471
Moving Unmovable Files and Directories............. 471
Enabling the Root Account.......................... 482
Eight Useful Unix Utilities........................ 482
Where to Go from Here.............................. 487
Putting It Together................................ 491
Chapter 17: Hacking Mac OS X ........... 495
TinkerTool: Customization 101...................... 495
Redefining Keystrokes............................... 497
Redoing Mac OS X’s Graphics........................ 498
Replacing Your Home-Folder Icon.................... 502
Replacing the Finder Icons......................... 503
Rewriting the Words................................ 503
Part Five: Mac OS X Online
Chapter 18: Internet Setup, the Firewall, and .Mac 509
The Best News You’ve Heard All Day................. 509
Connecting by Dial-up Modem ....................... 510
Broadband Connections.............................. 514
AirPort Networks................................... 516
The Jaguar Firewall................................ 517
Switching Locations ............................... 519
Multihoming........................................ 521
Internet Sharing................................... 522
.Mac Services...................................... 525
Internet Location Files............................ 532
Chapter 19: Mail and Address Book ...... 535
Setting Up Mail.................................... 535
Checking Your Mail ................................ 537
Writing Messages................................... 539
Reading Email...................................... 545
The Spam Filter.................................... 557
Address Book....................................... 558
Chapter 20: Sherlock 3, iChat, and iCal 569
Sherlock 3......................................... 569
iChat.............................................. 577
iCal and iSync..................................... 590
Chapter 21: SSH, FTP, VPN, and Web Sharing605
Web Sharing ....................................... 605
FTP................................................ 612
Connecting from the Road........................... 613
Remote Access with SSH............................. 614
Virtual Private Networking......................... 617
Part Six: Appendixes
Appendix A: Installing Mac OS X 10.2 ... 623
Getting Ready to Install........................... 623
The Partitioning Question.......................... 624
How to Partition................................... 625
Four Kinds of Installation......................... 626
The Basic Installation............................. 627
The Installer...................................... 627
The Upgrade Installation........................... 628
The Clean Install.................................. 629
The Setup Assistant................................ 630
Uninstalling Mac OS X.............................. 632
Appendix B: Troubleshooting ............ 635
Problems That Aren’t Problems...................... 635
Minor Eccentric Behavior........................... 636
Frozen Programs (Force Quitting)................... 638
Error Messages When Opening........................ 639
The Wrong Program Opens............................ 639
Can’t Empty the Trash.............................. 641
Can’t Move or Rename an Icon....................... 641
Application Won’t Open............................. 641
Program Icons Turn to Folders...................... 641
Startup Problems................................... 643
Fixing the Disk.................................... 644
Where to Get Troubleshooting Help.................. 649
Appendix C: The “Where’d It Go?” Dictionary
(Mac Version) ........................ 651
Appendix D: The “Where’d It Go?” Dictionary
(Windows Version) .................... 669
Appendix E: Where to Go from Here ...... 683
Web Sites.......................................... 683
Advanced Books..................................... 684
Email Lists........................................ 685
Appendix F: The Master OS X Keystroke List687

Charles W. Moore

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