Reviews of Mac OS X Power Tools

SECOND EDITION   (just released)

Here is another distinguished book...lucid, comprehensive and well-set out and
prioritized approaches to users, permissions, logins, networking and security,
printing and faxing, firewalls and disk maintenance...The book's greatest strength
(besides its accuracy and readability -- both refreshingly high) is that Frakes has
anticipated those aspects of 'under the hood' Panther use which can and do go
wrong and shows you how to deal with them. He uses just the right amount of
well-selected illustration and direction in the shape of screenshots and tables...
But 'Mac OS X Power Tools' is more and better than a set of tips most of which
can be found on any good Mac website. It's a real handholder, carefully set out
and in logical progressions. It also deals with the way Panther really works, rather
than repeating the theoretical underpinnings for the beginner yet again...But this
is not a dry or intimidating book. The confident and approachable personality of
the author adds to the lack of intimidation as you repeatedly search for -- and
find -- the solution to just the fault you're experiencing. The whole book's focus
is clear, which maximizes your efficiency, speed and relief, just when you need
to uninstall something completely or share recalcitrant printers etc. Follow its
well-indexed and clearly subdivided procedures and recommendations and you
can hardly go wrong.
     - Mark Sealey, Think Secret review

Want to really master your Panther-based Mac? Dan Frakes is as friendly and
knowledgeable a guide as you could want. His Mac OS X Power Tools, Second
Edition is full of treasures and tidbits for anyone willing to do a little exploration.
Want to print a folder listing? Add contextual menus that give you easier access
to actions, files, or folders? Search live text in PDFs? Connect via remote login?
Make a Windows-only printer work with your Mac? Secure your startup process?
Synchronize the bookmarks in all your browsers? Erase the stray contents of
your free space? Frakes shows you how. From permissions to networking, Docks
to Apps, this stuff's both cool and useful.
     - Bill Camarda, Barnes & Noble review

Mac OS X Power Tools, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and well-written
book that will be an invaluable resource for virtually any level of Mac user; this
book is highly recommended.
     - Stephen Becker, MacEase.com review

One of Threat Focus's recommended Macintosh Security Books for "providing
valuable, well-organized information."

Your book is the ONLY book I have found that even begins to cover how to set
up multiple accounts, and create groups. Its also the only one I have found that
covers vnc networking... With your book, I have:
* Created a new Guest User account that I can use for guests to access the
Internet and not delete my files.
* Created a group for the wife and I that lets us both see the tax forms the kids
don't need to alter.
* Changed the swap file volume to another partition with far more room still on it
than my startup volume.
* Started a fixed DNS name with a free service to access my computer from the
road.
Best damned book out there.
     - Reader comment

Very well-written, very well edited, very well organized. Like a piece of century-old
furniture, it's hard to find computer books with the overall quality of this book
these days.
     - Amazon.com reader review

FIRST EDITION

When you're ready to go beyond the basics of Mac OS X, this is the book you want.
     - Ted Landau, Mac author and creator of MacFixIt.com

Dan Frakes' Mac OS X Power Tools is an essential (and approachable) guide for getting
the most from Mac OS X. It remains one of the most helpful Mac OS X books in my
library and is always within reach.
     - Christopher Breen, Mac 911 Columnist, Macworld Magazine

I rarely have time to read Macintosh related books but I'm already hooked on this one.
     - Steve Wozniak, Apple Founder

Power Tools is far and above the best all purpose resource that I have encountered for
the OS X system.
     - Jeff Schlies, AAUG review

When author Dan Frakes penned Mac OS X Power Tools he wrote a winner. This book will
not gather any dust on your bookshelf! A strange and wonderful combination of advanced
information, useful hints, neat tricks, and hard to find tidbits that will make your OS X
experience more satisfying...if you're getting comfortable with OS X, and wish to expand
your Mac horizons, you'll do well to spend time with this book. Highly recommended!
MyMac mouse rating: 5 mice
     - David Weeks, MyMac.com review

Simply put, this book offers more horsepower per cubic inch than other books in its class...
Whereas many books seem to have 13 chapters of mostly useless stuff, with 2 chapters
that might actually be worth purchasing, this book delivers in virtually every chapter,
addressing things that real people need to do... I recognize that I am going out on a limb
here with an A+ grade, but I keep coming back to one thought: I am by nature cynical
about ANY computer book being worth 40 bucks, yet I am convinced that Mac OS X
Power Tools is the exception to that rule.
     - Nathan Holsteen , Mac Guild review

I've already learned a ton of stuff I didn't know before, and will be going back over and over
again to learn more using the book as a reference... Great stuff! A full 5-A Applelinks rating.
     - Charles Moore, Applelinks.com review

For the past two years there have been books on Mac OSX....and there have been books
on Mac OSX. For the most part, they're all pretty much the same. Buy one and you've bought
them all. And then there's this book. Power Tools is literally like going to Lowe's on a Saturday
afternoon. Only you don't have to leave the house... This book is a cornucopia of insight and
info on taking your Mac apart (without physically taking it apart) and making tons of improve-
ments to really make your Mac fly on the new OS... The book itself is well-organized, offering
a variety of tip tables you won't find in any other book.
     - Adam Bell, DigitalVideoEditing.com review

Mac OS X Power Tools is a great addition to users' libraries -- no matter what their levels
of expertise! Rating: Highly Recommended. ("If you use a Mac, you should have this book.")
     - Stephen Becker, MacEase.com review

Mac OS X Power Tools delivers easy to read chapters and examines Mac OS X from top to
toe including the basic every day things that you don't always think about such as permissions
and how the files are organized... Before each example Frakes has a little box that tells you
whether the example you are about to perform can be done by any user or if it's administrator
only, if what you are about to do will affect all users or just your own, and if Terminal will be
used. This is incredibly useful when you're quickly scanning through the book for tips.... Very
calm and easily understandable text... It's clear he wants you to not only know how but why...
If you're ready to take the next step and become a true power user of Mac OS X, this is the
book you'll most likely succeed with. Rating: Really good!
     - Julius Mattsson, MacDesktop.com review

I haven't come across many books yet on Mac OS X that will tell you how to explore the
operating system's deepest and most hidden features. Mac OS X Power Tools comes pretty
much the closest of them all. It's an encyclopedic book that will explain a lot of things you
need to know... Mac OS X Power Tools succeeds at surprising me with shareware and
other programs that I'd never heard of before... If you're new to Mac OS X, or you know your
way around but you lack the time or the interest to scavenge the web looking for solutions
to little and bigger problems, this book is your cup of tea. Rating: 4/5.
     - IT-Enquirer review

The Bottom Line: Become a Mac OS X expert! For Mac users interested in increasing their
knowledge of OS X's capabilities, Mac OS X Power Tools is a comprehensive resource.
     - Rachael Smithey, About.com review

The book itself, I must say it is an amazing work...as much as I feel I've learned using the
[Mac OS X] over the last few weeks on my own, I have learned sooooooo much more about
OS X in the first 20 pages and over the last few days I've spent with your book! Bottom line:
Knowledge truly is power. And with the knowledge I've already gleaned from your book, I find
that I am already a far more powerful OS X user. I find that I am UNDERSTANDING things...
that before I simply noticed and accepted as "normal" for the new OS. But now I KNOW what's
happening and WHY... In my mind, you've achieved exactly what you set out to achieve: a
way for the proficient Mac user to become a POWERFUL Mac user.
     - Reader feedback

The best OS X book I've read!
     - Amazon.com reader review

Went to a big technical bookstore to persue all the titles available. This was the only book
to provide the key underlying information about how/why the operating system works. It is
very easy to read, despite its technical subject, and helped me immediately. My choice
after substantive review.
     - Amazon.com reader review

One of About.com's "Top 7 Mac OS X Books"

Reviewers