hands on
Good read for Mac newbies
Sean Roulet

* Mac OS X: Complete Reference by Jesse Feiler
* $63.50
* Publisher: Osborne, McGraw Hill
* Available from www.mphonline.com

The early chapters of this 912-page reference are on the history of operating systems, the Aqua interface and how Mac OS X works.

Although it may be slightly tedious for the more experienced Macintosh user, the chapters are nevertheless liberally peppered with screenshots and gra-phics for a newbie’s comprehension.

The bulk of the content covers day-to-day operations in OS X, from working with files and printing, to networking and security issues.

Though the author’s pledge of being a complete reference is carried out to a T, his bouncing between OS X and OS X Server can be a bit confusing at times.

There is a good coverage of the OS X applications that were available upon release, including iTunes, iMovie and AppleWorks. For a new Mac user these chapters are invaluable.

Included in this book is a portion of the Mac OS X that is often overlooked: the power of programming on a Mac. Coverage of AppleScript and terminal commands are essential for Mac users who wish to fully exploit OS X.

The chapters on Classic, Carbon and Cocoa programming may be slightly confusing for the non-programmer, and a little too basic for the well-versed programmer. However, they are perfect for the budding programmer who just never got around to it.

As OS X is a complete visual makeover of the Mac OS, it is helpful that the author also includes a visual glossary of all the visual objects in OS X. Should you come across an icon that you are not sure about, you can easily flip to the back of the book and look it up.

Tried and tested: A complete reference of Mac OS X. Delivers what the title promises.

Sean Roulet is from the Mac Users Group of Singapore. Its website is at www.macuser.org.sg