‘Book Mystique Review: My New Mac, Snow Leopard Edition
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
by Charles W. Moore
Arthur Wallace Wang and publisher No Starch Press have been quick out of the blocks getting one of the first Snow Leopard books into print and distribution, actually releasing it before the new Apple operating system version was available.
The book is a revision, so that helped speed things along, but it’s been completely revised and updated to address the new features of MacOS X. 10.6 Snow Leopard.
My new Mac, Snow Leopard Edition is not a manual substitute like David Pogue’s MacOS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual and several other similar volumes, but rather as the No Starch Press publisher Bill Pollock defines it, “a project-based get-it-done-without-a-a lot-of-fuss-guide to using a Mac — not a tedious and boring manual — because who wants to read those anyway?” Well, speak for yourself Bill; I like reading manuals, but there is definitely a place for books like this too.
This edition of My New Mac, like its predecessors, is structured in a format of in this instance 54 projects that teach the reader, especially readers new to the Mac OS, how to do many useful things with their Macs without climbing a steep learning curve.
As Wallace Wang explains, “instead of burdening users with technical details, the Macintosh lets them get useful stuff done right away. That’s why I designed My New Mac as a project-oriented book that focuses on accomplishing specific tasks, rather than a book that lists all the possible menu options.” Fair enough; appendices full of menu options are not my favorite part of manual volumes for sure.
The first edition of My New Mac has been a bestseller in Apple stores and bookstores around the world, and this completely revised Snow Leopard Edition should continue to sell robustly, since it’s a concept that will appeal to many Mac users. Also, while it’s perhaps a bit early to be mentioning this, we’re less than four months away from Christmas, and if you have someone on your list who has recently acquired a new Mac, or is likely to find one under the Christmas tree, this book would make an excellent and appreciated gift.
Even though My New Mac makes a point of not getting bogged down in the minutiae of technical detail, it’s not a lightweight quick read (although very readable in style), being 500 pages and nearly an inch and a half thick. You get plenty of content for your $29.95.
The 54 projects covered are grouped in five categorical sections plus an Introduction and a whimsical appendix with a template for building a paper computer model.
The subject matter is divided into relatively short project tutorials that can be approached much like recipes in a cookbook. Each project describes a common problem you may may encounter when using your computer, explains how your Macintosh can help you solve the problem, and then lists all the steps you need to follow in order to reach the solution in the inimitable Macintosh Way.
This allows the neophyte reader to begin doing fun and useful things with the Mac right away, being walked through them with hands-on, illustrated instructions. And while if you really are new to the Macintosh it’s probably best to start with the first section, Part One: Basic Training, aside from that you can pretty much dive in anywhere you like after scanning through the Table Of Contents for projects that particularly pique your interest.
You can skip the stuff that doesn’t interest you without any worry about loss of continuity.
The first, Basic Training section starts with the very fundamental basics like turning your computer on and off, and the several possible ways that can be addressed. There is also a section on learning to use the mouse or trackpad, how to toggle commands using the menu bar, understanding dialog sheets, dealing with the MacOS X Dock including customization options, and of course using and getting the best out of some of the more advanced MacOS X Finder features like Exposé, Spaces, navigating the Finder, managing files and folders, and there’s even a chapter on energy conservation when using your Mac.
Part Two: Making Life Easier With Shortcuts, is what it sounds like, beginning with keyboard shortcuts, but also topics like controlling your Mac with hot corners finding files quickly with Spotlight, using QuickLook to check out files without actually opening them in an application, file organization, using the Dashboard and widgets, configuring multiple personalities and user accounts as well as parental controls if desired, adjusting view options, and using the Stickies program.
Part Three is called Putting Your Macintosh To Work, beginning with tutorials on using the iCal and Address Book applications, playing audio CDs and audio files with iTunes, ripping and burning audio CDs as well as making file archives on CD or DVD-ROM discs, working with images on your Macintosh using iPhoto to organize your picture files as well as doing the basic image editing that iPhoto supports, creating slideshows, sharing files with Bluetooth and much more.
Part Four, Touching The World Through The Internet, is likewise exactly what it sounds like, with instructions on getting your Mac online and configuring and using the Safari browser and Mail email client programs as well as instant messaging with iChat.
Part Five: Maintaining Your Macintosh, is the book’s most technical section, with some basics on how your Mac works. Tutorials on installing, updating, and uninstalling software, and dealing with troubleshooting issues like ejecting stuck CDs or DVDs, as well as addressing security issues like configuring password protection, encrypting your data and setting up a firewall.
The book ends with a one-page essay called “The Next Step,” which summarizes My New Mac: Snow Leopard Edition as being analogous to training wheels that give you a gentle push in the right direction, and encouraging you to take them off and ride on your own, knowing that one of the things that makes the Macintosh different from any other personal computer is that learning how to use it can actually be fun.
The book is copiously illustrated with screenshots, rendered in monochrome which helps keep the price down, and there is a comprehensive 10 page Index.
The page layout is attractive and reads easily, in a no-nonsense sans serif font and plenty of whitespace breaking up the text, which is incidentally printed on Sustainable Forestry Initiative Certified Fiber Sourcing stock.
The prose style is conversational and easygoing which you would expect from an author who wears another hat as a successful standup comic who has appeared on A&E’s “Evening At The Improv” and appears regularly at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas.
If you’re a seasoned Mac veteran, My New Mac, Snow Leopard Edition is probably not your best choice if you’re planning on buying only one Snow Leopard book (although it would still be a handy reference to have around and I’m sure there are things virtually any Mac user could learn from it), but if you’re new to the Mac or a non-power-user who has never progressed past the basics of Mac operation, it should be right up your alley.
My New Mac, Snow Leopard Edition, Second Edition
54 Simple Projects to Get You Started
By Wallace Wang
No Starch Press
August 2009
512 Pages
$29.95
Can$37.95
For more information, visit:
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781593272098/
Note: Letters to PowerBook Mystique Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.
Opinions expressed in postings to PowerBook Mystique MailBag are owned by the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or PowerBook Central management.
If you would prefer that your message not appear in PowerBook Mystique Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.
CM