May 15 2002

MacOS X Pocket Reference

Unlike the massive computer
books usually seen on the shelves of book stores this book can literally fit
in your pocket! Being a little nerdy I did this (just because it is titled a
pocket reference and I figured it would count as research). It’s 103 pages excluding
the index and is divided into 5 sections:

I. MacOS X Survival Guide

Brief section that gets
new users up to speed. Covers major changes in X (when compared to 9.X). If
you already use X you may skip over this section but there are some good tips
if you are converting from another OS.

II. MacOS X Basics

This section covers the
basics. . Lots of commands are in charts. It is pretty handy to quickly
scan the list and look for ones you don’t know. Again it’s a pocket reference
so highlight what you don’t know, or dog-ear the pages. Even though this section
covers the basics there is still material to be learned. Don’t skip this unless
you are a X addict!

III. System Tools

Details pretty much all
of the software that comes pre-installed. It doesn’t give much on any one
thing but it gives a nice general description.

IV. MacOS Unix Basics

My personal favorite section.
There are lots of yummy Unix commands and techniques in this chapter.
It’s hard to memorize this stuff so this is a pretty popular section of the
book (at least for me). This section guarantees the book a spot on my desk.
Great stuff.

V. Task and Setting Index

All about managing your
computer using Apple’s built in tools. A surprisingly thick chapter. More
Unixish stuff is introduced and the format is easy to understand. It poses
an italicizedquestion and then the answer below. This format is used throughout
the book. It’s easy to find what you’re looking for.

The index is good as well.
This isn’t a book that will keep you up at night but when you are on the phone
with a friend and need to know how to chmod quickly I guarantee you’ll be reaching
for this (unless you know that you just type chmod PERMISSIONS /path/to/file
into the terminal… it’s covered it the book!).

…and now for something completely different.

• August 28, 2002 -- The Ubiquitous Aqua Text Tutorial has been updated!
• September 29, 2004 -- Logic Pro 7 and Logic Express 7 Announced
• September 24, 2003 -- Strata 3D Pro goes to 3.9
• March 9, 2002 -- Mac OS X Deployment Initiative

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