Mac OS X Books - Page 3

A Practical Guide to UNIX(R) for Mac OS(R) X Users

Mark G. Sobell, Peter Seebach

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

From the ground up 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 24 people found this review helpful.

This is the book I've been looking for. Not just 'OS X for Unix Geeks' or 'OS X in a Nutshell', I wanted more. As much as possible, in one resource. 1000+ pages signaled a big yes.

I have yet to read it all the way through, but so far this is a very good guide for those who want not only to learn the general 'Unix way' of computing, but dive under the surface of OS X and examine its specificities in the command line interface, aka the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)

No, this isn't a 'hacks' book, and there's no mention of rsync, for example, but you'll find ample documentation of the underside of OS X--there's a lot more to it than just a GUI, folks.

Educational, yes. Hence 'Practical Guide'; you'll learn a good deal, in almost textbook fashion. Recommended to enhance the power and fun of your OS X experience!

1,000 pages cover basic to advanced shell programming and beyond 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Mark G. Sobell and Peter Seebach's A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNIX FOR MAC OX S USERS is a reference the UNIX/Mac user simply must have at hand: nearly a thousand pages of reference material on everything from basic and advanced shell programming to Mac's OS X filesystem and utilities modules make this the best reference on the market for users who seek either a step-by-step tutorial or a basic browser's reference for problem-solving. Exercises to test knowledge boxed highlights of information make it easy to either refer to for at-a-glance troubleshooting or sit down and study for step-by-step methodology.

AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Matt Neuburg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Mac users everywhere--even those who know nothing about programming--are discovering the value of the latest version of AppleScript, Apple's vastly improved scripting language for Mac OS X Tiger. And with this new edition of the top-selling AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, anyone, regardless of your level of experience, can learn to use AppleScript to make your Mac time more efficient and more enjoyable by automating repetitive tasks, customizing applications, and even controlling complex workflows.

Fully revised and updated--and with more and better examples than ever--AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition explores AppleScript 1.10 from the ground up. You will learn how AppleScript works and how to use it in a variety of contexts: in everyday scripts to process automation, in CGI scripts for developing applications in Cocoa, or in combination with other scripting languages like Perl and Ruby.

AppleScript has shipped with every Mac since System 7 in 1991, and its ease of use and English-friendly dialect are highly appealing to most Mac fans. Novices, developers, and everyone in between who wants to know how, where, and why to use AppleScript will find AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition to be the most complete source on the subject available. It's as perfect for beginners who want to write their first script as it is for experienced users who need a definitive reference close at hand.

AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition begins with a relevant and useful AppleScript overview and then gets quickly to the language itself; when you have a good handle on that, you get to see AppleScript in action, and learn how to put it into action for you. An entirely new chapter shows developers how to make your Mac applications scriptable, and how to give them that Mac OS X look and feel with AppleScript Studio. Thorough appendixes deliver additional tools and resources you won't find anywhere else. Reviewed and approved by Apple, this indispensable guide carries the ADC (Apple Developer Connection) logo.

Automator for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide

Ben Waldie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Automator for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide uses a combination of task-based instruction and strong visuals to teach Macintosh users how to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks with the Automator application that is included with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Automator comes with many useful actions for lots of popular Apple applications. Each action performs a single specific task, such as removing an empty playlist from iTunes, or adding attachments to a Mail message. The real power of Automator lies in mixing and matching these actions to perform exactly the job you need them to, in a string of actions known as a workflow.

Author Ben Waldie introduces readers to how Automator works, and then helps them assemble and use Automator workflows. This book covers the major updates to Automator that are part of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), including a variety of highly anticipated features, such as recording, looping, and the use of variables within workflows. These features make Automator more flexible and powerful than before, greatly increasing its appeal and interest to any Mac user looking to become more efficient.

Both beginning users who want a thorough introduction to Automator and more advanced users looking for a convenient reference will find what they need here in straightforward language, clear steps, and practical tips.

Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Support Essentials (Apple Training)

Owen Linzmayer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The definitive book on certification, and a good overall reference. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If it is Apple certification you want, you can choose to use the web based Applecare technician training or this book. To do a great job on your cert tests, I recommend both. The book allows you to learn and study when you are not in front of a screen. Completely web-based programs require me to print out a lot, and I found I did not have to with the book in hand.

Editorial Review:

The only Apple-certified book on Mac OS X, this updated best-seller will take you deep inside the latest big-cat operating system, covering everything from networking technologies to system administration, customizing the operating system, command-line programming, and more. Whether you're a support technician or simply an ardent Mac user, you'll quickly learn and master the 150+ features new to Mac OS X Tiger, including the innovative Spotlight search system, a Dashboard filled with customizable Widget mini-apps, the Automator application for building customized workflows, and more. Following the learning objectives of the Apple Certified Technical Coordinator certification exam, this self-paced book is a perfect supplement to Apple’s own training class and a first-rate primer for computer support personnel who need to troubleshoot and optimize Mac OS X as part of their jobs. Chapter review sections and quizzes summarize and reinforce gained knowledge.

Mac OS X Tiger For Dummies

Bob LeVitus

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Mac OS X just keeps getting better! The newest cat in the pack, 10.4 Tiger, has new bells and whistles and terrific updates that make it even easier and more fun to use, which is why you won’t want to miss out on the helpful guidance this book has to offer.

Written by “Dr. Mac” himself, veteran Macintosh expert Bob LeVitus, Mac OS X Tiger For Dummies is perfect whether you’re brand-new to the Mac or you’re a longtime Mac-thusiast. You’ll find sections on

• Basic Mac usage, including keyboard and mouse, menus, windows, the Dock,  saving and backing up files, and getting around OS X
• Internet ins and outs, how to print from your Mac, and the how and why of System Preferences
• How to set up a network, share files, and troubleshoot problems
• Step-by-step installation instructions for OS X, and a lot more

Bob LeVitus reaches over a million readers weekly with his “Dr. Mac” column in the Houston Chronicle, and his books have sold more than a million copies worldwide.  In this one, he helps you

• Find your way around the new Finder, go Web surfing with the cool new Safari browser, and search smarter with Spotlight
• Use Preferences to personalize your system for the way you work
• Handle removable media, including CDs, DVDs, and even classic devices like zip drives
• Manage files, use file sharing, and protect your precious data —painlessly
• Take advantage of Dashboard widgets, navigate nested folders, and make the most of Tiger

With the friendly and expert advice in this book, you’ll tame the Tiger in no time.  Then, when you’re ready to delve deeper into some of the specific applications like digital media, check out other For Dummies guides, including iLife '04 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (ISBN 0-7645-7347-0).

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Mac OS X Tiger (Teach Yourself VISUALLY (Tech))

Erick Tejkowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The real idiot book 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a real good idiot book. The visuals are what makes the book. A good reference book for the do it yourselfer computer person

Teach Yourself Visually MAC OS Tiger 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is the second Teach Yourself Visually book I have used, and it is great, especially if you want to learn things rapidly. The instructions and illustrations are excellent. I highly recccommend it.

Editorial Review:

Richly colored illustrations, and clear step-by-step instructions guide users new to Mac OS X Tiger through the basics of this powerful operating system. Covering all aspects of Tiger, this book shows visual learners how to work with files, customize their computers, and maximize the versatility of iLife '05 applications. Also explores how to browse the Web with Safari, manage fonts with FontBook, use iCal to track appointments, and make the switch from older Mac OS versions. Get your Tiger to roar with this easy to use reference filled with more than 100 fun and helpful tasks, presented in full color with a newly re-designed interior to make learning fast and efficient.

Beginning Mac OS X Programming

Michael Trent, Drew McCormack

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Beginning Mac OS X Programming

Every Mac OS X system comes with all the essentials required for programming: free development tools, resources, and utilities. However, finding the place to begin may be challenging, especially if you have no prior development knowledge. This comprehensive guide offers you an ideal starting point to writing programs on Mac OS X, with coverage of the latest release - 1.4 "Tiger."

With its hands-on approach, the book examines a particular element and then presents step-by-step instructions that walk you through how to use that element when programming. You'll quickly learn how to efficiently start writing programs on Mac OS X using languages such as C, Objective-C(r), and AppleScript(r), technologies such as Carbon(r) and Cocoa(r), and other Unix tools. In addition, you'll discover techniques for incorporating the languages in order to create seamless applications. All the while, you can follow along on your own system so that you'll be prepared to apply your new Mac OS X skills to real-world projects.

What you will learn from this book

• The major role the new Xcode plays in streamlining Mac OS X development
• The process for designing a graphical user interface on Mac OS X that conforms to Apple's guidelines
• How to write programs in the C and Objective-C programming languages
• The various scripting languages available on the Mac OS X system and what tasks each one is best suited to perform
• How to write shell scripts that interact with pre-installed command-line tools

Who this book is for

This book is for novice programmers who want to get started writing programs that run on Mac OS X. Experienced programmers who are new to the Mac will also find this book to be a useful overview of the Mac development environment.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

Mac OS X for Unix Geeks

Ernest Rothman, Brian Jepson, Rich Rosen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It's about time: Mac OS X for Unix Geeks arrives on the scene none too soon for UNIX aficionados who, having heard that the latest editions of Mac OS are based on a UNIX variant, want to see how the platform compares to more venerable versions of the eminently configurable operating system. This book highlights some key differences between the Darwin environment and more conventional UNIXs, enabling people with UNIX experience to take advantage of it as they learn the Mac OS X way of doing things at the command line.

This skinny volume neither aims to teach its readers UNIX nor introduce them to the Mac, but rather to show how Apple has implemented UNIX. It's a fast read that assumes--as the title implies--rather a lot of UNIX knowledge. With that requirement satisfied and this book in hand, you're likely to discover aspects of Aqua more quickly than you otherwise would have.

The authors spend lots of time explaining how administrative tasks--such as managing groups, users, and passwords--are handled in the Mac OS environment. They document netinfo fully, and call attention to its limitations (like its inability to create home directories for users) by explaining how to do the job on the command line. They also cover C programming in the Darwin universe at greater length than any other book does, providing explicit instructions for such important tasks as creating header files and linking static libraries. A guide to the command line (they call the reference section--groan--"The Missing Manpages") provides good value at this book's conclusion. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to get around in Darwin, the UNIX implementation built into Mac OS X. Sections deal with basic maneuvering at the command line, LDAP services, C programming, and graphical user interfaces under Aqua. There's a short section on building the kernel itself, but it's limited in scope.

Mac OS X Leopard Just the Steps For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Keith Underdahl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

GREAT OOK FOR STARTERS 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Mac OS X Leopard Just the Steps For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
EASY TO UNDERSTAND, CUTS TO THE CHASE WITHOUT LONG TECHIE TERMS.
YOU HAVE A QUESTION ,LOOK IT UP AND THE BOOK PROVIDES A QUICK AND EASY ANSWER

Editorial Review:

• Eliminates lengthy introductions, detailed explanations, and sidebars, focusing on what new Mac OS X users want most-clear instructions on how to accomplish specific tasks
• An easy-to-navigate landscape layout featuring a two-column design and illustrated step-by-step instructions make it easy to find a specific task fast and get it done in a flash
• Tasks covered include adjusting system preferences, creating and managing user accounts, managing files and folders, using the Dashboard, networking wirelessly with AirPort, using iTunes and iPods, connecting to a Windows network, watching videos and DVDs, viewing and organizing pictures with iPhoto, making movies with iMovie, blogging and Web designing with iWeb, and using a .Mac account
• Published to coincide with Apple's release of Leopard

Cocoa in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

Michael Beam, James Duncan Davidson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Cocoa® is more than just a collection of classes, and is certainly more than a simple framework. Cocoa is a complete API set, class library, framework, and development environment for building applications and tools to run on Mac OS® X. With over 240 classes, Cocoa is divided into two essential frameworks: Foundation and Application Kit. Above all else, Cocoa is a toolkit for creating Mac OS X application interfaces, and it provides access to all of the standard Aqua® interface components such as menus, toolbars, windows, buttons, to name a few. Cocoa in a Nutshell begins with a complete overview of Cocoa's object classes. It provides developers who may be experienced with other application toolkits the grounding they'll need to start developing Cocoa applications. Common programming tasks are described, and many chapters focus on the larger patterns in the frameworks so developers can understand the larger relationships between the classes in Cocoa, which is essential to using the framework effectively. Cocoa in a Nutshell is divided into two parts, with the first part providing a series of overview chapters that describe specific features of the Cocoa frameworks. Information you'll find in Part I includes:

• An overview of the Objective-C language
• Coverage of the Foundation and Application Kit frameworks
• Overviews of Cocoa's drawing and text handling classes
• Network services such as hosts, Rendezvous URL services, sockets, and file handling
• Distributed notifications and distributed objects for interapplication communication
• Extending Cocoa applications with other frameworks, including the AddressBook, DiscRecording, and Messaging frameworks

The second half of the book is a detailed quick reference to Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit (AppKit) classes. A complement to Apple's documentation, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the only reference to the classes, functions, types, constants, protocols, and methods that make up Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit frameworks, based on the Jaguar release (Mac OS X 10.2). Peer-reviewed and approved by Apple's engineers to be part of the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) Series, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work. Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work.