Mountain Lion: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue
O’Reilly Media Inc., www.oreillycom
Catalog page: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920025634.do#
August 2012, 867p, isbn:
978-1-449-33027-9, $34.99
This is a valuable reference source for the current Apple operating system. The index and appendixes will help IT people solve problems.
This
operating system is the ninth version of Apple’s unix-based system. It looks
and feels so different from the smiley faces of yesteryear. There are over 200
new gestures that the book says illustrates Apple’s step in a new design
philosophy. To the average user it looks as though Apple is slowly merging the
idevice operating system with the desktop. Consumers will soon see the
AutoSaves feature, full screen apps, lack of folders, and a home screen similar
to IOS5. They will also see some old apps renamed and enriched with new
features. An example of this is the
Preview app. In Mt Lion it has become a contender to Photoshop. It is Apple’s
flagship program. It is a “scanning software, graphics viewer, fax viewer, and PDF
reader.”(p428pbk) It also saves to the
iCloud and shares via email, Airdrop, or messages. It also
opens-reads-searches-prints-but not edits MS word, color corrects, formats and
converts files, resample images (p430pbk), fix photos by cutting out people
(p432pbk), and filling in PDF forms.
There is something for the reader at every
level. Beginners have a mini sidebar with help called Up To Speed. Advanced users will find Power Users Clinics. Readers will find that some chapters have downloadable
documents while the book itself has a website available for updates and
corrections.
The book is flexible in the way a reader can utilize the
informative text. For myself, the first thing I read was the appendix on
installing Mt Lion. I found it humorous when David said that there are (P789
ebk, pbk) psychological requirements for upgrading a computer. His statement was: “upgrading an operating
system is always a traumatic experience for a computer- and too often, for the
owner.” Avoid problems by using disk utility to check your hard drive, turn off
File Vault, and update your software so that it runs on the new system. The
install directions were right on the mark. I can honestly say it was one of the
easiest installs I’ve done. Since then I have been holed up with the book and
my mac. As you skim some chapters and digest others you will find Mt Lion has
some really cool new features.
The
author’s (David Pogue) writing style is clearly written, succinctly worded and
peppered with humor throughout the text. It makes it very readable and
understandable for everyone from a beginner to an advanced user. This ebook or
paperback is very informative, clearly organized, and very thoroughly indexed
for retrieval of bits of information.
Both the ebook and the
paperback contain the same material. They are both well suited to either
format. By saying this, I mean the pages and chapters in the paperback are
clearly readable. The size of the text and crispness of the diagrams that are
appropriately placed on the two-page spread make this a very useful reference
tool for a very powerful operating system.
The
choice of ebook versus paperback is definitely a personal one. Some people
think the paperback is a doorstop. Personally I like to flip through the index when
troubleshooting. But I must admit that the ebook is easy to use and very
portable.
As I
skimmed, browsed, and consumed my way through the book I found the information
on AipPlay, FaceTime, and the abundance of free programs clearly written with
lots of valuable information. I found a way to rewire my network and learned
that MT Lion has an anti-spam kit built into its junk mail filter that I will
have to train for a while until it learns my preferences. But on the other hand
the notification center now consolidates all of the apps that want your
attention (Mail, Reminders, Twitter, Facebook, Software Updates, etc.) into a
single list. Lastly, one of the best tips was a reminder of something most of
us forget. When programs start acting up there are five basic steps to solve a problem
(1 Repair permissions, /2 Look for update/ 3 Toss prefs/ 4 Restart/5 Trash and
reinstall).
My
only disappointments for the book was that I wanted a digital copy of the
Master List Secret Keystrokes that could be downloaded on the missing manuals
website. Lastly, I hope at some point
David Pogue will do a song or video clip of the 47,000 features contained in Mt
Lion as only he can do. by L. McNeil
No comments:
Post a Comment