Book Bytes – MyMac Magazine #52

How to Do Everything with Your iMac
by Todd Stauffer
Osborne/McGraw-Hill

ISBN 0-07-212071-1, 588 pages
$24.99 U.S.

With this book, author Todd Stauffer propels himself into the first division of Macintosh authors. Book Bytes recently gave high ratings to his two previous titles (each from a different publisher!), and Stauffer’s do-it-all iMac volume continues his excellence.

On our Book Bytes shelf are eight different books covering the iMac, including the four in this month’s issue. Each of them has many strengths, and another title is expected soon (when will it end? — never I hope). Stauffer’s book stands out from the rest by its size and scope, by its breadth and depth.

At close to 600 pages in length, Todd is able to take his time and provide extensive coverage for every hardware, software, and Internet component on the mighty iMac, including both its operating system and bundled applications.

Nearly 150 pages are devoted to basic newcomer details, from “What Makes iMac Different and Cool?” or “What Is the Desktop?” to “The Help Systems” and “Multitasking: Use More than One Application.” Five chunky chapters explain AppleWorks, as well as some single-subject books on the software suite. The iMac’s other apps get hearty treatment, before Stauffer plunges into a massive unit on the Internet and America Online.

My personal favorite section, “Part Four: Customize Your iMac,” wraps up the book, taking readers in 100+ pages through appearance, printing, faxing, upgrading, networking, troubleshooting, and working with the alleged “other” platform. Overall, How to Do Everything with Your iMac is well-written and designed, and is the ideal companion for intelligent new owners who are not familiar with most aspects of Macintosh system, third-party, and Internet software.

Todd Stauffer’s books set a high standard, and it is a pleasure to HIGHLY RECOMMEND his iMac title. Keep ‘em coming, Todd!

 
The iMac Book
by Don Rittner

Coriolis Group

ISBN 1-57610-429-X, 374 pages
$24.99 U.S., $36.99 Canada, £22.99 U.K.

In the real estate business, “location is everything.” In the restaurant business, “presentation is everything.” In the book business, packaging is NOT everything, but it can sometimes help a computer book’s sales.

The design and construction of the exterior of Don Rittner’s new book are splendid: it’s a hard-bound volume, with a bondi-blue color scheme, enclosed in a semi-transparent dust jacket on which an iMac is printed in 3D simulation. Seeing is believing, and I keep noticing multiple copies of The iMac Book in bookstores across the country. Coriolis Press has plowed tons of $$$ into the physical book, and I predict the purchasers will use and keep it for ages.

Rittner’s text is written for first-time and upgrading users and it succeeds, starting with an extensive description of the hardware and software included with each iMac configuration. Next comes a section on expanding the iMac’s functionality with peripherals and adapters. From here it’s a quick step into the Desktop, System Folder, and a bunch of useful URLs for additional recommended software.

Getting online is crucial to iMac owners, and Chapter Two walks them through the procedure, including an explanation of Explorer and Outlook as the default apps. The author handles new users gently and patiently. I wish somebody had been so thorough with me when I was wrestling with my SE/30, years ago. The book has abundant tips and recommendations, plus hundreds of hand-picked URLs, and is very heavy on making the most of a reader’s Internet experience.

Hey! Half of page 198 is an tasteful promo for My Mac Magazine , with “more than 50 issues”! Nice touch, Don.

Sherlock appears in Chapter Seven, 60 percent into The iMac Book, but I don’t see any tutorial info on AppleWorks or the other bundled software. Thumbing through the book, I continue to observe that more than any other area, the Internet is crucial to Rittner’s vision of what that “i” in iMac represents. How about a new title, Don: The All-Internet iMac Book, or something similar?

Oops, I goofed. Glancing at the inside jacket PR material I read that this book “provides a gold mine of information on how to effectively use the Internet.” Bingo.

Book Bytes RECOMMENDS The iMac Book for iMac (or any Mac) users who have the time, energy, and interest to spend every available hour on the Net. This book has found a permanent place on my bookshelf.

 
My iMac
by Andrew Gore, Jill Baird, and Chris Breen
IDG Books Worldwide

ISBN 0-7645-3317-7, 329 pages plus CD
$19.99 U.S., $29.99 Canada, £18.99 U.K.

The publisher was clever in sending me a pre-publication version of this title, without realizing we have the opportunity to compare four new books on the iMac in this month’s Book Bytes. A bound version will arrive by the time this review is published, at which time I’ll be able to examine the extensive software on the included CD, such as:

• commercial and shareware utilities

• productivity and entertainment shareware and demos

• Internet software enhancements.

With a big-name lead author and attractive, affordable pricing, IDG’s My iMac comes in swinging into the crowded field of books for iMac owners.

When the manuscript arrived, I hopped out of our postage-stamp swimming pool and used the book to block the blinding Arizona sun while I read it cover to cover. The authors begin with straightforward computer and online setup directions, then address the important considerations in transferring software and data from an existing Macintosh. Good thinking! Not all iMac owners are newbies.

Extensive photos and instructions come next, to help with the physical job of upgrading RAM and other hardware, followed by practical system-wide hints for optimum efficiency. Readers then are treated to a lengthy “Soft Side of the iMac” chapter on all that “OS stuff” that often takes years for new users to grasp.

AppleWorks, web browsing, home page creation, and email each receive an entry-level chapter, with just enough description to enable a first-time user to get started and not feel clueless. Well-placed “Terms and Misdemeanors” serve as chapter glossaries of new terminology. I have mixed feelings on the chapter dedicated to Quicken, which delves into Internet-based resources for personal finance rather than a comprehensive look at more standard usage, from this reviewer’s perspective.

The three final chapters on troubleshooting and support are exemplary, and should be implanted into the brains of every Mac person!

Once again I am guessing as to a book’s target audience. For My iMac, I’ll lean toward the person with previous Mac experience who wants to get the most out of the new purchase. Other iMac users should definitely consider this RECOMMENDED book from IDG, because the information is solid and the writing is straightforward.

 
Easy iMac In Full Color
by Lisa Lee
Que Corporation

ISBN 0-7897-1992-4, 303 pages
$19.99 U.S., $29.95 Canada, £18.49 U.K.

I can’t help it! I’m totally enamored of how-to books that are full of colorful pictures with numbered lessons. This title includes eleven color-coordinated thematic chapters, for easy and attractive navigation and study.

Flip to any page, and you will find:

• individual itemized tasks, charmingly illustrated

• columns of tips and techniques

• numbered lessons.

Let’s try it, and thumb to page 194 and 195, containing “Part 8, Task 12: Using File Sharing:”

If your iMac is on a network, you can share files with other computers on the network. If another Macintosh is on the network, the other Mac can directly access the iMac on the network using File Sharing.

The author then proceeds to demonstrate how to select the File Sharing control panel, and in eight steps takes us to sharing “any Mac that logs onto your computer with guest access.”

Ideal users of Easy iMac In Full Color are people who are new to the Mac, and who learn best via individual illustrated lessons. Lisa Lee thoughtfully makes the Internet her first priority, enabling readers to sign up and log in early in the book. If people want to delve deeper into additional Mac pursuits, they can do so at their own speed.

Both fun and serious subjects are covered, ranging from “Playing Games” and “Using Stickies” to “Editing a QuickTime Movie” and “Defragmenting a Disk.” The design of the book is so appealing that I’m tempted to borrow Pete Miner’s new iMac for a couple of months (“Don’t even think about it, John!”) so I can work through every lesson in Easy iMac In Full Color.

Don’t buy this book for yourself if you are an experienced Macintosher. Instead, for $20 U.S., give it as a gift to someone who will let you use it whenever you need a little sparkle in your computing life. RECOMMENDED.

 
Genealogy Online for Dummies, 2nd Edition
by Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm
Dummies Press

ISBN 0-7645-05453-2, 308 pages plus CD
$24.99 U.S., $35.99 Canada, £23.99 U.K.

The Internet is the perfect medium for family history research. This book contains both software and extensive site listings to get you started. Experienced web browsing readers will get their money’s worth from Genealogy Online for Dummies by locking the door and spending several hours daily cruising the recommended URLs and links.

Even better, the authors provide sensible advice on how to prepare and structure both your real-world and Net-based investigations, including the use of census and historical archives. Special sidebars provide focused information for readers, including “Keys to an effective query” and “Comparing search engines” for designated family names.

Ethnic research ranges from Africa to Native Americans, Hispanics, and those of us from European and Asian backgrounds. Did you wake up today with an urge to delve into the Norwegian Migration Database—in Norwegian? Look no further than Genealogy Online for Dummies for the web address.

The physical family tree gets extensive coverage, with live examples from actual family documentarians. Readers are encouraged to post the results of their genealogical work on the Internet, for future searchers.

This book is one of the most easy to use and practical Dummies titles reviewed here in Book Bytes. I congratulate the authors on their content and presentation. A favor: please use your mighty resources to document the Chicago branch of the Nemerovski family, going back to… !
RECOMMENDED.

 
The Mac OS 8.6 Book: The Ultimate Macintosh User’s Guide
by Mark R. Bell
Coriolis Group

ISBN 1-57610-443-5, 599 pages plus CD
$39.99 U.S., $58.99 Canada, £37.49 U.K.

I congratulate the author and publisher for being first off the starting block with a book covering OS 8.6. Book Bytes will review additional titles as they are released, to help readers with their purchases.

The initial 100 pages of Part One will be routine to experienced Macintosh users, and will be most helpful to newcomers to the Mac way of life: System Folder, Finder, and Desktop. Mark Bell is able to cover every detail for proficient use of the standard Mac interface in a way that makes for easy reference-style reading and learning.

Three chapters then address “Customizing Your Mac,” “Managing Your Data,” and “PowerBook System Software.” If you’re familiar with OS 8.5, you won’t find much that is new here, but again, newbies can learn something valuable on every page.

Part Two is written at a more advanced level. It’s focused on working with applications, including an impressive dose of system-wide supporting material, rather than mentioning any specific third-party apps. In fact, as I spend more time with The Mac OS 8.6 Book, I find myself using it as a thinking-person’s bible for most of the common-sense Macintoshiana that is obvious to the power user, but bewildering to everyone else.

Included in this core-section are noteworthy chapters on memory management, fonts, AppleScript, Java, and multimedia. The final chunk of the book, “Part Three: Networking,” walks us through file sharing and the Internet.

I’m a bit uncertain which is the target audience for this well-crafted book. I’ll guess that the optimum beneficiaries will be experienced Mac users who are not already using OS 8.5 or higher, plus new Macintosh owners who have previous experience with desktop computing. For these readers, I can RECOMMEND The Mac OS 8.6 Book.

 
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sex on the Net
by James Anders, Ph.D., and Rachel Anders
Alpha/Que/Macmillan

ISBN 0-7897-1798-0, 328 pages
$16.99 U.S., $24.95 Canada, £15.49 U.K.

Spread the word: sex is here to stay. Another rumor: porn rules the Internet. James and Rachel Anders should know, because they wrote the book to separate fact from flatulence.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sex on the Net begins with a surprisingly large section addressing basic usage and behavior on the Internet, including the WWW and Usenet, complete with their image and multimedia aspects. I suspect the authors did this deliberately, so readers will be equipped to embrace the Internet on solid ground before becoming frustrated in their pursuits of sexual content.

The book is well-constructed, with bold type for URLs, plus complete cross-platform and cross-browser parity. My hunch is that Anders and Anders are Mac folks who were forced to learn Windoze in order to survive in the real world of mass market book publishing. Every chapter begins with a quick mention of the major topics covered, and concludes with a summary of the most significant items.

More than a book of lists for idiots, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sex on the Net is a compendium of recommended sites and discussion groups containing an extensive range of sexual material. Oh, you want lists? Okay, turn to page 55, for “sexually oriented newsgroups on the Web,” or pages 83-85 for multi-link “sex site lists.”

Safety and security are on the mind of every parent reading this review (plus the minds of you youngsters, for different reasons). The authors provide specific guidance in Chapter Seven, “Safe From Prying Eyes.” The next fifteen chapters explore more sexual topics than I ever cared to consider (that is, unless I were a teenager again), including:

• free and commercial sites

• erotica

• “Let’s Play Dress Up”

and quite a few more. Most of the URLs have brief descriptions of the content, to help readers decide where to browse. Overall there are hundreds of Internet sites mentioned on over 150 pages of the book.

If you’re offended by nudity, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sex on the Net has a few photos of women wearing nothing or not much, but only one of a man. Why the imbalance, Dr. Anders? In fact, the book feels for the most part to be a “guy thing,” which is not a criticism, but may disappoint half the population.

I RECOMMEND this title (“For Mature Audiences ONLY,” as stated on the cover) if you are ready for sex on the Net, because it’s there, and because it’s here, in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sex on the Net.

Dr. James Anders,via email, offered his perspective on my evaluation:

There actually IS coverage for women, but we discovered that there’s little sexual material for them on the web—or that it’s pay only, so we had no way of knowing what the sites actually contained (no previews). What this left us with was a smattering of solid erotic literature sites, romance and love, kissing, etc. Although the bulk of sexual material on the web IS male-oriented, there are scads of sites in the book that should appeal equally to women.

Because my cable modem is hooked to the PC, all the surfing was done from PCs. (I AM a Mac person and did all the WRITING on a Mac.) Like it or not, the best Internet software is typically PC-only. That’s the main reason I have a PC.

You are correct about the Net intro material. We didn’t want to assume any level of knowledge on the reader’s part. We figured that there will probably be lots of people who get Net connections with a main purpose of finding sexual content.

Thank you, Dr. Anders

 
Scanning the Professional Way
by Sybil Ihrig and Emil Ihrig
Osborne/McGraw-Hill

ISBN 0-07-882145-2, 148 pages
$21.95 U.S.

Why would a major publisher keep an “old” title active in the catalog? This book hit the shelves in 1995, which feels like many generations ago in terms of hardware and software versions.

Book Bytes has only reviewed two previous titles on this topic, and the quantity of books dealing with scanning is surprisingly small. Does anybody really need the help of a book just to scan images and documents, you ask?

In spite of astounding reductions in the prices of low-end scanners, the fundamental technology and theory behind scanning hasn’t changed much. If you are the sort of person who asks yourself “How Resolution Affects Workflow,” or needs to know about “Descreening Previously Printed Visuals,” your $$$ may be well-spent on Scanning the Professional Way.

A sixteen-page color gallery of illustrations is both fascinating and informative, and the book contains numerous graphics and charts. I’m not the best person to verify the material in this book, because my scanning requirements are so modest. If you are concerned with “scanning” and “professional” in the same thought, I suggest you take a peek at this title to determine if will help you in your work.

 

•John Nemerovski•

Websites mentioned: