Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series
Publisher: Peachpit Press
ISBN: 13: 978-0-321-50263-6
Price: $24.00
Page Count: 458
http://www.peachpit.com
Whether you are an experienced Mac user, new to the Mac or just switching over from a PC, you won’t go wrong by getting renowned Mac author Robin Williams’ new book, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Known for her ability to teach others, Ms. Williams does so with this book by not having chapters but lessons. She starts at the beginning by introducing the Desktop and Finder to the reader, running them through the entire capabilities of Leopard until at Lesson 24 Ms. Williams covers securing your Mac. Using great graphics at each step, each section clearly illustrates what Ms. Williams is talking about. Ms. Williams works her magic as she takes one through the basics and the intricacies of Leopard.
As one would expect, Ms. Williams starts you off with the very basics of Leopard, introducing the Desktop and the ins and outs of what everything is, primarily for the new users. She then brings you into a more detailed walk through of the various icons on the Mac, explains the various Library folders that are on the Mac, contextual menus and then keyboard shortcuts.
Lesson 3 introduces you to the Applications of Mac OS X, covering the features that are common with most Mac applications and begins with TextEdit for word processing. Not familiar with Apple’s Mail application? Have no fear, Ms. Williams starts you with the setup of your new account, how to read and send email, works her way through filters, setting up mailboxes and walks you through Notes and To-Do lists.
The “student,†for want of a better word, is then shown the Address Book, Safari, iCal, iChat, iTunes, Preview and then other tools that are available for the user on the Mac. Ms. Williams then gets into the fun stuff; personalizing the Mac so it fits your wants and needs, including preferences. Next, you’re off to the Dashboard, Widgets and then into printing. Ms. Williams continues to work the reader through all aspects of the Mac, explaining not only what items are for but also how to use them to their best advantage. She also walks you through the process of upgrading your Mac to Leopard and how to migrate all of your files and folders to the new system.
The best part of all of her writing and instruction is that she never “talks down†to the reader. No one will feel embarrassed or dumb if they don’t understand something because she will explain each item and then show you the proper way to utilize Leopard or how to do something.
The book is logical, well thought out and is not overwhelming even for the brand new user or beneath a user that is familiar with the Mac operating system.
So to review:
Pro: Well-written book that not only covers what you need to know to properly utilize Mac OS 10.5 Leopard and does so in an energetic, clean and simple way.
Cons: None.
Highly recommended!
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