I recently decided to make the switch from PC to Mac. The last time I had a Mac was 1997, which was the era of System 7. I have browsed seven -- count them, seven -- books now on Mac OS X Panther, and I can tell you without a doubt that this is the only book you need if you're new to Mac and/or switching from Windows (or Linux, for that matter).

Most of the other books (including Mastering Mac OS X and the Robin Williams Mac OS X Book) provided nothing more than ancillary, high level information that a third grader would know. None told you anything that 15 minutes playing around wouldn't, and 85% of most targeted new users. Seriously, do you really need to know the top of the mouse is called the "button" (graphic included) and how to "click" and/or -- wait for it -- double-click this button? Seriously, it sounds crazy, but these other books actually spend chapter after chapter on elementary concepts such as how to click the mouse and how to drag-and-drop an icon.

The Missing Manual (this book), instead seems to target the average computer user. I found the writing much easier to read (mainly because I didn't have to browse through pages of elementary instruction), and important information like keyboard shortcuts and using the terminal were easier to find. When I'm reading a 700+ page book, it's very important for me to be able to browse (or speed read) quickly. I found this book very condusive for that.

If you're a software developer (like me), I might suggest two other books that build on the foundation covered by this book. Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther is a great book for transitioning to the terminal/console included in OS X. Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell is another great book because over half of it is spent on Unix tools like vi and bash, and includes a full reference of commands at the end. Like all the books in the Nutshell series, the sections are tabbed on the side, making it very easy to flip to a particular section. However, I do not recommend either of these books for non-developers or for someone looking for a foundation of Mac OS X.

If I could give this book ten stars and burn the rest, I would.
I hope the information proves useful.

......................................................................

This book is as much an advertisement for OSX as it is help. Pogue starts by introducing OSX as "the best personal-computer operating system on earth" - which it very well might be - and keeps on singing his ode to Apple on the remaining 750 pages of the manual.

Don't get me wrong: I am an Apple fan myself. After having used Windows for over a decade, two years ago I finally got myself a G4 Powerbook and I swear by it. I am now a walking ad for Apple, short of tattooing one on my forehead. I have learned to use OSX without a manual and decided to get myself one just to be on the safe side.

I spent a whole day reading through different OSX manuals in the store before picking "The Missing Manual" and, unfortunately, as of today do not have an alternative recommendation. I am also aware of how hard it must be to write a good manual. However, in absolute terms, this one still sucks.

OSX is mainly self-explanatory and, where it is not, this book rarely helps. It is not useless, just very incomplete, full of praise and poorely organized.

I use my Powerbook for video-editing, I network, use AirPort and a few other gadgets and usually manage with the help of my regular genius brain and Apple's resources. I did learn a few tricks from this manual as well. However, I would need a manual that helps me (just a tiny bit) with troubleshooting. This one does not.

I am glad I bought this volume and it may very well be the best on the market. But who cares? The fact that there may be no better book out there does not mean we have to waste all our stars on this one. If you find the manual we are still missing, please let us know your name - the place on my forehead is still vacant.

Contrary to popular belief, the Macintosh operating systems is not so intuitive, especially Mac OS X.

Fortunately, David Pogue comes to the rescue with Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. This is a very helpful reference.

This book payed for itself in the first 20 pages as far as I'm concerned. My first few days with my new iMac (before I got this book), were far more frustrating than I'd anticipated. As soon as this beauty arrived however it was like the honeymoon really began. I'm sure there are others out there that are very good, but for my taste this book has the perfect balance of depth and brevity. Just for reference sake, I generally find QuickStart books from PeachPit a bit too brief.

The manual has some insightful tips but I was disappointed to find that it covers version 3 of iDVD and iMovie and not version 4 of these apps.

While I am new to Macintosh I have been a Windows system engineer for several years and have used countless referance books, this is one of the best for gaining a basic understanding of the operating system and the tools that come with OS X. The book doesn't really cover the in-depth technical details that a technician looks for in a book but this is not really part of what this book is meant for. It does however cover the MAC OS and where to find basic configuration settings like network prototcol settings, printer settings etc. The book also covers the iApps, iCal, iChat, iDVD, i Mail, iMovie, iPhoto, iPod, iSync and iTunes applications in exact user friendly detail and has a lot of screen shots. For people new to MAC it also covers useful things like keyboard shortcuts and some basic UNIX commands. What I like about this book is that it is easy to understand and use. I really enjoy researching from this book, the answers are easy to find.

This book is big and covers a lot of territory. It does a very good job describing how to use OS X, the pre-installed applications, and keyboard shortcuts. By far the best parts of this books can be found in highlighted and 'tips' sections strewn throughout the text.

Unfortunately I found this book lacking in details. For example the Keychain feature, which is like a lock box for passwords and other confidential information, is only given ~3 pages. Because applications can query this information and there's no real analog in other systems, I feel that more text should have been devoted to this feature. Fortunately the NSA had the information I was looking for in their "Securing OS X" document.

Over all this book has everything most users would want to know. However, if like me you're looking to get under the hood this book won't get you there. This book gets 3.5 stars; it's not a replacement for a tech manual, it's verbose and yet still misses details.

This books covers most of what all regular users of Mac OS X might want to know - or at least be able to look up. It is written in an easy to understand way, without becoming too simple. It is matter of fact and clear. The book describes all parts of Mac OS X Panther, without making it too complicated. For most regular users the level of knowledge this books gives is quite enough - and some might say that it is even too much.


I warmly recommend this book to anyone using Mac OS X who wants to know some more about the operating system and all that it involves. It also has some simple trouble-shooting, various tips, a very good listing in one of the appendixes of Where Did It Go? meaning some of the things in OS9 compared to Mac OS X Panther.


I use this book for my courses about Mac OS X for regular users and have also used its two former versions.

I bougt this book because I bought an ibook and i didn't know anything about Mac OS X, so if you are a windows user and you want to know how to use mac OS X like a pro, all you need is this book.

Macs are wonderful machines, but their ease of use can be deceptive. Most users can figure out how to do basic functions; but there is so much more that can be done with a little guidance.

Apple, however, provides little documentation - and the online Help files are of marginal value at best.

As a result, a good manual is pretty important to help you get the most out of your machine (and there is way more under the hood than most users realize). Pogue's Missing Manuals are beautifully written and easy to follow, and truly are the manuals that should have shipped in the box! Highly recommended!

You know what? English is not my first language, but I speak it fluently. For people like me it is quite annoying when the writer is using "synonyms" option in their word processing program every time just to look coooool... Here:
1. When I saw this book I said when I opened the package - "Oh my God!" It was huge!
2. I opened it, and instantly felt a deep feeling of appreciation for an ease of use. David - thank you for valuing MY TIME!
3. It is funny in many places! What a relief!! Entertaining and useful at the same time.
4. It explains everything! C'mon! I was reading some picture manual recently and it was really hard! I got lost after Chapter 1 (with all cool looking pictures around)...
5. Just buy it - trust me, it's worth every dollar you invest.
And finally....
Mac Rules!!!

I reference this book again and again, in fact it's been able to answer all the questions I've had with Panther. If only I had found out about this book as soon as my Dad upgraded my iBook, it would have saved many a headache!

My problem with most computer "how to" books is that I either can't understand them or they are written for "dummys". This book, however, is written in an easy to follow style and uses simple language.

I recommend this book to anyone who has upgraded to Panther, is thinking of upgrading to Panther, or may some day in the future upgrade to Panther. It's just that good!!

I'm pretty experienced with OS X, but I knew there were a lot of changes with Panther, so I figured this book was a good buy. I've read previous "Missing Manual" stuff by Pogue (as well as some of his other books) and went into this one expecting no less.

And I was not disappointed.

I've been using Panther now since November, and picked up this book at the same time. And it still sits on my desk as a reference, because I haven't been able to commit all the tips and help to memory. This is also a pretty good book for users new to OS X, but as an experienced user, Pogue points out all the little tips and tricks that make OS X a dream to use.

I have been using Macs since OS 6 was the operating system. Now, several years and many operating systems later, I finally broke down and purchased this "how-to" Mac book. It's gigantic and I certainly wasn't going to sit down and start reading. I put it on the night table and one night I looked up a topic and there was the answer to my query! That was encouraging. Then the next night, I picked up the tome again and started leafing through the topics in which I was interested. To my surprise and chagrin, I was learning new Mac stuff. You think you know it all and then another system comes along and screws with the status quo. Oh well...

It's this simple: you can't go wrong with David Pogue. His stuff is always very useful, practical, and interesting. Not to metion funny. I've used Macs since '95, and he's taught me most of what I know and I've had fun learning it. There are other good sources and authors out there, but if you're looking to buy one instructional/ reference book - you've found it. I've read reader reviews criticizing the length of this tome, but that just means you can just pick it up every now and then and find something you haven't seen yet. I even find myself buying the new edition every time this particular (OS X) series is updated. This book can be a great part of the whole Mac experience.

This is the third iteration of "Mac OSX: The Missing Manual", by David Pogue. It updates the contents to cover the new features and elements of OS 10.3, known as "Panther" which is touted as having 150 new features. I've already described the previous editions as representing the best of software manual writing and this edition continues that excellence.

The format, structure, and graphical features are the same as the earlier editions, although this volume is a bit larger, at 763 pages, including index. All the important and most popular features of Panther are covered comprehensively, including the new Sidebar navigation feature, the Exposé application "launcher", FileVault encryption, the return of the Labels feature, and fast-user switching. The new applications are covered here also, like the built-in fax program, iChat AV, and the Font Book font manager.

Pogue is best when he provides power-user tips and discloses hidden or little-known features of Panther. The nearly-obscure ColorSync control panel now illustrates gamut spaces in color profiles, for example, and he describes "Pixlet", a new video codec which is a lossless highly efficient video compression tool (supposedly designed for use by Pixar employees and associates only).

Other little-known tidbits include descriptions and insights to some of the Developer tools on the XCode Tools CD . There is an OSX version of Simple Text which includes a sound-record feature, not available anywhere else in Panther or in OSX applications, with the exception of iMovie. A special feature is the addition of mini-manuals on Safari and the iLife applications - iMovie, iPhoto, iChat, and iTunes.

Look, if you get this book, you will probably not read it all. Not because it is wrong or badly written. But the sheer size...Over 750 pages, covering every aspect of OS X Panther that the author thinks would be useful to even the rawest newbie to a Mac. In some ways, the bulk is one answer to the question posed on the cover, "The book that should have been in the box". Yes, that is a statement, not a question. But implicitly, behind it is the question of why Apple declined to ship a comprehensive manual with the machine. Apple is trying to claw back the market share it once had. One way is to attract newcomers by offering something that is so easy and intuitive that it is self evident. Whereas a book of this length might scare them off.

This leaves an opening that Pogue is readily trying to fill. There are screen captures on most pages, which in no small part adds to the book's heft. But the figures and text explain their subjects well.

Experienced unix users may well find joy here. If you worked on AIX, HPUX, IRIX, Solaris or others, you know that they have basically standardised on the Common Desktop Environment GUI, which is very nice. But OS X is also a unix. Eerie. An alternate universe where there are the familiar terminal windows and command lines. But the GUI has been totally reworked. Logically very coherent and polished, once you get used to it, perhaps with this book to help you.

David Pogue has definitely gotten the Missing Manual format down pat. His latest endeavor, the fourth in his Mac OS series, Mac OS X: The Missing Manual (Panther Edition) has built upon his previous versions and takes the reader through the "joys" of OS X Panther. From install to Terminal use, Mr. Pogue walks you through the process of getting down and dirty with Panther.

Starting with what one sees when they first start up Panther, Mr. Pogue takes the reader through the basics of the Mac desktop; folders and windows, organizing things, the Dock, the Sidebar, and how to arrange and rearrange things to suit your own tastes and needs. Experienced Mac and OS X users may find things slow at the beginning, but Mr. Pogue does provide the whys and wherefores of Panther in a well-written, easy to understand manner that does make it a pleasure to read through every section. Mr. Pogue makes excellent use of hi-lighted boxes bearing titles of Frequently Asked Questions, Up to Speed, Nostalgia Corner, Gem in the Rough, Power Users' Clinic and Troubleshooting Moment to explain and add emphasis to what is being covered in that chapter or section. The screen shots also add to explaining things as you go along.

As you read through the book, you are shown OS X programs, the use of OS 9 in the scheme of things "X", and then the components of OS X that are available with the software. You are also shown the free programs that come with OS X; Font Book, iCal, iTunes, iSync, Safari, Sherlock, QuickTime Player, to name a few, and how to make use of their capabilities. Want to import pictures from your digital camera to your Mac? Page 288 will show you how, and then show you how to share them, print them and finally email them out to friends and family.

Mr. Pogue then takes you into the technology of OS X and its UNIX underpinnings. Administrator and Standard accounts are shown, their setup and usage, signing in, logging out, Fast User switching, Networking... the list just goes on. Every aspect of the OS is shown and explained, from A to Z. Best of all, Pogue does it with humor, wit and a writing style that doesn't bog you down or put you to sleep, particularly when you get into the aspects of UNIX. For new users of the Mac or new converts to OS X, Unix and the use of Terminal is geek-speak to the nth degree. Bash, tcsh, pwd, Is, cd, mv, rm, srm, using man; they're explained and their usage is also shown. While you might not want to use them, it's good to have the knowledge available just in case you have to use it somewhere down the line.

I was a bit surprised at the amount of little gems that I picked up as I read through the book. Access to the Character Palette, keyboard viewer, storing Apple Software Updates... how many of you know that you can save that Software Update by choosing UpdateÆInstall and Keep Package? Want to play a game of chess but have no one to play with right now? Why not try playing against your Mac by going into your Applications folder, double-clicking on Chess and then choosing new game. Have a microphone available? Try using the voice-recognition feature and tell your Mac what moves you want to make where. Are you a new convert from an older Mac OS and you've just switched to OS X and you're not sure what happened to some of your favorite Mac features? Not to worry as Appendix C provides you with a complete guide as to what stayed and to what disappeared. Oh, and for the new Mac users who have switched from Windows, don't worry, Appendix D will provide you with a handy-dandy listing of what does what in OS X.

Oh, by the way, when you first open the book, there on the inside cover is a drawing of the Missing CD-ROM that didn't come with the book and that just saved you $5.00 off the cost. Not to fear, you are directed to go to http://www.missingmanuals.com and click on the Missing CD icon. Once there, you will find links to 22 sites containing additional software that Mr. Pogue covers in the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is well written and covers what a Mac user needs to know to work with OS X Panther. As has been stated in the past with Mr. Pogue's other Missing Manual books- this is what should have come in the box with your Mac. But since it didn't, run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore or online book seller and get yourself a copy of Mac OS X - The Missing Manual (Panther Edition) This is a definite must-have for Mac OS X users!

Highly Recommended!

My Mac Rating: 5 out of 5
http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=1313

It shouldn't really surprise anyone that David Pogue has once again produced an unqualified success in the third edition of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. Since OS X came out, I've read and reviewed some dozen Mac books, but when it comes time to pick a single volume to recommend to friends making the switch, I invariably choose Pogue's. It's true that OS X beginners can understand it without any problems, but that shouldn't suggest that it's somehow too simple for veteran users - it's just that the text is exceptionally clear, meaning that even beginners won't find it too scary or confusing. While other books are bigger (Mac OS X Unleashed) and others are written specifically for a more advanced audience (Mac OS X Power Tools), the Missing Manual is the best all-purpose book on the subject, and one that should be in the library of pretty much anyone who runs OS X.

As I see it, there are really two groups of people who might be wondering whether or not they ought to buy Pogue's new Panther book: Mac users who own a previous edition of the Missing Manual, and those who don't. For the latter folks, the short answer is yes - you should buy this book. And for the former, the short answer is probably. Keeping in mind that all the various online retailers offer significant discounts on the book, and that you can also get 30% off if you've registered a previous edition with O'Reilly, it's going to only wind up costing you about twenty bucks, and it's definitely worth it. The book hasn't just been updated to reflect changes and new features in Panther - it's also been updated to reflect reader feedback on previous versions, including things like more information for people migrating from Windows, and mini-manuals on some of the iLife applications. There isn't a single page that hasn't been changed from the Jaguar edition of the book (and there are over seven hundred pages).

Some of my Mac-using friends have told me that they haven't picked up anything from the Missing Manual series because they're under the impression that they're basically novice guides. This is both right and wrong - it's absolutely true that beginners will get their money's worth from a Missing Manual and that they won't get lost in an abundance of overtechnical discussion. The part that isn't true, however, is the implication that these are books only for beginners. I've been using Macs for over ten years now (and various Unix-like systems for five), but my copies of the Missing Manuals get dog-eared and underlined more than any other technical books I own. One of the reasons I'd dispute the claim that this book isn't useful for advanced users is that sprinkled throughout are dozens of little productivity notes - a keystroke here, a shortcut tip there - and this is the stuff that I, at least, really get off on, while it seems like novice users tend to be content with straightforward dragging and double clicking. I dive into Part One ("The Mac OS X Desktop") with my Mac in easy reach not because I don't know how to minimize a window, but because I had no idea that (for example) there's now a Finder keystroke to jump immediately to the parent directory. That's not to say topics typically associated with power users aren't given their due, though. Even people who know their Unices (and Unix workalikes) will probably welcome the coverage of NetInfo Manager and other OS X oddities. If you find yourself stuck on some particular topic, chances are it's covered here. It's not by any means an exhaustive guide to BSD, but it's a good way to get started with Darwin. I end up using this book often enough that it has its own place of honor on top of my G4 (my other Mac books are also nearby, of course, but they're not necessarily quite so handy).

Aside from the little-bit-of-everything approach, one of the most refreshing features of the Missing Manuals series remains the writing itself - surprisingly readable, often funny, and rarely confusing. These are some of the few technical books that I'm willing or able to read cover to cover, and some of them I've even read in bed or on the subway. As for specific parts and chapters that stand out from the rest: the new mini-manuals dealing with iLife applications like iTunes and iPhoto are a welcome addition. They'd been more or less ignored in previous editions of the OS X book, since they've got their own books, but the Panther edition introduces a section on each to get you started. Another of my favorite portions of the book is the addition of Appendix F, the Master Mac OS X Secret Keystroke List. It will take a while before I'm able to memorize all of them, and in the meantime it's great to have them all collected in one place.

The premise that this is the book that should come with every new Mac is right on the money.

I would never dream of upgrading to the latest OS without reading author David Pogue's insights about how to make the most of the new system.

From the start, the beauty of the Mac OS had been that users never had to memorize a lot of random codes and commands to become adequately familiar with the way the system worked. But the way I look at it, it's not always enough to be adequate: why spend so much buying the latest platform software without spending a little more to learn about the two-thirds of it that isn't easy to figure out intuitively?

But it's not just the information in the book that makes Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition - like its predecessors - is so good. It's also Mr. Pogue's breezy writing style: he somehow manages to be easy to understand to beginners without sounding patronizing to those with a stronger background.

Mr. Pogue's essential guides to and articles about the Mac OS have become nearly as central a component to the Mac experience as a user's favorite web browser or that latest version of iTunes. If you use the Panther OS, you can't afford not to have this book.

For Jaguar (Mac OS 10.2) I purchased Ray's "Unleashed" volume. I wanted a different take this time around, especially for hints about undocumented features in Panther - because although I routinely peruse the MacNN forums, there are SO many new shortcuts and features to keep track of I wanted it in a book.

David has not disappointed - within minutes I found several tips on Mail and Safari that were well worth the modest Amaz price. I've been using Macs for nearly twenty years, so there's obviously a lot here that's not new to me - but there's a lot that is! The "Missing Manual" had doubled the value of my having upgraded to Panther (OS 10.3). It has made it easy for me to start taking advantage of system features that I never took the time to figure out.

The section on the Terminal and Unix command line is brief, but still a very helpful intro to the complete newbie for understanding whether/why one would want to learn more about those power-tools within your Mac. If you really want to get deeply into that, you'll probably want to go with something like O'Reilly's "Learning Unix for Mac OS X" (ISBN 0596003420 ) after reading David's intro.

As with David's "iMovie Missing Manual" the writing is very comfortable - clear and pleasant, lightened with occasional humor (but without the obsessive lame jokey-ness of some computer guides "for dummies"). This does not FEEL like reading a manual... but is incredibly helpful as one!

This is a great OSX book but mine showed up with pages 622 through
668 REPEATED then at page 668 it jumps to page 717. Talk about the "Missing
Manual"! Not Pogue's fault but when books are rushed to print.......

I have read several mac manuals, and since I have been using macs since 1985, with my first mac being an Apple iic, I have read tons of manuals and consider David Pogues one of the best if not the very best.

David puts everything step by step right at your fingertips. I can tell if the book is well written by looking for certain simple questions to be answered and David does this. You wouldn't believe how many other authors leave the simple rudimentary things out. This will drive most new users nuts.

Simply put, if you don't understand what David Pogue writes than you need to spend more time with your Mac, because, this is the manual that should have came with the Mac

If you have read any of the Missing Manual book series, particularly ones by David Pogue (on OSX 10.1&2, iMovie, iPhoto, Switching to the Mac), you might expect this OS X Panther Edition to cover all aspects of Apple's newest operating system in depth, to offer plenty of tips not only about what the system and its programs do but why you might want to use them, to provide tips about undocumented features, to suggest additional resources including books, web sites, and news groups, and to employ a writing style that is clear and humorous without being condescending or smug. That's a lot to ask of any book, let alone a computer manual. Pogue delivers all of it. Maybe that's why he's "the #1 bestselling Macintosh author" (back cover). In fact, if all you want to know is whether to buy this book--and you do need a manual if you expect to learn how best to use your Mac--, here's the answer: yes.

Here's a short list of reasons you'll want this book. Apple claims Panther has 150 new features, but Pogue says this is actually an undercount (2), and says about his book there's not "a single page that hasn't changed since the last edition" (7), which covered 10.1 and 10.2. While reading the book, I marked over 50 new features that are important to my workstyle, but in the interests of brevity, these are the ones most likely to appeal to all users. Panther has a new sidebar to complement the dock (18-20); Filevault can encrypt and decrypt your account transparently (363-66); window management is much easier with Exposé (124-28); servers and shared folders--even from PCs--appear automatically in the sidebar (18, 22, 397); Safari is improved and installed as the default browser (640-51); Text Edit can open and save Microsoft Word format, though not footnotes, unfortunately (311); Image Capture can work over a network, and can control scanners and web cams (275-76); Preview works much faster and can search and copy text from PDF files AND can open raw Postscript files, which means they can be saved as PDFs that can be printed at clear resolutions on cheapo inkjet printers (297, 435); print dialog boxes now offer saving as pure Postscript (427); color labels for files/folders are back from OS 9 (74); all menus, dialog boxes, and the dock now can be controlled from the keyboard (18, 138); Digital Color Meter can grab color values from images and web pages (316); Font Book allows you to form sets that you can turn on and off as needed (436-42); the calculator finally acquires scientific capabilities, a "paper" tape, and performs conversions (263, 331); Disk Utility now offers the option to clone a hard drive--good news for people in charge of Mac labs (317-18), and it can burn multiple sessions on a CD (340); faxing is now built in (431-35); GIMP-Print is included, a Unix collection of print drivers for scads of older printers (421); Virtual Private Networking to connect to corporate networks is much improved; Mail has at least nine major improvements, including seamless cooperation with Microsoft's Exchange Server; iChatAV is free along with a free iChatAV account at .Mac is (615-16).

Oh, and the default volume format for hard drives is journaled (692) for better troubleshooting, and for security Panther redoes group designations for user accounts (407, 511) and adds a master password that sits between administrator privileges and root (365, 376). If anything in that last sentence is foreign to you, that's another reason to buy this book. Also, Panther permits scheduling of print jobs (427)--a big boon on networks--and of unattended startup and shutdown (241). It even includes the ability to Zip and unZip files (94), and to clone your .Mac iDisk on your hard drive (564) for greater speed. Overall, it's also faster than previous versions.

The book now contains mini-manuals for iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes, even though the Missing Manual series has book treatments of each. Of course, the Panther book skips all the tips, tricks, and resources for these programs, but it has enough to get you going successfully. And the appendixes include installation (A), troubleshooting (B), and "secret keystroke list" (F).

Also, the book is fun to read. Pogue's style faintly resembles that of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry. For example, in his discussion of AppleScript Studio (216), his aside is "ASS for short--how did that one get past Marketing?"

All is not perfect, however. Grammar snafus occur about one per 100 pages (!) and of five factual errors, only one (583) is really confusing because it refers to a picture that doesn't exist in the text (although what you're supposed to see has just been explained clearly). And two discussions confused me: about Firewire networks (390ff) and about command-line (Unix) file searching (518). But another benefit of the Missing Manual series is that once I've reported these miscues to Pogue, they'll be incorporated into subsequent printings of the book. Pogue pledges (9) to keep the book current with Apple's continuing updates of 10.3 (this printing [11] covers through 10.3.2), and to keep errata lists--along with much of the software mentioned in the book--on the website (www.missingmanuals.com). My previous experience with six other books in this series suggests that Pogue will indeed keep book and web site updated.

This book was a real eye opener. There are so many hidden features and capabilities in Panther (and OS X in general) that it really raised my appreciation for the amount of work Apple puts into it's new "cat" releases. Reading this book can save you some money on buying software when you find out what you can do with the free stuff Apple puts in. Did you know TextEdit can read and create Word documents and has amazing font controls? That Stickies can hold pictures, movies and URLs and also has amazing font controls? That Preview does Adobe PDF files much better than Acrobat Reader? It amazes me that Microsoft brags about the buggy, insecure, half hearted attempts at operating systems they produce (I'm also a long time Windows user and administrator so I feel qualified to make that statement) while Apple produces the tecnological GEM "OS X" and doesn't even tell people about it's long list of capabilities! Get the book!

This is the third edition of this book, and this really should come with every Mac. Earlier editions of this book were very good, and this one is even better. In honesty, I haven't yet finished it, but that is almost a feature, because I find that I need to read it page-by-page.

This book is written in an easy, converational style. David Pogue answers your questions and often -anticipates- them. He clearly has a grasp of the subject matter and his readers. The only flaw in this book is that tidbits are on every page, and if you skim the book, you are going to overlook useful things. The book has to be read, sometimes almost line-by-line to catch everything he presents. This is okay though, you'll WANT to read every line.

One sample of the writing is worth repeating. When David describes "Expose", a new Window navigation system in OS 10.3, he says, "In essence, Apple has finally realized that the Desktop really ISN'T "just another program." If the layer of open programs is the atmosphere, the Finder is the earth below." Almost poetry, in a computer manual!

If you only get one book to learn about Mac OSX, this is it.