ISBN059652952X

This is really a great book. I bought a few Apple Leopard books from Amazon and this is the best of the three. It has everything you need to know in a quick reference format. Lockups, booting to a command line, Grey Screen, How to's and everything to get you out of a jam etc... If you want to get one Leopard book you can use and get information quickly to solve a problem this is it. There is also a lot of great information that can be used to become a more proficient user or to enhance your computing experience (things you never thought of that are very useful). The book is actually very interesting and makes for good night time reading to get you fired up for tomorrow morning in front of the computer. Highest Recommendation - A++++

Graduated from OS 10.2.8 t0 Leopard. Also from an old, slow G4 to a new iMac. What a difference!


Had it for several weeks now and no hangups. The "spaces" are new. Once I figured them out I use them all the time. Mail has been upgraded so that I use it instead of Eudora and that's something. To me, Eudora was like an old shoe...it's been with me since 1993!

Overall, IMHO, It's well worth the upgrade.

I have to agree with LifeFX's review below. There is no doubt a lot of information here, but some of it I found somewhat lacking or misleading, and for me, this was made worse by what I considered to be a distracting hyperactive writing syle.

As an example in the section on FileVault, I got the impression from reading a few pages about it that it was something I should start using as soon as possible if I was going to have any security on my Mac! The Mac OS Leopard Bible on the other hand had half a page on it that I found much more factual and descriptive of what FileVault actually does, from which I concluded that I don't really need to use it.

Some examples of where I found the book a little lacking was in how little other security issues were discussed. I found no discussion of viruses other than regarding security issues if you are running Windows with FMWare Fusion or a similar program. On the other hand the Mac OS Leopard Bible discussed viruses in much more depth and even recommended a few relevant antivirus programs. The Special Edition: Using Mac OS X Leopard by Brad Miser does as well. I know a lot of people would like to think that viruses are not relevant to them since they now have a Mac, but it's really not true, as at this point although there are fewer viruses that directly affect the Mac there still are some and others that do not affect the Mac can still pass them on to others if they are imbedded in a Word doc for example.

Another example where I felt the "Bible" went in to more depth in regards to security issues was in it's discussion of how to monitor open ports which are available to outside hackers, and how the port monitor that comes with Leopard is less effective than a recommended alternative.

I am sure that many people will find the writing style to be entertaining. I can see how they would. The author is no doubt an entertaining writer. The author is also to be commended for presenting such a wealth of information in what for many may be a more accessible style. Although all that is true, I think there are other sources of information that may be better in some ways, but then maybe not in others. In any case, I would certainly not say this is the only Mac OS Leopard book you need, nor necessarily the best.

Apple should really survey their customers buying macs - all first time buyers should be sent a copy of this book. It is a great reference manual for new-to-mac users.

David Pogue is probably one of the best after market manual writers out there. This book is no exception. I learned something new with every chapter. The great thing about Pogue's style is his practicality and sense of humor. You wouldn't think an 800 page book would be an easy read but he pulls it off.