Mac OS X Killer Tips (10.2)
Author: Scott Kelby
Publisher: New Riders
Price: US $29.99
Hi, my name is Tim Robertson, and somehow I seem to have become the official reviewer of all books Kelby. Scott Kelby that is, author maniac who seems to have a new book published every other month over there at New Rider Publishing. I mean, a Photoshop 7 Killer Tips book, The Naked Truth book, Photo-Retouching book, a Down and Dirty Tricks Photoshop book, and now a Mac OS X Killer Tips book. (I just noticed something. Dirty, Secret, Naked…is Scott Kelby writing for Penthouse on the side as well?)
I think there is something strange going on here. No one can write this many books! I think he has some sort of Evil Word Marco thingie running, churning out these books for him. He simply feeds in the type of book he wants to publish, and the Evil Word Macro does the rest. Screen grabs, paragraphs, you name it. Takes about a week and a half. He then goes through and makes some very minor adjustments, adds a few jokes (an Evil Word Macro has no sense of humor, as we all know) and calls it good.
But here’s the thing. Each and every one of his books are really, really good. The Naked Truth was fantastic. His Down and Dirty Photoshop 7 book is a must have for users of that program. And his latest, the focus of this review, is Mac OS X Killer Tips, seems to be on par or above all his others.
Laden with humor and (for the most part) worthwhile tips, Mac OS X Killer Tips is a great addition to any Mac OS X users library of titles. This edition covers OS X 10.2 (Jaguar for those in the know) very well. It includes a screen capture image of what Scott is describing in almost every instance.
The book is full color, with razor-sharp imagery. Coming in at 267 pages, it may seem a small book, but it is packed with enough relevant information to satisfy almost anyone using Apple’s latest operating system.
I very much enjoyed reading this book. I liked the layout a great deal, as well as the words on the page. Scott Kelby is quickly becoming an author in whom I find the need to get his latest book, a position for a computer and technology writer reserved only for David Pogue on my desk up to now. Scott writes with a sense of humor I find very appealing, as well as a great technical grasp of his subject material. He really seems to put a lot of himself in the books he writers, and makes no apologies for being a die-hard Mac head.
Mac OS X Killer Tips is thirteen chapters long. It covers everything from iDVD tips to troubleshooting. From Stickies tricks to annoying pranks you can play on another Mac user. (If you can get your hands on their computer while they are away.) Sherlock 3 is covered here, as is Mail, all the “i” applications, Address Book, and much more. I found the Finder tips to be the most fun, though, and took quite a few ideas away from this book that I have instituted in my own daily computer life. (No small feat there, as I am a Power User to the bone.)
A really, really good read. Well worth the $29.99 asking price. You will find yourself going back to it often to learn or refresh yourself on some of the tips you will learn in its pages.
MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
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