Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible
By Galen Gruman, Mark Hattersley, Timothy R. Butler
Paperback: xxxvi + 804 pages; published September 8, 2009 (language: English)
Price: $39.99 (US)
Publisher: Wiley
http://www.wiley.com
ISBN-10: 047045363X
ISBN-13: 978-0470453636

Race in the Snow
There are three ways in which a book on something as potentially ephemeral as an operating system (that’s no denigration: we love our big and powerful cats!) deserves success:

• comprehensiveness
• accuracy, being well-conceived and written
• being published first

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible by Galen Gruman, Mark Hattersley and Timothy Butler certainly wins on the third count. At the time of writing (just ten days after the book’s publication) there is no available competition… the relevant volume in the ‘Missing Manual’ series is still a couple of weeks off, although it’s apparently 200 pages longer. One or two smaller, lighter-weight titles make have been published already – less than a month since 10.6 was made available by Apple – but they don’t try to compete with this excellent Wiley offering in scope or depth. O’Reilly’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard Pocket Guide (ISBN-10: 0596802722; ISBN-13: 978-0596802721) seems to have more material relevant specifically to Snow Leopard than to other versions of OS X.

And this is the key point: you have to turn to the outstanding PDFs made available by the TidBits people for a true distillation of subject matter dealing (almost) exclusively with (the very few material changes introduced in) Snow Leopard. The over 800 substantive pages of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible address much else besides.

Context
That’s no bad thing though: the book is aimed at anyone using OS X from beginners to advanced users. It provides details on navigating the Finder (for instance, there’s a nice little sidebar [on page 40] providing the rationale for the Menu Bar – something with which Windows users may be unfamiliar). The new system’s architecture is laid out, and a good explanation of what is and what isn’t (true) 64-bit is given. There’s a lengthy and reassuring description of installation – important, of course, because this differs from the procedure with earlier 10.n upgrades.

Nor is the breadth of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible’s coverage of the operating system in general something to criticize: given that there are so few really new features to Snow Leopard, it would be unreasonable to expect 800 pages to be devoted to them. Rather, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible is a worthy introduction and reliable reference source to using Apple’s latest operating system – almost whether or not you’re familiar with Leopard (10.5) or earlier versions.

Clearly, much of what’s covered does apply specifically to 10.6 (installation, Spaces and Exposé, Services, some troubleshooting routines, Stacks, the new QuickTime and so on). So, although much of it does not, it would make little sense to buy this book if you’re still running 10.5, 10.4 or earlier – unless to provide an in depth and authoritative insight in what awaits you once you do decide to upgrade (to 10.6).

Snow Leopard-only features, procedures and tips for its use are flagged in Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible with a ‘New Feature’ subheading; they are also set in bold. Usefully, differences between the way things work in the new OS and previous ones are also detailed: e.g. "The Input Sources pane in Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard had been called Input Menu in previous versions, and now has several new controls. Also, the Character Palette is now called the Character Viewer (but is otherwise unchanged)" [581]. These changes are not – unfortunately – aggregated anywhere such that you could gain instant access to everything that’s new in Snow Leopard. There is a ‘Cross-Ref’ icon, but it’s not so widely used as one might have expected, or hoped.

So, if you already own, or intend to own, OS X 10.6, this well-written book is as good an introduction and reliable a reference source as you can currently get and can be thoroughly recommended for all but the most specialist and knowledgeable users of the Mac.

Structure
Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible is divided into five main sections: Getting Started with Snow Leopard (or about 46% of the text of the book); Networking and the Internet (18%); At work with Mac OS X (just 8%); Maintaining your Mac with OS X (17%); and Beyond the Basics (11%). In each section are from three to nine chapters – each further broken down into subsections which deal with specific topics. There is a comprehensive index of 25 pages, and 30 pages of glossary.

This typical Bible arrangement works well and provides ample structure and mileposts, should you decide to work your way right through the book, rather than dip in for topics in which you were interested, which is also possible, given the non-linear narrative and ways in which concepts and terms are covered.

Quality
There are plenty of black and white screen shots, though their reproduction is a little on the small side at a times. Each is referenced sequentially within its chapter – something that might usefully have been done with subsections too… iTunes as music library could have been 9.1, iTunes for podcasts 9.2, for radio 9.3 and so on. Not that the book shows any signs of having been rushed.

Indeed, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible easily meets the other two criteria outlined at the start of this review for success: it is comprehensive (a page and a half is devoted to ‘Enabling Keyboard Assistance’, for example; almost a page to Safari’s ‘speciality’ controls; half a page to the location of fonts on your hard drive etc). It is well written and largely avoids that annoying, ‘chatty’ style which bedevils other authors’ attempts to sound ‘accessible’. At the same time, the language is not forbidding; difficult concepts are explained well. With plenty of white space, topics use clear, consistent and pleasing typographical conventions which make use of bold, indenting, bullets and simple, short paragraphing with plenty of white space.

Using Snow Leopard
Probably the reason that most people will buy Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible is to learn how to make (better) use of the amazingly sophisticated and flexible operating system – in all its complexities. This, indeed, is the declared aim of the authors… "As a new authors team, we have focused much more on providing tips and how-to context so you can get more out of your Mac than ever before" [xxxi].

Since a tutorial approach has been avoided, if you want to skip the chapters on scripting, Automator and the Unix shell script, for example, without then being left high and dry because a step is missing, you can. If you want aggregated in one place many of the keyboard shortcuts useful in navigating the file system, it’s there – actually, in two places. If you need to set up Wi-Fi from scratch, there’s more than enough to get you going – with a nice little introduction to IP addressing [p.441] at the start. Small steps, maybe, but no attempt to infantilism the enthusiast. Most sections conclude with a simple, useful summary. And those procedures and applications (such as printing/faxing and Mail, say) which are more complex are in fact covered step by step; often menu item by menu item. A true (Wiley) Bible.

All the major Apple utilities are outlined – proportionate space being devoted to those which most would agree are of greatest important – Mail, iTunes, Address Book etc. There’s a whole chapter [16, pp 487-476] devoted to Services. MobileMe is covered in great detail; though only a couple of pages devoted to synching in that context. The fact that there are lengthy chapters (of 55, 20 and 22 pages respectively) devoted to system preferences, fonts and security makes it clear that Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible is about the operating system – in the widest sense of the word – and not about all the things like multimedia, twitter, web design and databases that you can do on a modern Mac.

Conclusions
Once you understand – and are satisfied with the fact – that Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible deals with OS X from the point of view of users of the Mac’s operating system, which is now 10.6, Snow Leopard; and that it is not devoted exclusively to the operating system’s new features, you are likely to be impressed by its standard of presentation, handling of the material, comprehensiveness and ease of use. At present this book represents the best available printed resource on Apple’s latest operating system.

Pros: Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible is comprehensive, accurate, accessible and well-researched. It will answer most users’ questions and guide most users – new and ‘seasoned’ – towards getting the best from Snow Leopard.

Cons: For those who are very familiar with OS X, the absence of an aggregated list of new features and functionality in 10.6 is a missed opportunity.

MyMac.com Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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GarageBand 09 (Apple Training Series)
by Mary Plummer
Publisher: Peachpit
Price: $39.99 (US); $47.99 (Canada); £28.99 (UK)
Paperback: 312 pages; published May 11, 2009 (language: English)
ISBN-10: 0321648528
ISBN-13: 978-0321648525
http://www.peachpit.com

History

GarageBand is a music-making application that has grown significantly since its first appearance at MacWorld San Francisco in January 2004. Apple developed it under the lead of Gerhard Lengeling of Emagic, a specialist company which had been acquired by Apple 18 months previously. GarageBand 2 came in 2005; GarageBand 3 a year later. GarageBand 4 (also called GarageBand ’08) two years after that, in 2008.

This year the fifth iteration, GarageBand ’09, was published. In common with the other four versions, GarageBand ’09 forms an integral part of the iLife (in this case, of course, iLife ’09) suite. New in this latest version are the abilities separately to record individual sections of a piece; to create and export iPhone ringtones; support for automated tempi and instruments; a ‘Magic GarageBand’ feature… a virtual ‘jam session’ with a 3D view of the instruments. For electric guitar players there is now a dedicated 3D track. The interface has been redesigned and is easier to use; there are also project templates. Significantly, too, GarageBand ’09 includes its own music lessons and allows the user to buy instructional videos by contemporary musicians.

These – and the rest of GarageBand ’09′s features – are the subject of a new, comprehensive and very well-written and produced book by Mary Plummer.

Despite the bundled tutorials, paper-based instruction is still very useful. Such a book as this is particularly welcome to anyone new to the software, which requires Mac OS X 10.5. or above. The GarageBand ’09 software’s functionality and interface can be confusing or slightly overwhelming. A guided, graded introduction is a boon. And if it takes you further into the less immediate features of the software, as this book does, so much the better.

‘GarageBand ’09 (Apple Training Series)’ is written by experienced musician and (Apple Certified) trainer, Mary Plummer. It’s clear from the first word that she knows her subject; and that she understands teaching and learning… for instance where the absence of small reminders (such as that 10.5.6 is needed as you consider an interface for your instrument because that’s what GarageBand ’09 itself needs) would confuse, she gives them. You soon feel in very safe hands.

This Peachpit book is also part of the Apple Training and Certification Program. The material it contains has been certified by Apple and aims to leave you sufficiently well-prepared to take the necessary qualifications for Associate-level proficiency in the relevant entry-level examination for the iLife ’09 product suite. It offers a discount of 30% on the exam costs. The book can also be registered with PeachPit as a Safari Book Online and viewed online for 45 days.

Lessons

The book is divided into eight lessons, all the material for which is on the accompanying DVD. These lessons cover: Learning to play music; Jamming with a virtual band; Recording Music; Scoring a movie, arranging loops; Creating a ringtone; Mixing music and effects; Podcasts; and Sharing your work – as well as a 30-page appendix of bonus lessons/materials. The shortest lesson is just 16 pages and the longest 51. The progression – essentially from installation, first time opening, connecting a MIDI keyboard through to publishing via iWeb or iDVD – is a logical and realistic one. The steps between stages are neither too steep nor do they labor points when to do so would irritate.

Typically each lesson contains one or more sequence(s) of a dozen or so tasks broken down into from two or three to up to 20 steps. The layout (with clear, color screengrabs and (close-up) photographs where needed) facilitates navigation through these steps… white space, alignment, numbering, use of meaningful color, consistent conventions for menus and so on all mean that you should in theory be able to complete what amount to project assignments simply and without error. Fortunately this isn’t one of those books which merely teach you how to complete itself.

There is enough contexualising detail to explain why and how you are being asked to work through the exercises. It has to be said that these steps – rather than background and more focused explanation and theory – do constitute the bulk of the book’s material. This is deliberate: the approach is unapologetically ‘hands on’. What’s more, each is designed to build on material covered previously. If this is your learning style, then you will be well-suited to ‘GarageBand ’09 (Apple Training Series)’.

Rich Text

At various points throughout the lessons appear Notes and Tips – e.g. to the effect that you only get the ‘My Recordings’ track if you have first recorded your instrument in a lesson; that ‘M’ and ‘S’ toggle Mute and Solo; how exactly to crop an Artwork image… inexperienced users my not be familiar with the conventions: that they are catered for this way is all to the good.

What’s more, the book isn’t a glorified walk-through the menus of GarageBand ’09. The lessons take real world projects and guide you through their satisfactory completion from the point of view less of the tasks involved as of the objectives. Like all successful such approaches, you get to know the files with which you work. To that end there are almost always introductory paragraphs (or sections) explaining why and how you’re going to tackle what’s next. At the end of each, moreover, there is an informal summary of what you’ve just done – as well as a formal review of the material covered. This would serve as (the basis for) a useful checklist.

Each actual lesson contains at its head reference to the three or four files you’ll be using; an estimate of the time needed satisfactorily to complete it (that ranges from 30 to 90 minutes – and is particularly useful since the number of pages in the book allotted to each topic doesn’t invariably correspond to the time needed) and the half dozen or more goals. That’s all equally useful; and sound pedagogically. The index at the back of the book occupies nine pages and was found to be more than adequate for locating subject matter outside of the lesson sequence.

Conclusions

Pros: GarageBand 09 (Apple Training Series) is clear, comprehensive and well-paced. If you learn best by doing, by following tutorials that lead you through the software’s functionality, it will work well for you. It’s cleanly produced, well illustrated, simply written and relies on thorough explanations just when you need them.

Cons: If you prefer more of a narrative, a description and explanation of what Garageband 09 can do with projects taking a back seat, then the style of the book, no matter how well produced, may not suit.

MyMac.com Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Run Windows on your Mac without rebooting!  Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac provides the complete suite of essentials to run Windows on Mac the easy, fast and powerful way.

Sonicfire Pro 5

System Requirements:
OS X 10.4.0 or higher
Intel or Power PC (G4 or better)
DVD drive
256 MB available RAM
50 MB hard disk space

Bundled with this release of Toast Titanium 10 come two excellent applications to enhance, manipulate and edit sound files.

SonicFire Pro 5 is marketed by SmartSound and is a competitor to GarageBand. It claims to be ‘the most innovative music scoring software in the world’. It’s a relatively complex package aimed at users who want to produce and output sound files (to accompany videos, for example) made up of canned effects and tracks.

Yet the interface, menu structure and workflow have been so well built that what could have been a series of bewildering procedures with many options really does sponsor greater concentration on your creative ideas than on having to pick your way through perhaps bloated features. Once you have become sufficiently familiar with it SonicFire Pro 5 allows you to strike an excellent balance and achieve professional output that sounds well in most appropriate contexts… you’ll hardly write a string trio; but you will make a convincing pop video.

Complex
Yes, it does take some time to work your way through the various components of the package. There can be up to six floating windows open at any one time with various degrees of interrelatedness one to another.

There are also various ‘editions’ of the software with a variety of new features:

Express Track is a searching tool that allows you to incorporate effects, snippets and short musical themes into your score from an online collection of (purchasable) music: scoring for SonicFire doesn’t mean the same as it does for a stave-based program like Sibelius. (The search for) these ‘mixes’ can be enhanced and refined: you advise SonicFire of musical characteristics (faster, slower, more with this instrument, more by that composer etc.) which you would like to emulate or have reproduced in your piece and it matches them. The software emphasizes mood – again not something that will be of immediate appeal to all music lovers; but as a way to put sound with vision, it more than does what it’s supposed to.

‘Tap Tempo’, for example, lets you state how many beats per minute you want to use. The Jukebox playback feature previews a set of search results without a break. Your resulting piece (whose tempo and pitch can easily be changed) can then be exported to work with a variety of industry-standard video and audio editing apps. (The documentation says "all" such software.)

The Scoring Edition additionally has a timeline-based editor further to customize your composition. This supports keyframes, timing controls (to sample a beat and alter it to match a video), offset from the start, spotting and timing even more precisely to synchronize points in a video (such as ‘hit points’) to markers in the soundtrack.

A network add-on is available for a further $99.95, which will allow you to share and distribute your work amongst multiple users.

When first run, SonicFire Pro looks for available data and program updates, downloads them and invisibly installs them. This is typical of the streamlining that has gone into making the product as easily usable and flexible as it is.

Most of your work will be done in the main project window. It’s a testament to the conception and design of the package that the documentation (which runs to under 150 pages) can nevertheless thoroughly explain its use and features. You quickly get used to a sequence of add – listen – refine – listen – export without interference from controls and options. Commendable.

If you have a need to work with a highly transparent and simply thought-out music editing application, SonicFire has a venerable history, was robust and reliable during testing and may well be for you. As a bonus when buying Toast Titanium 10, it’s hard to turn your nose up at.

SoundSoap

System Requirements:
G4, G5, or Intel-based Mac (> 500MHz processor recommended)
Mac OS 10.3.9, 10.4.3, 10.5.1 or higher (Intel-based Macs require 10.4.3 or higher)

SoundSoap (the SE edition – which is standalone) is the second audio product to be bundled with Toast Titanium 10). It’s a noise reduction and sound restoration tool. And a good one.

The idea is that, using as few controls as possible, hiss, ambient noise, rumble, (electrical, 50 & 60 Hz) hum, clicks and pops, crackles, and other background noise can be removed from files now digital of course and likely originally to have been analog… those from tape cassettes, vinyl LPs and conceivably broadcast material spooled to your computer. Their tone can even be ‘enhanced’ using a slider in the same way as graphics software boosts colors and contrast etc. This version also allows the mouse scroll wheel to control knobs and sliders.

Using a single window you control all the features of SoundSoap. In fact, it could hardly be simpler to use. A rather attractive, ‘brushed charcoal’ interface has two ‘knobs’ – for noise ‘tuning’ (threshold) and noise reduction. Two vertical sliders control the degree of click/crackle, and enhance the result. Six buttons then allow you to reduce broadband noise (more random: the interference doesn’t respect a regular time frequency) and hum.

Intelligence
Given the fact that almost every sound source will be different, such tasks as those performed by SoundSoap are likely usually to be manual. Nevertheless, the software also has a ‘learn’ feature that automates the process: from even a short extract it anticipates the cleanup likely to be needed throughout the rest of the file.

Similarly, in the case of media with prominent voice content, a specialized filter, ‘Preserve Voice’, preprocesses such sound to avoid the risk of losing the unique profile of the voice when other imperfections are dealt with.

This software is a pleasure to use – not only because of its simple interface, but also because it is as effective as it is. There’s rarely something for nothing in life. And to remove something almost always results in less than you started with. But if you want to improve on old, treasured media with all their imperfections, this is as good a way to do it as anything else of its kind available. And to have it ‘free’ with Toast makes the bargain especially sweet.

The documentation is thorough and easy to use: the induction into this area can be painful – it’s technically quite complex. But by using ‘real world’ examples and illustrating all the steps carefully, you quickly become something of an expert. Or enough of an expert significantly to improve on your older and noisier media.

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