Mac OS Lion All-In-One For Dummies – ‘Book Mystique Review

Hey, what’s this? Not one, but two Mac OS X Lion For Dummies books.

Several weeks ago I reviewed Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus’s Mac OS X Lion For Dummies. However, it has a namesake stablemate, Mark L. Chambers’ Mac OS X Lion All In One For Dummies, which is descriptively subtitled “Eight Books In One.”

As that introduction implies, the Chambers book is the weightier of the two ‚Äî both literally and in content. While the author affirms that even if you’ve never laid your hands on a Mac before, you won’t find yourself in hostile waters, in what I’ll mostly refer to heretofore as Lion AIO unlike Bob LeVitus’s tome, this one is targeted at readers spanning the experience level spectrum rather than mostly beginner to intermediate users.

Chambers grabbed me right off the bat with the one word first sentence of his introduction to Lion AIO: “Elegant.” That’s my own favorite description of the Mac OS computing experience, and it set the tone nicely for the perspective this book is informed by.

I do disagree with Chambers in his contention that Mac OS 9 Classic didn’t deserve the description of elegance, being of a mind that it applies to all Mac OS versions, extending back at least to the first one I experienced, which was System 6.0.1. However I will second Chambers’ observation that Mac OS X performs like a Ferrari, and (unbelievably) it looks as good too.

Another thing I like about this book is its comprehensiveness without being ponderous (except perhaps in physical bulk). It provides step-by-step instruction on every major feature of Mac OS X Lion. All the new features of version 10.7 are covered, including improvements to Apple Mail, Mission Control, and the Launchpad, the new FaceTime application, and the latest versions of all the iLife 11 applications. Everything is explained from the ground up for the reader who may have never touched an Apple computer before, but as Chambers notes, “by the time you reach the final pages, you will have covered advanced topics, such as networking, AppleScript, Internet security, and yes even an introduction to the powerful world of UNIX that exists underneath.”

As noted, LionAIO is in omnibus of eight distinct topic mini-book user manuals and references, which are, in order of appearance:

Introducing Mac OS X
Customizing And Sharing
The Digital Hub
Using iWork
The Typical Internet Stuff
Networking in Mac OS X
Expanding Your System
Advanced Mac OS X

Profiling each of the eight books briefly:

Book I: Introducing Mac OS X, begins with a chapter explaining why you should be happy as a Mac OS X owner. Chambers then proceeds to provide an introduction to the basic tasks that you’ll perform with the operating system such as copying files, running programs, and so forth. There is also coverage of Lion’s Spotlight search engine, a guide to normal Mac OS X maintenance and troubleshooting, instructions on using the Mac OS X Help system, and a chapter devoted to installing Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp. If you don’t know what Boot Camp is, that’s one of the reasons you need this book.

Book II: Customizing and Sharing, walks you through the steps you will need to customize Mac OS X to your specific needs and tastes ‚Äî everything from choosing your Desktop picture or screensaver to a description of how to set up and administer multiple accounts on a single Macintosh. You’ll also find information on tweaking the settings you can change in System Preferences to help you make Mac OS X your own.

Book III: The Digital Hub, covers the i-apps; ITunes, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, iWeb, and also Garageband and Quick Time Player as well as the DVD player, which for some reason don’t have “i” prefixing their names. In other words the iLife ’11 suite. These bundled programs, which are a big bonus you get with the Mac OS, allow you to connect to and use various electronic gadgets such as digital cameras, digital video (DV) camcorders, and MP3 players. Plus you can edit and create your own DVDs, audio CDs, and movies.

Book IV: Using iWork, is about using Apple’s eponymous office productivity suite that competes for the same space as Microsoft’s industry-standard Office. iWork is not included with Mac OS X, alas, the way that AppleWorks used to be with Mac OS Classic back in days of yore, but Chambers makes a case for using Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, instead of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Book V: The Typical Internet Stuff, contains what its title suggested does, with manual information about using Apple Mail, Apple’s, iChat instant messaging application, configuring one on one video conversations with FaceTime, and the latest iteration of Apple’s Safari browser. There are also instructions on using the Mac OS X built in Internet firewall, which you can use to safeguard your Mac from Internet lowlifes and predators.

Book VI: Networking In Mac OS X, explores the world of connectivity using Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Bonjour, as well as good old garden-variety Wi-Fi. Chambers explains the use of each of these technologies step-by-step in language many normal human being can understand. There is information on using wireless networks like Apple’s Airport Extreme, as well as how to share an Internet connection with other computers over a local area network.

Book VII: Expanding Your System, kicks things up a notch, with Chambers addressing hardware and software you can add to Mac OS X, and why you might or might not need these peripherals. Memory upgrades (RAM), hard drives, printers, USB, Apple’s new Thunderbolt ultra high-speed I/O technology, and tried and true FireWire 800 are all discussed in detail.

Book VIII: Advanced Mac OS X, is where we get into a geekier level of OS technology, with coverage of using UNIX, the industrial grade code platform Mac OS X is based on, using Automator and AppleScript to build your own custom script applications to handle repetitive tasks, and also using alternate input technologies like voice, and handwriting recognition.

Format wise, LionAIO adheres to the familiar “For Dummies” model, with the same appearance and layout conventions most readers will be familiar with from encounters with other “For Dummies” editions.

The book is a trade paperback printed on decent-quality but not highly calendared glossy paper stock, and all illustrations — almost exclusively screenshots — are rendered in grayscale rather than color as in the smaller LeVitus Lion book. There is a The 5th Wave cartoon by Rich Tennant on the title page on each of the first five book sections (the final three, being about more advanced stuff, have screenshots on theirs).

Familiar margin icons call particular attention to various points in the text going to need emphasis, in this instance labeled “Mark’s Maxim” (described as something “big time” important being said that could affect your life in the near future), Tips, Technical Stuff, Warning!, Remember, and New In Lion.

While the author recommends (tongue-in-cheek I reckon), reading Lion AIO from front to back, I expect most readers will treat this big book more as a reference manual, but whatever works for you.

Of the three Mac OS X Lion books I’ve reviewed lately (all from Wiley), if I had to pick and all-round favorite, Lion AIO would be it, although for beginners, OS X Lion For Dummies might suit better, and for the tech savvy ‚Äî Galen Gruman’s Mac OS X Lion Bible. Lion AIO represents an ideal balance between the two approaches for most users migrating from earlier MAc OS X version and switchers from the Windows world, and beginning Mac users looking for a more comprehensive reference than Macs For Dummies.

Mac OS X Lion All-in-One For Dummies
Mark L. Chambers
ISBN: 978-1-1180-2206-1
Paperback
816 pages
September 2011
US $34.99
Other Available Formats: E-Book US $22.99

For more information, visit:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118022068.html

E-Book:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-111816475X.html