Product Description

Customer Reviews (16)

A bit outdated but still very useful for the beginners
There's a LOT of content in this book and it is well organized. However if you're a strong hack-boy you probably will find new content only for the 40% of the book. It's a nice piece for your collection.

spectacular
I have always liked o'reilly manuals. This is no exception. Its set up for the beginner, but even a guru can find a couple of gems in here.

Not for the novice
I enjoyed this book very much--I'm a PC guy that switched ---learned and awful lot
--but not for the novice

For those that want to take the next step
If you have a techie edge and want to take your knowledge of your new mac to the next level, then this is the book for you.Just read, enjoy and try out the ones that look fun to you. "Hacking" may be the wrong word ... this book simply deepens your knowledge of the machine and operating system with a myriad of hints, techniques, downloads and other crevices that you would not think to try on your own.A true geek delight.

On the whole worth a purchase
For someone like me who is new to the Mac, I was looking for a book that would help me understand how to customize it."Big Book..." was a little technical at times and could have done a better job of describing where some applications are located.However, I did find it extremely useful in helping me customize the programs I use the most (Safari, Finder, Mail, iTunes, iPhoto & iChat) and really make work how I want. ... Read more

Product Description
An instant success among newcomers, longtime Apple® fansand serious Unix® users alike, the Mac OS® Xoperating system combines stability, simplicity andelegance, and a stunning user interface. What more could Macusers want or need? The answer, of course, is Mac OS XPanther--a sleek and powerful overhaul of Mac OS X thatpromises to revitalize your Mac with improved views of thesystem, significant improvements to favorite applications,and numerous added conveniences. As with its predecessor,Jaguar, Mac OS X Panther offers plenty of new territory toexplore. To show the way, O'Reilly's latest Nutshell book,Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition offers allaudiences--both longtime Mac users and hardcore Unixusers--the most complete guide to this remarkable operatingsystem.

The latest edition of this all-purpose reference leads powerusers through the newly changed landscape of Mac OS X. MacOS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition provides detailsabout the user-interface elements, system and networkadministration, and scripting and development. If you wantto probe more deeply into the BSD Unix side of Mac OS X,there's a section that delves "under the hood." The bookalso includes the most complete Unix command reference foundin print--with each command and option painstakingly testedand checked against Panther. Even the manpages that shipwith the system can't compete in accuracy!

Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition offers athorough treatment of Mac OS X Panther, from its BSD Unixfoundation to the finer points of its user interface. Itfamiliarizes readers with the Finder™ and the Dock,file management, system configuration, networkadministration issues, and more, including a clear pictureof what's new

Other topics covered in the book include:
Filesystem overview
Running Java® applications
System and Network Administration
Directory Services and NetInfo
Scripting on Mac OS X Panther
Using CVS
Unix Command Reference
An overview of the Apple® X11 distribution
Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition is the
indispensable guide for anyone who wants to know Mac OS X
Panther inside and out. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good Book to Learn Panther
This is a very good Book to help Mac users learn how to use OSX Panther.

Nice addition to my OSX UNIX library
Since I converted I have found OS X UNIX is amazingly friendly and accessible. Some people who had never used it before type commands and work with the operating system directly as a "cool guys" in movies! This book is very helpful and well written and it is serves as a very nice reference. I paired this book with Linux and UNIX for a beginner training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs includes 4 Unix Academy Certifications ed.2008 This book and a video they contribute one another greatly. You improve the reading and by reading you improve what you have seen.
The book is very particular about the subjects that related to OS X and because there are some differences between OS X and other UNIXes it is nice to have a book that deals with it.

The Definitive Guide to Panther


The publisher, O'Reilly Media, seems dedicated to covering Apple's OSX operatingsystem, OSX, from every conceivable vantage point. Its "Missing Manual" series on Panther is a user's reference on how to use the operating system and its applications for productivity and fun. Its "Hacks" series provides dozens of tips, guides, and project ideas. In the "Nutshell" series iteration, "MacOSX Panther in a Nutshell" designs to provide in-depth, comprehensive information about the inner workings of the OS. It is for power users and developers who want to master the OS and have the fullest description and explanation of OSX.

This book starts out detailing the multi-layered architecture of OSX and illuminates its power and elegance. In great depth and detail, it explains the Unix components, Aqua elements, OS9 and Classic, the Finder, and the multitude of Unix services, daemons, and applications.

This is terse, descriptive prose. The authors focus a sharp telephoto lens on the skeleton, sinews, and pores of OSX, starting with basic elements and probing deep into the details of the file system, networking components, directory services, printing configurations and more. This in-depth description and large handfuls of guides and tips totals over 1,000 pages.

A separate part of the book is devoted to Applescript, X-code tools, and Java. The X-code tools are for developers. Part IV is all about Unix, including three chapters on "shells" alone, plus sections on text editors, the X-Window system, and a full 262 pages of Unix command references, touted as the most complete such source in print publication.

No mere user manual would have ten pages devoted solely to understanding and managing preference files, or five pages on using the Colorsync feature with Quartz filter scripts.

Surprisingly, only ten pages are dedicated to security issues. Although the Mac is known to be extremely secure, recent news shows even the Mac is vulnerable to sophisticated exploits.

For those with a need to know, this is the definitive source for deep knowledge of OSX.

Hefty, deep and well written
It's tough to tell this from Amazon, but this book is a thousand pages, which makes it quite a hefty tome. But that doesn't make it a doorstop. There are screenshots, but they are, by in large, useful and relevant, and the book doesn't use them to tell a click by click story of the interface.

The book is organized into four parts that start at the user interface and continue to peel away levels of the system until, in chapter four, the author covers the command line unix shell at a surprising level of detail. A level of detail which rivals O'Reilly's other command line exclusive books. In fact, this book gives a fine introduction to scripting bash and tcsh. It does as good a job there as it does covering printing, or the vagaries of the new Finder in the chapters that precede it.

This is a quality piece of in-depth work about the unmodified Panther operating system. It's well worth the price for those who are more interested in understanding than hacking (though I admit a love for the new Mac OS X Panther Hacks book as well.)

Comprehensive and authoritative
Do any of you remember the O'Reilly books from the late 80s on X Windows? Those became the definitive guides to X11, and probably were crucial in putting O'Reilly on the map as a prominent technical publisher.

Well, this book on Mac OS X Panther captures some of that early O'Reilly spirit. In its comprehensiveness and heft. But also in its terseness. Turn to a random chapter and start reading. The authors try to get to the point, without wasting time. They write at a technical level that assumes you don't know the specifics of that chapter, but that you are no novice to computing.

It should be noted that the second half of the book is essentially a standard unix reference. As you may be aware, OS X is now a unix variant. Which is neat. But also accounts for much of the book's size. Unix has built up a massive set of utilities in 20 years, and the length of the unix sections here reflects this.

Don't let this put you off either the book or OS X. On the contrary! The building of the Mac operating system on top of unix gives you more power and stability (against crashes) on the Mac. ... Read more

Product Description
There's a lot to be said for going back to basics. Not only does this Bible give you a quick refresher on the structure of open-source Linux software, it also shows you how to bypass the hefty graphical user interface on Linux systems and start interacting the fast and efficient way?with command lines and automated scripts. You'll learn how to manage files on the filesystem, start and stop programs, use databases, even do Web programming?without a GUI?with this one-stop resource. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent day-to-day and reference book for scripting
I purchased this book as a guide when I had to teach myself the basics of Linux and shell scripting for a project at work. I needed to quickly learn how to use the Linux command line inferface and to extract and organize several lines of relevant data from 100,000+ lines generated for each run of my software program. Trying to manually organize this data in a spreadsheet program such as Excel would have been a nightmare to say the least!

I bought this book from Amazon based on the other favorable reviews, and want to add my two cents that it is an excellent resource to learn the Linux command line functions and shell scripting commands! I was especially impressed with how well the information was presented, and it was clearly understandable to a person without any previous experience with Linux, programming, or knowledge of programming syntax such as myself. Examples are abundant and helpful, and the idiosyncrasies between the different Linux shells are also explained in detail.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to Linux, and/or wants to use Linux and shell scripting to automate data processing. It takes some time to get proficient in scripting, but it will save you time in the long run!

It's really Bible!
I'm Fedora user since Fedora Core 6.
After reading this books I've impreved not only my bash scripting skill, but also console manipulation.
Great book for beginners in bash, but you should have some experience in GNU/Linux.

Great book.
This is a good book to get you started on shell scripting. I found one error in the examples, but otherwise it's a great book.

First rate and thorough description of all the options
A good introduction to the Linux back end and a thorough description of all the basic Linux commands. From my perspective I would have liked to see less on alternate shells and more on the additional commands available as open-source routines, but on the whole this covered the field extremely well for beginners and occasional scripters who need reminding.

Truly is the Bible
from a to z everything you need to get you started and fully comprehending what Linux is all about ... Read more

Product Description
Anyone who installs Windows 2000, creates a user, or adds a printer isa 2000 system administrator. This book covers all the importantday-to-day administrative tasks and includes the tools for performing eachtask in an alphabetical reference for easy look-up. What's the same andwhat's different between Windows 2000 and Windows NT? Has the GUI or thenetworking architecture changed, and if so, how? Windows 2000Administration in a Nutshell will help youbridge the gap between Windows NT and Windows 2000. Whether the concern is new security issues or how the Active Directoryworks, Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell is as useful tothe single-system home user as it is to the administrator of a 1,000-nodecorporate network. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

THE W2K handbook
I have a number of O'Reilly books and have come to expect a lot from them. However, this one raises the standard. Concepts and tasks are listed alphabetically, providing an encyclopedic approach which makes finding topics a snap and beats looking up 50 references in an index to find the one you want. I only wish more tech manuals were organized this way. Perhaps the idea will catch on.
This is not to leave out Mitch Tulloch's writing which, although concise, is highly readable - a rarity in technical manuals (with the exception of the esteemed Mr. Minasi!). Although this book is not meant as a tutorial, I actually found that the organization helped me in understanding certain topics better. This is because each topic is treated in its entirety rather than scattered here and there throughout the book. As mentioned in an above review, this does lead to some redundancy, but the payoff is worth it.
Although I have discovered a lack of information on a couple of more obscure items, overall the book is very comprehensive with virtually no filler material. Of the four W2K handbooks I have, this is the one that remains as my prime reference. It is simply invaluable.

Good companion to the W2K Resource Kits
This book is the 80/20 rule in motion. 80% of the day to day issues are resolved with 20% of the product information. The key is knowing which 20%. This book seems to have done a fairly good job of distilling out the 20% most often needed and putting it in a single package. It falls short of a 5 star rating due to organization. Presenting the W2K concepts in alphabetical order is confusing and counter productive. It would have been far better done if the concepts had been organized in a logical hierarchy leaving the referred-to tasks, procedures and utilities in alphabetical order. Overall a very handy manual for W2K setup and admin once you get past the layout.

Rather confusing
This book didn't work for me, though I like Nutshell books.I think that alphabetical approach didn't work this time. It might be good for utilities and commands, but for Tasks and Concepts? It's much easier to find what you want on topic basis. And why on earth to use alphabetical approach if most books have good index? I have discovered another book, "Mastering W2K Server" by Mark Minasi. That book is great. I have found there everything I needed. It has a lot of cross-references to NT and even 95/98 without boasting much about it.Nutshell book arrogantly states that you have to be very good at NT to read it. I think that might be just to cover up the confusion created. True, Minasi's book is 50% more expensive, but it's twice bigger also, and much more useful.

Great mini manual!
Even though it is over 700 pages I call it mini because of the complexity of Windows 2000, and that the Microsoft reference set is over 7000 pages! First off this is NOT a book for beginners and the author states that on the first page - it is intended for NT experienced people as a quick reference for Windows 2000 networking. No OSI model explaination here. Depending on how much time and depth you want to spend learning Windows 2000, you might first want to pick up Mark Minasis' Mastering Windows 2000 Server 3RD edition which I highly recommend. Active Directory and dns are a big deal in Windows 2000, which takes some time to master and calls for very detailed explainations and examples. However Windows 2000 Administration IN A Nutshell is another winner from O'Reilly. The layout of the book is unique in that instead of a bunch of topic chapters it is broken down into segments on concepts, tasks, consoles, utilities, and commands. Each chapter is conveniently indexed by alphabetical highlighting of subjects to find what you need fast. Page 354 under F for example - folder redirection, about one page on how to do it. No fluff here - just the facts and a lots of them. There is a lot of redundancy here which may bug some people, but this is not a training manual though I consider this book an excellent read for upgrade MCSE studies. There are a LOT of helpful tables, charts, and "boxed" highlights of important topics (such as the one on page 151 "Using Universal Groups"). The author has a section called notes after most topics that are answers to a lot of questions one might have after reading it - the section on disks has 28 such notes, dynamic disks are new to us NT folks and I found them vey helpful. The quick start section has five pages of charts listing Windows NT tools and then the Windows 2000 couterpart and how to access it. There is a full 124 page chapter of administering Windows 2000 from the command line in an alphabetical list! Overall I find the writing style of the author very articulate, non confusing, and enjoyable considering it is a quick reference. Mitch sprinkes enough humor in the text to keep it from becoming tearfully dry. On page 143 he says "The Resource Kit is expected to swell to a staggering 15,000 pages - unless legal action by Greenpeace blocks it." The author obviously knows his stuff on Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Administration In A Nutshell is a great book that will prove very handy to many people using Windows 2000.

Desktop Reference
This is a great desktop reference book for the Win 2k Network Administrator.It has all of the big subjects, but without the unnecessary content.Subjects are easily broken down by sections and available for quick reference.Sections include concepts, tasks, console, and a great section on command line functions.Within each section are the specific 2k subjects i.e. AD, TCP/IP, Install, DNS, DHCP, etc.A great little book. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (9)

An Abridged Unix Reference
This reference is missing many of the commands I actually use on Mac OS X to develop software such as lipo and otool. Sure the man pages are on my computer but then why do I need this book?

Suggestion for the Leopard edition: cut back on Vi, Emacs, and Bash stuff and add even more man pages.

CATCH A TIGER BY THE TAIL!!
Are you a Unix- user or programmer or a system administrator? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Andy Lester, Chris Stone, Chuck Toporek and Jason McIntosh, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that cuts through the chaff and gives you practical details you can use every day.

Lester, Stone, Toporek and McIntosh, begin by providing you with a quick introduction to the Unix side of Mac OS X. Then, the authors list descriptions and usage terms for over 300 of the Unix commands found in Mac OS X. They continue by introducing you to the Terminal application and show you how to issue commands and tweak its settings. Next, the authors provide a quick overview of the differences between bash, Mac OS X Panther's default shell, and tcsh, the default shell for earlier versions of Mac OS X. Then, they provide a quick overview of the bash shell, along with a listing of its built-in commands for shell scripting. They also cover pattern matching. Next, the authors cover some of vi's most commonly used options and features. Then, they focus on Emacs editing capabilities. The authors continue by touring the various folders found on a typical Mac OS X volume, including the Unix-centric directories that the Finder usually keeps out of sight. They then detail the way Mac OS X stores and accesses its administrative information, ranging from the NetInfo system of network-linked databases to the "old-school" file-based system familiar to Unix administrators. The authors also detail the major categories of services Unix supplies, including web servers, file sharing, and mail servers. Next, they highlight some of the key features of Apple's X11 distribution and explain how to install Apple's X11 and the X11 SDK. Finally, the authors describe how to gain access to and hack these settings via the Terminal application and the defaults command.

Everything you need to know about the Unix side of Mac OS X has been systematically documented in this most excellent book. This book is the most comprehensive quick reference on the market and is a must for any serious Mac user.

Provides an overview of OS X Tiger Version 10.4 and focuses on the Unix layer, covering over 300 of Tiger's Unix commands
Andy Lester, Chris Stone, Chuck Toporek and Jason McIntosh's MAC OS X Tiger In A Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference is also a winner: it provides an overview of OS X Tiger Version 10.4 and focuses on the Unix layer, covering over 300 of Tiger's Unix commands, reviewing basic system and network features and functions, and providing a reference chick has been tested and checked against Tiger for optimum, flawless performance.

Grab some Jolt and your favorite junk food - it's Mac/Unix geek time!
"Mac OS X Tiger in a Nutshell" isn't your typical tome on "everything you need to know to use Mac OS X." If you're looking for an easy to read, richly illustrated book to curl up with on a rainy day with a cup of coffee, this isn't it. But if you're interested in the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X, then grab a six pack of Jolt and your favorite junk food, because there's a heck of a lot of information packed into this book.

The authors clearly identify their target audience early on - "Unix users and Unix programmers", or generally people who are already familiar with the Unix system. Obviously, that's not your stereotypical Macintosh user from pre-OS X days (i.e., System 7 or Mac OS 9). But if you've ever spent time using other operating systems (dare I say DOS?) or are feeling adventurous and want to "peek under the hood", then you'll also benefit from the wealth of information presented in this book.

"Tiger in a Nutshell" is organized into three major parts. Part I, "Commands and Shells", introduces the basic concepts of networking and system administration. After providing a four page quick reference to Unix commands by topic (terrific for beginners), fully one half of the remainder of the book is a comprehensive alphabetical Unix command reference, which the authors claim is the most complete and thorough reference available anywhere (even on the system itself). They've borrowed heavily from other O'Reilly Nutshell books to compile this list, and this compilation alone is worth the price of the book. They also cover the Terminal, which is the gateway between the Aqua graphical user interface (GUI) and what they call the "no-nonsense command-line interface" of Darwin. After briefly providing an overview of different flavors of shells, the authors then describe bash, the default user shell for Mac OS X Tiger.

Part II, "Text and Text Processing", describes the tools used to work with text files, including text editing programs like vi and Emacs, and pattern matching commands like grep and the metacharacters used in search and replacement patterns. There are separate chapters that go into the details for both the vi and Emacs editors. By the way, just a little obscure history about the vi editor... although "vi" (pronounced "vee-eye") is derived from the shortest unambiguous abbreviation of "visual", I remember learning it back in the 90's as an acronym for a less flattering term: "virtually impossible". That gives you an idea how spoiled we've become with text editors that don't require memorizing arcane commands - remember, that's why you'd buy this book, right?

Finally, Part III, "Managing Mac OS X", offers chapters on managing Mac OS X Tiger with full knowledge (gained from reading the preceding 400 pages) about the Unix underpinnings of the operating system. Here's where you'll be able to finally understand the file system, directory services, how to run network services, using X Windows (also known as X11) as an alternate GUI to Apple's Aqua interface, and learn about the defaults database, used to store preferences for individual applications.

This book obviously isn't for the casual or newbie Mac user, but provides an excellent reference for the Unix geek learning to use the Mac, and the Mac geek wanting to learn more about the incredible power of Unix that is just waiting to be unleashed. As long as you're in the target audience, I have no qualms recommending this book for you!

An excellent command line reference for OS X
Yes, this is a command-line centric book - because that's where all the POWER is (the graphical user interface is well designed and hardly needs a reference). This book provides a great OS X-specific reference - so you won't have to test all the commands in your "UNIX in a Nutshell" book to see which ones work. Aside from the command line, this book provides important information on Managing Mac OS X (See PART THREE, below) and an excellent index for finding your information. The sections (and approximate page count) in this book are:

PART ONE - Commands and Shells
Introduction - 3 pages
Unix Command Reference - 251 pages
Using the Terminal - 13 pages
Shell Overview - 3 pages
bash: The Bourne-Again Shell - 10 pages

PART TWO - Text Editing and Processing
Pattern Matching - 3 pages
The Vi Editor - 34 pages
The Emacs Editor - 12 pages

PART THREE - Managing Mac OS X
Filesystem Overview - 15 pages
Directory Services - 15 pages
Running Network Services - 10 pages
The X Window System - 11 pages
The Defaults System - 3 pages

INDEX
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (142)

Good Reference Book; Mac OSX Tiger Operating System
I wanted to have a reference book for the Tiger Mac OSX which this book satisfies more for the beginner or intermediate user rather than the advanced user; but I still find it useful even though I have used the Mac OSX since it came out years ago. I run Debian (Lenny) with my Mac OSX; dual boot. I did hope there would be more command line programming. It is easy to read.

os x tiger
David Pogue writes a book that is very easy to understand and read. informative and thorough.doesn't leave anything
out.doesn't assume you already know that.Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition

What should have shipped with Mac OS X
I purchased an older iMac G4 (iLamp) so I could get my bearings with the Mac.I have never owned a Mac and my time on the OS has been very limited, thus I needed a resource to guide me through some of the details of moving around the OS.This book has definitely fit the bill.It is well written and very detailed.It provides more than enough information to get your system configured and running smoothly.More importantly it gets you comfortable with the OS, which is extremely hard to do in a book.This book, however, does just that!

The missing Mac manual
This book provided some information that was not in my Mac owners' manual but I wish the index of topics would have been a little clearer.I am satisfied with the overall information it provided and think it was helpful in understanding the Mac Tiger OS.

Great book greater service
I knew that I wanted this book, after buying a used Mac laptop. Mr. Pogue is one of the most knowledgeable authors on Macintosh computers. What was the best part of my book was the fantastic customer service from Better World Books. Whenever I shop for books on Amazon they will be my first choice.

Scott Blanchard ... Read more

Product Description
With thousands of products and ever more complex technologies to choose from, this is a convenient guide for computer users and developers guide that takes the confusion out of high-resolution computer display systems. It provides a comprehensive overview of the major high-resolution display systems on the market today, with practical emphasis on choosing the right monitors, software drivers, and controller boards for specific needs. Computer graphics specialist Jon Peddie explores the developmental history, industry standards, and operation of graphic display hardware, focusing on its use in applications ranging from basic data representation to computer-aided design and virtual reality. ... Read more