My G3 desktop is getting long in the tooth, and it was time for an upgrade - so this weekend I went out and purchased a new iBook. Wow! OS 10.3 is nothing like what I’m accustomed to (not surprising, since my old desktop is still running OS 8.1). And the documentation Apple provides is scanty at best. (I’ve already given up on getting the Airport wireless networking and the cable internet service I signed up for up and running; the cable company will be sending someone out on Thursday to set that mess up.) My nice new laptop has me totally intimidated. So, Mac-Dopers, what books would you recommend to get an OS 10.3 newbie up to speed?
Tough one. I am on 10.3 and loving it, but have not really turned to any books to get into the groove. What kind of things are you having trouble with?
It’s a hefty tome, but you can’t go far wrong with Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition, by David Pogue. Tons of info, and well-written and clearly explained.
MacOS X Panther Unleashed by Ray and Ray. Good overall guide plus excellent first-time-ever newbie tutorial for making friends with the Unix underpinnings, including baking your own source code.
Oops, sorry. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672326043/qid=1082950362/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/102-3049895-0892932) for Unleashed.
Really though, the internet should set it self up, even with airport. My G4 15in PowerBook is my primary computer and I just turn the Airport on, or plug in the ethernet cable and that’s it. Can you be more specific with the problems you are having? I’d love to help you out.
Apple’s approach is to use the built-in help system for everything, and I find that to be fairly effective. On the other hand, you can’t beat a good book, and for general-purpose use, anything with the word Missing Manual in the title gets a thumbs-up from me.
Another vote for Missing Manual. I found the Jaguar edition to be most helpful.
In addition to seconding Pogue’s book (actually ALL of his books are pretty good), I’ll suggest an alternative solution. I subscribe to the free tidbits weekly email publication, they have some electronic books for $5 that might be worth checkin gout here
Thanks for the help, everyone! I’ve ordered a copy of The Missing Manual, and will also check out Mac OS X Panther Unleashed and the tidbit’s ebooks.
Ryan K, the major problem I’m having is that the instructions that come with the iBook and the Airport Base Station assume the user’s already got a working internet connection - which I don’t have. I have to get the Internet connection set up with the software the cable company sold me (whch also installs software I don’t want - Outlook Express - and won’t configure the software I DO want to use - Mac OS X Mail and Safari) - but that involves getting the cable modem working, and the instructions that come with the modem are gibberish (at least to me). Fortunately there’s a company in my town that offers in-home Mac tech support; there’ sending out someone on Wednesday, and I’m fairly sure he’ll be able to get everything up and running. I’m also sure that once everything’s working properly and I’ve learned my way around OS X and the various iPrograms that came with my new laptop, I’m really going to enjoy this computer.
I made the MAC switch in September and I love it. I can’t wait to see MACs 2 years from now. I’m a little disapointed with the quality of certain games on MACs considering their impressive graphics capabilities with Adobe Photoshop and the like. I guess there’s not really a big market for games on the MAC though.
Too bad about the internet situation. I sure would have liked to save you some money. I here those home-doctors aren’t too cheap.
If you ever have any MAC questions, I’m always here to help.
Thanks, Ryan K! No, the in-house tech support isn’t cheap, but in the long run it will be money well-spent. Especially since this is likely to be the only time I’ll evern need to use their services (unlike some of my PC-using friends, whose kids are always managing to infect their systems with spyware and viruses).
Here’s a vBulletin message board for MacOS X users that’s pretty good on signal-to-noise and comp-savvy participants:
Thanks for the link, AHunter3!
The tech support fellow managed to get everything hooked up properly, and I now have functional Wi-Fi. Fast functional Wi-Fi. I’m going to really love this laptop!