Mac OS X Lion: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)

Mac OS X Lion by David PogueYour first question might be do I really need a manual of over 900 pages? Yes you absolutely do need this well written manual. I've been reading through in the order I find most interesting and important, the stuff you use everyday and am constantly finding new uses for features such as Spotlight. If you only use Spotlight for searching you will find many surprises in the 30 pages of examples of available power. My favorite is to use it as a shortcut to open programs. For instance if I want to open Preview to continue reading an article, I just type CMD spacebar, the shortcut to open Spotlight, type pr and Spotlight opens with many choices but Preview is selected and if you hit Enter then Preview is launched. Of course if you have just been using some other program such as System Preferences it will be the selected choice so check before you hit Enter and add more letters to get the program you want.If you are in a part of the OS such as Mission Control or Disk Utility, that you aren't familiar with Pogue gives you an insightful intro with many screenshots to help understand the many options available. One problem I've been having is that Apple has made many options context sensitive, which is generally great, but unless my context is the same I won't necessarily see the same thing as shown in a figure. Disk Utility continues to improve. Repairing permissions or repairing the disk has taken care of virtually all my computer problems so far. You can also make changes in disk partitions dynamically without backing up the disk, and make disk images of a folder or the entire machine.If you are interested in creating your own workflows to keep repetitive actions under control, Automator has been improved. For instance the ability to include AppleScripts in your workflows and you are shown how. Another surprise is that TextEdit can do a lot more than open readme's. In Rich Text Format(RTF) mode it can work on and export simple Word documents, and do a good job on webpages. Many of Lion's new features are implemented in TextEdit.I use Preview chiefly for reading PDF documents. A new option allows you to add your signature to a PDF document. Open the Annotations toolbar, click on the Signature (not strike thru) pop-up, and create your signature using the iSight Camera and holding your signature in front of the camera. My machine slowed down enormously when I did this, but now you can put your signature wherever you choose. It also has advanced tools to modify pictures, about the same as iPhoto. I found myself occasionally looking for something in the index, which is pretty comprehensive, and wishing I had the book in electronic form to facilitate my search.Pogue is fun to read and very helpful!

Spanning more than 900 pages, this type of book is aimed primarily at the advanced-beginner to intermediate level users of the Mac operating system.It is printed in black and white, and its topic coverage has more breadth and depth than typical Mac OS X user manuals, such as Mac OS X Lion On Demand, Mac OS X Lion: Visual Quickstart Guide, and Mac OS X Lion: Peachpit Learning Series. The aforementioned books are guides/tutorials, whereas the Missing Manual is a more comprehensive and technical reference. A comparable book to the Missing Manual would be Mac OS X Lion Bible, which is of similar size and coverage. Information density per page is high and there is no color, as well as fewer and smaller size graphics/screenshots. Although this is a thick book of technical nature, David Pogue's often witty and non-textbook-like writing style makes it easy even for beginners.To determine your most suitable book, you can examine the contents, layout, and organization of each book by clicking "Click To Look Inside" on the book's Amazon page. You can also assess the amount of book revision/update by searching for Lion-specific features such as FaceTime, Mission Control, iCloud, etc. and see how much information can be found.I have purchased the Mac OS X Missing Manual series for Leopard, Snow Leopard, and now Lion. For the first two, I had preferred buying the paper version, but this time I chose the Kindle format instead. I not only save about 30% compared to the paper-based book, I also enjoy the convenience and vastly increased usability. There is no bulk and weight of the physical book. I have the electronic copy on my Kindle, which I can take anywhere, and I can also access it on my computer via the Amazon Cloud Reader online or offline (but no searching within the book feature yet).As the author David Pogue commented that Lion is the first mainstream download-only OS (no box, no manual, no DVD), I consider it even more fitting to buy the user manual also as a download.The Missing Manual is thoroughly updated for Lion and is easy to read and understand. I recommend it highly.

If you are like me, you already have a number of older versions of the Mac OS Missing Manuals lying around. My last one was for Leopard. A comparison of the Table of Contents of Leopard's (10.5) Missing Manual to that of Lion's (10.7) highlights some of the new additions to the manual: Full Screen Mode, Mac App Store, Launchpad, Auto-Reopen, Mission Control, Auto Save (Versions, Rewinding, Locking), Life with Microsoft Exchange, iCloud, Scanning, Trackpad, FaceTime, Privacy Shields, AirDrop (wireless file sharing), Cellular Modems, and Tethering.If you do not have an earlier version of a Mac OS Missing Manual or never had a chance to look at one: it is rather hefty, but don't let that put you off. Unlike a help menu - which seems to presume you know what you are looking for - you will find this manual readable, full of detailed information on almost every user-accessible feature in the operating system and its collection of programs.Is this manual perfect, no, but what book is? For example, if your thing is "scanning", you'll find scanning listed in the Table of Contents in Chapter 14's title. I found nothing about scanning in this chapter; instead, I found scanning buried in Chapter 10 under the subtitle "Image Capture" pages 398 to 401.Overall: The coverage of this Lion Missing Manual (first edition) is extensive and well written. It is a great book for sitting back, flipping through the pages, until something catches your eye, and then ... hey, that's cool!

Mammoth Manual .This is a must have Book for all New to Mac / I - Mac users. 900 pages of well explained in's and outs of your New Machine. Having paid a lot for your Mac this Manual teaches you `Everything you ever wanted to Know about Mac OSX Lion but were afraid to ask ` .Well, ask no more, it is all here, the book is something you'll probably never manage to read cover to cover but keep it next to your Mac and you will be referring to it all of the time. I know so much more about my machine now and it is all explained in a light refreshing style with added humor along the way.Having shelled out a lot of money for your Mac this manual will ensure you get every pennies worth out of it and your knowledge and user experience just grows and grows.

I have only just recently made the switch from using Windows for the last 16 years to using Mac OS X Lion and felt a little unsure using Mac Lion. As easy as it is to navigate around Lion I was anxious to find out more about it. I came across this book on Amazon and thought why not give it a try, It does have 930 pages after all.Now although this book seems quite pricey at first compared to other smaller cheaper guide books it does have a lot more to offer and if you're going to spend money on learning the in's and outs of Lion then the bigger the better in my opinion. I've only been reading this book for just over a week now and have found out things that I may never have stumbled across without it. This book is written very well with clear precise and to the point information (with useful illustrations) that can be read by novices and tech geeks alike.To me this book has been the best reference resource to help me make the Windows to Mac transition.

Being new to Macs, I wanted something that would help guide me round the system. This manual works on so many levels. If you want an in-depth analysis you can spend a while working through stuff but if you're just looking for some quick tips or an answer to "how to" then you can do that (usually) quickly and easily. All of this in an easy to read and amusing style - I don't know how this guy gained his knowledge but he's some expert.The only slight downside I've found is that there's not too much on i-photo - apparently there's another manual by the author on this - surprise!All in all - well recommended. And aren't Macs wonderful!

Absolute essential for upgraded iMacs. As computer manufacturers stopped, (years ago), providing manuals with computers you have to find your own.Unless you are a whizz kid who has grown up with computers who send fingers flying across keys you need a manual like this.Also helps with the jargon and abbreviations which are gobbledegook if you are over 65 or even in your 70's, or 80's.New computers have so much technology & other stuff squeezed into them that non-every-living minute users are totally bewildered & terrified by what pops up.

I hesitated for sometime before making this purchase. The choice of instructional books is bewildering and vary so much in price however having made the purchase I am more than happy. I am confident that I will be able to find the answer to any future problem I may have. Well done David Pogue the book is written in easy to understand language. And well done Amazon.... excellent service as usual