By Rael Dornfest, Kevin Hemenway
March 2003
This book is also available in Spanish. 
Pages: 430
Series: Hacks
ISBN 10: 0-596-00460-5 |
ISBN 13: 9780596004606
(Average of 2 Customer Reviews)
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Mac OS X Hacks reflects the real-world know how and experience of those well steeped in Unix history and expertise, sharing their no-nonsense, sometimes quick-and-dirty solutions to administering and taking full advantage of everything a Unix desktop has to offer: Web, Mail, and FTP serving, security services, SSH, Perl and shell scripting, compiling, configuring, scheduling, networking, and hacking. Add to that the experience of die-hard Macintosh users, customizing and modifying their hardware and software to meet their needs: System Preferences, GUI mods and tweaks, hardware tips, vital shareware and freeware, AppleScript, AppleTalk and equivalents, keyboard modifiers, and general Macintosh-style tomfoolery.
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Book details
First Edition: March 2003
Series:
Hacks
ISBN: 0-596-00460-5
Pages: 430
Additional Languages: Spanish.
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 2 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Mac OS X Hacks Review, October 22 2003
To Hack or not to Hack? Perhaps the word "hack" is becoming overused, for these tips and tricks generally do not involve any hardcore modifications to the OS, but rather little tweaks here and there to let you get the most out of OS X, the first user-friendly (mostly), industrial-grade UNIX truly meant for the desktop of both the system administrator and his grandmother.
Mac OS X Hacks is filled with quite a mixture of information related to Mac OS X and OS X-based applications. There is a little something for everyone - from the computer neophite to uber-geek. Topics range from booting and file system issues to the basic use of iPhoto and iTunes. Each of the 100 "hacks" are intended to be self-contained and can be read separately in any order. Many of the "hacks" don't really hack into the system or change its behavior, but are tidbits of information describing system features. The variety of the information comes from the diversity of the dozen or so contributors to the book. Consequently, some of the hacks are geared to an audience familiar with the command line, shell and perl scripts, whereas other tips use are intended for those already familiar with Mac OS 9.
The first chapters cover information about the file system and a bit about the boot process, providing the casual user more than they ever might have wanted to know, but never really giving enough detail for the true techie.
Perhaps the most useful section for the average user provides a survey of the features of the i-Applications - most of which are readily apparent from an overview of the applications menu and preferences. There are over a dozen tips for getting more from iTunes (including how to set up your own internet stream), to how to jump right into instant messaging. There is also a wealth of information for the user who wants to synch up with a Bluetooth-enabled phone, or to use it as a controller for their Mac.
Those of us who have made the transition from OS 9 and before are often flustered by the differences in function and appearance in OS X. One chapter discusses several shareware applications to modify the system appearance until it becomes a bit more familiar, and once you have become more comfortable, it shows how OS X can take you well beyond where OS 9 ever could. Since everyone has their own opinion about how the interface should look and operate, this chapter, at least, introduces some of the possibilities and the web sites referenced can be a good starting place to find the particular tools or add-ins for you.
The deep beauty of OS X is not in its "lickable" Aqua interface (going away in 10.3, anyway), but in the power any user can harness without knowing a single UNIX command. But eventually, you may find yourself growing curious about how those pretty graphics translate to actual working commands. If so, there is a whole chapter that briefly introduces the terminal and some basic unix commands. By then end of this chapter, you should be able to navigate the file system and even write some rudimentary shell scripts to automate some basic OS chores.
The last third of the book covers networking, e-mail and web topics. Although some of the hacks in this section are very detailed and technically oriented, like setting up sendmail, they are not especially oriented to troubleshooting particular problems.
By far the book's strength is its many references to web sites with shareware and additional information. This seeming hodgepodge of topics is actually blended together with a cohesive layout, organized into well-defined topics. The authors have done a good job making each hack as self-contained as possible with ample cross-references between tips.
Mac OS X Hacks Review, May 01 2003
Definitely the best OS X book I've come across. This book gets down to the nitty-gritty of Mac OS X's hidden features and explains how to accomplish them in only a few pages, and in many cases, a few paragraphs.
I only wish the example files were included on a CD, or as a companion download so I don't have to recreate them from scratch.
Overall, it's a must have for any Mac OS X user who has graduated from "The Missing Manual".
Glen White
Media reviews
"'Mac OS X Hacks' feels like a book that's truly native to its subject: not a Unix book, and clearly not a book from OS 9 days, but made for the new Mac universe...One of the best features of 'Mac OS X Hacks' is that many of the tips are potentially useful for just about anybody running OS X. There's a tip on backing up, another on getting rid of files in the trash that don't want to leave or CDs that don't want to eject, and one on how to share your Internet connection. Although it's likely that most people buying a book with 'Hacks' in the title are ready for advanced topics, these everyday tips are generally useful and can be passed on to the less technically savvy folks who depend on you for support...This book does a good job of avoiding becoming a complete Unix-fest, but there are a lot of useful Unix-based hacks...The test of most 'tips & tricks' books is in their practicality. The contents should be fun and interesting, but if they're useful too, the book is a success. 'Mac OS X Hacks' does an excellent job of delivering a solid package of topics that are interesting and useful."
--Scott Knaster, "MacTech," August 2003
"The book contains useful advice on problem solving (advice that does not necessarily require any special knowledge)...Within the hacks there is a wealth of information about online sources...An essential resource for those who fancy themselves as power users, and an invaluable reference for anyone who mans a Mac OS X help desk or provides assistance to fellow users."
--Major Keary, "AUSOM News," July 2003
"What we have here are a great number of really fine methods to roll your sleeves up and make the Mac work hard...Not only does this book show you what you need, it walks you through the steps."
--Graham K. Rogers, Bangkok Post, 6/4/2003
http://www.bangkokpost.com/040603_Database/04Jun2003_datacol52.html
"'Mac OS X Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools' by Rael Dornfest and Kevin Hemenway is a great cookbook for getting started...The bulk of the hacks are fairly quick and easy tips and tricks. But there are also a few rather complex hacks, including how to load and run Linux on your iBook....like the OS itself, it can be a lot of fun to play with."
--Ric Getter, "MacDirectory," Fall 2003
"This should quickly become an essential guide to anyone who wants more power out of their computer, and more efficient ways to do repetitive chores...There's plenty of fun stuff here, but serious business and creative production answers take charge."
--North Bay Multimedia Association, April 2003
"This book is a must have for serious Mac OS X users. The hacks cover every aspect of daily OS X use and introduce many advanced Unix topics to the Unix newbies...this book is a gem."
--Jason Scott Gessner, Chicago Perl Mongers, April 2003
"This book is a compendium of Mac OS X hacks in the old sense of the word: tips, tricks, and tools which do all sorts of neat things. The collection is aimed firmly at a user who approaches his Mac from the point of view of a sysadmin...The book will appeal mostly to people want to do more than just edit words or graphics, who want to be power users of OS X."--"Netserfer Digest," Apr 4, 2003
"'Mac OS X Hacks,' written by Rael Dornfest and Kevin Hemenway, contains an even 100 tips, tricks, and scripts developed by Mac OS X power users and Unix hackers. Each hack can be ready through in a few minutes, and this compilation provides a cornucopia of hands-on solutions that can be applied by either first-time or longtime users, and is targeted at everyone from home users to Corporate IT personnel and anyone in between who has a hankering to get more out of OS X...There is plenty of interesting and useful stuff in this book, and if you are the type of Mac user who likes to proverbially dive under the hood and get your hands dirty, you will find that it more than justifies its modest $24.95 price tag."
--Charles Moore, Applelinks, May 2, 2003
http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/hacks.shtml
"Every so often I see something jaw-dropping yummy... Such a phrase can also describe the reader's experience with a book from O'Reilly entitled 'Mac OS X Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools.'"
--Terry Pollard, South Mississippi Mac User Group, May 2003
http://www.sm-mug.org/reviews/osxhacks.html
"'Mac OS X Hacks'...is stuffed full of very useful suggestions to improve your OS X skills...The varying range of hack sophistication and difficulty is one of the best aspects of this book: you can start with the easy tips, move on to the moderate tricks, and hope someday you'll be geeky enough to work the magic of the most exotic Unix-based feats of skill and daring...'Mac OS X Hacks' is a book you can live with for a long time...MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5."
--David Weeks, MyMac.com, 4/29/03
http://www.mymac.com/weeks/machacks_4.29.03.shtml
"Finally--a publisher that understands 'hack' isn't a bad word. This book is just a collection of damn cool things. I'm the kind of guy who looks for all the sidenotes and tips in computer books because usually I don't have time to read 500+ pages of stuff I already half know. I just want the meat...The nugget...The hacks...This book is simply a collection of the 'good stuff' that's in other OS X books. What is amazing is that this book is nearly 400 pages (and it's all the good stuff)...If you're a power user, this book is invaluable. It's been either on my desk, or on the bookshelf right next to my desk ever since the UPS man came. I write a weekly power user column and I'm going to admit it here in public--this book has made my job easy."
--Jonathan Gales, Editor and Webmaster, MacMerc.com
http://macmerc.com/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=56
