Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The tool on the cover of Mac OS X Panther Hacks is a pipe wrench, an adjustable tool that uses two serrated jaws for gripping and turning a pipe. In 1870, U.S. Patent #184,993 was issued for this type of wrench to inventor Daniel C. Stillson (pipe wrenches are also known as "Stillsons") of J.J. Walworth & Co., a Boston-area heating and plumbing company. Frustrated by existing pipefitting tools, Stillson whittled an improved wrench model out of wood and showed it to his boss. Impressed with the mechanics of this hacked prototype, Stillson's supervisor authorized corporate payment to a blacksmith so that the wrench design could be forged in steel. The forged wrench was then shown to the company president, who instructed its inventor to test it in the company's pipe room: "Twist off the pipe or break the wrench," he said. "Put enough strength on the wrench to do one or the other." Half an hour later, Stillson returned with a twisted off piece of pipe in one hand and an intact wrench in the other. His patent has long since expired, but the pipe wrenches manufactured today remain nearly identical to Stillson's original design. Genevieve d'Entremont was the production editor and proofreader, and Brian Sawyer was the copyeditor for Mac OS X Panther Hacks. Philip Dangler and Darren Kelly provided quality control. Julie Hawks wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is from the Just Tools collection of the CMCD Library. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Andrew Savikas to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Philip Dangler.