Errata for Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual

or typo down arrow instead of up arrow

Note from the Author or Editor:
Now says: "Simply click the desktop background and then press Command-up arrow"

Option-double-clicking any titile bar does not minimize all desktop windows sending them flying to the Dock in Snow Leopard unless System Preferences-Appearance has been set.

The text from the previous page (page 28) says "You can open a second window using any of these techniques." The technique listed at the top of page 29 says "Press ⌘ as you make a selection from a window's title bar menu (page 22)." However in my experience this technique does not work. A second window is not opened. Instead the existing window changes to the selection made from the window's title bar menu. Pressing the ⌘ key during this operation does not make any difference. Maybe I'm missing something or maybe I'm doing something wrong but this seems like at least a minor factual error to me. Thank you.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

It says to open a folder by pressing command+O or command+up arrow. It should be command+down arrow to open a folder.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"So Apple decided enough was enough; it hid the Add to Favorites command. It’s now in your File menu only if you press the Shift key". In 10.6 it's Control, not Shift.

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed 10/10

"Click the + button to view your Applications folder." You will see the list of open applications and Other, which will allow to select other programms.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"In these pop-up menus, o means the Option key, s is the Shift key, and C means Control" There's no Shift, you can choose between Command/Options/Control.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"By c-clicking this button repeatedly, you can cycle among toolbar styles. In Mail, for example, you can cycle among six dif- ferent toolbar styles: with icons and labels (large and small); with icons only (large and small); and with text labels only (large and small)". I remember these in older versions, but it seems, that in 10.6 Mail there are only 3 styles - icons, icons & text, text.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

text "Just ... click the white button show in Figure 5-17." There is no *white* button" in figure 5-17. At best, it's grey -- and that's not helpful when every other button is some shade of grey as well. Maybe better to call it the "small lozenge in the upper right corner of an Application window, as illustrated in Figure 5-17."

Note from the Author or Editor:
Now says " Just Command-click the whitish button shown by the cursor in Figure 5-17."

Sixth paragraph in left hand column: "A 64-bit computer, though, can have just a tad more: 16 million gigs, to be precise (That"s 16 exabytes, in case you were wondering. ............)" Should this not read 16 terabytes, as stated in the left-hand column of the box on p.4?

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"Clicking the mailing address fires up your Web browser and takes you to MapQuest.com" It's maps.google.com. And for Yellow Pages (below, page 205) - daplus.us.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

Finally, if you double-click the name of the stock, you fly into your Web browser to view a much more detailed stock-analysis page courtesy of Quote.com (Lycos Finance). It's Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/)

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

In the tip that begins, "To see close-ups of Apple's..." the url --> http://www.apple.com/keyboards is incorrect. A 404 is returned. Should be --> http://www.apple.com/keyboard (no 's' on end).

Note from the Author or Editor:
Now says "To see closeups of Apple’s current wired and wireless keyboards, visit www.apple.com/keyboard"

"On both sides" should read "On the right side".

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"Input Menu" should read "Input Sources"

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"You can hide the To Do list either by using the Window/Hide To Dos" It's in View menu, not Window (the same error was in 10.5 edition).

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed 10/10

The floating Table palette does not appear in figure 10-24!

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"In the TextEdit document shown here..." There isn't one!

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"Once you’ve grasped that much, you’ll probably also understand the term DVD-R (and the nearly identical “plus” versions, CD+R and DVD+R)". There's no such thing as CD+R.

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

The directions say to: Choose iTunes->Preferences, click the Advanced icon, and then click Importing; from the On CD Insert pop-up menu, choose Begin Playing. Click OK. The directions should say: Choose iTunes->Preferences, click the General icon; from the "When you insert a CD" pop-up menu, choose Begin Playing. Click OK.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

There's unnecessary step in Phase 2 "Phase 2: Go back to your teacher’s desk. On your own Mac, choose GoÆConnect to Server. In the resulting dialog box, click Browse. Now you get a list of the other Macs on the network. Click one and enter an administra- tor’s name and password for that Mac." Just open Parental Control on your Mac and you'll see you’ll see a section in the Accounts list Other Computers

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

Please, revise this box. There are should be no mention of Open Firmware (no Power PC support in 10.6). And "Require password to change firmware settings" is "Require password to start this computer from another source"

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"For more power and flexibility, install a shareware program like Firewalk or BrickHouse" These are old apps which (I presume) don't work under Mac OS X 10.6. Maybe we should mention WaterRoof and LittleSnitch?

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"Only a slight pause as you log out indicates that Mac OS X is doing some housekeeping on the encrypted files: freeing up some space and/or backing up your home directory with Time Machine" It doesn't backup you home with Time Machine right at the time of logout.

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"If you select “Use secure virtual memory,” then Mac OS X also encrypts the contents of virtual memory (page 502)" There's no such option, when creating FileVault account (it was in previous versions). Now it's under General tab and it would be turned on by default.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"Once the administrator leaves your desk, you can go right on making changes to the other important panels (Network and Time Capsule and Security) without the administrator’s knowledge" Time Machine, not Time Capsule

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

“Anyplace you are supposed to make up a password, including in the Accounts pane of System References, a key icon appears. When you click it, the Password Assistant appears. .....” In fact, no such “key” (symbol) appears on the “Accounts” pane. The path to find Password Assistant is the following: Home>Applications>Utilities>Keychain Access.app>Passwords (on the left)>Attributes>Key symbol followed by narrative “Keys”> Password Assistant The above findings solve and supersede my recent errata sent on 12/31/2010

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"(some of these features are available only in the unlocked Pro version of QuickTime Player)" We are talking about QuickTime Player, not QT Player 7 here, there's no Pro version.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

"For the first time in its history, QuickTime Player now does more than play movies; it can also record them." Leftover from previous editions. Recodring was available before 10.6.

"When it’s all over, your video will appear safely nestled in iTunes, in the Videos category, ready to watch or sync." Movies category

Regarding the Root Account or superuser, this book, like its predecessor for Leopard, makes reference to the Missing CD section at missingmanuals.com in order to learn how to activate the root user account. However, all the information online is still referenced to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, where you utilize the application Directory Utility to access the root user account setup. With Snow Leopard, this is now fully incorrect as Directory Utility does not run under Snow Leopard. Enabling the root user account for Snow Leopard is now accessed via the Account pane of System Preferences, and it's a tad convoluted. Apparently Apple's software engineers made it more difficult to access so as to not allow someone to trash their entire Mac.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Will correct the optional download document

"If you have a laptop, create a connection called Offline. From the Show pop-up menu, choose Network Port Configurations; make all the connection methods in the list inactive. When you’re finished, you’ve got yourself a laptop that will never attempt to go online. It’s the laptop equivalent of Airplane Mode on a cellphone". Leftover from old editions. There's no "Show pop-up menu" with "Network Port Configurations"

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

"Choose GoÆConnect to Server. …………… (This is the quickest approach if you’re using somebody else’s Mac.)" Why not "Go→ iDisk → Other User's iDisk"?

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.

Shows a picture of the Safari 3 toolbar with the customize tool bar window from Safari 4. The access is View -> Customize Toolbar, not Customize Address Bar.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Now says "To summon this toolbar-tailoring screen, choose View->Customize Toolbar." (Also, figure has been updated with Safari 4 image.)

The screenshot of “Tabs” in your book does not show the first selectable option “Open pages in tabs instead of windows” followed by a drop-down menu with choices of “Never”, “Automatically” or “Always”. My OS X 10.6 was purchased at an Apple Store in the US as a physical CD. (October 2009)

Note from the Author or Editor:
fixed in 1/11 reprint

under backing up, Backup program (MobileMe) and MobileMe Backup list pg. 243. Should be pg. 257

Note from the Author or Editor:
Fixed in 10/10 reprint.