Mac users who have long been at the mercy of arcane permissions from Mac OS X's Unix underpinnings can now regain mastery of their Macs with Take Control of Permissions in Leopard (TidBITS, $10 USD), the latest Leopard-specific title in the Take Control library.
Written by Unix guru and Mac aficionado Brian Tanaka, the 87-page ebook mixes practical how-to details and troubleshooting tips with just the right amount of theory as it explains permissions in relation to how you keep your files private, copy files to and from servers effectively, set the Ignore Permissions option for external disks, repair screwy permissions, and delete those files that just won't die.
For those who want to learn advanced concepts, the ebook also delves into topics like the sticky bit, symbolic versus absolute ways to set permissions, and how to work with bit masks. In particular, Tanaka looks at what's new with permissions in Leopard, including the disappearance of the NetInfo database and the increased use of access control lists. The book covers managing permissions from the Finder's Get Info and Inspector windows, with more-capable third-party utilities, and from the Unix command line.
Take Control publisher Adam Engst said, "I'm no Unix expert, but with Brian's clear explanations, I've been able to handle a wide variety of permissions-related issues on my Macs. With this information, we Mac users don't have to feel like guests on our own Macs any more."
The ebook may be purchased for $10 from either TidBITS or O'Reilly Media.
For a review copy or more information please email takecontrolpr@oreilly.com. Please include your contact information.
Brian Tanaka has worked for a variety of companies including the Well, SGI, Intuit, Nintendo, and RealNetworks. Today, his own company, Martingale-Oak LLC, provides Unix and open source technologies consulting. His articles have appeared in Linux Journal and Sysadmin Magazine.
Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bios, and cover graphic, see the catalog page for Take Control of Permissions in Leopard.
Take Control of Permissions in Leopard
Brian Tanaka
ISBN: 1-933671-36-X, 87 pages, PDF Price: $10.00 USD
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About TidBITS
The Take Control series is published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. TidBITS
co-founders Adam and Tonya Engst have been publishing highly regarded news
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which covers Macintosh- and Internet-related topics. The Take Control
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