J.D. Biersdorfer is the author of iPod: The Missing Manual, Netbooks: The Missing Manual and co-author of The Internet: The Missing Manual, iPhoto ’09: The Missing Manual, and the second edition of Google: The Missing Manual. She’s been writing the weekly computer Q&A column for The New York Times since 1998 and has covered everything from 17th-century Indian art to the world of female hackers for the newspaper. She’s also written articles for the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, Budget Travel, The New York Times Book Review, and Rolling Stone. She studied in the Theater & Drama program at Indiana University and spends her spare moments playing the banjo and watching BBC World News. Email: jd.biersdorfer@gmail.com.
Peter McKie (editor), who still has his second-generation iPhone, edited this book with a keen sense of iPad envy. He has a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University and lives in New York City, where he researches the history of old houses and, every once in a while, sneaks into abandoned buildings. Email: pmckie@oreilly.com.
Nellie McKesson (production editor) is a graduate of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She lives in Brockton, Mass., and spends her spare time studying graphic design and making t-shirts (www.endplasticdesigns.com). Email: nellie@oreilly.com.
Julie Hawks (indexer) is an indexer for the Missing Manual series. Her other life includes photography, tinkering with databases, and enjoying nature. Email: juliehawks@gmail.com.
I would like to thank David Pogue for getting me into the book business back in 2002 and for being a terrific editor on our mutual projects over the years. Also thanks to Peter McKie for making sense of things during the mad scramble, and to Nellie McKesson and all the Missing Manual folks at O’Reilly.
Big thanks to Mac guru Alan Yacavone for his 3G help and to the gang at Niles Creative Group for their video expertise and artistic inspiration. I am also grateful to Apple for providing the iPad images and to the assorted other iPad accessory companies who made their digital photography available.
Book deadlines are detrimental to one’s social life, so mad props to Tory, Deb, Linda, Barb, and Andy for understanding. And thanks to the family (especially and most importantly, Betsy Book) for putting up with me during the long hours with Steve Earle and the Carolina Chocolate Drops blasting forth.
—J.D. Biersdorfer
Missing Manuals are witty, superbly written guides to computer products that don’t come with printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each book features a handcrafted index and RepKover, a detached-spine binding that lets the book lie perfectly flat without the assistance of weights or cinder blocks.
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