Mac OS X 10.1 (Visual QuickStart Guide)

The latest release of the venerable Mac OS makes only incremental improvements on its predecessor, but it's worth remembering that the predecessor was Mac OS X--a watershed release that incorporated a UNIX kernel for the first time. In Mac OS X 10.1: Visual QuickStart Guide, Maria Langer makes incremental improvements to her book on Mac OS X, documenting the new features of version 10.1, notably support for DVD movies and easy CD burning from within the Finder. It's nothing earthshaking, but this is the version of the book you'll want if you're unfamiliar with Mac OS and have just purchased a Macintosh. Langer's book is one of the best Mac OS beginners' primers around.

The Visual QuickStart style, which relies heavily on the close integration of text and graphics to convey information, suits Mac OS well. In the one-page spread on burning CDs, for example, Langer presents a nine-step process that's illustrated by no fewer than five screen shots. Every time she references a dialog box or menu in the text of her instructions, there's a picture of the relevant interface item to the side, so it's always clear what you're supposed to be seeing. This sort of picture-heavy tutorial is typical of coverage throughout the book. --David Wall

Topics covered: Everything an everyday user (as opposed to a programmer or network administrator) can do with Mac OS X 10.1. The fundamentals of file management with the Finder, launching applications, printing, connecting to the Internet, and using Sherlock are all covered. There's even a little AppleScript coverage for Mac users who want to do a little automation.