If you really want to get going with OS X v 10.2.x, this second edition of David Pogue's Missing Manual for Mac OSX really delivers!

I have ordered several manuals for the mac updated to OS X Jaguar. I haven't found a question yet that Pogue's "Missing Manual" hasn't addressed fully, unlike the Jaguar ed. of the Little Black Book, which was nice, but brief, and often didn't even begin to address problems encountered with very common administration procedures, like setting capabilities and permissions for different user accounts. I had to go to Apple Tech Support, because I didn't yet have Pogue's "Missing Manual," which actually, was even more helpful than Apple's tech support!!

The index (20 pages!!!) has actually had an entry for every single hitch I've come up against. Even the Mac OS X online help doesn't do that! Just try typing in "sudo" to the online help and see what you get! The troubleshooting guide is a dream come true for anyone who's been flying by the seat of the pants since the day Jaguar was released! I've been able to solve problems left and right that I've just had to ignore since I went Jag because there was no manual in the box, the other manuals I got didn't help, and Apple care tech support didn't have the info, either! This is a technically direct and accessable encyclopedia of simple how-to info that will even give you the geeky "why-or-how-it works" if you really want to know. It will tell you all the incredible and powerful things your OS X 10.2.x can do that you didn't know until now. And, unlike the Mac onboard help, it will also tell you HOW you can get there from here!!

And besides that, it's fun! David Pogue has a long history of lightening you up while you're in the often desperate search of MacEnlightenment! You get high tech, direct help with ease of use and enjoyable reading. Who could ask for more? I'm recommending it to everymacuser I talk to!

If you really want to rev your new Jag, and you're only getting one manual, go with this one- the Missing Manual for Mac OS X, second edition. It's incredibly well written, jam packed full of useful and FINDABLE help, appropriately humorous, and best of all, it will actually ship when you order it!!!

Having switched to the superior Macintosh platform a few years ago I was left wondering exactly how to do things. The Macintosh is painfully easy to use but there are times when you need help "thinking differently". As a long time Windows user I had to "re-learn" a few things in order to achieve the objective of a fluid computer-user dynamic. Because of the Macintosh, and this book, using computers is fun again!

This book is simultaneously educational and enjoyable! Imagine that, a *computer book* being enjoyable! This is not your father's Fortran/Cobol, dryly written instructional book, that's for sure.

David Pogue's writing style is both thorough and concise. He writes with a wry and immediately likable levity that simply makes you enjoy reading about Mac OS X. His writing for NYTimes.com, O'Reilly & Associates and various "For Dummies" books has undoubtedly helped hone his technique.

If you're a person switching to Mac OS X from Mac OS 9 you'll find the "Where'd It Go" section immensely helpful. It details the differences between OS 9 and OS X and how to find that certain program or preference you used before. It also has a "Where'd It Go" for Windows users, which shows how to do things "the Mac way" and help ease the migration from Windows to Mac OS X.

Even if you're completely new to computers, this book will undoubtedly alleviate your fears and help you get to working with Macs in a very fast manner. It's a great "In A Nutshell" type book, but unlike some of those books it bridges the gap between complete novice and intermediate user needs.

If you're looking for an advanced/expert book or one covering unix then you'd probably want to look at O'Reilly's "Learning Unix For Mac OS X" or "Mac OS X In A Nutshell". Even though this book is written for novices and intermediate users, it covers some unix/terminal commands. It also covers how to use the web, FTP, SSH/Telnet, VPN, Firewall, networking, burning CD's and DVD's, making mp3's and playing them and so on. But it does so in an easy to understand fashion. The nice thing about this book, besides how easy it is to read and all the things it will help you do, is that it can be read from front to back or can be read by skipping around at your whim.

Once you read this book you'll be able to do nearly anything on your Macintosh. And that's what its all about.

Pros:

1) very intelligently written
2) thorough, without being boring
3) concise and to the point
4) lots of "how to's" with actual screenshots from Mac OS X
5) covers all aspects of using a Macintosh
6) very current (covers the latest version of OS X called "Jaguar" as of 2003)
7) great index

Cons:

None

The "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" has finally become available and it is worth the wait. My experience with earlier publications was not good - I found them to be too basic and very incomplete (no surprise: writing a manual based upon the Public Beta has little relevance to the current high powered OS 10.1.2). Neither criticism applies to Pogue's new book. It is filled with all kinds of information that I found useful in evaluating Mac OS X. His style is to provide a number of ways to accomplish a task and let you pick the one(s) best suited to the way YOU work. If you are like me, many of those quick keyboard commands will be forgotten, but that's why I keep this type of book handy as a reference tool.

Probably this book is best for developing 'Mac-experienced' users. The learning curve, for parts of the book, can be a bit steep. So new users may want to read something more basic before picking up this new publication. And serious power users don't need a manual.

No CD-ROM with this book, but there should have been. Having the entire book as a .pdf file would be useful, especially for those using a Powerbook.

Although Hitchcock's version of the popular play was considered a shocker in its day, repetition of the story in so many versions has made the story itself seem rather tame: a husband, angered by his wife's affair and in desperate need of money, blackmails an acquaintance to murder her--but his plans go awry when his wife kills her attacker in self-defense.

Both Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings, as the faithless wife and her mild-mannered lover, give enjoyable performances, but the real success of the film is Ray Milland, who brings a slightly oily charm to his role of murderous husband. Hitchcock's approach to the material is somewhat hampered by the fact that the film was originally shot in 3-D, and although the scene in which star Grace Kelly confronts her attacker is justly famous, the film is essentially a meticulous recreation of the stage success rather than a Hitchcock original.

Although familiarity with the material robs if of impact, most viewers will find Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER entertaining in an old-fashioned sort of way. For myself, I wish the film could be released to videotape or DVD in the original 3-D format, so we might see how effectively Hitchcock handled the requirements of the form. It might very well breathe new life into an old favorite.

'Dial M for Murder' has many of the touches that one associates with Hitchcock, mainly, his masterly use of building up suspense and the way he makes you side with the villain, despite yourself. The acting is excellent. Ray Milland is convincing as the charming but devious husband who attempts to murder his wife, Grace Kelly, who makes a compelling and sympathetic victim. Only Robert Cummings grates as the insufferable 'hero', although this may have had to do more with the part than the actor himself.

The flaws of the films are a slight stiffness. There are two reasons for this. 'Dial M for Murder' was originally a play and most of the action takes place in one room. Necessary on a static stage, but limiting and unnatural in a film. It was also shot in 3D at the insistence, and against Hitchcock's objections, of the studios. Since the cameras necessary for 3D were bulky and difficult to manoeuvre, there is a lack of fluidity that adds to the feeling that you are watching a play rather than a film, even if it is an excellent play. However, Hitchcock still manages to produce good cinema. His slow build-up to the attempted murder scene and its thrilling climax is to see the master at his best.

A wonderful film that never bores and often startles. Not quite "up there" with Hitchcock's best, but an excellent film nevertheless.

"Dial M For Murder" is one of Hitchcock's lesser known movies from the fifties. It was taken from Frederick Knott's successful stage play and he also wrote the screenplay. The film had a strong cast which included Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, and, in her first film for Hitchcock, Grace Kelly. The supporting cast included John Williams and Anthony Dawson. The film was made in 3-D but never released in this form here in the U.K.

Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) is aware that his wife Margot (Grace Kelly) is having an affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Margot is hoping for a divorce but her husband has other plans - Tony is alarmed about the thought of having to live without his wife's money so he decides to have her murdered. By chance he runs into an old college acquaintance called C. A. Swann (Anthony Dawson) who is known to have a criminal past and has in fact been in prison. Tony decides that Swann would be the ideal man to do the murder as he has no connection with Margot and offers him £1,000 to do the deed. Swann is reluctant at first so Tony has to resort to blackmail threatening Swann with exposure of some of his past criminal activities to persuade him to become involved. On the night of the planned murder Tony is dining out at a restaurant with Mark and some others (which is to be his alibi). He has left a key under the stair carpet for Swann to enter the apartment and at 11.0 p.m. Tony will phone Margot from the restaurant - Swann will be hiding behind the curtains and when Margot answers the phone he will strangle her from behind. The perfect crime - or is it? Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances things don't quite work out as planned and there are many twists and turns before the police inspector (John Williams) has got it all figured out.

Some favourite lines from the film:

Robert Cummings (to Grace Kelly): "I can see this is going to be a rough evening. All of us saying nice things to each other".

Ray Milland (to Anthony Dawson): "I thought of three different ways of killing him. I even thought of killing her - and that seemed a far more sensible idea".

Kelly (to Cummings): "Do you really believe in the perfect murder?".

John Williams (to Cummings): "They talk about flat footed policemen. May the saints preserve us from the gifted amateur".

Hitchcock's cameo appearance in this film is a little different as he doesn't actually appear "in person". He is seen in the school reunion dinner photograph that Ray Milland shows to Anthony Dawson early in the film. Robert Cummings had starred in a previous Hitchcock film called "Saboteur" (1942). Grace Kelly went on to make two more films for Hitchcock - "Rear Window" and "To Catch a Thief" (both in 1954). Talented character actor John Williams was also in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief". "Dial M For Murder" was remade in 1998 as "A Perfect Murder" with Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen (the last named was also in the remake of "Psycho"). Another of Frederick Knott's plays made into a film was the excellent thriller "Wait Until Dark" starring Audrey Hepburn.

I got this book because of the good review here, but i must say that i was not impressed by this book at all. The details are too sketchy even for a review book. Some of the stastistics are diffrent from standards such as the ECA and NCS studies.
It has great potential as book to use as framework and using another book like kaplock/saddock to confirm facts or expand info.

The excellent!!! book for part one preparation. It is very concise, comprehensive and easy to follow. You can cover key knowledge in short time. It also has question/answer part, which is extremely helpful. I PASSED my part one.

A must for the PRITE and the Part I Psychaitry Board

178 pages of over 300 great black and white and full color photos. Includes a thought provoking introduction by Julian Bond. Covers items from advertising, banks, cookie jars and dolls, to political memorabilia, sports, tobacciana and toys. Estimated values are shown. Clearly demonstrates the role of collectibles in documenting the history of a nation and the culture of its people. A well done, fascinating book.