Customer Reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Used to be good, but now is dated, Apr 25, 2023
This book is for more advanced users. For example, unlike most OS X books that would cover file transfer protocol (ftp), by telling you how to download and upload to other sites, this book tells you how to setup your own sites.
It is a longer book and covers subjects in more detail than other OS X books I've read.
I own this book, but it covers OS 10.1 which is too old. I recommend that you buy a newer version of this book that matches the version of OS X that you will be using.
1st Ed 10.1, 2nd Ed. 10.2, 3rd Ed. 10.3, and 4th Ed. 10.4
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Just so much information! Always a first-hand reference., Oct 14, 2023
I think I can agree with what all the other 4 and 5 star reviewers gave this book. It has the most information put into one book I've ever seen. I've used it to help with setting up Apache and serving actual websites from home with PHP and MySQL, email server, DNS, shell scripting, PERL, and more.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the people who say it's a bad book. Sure, it's probably not the best book to reference if you're new to computing, but the stuff in here isn't so advanced that nobody can do it. The authors are very clear with instructions.
I'd definitely recommend getting this book and using it as a primary reference because with 1400+ pages, the chances are this book mentions what you need to know at one point or another. Then, if you still need help, you can take what you've learned (or read) from this book and do some internet searches to see if you can't further your knowledge with a few technical websites that may go into more detail on the subject. Then, if you still need more help, you can buy a book written specifically on the topic you need help with.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Good book!, Aug 17, 2023
It is heavy book for very advanced folk only. If you like to dig deeper it is te book. it is not a book for everyone ether. Nice reading. I like it.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
 A massive reference, Jun 18, 2023
Mac OS X Unleashed is not a pocket guide. It's more of a massive tome than anything else - at over 1500 pages, it's probably the heaviest technical book I own. (And that's including Deitel & Deitel's C: How to Program, which is weirdly weighty for its size.) Since Mac OS X Unleashed describes itself as "a complete guide and reference for Mac OS users", my biggest question when approaching the book was whether this is in fact the case. It seems like if you're going to shell out for an OS X book of this size and price, then it should ideally be the only OS X book you'll have to buy.What I liked: there's no shortage of good things about Unleashed, but the best is probably that the authors assume, for the most part,that you already know how to use your computer. Although there are many good books out there for those new to Macs, this is not one of them and does not try to be. That means that if you've already achieved a basic working knowledge of Mac OS, there's still well over a thousand pages of information intended especially for you. However, I can understand that many people do want the basics in an OS X book. Still, I personally don't really see it as a problem. If there's one thing I've never needed a book for, it's the iApps. In fact, I've always found it irritating that other OS X books spend so much time on them. But that's me, and I'm not everyone. There were several sections of the book that surprised me, including the chapter on web programming. It makes sense, though - the book is intended to "unleash" OS X, after all, and OS X does come with an Apache installation (even if System Preferences calls it Personal Web Sharing). Given that every OS X box has a webserver, it makes sense that many OS X users would want to know more about related topics. In fact, the chapters that focus on system and network administration comprise a pretty thorough introduction to the BSD side of OS X, and were fairly impressive. These were my favorite sections of the book, probably because they're topics rarely dealt with - or at least rarely dealt with well - in Mac books. What I didn't like: the book suffers from some minor issues typical of most massive technical volumes - it's informative, but also dry, dense, and not terribly readable. Also, while I appreciate the depth and scope of the book, it's a little unwieldy. This isn't something you'll be reading in bed or on the subway. These problems are neither hugely important nor terribly surprising, but they're also not inevitable - reference texts can be thorough without being dull, it's just that this one happens to be both. Probably the only other real complaint I have with the book is that at times it seems as though it can't decide who its audience is. As I mentioned above, one of the things I liked about Unleashed was that most of the book seems firmly aimed at the intermediate to experienced user. And yet if that's the case, then the chapters that cover things like Desktop Accessories (Calculator, Clock, Key Caps) seem out of place. It doesn't seem like the introductory material offered in the book would really be enough to serve as a tutorial for an absolute beginner (as evidenced by complaints like the one I quoted earlier), but at the same time it's difficult to figure out who else would need it. However, I'm not suggesting they skimped on advanced topics to squeeze in inappropriate Clock coverage - if there's one thing this book has, it's plenty of everything. The bottom line: I believe that Unleashed does live up to its title, and does a good job in the process. It's not an introduction to OS X - it's about getting more out of your system after you've already learned the basics. It doesn't (usually) try to be a beginner's book, but a quick-learning novice would probably do fine with it, and any moderately experienced Mac user will probably find that it serves his or her purposes effectively and efficiently. If given the choice (and funding), I'd probably still go with a couple different books, but I think Unleashed has in fact reached its goal of being a complete guide to OS X. You could do just fine with only this book, and at its price it may be cheaper than buying a couple smaller books separately.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Especially good for those with a UNIX background., May 12, 2023
The executive summary is this: if you only want to buy one user manual for OS X, it should probably be this book... especially if you have some amount of UNIX background.The first 11 chapters cover the basics about the OS and offer some tips and tricks for customizing the interface and simplifying certain tasks that are a bit opaque out of the box (like ejecting the CD on a mirror G4 when you're using a keyboard that doesn't have an eject button). Fairly conversational in style, this portion of the book is an easy (and worthwhile) read. Chapters 12 through 18 cover the BSD sub-system. If you are in need of a quickie UNIX refresher course, then these chapters are just about perfect (including some 30 pages on csh scripting). If you're completely new to the UNIX shell and commands, these pages may be a bit of a whirlwind to you. Chapters 19 through 32 are an even faster paced romp through just about all of the major open source technologies and some of the NeXT technologies you'll find under the hood of OS X. From NIS/YP to the Netinfo database, from using tar and pipes for copying directories to a 20 page introduction to PERL programming, from configuring NFS and Samba to compiling and installing Apache plug-ins, from ShoutCAST MP3 streaming to firewall configuration... this book covers it all. Want to compile the latest version of MySQL? It's in there? Want to set up a POP server or configure sendmail? It's in there. Want to interact with an ActiveDirectory via LDAP? It's in there. Want to configure your X window manager? It's in there. Want to learn how to embed PHP into your web pages? It's in there. In fact, the end of the book reads pretty much like an intermediate Linux administration manual. The book's easy style, step-by-step guided examples, and the support and errata provided on the companion website ... make it an easy recommendation for me.
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Based on 49 reviews.