48 MacDirectory
BOOK REVIEWS
how the Apple iApp's can take over for
their Windows counterparts, and options
for replacing Windows-only programs
(including a primer on Boot Camp and
third-party virtualization options). One of
the last sections of the book, "Putting
Down Roots," provides an overview of user
accounts, file sharing, networking and
security on the Mac.
Switching to the Mac has been compre-
hensively updated to cover all of Leopard's
newest features. Considering the level of
detail Pogue and his crew have provided,
this was no easy task. And, they didn't miss
a trick. In fact, that could turn out to be
one of the downsides of recommending
this book to a friend. After they've read a
few chapters, you may find them peeking
over your shoulder and saying, "You know,
there's an easier way to do that…"
Switching to the Mac:
The Missing Manual
by David Pogue
590 pages > $29.99
Pogue Press
ISBN 978-0-596-51412-9
Take Control of Sharing
FIles in Leopard
File sharing in Leopard can be a major
challenge, not so much because it's
particularly difficult but because there are
so many options. Also, as is the case of all
forms of sharing, security is always an
issue. As one of the of the recent additions
to the series,
Take Control of Sharing
Files in Leopard
by Glenn Fleishman
offers a clear and exceptionally concise
guide to sharing files easily and safely.
Fleishman starts out with a chapter
covering online file sharing, explaining the
options (relatively few for Mac users) and
warning of the potential security and
financial pitfalls. With the wrong kind of
contract, popularity can be very pricey, as
the author discovered in one of his early
electronic publishing ventures.
File sharing has undergone some
significant changes in Leopard and OS X
finally has returned to a level of ease and
flexibility that we haven't seen since the
Classic days. Fleishman presents one of the
best guides we've seen to these new
capabilities, combining an overview of the
theory and strategy with an effective step-
by-step tutorial on how to set things up.
The book also offers some useful extended
coverage of techniques for specifically
sharing iTunes and iPhoto libraries.
The latter chapters cover the various
methods used to connect to and access
shared files and folders, and the author
provides some very helpful tables that
explain the similarities, differences,
strengths and weaknesses of the different
systems. You'll also find a number of
warnings throughout the book. These are
particularly useful, as a number of
innocuous-sounding file sharing
techniques can open up a number of
vulnerabilities with consequences ranging
from the merely disturbing to the
unexpectedly dire.
The entire
Take Control series is sold and
distributed as eBooks; we find this to be a
particularly useful application of the
technology. Each book in the series is
comparatively short and tightly focused
on a specific challenge. This highly
granular approach to technology
publishing helps control costs for readers
and permits the distribution of works that
may lack the bulk and broad appeal to
make print distribution feasible.
Take
Control of Sharing Files
and many of the
newer books in this series are sold as PDF
files, free of digital rights management
(DRM) controls. They can be printed and
you can have copies on any device that
supports the format. The files are,
however digitally watermarked, linking
them to the purchaser.
For us old-school types, electronic
publishing may take a little getting used
to (and frankly we're still looking forward
to the day when Apple's design and
engineering genius can produce the
ultimate eBook reader). However,
Peachpit's
Take Control books are one of
the best applications we've seen of the
electronic publishing concept.
Take Control of Sharing Files in Leopard
by Glenn Fleishman
87 pages (eText) > $10
Peachpit Press
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-55291-4
