Gene Steinberg is well known among users of Apple computers for his Web site (http://www.macnightowl.com) and associated radio show and journal articles. He has written a number of books on using various releases of Mac OS X, and its predecessor, Mac OS 9. Some of these addressed the needs of those using particular Mac programs, such as Office 2001, and some were more general.

This book is directed at those about to upgrade to Apple’s newest operating system (at the time of writing). It is also intended for Mac OS power users in general, and for system administrators intending to deploy Mac OS X 10.3 on their networks.

In the first chapter, readers learn about the new features found in Mac OS X 10.3, and, in the second chapter, readers learn how to perform an upgrade from Mac OS 9 or an earlier version of Mac OS X. There are some valuable suggestions here (like “install Mac OS 9.2 or later before you start”), and the reader is urged to select an appropriate type of installation and employ the disk utility for drive checking before beginning. There are also some suggestions about performing an installation on unsupported hardware (using XPostFacto). Screen shots are used to clarify the procedures described in these, and all subsequent, chapters.

Upon completion of an upgrade or installation, Mac owners will need to configure some network and account settings; they may also wish to adjust some system and account preferences. These tasks are illustrated in chapter 3. Users may want to learn more about the Finder file browser (chapter 4), and how to manage the desktop (chapter 5). They may also wish to create additional accounts for other users, and this is covered briefly in chapter 6; this chapter includes some suggestions for access restrictions on childrens’ accounts.

Chapter 7 addresses the search features that can be found in Finder and Sherlock; the Watson shareware application also receives mention.

In chapter 8 (“Networking Overview”), readers can learn how to attach their machines to a network, and selectively share their files and printers with users of other machines on that network. Both wired and wireless networks are considered, and there are some instructions for configuring dial-up point-to-point protocol (PPP) connections. The level of coverage is sufficient for typical home or small office users.

Chapters 9 and 10 address Applescript (very briefly) and program installation, and chapter 11 is titled “Setting Up New Hardware and Peripherals.” The last chapter contains short sections on adding Wi-Fi cards, scanners, disks, and cameras.

Some of the remaining 11 chapters cover issues such as portable computing, Mac OS X applications (Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and so on), surfing the Internet, and using the Mail utility. There is also a chapter that details how older programs can be run under Mac OS X using the Classic environment, and another on managing the Panther font library.

There are short chapters about backups and security, both of which seem to recommend commercial packages (Retrospect-Express-Backup, VirusBarrier, Norton Personal Firewall, and so on). There is a short chapter about Panther’s Unix environment; the level of coverage therein is just sufficient enough to make it dangerous.

One of the most useful chapters is “Troubleshooting Panther.” It covers issues like disk and memory problems, network problems, and unsupported graphics cards.

If you are about to upgrade an existing version of Mac OS, you will find this book appropriate. You might also consider Pogue’s book [1], which I found slightly easier to read; it also addresses the needs of those migrating from Windows operating systems. If you need Unix command-line details, or want to set up Web and database servers, you will need to buy something like Mac OS X Panther unleashed [2].