The iMac Book: Get inside the hot new iMac, CNET's "Most Innovative Product" of 1998

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 157610429X ISBN 13: 9781576104293

Publisher: Coriolis Group, 1999

A guide for beginning iMac users explains the Mac operating system, adding peripherals, troubleshooting problems, and using the Internet, and suggests Macintosh-related resources on the Internet

Review:

Like its subject, The iMac Book goes heavy on style. It has a hard cover, a slick jacket, and quite a bit of graphical pizzazz inside. But, as is also the case with its subject matter, The iMac Book backs up its design values with honest usefulness and solid information. If you have an iMac--and particularly if you're using it to get into personal computing for the first time--you'll learn a lot from The iMac Book.

Author Don Rittner's first order of business (after a simple discussion on how to put your iMac together) is explaining how to connect the iMac to the Internet. While not awfully hard, this is a critical process requiring some problem-solving skills. The iMac Book provides lots of information about Internet Service Providers (ISPs), how to set up an account with an ISP, and how to configure Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. The author pauses often to explain jargon and express his opinion on various matters--his advice is solid and worth following.

Once you're connected, The iMac Book takes you on a very good tour showing you what the Internet has to offer. Rittner demonstrates where to find software, newsgroups, Web sites, mailing lists, and other resources that appeal to many iMac users. More importantly, he shows you how to participate (safely and politely) in online communities. That's the kind of welcome that should make you feel like the newest member of the iMac and Internet communities. --David Wall

From the Back Cover:

The iMac book is the complete technology and cyberculture resource on Apple's new iMac. You will learn not only how to use the Mac OS and bundled software that comes with the computer, but also how to run Windows 95/98 software on your iMac. Additionally, you will discover how to troubleshoot problems, choose upgrade paths, increase your computer memory, and install a hard drive by yourself. The author then shows you how easy it is to get on the Internet, surf the Internet, and build your own Web page. You will be guided directly to the thousands of Macintosh- related resources on the Internet such as Web sites, mailing lists, software archives, newsgroups, and to sources that provide the latest news and product updates. This book is written in non-technical language and is designed to educate, not intimidate.