[JB72]

Nerd alert: This book kinda makes me feel horny.

Mac OS X Hacks reflects the real-world know how and experience of those well steeped in Unix history and expertise, sharing their no-nonsense, sometimes quick-and-dirty solutions to administering and taking full advantage of everything a Unix desktop has to offer: Web, Mail, and FTP serving, security services, SSH, Perl and shell scripting, compiling, configuring, scheduling, networking, and hacking. Add to that the experience of die-hard Macintosh users, customizing and modifying their hardware and software to meet their needs: System Preferences, GUI mods and tweaks, hardware tips, vital shareware and freeware, AppleScript, AppleTalk and equivalents, keyboard modifiers, and general Macintosh-style tomfoolery. {Full Description}

[[APi]TheMan]

Wow, that's pretty radical badical. I'd be interested as to how diverse the 'hacks' are compared to the ones that I have already enacted, those on macosxhints.com, and the general caliber of the hacks...

[JB72]

Originally posted by [APi]TheMan:
Wow, that's pretty radical badical. I'd be interested as to how diverse the 'hacks' are compared to the ones that I have already enacted, those on macosxhints.com, and the general caliber of the hacks...

Well I think that a lot of the more advanced types might find this kind of stuff a little simple. I dunno. For what it's worth, here's the table of contents:

Chapter 1. Files

_ _ _ 1. Understanding and Hacking Your User Account

_ _ _ 2. Taking the Bite Out of Backup

_ _ _ 3. Backing Up on the Go

_ _ _ 4. Dealing with Archives of Many Colors: .img, .sit, .tar, .gz

_ _ _ 5. A Line Break Is a Line Break

_ _ _ 6. Fiddling with Type/Creator Codes and File Extensions

_ _ _ 7. Locking and Unlocking Files

_ _ _ 8. Stubborn Trash, Stuck Images, and Jammed CDs

_ _ _ 9. Aliases, Symlinks, and Hard Links

_ _ _ 10. Recent Filenames

_ _ _ 11. Inspecting the Contents of an .app Package

_ _ _ 12. Opening Microsoft Word Documents Without Microsoft Word



Chapter 2. Startup

_ _ _ 13. Getting a Glimpse of the Boot Process

_ _ _ 14. Booting from Another Device

_ _ _ 15. Turning Your Mac into a Hard Drive

_ _ _ 16. Using Open Firmware Password Protection

_ _ _ 17. OS X for This Old Mac



Chapter 3. Multimedia and the iApps

_ _ _ 18. Top iChat Tips

_ _ _ 19. AIM Alternatives

_ _ _ 20. Printing to PDF or Bitmapped Image

_ _ _ 21. Image Conversion in a Pinch

_ _ _ 22. Top 10 iPhoto Tips

_ _ _ 23. Make Your Own Documentary

_ _ _ 24. From Slideshow to Video Presentation

_ _ _ 25. Hijacking Audio from Mac Apps

_ _ _ 26. Running Your Own Web Radio Station

_ _ _ 27. Sharing Your Listening Preferences

_ _ _ 28. Controlling iTunes with Perl

_ _ _ 29. iCal Calling iTunes

_ _ _ 30. Publishing and Subscribing to iCal Calendars

_ _ _ 31. Using Bluetooth for SMS and Phone-Call Handling

_ _ _ 32. iSync via Bluetooth



Chapter 4. The User Interface

_ _ _ 33. Finding Your Way Back to the Desktop

_ _ _ 34. Alt-Tab Alt-Ternatives

_ _ _ 35. Putting Things in the Apple Menu

_ _ _ 36. Keeping Your Snippets Organized

_ _ _ 37. LaunchBar, a Dock Alternative

_ _ _ 38. DockSwap, Another Dock Alternative

_ _ _ 39. Tinkering with Your User Interface

_ _ _ 40. Extending Your Screen Real Estate with Virtual Desktops

_ _ _ 41. Top Screenshot Tips

_ _ _ 42. Checking Your Mac's Pulse

_ _ _ 43. Screensaver as Desktop

_ _ _ 44. Dipping Your Pen into Inkwell

_ _ _ 45. Speakable Web Services

_ _ _ 46. Using AppleScript in Contextual Menus

_ _ _ 47. Prying the Chrome Off Cocoa Applications



Chapter 5. Unix and the Terminal

_ _ _ 48. Introducing the Terminal

_ _ _ 49. More Terminal Tricks and Tips

_ _ _ 50. Becoming an Administrator for a Moment

_ _ _ 51. Editing Special Unix Files

_ _ _ 52. Setting Shell Environment Variables

_ _ _ 53. Scheduling with System Tasks and Other Events

_ _ _ 54. Opening Things from the Command Line

_ _ _ 55. Introducing and Installing the Mac OS X Developer Tools

_ _ _ 56. Top 10 Mac OS X Tips for Unix Geeks

_ _ _ 57. Turning a Command-Line Script into an Application

_ _ _ 58. Installing Unix Applications with Fink

_ _ _ 59. Mirroring Files and Directories with rsync

_ _ _ 60. Using CVS to Manage Data on Multiple Machines

_ _ _ 61. Downloading Files from the Command Line

_ _ _ 62. Software Update on the Command Line

_ _ _ 63. Interacting with the Unix Shell from AppleScript

_ _ _ 64. Running AppleScripts on a Regular Basis Automatically

_ _ _ 65. Running Linux on an iBook



Chapter 6. Networking

_ _ _ 66. Anatomy of an Internet Shortcut

_ _ _ 67. Renewing Your DHCP-Assigned IP address

_ _ _ 68. Sharing an Internet Connection

_ _ _ 69. Creating a One-Wire Network

_ _ _ 70. Secure Tunneling with VPN or SSH

_ _ _ 71. Remotely Log In to Another Machine via SSH

_ _ _ 72. Running Windows on and from a Mac

_ _ _ 73. Sharing Files Between Mac and Windows PCs

_ _ _ 74. Mounting a WebDAV Share

_ _ _ 75. Mounting a Remote FTP Directory

_ _ _ 76. Exchanging a File via Bluetooth

_ _ _ 77. Using Your Cell Phone as a Bluetooth Modem

_ _ _ 78. Setting Up Domain Name Service



Chapter 7. Email

_ _ _ 79. Taming the Entourage Database

_ _ _ 80. Using IMAP with Apple's Mail Application

_ _ _ 81. Setting Up IMAP and POP Mail Servers

_ _ _ 82. Getting sendmail Up and Running

_ _ _ 83. Downloading POP Mail with fetchmail

_ _ _ 84. Creating Mail Aliases



Chapter 8. The Web

_ _ _ 85. Searching the Internet from Your Desktop

_ _ _ 86. Saving Web Pages for Offline Reading

_ _ _ 87. Reading Syndicated Online Content

_ _ _ 88. Serving Up a Web Site with the Built-In Apache Server

_ _ _ 89. Editing the Apache Web Server's Configuration

_ _ _ 90. Build Your Own Apache Server with mod_perl

_ _ _ 91. AppleScript CGI with ACGI Dispatcher

_ _ _ 92. Turning on CGI

_ _ _ 93. Turning on PHP

_ _ _ 94. Turning on Server-Side Includes (SSI)

_ _ _ 95. Turning on WebDAV

_ _ _ 96. Controlling Web-Server Access by Hostname or IP Address

_ _ _ 97. Controlling Web-Server Access by Username and Group

_ _ _ 98. Directory Aliasing, Indexing, and Autoindexing



Chapter 9. Databases

_ _ _ 99. Installing the MySQL Database

_ _ _ 100. Installing the PostgreSQL Database

+ some Sample Hacks.

I'm no expert so much of that stuff I could stand to have in book form near me. Although I'm sure to many it would be old hat. If nothing else it would provide my other O'Rielly Jaguar books with a new companion.

[smeger]

I'm sort of surprised about this book. Specifically in that they don't include any of my software and it seems that they should have.

(my apologies - shameless but on-topic plug ahead)

For example, they have a whole section devoted to iChat, but they don't mention that you can use iChat Enhancer to make the message composition box larger or to send carriage returns.

They have a whole section on GUI customization, yet they don't mention themes at all, let alone ThemePark or any of the theme changing programs. Mighty Mouse was probably released after they went to print.

Anyway, I'm sorta bummed - it seems like these really should have been included in a book like this. Oh well, time to write to O'Reilly, I guess.

[JB72]

Originally posted by smeger:
I'm sort of surprised about this book. Specifically in that they don't include any of my software and it seems that they should have.

Do you have a press copy?

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by smeger:
I'm sort of surprised about this book. Specifically in that they don't include any of my software and it seems that they should have.

(my apologies - shameless but on-topic plug ahead)

For example, they have a whole section devoted to iChat, but they don't mention that you can use iChat Enhancer to make the message composition box larger or to send carriage returns.

They have a whole section on GUI customization, yet they don't mention themes at all, let alone ThemePark or any of the theme changing programs. Mighty Mouse was probably released after they went to print.

Anyway, I'm sorta bummed - it seems like these really should have been included in a book like this. Oh well, time to write to O'Reilly, I guess.

I don't think any of that is hacking...GUI customization? iChat... sounds rather lame...

I would rather know about stuff that makes OS X tick... but that's just me...

[JB72]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
I would rather know about stuff that makes OS X tick... but that's just me...

Maybe you would like some of these other O'Reilly Mac OS X books (how much is that doggie in the window...)



Don't ask me why I've suddenly become a spokesman for O'Reilly Mac books because I don't know...

[smeger]

Originally posted by JB72:
Do you have a press copy?

No, I don't - I read the index, which is published online.

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
I don't think any of that is hacking...GUI customization? iChat... sounds rather lame...

I agree with you, but they've got those sections in the book, hence my comment.

[JB72]

No, I don't - I read the index, which is published online.

Ah I see. You went straight to the index to see if your app was mentioned.

Maybe you should email the authors: Rael_Dornfest & Kevin_Hemenway about this oversight.

Or maybe your app will be featured in this one due in April:

Mac OS X 10.2 may be the world's best operating system, but it's a whole new world. Both Mac and Windows fans have spent years picking up bits of lore -- a keyboard shortcut here, an undocumented double-click there -- and suddenly find themselves faced with an alien OS.

As it turns out, Mac OS X has just as many delicious secrets as anything that came before. You just have to know where to find them -- and Mac OS X Hints from David Pogue and macosxhints.com creator Rob Griffiths is exactly the guide you need. With this handy reference, intermediate to advanced aficionados of Mac OS X can adjust the desktop, tweak applications, reconfigure the system, and even fine-tune the software in Mac OS X's Unix-based core. For the more technically inclined, it shows how to handle system administration tasks, such as backing up Apache log files or creating NFS exports from the command line.

Presented in an easy-to-follow cross-referenced format, Mac OS X Hints allows Mac users to get the most out of Mac OS X 10.2.

[mitchell_pgh]

I get upset when they say "hacking" and then have CHAPTERS on iChat... come on...

This book does look interesting... I can't wait...

I have read Mac OS X for Unix geeks and it tends to be for people VERY new to Unix and OS X... They also have a crazy learning curve.

But that's just my take on it...

[JB72]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
I get upset when they say "hacking" and then have CHAPTERS on iChat... come on...

Hehe. Yeh maybe the title is a bit misleading. It goes a bit more in depth than your typical "tips" book it looks like, but I don't know if "hack" would be the right word. Regardless, I'll be very curious to check it out.

[JB72]

OK. This book has hit the shelves. The other two Hacks books have received pretty good reviews, so I have some expectations.

As soon as I get through some other books I'm giving www.amazon.com the signal.

[JB72]

A posative review from AMUG

[juanvaldes]

Damn this is not in Safri's database

[JB72]

It's in my hot little hands. My initial impression is that I wish it was denser. It covers a lot of ground.

[JB72]

well it looks like O'Rielly was listening to users who wanted a more hack-focussed, "guru" type Mac OS X book.

Running Mac OS X Panther

Full Description

Apple® has shown no mercy to the Macintosh® power user---that dedicated individual who knows their Mac® inside and out: what makes it tick, and what makes it tick better. In the rapid evolution of Mac OS® X, there have been three major releases, and each new release challenges the power user to once more stay ahead of the learning curve. Mac OS X Panther is no exception to that rule. With more than 100 new features, including a new Finder, Exposé, FileVault, and an improved BSD Unix core, there's plenty here to master. Fortunately, power users have a secret weapon in Running Mac OS X Panther. This book takes readers deep inside Mac OS X's core, revealing the inner workings of Panther for those who want to get the most out of their system.

Running Mac OS X Panther is the ultimate Swiss Army Knife™ for power users who want to customize, tweak, and generally rev up their Mac. The easy-to-follow format is organized into three primary parts:

Getting Started introduces you to Mac OS X--where it came from, how it's put together, and how it works

Administration Essentials gives you the tools you need to examine how your system is running and adjust all the knobs behind its operation

Networking and Network Services covers all the ways Mac OS X interfaces with the world around it, including wireless and spontaneous networking

Developer Tools, including Xcode, for Mac OS X are discussed throughout the book where needed to accomplish the task at hand. The appendices that follow include handy quick reference materials for things such as Open Firmware.

Written for readers who are inquisitive and confident enough to dig into their Macintosh system, Running Mac OS X Pantherdoesn't waste time talking about silly Finder tips or glossing over the messier details. This book dives right in and explains how your Mac works. You may not be a Mac guru when you start this book, but once you've read it, you'll be well on your way.