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Running Mac OS X Tiger: The Power User's Guide to Making Tiger Purr

January 17, 2006

Sebastopol, CA--The all-new Running Mac OS X Tiger (Davidson and Deraleau, O'Reilly, US $39.95) isn't just for those who want to use Mac OS X, but for those who want to dissect, tweak, and customize it. It's the book for Mac power users who are inquisitive and confident enough to dig into their Macintosh system and take total, fine-grained control over Tiger.

"Mac OS X redefines our expectations of what a computer should be," say authors James Duncan Davidson and Jason Deraleau. On the surface, it has a graphical user interface (GUI) "that can't be touched by any other OS on the planet." Under the hood, there's a powerful Unix engine offering stability that will "amaze, intrigue, and serve you." For everyone who is ready to go beyond mere affection and appreciation for Tiger, Running Mac OS X Tiger takes users deep inside Mac OS X's core and shows them how to make that big cat purr.

Fully illustrated, this power user's guide doesn't waste time talking about Finder tricks and keyboard shortcuts. It dives in and explains how Tiger is put together and why it works. Most importantly, it gives readers the tools they need to examine how their system is running and how to adjust all the knobs behind its operation and shows how Mac OS X interfaces with the world around it, including wireless and spontaneous networking.

"Maybe you want to turn your Mac into a web server," the authors suggest. "Or maybe you want to know the pros and cons of the various filesystem choices that you have. Possibly you want to understand how Mac OS X's networking subsystem makes it possible to switch effortlessly between wired and unwired networks, as well as letting you share your connection with others." This indispensable guide covers many useful tips and so much more. Readers will learn how to:

  • Create accounts for users and system processes
  • Schedule tasks and monitor the system
  • Look in-depth at HFS+ and Tiger's Journaled filesystem
  • Tweak preferences by hacking plist files or using the defaults command
  • Establish Open Directory and Directory Services, including NetInfo and LDAP
  • Configure printers
  • Set up networking and network services, including Bonjour and wireless AirPort networks
  • Running Mac OS X Tiger is the ideal resource for power users and system administrators who want to make Tiger run faster, better, smarter, or just differently.

    Additional Resources:

    Running Mac OS X Tiger
    James Duncan Davidson and Jason Deraleau
    ISBN: 0-596-00913-5, 400 pages, $39.95 US
    order@oreilly.com
    1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

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