Mac OS X has captured the attention of consumers and programmers alike with its ability to run existing Mac programs along with Unix and Open Source software. The latest version, Panther, includes more than a hundred new features and improves many of the technologies underlying Mac OS X, including graphics and the Unix-based core. With more than 500 power tips and tricks for Mac aficionados like yourself, Mac OS X Power Hound, Panther Edition helps you unleash the power of Panther. Mac OS X Panther is a complex and powerful operating system with a personality all its own. To make your computing experience with Panther as efficient and enjoyable as possible, you need to learn its secrets, appreciate its idiosyncrasies, and be able to customize it to your needs and wants. Author Rob Griffiths shows you how. Creator and editor of the extremely popular Mac OS X Hints Web site (www.macosxhints.com), Griffiths knows Panther inside and out. His Mac OS X Power Hound lifts the hood on the sleek and elegant, Formula-One-powered operating system and delivers over 500 high-octane secrets in every conceivable category, including the Desktop and Finder, iApps, Mac OS X programs, Mastering the system and Terminal, and much more. Consider this book your pit crew, helping you find easier, faster, and better ways of using the Finder, the Dock, the assortment of programs that come with Mac OS X, and a bunch of programs that don't. And if you want to become your own master mechanic, it also includes two rich chapters on Unix, the engine under Mac OS X's hood. With this collection of stand-alone hints, notes, tips, and tricks–every one of them organized, indexed, tested for compatibility with the latest version of Mac OS X 10.3, and, in many cases, illustrated–you'll rapidly progress from an anybody-can-do-this user to a power user.

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Digital Photos, Video, and Music All in One is designed to teach the new computer user how to easily work with a variety of digital media.
It doesn't assume the reader wants to learn how to use just one product, but covers multiple products and technologies together in a logical fashion:
-Digital Cameras
-Photoshop Elements
-Burning CDs and DVDs
-Scanners and Printers
-MP3s and Digital Music
-Digital Videos

All the answers to a user's questions in one big, easy-to-use book. A compendium of multiple reference books in one volume. Designed for the beginning user who wants to buy just one book that is likely to answer all his current - and future questions. Does not assume the reader wants to use just one single product in isolation from others. Digital Photos, Video, and Music All in One is designed to teach the new computer user how to easily work with a variety of digital media. It doesn't assume the reader wants to learn how to use just one product, but covers multiple products and technologies together in a logical fashion: Digital Cameras, Photoshop Elements, Burning CDs and DVDs, Scanners and Printers, MP3s and Digital Music, Digital Video. Carla Rose has authored or co-authored more than two dozen computer books, including Sams Teach Yourself Photoshop 7 in 24 Hours and Sams Teach Yourself Photoshop Elements 2 in 24 Hours, as well as books on desktop publishing, telecommunications, and more. She is a contributing editor for Photoshop User magazine and has written for publications ranging from the Atlantic Fisherman to Adobe Magazine to The New Yorker.

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If you’ve got something to say and want to join the podcasting revolution but don’t know how to start, this short and approachable guide from bestselling authors Robin Williams and John Tollett will teach you how to create and distribute podcasts using Apple’s easy-to-use audio and Web site tools. Using the Garageband and iWeb tools from Apple’s iLife 06 suite of tools, Robin and John show you how to create professional sounding and looking podcasts, including how to add chapter markers, artwork, sound effects, jingles, and musical accompaniment to your podcasts.

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Need to take your Adobe Premiere Pro skills to the next level? Learn Premiere Pro 2 the fast, efficient way! This Visual QuickPro Guide uses illustrations and in-depth explanations. You’ll be a master in time!
• Takes a visual, task-based approach to teaching Premiere Pro, using pictures to guide you through the software and show you what to do.
• Works like a reference book—you look up what you need and then get straight to work.
• Concise, straightforward steps and explanations offer the fastest way to learn tasks and concepts.
• Affordably priced, because buying a computer book shouldn’t be an investment in itself.

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You’ve seen lots of “how to” information…but 101 Reasons to Switch to a Mac offers the “why to”! Inside, instead of tech-talk and speed tests, 101 Reasons to Switch to the Mac offers true stories and unbiased advice from a long-time Windows user who, along with a million others in 2005, made the switch to a Mac.The chapters explore the benefits of working with a Mac, the power of the Mac OS X operating system, and the advantages of owning a computer that “just works.” The comprehensive software guide recommends great applications that make short work of everyday tasks like surfing the web, ripping music, watching movies, retouching photos, laying out brochures, and much more. You’ll also find pointers to great websites packed with resources for switchers and new Mac owners alike.Already a Mac user? This Short Cut makes the perfect gift for friends and family who haven’t yet discovered the joy of switching. The next time a PC user says, “Give me one good reason to switch!” you’ll be prepared…with 101 Reasons to Switch to a Mac.Here are just a few of the 101 reasons! Why Mac OS X is the World’s Coolest OS Yes, you can have it all—Macs Do Windows Powerful Bundled Software has everything you’ll need or want Find out why wireless networking is easier with a Mac The Macs fast performance makes it all worthwhile

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Now fully updated for version 1.5, this comprehensive book-DVD combo starts with the basics of image management and takes you step by step all the way through Aperture’s powerful photo-editing, image-retouching, proofing, publishing, and archiving features. Version 1.5’s new features are completely covered, including the new image editing tools, expanded search capabilities, new Loupe tool, and support for many more RAW file formats. It delivers comprehensive training - the equivalent of a two-day course - in one project-based book. You’ll learn time-saving techniques for sorting, ranking, and organizing images for use in different jobs, and effective ways to display images for client review, apply metadata, keep your online portfolio up to date automatically, color-manage your workflow from input to final print, and much more. Real-world exercises feature professional photography from a variety of genres, including fashion, sports, wedding, commercial, and portraiture. All the files you need to complete the exercises are included on the DVD.

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Need to take your Adobe After Effects skills to the next level? Learn After Effects the fast, efficient way! This Visual QuickPro Guide uses illustrations and in-depth explanations. You’ll be a master in time!• Takes a visual, task-based approach to teaching After Effects, using pictures to guide you through the software and show you what to do.
• Works like a reference book—you look up what you need and then get straight to work.
• Concise, straightforward steps and explanations offer the fastest way to learn tasks and concepts.
• Affordably priced, because buying a computer book shouldn’t be an investment in itself.

Through step-by-step instructions, enhanced by tips, sidebars, and plenty of visual aids, veteran video editor Antony Bolante shows you how to effectively and efficiently import and manage footage, view and edit layers, apply effects, animate type, and more. You’ll learn about key features with real-world examples of how and when features should be used, including what’s new in After Effects 7.0: motion tracker, powerful animation and keyframing controls, high quality keying and matte tools, network rendering, expert effects, nondestructive vector painting, and more! (more…)

Need to learn what’s new in .Mac fast? Try a Visual QuickStart!

This best-selling reference’s visual format and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up and running with .Mac in no time. In this completely updated edition of our best-selling guide to .Mac leading software application expert David Reynolds uses crystal-clear instructions and friendly prose to introduce you everything that’s new. Filled with step-by-step, task-based instructions and loads of visual aids, this book explains how to publish your photos, movies, podcasts and blogs on the internet with iWeb; share your photo albums in iPhoto as a photocast; access your files from anywhere with iDisk; keep all your Macs in sync with another with .Mac sync; and more! (more…)

Gene Steinberg understands that the new Macintoshes–like all computers–are systems of hardware and software, and that neither may be separated from the other. Upgrading and Troubleshooting Your Mac: Mac OS X Edition is an intimate picture of modern Mac hardware (the Power Mac, PowerBook, iBook, and iMac platforms) and the points at which it interacts with Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X. As you’d expect, readers learn how to select and install add-in hardware like SuperDrives and supplementary RAM, but the Mac makes those procedures pretty easy by design. The real value in this book comes in two areas.First, Steinberg answers all kinds of common, but officially unaddressed, questions. Is it absolutely safe to put your laptop through an airport x-ray machine? How does a G4 behave when a SCSI card is malfunctioning at the hardware level? What happens if you try to make an officially unsupported graphics card work? Do third-party processor upgrades work? He explains most of these matters with stories taken from his experience as a longtime Mac user.

Second, the author knows a ton of tricks for working with the Mac OS itself, and is liberal with his recommendations of utilities for diagnosing, repairing, and adjusting its behavior. His thoughts on how to solve problems by reinstalling your operating system without wiping out your installed programs will save you time in all but the gravest situations. You’ll find this book particularly valuable if you do upgrade and repair work on unfamiliar Macs.

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Need to learn iPhoto 6 fast? Try a Visual QuickStart!

This best-selling reference’s visual format and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up and running with this great iLife 06 application in no time. Best-selling author and instructor Adam Engst uses crystal-clear instructions, full-color illustrations, and friendly prose to introduce you to everything from importing, tagging, editing, and perfecting images to creating slideshows and photo albums to easy online Web publishing. You’ll also learn about everything new in iPhoto 6, including enhanced editing and special effects, calendars and cards, photocasting, and more!

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