Looking for sites and books on learning MACOSX

Cyber Akuma

Cyber Akuma

Gawd
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
648
First of all, I want to say that I am not new to computers, so I am not looking for something that will assume you barely know how to turn a system on or use a mouse, or are unfamiliar with standard concepts such as copy and paste and so forth.

I've been using Windows and DOS for over a decade now, so mostly my experiences are limited to the Windows GUI and the DOS CLI, as well as performed dozens of hardware upgrades and system builds.

I have a Mac Mini and have been trying to learn MACOSX on it, but there is only so far you can go by trying to self-learn, and I am typically heavily reliant on keyboard shortcuts, which of course are completely different on MACOSX.

I am not just looking to learn how to use MACOSX (though I am also looking to do that) but to also learn how it works and how to troubleshoot/administer it. I know, you need to learn how to use it before you go more advanced, no need to point that out to me.

Anyway, are there any good sites, or preferably, books you can recommend about this?
 
Under the hood OSX is UNIX. Any good book on UNIX shells would do you good. Most of my books on this are dated (1990, Unix Primer Plus is good). You might look into "UNIX for Mac OSX Users", it's current and covers additional OSX nuances.

As for keyboard shortcuts there are numerous means of finding these out (keyboard preferences, menus, online search, etc...) but if you're lazy like me and have a few $ to spend then I recommend KeyCue.

The best book on scripting application and UI is "Apple Script 1-2-3". I loath Apple Script but it is powerful and relatively easy to learn and use.

For administration you might want to check out the just released "Enterprise Mac Administration Guide". I've not looked at it, but it was recently pimped on the Seattle Xcoders list. YMMV.

The only site I can recommend is: www.google.com. It's great you type in your query and BAM! thousands or more results pop up. Truly a marvel of the modern age! :D

Edit:

Keyboard Short-cuts.
 
Last edited:
kmeson said:
Under the hood OSX is UNIX. Any good book on UNIX shells would do you good. Most of my books on this are dated (1990, Unix Primer Plus is good). You might look into "UNIX for Mac OSX Users", it's current and covers additional OSX nuances.
Click to expand...

Yes I know this, but the Unix CLI isn't really used that often in MACOSX, you will mostly be using the GUI, which is not like Unix at all AFAIK.
 
Cyber Akuma said:
Yes I know this, but the Unix CLI isn't really used that often in MACOSX, you will mostly be using the GUI
Click to expand...

You got me there. For a second I thought you were suggesting to ignore the UNIX under pinnings of OSX and related shells in the quest to "not just ... learn how to use MAXOSX ... but to also learn how it works and how to troubleshoot/administer it". ;)

It's rare I don't have a few terminal sessions open. Clearly I don't fit within your sample group.
 
Macosxhints.com and tuaw.com were both invaluable resources when I was new to OS X, both have tons of tutorials and options for getting things done faster and more efficiently and tons of keyboard short cut stuff, I'm a keyboard guy too, and I find OS X to be the master at this compared to Windows, I just love using the keyboard in OS X to get around.
 
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