Where do I get smart?
Those of you who seem to really know quite a bit of indepth, nuts-and-bolts inner workings of Macs, OS X, etc. (Brad, Eugene, amorph spring to mind immediately) are you a fan or owner of perhaps a particular book or author or series of books that maybe lay this type of stuff out for a non-techie guy such as myself?
"Hardcore, Wild Mac Shit for Dummies", I'm thinking? Something like that?
The more I read these forums, the more I learn (AND the more I find out how much I DON'T know).
If you could recommend a book or perhaps even a website that makes a lot of this stuff (behind the Aqua, so to speak) understandable and accessible, what would it be?
I don't need to be King X by any means, but I'd like to be able to know a bit more than I do about things. I see tons of books, but I don't want to drop $39.95 to find out the author knows as much as I do. Or, conversely, the author writes so high over my head that it's a lost cause from the get-go.
Realizing X is the future, I'd like to feel as though I understand it more and am not so afraid (or clueless) when I launch certain utilities or read about discussions here involving networking, underlying OS X coolness, acronyms/technical lingo, etc.
Comments
...X is the future...
Amen.
Originally posted by pscates
get smart?
"Zis is KAOS. Ve don't do Mac OS X here!!"
Okay, seriously, though. Almost everything I've learned, I've picked up from my own experience, be it from tinkering or just reading various random pages on the Internet.
I've actually thought about writing my own "guide" of sorts for Mac OS X, but I haven't found time to get a good start on it. If I manage to work on it soon, you'll be the first to know.
OSXFAQ Has a absolutely wonderful introduction to UNIX and the Terminal. There's some other stuff on their page, but it's organized kinda poorly, so it's hard to find. Look under Resources on the left side bar.
The rest I've kinda learned on my own... looking up stuff as I went. And man pages are really great (If I understand them). Take some time and look around under the hood - use the terminal to explore all those strange hidden folders you see. This summer I really delved into UNIX, and I now *finally* feel like I have a better grasp on OS X than I did OS 7-9. And it's fun.
What else... Oh, I don't know. For the rest, ask and share here!
And yes, Brad, keep me posted on any book/guide developments.
Actually, it was that big honkin' thread of yours on Panther in the OS X forum that got me all juiced up and anxious for October 24 to hurry up and arrive.
It was easy to read, the screenshots and accompanying posts were informative and lots of useful tidbits strewn throughout by various posters.
If you ever did this and needed it designed/typeset/illustrated, etc., I can recommend someone...