Where do I get smart?

pscates · November 20, 2003 9:13PM

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.

ghost_user_name · November 20, 2003 9:21PM

Quote:

...X is the future...

Amen.

ghost_user_name · November 21, 2003 8:24AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pscates

get smart?

ghost_user_name · November 21, 2003 8:41AM

"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.

bauman · November 21, 2003 5:56PM

MacOSXHints is a good place for random hints and tips, and their forums have some more of that kind of stuff. The search function works really well... with so many hints and tips there's bound to be something on what you're looking for.

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!

placebo · November 21, 2003 6:02PM

Every issue of Macworld has a Geek column. I've picked up most of my "133t h4x0r" Mac OS X knowledge from there. But nothing really beats tinkering with your Mac, as long as you know what not to do.

pscates · November 21, 2003 11:49PM

Cool, then. I'll give those a look.

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...

myahmac · November 24, 2003 11:52AM

mac osx bible. that thing is friign awesome. I loked at briefly once. Its my dad's. He was like "thats some pretty neet stuff you did in OSX. I wanna do that."

Where do I get smart?

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