Pogue vs. Williams

[June Drabek]

Back again with more  questions. I am torn between buying  Pogues book "OS Missing Manual or R.Williams Little Mac Book OS X. From what I have read  in reviews of both books Pogue  is geared more toward experienced users, such as you good people, whereas Robin Williams (I have used her iMac book) is more for folks like  me  that need to  be led by the hand.

Now to my question.  I understand the OS X is equiped  with a Disk Burner. When I go  to the find menu, it takes me to the Classic Menu, where it is listed as 44k, and Disc Extentions, 208 K...but when I click on the icons to open, a box  comes up  saying, "there is no default application specified  to open  the document disc burner application", or another that says, "That  application not supported by Classic." What  does all this mean?

This is one  of the  quotes I read.  "I have recommended David Pogues Mac OS X: The Missing Manual to all kinds of readers, as I am sure many other user group members have done. But, after reading Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, I would recommend it as the first choice for new Macintosh owners without a lot of computer experience. I still recommend Davids book as the first choice for experienced users."

What say you all to this ?? Thanks much, June

[Xairbusdriver]

I think you've got it about right! Both are helpful, but Robin's is a little more on the hand-holding level. Pogue is a recognized Mac guru and more humorous, but also more technical.

Remember that most any book on OS X will probably soon be out-of-date! Check what on-line resources might be available with the book. And in that vain, you might also want to consider a book by Mr. Ted Landau called Mac OS X Disater Relief[/color. He is the guy who started the humongous, MacFixIt help site.

Most of these books are not for casual reading, but they will all help you on various ways. Unfortunately, I can't tell you which has helped me the most. I have read them (most of each, anyway) but I still don't use X!

Frankly, if you can afford it, why not get all three! Might get a multi-book discount at Amazon. Or you might check with a friend and each buy a different one. You might also want to check for any local Mac User Group. They can usually get books at a considerable discount. You might even win one as a door prize!

But you'll probably get all the help you can stand right here (assuming, you can get on-line)!

Jim C.

[Paddy]

June, excuse my ignorance of your hardware/OS - but are you currently using OS X? And are you using it on a Mac equipped with a CD burner? If so, then you can burn a CD using the built-in Disk Burner app. Don't worry about what you can or cannot find on your system using Sherlock - I did my own search out of curiosity and it turned up all sorts of weird stuff!

If you are using OS X on a machine with a CD burner, have a look under system preferences ->CD's & DVD's. There you will see the various options - what to do when a blank CD is inserted, etc. If you leave the default set at "ask what to do" then you will get a dialogue box each time you insert a blank disk, asking you what you want to do with it. It will lead you through the process - basically you choose the type of CD you want to burn (audio or data), it mounts on the desktop, you drag your files to it, name and rearrange stuff if you wish, and then when you're happy with it, you hit "Burn" in the File menu. It isn't much more involved than saving things to a floppy - the only extra step is that "Burn" command at the end.

If you do a search in the OS X Help menu on "burn CD" you will also find lots of helpful information.

HTH.

And for the record, I have Pogue's book - very helpful.

[June Drabek]

Jim, thank you for your input, I appreciate it. Somehow, in spite of all the good folks here that have suggested Pogue, I feel I personally will be more comfortable with R. Williams. She gave me so much, so easily, for the iMac.

PADDY, I am using OSX 10.2.2, 384 MB of Ram, Processor: 700 MHz PowerPC G4. That is what it tells me under the Apple. I love it !! I love learning, and "talking" with people from all over, Sr. Net is a great favorite, TC is where I come for real wisdom, email, jigsaw puzzles, google, and so much more. Just  not enough hours in the day. My husband says, "do you have a  paid job on that computer ?" I have copied down all that you told me, and will go on to discover what you have directed me to. Thank you so very much for your time and guidance. June

[kelly]

Pogue was one of my first Gurus.

I think he's funny also.

Kind of a Dave Barry for macs.

That being said. Whatever works for you.