Mac OS X Support Essentials

I needed this book to study for my Apple Certs, and found it to be very concise and all of the sections were explained well. It was more of a review for me, but once in a while, I found a tidbit of information that I did not know. I was kind of exciting finding little "secrets" about an OS that I have been working with and developing on for years. I recommend this book if you are looking to study on your own or if you just need, or want, more insight into the way Mac OS X works. The information is fairly complete and when it is not exhaustive, I found that the authors had placed direct URLs to many of the great resource web sites.

If it is Apple certification you want, you can choose to use the web based Applecare technician training or this book. To do a great job on your cert tests, I recommend both. The book allows you to learn and study when you are not in front of a screen. Completely web-based programs require me to print out a lot, and I found I did not have to with the book in hand.

I needed a resource to help me prepare for the Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist exam. Period. And this book fit the bill. After reading through the book, I took the exam and earned an 89%! It worked for me. One word of caution: The exam is updated periodically for the latest incremental version of Mac OS X. Only very rarely did I find an exam question that wasn't covered by the book due to incremental Mac OS X updates since the book's publication. However, you CAN supposedly download updates from the publisher's website. I didn't learn about that until after I took the exam, but the website is on the back cover or back few pages, I believe. Awesome resource.

Peachpit just got the rights to start publishing Apple Certified materials. You used to have to take a $1500 class from Apple to get this same information! Written in a casual and human tone, even the newest to new (myself) can understand this book. In fact, this has to be one of the best networking books I have ever read. Would you expect less from Apple? Hand down, this book gets a 5 out of 5 for saving me $1451 dollars and teaching the ideas of supporting a Mac network and operating system. Buy it and make it part of your library!

I think this a must have book for anyone wanting to learn how to learn more about Mac's and how to support them. It's easy reading and you gain a lot of knowledge on how to use the operating system. The best part about this book is that it prepares you for the ACHDS test. The contents of this book follows the same material as the recommended course at Apple for passing the ACHDS. If you read this book and follow the excercises, then I am confident that you will be able to pass the test. I got a 96% =) Now if you want to be a power mac user, then you probably need to get another book--this is not a mac os x bible.