Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Mavericks Edition

I’m never going to read “Switching to the Mac” from cover to cover like I do most books. There’s too much here to absorb. I don’t want my brain as stuffed as my hard drive so I’ll use it as a reference book. Is it a good reference book? Based on what I’ve actually used, I’d say it’s an excellent reference book.This review will probably focus more on David Pogue than on his book because it’s his background and knowledge that will signal the worth of his information. His credentials are impressive. He is the author of 120 titles in the Missing Manual series and seven books for the Dummies series. He reportedly has over 3 million books in print. In addition to his work on computer knowledge he has also written about magic, digital photography, opera, and classical music. As a sort of compendium of his knowledge, he has also authored a manual, “National Geographic’s The Science of Everything.” He obviously has some chops.He’s not a one-trick pony. He was also a technology columnist for “The New York Times” for 13 years. He is a monthly columnist for Scientific American and host of science shows on NOVA. He’s been a correspondent “CBS Sunday Morning since 2002. His latest venture is Yahoo Tech, a consumer-technology Web site where he promises that everything he publishes will be “funny, authoritative, and helpful.” I’ve looked at the site (it’s massive) but haven’t had the time to really study it because of looking through the equally massive “Switching to the Mac.”So I’m going out on a limb here. I’m going to use Pogue’s impressive background to evaluate what I’ve already read in the book and seen in other reviews to 5-star rate the book without equivocation. My Apple tech rep is great but Apple’s user information is too spread out for easy reference. Switching to a Mac? Get this book.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES

The author is obviously very experienced and knowledgeable, but should acknowledge that not everyone who reads this book is switching to the Mac "digital lifestyle," as Apple calls it. Many of us, yours truly included, still have a PC (or, in my case, a couple dozen of them) and are simply adding a Mac (or, in my case, a number of them) to our arsenal.I am not a Windows fanboy, nor am I an Apple fanboy. Each has its strengths and I have no plan to discontinue using either. As such, I would have enjoyed the book more if the author had kept the Microsoft bashing to himself. The barbs got tiring and distracted from what otherwise is an effective book.Disclosure: I owned a computer business for many years, starting in the mid-'80s, so I'm not a newbie.

Software and computer companies no longer give you any information except for setup anymore in their packaging. One can download manuals on your devices (tablets, phones, etc.), but I am a person that likes to highlight sections and instructions to refer back to later as there is much to learn when obtaining a new gadget. I do not just want to learn what is necessary to do only basic functions and always want to acquire an in-depth book to get to the meat of the gadget. This manual is set up in an easy way to explore some of these things. I used to use Que Publishing books, but they seem to have disappeared and this is a good substitute for those manuals. I purchased "Office 2011 for Macintosh" missing manual book also and love them both. Highly recommend.

I didn't need to read the whole thing. After reading 20 pages, I was able to get my files transferred and get the new Mac up and running. The transition was much easier than I thought, and I am really glad to have the rest of the book as a reference to answer my questions as they come up.I have been using Windows PC's for 30 years. My wife "upgraded" to a Windows 8 machine. I have spent days trying to work with it. We have a neighbor who is a Microsoft engineer who helped develop Windows 8. He spent an entire afternoon trying to teach us the new system. Switching to the Mac was easier than switching to Windows 8 for this dedicated previous Microsoft user.

I found this book very helpful in my research on moving from a PC to an iMac. It answered many questions about how some of the Apple installed software works, and prepared me for the switch. After I bought an iMac it has been helpful in answering my questions on how to perform a particular task, or why something happened in a way I do not understand. The one downside is that Pogue does not explain much beyond the dialog box, i.e. why only certain options are available. Overall I like the book. It has made the transitionto the iMac much easier.

I bought this manual when I purchased a Macbook Pro. Although the guide includes a lot of useful info, I learned (after many years of using a PC) to use the Mac via trial and error (as opposed to reading through the guide). I have kept the guide as reference in the event I need to look up something out of the ordinary.

Another great book by this author. Very well written, concise and to the point, with logical layout and explanations for most everything you will come across. Great logical flow and reasoning...at many points he lists the windows version or application or setting and then goes on to explain the mac equivalent. I had one of the first mac ever out (Macintosh) but business applications have long been dominated by windows so I had to learn that first. Great book, I plan to look at buying other titles by the same author...well worth having.

I find this a more helpful reference book. Education on what a multitude of possibilities are available are not too much help for me as I forget it all very quickly. This manual I find to be most helpful as it instructs and indexes a lot of my questions, without too much of how it is achieved.

I took the plunge with an iMac after several months of getting slowly more frustrated with Windows 8.1 - probably a similar story to most converts. I absolutely love my iMac, SO much better and faster than a PC - I am finally learning what 'multi-tasking' SHOULD be! However, it is quite different to Windows, which I have been using for twenty-odd years, so I started looking for a book to help me make the transition. I came across the 'missing manual' series and read about David Pogue, and I thought he sounded very knowledgeable. I almost went for the 'OSX Maverick's book, as a lot of the reviews said it was suitable for both beginners and seasoned Mac users alike. But then I came across this book, and after reading some reviews from other websites, I thought it seemed to suit my need better. And I am glad I bought it, it lays out absolutely everything you need to make the switch from Windows to Mac, as painlessly as possible. I consider myself fairly 'computer-savvy' but I was unprepared for just HOW much difference there is between the two systems. I've only had a the book about a week but it has already shown me how to do some of the things I was struggling with, and the writing style is neither too technical nor to too condescending. David has the perfect writing style and makes learning fun. Highly recommended.

Wriiten in clear jargon free manner I found it essential in the change from Windows to the MacPro.It got me up and running in no time, and easy to reference to progress to further matters.Good value for money.

A great book it does what it says , the missing manual .

For someone who was Microsoft for years it was just want I needed. I am still reading it for all those things that you can do in Microsoft but in apple happen another way-usually easier as well..

Just what was needed! We are new to Mac after many years of Windows use. Book is clearly written and reference section at the end most useful of all. Still can't find how to delete one letter using Pages though!