Mac OS X Bible, Jaguar Edition

1 Great guide but NOT in a pinch
This book is a great tour of OSX and will provide you lots of background. BUT, it has no troubleshooting section. I bought this thinking it would be the only reference book I needed, and when my mac crashed and I needed it the most -- nada. Nothing on system crashes, boot problems, or any of the other issues that you might encounter in OSX. The previous "Macintosh Bible" books are quite complete, I have no idea why they dropped the troubleshooting section for this one. Caveat emptor!

2 Short on Ethernet Network, Long on Airport Network
Bought this book for help on setting up a Mac network using ethernet, to share printing and internet. Unfortunately, the Mac OSX Bible Jaguar edition spends the majority of chapter 18 on Airport networks, which most people don't have due to cost.

Does not explain the differences/benefits of a software internet router and a hardware internet gateway. Nor does the book mention how a hardware router interfaces with a hub or switch and the connected devices. Some wiring graphics would have helped. Instead, the chapter on networks goes on about Airport networks: "You don't need Ethernet or any cumbersome wiring to establish a network with the latest Macs." You do if you don't have a $200 base station and Airport cards for each Macintosh at $100 a pop! (Ethernet, a hub and a router can be had for less than $50, which is why most people connect their LAN that way).

First clue to avoid this book: The forward begins, "I admit it: Mac OS X scares me just a bit."

3 Complete and Useful
As a long-time Mac user who still has a lot to learn, this book hit the sweet spot for me. It's totally thorough and reasonably priced. I refer to it again and again for answers, and it hasn't failed me yet. I found it to be especially useful when I was setting up my home network -- the networking and file-sharing chapters, especially saved me from flailing around for hours. Thanks, Lon and team!