If Franklin had had John Rizzo's book, Mac Annoyances, in hand, he would have been impressed with the content and organization of the chapters, the meticulous indexing, and the efficient language skills of the author. He would be pleased that Rizzo clearly identifies and states the types of annoyances most of us experience as we move along the continuum of beginner through advanced user. He'd know that no one escapes getting annoyed occasionally due to a glitch in our preferred operating system or some hardware or software application snag. Franklin would also like that the "fix" for each identified annoyance is presented in a way that makes it inviting for all levels of Mac users to attempt. Franklin would like that this would eliminate the tendency in all of us toward complacency, inefficient whining and complaining, or just getting used to and eventually tuning out the irritating annoyances around us. We all know someone who has learned to live with and "tune out" annoyances and even sleep — despite residing under the rumble of the "el" or with a steady pattern of jet engines soaring over our homes as they approach a nearby airport. We also know those who have survived without addressing their Mac's irritating quirks that might actually have a potentially easy fix. Not everyone has MLMUG experts at their beckon call, you realize, but it is great to pull this book off the shelf to zap an annoyance without bothering a MLMUG guru with a question at 3:00 a.m. (although many are up at that hour with their beloved Macs).

As I read this book, I found that I had been living with some annoyances that I thought were to be expected and tolerated — didn't know there might be an easy fix! There were hints that were practical and easy to implement — even addressing the iLife apps that pose an ongoing learning curve. There are fixes for iPod user annoyances, network and browser stressors complete with alternatives, but, alas, only a few soothing fixes for those who find themselves missing some components of a previous operating system.

Do you need this book? Yes! If the Glitch hasn't snagged you yet, it will. This book is not a solution for major troubleshooting and rescue techniques. However, if you are a person who does not like annoyances like irritating clothing tags or drippy faucets, or as a Mac user, you are annoyed with yourself because you haven't learned cool keyboard commands, how to block banner ads, how to bookmark your favorite sites, how to send a big PowerPoint file by email, how to turn on font-smoothing in Excel or how to run Virtual PC on a G5, this book is for you. This book does what it says — it shows how to fix a lot of ANNOYING things about your Mac. Ben Franklin would not find a solution in this book for his major annoyance — the noise created by horses' iron shoes and the iron-tired wheels of wagons on those cobble stoned streets, but it is likely that you will find some good fixes for your Mac!

Reviewer: Rochelle Goldman Rochelle is a Pa Licensed Psychologist in private practice in Bala Cynwyd, and is also a PA Certified School Psychologist. She is the author of a children's poetry book, an avid grower of orchids, devotee of classical ballet, advocate for international adoption, and is a NASA enthusiast. She is often glued to her Mac and especially enjoys her developing skills in digital photography and digital video. She is the parent of two adult children — Kevin, who designs advanced Flash websites and sings opera, and Marla, an accomplished ballet dancer and teacher.

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© 2005 by Helge Gunther & MLMUG
Posted 07/22/05
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