This is quite a thorough user's guide for any and all upgrading to Apple's OS X 10.4, TIGER — released on April 29, 2005. Please note that previous MLMUG members reviewed Ms. Langer's guide to 10.3 (Panther) in April 2004 (Sam Leidy) and June 2004 (Tif Bailey).

A glance at the table of contents reveals that the author begins with the "New Features" of the OS and then moves to the setup, installation, and configuration of the system. The experienced user might glance at or skip these chapters; however, the information is helpful to those just starting out with the new system and walking through the initial configuration. There are plenty of visuals that will be helpful to new users, and there is always something new that an experienced user can pick up from glancing at the "Tips".

The next three chapters (Finder Basics, File Management, and Advanced Finder Techniques) are a must for the beginner user. If I were "tutoring" a new Mac user, I would insist that the newbie read these chapters prior to a learning session. These are clear and comprehensive with visuals (as the title states) and helpful hints and tips. Of course trying to get all of this under one's belt could feel daunting to a newcomer, but with a little practice it will become intuitive.

Chapter 5 (Using Mac OS Search Features) gets into some of the NEW features of Tiger: SPOTLIGHT and Smart Folders. The author devotes only two pages to the Smart Folders and only three to Spotlight. This is very disappointing — perhaps the biggest failure of the book. Given that Apple and the press have touted this feature so highly, the author gives very little beyond what an experienced user could figure out on his/her own. I understand that Spotlight is supposed to be a rich feature, however you wouldn't know it from this chapter.

The next chapters cover the use and running of the basic applications and iApps. This is thorough enough for the beginner and intermediate and helpful as well. The advanced user will probably get by with a quick glance at the visuals, hints, and tips.

DASHBOARD is introduced in chapter 10. The author nicely covers both Dashboard and the Widgets in a pretty thorough manner. All of us new to Tiger will probably want to review this chapter. I wish the author had devoted as much space to Spotlight as she did to Dashboard.

The next series of chapters (Fonts, Printing & Faxing, Connecting to the Internet, .Mac and Sherlock, (and a later chapter on using Classic) should be read by all. The beginner may be overwhelmed with the amount of information, though the visuals of the apps, desktop, and various contextual menus are helpful. The intermediate and advanced user will find it helpful to glean the changes in Tiger.

Two chapters stand out: Networking and Multiple Users & Security; a MUST for all users, no matter whether just a beginner (in that these can be daunting topics, or advanced. The author thoroughly takes the reader through, step by step, setting up the network for each account, connecting, setting up Airport, Bluetooth, sharing, and setting "users, groups, & privileges". Complex and necessary — the information is probably sufficient for the experienced user but overly complex for the newbie. Again, if I were working with a new user or a switcher, I would have them read first and then walk through each item. Similarly, the Chapter on "Security" is a MUST for all users in that the author covers all aspects of keeping the Mac secure including Keychain, passwords, and filevault. Since I am the only one in my house/business using my Mac, I have only briefly perused these features. However, if my Mac were shared by others with accounts on the computer, this book would be a resource for security.

"Automation Tools" (Chapter 20) introduces us to both AUTOMATOR and AppleScript. Automator is a new feature in Tiger, and the author devotes about six pages to explaining how to use it. To tell the truth, I think that I would need a more complete tutorial on how to use this feature, even though I am experienced with Macs. Maybe a decent beginning, but more is necessary. As for AppleScript, the author devotes a dozen pages, which are a better tutorial than for the Automator. I could probably do a better job getting started with AppleScript based on these pages than Automator.

The last sections of the book is helpful to all user levels; it includes chapters on UNIX (certainly for the advanced user), a complete useful discussion of System Preferences, and Mac OS Utilities. The last sections include getting Help and Troubleshooting as well as Tiger Shortcuts. Probably just right for beginners but not quite enough for the experienced user.

Overall, quite a thorough book covering all aspects of Apple's new OS X 10.4 TIGER. I give the book a high rating. Certainly complete enough for the beginner and helpful for both the intermediate and advanced user. The book falls very short on dealing with the two new important apps: Spotlight and Automator. s an experienced user, I will probably have find better tutorials and play with these to go beyond the very basics.

Recommendation: While this is a very good book, I would wait before I plunked down my $24.95. Why wait, you ask? This is but one of the new crop of Mac OS Tiger manuals. I would want to sit at the book store with several of the books, most have not as yet hit the shelves, and compare before making a costly decision.