What's a Good Book?

[brahma]

Hello all.

I would like to get more familiar with the “ins and outs” of how Macs work in a networked environment – I have managed to bind the 8 IMacs to our Active Directory domain but, as you know, this does not give me control over the IMacs. I know nothing about OS X Server or Leopard so am looking to get a couple of books that outlines the basics - just wondered if you have any suggestions?

I’ve seen these but am not sure if they are any good.

Browse :: The Register Books - IT and Computer Book specialists

Browse :: The Register Books - IT and Computer Book specialists

Browse :: The Register Books - IT and Computer Book specialists

Browse :: The Register Books - IT and Computer Book specialists

Amazon.co.uk: MAC OS X Server Essentials (Apple Training Series): Schoun Regan, David Pugh: Books


Thanks again.

[kingswood]

Hi,

This is a great book (concentrates on the server certification track):

Browse :: The Register Books - IT and Computer Book specialists

Make sure you get this:

Amazon.co.uk: Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual: David Pogue: Books

You won't need much else for a while!

HTH

Paul

[mactech03]

Books are great and the ones suggested by kingswood are awesome. The only time where the books arent so great are if you are in a hurry and have a large scale deployment. I was under a tight time line to get a 10.5 server deployed (unfortunately) and if it had not been for the awesome training I got from an apple certified trainer then I would have been left scratching my head on some stuff (such as weird flaky bugs in the first 10.5 server install dvds). It literally saved me a ton of wasted time trying to fix the unfixable and it also came in handy when it came time to deploy ical server, ichat server, and mail server especially. There are some things that Apple (doesnt support) such as squirrel mail and the trainers (at least the good ones know their way around the squirrel mail config files).

Also a great resource that I wish I had explored more is on Apples website and it's free (lots of good stuff). It literally is the perfect companion to the apple essential 10.5 server book.

Check Out

Apple - Mac OS X Server - Resources
Mac OS X Server Documentation Updates

Good Look,

Mactech03

[m2d2]

The Apple Training Series books are good but they are bit like official Micrcosoft coursware, a tad bland and don't spill the beans on all the akward stuff.

Now if you are a dyed in the wool Windows user and you're still wondering how to right click with only one mouse button then you might need Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual by David Pogue.

A really good book is Mac OSX Help Line (Tiger Edition) by Ted Landau. It covers Mac OSX but in the kind of detail needed by IT techs. It lists common problems and how to solve them.

It does have its flaws such as that that it only covers client Macs not OSX Server. For people deploying Leopard, it obviously doesn't cover the new features but the troubleshooting techniques it teaches probably make up for that. It only briefly touches on UNIX but it's probably better to get a specialist book for that. At 1177 pages, it's also quite heavy. Not something you can carry around with you day to day a like an O'Reilly Nutshell book but you could take it on train trip to visit Aunty Morag in Fort William.

All said it's a great book. It bears favorable comparison to the classic works of Minasi, Mueller and Myers </SchoolBookReport .