The cover boasts "Full Color on Every Page!" and there is. Each page is full of full-color illustrations detailing exactly what the authors are talking about. The Macintosh desktop is reproduced in living color with folders open and menu bars down. When the authors discuss saving your work and printing a document, there are many illustrations representing, in great detail, the dialog boxes you will encounter on your Mac. This continues throughout the book from the early chapters on Kick Start Your Mac and The Apple Menu to later chapters on Words and Pictures, Databases, and Multimedia.
Sure this book does start with the very basics like "shutdown", "trashing files", "moving folders", "sound", and other such information that many "power-users" may feel they don't need to bother with but, to the beginner this information with its many illustrations is invaluable. Do you remember the first time you got the message "Not enough memory, try closing other applications."? I do and I remember that my Mac had 16 MB of RAM and definitely should have enough memory. Luckily, it was still during business hours and my call to the local Macintosh dealer gave me the instructions on how to allocate more memory to a particular application. If only I had this book maybe I would not have had strong words with my computer prior to my phone call.
Okay, maybe you are not a "power-user" but you are not a beginner either, you can still benefit from Mac Tips and Tricks. Mac Tips and Tricks goes beyond the basics with lots of information about word processors, page layout, paint and graphics, spreadsheets and databases, multimedia. Even though the authors use ClarisWorks in many of their examples, the information provided is very generic in nature and can be used with essentially every application that fits that particular topic. Useful tips are given for chosing a font, placing graphics, wrapping text around a graphic, setting up a publication, adding color and text to pictures, starting and using spreadsheets and databases, and embedding a movie into a document. These chapters provide information the "power-user", the beginner and everyone in between can use. All these topics also include many full-color illustrations guiding you step-by-step.
If that weren't enough, there are many "Power Tips" throughout this book. These tips (highlighted in blue) expand upon the topics discussed and even give ideas on how to get the most out of your Mac and the applications you use. The Power Tip on page 88 tells you how to customize your icons. The one on page 74 gives you tips on bullet points. Still yet another on page 60 tells you about shortcuts to selecting and deselecting text while editing. There are Power Tips dealing with every topic in this book and there were few that I read and could honestly say "I already knew that". Yes, I recommend this book. I think this book should be included with every Macintosh computer sold. No, it doesn't and shouldn't take the place of the manual(s) of the Macintosh or the applications we use, however, it does give you a no-nonsense way to start using your Macintosh and the applications you buy a little bit sooner and with less frustration than you might have had otherwise. I even bought one for my brother, who calls me alot with questions about how to install a program, save a document into a particular folder, or change the colors on the monitor. Maybe, I will get a few less phone calls and even make a few less to my local dealer.
