Whether you are a seasoned OS X veteran or brand new to the operating system, Mac OS X Support Essentials is a wonderful book to use as both a learning and reference tool to help you learn more about the capabilities and inner workings of Mac OS X.

Having read this book cover-to-cover twice now, the first time as a guide through the new features of Leopard, the second as a study guide in preparation for the Apple Certified Support Professional exam, I can say that this book has been extremely valuable in my explorations of Mac OS X. What follows below explains how this book can help a user of any ability level learn more about the Leopard (OS X 10.5) operating system. I have focused on both the novice and professional levels.

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Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Support Essentials (2nd Edition)

Novice

For someone either new to the Mac or just new to Leopard (OS X 10.5), this book can be a wonderful guide to the features of Mac OS X. The book's many step-by-step tutorials, examples, and screenshot illustrations provide for a quick reading experience. The reader rarely feels bogged down in technical details or unintelligible jargon. Always user-focused, this book can help the novice Mac user get an enormous amount of additional productivity out of her Mac. Detailed descriptions of how to set up security preferences, printer sharing, network services, and other OS customizations are just a few of the examples through which this book can help the novice or basic Mac user get more from her Mac. It also provides great troubleshooting guides and techniques that can save real time and money if any unexpected problems arise.

Professional

For a Mac system administrator or help desk support technician, Mac OS X Support Essentials is both a great tool for learning the ins and outs of Mac OS X 10.5 and an excellent preparation guide for the Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) certification exam. The book is written around the sometimes exhaustive ACSP exam requirements, but covers them in a systematic, yet interesting sequence. For someone simply looking to brush up on his/her troubleshooting skills, this book is a great refresher course and also functions well as a reference tool. The chapters covering the specifics of network services and protocols can be somewhat challenging, but that seems to simply be the nature of those subjects.

For someone seeking the ACSP certification, this book makes a great (and in some cases, the only needed) study tool for preparation for the exam, formally called Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.5 Exam (9L0-402). The reviews of the material at the end of each chapter are simple and to-the-point. Each chapter also provides review questions and answers that have proven to be valuable study tools.

Click here for a more in-depth discussion of how to prepare for the
Apple Certified Support Professional
Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.5 Exam (9L0-402).

Summary

Overall, Mac OS X Support Essentials is an excellent source of information for anyone looking to expand his/her knowledge of Mac OS X. For a professional Mac user or administrator, it acts extremely well as a reference tool or as a study guide for the Apple Certified Support Professional certification exam. For the novice user or hobbyist, this book is an excellent source for learning new aspects of the operating system or troubleshooting any problems with Mac OS X.