Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Mavericks Edition

I’m never going to read “Switching to the Mac” from cover to cover like I do most books. There’s too much here to absorb. I don’t want my brain as stuffed as my hard drive so I’ll use it as a reference book. Is it a good reference book? Based on what I’ve actually used, I’d say it’s an excellent reference book. This review will probably focus more on David Pogue than on his book because it’s his background and knowledge that will signal the worth of his information. His credentials are impressive. He is the author of 120 titles in the Missing Manual series and seven books for the Dummies series. He reportedly has over 3 million books in print. In addition to his work on computer knowledge he has also written about magic, digital photography, opera, and classical music. As a sort of compendium of his knowledge, he has also authored a manual, “National Geographic’s The Science of Everything.” He obviously has some chops. He’s not a one-trick pony. He was also a technology columnist for “The New York Times” for 13 years. He is a monthly columnist for Scientific American and host of science shows on NOVA. He’s been a correspondent “CBS Sunday Morning since 2002. His latest venture is Yahoo Tech, a consumer-technology Web site where he promises that everything he publishes will be “funny, authoritative, and helpful.” I’ve looked at the site (it’s massive) but haven’t had the time to really study it because of looking through the equally massive “Switching to the Mac.” So I’m going out on a limb here. I’m going to use Pogue’s impressive background to evaluate what I’ve already read in the book and seen in other reviews to 5-star rate the book without equivocation. My Apple tech rep is great but Apple’s user information is too spread out for easy reference. Switching to a Mac? Get this book. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES

I found this book very helpful in my research on moving from a PC to an iMac. It answered many questions about how some of the Apple installed software works, and prepared me for the switch. After I bought an iMac it has been helpful in answering my questions on how to perform a particular task, or why something happened in a way I do not understand. The one downside is that Pogue does not explain much beyond the dialog box, i.e. why only certain options are available. Overall I like the book. It has made the transition to the iMac much easier.

Another great book by this author. Very well written, concise and to the point, with logical layout and explanations for most everything you will come across. Great logical flow and reasoning...at many points he lists the windows version or application or setting and then goes on to explain the mac equivalent. I had one of the first mac ever out (Macintosh) but business applications have long been dominated by windows so I had to learn that first. Great book, I plan to look at buying other titles by the same author...well worth having.

The teach yourself MacBook Pro allows quick ingress and egress to those topics you need right away. Harder to find in this book. If I read it start to finish, my MacBook would be outdated.

I didn't need to read the whole thing. After reading 20 pages, I was able to get my files transferred and get the new Mac up and running. The transition was much easier than I thought, and I am really glad to have the rest of the book as a reference to answer my questions as they come up. I have been using Windows PC's for 30 years. My wife "upgraded" to a Windows 8 machine. I have spent days trying to work with it. We have a neighbor who is a Microsoft engineer who helped develop Windows 8. He spent an entire afternoon trying to teach us the new system. Switching to the Mac was easier than switching to Windows 8 for this dedicated previous Microsoft user.

Easy to read on the go. Well laid out format. Definitely helping me transition as a crotchety old guy PC user. Now get that damn Justin Long and U2 off my lawn...

Windows PC user for years using this manual has allowed me to transition to a new IMAC and quickly cross reference the information with a hardcopy of IMAC for Dummies series. Found out areas that were not addressed in other manuals. Worth the purchase but make sure you get the one for your specific OS.

How do I find all that Windows stuff I'm used to using? This book is a big help in making the transition for PC to Mac. So far I have been able to find all the tools, and some even better ones, that I was accustom to on my PC.

I purchased this book for my husband as he was having a difficult time adjusting to his Mac Pro. He says it is better than the other two manuals he purchased before finding this one and he has recommended it to others.

I took the plunge with an iMac after several months of getting slowly more frustrated with Windows 8.1 - probably a similar story to most converts. I absolutely love my iMac, SO much better and faster than a PC - I am finally learning what 'multi-tasking' SHOULD be! However, it is quite different to Windows, which I have been using for twenty-odd years, so I started looking for a book to help me make the transition. I came across the 'missing manual' series and read about David Pogue, and I thought he sounded very knowledgeable. I almost went for the 'OSX Maverick's book, as a lot of the reviews said it was suitable for both beginners and seasoned Mac users alike. But then I came across this book, and after reading some reviews from other websites, I thought it seemed to suit my need better. And I am glad I bought it, it lays out absolutely everything you need to make the switch from Windows to Mac, as painlessly as possible. I consider myself fairly 'computer-savvy' but I was unprepared for just HOW much difference there is between the two systems. I've only had a the book about a week but it has already shown me how to do some of the things I was struggling with, and the writing style is neither too technical nor to too condescending. David has the perfect writing style and makes learning fun. Highly recommended.

I have several books in the "missing manual" series, which I often buy to complete a given software. This one is excellent, I found it very helpful in my switch to the Mac after many, many years of PC usage.

A great book it does what it says , the missing manual .

Just what was needed! We are new to Mac after many years of Windows use. Book is clearly written and reference section at the end most useful of all. Still can't find how to delete one letter using Pages though!