Running Mac OS X Panther

Book excerpt: In the rapid evolution of Mac OS X, there have been three major releases in three short years. Each new release has challenged power users to stay ahead of the learning curve-and Mac OS X Panther is by no means an exception. Apple's own documentation gives clues to parts of the puzzle, but until now, there hasn't been a comprehensive resource that charts the internals of the system. Running Mac OS X Panther is the book that Mac power users have been craving. Author James Duncan Davidson takes you deep inside Mac OS X's core and shows you how to make Panther purr like nothing else. This book isn't just for those who want to use Mac OS X, but for those who feel the need to customize, tweak, and dissect Mac OS X. The book covers such topics as: Setting up user accounts for humans and non-humans; Scheduling tasks and monitoring your system; Using HFS+ and the Journaled filesystem used by Panther; Tweaking preferences by hacking plist files or using the defaults command; Opening Directory and Directory Services, including NetInfo and LDAP; Handling printer configuration and printing; Managing networking and network services, including Rendezvous and wireless AirPort networks. The appendix includes juicy details about such things as installing Panther, plus a listing of resources for Mac users and power users alike. Written for readers who are inquisitive and confident enough to dig into their Macintosh system, Running Mac OS X Panther doesn't waste time talking about silly Finder tricks. This book dives right in and explains how Mac OS X works. If you're not a Mac guru when you start reading this book, you will be by the time you finish it. James Duncan Davidson found the Mac religion toward the end of his post at Sun Microsystems. He is a freelance author, speaker, and software consultant, focusing on Mac OS X, Cocoa, java, and XML.