The PowerBook Fan Book: Love at First Boot

At first glance, Powerbook Fan Book looks like a coffee table 'interest' book of diminutive size. The cover design and photo call to the Powerbook owner who enjoys reading about how great it is to be a Powerbook owner. But upon opening this book, It soon becomes apparent that it is a powerhouse primer for the Mac novice who just opened the box to their first Powerbook. The books dimensions are just larger than a CD jewel box. Obviously designed to be toted with the Powerbook itself. Derrick explains his philosophy early on. Many Mac guide books on the market seem to lose focus of the fact that one of the major appeals of the Mac OS is it's ease of use. He feels that many of these user-guide tomes only serve to squelch the new Mac owner's enthusiasm; driving the owner farther from their new Mac in stead of uniting them. His solution is to gently introduce the machine and the OS; covering only the key information that a new user must know to become productive with their new Powerbook. He touches on the fact that being a Powerbook user is unlike being the owner of any Windows-based laptop. Much the same as being a Mac owner differs from being a `PC user'. Consider: Combine the Mac OS with the portability of the Powerbook, and it becomes, for many, an extension of their own memory; of themselves. Insights such as this pepper the book and keep the more dry nuts-and-bolts how-to topics in balance for the reader. The book itself is logically organized, tabbed, and color illustrated. The early chapters cover the basics of Macintosh, the Powerbook and the abovementioned philosophies. Next Derrick assumes that you know nothing about the OS and guides you through setting up your new machine. All the while he interjects bits of wisdom that a veteran Mac user would recognize and appreciate (having themselves learned the hard way). He also covers `must have' Powerbook accessories, care and cleaning, and basically making your Powerbook uniquely `you'. All the main points are covered including the iLife suite and the Powerbook used as your personal digital hub. The Powerbook Fan Book is destined to become a dog-eared, sticky note covered favorite that, after you have read it, will make the rounds to new Mac Powerbook converts as a loaner. My only criticism, as with any computer book, is that it is now in need of revision on two fronts. First, the book was written to the Mac OS 10.3 Panther user and needs to be brought up to speed for 10.4 Tiger; and second, Mr. Story will need to revise it for the new intel processor-based MacBook Pro. But there are plenty of new Powerbook owners out there and many retailers selling through their Powerbook back-stock. Apple could do worse than to commission this book to be shipped with each new unit. One final note. There is nothing in the Powerbook Fan Book that would not also appeal to the iBook or now, MacBook (sans 'Pro') owner. Only some minor differences ,mostly to do with ports, would be off. So get out there and

Theres alot of usefull info packed into this small book, focusing primarily on what ordinary users need to know, it helped me bond with my powerbook.

This is the book to go along with your first time purchase of a powerbook, or a good present for someone getting a new powerbook. You could think of this trim form factor book as a super introductory manual that should have come in the box. Though Derrick does a good job of covering some additional topics that you won't find in the Apple documentation, like where to get good accessories and third party software. This is not a book for a long time Mac owner. That reader wouldn't find much they didn't already know. This is a great book for a first time Mac owner.

As the book says, using a PowerBook is a digital lifestyle statement to some of its fans. That might sound a trifle pretentious, if you don't have one of these gadgets. But Story describes bunches of cool ways to use it. These are in the key chapters 3 and 4. He quickly describes the basics of using iPhoto to amass a collection of digital photos. And of using iMovies to view digital video. The chapters are somewhat short. There is enough detail to use the most common operations of these programs, and others. But the narrative only hints at the complexity of the full features of each program. The book provides a useful and quick survey.

Who subtitles a computer book, "Love at First Boot"??? Mac people, of course. This book gushes about the PowerBook and why it's the coolest computer on the planet. At only 100 pages and a small 6 inch by 6 inch form factor, this book isn't something you'd get to dive into the Mac world. (However, it does recommend plenty of other books to pick up.) This book would be great as a "Stocking Stuffer" (being the holiday season) or a welcome gift for the owner of a PowerBook. It covers at a high level the various things you might want to know about; from cases, screen protectors and travel kits to the included Mac software. Full color pictures throughout the book make it a gorgeous piece of eye-candy as well. While it does contain a lot of useful information, the real reason you get the book is simply because it is cool... Just like the PowerBook.