Book tip: "macOS Mojave - The standard work on Apple's operating system" by Anton Ochsenkühn

I recently had one on my blog Articles with useful manuals for macOS Mojave. The list of recommendations also includes Anton Ochsenkühn's book, which he has now sent me in duplicate - one for the review here and one to be raffled off among you! First of all, thank you very much, Anton. You can find more about the raffle at the bottom of the article. But now to the review of the book!

amac-buch - Lots of literature to choose from around Apple products

The book "macOS Mojave" was recently published by amac-buch Verlag, which has a whole series of books on the Apple universe at the start: on iOS 12 on the iPad or iPhone, on Apple iCloud, on Apple TV, on iTunes and iMovie and even one for the photo app - and a few more. I'll put together a complete list in another post. But in this article, we only focus on the macOS Mojave manual.

The technical data ...

Maybe we'll start with the "Specs" of the book, because they're impressive too:

• over 700 pages of content
• about 1,8 kg heavy
• completely printed in 4 colors
• currently with Mojave screenshots
• the table of contents alone has 9 pages

The first impression

I have to admit that I haven't read the book from front to back in the last few days because I didn't have the time. But since it just came out, I wanted to write a review that will come out soon. Actually, that's not a problem either, because you get a good impression of the book yourself if you have held it in your hand for a few evenings and leafed through it, read a chapter here and there and taken note of the organization and presentation of the book.

And what can I say: the first impression is very good. I've read through the first chapters that start with the installation of macOS Mojave and explain how to get the installation file via the App Store, what APFS is and what options you have when working with the trackpad or Magic Mouse. As a new Mac user, you will be picked up at the very beginning and guided through the setup of the Mac.

After reading the first few chapters, my first thought was: “The book should be included with every Mac as a manual!”. It is written in a way that is really easy to understand and practice-oriented and does not overwhelm new users, even if they have no computer experience.

What I also find positive is the section "Security on the Internet", which explains to newcomers why the Internet is not only an enrichment but also a certain risk. Here it is explained how to protect the Mac from external access with the internal firewall and why the apps since Mojave ask for permission for location services or access to the photos. It goes without saying that access should be denied to a program downloaded from the Internet (that does not come directly from Apple) if the authorizations required by the program seem inappropriate.

For laypeople only? Absolutely not!

Anyone who thinks that the Mojave manual is only for people who have no idea about the Mac is mistaken. Even for people like me, who have been working on the Mac for over 20 years, there are always functions or explanations that offer new insights into the operating system. Sometimes you have accumulated a lot of half-knowledge in some areas over the years, that it is really nice to be able to read more closely how one or the other function actually works.

Especially for me - who tries to give other Mac users a bit of support - the reference work is very helpful, because I often only have a lot of knowledge in some areas and very little in others. Of course, depending on what everyday work demands of you, you only train in these "corners" of macOS... The "User Management" area, for example, is completely new territory for me, since I've never had to share my Macs with other users and always logged in as admin. A practice that is not necessarily recommended. ;-)

Working with the terminal - not just for professionals

Also before Port Mac users don't have to shy away. While I would advise against copying and running terminal commands from shabby websites, the steps in the book are easy to implement. Of course, this doesn't make you a professional user straight away, but some things on the Mac can only be changed and edited with the terminal. For this reason, I think it's good that the book explains here how, as a normal user, you can achieve your goal with the terminal.

Appearance and content preparation

The volume of the book is of course very large with over 700 pages. It is all the more important to structure and present all the information in a meaningful way. For this purpose, all articles are subdivided into 13 large chapters:

1. Install macOS Mojave
2. The first impression
3. With the Mac on the Internet
4. Safari, Mail, FaceTime & Co.
5. Work with programs
6. Of files and folders
7. Smart functions in macOS
8. Create and store files
9. Useful programs
10. User
11. System settings
12. Contact with network resources
13. Troubleshooting and fitness training

All of these chapters have their own color coding, which can also be seen from the page of the book. This makes it easier to find specific information.

In addition to the good structure in the book, the many screenshots and the small information boxes are also good tools to loosen up the large amount of text information. The screenshots show you very quickly what the windows should look like in which you have to select certain options. As a result, Mac beginners can quickly achieve their goals and are not frustrated by incomprehensible text wastes.

Competent help when the Mac is twitching

The chapter "Troubleshooting and fitness training" alone is worth the price of the book. This is where you can get help if the Mac mucks and doesn't want to anymore. Everything is explained in detail here, from the Apple hardware test and safe system start to starting from the rescue partition. If you don't get any further with that, you've really exhausted all the options you can do yourself and will probably have to carry your Mac to the Genius Bar in the nearest Apple shop.

And if the Mac really doesn't want to anymore, the printed word also has a great advantage: What use is the best website with tips for troubleshooting if the Mac does not start and you have no other option to access the Internet? Then a printed reference work is really worth its weight in gold. And to be honest, I enjoy leafing through books on the sofa more than looking at the MacBook or iPad ... I do that often enough every day.

And what you also have to credit the book with positively: It is amazingly topical. Not only are all screenshots adapted to macOS Mojave - even the T2 chip, which is built into the new iMac Pro, is covered in the book.

My conclusion

A recommendation for every Mac user - whether young, old, experienced or inexperienced. With this book is Anton Ochsenkuhn A reference book for all topics on the Mac has really succeeded, which despite the wealth of information is still clearly structured and visually attractive.

macOS Mojave - THE standard work for beginners and those switching; suitable for all Mac models (iMac, ...

• Anton Ochsenkühn (Author)

10,60 EUR

Buy it at Amazon Price includes VAT, plus shipping costs (updated: 16.04.2024 at 09: 24 clock)

The book as a searchable PDF, Kindle and eBook

Anyone who looks at Amazon will see that it is the book as a printed paperback or as Kindle version gives. Of course, the Kindle format is searchable too, but unfortunately this doesn't work on ePub readers like the Tolino. So if you want the book in ePub format, please have a look here at buecher.de in the menu.

Prize draw for the book

As always, when I get something made available to raffle, it will be distributed among my newsletter readers. If you want to join just subscribe to my newsletter. In the issue of October 19.10.2018, XNUMX, I will give the information about participation (it will be sooooo easy!) There in the newsletter.

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.

The page contains affiliate links / images: Amazon.de