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Master Your Mac
Simple Ways to Tweak, Customize, and Secure OS X
by Matthew Cone

August 2012, 352 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-59327-406-1

$29.95


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Contents | Reviews | Updates

Mac OS X is more than just a pretty face. Sure, the basics are easy, but beneath that gorgeous surface lie lots of powerful features that aren't always obvious.

Master Your Mac will show you how to quickly and easily tweak, customize, and control your Mac. Productivity and shortcut tips will show you how to change hidden defaults, discover faster workarounds, and enable undocumented features. You'll learn how to enable helpful features like custom gestures and shortcuts, repair disk permissions, monitor your system, repair problems with the hard disk, and even create a bootable USB drive for emergencies.

With the basics out of the way, you'll learn how to:

  • Automate day-to-day tasks with macros, triggers, and Automator scripts
  • Turn your Mac into a file or Web server
  • Improve your Web experience by creating Safari extensions and using site-specific browsers
  • Handle massive amounts of email and media
  • Secure your Mac with firmware passwords, firewalls, FileVault full-disk encryption, and even Tor to help protect your online privacy

Mac OS makes things easy. Master Your Mac will show you how to tweak Mac OS to make it your own.

Covers OS X Mountain Lion.

About the Author

Matthew Cone, a freelance writer specializing in Apple hardware and software, has been a Mac user for over 20 years. A former ghost writer for some of Apple's most notable instructors, Cone founded Macinstruct.com in 1999, a site with OS X tutorials that boasts hundreds of thousands of unique visitors per month.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Back to Basics
1. The Best Shortcuts (and Making Your Own)
2. Starting Applications Automatically at Login
3. Finding Files and Folders Fast
4. Organizing Windows
5. Cleaning House
6. Modding the Interface and Icons
7. Tweaking Energy and Display Settings

Part 2: Boosting Productivity
8. Getting Notifications and Status Updates
9. Launching Applications Fast
10. Customizing Trackpad and Mouse Gestures
11. Connecting Multiple Displays to Your Mac
12. Talking to Your Mac

Part 3: Automation
13. Making Macros to Automate Tasks
14. Getting Started with AppleScript
15. Creating a Bluetooth Proximity Monitor
16. Automating File and Folder Actions
17. Location-Based Automation

Part 4: Managing Your Life
18. Managing Your Email
19. Killing Spam
20. Creating Quick and Easy Reminders
21. Managing Music Effectively

Part 5: Internet and Networks
22. Creating Your Own Safari Extension
23. Turning Websites into Applications
24. Storing Files in the Cloud
25. Accessing Your Mac Remotely
26. Turning Your Mac into a Web and FTP Server
27. Wirelessly Sharing a Printer and Network Hard Drive
28. Synchronizing Files Between Computers

Part Part 6: Serious Security
29. Creating Strong Passwords and Storing Them Securely
30. Enabling Firmware Password Protection
31. Encrypting Your Mac's Internet Connection
32. Enabling Firewalls
33. Preserving Your Anonymity Online
34. Encrypting Your Hard Disks and Backups

Part 7: Monitoring, Troubleshooting, and Maintenance
35. System and Process Monitoring
36. Repairing Disk Permissions
37. Verifying and Repairing the Hard Disk
38. Making Better File Backups
39. Maintaining a MacBook's Battery
40. Creating an Emergency USB Drive

Index

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