I am a mac geek through and through. Part of the reason I've purchased a subscription to Macworld (A computer magazine) is 1) I am a geek, and 2) because I love tidbits. Tidbits are simply bits of information that can't be acquired in any other way than someone more experienced (or more geeky) than yourself spilling their guts in a public forum. These tidbits are rarely spelled out in the standard, dry manuals so you have to seek them out.

When I read publications like this I'm not really looking to learn how to operate my computer, I already know how to do that and then some. What I want to learn is how to operate my computer faster, more efficiently and well... learn new, fun tricks. These "tricks" may not even be very useful, they are just fun. Of course though, useful tricks have value and these are the hidden gems that we seek to find and why we pay money to acquire them.

With O'Reillys "Mac OSX Powerhound" (2nd Edition) book we have 574 pages chock full of tricks direct from author Rob Griffiths. Rob publishes the popular destination of mac tricks Mac OSX Hints (www.macosxhints.com) which happens to be another great source for fun and useful hidden aspects of the mac universe. Nothing can replace a great physical, hardbound resource and this is what he has provided via O'Reilly publishing.

This amazing and fun resource offers over 500 tricks that, given the chance will return the value of the book 10 times over as you build new skills, learn to do things faster, master the popular mac applications and learn to work more efficiently. The book also includes a couple chapters to help you understand and use the underlying engine of MacOSX called UNIX which is highly valuable for anyone using a mac on a regular basis.

The subtitle of this book is "Teach yourself new tricks" but honestly it is more than that. An added bonus is that this book is written in a friendly, enthusiastic, light hearted manner that is truly enjoyable.

While doing research for this book I stumbled over some comments on Amazon from Tim Robertson, publisher of MyMac.com (a great and eclectic resource about everything Mac) and I realized that I HAD to aquire a copy of this book. If you don't believe an avid mac user like myself and value my opinion then maybe another more well know personality will pursuade you to think about it.

"I haven't enjoyed a Mac book this much since Mac & PowerMac Secrets 2nd. Edition way back in 1996, and THAT is saying something."

Do yourself — and your secret "MacSelf" a favor and get this book today.

Windows XP Powerhound is also available for all you non-believers!