More and more people are making the move from Windows-based PCs to Macs. Security issues, virus scares, problems with Vista - you name it, everyone has a reason to turn their backs on Windows, and for many people Linux isn't the answer just yet. So they turn to Apple.
I've actually contemplated the move, even though I'm not running Vista on anything yet and have only had one major virus in the past seven or eight years. Two things have always held me back: price, and the learning curve.
Well, now I've only got one excuse. Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition -- by the man who started the Missing Manual editions to begin with, is written to ease the transition between Windows-based PCs and Macs running OS X. Nothing is left out - in the first chapter, David Pogue even shows you how to turn on your new Mac!
Differences between Macs and PCs are covered right up front, and Pogue shows that the Mac OS, while a bit different, does many of the same things that you've always done on your PC. He explains differences in terminology so well that anyone, no matter how computer illiterate, could understand him. One of the things I've always wondered about is how to right-click using a one-button mouse. Pogue shows that it can be done, and shows how to customize your Mac mouse to imitate the mouse you're used to - a very valuable thing for me.
Pogue does an outstanding job of showing exactly how the Mac environment works, and how everything is structured. Then he starts explaining key differences between the PC and Mac versions of your favorite software. He covers Safari (though I'm still partial to Firefox, and would probably run it even on a Mac), Mail, and iChat quite well in Part Three, and parental controls and security in Part Four.
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As a long-time Windows user I found myself annoyed at getting around my first Mac. Apple's site has some helpful tutorials and videos -- but this book is even better. OS X is a great operating system and Mr. Pogue's explanation and organization bring it to light. I'm still not as fast with Mac as with Windows (especially the shortcut keys) but this book got me close.