Mac Stuff

My 12th Take Control ebook, Take Control of Passwords in Mac OS X, went on sale today. (Gee, it feels like just a month ago that my last ebook came out.) I’m unusually excited about this title, because, as with Take Control of Mac OS X Backups, I think it addresses a number of vexing problems that virtually all Mac users face.

First, the ebook helps to make sense of password security: how do you choose passwords that offers the right compromise among security and memorability? And once you’ve chosen your passwords, how do you keep them safe? The ebook also discusses all the different places within Mac OS X where passwords are used, and spends considerable time dealing with Web site passwords. It talks about keychains in detail and covers not only the Keychain Access utility but also numerous third-party password tools. The goal of the ebook is to make sense of passwords, to make them no longer seem scary or confusing. If you follow my advice, you should be able to generate, remember, and enter appropriately strong passwords for almost any purpose with an absolute minimum of brainpower and grief.

The ebook is 96 pages long and sells for $10. We offer a free sample (22 pages long), and as usual, minor updates will also be free.

My latest print book, Real World Mac Maintenance and Backups, is finally shipping from Peachpit. This book is based on two of my more popular Take Control ebooks (Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac and Take Control of Mac OS X Backups), though we made a number of changes and adaptations in the course of preparing the book for print. I’m delighted for the book to be part of Peachpit’s successful and highly regarded Real World series, and I have high hopes that it will enjoy a long and happy shelf life (Leopard and Time Machine notwithstanding). Although particular maintenance utilities or backup programs may come and go, the basic advice I offer for keeping your Mac running smoothly should be perfectly valid years from now.

As I mentioned, I’ll be speaking next Tuesday, October 17, 2006, at the Diablo Valley Mac User Group in Walnut Creek, California. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. (not 7:00, as I’d said previously), though my portion of the program won’t begin until about 7:30.

I’ll be discussing backup strategies, borrowing heavily from Take Control of Mac OS X Backups, but with some new material discussing, for example, the Time Machine feature coming in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. As a bonus, I’ll spend some time toward the end discussing Thanksgiving dinner. A good time will be had by all.

After the presentation there will be a Q&A session. I’ll be happy to answer questions about any of my books, articles, Web sites, or whatnot.