I really do like books like this. When the book is just a large collection of quick tips, it’s easy to refer to it every now and then just to find something that’s not only "cool" but useful. Just flipping through the pages, it doesn’t take long to find cool stuff like "how to type weird characters ultra-quickly" (get access to symbols you might use frequently, but aren’t available on your keyboard). Starting apps without the mouse is another neat one that will make you look like one of those hackers in the movies (and it’s a timesaver). Setting up your mail to play different sounds when certain mail arrives is another useful feature that should be familiar to anyone who’s spent time configuring their cell phone ringtones. Yet another useful tip is how to show the status of your battery and whether or not they need to take it in for service or replacement. This is a huge help for anyone who wants to take advantage of their warranty and replace an ailing battery for free before it’s too late.
But what about when you really want to know how to do that one specific thing? Let’s say I want to set up a presentation on the projector tomorrow. What do I need to know so I look like a boss doing it? Well, it turns out that this particular topic isn’t covered in-depth. Multiple displays, and some neat tricks for multiple displays are covered, but you’ll pretty much already need to know how this applies in a projector setup since that’s not explained. This pretty much outlines how much of the book works. If you don’t know the basics of using your Mac, this won’t make you a pro. However, if you’re somewhat proficient and just want to learn some "cool" tricks and some tips to make you feel a little more one with your Mac, this is definitely the book for you.
That’s not to say a novice can’t get anything out of this book. I mean, that’s how some people learn. Let’s say you copied a few commands into terminal from a website when you were trying to fix something on your Mac. Well, tip #40 will show you a good way to quickly switch folders in Terminal by using drag and drop, instead of typing everything out or trying to determine the path on your own. When you get a shortcut like that, you might be more apt to try new things in Terminal. It’s the little things that really stick to you that make you value a book like this.
Could you Google most of the tips in Mac Kung Fu? Sure you could, but sometimes you don’t even realize you wanted to know how to do something on your computer before, well, you knew it was possible to do the thing. Mac Kung Fu is easy to pick up, flip through, and put down quickly while still coming away with something useful. It’s the kind of book that lets you learn something fun over your lunch break.
