Mac at Work

by David Sparks

Bridge the gap between using a Mac at home and at the officeNow that you love your Mac at home, you want to use one at the office without missing a beat of productivity or professionalism. This unique guide shows you how. You'll find best Mac business practices for handling word processing, spreadsheet and presentation creation, task and project management, and graphics. The book also explores topics such as hardware maintenance, how to synchronize with multiple computers, data backup, and communication with Windows networks.Covers the nuts and bolts of using a Mac at work, including synchronizing with multiple computers, backing up data, and communicating with Windows networksGoes beyond simple coverage of Microsoft Office or iWork to show you how to professionally create and interact with typical office systems and documentsProvides best software and best practices for creating and using spreadsheets, word processing documents, and slide presentations on a MacGives you helpful guidelines and suggestions that can be lacking in an office where the IT department is focused primarily on PCsFind out the best ways to use your Mac in the office and get more productive than ever!

Genres: Technology, Productivity

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2010

About the author

David Sparks is an Orange County, California business attorney and a geek. David is also a podcaster, blogger, and author who writes about finding the best tools, hardware, and workflows for using Apple products to get work done. David also writes for Macworld magazine and speaks about technology.
--from the author's website

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to preface this review with a couple of facts. First, I work full time in IT. I am the prime/lead for supporting a small number of Macs and a large Windows organization. Second, I have used a Mac as my main machine at work for over a year and I have written three Apple certification exams over the last year to better be able to support them in the workplace. Third, I am not now nor ever likely to be a 'Mac Guy'. There are things I appreciate about the hardware and software. I got this book because I wanted to get more out of my Mac at work. I wanted to be able to do more than test problems other Mac users are having, and using it as a VM host for my Windows machine.

David Sparks is a 'Mac Guy'. He thinks they are great. It is evident on his website macsparky.com and through this and other writings. He is passionate about what Macs can do and to some extent what they cannot do. He writes with a depth and breadth of experience few users will ever have. He seems to try all the key software in a category and build a list based on strengths, weakness and cost factors. He is very fair in his approach. Here is the table of contents and the breakdown of how he tackles his subject of using a Mac at work.
...
Read the rest of the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

[Seth Goldberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like David... I've been listening to his pod casts for years (Mac Sparky and Mac Power Users) and there in lies the problem with the book. While the material is great for getting a good foundation of some common and uncommon tools to use for work tasks as well as a good amount of hints and tips its nothing that has not been covered on the pod casts. I found nothing really new except for the section on Automator. Don't get me wrong the book IS good, its just not where I was hoping it would be in the level of information on the tools and tips for said tools.

If your new to the Mac world or looking to increase your power user chops then this book is a 4 star.... If you are a power user already and especially if you listen to the pod casts mentioned then unfortunately you will find nothing new.

[Tiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed David's podcast - The Mac Power Users, but this book (which has a similar content) didn't really work for me. I guess the difference was that when he started listening to his podcast I was new to Mac and it provided important information, which now is not important anymore. So only get this book if you are relatively new to Mac.

Also the book focus too much on individual, specific software. Which means that it will gets outdated quickly. It is however a fluid, enjoyable read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are few books that analyze the Mac in the workplace experience in this much detail. Although I work from home, I learned about some interesting software that I would like to try. He is a lawyer in his non geeky life. I listen to his podcast with Katie Floyd regularly. Mac Power Users - http://macpowerusers.com/. Good stuff. He has a new book out - iPad at Work. Will read it if I ever buy an iPad.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave this three stars, as it followed the familiar David Sparks pattern of talking about a lot of applications and their features while going light on workflow examples—and then I got to the automation chapter (alas, almost at the end of the book). That was worth another star, and I wish the rest of the book was set up the same way. This book is helpful, especially for the novice, but the Mac Power Users podcast is more helpful.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Sparks gives a thorough treatment to the use of Macs that should be valuable to novices and veterans alike. His writing style is engaging and the information is both useful and clearly communicated. I found his software reviews to be useful, although some may have issues with them,. When he has a clear favourite in a particular software category , he is not shy about stating that but otherwise he points out the type of user to whom the various options may appeal.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were useful, but most of it I already knew. I listen to his podcast, so it might have been silly to buy the book.