Take Control Updates A-Plenty

One of the things I’ve been extremely busy with over the past several weeks is working on a large number of Take Control projects (both updates and new titles). We begin with three just-released updates:

• Take Control of .Mac, version 1.3: This update mainly covers the changes to .Mac that Apple announced last month, such as increased storage space, server-based junk mail filtering, and using your own domain. Although I mention .Mac-related changes in iLife ’08 applications, I haven’t yet completely overhauled the book to discuss the new versions, since only a small percentage of users will have updated by now. All that and more will be included in a future update of the book.
• Take Control of Apple Mail in Tiger, version 1.1: This is the first (and last) major update to this ebook since it’s
  been released, and there’s lots of new material. Once again, I cover the changes to .Mac; I also update numerous other sections of the book, add some new tips, and include better versions of all the graphics.
• Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail, version 1.3: This contains lots of new info, such as details on the latest versions of anti-spam software, tips for dealing with image spam, and several corrections or clarifications from the previous edition.

Next up (I’m guessing in the next week or so) will be two more updates:

• Take Control of Mac OS X Backups, version 2.1: This is a monster update. Among the major changes are significantly toned-down recommendations for Retrospect (sorry, but EMC just isn’t showing any signs of caring about it); a section on the latest crop of online backup services, such as CrashPlan, Mozy, and Steekup; information on the latest hardware and software that can be used for backups; additional details about Time Machine; and much more.
• Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner, version 1.1: Yes, even my cookbook is getting an update! Version 1.1 will include a much-improved recipe for
  candied sweet potatoes, information on some useful new tools, and fixes for a few small errors in the first edition.

All five of the above updates are (or will be) free for owners of the previous versions.

I’ve also been working hard on Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard. Apple hasn’t yet announced a specific release date for Leopard, but they have claimed that it’s coming in October. In any case, we’ll be ready, as usual, to ship this upgrading guide at the very moment Leopard goes on sale in North America. In fact, we’re going to do something a bit different this time that I think everyone will like a great deal; I can’t give out details yet, but you’ll be hearing soon. This book will not be a mere rehash of my books on upgrading to Tiger and Panther – it has loads of additional information and all-new details based on many, many hours of testing. I think everyone moving to Leopard will find it extremely useful. (And
obviously, since Leopard is not yet final, I may still have some significant work to do on this title before it ships.)

But that’s not all. I’ve got four other Take Control projects in various stages of preparation, and a couple more that may spring to life fairly suddenly. What I can tell you right now is that I’m working on Leopard versions of several popular titles, with a goal of being able to ship them as soon as we reasonably can after Leopard hits the streets.

Whew! Even for me, that’s a lot!