Save 50% in Take Control’s 2014 Back to School Sale

Whether August means heading back to school for you personally, or you consider learning to be a lifetime endeavor, we’d like to make it easier for you to pick up new skills. Through 25 August 2014, you can add any number of our ebooks to your Take Control library for 50 percent off the cover price. All our books are DRM-free and available in PDF, EPUB, and Mobipocket (Kindle) formats, so you can read wherever, whenever, and on whatever device you like. (Though we certainly hope everything works properly, if our site is overloaded by sale traffic, try again later in the day when things have settled down.)

We don’t expect you to read every one of our books cover to cover, much as our authors would be tickled if you did. Instead, each book has a Quick Start section that gives you a look into the book beyond the Table of Contents so you can jump instantly to the sections that will teach you what you want to know.

Whether it’s dealing with passwords, upgrading your wireless network gear, getting a handle on Apple’s Pages word processor, automating repetitive tasks on your Mac, or finally writing your own book in Scrivener or iBooks Author, we have a title to help. We also have ebooks about iCloud, Mail, FileVault, iBooks, CrashPlan, PDFpen, TextExpander, setting up a paperless office, and more.

What can you learn from our expert authors? Tons. Here are some highlights:

• Passwords: Develop a secure password strategy that won’t slow down everyday activities, thanks to Joe Kissell’s best-selling “Take Control of Your Passwords.” Also don’t miss Joe’s “Take Control of 1Password,” about the popular 1Password 4 password manager.

• Wireless networking: Upgrade your wireless network with Glenn Fleishman’s “Take Control of Your Apple Wi-Fi Network.” The book will help you extend the range with multiple AirPort base stations, add USB drives and shared printers, enable security options, and more.

• Pages: Find in-depth guidance for using Apple’s Pages for all manner of word processing tasks and to create visually attractive, media-rich layouts. In Michael E. Cohen’s “Take Control of Pages” pre-book, you’ll find 200+ pages documenting Apple’s rewritten Pages 5 for Mac, iOS, and even iCloud. Since “Take Control of Pages” is in progress (Apple keeps making changes!), it’s available only via Leanpub, but you can still save 50 percent with this link.

• Apple TV: Apple’s diminutive streaming media box is much more than a conduit to the iTunes Store. Find out how to play a wide variety of media and have more fun with “Take Control of Apple TV,” by Josh Centers.

• Podcasting: Start podcasting or improve your podcast with the recently updated third edition of Andy Affleck’s “Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac.”

• Dropbox: Enjoy a thorough look at how to use Dropbox — particularly the non-obvious bits — for file transfer and collaboration with Joe’s “Take Control of Dropbox.” (But don’t be deceived; as useful as Dropbox is, it does not a backup strategy make. The definitive word on backups remains Joe’s “Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac.”)

• iTunes: Manage your music collection and find your way around iTunes more effectively with Kirk McElhearn’s tips in “Take Control of iTunes 11: The FAQ,” where he answers oodles of questions about playing, ripping, buying, tagging, viewing, organizing, searching, syncing, sharing, and burning your music.

• Automation: Make working on your Mac less tedious, more accurate, and more easily repeated with “Take Control of Automating Your Mac,” also by Joe. (For even more Mac mojo, don’t miss his “Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal.”)

So stock your Take Control library today with the titles that you’ve been wanting to read or that you think might become useful in the future — remember that we give readers minor updates for free, so your library can stay up to date throughout the year!

Thanks for your continued support, and the many useful questions and kind comments you’ve sent over the years. And please, if you would do us a quick favor, spread the word about this sale to friends and colleagues!