Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals

Prepare for Mavericks Now with Take Control Books

Apple has been touting the major features in OS X 10.9 Mavericks for months, and we’re eagerly anticipating better battery life, iCloud Keychain, Finder tabs, document tagging, the new iBooks and Maps apps, interactive notifications, better multiple display support, and AirPlay Display. To help everyone get ready to surf the Mavericks wave that we expect in late October, we have an early-bird version of Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks” for sale now, along with Sharon Zardetto’s new “Take Control of iBooks” available for pre-order, both with introductory discounts.
Together, the books cost $25 normally, but you can save $7 on both, take $5 off “Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks,” or drop $2 from the price of “Take Control of iBooks.”

Despite a San Diego heat wave (and the distractions of fish tacos and scenic beaches), Joe spent a good portion of the last few months researching the Mavericks installation process. In “Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks,” you’ll stay in control as he explains how to ensure that your hardware and software are ready for Mavericks, prevent problems by making a bootable duplicate of your main disk, eliminate digital clutter, prepare your disk, and decide on the best installation method for your particular situation, whether you’re upgrading from 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, or 10.8 Mountain Lion (phew!).

Because you may want to start preparing now, we’ve made the 75-page “Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks” available before Mavericks is for sale. Once Apple has released Mavericks — and our non-disclosure agreement is lifted — we plan to publish a version 1.1 update with installation steps, post-installation advice, troubleshooting help, and all the good stuff we can’t talk about now. Look for “Meet Me Back Here on Upgrade Day” in the ebook to learn how to get the free 1.1 update, or just watch for an email message with direct download links.

When Sharon Zardetto pitched the idea of an ebook to document Apple’s debut of iBooks in Mavericks, we were all over the idea, since we have a lot of experience with iBooks in iOS already and know what sorts of questions people have about reading ebooks. Along with answering the big question of what the heck happens to your ebooks when you launch iBooks under Mavericks and agree to let iBooks take them over from iTunes, “Take Control of iBooks” will explain how Mavericks fits into your ebook-reading setup, plus help you become more adept with iBooks on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Sharon will discuss how to optimize your onscreen reading environment, use the
navigational controls (which differ depending on which type of ebook you’re reading!), manage bookmarks, highlight important passages, make notes, and more. You’ll also learn about auto-downloading and re-downloading purchases from Apple’s iBooks Store, and where to find ebooks outside the iBooks Store (yes, Apple has renamed it from “iBookstore” — sigh).

We plan to publish the full “Take Control of iBooks,” containing approximately 100 pages of tips and techniques, once Mavericks is available. For now, it’s available for pre-order with a 20 percent introductory discount as a one-page PDF. When it’s ready after Mavericks goes live, we’ll send purchasers email with direct download links.

Subscribe today so you don’t miss any TidBITS articles!

Every week you’ll get tech tips, in-depth reviews, and insightful news analysis for discerning Apple users. For over 33 years, we’ve published professional, member-supported tech journalism that makes you smarter.

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.