The big thing about Macs was that — supposedly — you could sit a newbie down in front of one and three nanoseconds later they’d have the system downpat. But now there are two problems with that: Windows XP, which is a jolly nice operating system, and Mac OS X, which is even nicer but hides a scary UNIX core beneath that sexy brushed aluminium interface.

The OS X Files Panther Edition covers all the stuff you’ll need to know to make the most of OS X. There are the basics, including an explanation of why you should back up your system, and the complex, including a chapter called “More than enough UNIX to get you by”.

The reality is that if you can drive a modern GUI-based OS (such as XP), then 15 minutes’ familiarisation will have you zooming around OS X without a problem. Power users wanting to take advantage of OS X’s depth should just skip straight to O’Reilly’s OS X In a Nutshell, while newbies should head directly for David Pogue’s Missing Manual series. OS X Files is good, but other titles are better.