Mac OS X Tiger: The Search For New Killer Tips.

We got hit with a flood of spam ‘comments’ over the weekend. In trying to clear out the rubbish I came across a great tip to identify and delete spam.

That won’t help you but this will. Scott Kelby’s book, ‘Mac OS X Tiger Killer Tips’.

Even if you’re a long-time Mac user (or, in the case of Tera, a loooooooong time Mac user) there’s always something new, so there’s always something new to learn. Is this the best book ever for Mac users?

That depends on what your needs are. Duh, Bambi. For example, Tera curls up with ‘The Book of Postfix’ by Ralf Hildebrandt. If you’re in to point and click, you’ll be bored silly.

My latest is ‘The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Trick & Hacks,’ by Rachel Andrew. XHTML and CSS not your cup of tea? See? It depends.

Scott Kelby is the Editor-in-Chief of Mac Design magazine so the Killer Tips series is from someone, who, like the rest of us around here, lives, eats, breathes, sleeps, and slobbers Mac. 24/7.

By now you’re asking two things: 1) what’s all this have to do with the Mac360 spam ‘comments’ over the weekend, 2) where’s the review of Killer Tips?

First, the spam issue. When a Mac360 reader leaves a comment at the end of an article, or posts a comment in the Forums, we get a copy of the comment (’we’ meaning, Tera, me, Ron). We also log the IP address and other information.

Most of the time we just glance at it and move on. Over the weekend, some folks in China (you can trace IP addresses using Mac OS X’s ‘Network Utility’) decided to read Mac360 and comment on everything.

The comments were usually one line of broken English followed by 20 web site addresses that promote shoes made in China. All those extra links on our site make for more search engine hits for their web sites.

So they thought. I caught the first stream of ‘comment spam’ early Sunday. Dozens of them. How to delete them? The folks who sold us our content management system provided me with a nifty ‘killer tip’ that found the comment spam and deleted it in just a few clicks.

All of it. Poof. Gone. It was a tremendous time saving tip.

That’s what got me to thinking, ‘Where’s Mac OS X Tiger Killer Tips’ from Scott Kelby. Why? Because Scott also published Mac OS X Jaguar Killer Tips, and Panther Killer Tips, and, naturally, I’m now thinking, ‘Tiger Killer Tips.’

Don’t go running out to Borders looking for ‘Mac OS X Tiger Killer Tips’ just yet, though, if you Click Here you can order it.

Why? What’s the big deal about another Mac book? Because, based on the Jaguar and Panther books, this may be the best book you can get for your Mac. Why?

First, even a book that tells you everything there is to know about the Mac isn’t much good if you only read the first chapter. So, a ‘good’ book needs to be both readable (enjoyable to read), and provide you with information you didn’t know, need to know, helps you out, blah, blah…

You get the idea.

The ‘Killer Tips’ series of books are simply FULL of what you’d expect. Tips. Tricks. Shortcuts. Secrets. Workarounds. Undocumented goodies. All of which will make any Mac user smarter, faster, more efficient, more productive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and better looking than yesterday.

Or, in the alternative, make your Mac more personal, and make you a better Mac user.

Why? Because, once you start reading the Killer Tips, you can’t stop. With Jaguar and Panther Killer Tips I found myself running back to my Mac to try something out, time and time again.

What you’re not going to find in the Killer Tips is how to set up a disk image, how to use the Terminal, all the Unix commands you’ll never remember, how to configure a network, and so on. There are plenty of Mac books that will fill you in on the basics of running a Mac.

What you will find in the Killer Tips series are tips. Tips, and more tips.

I’ve been using Macs for more years than most folks I know (except Tera) and I am impressed with all the new ‘tips’ I learn with each of Scott’s books. Yes, I bought Killer Tips for Jaguar and Panther, and Tiger’s on order. No hesitation.

How about you? Are you now a bona fide Tiger lover? What ‘killer tips’ have you found that make your Mac life, iLife, and life, better than before. As always, share, with the Comments link below, or in the new Forums.

Off Topic Note: Have you ever noticed how much Apple’s “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” television commercials remind you of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote? Seriously.