Brian Tiemann is a freelance technology columnist and software engineer who has written extensively in online magazines about the Macintosh, Apple software, and the philosophy of user-friendly design that has always been synonymous with them. A creative professional in the graphic arts and web design world as well as in networking and software quality, he uses Mac OS X because of its Unix-based stability underlying the powerful built-in creative tools that let him bring his graphics, music, movies, and photography to life.
Having been a Mac user for nearly 20 years, Brian has observed Apple's growth from a maker of simple personal computers to the powerhouse of film production, digital music, online lifestyle, and publishing that it is today. A graduate of Caltech, author of Mac OS X Panther in a Snap, and coauthor of FreeBSD Unleashed and Sams Teach Yourself FreeBSD in 24 Hours, Brian enjoys animation, motorcycles, photography, technological gadgets, the outdoors, and writing about them all. He lives in Silicon Valley with canines Capri and Banzai, who posed for pictures used throughout this book.