Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks is a foxhound. The foxhound's coat is short, hard, and glossy and can be black, tan, white, or a combination of these colors. Foxhounds are generally free of many of the heritable defects that afflict other large dog breeds. They usually stand 21 to 27 inches tall at the shoulder, and their average weight is 55 to 75 pounds.

The English foxhound traces its ancestry back to the 1600s. Foxhounds were bred specifically to hunt foxes, so they require great stamina, strength, and speed. They are known for their superior scenting powers and strong, melodious voices. American foxhounds, developed from stock brought over from England in the 1650s, are hardier and finer-boned than their English counterparts. They were bred to adapt to more rugged terrain, where they hunted foxes, coyotes, and deer.

Foxhounds are friendly, intelligent, courageous pack hounds with a cheerful, determined disposition. They tend to be easygoing and affectionate, and although they can be strong-willed, they are not aggressive. Foxhounds were bred mainly as hunting dogs, rather than as family pets. They are a very active breed, requiring lots of exercise, and they tend to be happiest with owners who live in rural areas or on large farms. Foxhounds enjoy the company of other dogs and can become bored if kept alone. Philip Dangler was the production editor and copyeditor for Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks. Marlowe Shaeffer was the proofreader. Reg Aubry and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Ellen Troutman Zaig wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Royal Natural History. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1, using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted to FrameMaker 5.5.6 by Julie Hawks with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Rachel Wheeler.