 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Windows 2000 Pro For the Bookshelf Major Keary |
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In keeping with an unfortunate trend, there is no printed user guide with Win2kPro. "To learn about the thousands of pieces of software that make up this operating system, you're expected to read the Windows online help screens." [Windows 2000 Pro-The Missing Manual] Using online 'help' documentation to learn how to use an application is generally of no help at all.
To the rescue comes The Missing Manual series from Pogue Press/O'Reilly. Windows 2000 Pro-The Missing Manual is the right size for keeping within reach, comes with convenient lay-flat binding, and is well designed in respect of typography and content. Information is easy to find; apart from a detailed table of contents and "hand crafted" index, an appendix contains menu-by-menu listing.
Good use of screen shots is made to support the text; it is comforting to know that you are looking at the right dialogue box when reading instructions. There are also plenty of boxed information items that present extra information, handy tips, and FAQs.
Don't expect an encyclopaedic coverage of every technical nook and cranny of Win2kPro; this is, as the cover says, "The book that should have been in the box". It is about installation and use, and is the kind of manual users need to have at hand as an ongoing reference. The book is in parts: Getting Started, which deals with basic matters such as logging on and off, shutting down, folders, the Taskbar, shortcuts, and access to online help; Components deals with running applications, the control panel, and programs in the Start Menu; Windows Online covers online connectivity-connecting to the Internet, the Web, news, mail, and the use of Outlook Express; Network Survival discusses networking; Managing Your Computer shows how to add and remove hardware (including installation of printers, scanners, and cameras), security basics, administration, backup, system maintenance, and troubleshooting. An appendix discusses Win2kPro installation.
Given its compact physical size (180x234x23 mm) it is surprising just how
much information has been packed into this manual; that has been achieved without using a terse style, being
overly technical, or an absence of examples. The writing style is easy, operations are illustrated with
examples and screen shots, and the coverage is comprehensive. Very good value.
| Sharon Crawford: Windows 2000 Pro-The Missing Manual ISBN 0-596-00010-3 Published by Pogue Press/O'Reilly, 443 pp., RRP $49.95 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the March 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
