The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group A Quick Start To Windows XP - For the bookshelf Major Keary |
Osborne/McGraw-Hill has launched a new no nonsense series, of which they say,
"Each book in this series of introductory guides isolates one application or
topic and aims to get you exploring it quickly and effectively. They're
action-based, non-comprehensive, and not filled with a lot of idle chat .". That
is a fair description, and the philosophy behind the venture is that, "We
believe in using computer to do things, not doing things to use computers".
This excerpt from page 1 reflects the book's style, "To control any computer
that runs Windows XP, you need to learn two things: how to give commands to
Windows XP and how to decipher the information that Windows XP displays back to
you". There are no assumptions of any special knowledge, so the book is a good
introduction for the computer novice whose first machine has come with WinXP
loaded.
The first chapter sets out to acquaint the new users with the mouse and
keyboard, navigational commands, the Desktop and dialogue boxes, and getting
help. The rest of the book describes how to customise WinXP, organise data, get
connected to the Internet, install and run programs, games and storing digital
photos, enhancing WinXP (tuning, scheduling, user accounts, and Power Toys. An
appendix contains tabulated information about shortcuts; another appendix lists
useful URLs.
The publishers use the term, non-comprehensive, in their description of the
book. It is not designed as a reference, or as a guide to
everything-you-wanted-to-know about WinXP. It is a bridge between a state of no
knowledge and being able to do practical things. Most users will want to advance
their understanding of WinXP; this book should provide the grounding and
confidence to move on to more comprehensive texts.
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Wallace Wang: Start!: The No Nonsense Guide to Windows XP ISBN 0-07-222739-7 Published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 202 pp., RRP $29.95 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the November 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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