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Summary: Windows XP Hints and Tips
Review: Would you like to know more about the Windows XP operating system? If so, then this guide is the one for you. It contains thousands of tips, tricks, and solutions to problems relating to the Windows XP operating system and it can help to expand your level of knowledge by leaps and bounds.
This reference book has three clear advantages: the overall length of the guide, the organization, and the format. First of all, the length is more than 1,200 pages, which is enough to cover a multitude of issues. Second, the organization is superior, with nine main section and black and blue colored tabs that help a user to find specific sections quickly. Third, the format is very helpful. Not only is the outline format easy to follow and learn from, the use of screen shots makes a tremendous difference by illustrating exactly what you can expect to see if you attempt one of the commands.
A book this large can get a little bulky to handle, but it contains so many useful tips and advice that you will likely have no problem overlooking this one small flaw. A person who is brand new to Windows XP can learn all about how the system works by using this guide, and a more advanced user can find out ways to do things that are simple and more efficient. I particularly liked the sections that cover managing and finding folders and different ways to use and manage the Windows explorer. I never knew that so many better, more user- friendly options existed until I found them in this guide.
I have read quite a few books about Windows XP, but this is one of the best reference guides of all. It presents an exhaustive amount of detail about Windows XP, covering just about any topic you could ever want to know. It's long, it's big, but it's also a very helpful book to keep close to your PC.
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Summary: Big & heavy, not terribly useful
Review: You pretty much get what you'd expect out of this 1300-page book: lots of screenshots, lots of handholding, and very little substance. Want to learn how to navigate menus? Open notepad? Win at Solitaire? No problem.Want to stop Windows from crashing? Want to get your digital camera to work? Want to hook up a network? Want to make your computer faster? Well, you'd be out of luck. There are much better XP books than this one, especially if you actually want to use it for more than a doorstop. But if you judge reference books by their pound-per-dollar ratio, then you'll like this one.
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