Description:
Grown Up's Guide to Computing offers some good advice about what a personal computer and a connection to the Internet can do for you--especially if you are an adult without a lot of computer experience. Authors Mary Furlong and Stefan B. Lipson offer some valuable reasons why you would want to get a personal computer and then proceed to explain how to buy, set up, and do useful work on your own PC. Readers find out about software applications (such as Microsoft Word, which you can use to write letters) and Internet resources (like electronic mail [e-mail] and the Web). While the authors don't really succeed in using words alone to explain graphical concepts--like how a mouse works--they do communicate a number of valuable facts describing how computers function and what you can do with them. Microsoft Press, this book's publisher, is a business unit of Microsoft Corporation, the software titan. Grown-Up's Guide to Computing shows a strong Microsoft bias, notably in its neglect of Apple Computer's iMac, a stylish, inexpensive computer that many experts say is the best way for home users to start computing and get connected to the Internet. The information presented here is worthwhile--but be aware that there's more to personal computing than Microsoft products. --David Wall
| 
