Customer Reviews

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Windows XP (2nd Edition)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Good basic guide for beginners using computers and ones more experienced who need to refer to basics occasionally.

This guide serves to introduce Windows XP and is attractive because it distills XP operations into the simplest possible terms. There are numerous illustrations (of varying quality) to show onscreen functionality, which is a plus. There are also numerous text boxes designed to list the important features being discussed in bullet format, which is another plus. The problem I have with the book is that it oversimplifies many issues, which has the side effect of making the book less than helpful as a reference book, and as a troubleshooting book it is likewise generally inadequate. Compounding the problem is the wholly inadequate index, and occasionally counterintuitive organization of the book.

I have tried referring to this book on several issues and literally not once could I find the information I needed to solve the problem within it (as an example, the latest issue involved a problem of registry settings causing errors in CD writing). Granted, these problems are not strictly problems for "absolute beginners" but a beginner would be even more poorly served by the book for troubleshooting. For its noble intention to write a book about XP for beginners, I give the author credit, but for real-world practicality and utility, the book falls short, and on balance there are better choices available.

I found the book to be very easy to use and understand and it has enhanced my ability to work with my computer.The book has proved to be more than adequate in my understanding of Windows XP.

This book has great information, but the visual aids leave a LOT to be desired. I bought this book for my mom, who wears low magnification reading glasses. The Screen Shots in the book, however, are printed in light greyscale, and she was unable to read them. I do not have any vision problems, and I could only read them with a magnifying glass.