Customer Reviews

PC Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Personal Computer

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No matter how computer literate (or illiterate) you are, sometimes your computer seems to have a mind of it's own.

Often it is a little thing that nags you. You wish that you could find a way to tweak a program so that you could work faster or easier. Or you want to find a way to make a program behave in a certain way. But try as you might, your computer simply refuses to do what you want it to.

I like to thumb through books like this one before I actually sit down to read it. When I got PC Annoyances by Steve Bass, I started thumbing through and within 5 minutes saw a tip that told me how to do something that I'd been trying to do for a long time.

I ran over to my computer and followed the easy steps. Voila! Just one tip was worth more to me than the price of the book.

This book is packed full of useful tips and tricks that will make every day easier. It helps you take charge of your computer.

Email tips, Windows tips, Internet browsing tips and much more.

This book is a must have for everyone who uses a computer.

The style of writing used by the author is light humor, which is a helpful, since if you are looking for a solution to a pc annoyance, you are more than likely seconds away from snapping, or running for governor of California.

PC Annoyances, does not focus on Windows alone, Windows and other Microsoft programs are in there, but this book offers fixes for everything from email, Virus, Netscape, downloading numbers to your cell phone, to how to get rid of telemarketers? The latter is "very clever" and works!

What I liked best about PC Annoyances are the links to fixes such as; http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm this site has a lot of really neat solutions to PC Annoyances, and there are many more listed in the book. I downloaded several utilities myself. One I discovered by reading the book was AM-DeadLink, this "freebie" went through my 2590 web addresses, yes you read correctly, in MS Internet Explorer, and found all the outdated, non working and duplicate ones, quickly and easily.

Got to love the Annoyance family/series of books, and in my opinion PC Annoyances at the current LOW Amazon.com price is not only the best of the litter, but an absolute must buy.

At least it seemed that way when I first read this book! You could spend days downloading the numerous utilities and trying the numerous fixes in this book! Not that this is a bad thing; I love books that explain how to fix "annoying issues" that come up when you try to use your PC or software or surf the 'Net.

This book at first read contains a lot of excellent tips and advice for dealing with problems that regularly occur. It also becomes a great reference for what to do when a problem happens. I know that I'll definitely be referring back to this book from time to time to deal with various problems or even "work-arounds" on my PC.

Since I'm a Windows 98 user, I wish he'd had more on that, but that's a small issue. Overall, virtually all of the "fixes" he calls for are excellent. From "tweaking" a setting to downloading numerous utilities to help "fix" an annoyance, there's lots of solid information in the book.

The book's seven chapters are divided into email annoyances (even subsections on dealing with Eudora, Outlook Express, AOL, Hotmail, etc), Windows issues, Internet problems, Microsoft Office workarounds, Windows Explorer, Music, Video and CD issues, and finally Hardware issues. I've already downloaded a couple of utilities the book suggests and plan to get a few more.

I tend to get rather frustrated at times with my PC and a book like this helps to make using my PC much easier and enjoyable.

I've read many computer books, and I have to say this is one of the most informative. More important, Steve provides hundreds of tips to overcome the small (and large) problems of Windows. It's nice to konw that even a well-known computer columnist experiences the same frustrations we ordinary users do. Happily, he willing to share the solutions he's found.

In my first reading, I discovered the answers to at least 7 windows annoyances I've encountered.

And instead of including a cost-raising CD, the publisher has made 100 utility programs available online, a better solution that including them on a quickly outdated disk.

A useful, and often amusing book.

You need it!

For several months, Service Messenger ads popped up every 30 seconds to a minute and a half, and I did not know how to get rid of them permanently. Frustrated and disgusted, I left the computer untouched for weeks. Then, in a bookstore I flipped through "PC Annoyances" and almost screamed with excitement when I spotted "Spam Help. Fight off Messenger Service Ads." I raced to a table and read more, and more, and more. The other books and magazines were returned to the shelves unread, and I bought "PC Annoyances."

There are solutions, tips, and tweaks for countless problems regarding e-mail, internet, Windows, microsoft office, Explorer, music. . . . There are helpful e-mail addresses and phone numbers. The layout is clean and inviting. The material is concise and very understandable. Expect to chuckle. Beginners and experts can find answers to their PC problems, and the fixes and improvements really work!!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on the plane and trying out things on my laptop. Steve's solution to the ^*&$*& Word numbering problem alone (which has caused me no end of grief with every contract revision I do) is easily worth the cost of the book. More importantly, Steve's sense of humor and style is arguably the best in the industry.

I highly recommend this book for beginners and experts alike.

This book is a must for any PC user who runs within the WinTel PC environment. It has a treasure trove of useful information about working around Windows and Windows software problems/annoyances. Steve does not bore you with techno-babble but provides a clear, plain English explanation of the problem and the solution. You'll also appreciate the links Steve provides in the book for additional information as well as the utilities that can make computing life a lot easier.

I highly recommend the book for anyone who owns a PC. Just about every program or piece of hardware in your PC has its own quirks. Steve Bass clears up some of those mysteries as well as sheds some light on some of the funny things that have happened to him with PCs over the years. I am sure that you have experienced some of them also.

Steve's writing style makes reading the book very easy. He writes in very basic terms so that EVERYONE can read it and understand what he is saying. It is refreshing to read something that not have to read it again or do research to find out what he is trying to tell us. Steve does an excellent job in that.

Included in the book is a GREAT web site for getting additional tips on solving those annoying PC problems. Stop by http://www.oreilly.com/pcannoyances for some good tips on fixing these annoyances, a great set of utilities for solving those annoying problems as well as reading some of his whimsical responses to annoyances.

Steve Bass, as well as myself, have many of the same pet peeves when it comes to software installations and what the "big guys" do to "make our lives easier". We BOTH HATE the cute little icons that the software plasters in the lower right corner of your desktop TaskBar. Those icons look so cute on the TaskBar but they rob your system of precious resources. Why in the world do you ever need them sitting there? Could it be that you really need the extra 2 seconds you save for the application to load? Could it be that you like cute little icons sitting on the TaskBar? Could it be that they do not have a clue on what they are doing to people or don't care? I think a lot of people including Steve Bass and myself vote for the later. J

Got an annoyance you want to introduce to the world or just vent about? Drop Steve a line at kvetch@pcworld.com and let him know what annoys you about your PC. He might even include it in this list of PC Annoyances.

I am still pretty much a neophite where computers are concerned, so I bought this book hoping that it could get me out of the "messes" I'm always getting into. It really DOES help! Thank you!!! Steve Bass, I'm now searching for other books you have written.

Bass is not only thoroughly knowledgeable about PCs but also has a quirky sense of humor. As a result, the book is eminently readable, even though it consists of hundreds of short individual articles concerning problems or irritating irrationalities one might experience with his computer.

The best way to read the book is with your computer up and running in front of you so you can verify and correct the annoyances that bother you. Alternately, keep a supply of stickies at hand and mark the pages where you found worthwhile tips. As I started to read the book, I found myself placing stickies on nine of the first forty-five pages.

In summary, this book is chockfull of valuable tips to avoid or correct annoying idiosyncrasies of everyday life with a PC computer. Highly recommended.

Target Audience
Windows and PC users who want to stop living with minor irritations on their systems.

Contents
This is useful guide to solve PC and Windows annoyances, as well as tips on how to get the most out of your computer use.

The book is divided into seven sections:

Section 1 - Email - General Email Annoyances; Outlook And Outlook Express 5 And 6; AOL; Eudora; Hotmail
Section 2 - Windows
Section 3 - Internet - Browsing; Google; Instant Messaging
Section 4 - Microsoft Office - Word; Excel; PowerPoint; Outlook And Outlook Express
Section 5 - Windows Explorer
Section 6 - Music, Video, And CDs - Music And Video; CDs And DVDs
Section 7 - Hardware

Review
I generally have a pretty high pain and annoyance tolerance when it comes to computers. For whatever reason, I tend to live with things rather than try and figure out how to get around them. Reading through a book like this makes me realize that I don't have to put up with irritants. Steve Bass does a great job in PC Annoyances in showing you the way.

Each chapter has a series of "The Annoyance - The Fix" pairs that will outline a common annoyance on your PC, and then show you how to make the necessary change to solve that problem. The author liberally sprinkles a number of sidebar tips throughout the book with titles like clutter reduction, technical tips, and helpful hints. The writing has a light and humorous flavor to it, but the instructions are clear, concise, and easy to follow. If the problem or annoyance can't be resolved from within Windows or the particular software package, Steve will recommend low cost (or free!) software you can find on the web that will give you the power you need. The book does focus a lot on Windows XP, but many of the tips will work (or can be adapted) for other Window platforms.

This book should appeal to a wide range of user types. Newbies will learn how to do things they didn't know existed. Power users will find a number of tips to make them more productive than they already are. Gurus will discover a few software packages that will make them say "hey, that's cool!" My favorite tip was on opening IE windows and the sizing of them. I occasionally get into a situation where new IE windows open up in quirky sizes that I don't like. I couldn't figure out why it happened and how to get it set back to normal. With this book, I will no longer struggle with that. Thanks, Steve!

Conclusion
Regardless of whether you're a relatively new computer user, a power user, or a longtime guru, you'll find something you didn't know in this book. And you'll probably have fun doing it.