Customer Reviews

PCs for Dummies, Fourth Edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was a "dummy" when it came to pc basics. I wanted to know Ram, rom, whats on the motherboard, etc. I wanted to know my Dell 4100 inside and out. Thanks to Mr. Gookin's excellent book, I am on my way to becoming very good friends with the very computer that once intimidated the heck out of me. He talks in, depth (but doesnt go so far as to confuse the beginner with a lot of geek jargon), and with humor, all you need to know about your computer so you can feel confident about using it. Youre not going to be a techinician when youre done with this book, but after reading it, you will be able to go to the local computer store with confidence and talk their language and not get the runaround. If every computer were to come with an instruction book, this one should be it!! Hats off to Dan Gookin and IDG books for such an excellent book. I look forward to reading Upgrading and Fixing Pc's For Dummies next!

I have been working with computers for a number of years and I am still mystified by all the computer hardware, software, jargon, acronyms, properties, claims, capabilities etc. Most of what I have learned has been through experimentation, reading Dilbert, and pleading for advice. Dan Gookin's book PCs for Dummies has been a great help in demystifying the world of PCs. After breaking down and purchasing this book, I realized just who the "dummy" was.

The format of Gookin's book is unique. It is well written, humorous, and very informative. Best of all, PCs for Dummies actually makes reading about computers "nerdless." The book is broken down into 34 chapters and covers everything from turning the computer on (power-up) to the Internet. Each chapter covers a specific piece of hardware, software, and/or computer function. Individual chapters are further subdivided into sections. For example, Chapter Eight is titled, "Just Your Basic Computer Guts." Subsections include, The Mother of All Boards, The Microprocessor, Connectors for Things Various and Sundry, Expansion Slots, Tick Tock Goes the Clock, and The Bios. I would love to tell you how it ends, but I am forbidden to do so by Amazon.com guidelines.

The best attributes of PCs for Dummies are that the book can not only be used as a reference source, but can also be used in place of a phone book to interrogate surly computer gurus. You don't have to read the entire book before using your newfound knowledge. Just turn to that particular section for which you need help, read, and press "Enter."

PCs for Dummies teachs how to use computers based on the learning philosophy of "Constructivism." Whoa! Basically, Constructivism is a philosophy in which learners acquire knowledge through active participation in their own learning; and by connecting the new knowledge to knowledge that they already possess. In other words, once you have learned basic computer tasks, you can "construct" or build upon that knowledge to learn more advanced computer operations. I subscribe to this learning philosophy and employ it into my teaching with excellent results.

All good things must pass and so must this review, but not before some constructive criticism. I would have liked Mr. Gookin in PCs for Dummies go into a little more detail about specific topics, as many topics are just touched upon. Well maybe not many, just the ones in which I needed help. Overall, Mr. Gookin has written an excellent book and I highly recommend it to all.

As a novice, I really enjoyed this book. It lets you understand the basics and build your skills from this point. I would recommend it to any reluctant novice who may be overwhelmed by the thought of turning on a computer. I almost did not buy this book, and I am SO GLAD that I did! It gave me quite a bit of confidence as now I do understand many terms such as what my C, D and A drives are for.

There are plenty of weighty tomes available to tell you more than you want or need to know about PC. But this book of Dan Gookin is very special. It is just great for novice.

Truly say I'm not a novice in PC. I've been writing about computers for over 10 years now. But I really enjoyed this book. And I read every 'PC for Dummies' editions since it was translated into Russian for the very first time in 1995. And this 1999 edition also was recently translated into Russian and take a good position in a list of bestsellers.

By the way, I wrote a review on this edition for the Home Computer Magazine published in Moscow. And I want to repeate -- this is a great book for beginners.

This is a great book to read! I thought that I knew computers, but reading this book I've learned that I didn't. Now that I have read this book, I have helped my friends in many way. Heck, I have helped MYSELF!

I thought the book was too complicated for beginners and too easy for novices. The author tries to be way too funny and sometimes it's hard to determine if he's kidding or not. Some pretty good tidbits though, and was easy reading.

I think the book is great; however, I didn't see a specification for the version of Windows in the ad. I have Windows XP; the book I received is for Windows Vista.

YES! YES ! MARVELLOUS BOOK, SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND. THIS IS THE BOOK FOR EVERYONE WHO'S EVER ASKED THEIR TEENAGE SON TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING, AND HAD THEM SAY "YOU JUST....." THEN DO FIVE FAST CLICKS WITH NO EXPLAINATION, THEN SAY "SEE?...EASY" AND WANDER OFF.
FREE YOURSELF FROM THE TYRANNY OF THE KNOW ALLS, I WISH I'D HAD THIS YEARS AGO. EVERY SILLY QUESTION YOU EVER HAD ABOUT COMPUTORS, PROGRAMMES, FILES,WHAT TO CLICK, AND WHAT NOT TO, ETC. IS IN HERE IN COMMONSENSE 'NO NONSENSE' LANGUAGE. AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR THE COMPUTOR BEGINNER OR SCARDEY CAT.
BRILLIANT!!

There are several PCs for Dummies books but I believe this one is likely the best. I've used computers for over 20 years and find this book gives all the tips, tricks and shortcuts that I may have never been aware of or fogotten. It's a great refresher and reference source no matter how basic or advanced the computer user is.

This publication gives me a good understanding of the basics of using my PC, in words that were very easy to understand.