Customer Reviews

Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows Millennium

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

 

 

Recently I sat down on a barnes and noble bookstore and tried to decide which was the best windows me book to buy. Although I know my way about Windows (and Linux if you must know the truth), I was discovering a lot of situations with Win ME where I needed more detailed information. I didn't necessarily want one of those tomes with lots of information; I really wanted a more detailed overview of how behavior in Windows ME differs from previous versions of Windows OS. I also wanted to extend ME into a home networking environment.

One problem with many of the Windows ME books is that they are cluttered with legacy information about ISA cards, making cosmetic changes to the desktop, Outlook Express, and net meeting (none of which interests me). What I wanted to know was about USB ports and hardware detection, managing multiple users, setting up a home network, multiple profiles and dual booting with Linux, the ins and outs of system restore, power management troubleshooting, stuff about partitioning and ME boot disks, basic troubleshooting for Direct X games, new hardware support and switches for custom installing ME.

Another problem with many Windows books is that they are stuffed with screenshots and little explanation. Often the bigger books mainly consist of screenshots and a description of the steps, rather than explaining why.

Anyway, the book I ended up buying was Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (with CD-ROM) by Ed Bott. It was rather large and full of a good bit of extraneous parts, but this book covered all these advanced topics relatively well. Also, each chapter ends with excellent blue troubleshooting pages. The documentation and layout is easy to read and logical and full of "information chunks." It's clear that the author is not simply recycling information from his Win 95 or 98 book.

The next book I almost bought was the extremely readable The Unauthorized Guide to Windows Millennium by Paul McFedries. It was a smaller book than the Special Edition book and extremely readable. They covered many interesting topics about how to extend ME, while not dwelling on technicalities unlikely to interest the current batch of users. I liked the networking section, but was surprised that the book talked mainly about power management as it relates to notebooks and not about desktops.

Another very excellent (and big) book was Microsoft Windows Me Millennium Edition Secrets by Brian Livingston and Davis Straub. I think Livingston writes a weekly column on Windows tips, and I found a lot of useful information and tips in this book. The only problem was some of the material seemed dated and from a previous book. And there was an awful lot about Outlook Express, Net Meeting and Internet Explorer, as well as configuring the desktop. The book also contained good information about networking, but I found that the Que Special Edition mentioned above contained less irrelevant material, less screenshots but more useful information. If you want a reference (i.e. a big book), this wouldn't be a bad choice at all. I didn't find the writing for my topics of interest to be particularly helpful or full of depth. Still, a great book.

I also considered Alan Simpson's humongous Microsoft Windows Me Bible, which also wasn't a bad book. Still, I thought there was a lot of filler here. I would have preferred that the author remove chapters on less crucial features that relate more to 98 than to ME. Also, I didn't find it that readable.

Other books I considered were Windows Millennium: The Missing Manual (published by Oreilley). Of course Oreilley books are tops, but this book didn't seem especially noteworthy, and this book went to the other extreme by including very few screenshots. This book is a smaller book and didn't contain enough topics to help me out.

I checked out some more beginner books, including Dan Gookin Teaches Windows Me (The Author Teaches Series)and Mastering Windows Me by Robert Cowart. Not bad, basically a good book for screenshots, but nothing remarkable.

So that's what I gathered in an hour of browsing through ME books. None of these books are bad, and most are quite good, and lord only knows if my opinions would have changed had I read more chapters. But I should say that I have kept the Special Edition book at my side and referred to it quite often and been pleased to find almost everything I was looking for and more. The only lament is that it's more of a reference and less of a "start-to-finish" book, but the binding of this big book is pretty strong, so you may get around to bringing it to the beach some day. Some day.

In Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, computer expert Ed Bott zeroes in on topics, tools, and techniques that help intermediate to advanced Windows users become more productive with their PCs. This edition covers the most important new technologies in this Windows upgrade for consumers, including MP3 audio, cable modems, home networking, scanners and digital cameras, and system utilities. It also covers crucial Internet issues, from security options to email management. Hundreds of from-the-trenches tips and tidbits of advice will help the SE reader master the intricacies (and oddities) of Windows Millennium. User Level: Intermediate-Advanced, 880pp.

I agree with everything Robert Nogale wrote in his review prior to mine, but after purchasing this book based on it, wanted to add a little something.

When I bought this book, I also purchased 'Using Word 2000'. From my personal experience, the "Using" series published by Que are good enough to use as replacements for the worthless books that are sold for use in college courses, and hold no value afterwards. I acutally aced all of the classes I took in the subjects that they publish the 'Using' series in, which speaks well of them. My teachers were skeptical at first, but were also impressed afterward. They had provided me with far MORE information than the courses they gave taught and were 'savers' for use later on. I now have an extensive library of Que books to reference.

Both of these books are advertised as coming with CD-ROM's, which is the best idea I've ever seen. To be able to carry around a CD with you is much easier than packing a 900 page book! What I have come to watch for when it comes to these CD's however, is content. They are only so wonderful if they contain the entire contents of the book that they come with, which is readable in .PFD format. All you need is Acrobat Reader, and you are set...

While 'Using Word 2000' delivered on this promise, 'Using Windows ME' did not. It does come with some very nice software, however. My only complaint was that the book was not provided on CD for reading while I'm on the road with my notebook computer.

The author Ed Bott is a very knowledgable man who has written an excellent book. I would not want to detract from this fact with my review. I would buy this book again, but wish for others also buying it to be aware of the slight disappointment I had. Que publishers do stand behind their books 100% and you cannot go wrong with that!

I wish I had this book when I first purchased my computer in 2000. Having this book would have saved me a lot of tech/software calls. I have purchased other books, only to line the garbage with them. Anyone wishing to have backup support for Windows ME should purchase this book.
dg

I found this book to be adequate. However, due to constant networking glitches, I finally upgraded to XP. I'd give the book 5 stars, but it was not as thorough as it could have been on Internet Connection Sharing and Network troubleshooting.

I bought it, read it, and gave it away when I moved on to Windows 2000 (and stayed there). Like most the "Special Edition" book series, some to most of text for "Windows ME" is lifted from previous editions (it borrows from Windows 98) and cobbled together with the new material/features of Windows ME.

The book is an elaborate introduction for people completely alien to Microsoft Operating Systems and Windows ME but a bore for those already familiar with even the logic of Windows. Unfortunately, no amount of information gleaned from this book will make Windows ME work any better.