TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac [Paperback]

Leo Laporte (Author), Megan Morrone (Author)

Book Description

Series: TechTV | Publication Date: September 8, 2003

In this volume, Leo Laporte and his co-hosts at The Screen Savers TV show provide a year¿s worth of anecdotes, tips, factoids, and musings about the machines at the center of our lives. A page is devoted to each day of the year, and each page includes several elements: typically a single-topic essay that takes up most of the page (on subjects as varied as ergonomics, Easter eggs in popular programs, processor overclocking, and discount-travel Web sites), and hints, tips, references to worthwhile software, and goofy trivia. As you make your way through the year, you¿ll discover how to keep PC hassles to a minimum while learning something about technology and its impact on society¿all delivered with the wit and wisdom of your favorite stars from The Screen Savers!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are a couple of possible approaches to the problem of how to have fun and do useful work with your personal computer. One is to figure out what you need to know (program in Perl, use Microsoft Excel, whatever) and then set about teaching yourself how to do it. The other approach is more holistic, and involves attempting to absorb the diverse knowledge of a chosen guru. Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac fits the latter approach. It covers a broad spectrum of general-interest computing subjects, and is suited to a competent and curious, but not expert, reader who appreciates a pointer or two as he or she learns how to be a power user.

As an almanac, this book organizes itself around calendar year 2004--there's one page for each day of the year. Each page makes fun reading, typically focusing on some aspect of configuring an operating system (Windows XP, Mac OS, and occasionally Linux), a piece of software, or a set of related Web sites. The nuggets of knowledge--contributed by people from Laporte's "Screen Savers" television program--make you want to try out whatever they're describing, so be prepared to install software and do some surfing! --David Wall

Topics covered: General interest computing for people who are comfortable with their machines and want to become competent enough to teach others. Coverage ranges from adjusting Windows XP's behavior to your liking, to extending PDA battery life, to using the Web to find friends.

About the Author

Leo Laporte is the host of The Screen Savers and Call for Help on TechTV. He has been a television and radio personality for more than two decades, focusing exclusively on high tech since 1991. He won an Emmy award in 1997 for his work as the virtual character, Dev Null, on MSNBC's The Site. Leo lives on a small farm in northern California with his wife, Jennifer, two children, two goats, two sheep, and two cats. The farm is equipped with high-speed wireless networking, but so far none of the animals has shown an interest.

Megan Morrone is a regular contributor, writer, frequent host, and resident Mom of The Screen Savers on TechTV. She began her TechTV career as the web producer and shortly after her arrival was forced kicking and screaming in front of the camera. Megan recently became a real mom herself, but did not (much to the chagrin of fans) actually give birth on television. She lives North of San Francisco with her husband, Marco, and her baby, Annabella. You can see pictures and read all their secrets at www.jumpingmonkeys.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: TechTV; Revised edition (September 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735713693
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713697
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,336,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great daily fun..., February 3, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac (Paperback)

A book I'm having fun reading this year is Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac. This is one of those books you may not get something from every day, but on many occasions you'll find a gem that will make your life a lot easier. There's a page for each day of the year, and each month covers a different area of technology. Those areas are Make Your Computer New For The New Year; Games And Entertainment; Stay Safe Online; Manage Your Life Online; Merry Month Of May; Weird And Wonderful World Wide Web; Family Photography; Work At The Beach; Back To School; Control Your Email, Battle Spam; Troubleshooting; Leftovers; and Index. And in case you're wondering, the tips include both Mac and PC...

For instance, on January 3rd the coverage is on must-have system diagnostic tools. The four tools they feature are PC Pitstop, SiSoftware Sandra, WCPUID, and Motherboard Monitor. I was unaware of any of these package, and the SiSoftware Sandra package would help me clean up some things on my machine. If I had been looking for something like this, I might have been able to find it. But having a gem drop onto your path makes each day's reading something to look forward to. Heavy-duty geeks might think too much of this is "I already know that" material, but for average users and developers like myself, it's nearly as fun as a Dilbert calendar (and more useful to boot).

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Leo's Gone Soft on Us, October 22, 2003

By 

hang10web (Midwest, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac (Paperback)

I have been buying Leo's Tech Almanac for 3 years now, and I have to say I am really disappointed in this year's edition.

When you look through the book, it's attractive enough - big images, large photos of the TechTV authors on each page, huge sidebars - but thats the problem - there's hardly any content! Instead they have decided to make the insides light and fluffy, but no real meat to most of it.

While I was waiting on this book, I purchased the PC Magazine Technology Almanac, and I think its much better - heavy on useful content, and light on silly images and icons. Plus I got a free subscription to the magazine.

If you like redundant lists of writer's favorite dinosaur video games, you will like this book. If you are looking for a daily update on stuff you can really use, look elsewhere.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Not Forget The Point Here..., December 21, 2003

By 

Todd Vaules "TV" (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac (Paperback)

In response to the folks that have bombed this book. You are missing the point of the book and don't understand Leo's appeal. Leo, and his book, aren't for the Geeks or the Web savvy, both are for everyone else. Leo's whole career is about being inclusive of people that need help understanding the world of computers. This is a great book for those that need:

a. A hard copy reference. There are many of us out there that still prefer to read from paper.

b. A more direct source for useful information. Many people don't have the skills or the patience to search all over the internet for what they need.

c. An easy to read and understand writing style.

Buy this book for Mom and Dad, family members who need some technical help, or anyone that is more interested in learning to use a computer as tool rather than making the computer their life.