Windows 98 Annoyances [Paperback]

David A. Karp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 1998

An operating system is a piece of software that should do its work in the background while you do your work in the foreground. In an ideal world, that's precisely how an operating system would work. In our world, however, operating systems constantly get in our way. They annoy us. And few are more annoying than Microsoft Windows 98. Perhaps you're annoyed with the icons that Windows deposits on your desktop and that you never use. Or you're frustrated with the new elements of the Windows 98 interface. Or you consider Windows 98's central feature, its integration of Windows and the Web, to be a massive inconvenience.

With Windows 98 Annoyances, you can put an end to these and countless other annoyances. Given the book's format, which presents particular problems and immediately offers one or more solutions, you can quickly identify the Windows 98 features that most annoy you and equally quickly provide a fix for them. In the process, you'll take charge of Windows so that it works the way you want, rather than the way that Microsoft or some other software publisher has configured it.

Based on the author's extremely popular Windows Annoyances web site (http://www.annoyances.org), Windows 98 Annoyances provides an authoritative collection of techniques for customizing Windows 98, including:

• Useful keyboard shortcuts that let you work with Windows 98 more efficiently
• Techniques for working with the Windows registry, the database of system and application-specific configuration information
• Available third-party software and utilities that handle some of the more complex workarounds and customizations
• Dealing with software applications that overwrite your file associations without warning
• A discussion of scripting with the Windows Scripting Host as a means of eliminating many of the Windows 98's annoyances to be the definitive resource for customizing Windows 98.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Windows 98 ships without its source code, but it's still possible to tweak it to look and behave the way you want. Sometimes you need to poke around and modify the operating system's binary files with a hex editor; sometimes all you need to do is perform some trickery with the interface as it is. Windows 98 Annoyances is for those who refuse to accept Windows 98 at face value.

Author David Karp is clearly a power user, but rather than simply dump reams of technical data upon the reader, he explains how to accomplish specific goals relative to Windows 98's appearance and behavior. Karp tells how to rig your system to flush its Temp folder (reclaiming disk space formerly used by crashed applications) every time it starts up. He also tells you how to build a text box that acts like a DOS command prompt. Excellent nuggets pack this book, and you can feel sure you'll implement at least a few of them on your machine.

Windows 98 Annoyances is, ultimately, about hacking Windows 98, never accepting anything as good enough, and always looking for a better way to do things. Karp provides excellent guidance to the Windows 98 power user. --David Wall

From the Publisher

The CD-ROM that was originally included with this book included software which is no longer available or supported. Current reprints do not include the CD. However, additional information and resources are available from the author's website at annoyances.org.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; First Edition edition (November 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565924177
• ISBN-13: 978-1565924178
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,123,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Update for Windows 98 Annoyances!, December 4, 1999

By 

"bdunn" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows 98 Annoyances (Paperback)

Who thought Windows 98 was going to eliminate all the annoyances of Windows 95? Hardly. If anything, there are more annoyances with Windows 98 than ever before!

This is an excellent book. Think you know Windows 98? Read this book, and I think you'll discover more than you think. If Windows 98 is giving you fits, or you'd simply like to change a few things that just annoy you (who doesn't?), pick this one up. It's very simply an excellent reference tool for both Windows 98 users and anyone who administrates Windows 98 computers.

Fortunately, this book should be good for both the novice and the professionals. However, if you are a novice, just make sure you understand the instructions that are carefully laid out in the book. There is nothing at all complicated, but there are many examples of simple registry changes that could be bad news if you just rip through it. Take it line by line (few examples have more than 5-6 simple steps), and you'll have no trouble at all.

O'Reilly is truly an amazing book publisher. It's very uncommon to pick up one of their books and find even one error or lack of coverage. This book is NO EXCEPTION. O'Reilly makes a durable book with a clever binding called a RepKover. That's very important, something you'll discover after referring to O'Reilly books over & over & over again. These books are kept on the desktop or very nearby and used continuously.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its promise, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Windows 98 Annoyances (Paperback)

This book really gets down to the essence of Windows 98. I wasn't expecting a regurgitated manual. I wanted a reference that provided information I couldn't get from the 1000+ page "bible" books, and without having to dig through hundreds of magazines and user-groups... and that's what I got.

The tone of this book is honest, but positive. The author acknowledges the problems with the software, which is refreshing, but it's not a dig at Microsoft! It focused on fixing the problems, and not just complaining or glossing over them. It's more than just problems, too... there substantial networking information and tips for improving performance, and (finally) documentation on the windows scripting host.

It's one of the most useful computer books I've ever bought.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brainy and essential companion, June 27, 2001

By 

Eileen Galen (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Windows 98 Annoyances (Paperback)

In the several years since I switched from Mac OS to Windows 98 I've spent quite a lot of time on the phone with Dell tech support. Sometimes it's the hardware, occasionally it's the software, but often it's the operating system, Windows 98, that is giving me a problem. The Dell employee recommended this book to me, asserting that in his view and the view of his cohorts "Windows 98 Annoyances" is the best reference available for the wide variety of little problems, bigger puzzles, and flat-out mysteries that Windows 98 is so devilishly capable of posing to its zillions of users.

I like to read a book from start to finish, which you obviously do not need to do with this one. On the other hand Karp has explained and provided straightforward solutions to at least twenty obstacles, glitches, or difficulties I've encountered with Windows 98. There is a wealth of conceptual information here, too. In addition to responding awfully well to niggling problems, Karp also supplies the demystifying know-how that enables you to modify aspects of your set-up. It's terrific, there's a CD ROM with it, the index is a real index that is a tool and not a token - and I wish that I could personally thank that Dell tech support guy for giving me such great advice by recommending that I buy this book.