Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies [Paperback]

Woody Leonhard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764515489 | ISBN-13: 978-0764515484 | Publication Date: December 15, 2001 | Edition: 1

Windows XP is one of the more sophisticated computer programs ever made. It cost more money to develop and took more people to build than any computer program. For many people, Windows XP rates as the first must-have version of Windows ever – which is not to say the software's absolutely "intuitive" or "seamless" or "user friendly" or (fill in most often-observed marketing jargon).

Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies not only takes you through the introductory material and stuff any computer newbie can comprehend, but also ventures into more advanced areas, where you can really put Windows to work every day. Without dwelling on technical mumbo-jumbo and baffling jargon, this nine-books-in-one reference tackles the tough problems you’re likely to encounter, shows you the major road signs, and gives you lots of help with

• Personalizing your Desktop
• Organizing your Windows XP interface
• Connecting to the Internet
• Finding and installing the hardware you want
• Joining the multimedia mix
• Building your network

In the majority of cases, Windows XP works far more reliably than any other version of Windows. One of the main reasons why: Windows XP successfully protects itself from programs that try to overwrite its crucial files. Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies shares insight into protecting your network and your privacy, and delivers invaluable information on

• Upgrading from your current version of Windows
• Befriending the Help and Support Center
• Using sneaky key commands
• Differentiating between XP/Pro and XP/Home
• Getting started with Outlook Express
• Finding your way around the Internet Explorer window
• Acquiring and installing AOL in Windows XP
• Sending and receiving e-mail with MSN Explorer
• Discovering digital cameras and video devices

With a couple dozen computer books under his belt, six Computer Press Association awards, and a handful of fiercely independent electronic newsletters covering Microsoft products, this All-in-One's author lays it all out in simple, sensible, often funny terms: Your Windows of opportunity is wide open for a stress-less computing experience.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The cover of Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies boasts that it's "nine books in one." That's a stretch--it's really a book about Microsoft Windows XP for novices, with supplementary information about America Online and MSN--but cover claims aside, this book represents a good value for someone new to computing. Woody Leonhard--a respected Windows authority who writes with enough humor to keep things light but not so much as to obscure the facts--begins with how to use a mouse and works all the way through installing printers and setting up a little network in a home or small office. Granted, if you've found this page on the Internet you probably don't need Leonhard's "how-to-click" tutorial, but you may be shopping for someone unfamiliar with Windows. This book is good for such people.

While the nine separate indexes (one at the end of each included "book") will annoy you--the unified one at the back of this book is much easier to find and use--Leonhard's style will compensate. He's very good at explaining how to do what Windows XP was meant to do, up to a certain level. Want to add a music file to a Windows Media Player playlist? There's a procedure for that. Want to cancel AOL because you can't stand it? He explains how. He does not, however, provide detail on more complicated jobs like setting up a cable modem or dealing with the specific security risk posed by Universal Plug and Play. Overall, this is a nicely written, friendly book that covers Windows XP well, but to a limited depth. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP for home users, particularly novices. Windows XP fundamentals (like windows and the mouse pointer), customization, Internet tools (including Outlook Express and Internet Explorer), America Online (AOL), Microsoft Network (MSN), printers, small networks, and Internet connectivity are all addressed.

From the Back Cover

9 books in 1 - your key to Windows XP success!

Your one-stop guide from the one and only Woody Leonhard Windows guru Woody Leonhard tells it like it is - no punches pulled, no holds barred. In this all-in-one guide, Woody gives you the lowdown on Windows XP - plus savvy tips on the Internet, service providers like AOL, digital music and photos, home networking, and more.

The Dummies Way
* Covers the essentials and beyond
* Explanations in plain English
* "Get in, get out" information
* Thumbtabs and other navigation aids
* Tear-out heat sheet
* Individual topic indexes
* A dash of humor and fun
Get smart! @ www.dummies.com
* Find listings of all our books
* Create your own personalized book with Hungry Minds a la Carte(TM)
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See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764515489
• ISBN-13: 978-0764515484
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written a whole lotta computer books over the years, starting with "Windows Programming for Mere Mortals" in 1991, going through the "Hacker's Guide to Word for Windows" (with Vince Chen and Scott Krueger), the "Mother of All Windows Books" and "Mother of All PC Books" series (all with Barry Simon), then the "Underground Guides" to Word, Office, Telecommuting, and many more, "Word Annoyances", the "Woody Teaches Office" series, and the "Special Edition Using Office" series (with Ed Bott). I'm probably best-known for my "Dummies" books, which tell the straight story (whether Microsoft likes it or not!) in a way that won't put you to sleep.

My books have been translated into dozens of languages, and are widely available at bookstores, computer shops and warehouse chains all over the world. I've edited several series of books for various publishers. I've also written hundreds of magazine articles, most recently for PC World and the late, lamented PC/Computing magazine. I used to publish a handful of electronic newsletters, and print newsletters before that, but now confine myself to dispensing news, advice, and a wee bit o' insight, at www.AskWoody.com and my column in the Windows Secrets newsletter, www.WindowsSecrets.com.

I started in the computer book biz in a very odd way. I wrote a novel. An action-adventure novel, no less, set in Saudi Arabia. I never found a publisher, although I keep threatening to dust the novel off and submit it again. But along the way, I came to know - and love and hate - a brand new word processor known as Word for Windows. I wrote a lengthy electronic book about all of WinWord 1.10's bugs, which were legion, and how to work around a whole bunch of 'em. Posted it on CompuServe. Andrew Schulman (who wrote "Undocumented DOS" and "Undocumented Windows" among many others) stumbled into my "Hacker's Guide to the Univers", and he asked me to write a book for him. It all went downhill from there.

My writing has won an unprecedented eight Computer Press Association awards and two American Business Press awards - more than any other computer book author, I think. I was one of the first Microsoft Consulting Partners, and a charter member of the Microsoft Solutions Provider organization.

I still think of computers as a "means", not an "end". I wonder when people lost sight of the fact that PCs were invented to make life easier, to get your work done and get home early. I firmly believe that PCs make passable slaves but horrible masters.

I'm impressed with much of what Microsoft is doing to Windows, although the continuing security screw-ups really leave me shaking my head. I'm much less impressed with what's happening to Offfice. In my opinion, Microsoft is using its monopoly on the desktop to sell more server software, making Office updates less and less compelling for the individual or small business user. Like me. And I'm appalled that Microsoft is now selling a "service" that protects us from the flaws in their own product.

Yes, indeed, the gods must be crazy.

I went to grad school in Boulder, Colorado (M.S. and A.B.D. in CS/Software Engineering), worked in Saudi Arabia for five years, then spent 15 years on top of a mountain in the Rockies. I moved to Phu ket in 2000, with my teenage son, Cocker spaniel and beagle. I live in the hills above Patong now, with my long-time girlfriend, Add. If you ever get to Phu ket, drop me a line! It's an incredibly beautiful place to visit. Or to live, for that matter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Woody masterpiece using the English language, December 12, 2001

By 

James Vanderford (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

No one speaks Windows XP the way Woody speaks Windows XP in his new publication "Windows XP All-in-one Desk Reference", which is a masterpiece of organization, indexing, and commom sense treatment of technical topics in non-technical discourse.

Not since Woody's publication of "Woody Leonhard teaches Microsoft Office 97" has such an instructive, clearly written and illustrated technical book on Microsoft products been published.

There is a mind-boggling number of subjects each treated individually in short, simple explanation that gets to the heart of the subject. The dialog and explanations are laced with amusing analogs that make reading a pleasure, aside from the technical content. Subjects ranging from the simplicity of the XP Desktop to the meaning of the highly technical term DHCP, are handled with the same masterful stroke of simplicity.

This book is a must-have in every home and office that expects to stay on-line in the 21st century.

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 19, 2002

By 

Librarian Scott (Stephenville, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book for beginners, intermediate, or expert computer users.

I like other things Woody has written (Mother of All Windows 95 books is a classic) and other Dummies books (Word 2000 for Windows for Dummies is good).

But this book is poor.

First, it isn't really "9 books in 1." The AOL "book" is a joke, clearly written with the intention for you to avoid AOL at all costs (minimizes the importance of chat rooms, nothing about automatic Zipping of e-mail attachments, nothing about accessing e-mail from outside the AOL client (hello does Netscape browser ring a bell?). The MSN "book" is even more of a joke (nothing about Money, nothing about free storage for pictures and web sites). The hardware "book" doesn't mention any brands and gives corny advice (optical mice only good for people with pets).

Second, there is no practical advice on dealing with Windows on a day-to-day basis. It acts like all the problems have been solved with XP (wow the stability). Nothing on dealing with the co-branding, pop-ups (both OS and Internet), and spyware. So much of the advice is generic (get AV software installed, updated, and working), with no specifics. No whys (like why should I use IE over Netscape, why should I use Media Player over Real, why should I use built-in ZIP over WinZip). The basics just aren't considered.

Third, this book is designed for teenage wannabe-geeks. Specifically, the only real hints in this book are game cheats (registry mods and the like).

Fourth, the humor in this book is all too hard to find and falls flat.

I am disappointed. This author can do so much better (check out his Office newsletters). Look elsewhere on this one folks.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really a reference -- more like a ramble, February 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

This book could have used a thorough editing. It is supposed to be a "desk reference," which to me means you can look up information quickly. However, it's hard to find what you're looking for here. The worthwhile information is buried in the everyday stuff that I already knew, so to find what I wanted, I had to wade through many pages of material I was already familiar with.

Take Chapter 2, "Finding Your Way from Start to Finish," for example. It explains very basic stuff such as changing user settings, and then, starting about 40 pages into the chapter where you would least expect it, are instructions for sharing a file on the Internet, a sophisticated task.

I found this book very frustrating. On top of not being able to find instructions I wanted by browsing in the book, I found the index unhelpful.

Finally, I don't understand why the author devoted 65 pages to America Online. Since when is America Online part of Windows XP? The book makes no mention of the Windows Registry.

This book should rightly be called "A Ramble through Windows XP." It is not a reference. It is not a friendly book that you can find information in.