Customer Reviews

Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...or maybe after a generation of Windows operating systems, we're simply immune to assaults by Windows products on the sensibilities of computer users (especially users more interested in doing things with their data files than tweaking their operating systems).

In either case, "Windows 7 Annoyances" is less a catalog of serious Windows 7 annoyances, and more a compendium of advanced Windows 7 features, trips and tricks.

The features and solutions it offers are thorough, and described in superb technical detail. The target audience for this book is clearly power users confident in the deep (and sometimes scary) areas of Windows 7. Proof of this is found in Chapter 3, 72 pages devoted exclusively to the Windows registry. David Karp offers exhaustive descriptions and prescriptions of the Windows 7 registry. He does this very well, but in giving registry tweaks this much emphasis he is speaking to advanced power users of computers. Most Windows users are probably better served by avoiding working in the registry except for last-ditch efforts to correct their worst problems. Registry modifications bring with them the true potential to inflict serious unintended consequences to your computer, and I suggest that the book's biggest shortcoming is in not giving this potential risk enough emphasis.

Similarly, Chapter 9 is focused entirely on use of text-based command prompts. These are arguably tools of the power user looking to work faster (or deeper) than a GUI permits.

Otherwise, the book is a delightful guide to things about Windows 7 that Microsoft forgot to tell us. It describes the different versions of Windows 7, gives sound advice on making files and folders behave consistently, provides a tutorials on media files, offers troubleshooting and diagnostic tools, and walks you patiently through networking/Internet concepts and security issues.

Two appendices provide overviews of the BIOS (the basic input output system, which allows a personal computer to boot into ANY operating system), and TCP/IP, the standards that allow data to flow over the Internet regardless of the hardware and software packages that are sending and receiving them.

If you're not *seriously* annoyed by Windows 7, then this book may be more than you need, and you might want to consider Windows 7: The Missing Manual instead.

But if you're a power user and want to increase your control over Windows 7 (or if you are the go-to person for fixing the computer problems of family and friends), then this book will be a good addition to your troubleshooting toolkit.

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Anyone who has been burned by Microsoft Windows' ability to "help" you at just the wrong time in just the wrong way, will have developed a cautious attitude to any new Microsoft offering. This finely organized and clearly written book will help you stay in control.

You might even save some money as well as time. Right up front in the early pages, the author shows you the scoop on the "Ultimate" version features and how to get them for free.

After the requisite "getting started," the book has the following sections:
- Shell tweaks
- Registry secrets and hacks
- Controlling video, audio and other media
- Performance tuning
- Troubleshooting
- Networking and internet
- Managing users and security
- Command prompt and automation (including PowerShell)

I liked Karp's clear use of language. He will not subject you to the puns, gags and cloying humor inflicted by so many books on computer tech. The illustrations in this 700 page book are simple, perhaps a bit small, but they quite adequately communicate the point being discussed. You will have to do without color. Those famous Windows blue and green screens of death are grayscale screens of death here!

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This is an excellent book for a user who is somewhat familiar with the nature of an Operating System on tuning and customizing important aspects of the Windows 7 Operating System. It will be a valuable resource for advanced users of Microsoft's Windows 7 Operating System
in addressing performance barriers and mismatches between their preferred way of managing and using a computer and the default way Windows 7 "acts" with a given hardware configuration. I love the book--but have some concerns that naive users of "WINDOWS" may find
themselves out of their depth in attempting to adjust such features as Registry Manipulations, User Account Control's, and Disk and Network Configuration. The book is exceptionally clear, but not chatty, and inexperienced users trying to modify the Registry may become
flustered if a screen prompt or message occurs that is not explicitly illustrated in the text.

Experienced users of "Real Operating Systems" will find everything they need, clearly explained on issues of Installation and Disk Configuration, Registry, User Account Controls, Networking, Troubleshooting the Operating System, and automating tasks from the Command Prompt. This is a superb book for the experienced computer user in making Windows 7 perform as s/he would like. It is not a book for the Newbie to consult when "Something just happened when I hit the "Any Key".

--Ira Laefsky
MSE/MBA IT Consultant and Former Senior Staff Member of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation

This is a great book for anyone that wants to do more with a computer than turn it on and off. Not only does it have solutions to a lot of common problems, it contains a number of tweaks to have your machine running smoothly and more efficiently. HOWEVER...

On the down side - and this is why I gave three stars instead of five - there is a lot of unnecessary text and attempts at humor, much like the "Dummies" books have. At the beginning of each new topic (about every 2 or 3 pages) there is usually a paragraph or two that doesn't directly deal with the problem, it just gives a vague background/history behind what is about to be discussed. For example, in the section about optical storage, it begins with TWO paragraphs just talking about how optical media is dead and that most media is now in digital form instead of on discs. The paragraph after that is about how inefficient CD burning USED to be with older systems and hardware. That's half a page before it even begins solving any issues or explaining how to do something. For someone that just wants to get the facts and solve a problem, it gets (ironically) annoying to have to read through rambling factoids, jokes, and opinions. I eventually got in the habit of skipping the first half of a section, then reading back a paragraph at a time until I find the part where the help I need actually begins.

To its credit, when this book finally does get to the steps taken to solve an issue, it's well-written in easy to follow instructions. The author is clearly well-versed in the inner workings of computers. There are also some links to useful freeware.

At 700 pages, there is a lot if information here. Without the filler mentioned above it would be closer to 450. I would have been happier with a condensed version that just gets to the point.

This is the third Windows 7 book that I've purchased (I got Windows 7 Inside Out by Ed Bott, et al. which is very conservative with almost no tweaks, and Windows 7 Tweaks: A Comprehensive Guide on Customizing, Increasing Performance, and Securing Microsoft Windows 7 by Steve Sinchak which has a very nice amount of information and suggestions on improving Windows 7.)

But this book: WOW! WOW! WOW!

By the time I had read 1/3 of the book I had about 24 pages marked to implement on my PC.

This book rocks! It is by far the best book for those of us who want to learn how to get Windows 7 to behave better, work faster, and to resolve the issues and the deficiencies within Windows 7. It has many more tweaks and fixes and suggestions than the other books on Windows 7.

I am incredibly grateful to the author for creating such a wonderful and deep guide to making Windows 7 shine.

Bought this book because I very quickly outgrew the "basic" and "visual" type of Windows books! And just as I was expecting this book is very detailed and advanced. I have been reading it like a novel and when I complete all of this very through and lengthy book, I will place it in my bookcase to keep as a reference book. And I must say for the money this is a bargain as it has many details on how to get so much more out of Windows 7. (My true score of this book is a 4.5 because it is very, very advanced and I totally understand it, however, there are some areas in this book that I have had to read twice to wrap my brain around all the details, make notes and then practice it on my computer). To me it is like the GRADUATE SCHOOL of computer (Windows) books!
And yes, it is an amazing book, and if you are a more advanced person with Windows and computers, this is the book for you! If you are a beginner or just past being a beginner this is not the book for you, one of the "basic" or "visual" type of books are better for the beginner or a person who is not that advanced yet.

'Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions' by David Karp is a fantastic book for anyone looking to squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze the most out of Windows 7. Made for hackers or the non-newbie user (let's be honest folks, the average person that gets a Windows 7 computer isn't going to be doing much other than browsing the web and some basic file operations, this is a very detailed analysis of all the goodies (and baddies) that exist in Micro$oft's newest operating system.

If you want to get your hands dirty and have some fun, pick up this great book!!

***** RECOMMENDED

This book is great,and a must have for Windows 7. I have had a copy of this book for each operating system I have owned(Window's 98, Window's XP). It will give you the understanding of how to tweak the operating system to gain maxium performance. It is a must have in your Window's library. It is easy to uderstand, and goes through step by step instructions of each tweak. It is great for the novice, and the power user.You can't go wrong with this book buy it now!!!

This book is full of useful information. I keep coming back to it and finding things that I missed the first time I read it. It is a helpful companion to Windows 7, and one that anyone who likes tweaking their computer should have.

Windows 7 is not any easier to use than previous editions and has a whole new list of behaviors to get annoyed about, but this book will not help. This book is the basic manual that Microsoft saw fit not to include with the software. It will tell you how to do the basic stuff that you will want to do in the first 6 months of use, but without addressing any of the "features" that are really bugs, or how to get rid of the eye candy that gets in the way of productivity. The title is misleading, and O'Reilly should be ashamed of putting it on the cover. Perhaps "Windows 7 - the User Manual Microsoft Forgot" would be more appropriate, as long as it's understood that an advanced manual will still be required for power users.