Windows Vista Secrets: SP1 Edition [Paperback]

Paul Thurrott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0470242000 | ISBN-13: 978-0470242001 | Edition: 2nd

• Follows the highly successful first edition with over 25% more content, including extensive coverage of the latest update, Service Pack 1
• Addresses a huge market of consumers eager to learn about hidden gems and secrets in Vista and SP1
• Covers features that are not disclosed in Microsoft's books or help files
• A highly connected and qualified author has gathered information from an extensive network of Windows beta testers and thousands of readers, as well as conducted his own experiments on the new OS
• New chapters cover personalizing and configuring Vista, networking, Zune, Vista and ultra-mobile PCs, Windows Home Server, and many more new topics

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Windows Vista SP1 Edition Secrets

Get ready to be amazed by numerous tips, tricks, and undocumented features that disclose unique and exciting aspects of the new Windows Vista SP1 operating system. This revised SP1 Edition is packed with over 250 additional pages revealing secrets on topics like configuring Vista, networking, Microsoft Zune, Windows Live OneCare, LIVE, Windows Home Server, and the new and exciting features included in SP1. Leading Windows authority Paul Thurrott reveals hidden Vista abilities and offers a behind-the-scenes look at everything from hardware and software compatibility to security features to keep your data safe. These priceless pieces of little-known expert advice will help you quickly grasp the many benefits of Windows Vista.

The Insider's Guide to

• Installing or upgrading to Windows Vista SP1 (see Chapter 2)

• Personalizing and configuring Windows Vista SP1 (see Chapter 7)

• Windows Vista SP1 networking (see Chapter 10)

• Using Zune® as a digital media alternative (see Chapter 12)

• Getting the ultimate Vista experience on Tablet PC and Ultra-Mobile PCs (see Chapter 18)

• Managing e-mail and contacts (see Chapter 20)

• Taking Vista to the next level with LIVE services (see Chapter 21)

• Master TV and digital media with Windows Media Center (see Chapter 24)

About the Author

The author of over 20 books, Paul Thurrott is the news editor of Windows IT Pro Media and the editor of the SuperSite for Windows. He writes a weekly editorial for Windows IT Pro UPDATE; a daily Windows news and information newsletter called WinInfo Daily UPDATE; and a monthly column called "Need To Know" in Windows IT Pro Magazine. He blogs daily via the SuperSite Blog and appears weekly in the highly-rated Windows Weekly podcast with Leo Laporte.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1032 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2nd edition (October 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470242000
• ISBN-13: 978-0470242001
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 188 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Huge Disappointment, February 13, 2007

By 

Chris McKenna (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows Vista Secrets (Paperback)

Somewhere inside these 645 pages is a terrific computer book desperate to get out.

Unfortunately, the useful tidbits are buried by the jargon, disjointed outline, and the wince-inducing writing. The authors say "functionality" instead of feature, "enabled" instead of On, and (I kid you not) "circular in nature" instead of "round."

But it's even worse that huge chunks of Windows Vista get no coverage at all! Here are a few topics that don't appear in the book, or at least the index: Scanning. Faxing. Flash drives. Monitors. Dial-up connections. Safe Mode. Hibernation. Filename extensions. Network projectors. ReadyBoost. Dynamic disks. Shadow Copy. Burning CDs or DVDs at the desktop. Problem reports. Driver rollback. Driver signing. Ease of Access Center.

And there's no information at all about Vista's amazing new speech recognition--only a passing reference in the Tablet PC chapter, even though it works on any Vista PC.

So if you get this book, you'll also need ANOTHER book if you want comprehensive coverage of Vista.

Meanwhile, huge swaths of the book are padded by pointless tables and listings. Do we really need *26 pages* of symbol-font printouts?

Or a half-page table that explains the difference between Small Icons, Medium Icons, Large Icons, and Extra Large Icons? (The table says that "Medium Icons are similar in style to Large Icons, but smaller." Wow, really!?)

There are lots of illustrations, but most are full-screen shots, shrunken down to to fit the page. The result is that you can't read any of the text in them.

The authors of this book clearly know a lot. But they should have been paired up with writers, editors, and indexers who could help them set that information free.

56 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A user guide for home users - NOT FOR TECHIES, April 12, 2007

By 

J. Sundquist (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Windows Vista Secrets (Paperback)

I really had high hopes for this book as I read Paul Thurrott's articles and am on some of his email lists.

My conclusion about this book is that it is more the missing user manual than a real techie book with good insider's technical knowledge. The last time Microsoft included a concise user manual with windows was with Windows 3.11. This book perfectly fills that void. If you are a home user or are trying to enhace your BASIC knowledge of vista, this is a good book.

If you are a technical professional in the field, this book is not going to give you any epiphanies. I also didn't like that there seemed to be a healthy dose of filler in the book as well. There are pages upon pages about fonts including many more pages of font character sets. I would guess that less than 1% of the people that buy the book will have any interesting reading that many pages about fonts nor will many people use the font character sets that the authors printed over many pages.

I'm Sorry to say that I'm pretty let down by this book. Especially considering that about 90% of the "Secrets" in this book are not secrets but are fairly common knowledge to advanced home and technical users.

Please gentlemen, you both have the technical skills and contacts to make a much better book than this. Instead it seems you've made a book that was stuffed with filler and basic info so that you could be one of the first to market after the release of vista.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars glad to have it on my shelf, February 15, 2007

By 

Chopper2000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows Vista Secrets (Paperback)

I bought this book before I upgraded to Vista. I am glad I have it. The book covers everything from which version to buy to upgrading- including some insights about the gotchas found in every microsoft product. The book is well organized. There are plenty of screenshots which are useful because Microsoft has completed changed the look and feel of the Windows Operating system. Everything is different, and this book is useful for finding all the right buttons, and getting up to speed on the operating system without too much developer speak or needless rambling.

I find myself turning to this book to figure out how to do a certain task- burn a DVD,CD, transfer files, make a movie, download music, etc....

I especially liked the tips throughout the book as it's often the subtle insights that lead to wasting less time wondering how to do something!

If you are planning to upgrade or have acquired a machine with Windows Vista, this book is a must have.