Windows XP Hacks [Paperback]

Preston Gralla (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2003 | Series: Hacks

Windows XP is the latest, most reliable, and best-looking version of the Windows operating system to emerge yet. As the result of the unification of Microsoft's corporate series (Windows NT and 200) with the home series (Windows 95, 98, and Me), Windows XP offers much that is pleasing to its users: rock-solid stability and a fresh new look. But power users who want to take command of their operating systems will find the same old frustrations: it's never been easy to get under the hood of a Windows system and Windows XP is no exception.

Now power users can rejoice! Windows XP Hacks offers tips, tools, and know-how to bend Windows XP to your will. The book delves into XP topics such as controlling the control panel, changing unchangeable icons, removing uninstallable XP components, stopping pop-up ads, taking a bite out of cookies, speeding up file downloads, protecting yourself with firewalls and proxy servers, and more. Users of both Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Pro Edition will find smart, timesaving, fun, and useful hacks for virtually every feature in their operating system. Even if you're not a power user yet, this book will have you well on your way.

Each Hack in the book can be read easily in a few minutes, saving countless hours of searching for the right answer. Windows XP Hacks provides direct, hands-on solutions that can be applied to the challenges facing both those meeting Windows XP for the first time as well as long-time users who know what they want from their operating system and just wants tips on how to get it.

Windows XP Hacks is the latest in O'Reilly's new Hacks Series which aims to begin reclaiming the term "hacking" for the good guys. In recent years, the term has come to be associated with those nefarious black hats who break into computers to snoop, steal information or disrupt Internet traffic. But the term originally had a more benign meaning, and you'll still hear it used this way whenever developers get together. Our new Hacks books are written in the spirit of the true hackers -- the people who drive innovation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...it is an excellent way of learning more about Windows XP and how to make it work for you rather than the other way round. The instructions are easy to follow and don't leave anything out." - Tim Smith, PCW, March

About the Author

Preston Gralla, the author of more than 20 books, is also a freelance journalist and columnist. He has written for major national newspapers and magazines, including PC Magazine, Computerworld, the Los Angeles Times, the Dallas Morning News (where he was the technology columnist), USA Today and several others. A well-known technology expert, Preston has also appeared on many TV and radio programs and networks, including CNN, MSNBC and NPR. In addition, he's won a number of awards for his writing, including for "Best Feature in a Computer Magazine" from the Computer Press Association. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; First Edition edition (August 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596005113
• ISBN-13: 978-0596005115
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, September 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Windows XP Hacks (Paperback)

I bought this book of the strength my positive experiences with the Google Hacks book and have been probably even happier with this one (if you haven't read Google hacks, go buy that one too).

To start with, even though this is an easy book to understand, if you are a new user to Windows XP or any of the newer MS OS's, go and buy another book first. If you have some experience with this OS, then go buy this. Its brilliant.

Many of the tweaks in this book are implemented by editing the registry, but that said, they are very easy to do. Some useful examples are those that speed up the booting of your PC, those that add useful commands to your right-click context menu and those that point you to some very useful 3rd party utilities.

The networking section has some very good tips and tools available, especially for those running wireless networks. There are also good tips on blocking spam, surfing with proxies and stopping popups and the like.

Its difficult to review a book that has 100 short (to the point) tips and the more I read what I have written, I am not doing this book justice. If you go to oreillys site and review the TOC I am sure you will make up your own mind.

My mind is already made up. As an experienced XP user, just a handful of the tips I have got from this book saves me a lot of time a day. I thoroughly recommend you taking a good look at this book. The tips in here will make your colleagues sit up and say 'how did you do that?'.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, May 22, 2004

By 

Jase T. Wolfe - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows XP Hacks (Paperback)

This book is a perfect example of an OK idea presented in a bad medium. Had the author chosen to make this a web site or a magazine article, I don't think anyone would object to the rudimentary information provided within. Instead, the author presents 100 "hacks" comprised entirely of overviews on quickly-dating shareware and freeware downloads, as well as step by step instructions on how to use the intrinsic Windows dialogs to change properties and settings. Little presented here could not be as easily discovered by Googling "Windows XP tips tricks", browsing popular computer magazines, or using the internal Help.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Advanced User Beware, January 30, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Windows XP Hacks (Paperback)

Some hacks in this book are really basic:

Hack 20: Making Windows XP look like Windows 2000 again.
Hack 23: PowerDesk Shareware
Hack 86: Info on two Graphical Shareware
Hack 98: Keyboard remapping shareware
Hack 99: Using ClearType on Win XP

is this a book about "Customizing Windows XP and Shareware Info" or are they really hacks?

There is even some mis-information:
Hack 3: Claims that BootVis will speed up boot up time, while the official Microsoft website corrected the issue: boot speed up is built in and automatic and doesn't require BootVis.

Hack 92: Claims that removing DLL from RAM will let other program have access to the RAM and make the computer faster... not true: they will be removed automatically from RAM when other applications need the RAM. The "Least Recently Used" DLL will be unloaded automatically. On the other hand, if you listen to an mp3 file and close Windows Media Player, and then see another mp3 and run Windows Media Player again, it will be much faster because the DLLs are already in RAM.

This book should be more appropriately titled: Customizing, Shareware, and Hacks for Windows XP.