Windows XP Secrets [Paperback]

Curt Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0764548522 | ISBN-13: 978-0764548529 | Edition: 1st

Do what you never thought possible with Windows XP! Harness the power of the latest version of Windows with hundreds of undocumented features and shortcuts to optimize performance and productivity.

This is an in-depth expose on the hottest undocumented functions and shortcuts, that takes you through a wide range of Windows XP features. The author provides insider information on the latest features of Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6.0, performance enhancements, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Windows XP Secrets does a fine job of documenting the latest Microsoft operating system, largely because its author assumes that you already know a fair bit about Windows from experience. He seems to figure that you're interested in the features that are new in Windows XP, and also in getting it to look and behave the way you want. As a result, this book combines documentation of the new features with some pretty cool hints--a lot of which you likely would not have found on your own, or bothered to hunt for on the Internet--about the appearance and function of Windows XP. You may gripe a bit about the amount of straight documentation Curt Simmons has included--he explains such pedestrian matters as adding a modem and creating a Windows Media Player playlist--but the obscure hints appear in sufficient number to earn the book its selling price.

Particularly cool is Simmons's affinity for third-party software--especially Tweaki and TweakUI--and the depth of coverage he's given the Registry. He's also earned kudos for paying attention to the command line, which remains the best way to do a lot of work, even in super-graphical Windows XP. This book would be better if it included a table that referred the reader directly to the scattered "SECRET" boxes--which contain a lot of the best factoids. But even without such an index this volume is a good guide to Windows XP for power users. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to install and use Windows XP, with emphasis on interface customization using less obvious configuration settings. Application compatibility, the applets in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), Registry settings, Internet security, and small-office networking are some of the more interesting areas the author covers.

Review

"...Verdict? Good for power users..." (Microsoft Windows XP (The Official Magazine), September 2002)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 696 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (November 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764548522
• ISBN-13: 978-0764548529
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Secret is Out!, January 4, 2002

By 

Barry Pearl (E Northport, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Windows XP Secrets (Paperback)

The Secret is out: This is not a very good book.. I was very disappointed with Windows XP Secrets.

I had previously bought Windows 95, 98, and Me Secrets along with several of their Office Secrets and was very satisfied.

The first thing I noticed was the length on the book. In "Me Secrets" the author writes: "...Windows Me is a minor upgrade-not a major departure from Windows 98...." Yet the Me book takes up almost 1,500 pages. Windows XP is the greatest change in the system since Windows 95 yet But the book has only about 700 pages, half the size of Me. Some things have to be left out. And they were. This includes the CD ROM that came with other Secret's books.

The Windows secrets Book usually contained:
Extensive instructions on nearly every aspect of the program.
This is sorely missing here. The instructions seemed rushed and incomplete. If your computer does not align itself exactly to the instructions, which often do not start at the beginning, you will find few alternatives or suggestions. More than just the instructions are missing; large sections of what Windows XP can do are missing too. This book is definitely not for the beginner.

Personalization Tips and Secrets:
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that there aren't that many secrets in general and in this area in particular. What I had like best about the previous Secrets books is that they gave me large amount of suggestions of how I could make Windows "my own". They offered `secrets" that allowed me to personalize and enable me to feel comfortable with my computer. In addition they offered additional tips to speed up many tasks. There were chapters entitled: "Making Windows Your Own" and "My system." One example: A secret I looked forward to each Secret's book to instruct me on how to change the opening and closing logos of my computer. Using their secrets, I had made, with tier instructions, my own personalized logo on boot up. No longer. This book just doesn't cover the areas it used to. This book is definitely not for the intermediate user.

There are more "tips" than secrets.
Matter fact there are really very few useable secrets and the tips are run of the mill. Since there is little space given to advanced subjects as the registry, and few secrets that you can really use, this book was obviously not written for the advanced use either.

No fun, no sense of reality in the writing.
The previous books were written with a sense of reality, a sense of humor and a sense of fun. All this is missing here. The sense of reality was often a tongue and cheek way of expressing the "secret" deficiencies of Windows and the ways of getting around them. There were even chapters called "Fun." In a field that is very serious, these books took the time to point out that these programs do not all have to be "heavy lifting", there was some fun here too. No longer.

Finally, the previous editions of Secrets came with a CD. For example, entire book, with a searchable database, was able to be loaded on your computer. This was great. You were able to get help instantly. No such book here.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Secret worked for me!, January 13, 2002

By 

Adam Wilkins (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows XP Secrets (Paperback)

I haven't been using Secrets books (or a computer for that matter) since Windows 3.x, so I don't have a frame of reference for this new Secrets book like some of the other reviewers.

All I can say is if you are a moderately good computer user and want to find out a bunch of cool and (sometimes) weird things about XP, this book is great. It covers system items well and points out configuration things you might not notice on your own.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Shell of What "Secrets" Use to Be, January 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Windows XP Secrets (Paperback)

Over the years, I found the Windows "Secrets" to be the best book about Windows (3.1, 95 and 98). This book is by a different author, and it is a mere shell of the old series. Too short, too shallow, too bad. Just look at the begining, and view the description of the differences between Home and Professional editions of XP. The book told me no more than an advertisement would have.