Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: folder shortcut, address bar, resource hacker, Control Panel, Start Menu, Command Prompt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In an ideal world, an operating system would do its job in the background, while you did yours in the foreground. In reality, though, operating systems often get in the way, fouling up the process at the most inopportune times. And Windows XP is no exception. O'Reilly's popular series for customizing and troubleshooting Windows once again comes to the rescue with Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks. Offering dozens of on-target tips, workarounds, and warnings, Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks allows users to improve their overall experience with the Windows XP operating system in every way possible. You'll learn how to use the Registry Editor; how to customize the interface beyond Microsoft's own intentions; and how to master Windows' built-in networking capabilities, including advanced technologies such as Internet Connection sharing, Remote Desktop sharing, and virtual private networking. And now, with this updated edition, you can also expect detailed coverage of the newly released Service Pack 2 (SP2) technology. SP2 is designed to make your work with the Windows XP operating system even easier and safer by providing superior protection against viruses, hackers, and worms. Among the core SP2 components covered in Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks are Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and the new Windows Security Center. David Karp, veteran author of several titles in the Windows Annoyances series, is behind the wheel of this comprehensive guide, as well. Karp points out numerous SP2-related quirks and unaccountable behaviors that are guaranteed to increase your level of perplexity and frustration. By recognizing these shortcomings, Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks arms you with the knowledge to overcome them. Karp leaves no stone unturned in providing the ultimate resource for the ever-expanding Windows XP market. As a result, you'll be able to seize complete control of the Windows XP operating system--instead of the other way around.

About the Author

DAVID A. KARP is Professor of Sociology at Boston College and co-author of the first edition of Being Urban.

Product Details

• Paperback: 637 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 2 edition (November 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008767
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008765
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #306,278 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives you a less annoying XP, December 11, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Isn't that a neat picture on the cover? Certainly grabs one's attention.

Possibly the most complaints about Microsoft Windows XP come not from Mac or linux users, but from some long suffering Microsoft users themselves. Karp hopes to alleviate some of these complaints in this updated book.

Perhaps the greatest irony of the book is the space devoted to dealing with Service Pack 2 issues. Remember that SP2 is meant to fix many bugs. And indeed it does. But in the process, it changed various system settings so that, for example, some of your network applications might now seemingly break. Karp explains that it was because SP2 was doing its job and tightened up the Microsoft Windows Firewall. So he shows how to tweak the latter to re-enable your applications.

Overall, the book is very detailed. But this can be a great help if you apply one of his fixes. Since the steps he gives are explicit enough to easily follow. Realistically, this second edition is unlikely to be the last. The next version of XP is bound to generate annoyances of its own.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must for anyone living with/supporting/rolling out Windows XP, June 6, 2006

By	Joshua G. Feldman "Technophile" (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Windows XP is a fact of life for most of us. The sad fact of the matter is that Windows is bloated and sick - loaded with performance/security/stability robbing settings and "extras". Karp's excellent volume - simple enough for the layman but deeply valuable even for the experienced lays out how to pare down XP to fighting form. You can't change XP's basic nature - but you can improve matters significantly. Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks is well organized (like all O'Reilly books) and full of practical, real-world tips. If you must support or roll out XP in a corporate environment, then this book becomes essential to your survival (or at least your sanity). Is it the last word? Probably not - but you will not actually read or use much more than you get here. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as much depth as expected, January 9, 2008

By	Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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This is a good, solid book on Windows XP, but it is disappointing in that it is not as deep as I would have hoped. O' Reilly seems to have wanted to distinguish this annoyances book from their excellent XP Hacks book.

Perhaps it is the "for Geeks" in the title that increased my expectations. But it seems the author strained a bit to fill pages - sixty of them, for example, on VB Scripting and the Command Line. The short section on "Choosing the Right Filesystem", discussing whether to use FAT, FAT32 or NTFS seems superfluous in a book aimed at "Geeks". As the book itself says "[i]f Windows XP is the only operating system . . . you should be using NTDS - no question." Even though the book dates from 2004, any "Geek" would have known that. In fact, author Karp is actually wrong: there are certain applications that require you to use FAT32, but those would be used only by real geeks.

Overall, it's worth the money as so many O'Reilly books are, and a solid addiiton to any geek's library.

Jerry