Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Be Careful ... Beta Version Book, December 8, 2006
This book was released last June, a full 7 months before the official release of Vista. This means the information used to publish it was from an early Beta version. A LOT has changed with Windows Vista since then, so I find it hard to believe this book would be very useful. Please note that I have NOT purchased/read this book. I just doubt that this would be a very good user guide/manual. It's only a PREVIEW book. Just throwing caution to the wind ... Caveat Emptor!
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great overview of all the new Vista technology, January 13, 2007
It's not often that a new operating system is released by Microsoft. When it does happen we get bombarded with all sorts of new ways to do old tricks and an overflow of new technology that could be confusing. Mr. McFedries takes the entire OS, all it's new features and makes them clear for all to see where they might fit in your life (home or office). As a fellow author I truly enjoyed reading it and although it was based on Beta versions of Vista, the material is up-to-date (with a few minor exceptions) with the final release of Vista.
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9 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Look beyond the hype -- what's new and noteworthy and what Vista really means for tomorrow's desktop", July 25, 2006
"Look beyond the hype -- what's new and noteworthy and what Vista really means for tomorrow's desktop" jumps out at you from
the front cover of Paul McFedries recently published 316-page (cover to cover) Microsoft Windows Vista Unveiled book
(Sams Publishing, June 2006, ISBN 0-672-32893-3). Following an introduction that explains the concept of beta software,
identifies the book's target audiences, reveals various conventions (such as notes, tips, and cautions) used throughout this
book, and finishes with a disclaimer about Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 (this book is accurate from Beta 2's perspective,
but Microsoft could change things in the shipping release of this operating system); this thoroughly engaging book takes you
on a ten-chapter journey through the Beta 2 release of Windows Vista.
Before presenting these chapters, I need to point out that Microsoft Windows Vista Unveiled is not a programming book
-- Chapter 2 provides a minor registry modification example, and also provides a command-line based deployment example; and
Chapter 10 presents some XML (eXtensible Markup Language) code from a sample game-definition file. However, this book was
written for developers, as well as IT professionals, power users, business users, road warriers (not bikers, just people who
travel for a living and depend upon their notebook computers), small business owners, multimedia users, and gamers -- gamers
might be surprised to discover that Windows Vista outclasses both the Xbox 360 and the forthcoming PlayStation 3 through its
support for DirectX 10 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are limited to DirectX 9).
Chapter 1 provides an overview of Windows Vista. After presenting development history under Microsoft's "Longhorn" codename,
and revealing the decision to rename this OS to Vista, the first section tells you what you won't find in this OS when Vista
ships (although these missing features will become available later). Furthermore, you learn what features will be backported
to Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server. The next section summarizes the many new features under categories ranging from user
interface, document metadata, performance improvement, and stability improvement features; to the Mobility Center, the
Network Center, the Network Map, and Windows Collaboration. The final section focuses on how Vista affects the various kinds
of target audiences identified in the previous paragraph.
Chapter 2 deals with switching over to Windows Vista. In this chapter, you first learn about Vista's system requirements, in
terms of Microsoft's minimum requirements and more practical requirements. These requirements primarily deal with the
processor, memory, storage, and graphics; but also include Internet access, networking, scanning, printing, and so on. (One
interesting item discussed in this section is the Windows System Rating.) Subsequent sections introduce you to the six
versions of Vista that Microsoft will make available, the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature that's present in some versions to
upgrade to more advanced versions, a task checklist for installing Vista, the installation process, Windows Easy Transfer,
how to log on under the administrator account, and simplified deployment of Vista to multiple computers.
The third chapter explores Vista's user interface. You are first introduced to the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly
known as Avalon) and learn about the significant changes it makes to Windows graphics. You next explore general interface
changes in terms of the desktop, the taskbar, and the start menu. Moving on, you learn about the Aero Glass theme, which
brings a number of graphics innovations (such as a transparency effect and drop shadows) to the Vista interface. The changed
Alt+Tab method for switching between active windows, which is known as Flip, and the related Flip 3D feature are then
presented. You next investigate taskbar thumbnails and Vista's new folder windows (in terms of navigation, instant search,
task/preview/reading/navigation panes, and live folder icons). Chapter 3 wraps by examining gadgets and the Windows Sidebar.
Improvements introduced by Vista's file system are covered in Chapter 4. After discussing the importance of metadata and the
Windows Explorer property system, this chapter introduces you to Instant Search, with emphasis on its usefulness at both the
desktop level and in the context of Windows Mail (formerly known as Outlook Express). You next discover Instant Search's
as-you-type capability, and how to perform advanced searches. Continuing, you explore grouping, stacking, and filtering
files via metadata -- these metadata-dependent operations are powerful new ways of managing your files. Moving on, you are
introduced to search folders, file selection with checkboxes, and file-based drag and drop. This chapter ends with a look at
shadow copies and transactional NTFS, and XPS -- the XML Paper Specification.
Chapter 5 examines Vista's performance and maintenance capabilities. The first section explores performance improvements in
terms of faster startup, an improved sleep mode, SuperFetch with ReadyBoost for prefetching data into memory and using a USB
2.0 Flash drive for the SuperFetch cache, the Restart Manager, the Windows System Assessment Tool, and Windows System
Performance Rating. The next section covers stability improvements in the areas of I/O cancellation, the Reliability
Monitor, service recovery, and the Startup Repair Tool. New diagnostic tools for the disk, memory, resource exhaustion, and
the network are next presented. You also learn about the Windows Performance Diagnostic Console and Event Viewer. The final
section explores the wizard-driven Windows Backup.
Chapter 6 dives into Vista's security enhancements. After being introduced to the Control Panel's security settings, you are
presented with the new enhancements to the Security Center (first introduced in Windows XP Service Pack 2), Windows Firewall
and its bidirectional protection, the Windows Defender antispyware tool, Internet Explorer 7 security features (including
the new Protected mode), and the User Account Control. You then learn about the additional Windows Service Hardening,
BitLocker (for encrypting the system drive), NX Bit support (for avoiding overflows), ASLR, Parental Controls, and Network
Access Protection security features. The final section introduces you to the Windows Mail Junk Filter (for thwarting spam)
and Email phishing protection.
Mobile computing has been recognized by Vista's designers via the many new notebook PC features incorporated into this OS.
Chapter 7 first introduces you to the Mobile PC Control Panel. It next introduces you to the Windows Mobility Center, which
is accessible from this panel. After introducing you to this convenient one-stop shop for manipulating common notebook
features (muting sound and engaging a wireless network, for example), this chapter examines power management: battery life
monitoring, specifying a power plan, configuring the notebook's power buttons, and so on. Chapter 7 next explores Windows
SideShow, which lets you view (on a small display found on the outside of a notebook case) information without starting the
computer and access programs like Windows Media Player without opening the case. A look at Vista Tablet PC ends the chapter.
In Chapter 8, you are introduced to Vista's new networking features. The first topic presented to you is the Network Center,
which shows you the current status of your network connection and provides quick access to many networking tasks. You next
learn about Network Map, a new feature that lets you see everything that's connected to your computer. Continuing, you learn
how Vista lets you conveniently deal with common network tasks (such as setting up file and printer sharing). Vista's
replacement for NetMeeting is a new collaboration tool known as Windows Meeting Space -- known as Windows Collaboration in
Beta 2. Following its detailed discussion of this tool (where you learn such topics as People Near Me and sharing handouts),
Chapter 8 introduces you to the Sync Center, a new tool that helps you keep your offline files up-to-date.
Chapter 9, one of my two favorite chapters, focuses on digital media. It begins by looking at AutoPlay, with emphasis on its
greatly simplified customization feature. The next section explores Windows Photo Gallery, which lets you manage all of your
photos. You learn about grouping photos according to metadata as an alternative to using file folders, conveniently locating
specific photos, editing photos, burning photos to a DVD disc, and so on. Windows Media Player (WMP) 11 is the next major
media topic to be discussed. You learn about navigation, album art and the WMP interface, grouping and stacking media, and
more. The next section explores the new features (like wireless network support) in the Media Center (now part of two Vista
versions). A discussion of digital audio and DVD authoring round out this chapter.
The final chapter investigates Vista's support for gaming. The first major topic to be covered focuses on the Game Explorer,
which provides several important features (such as autoupdate) for gamers and game developers. As a developer, I appreciated
the discussion of game-definition files and their usage with Game Explorer. Because many people are concerned by game
violence, Chapter 10 goes on to discuss the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)'s rating standards, followed by
various parental controls that Vista makes available to control what kinds of games a child can play (based on ESRB or
another rating system). Because gaming often taxes a computer's resources, this chapter concluded by examining gaming in the
context of Chapter 5's discussion of the Windows System Assessment Tool -- and DirectX 10.
After reading Microsoft Windows Vista Unveiled cover to cover, I am most impressed with Paul's easy-to-follow writing
style, the numerous black and white illustrations that back up Paul's textual explanations of many GUI elements and convey
the radically new and professional looking Vista user interface (some illustrations are stunning), each chapter's concluding
"From Here" section that refers the reader to other parts of the book for more information on key chapter topics, the useful
tips (such as Page 72's tip for restoring the Run command to the Start menu), and the extensive index. Furthermore, I liked
the inside front cover's "Where to Get Windows Vista Beta 2" and "Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor" topics, and the inside back
cover's summary of five Vista versions. On the whole, this book has helped me decide to make Vista my next OS.
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