Windows XP - Visual Quickstart Guide
Book Review by Gerhard R. FischerThe present book, a Peachpit Press Quick Start Guide, covers Windows XP Home Edition as well as Windows XP Pro in its 20 chapters and one appendix. A special symbol is used throughout the book to denote features that apply to the Pro version only.
The introduction to the book consists of a brief description of "What Windows XP Does" and a short explanation of "The Two Versions of Windows XP", followed by a section on "What’s New in Windows XP".
The main part of the volume is very logically divided into a section on getting started and organized and a much larger section dealing with the many features of Windows XP. The concluding chapter is devoted to "Maintenance and Trouble Shooting", while the appendix describes the installation and the decisions to be made for the installation of Windows XP.
The book is well and understandably written throughout, with many supporting figures. This visually based approach enables the reader to easily follow the text and try the items being discussed on the spot. This feature will make it easy even for the novice to keep up with the subject on hand, while at the same time covering all topics with enough depth to be helpful for the more experienced computer user.
Many so called Tips are scattered liberally throughout the book. These tips do usually add some more depth to the subject being discussed and also make it clear that there usually is a bit more to it than appears at first glance.All in all the present volume represents a very well organized introduction to both versions of Windows XP. The large Index covers the topics of the book very well and includes in many cases several entries for a given subject, making it easy to find items of interest, even if the correct terminology is not known to the reader.
After perusing several different chapters dealing with various topics I can truly recommend the book to computer novices as well as more experienced users coming from earlier versions of Windows. The book will make a valuable and useful addition to any computer library at a very appealing price.
Windows XP - Visual Quickstart Guide
By Chris Fehily - Copyright 2003
Peachpit Press
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-524-2178/800-283-9444/510-524-2221 (fax)
http//www.peach pit.com
US $19.99 - CA $ 31.99