Title - Windows Vista: The Missing Manual

Author - Linda Q. Thede, GCPCUG Member

Category - Book

Subject - The book that should have been in the box

Date - March 2007

Perhaps more aptly termed, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Vista, But Had No Idea It Existed,” this book should be on the shelf of anyone who intends to obtain the full value of Vista. New computer users as well as experienced PC users will find the Introduction very helpful.

Divided into eight sections including the appendices, each section provides information and instructions about individual features in a category. Designed to be a reference the outside margin on each page provides keywords for the information that each page has. There are also many illustrations as well as notes and tips that are often essential information, but do not fit the flow of the text. Additionally there are boxes in the text with such labels as “Up to Speed,” “Work Arounds,” “Frequently Asked Questions,” “Nostalgia Corner” and “Power Users Clinics.” Furthering its value as a reference, when a given function is mentioned, but is not the main topic, page numbers are provided to information about that feature. For those who hate taking their hands off the keyboard the author provides keyboard equivalents for any function that has one (The last appendix lists all of these.). As with most in the Missing Manual series, although the book does not include a CD there are a few files online at

www.missingmanuals.com/cds/9780596528270

that provide directions for the very few features that are not included in the book. These few features will not be used by very many people, but do make information about all of Vista easily available. Where these files are applicable, mention is made of them in the text.

In the introduction all five flavors of Vista are placed in a table listing the specific features that each possesses. Plus, at the beginning of the information about each feature, there is a statement stating in which versions the feature can be found. There is also information about troubleshooting some of the incompatibility issues that are sure to arise, such as the fact that CDs created with VISTA will probably only work with Windows VISTA or XP.

Part One: The Vista Desktop has five chapters which are useful to anyone just starting to use Windows as well as providing help for those trying to figure out how to use the bells and whistles such as tagging files that have been added to familiar tasks. Those who have not yet learned to organize files using Windows Explorer (and those who think it is the same as Internet Explorer) will appreciate the description of this tool. The power of the search feature and how to get the most from it is thoroughly described. Those who want to personalize their computers will find the information about changing the look of VISTA helpful. Information on using two monitors is also well documented. Although much of using the help is intuitive, chapter five provides information about some of the conventions used by help and instructions on how to turn off searching the Internet for more help for those times when one cannot be online.

Part Two: Speech Recognition built into VISTA is examined. A considerable portion of chapter six is devoted to how to use the speech recognition program including how to use it to duplicate mouse actions. The book does, however, truthfully state that it is not as powerful as dedicated speech recognition software. A full explanation of the new sidebar is provided including a description of each of the gadgets and how to add your own. In the next chapter, all of the freebie software is explained in detail including how to use the “Ease of Access” features for those with limited dexterity or vision. Given that this will be a must have for some people, it would have been helpful to include this label in the table of contents or at least a heading, however, “ease of access” is in the index.

Part Three focuses on Vista online. The information starts with an explanation of basic Internet hook-ups and progresses through Internet Security, Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Mail. Part Four examines the use of Media. One chapter explains the Windows Photo Gallery, others the Media Player, Movie and DVD Maker, and the Media Center. Hardware and Peripherals are examined in Part Five while maintaining the health of your PC is examined in Part Six. Part Seven provides a thorough explanation of accounts including how to avert the sign-on for a one person computer and how to directly access your PC from another location. Some of the information in this part applies only to network administrators.

The appendices in Part Eight are also very valuable. Although the initial chapter explains the Vista Basics in detail, Appendix A describes installing Vista. Here you will find the Web address for downloading a program that will examine your present computer and provide you information about what programs will run in Vista, as well as whether your computer is up to the task of handling Vista. The Registry Appendix provides basic information about this important computer feature and provides enough information so that if you need to modify the registry you can probably do it safely. Those moving from XP to Vista will find Appendix C titled “Where Did it Go,” a great aid in finding familiar features that may or may not be in Vista.

The only faults that I can find with the book are that sometimes when you turn to the referred page you have to look long and hard to find what is theoretically on that page, and two, step by step instructions often assume that you have started from the beginning of the chapter. If you are looking for a specific feature, you may have to backtrack to start actually using it. Given that the book is not intended to be read cover to cover, locating where readers should be when they start following the instructions would have been helpful. When familiarizing oneself with Vista, readers will probably focus on the early sections. However, as using the basics becomes second nature, they will want to at least leaf through the pages to find and learn how to use helpful features that they did not know existed. Interestingly, some of the features described also apply in XP such as using the backspace key to move up a folder when you have a list of folders and files on the screen (Note, this does not work in all programs.) and the use of the Windows accessory Paint. In short, this is a book that will likely be well thumbed by the time that Vista is replaced as an operating system. If you are considering upgrading to Vista, or purchasing a new computer, you will appreciate this book.

Windows Vista: The Missing Manual

David Pogue

ISBN 10: 596-52827-2

ISBN 13: 978-0-596-52827-0

Pogue Press O’Reilly

827 pages including appendices and index

US $34.99