Product Description

You've seen the books for "dummies" and you're beyond that - you know how to turn a computer on, check your email, and surf the Internet. There are books for geniuses that focus on getting over-detailed on technology you don't care anything about. Why can't there be a book for you - a book to help you buy a new computer or help you protect your computer and data without all the useless information???

You've come to the right place! Just the Computer Essentials is a book written for the everyday user. Jim White wrote

Just the Computer Essentials to help you with your day-to-day work without taking up your whole day.

Just the Computer Essentials will help you understand exactly what you need to know when buying a new PC.

Jim White's Just the Computer Essentials will:

• Help you understand exactly what you need to know when buying a new PC
• Lead you in protecting your computer from dangers such as viruses, spyware, spam and phishing
• Show you how to set up a backup strategy to safeguard all your important files
• Coach you how to recover your computer from system problems - starting with the least intrusive all the way to disaster recovery
• Teach you how to migrate your files and settings from one computer to a new PC running the Windows Vista(tm) operating system

If you're ready to purchase a new computer or need help protecting your data on a computer running the Windows Vista operating system, then this book's for you!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #856771 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
...step-by-step approach and explains things in [an] easy to understand language. I would recommend it to any new Vista user. -- WServerNews - Product of the Week - Vol. 12, #25 - Jun 22, 2007 - Issue #631

From the Author
Anyone in the computer industry can tell you the words "Oh, you work with computers?... [Insert computer problem here]" are quite familiar.

As I would help out friends and family with their computer issues, I explained what I was doing in a not-too-technical manner. I started to wonder why there wasn't a good book out there for the everyday user that just layed it out for users without all the nonsense that they don't care about... a "just tell me what I need to know" type of book - oh, yeah - "and don't overcomplicate everything!"

Most books are too "dummied" up or way too complicated for the everyday computer user. That's when I decided to take the questions I know people have with their computers and put them into a book that would be easy-to-read, yet extremely valuable.

I know that a lot of times it's easier to see how to do certain things rather than to just read it. Because of that, I have over 200 screenshots help guide you through.

I'm confident that Just the Computer Essentials will help you in buying a new computer, properly securing it and creating backups, and guide you through some of the problems that you may need help recovering from.

The small cost of this book will hopefully save you both the heartache and the loss of important files (including priceless memories like digital photos!). This book is one you'll definitely want to add to your cart!

-- Jim

About the Author
James Anthony White is the author of the new IROL Press book, Just the Computer Essentials: A Plain-English, No-Nonsense Guide to Buying and Maintaining a PC Running the Windows Vista(tm) Operating System for Your Home or Home Office.

Born in South Bend, IN, Jim's family moved to Maple Heights, OH, a suburb of Cleveland, where he lived until shortly before his graduation at Maple Height High School. With a talent in the field of studio art, Jim made that his major while attending Kent State University. It was there where he took an introduction to computers class, that he learned his true calling. Jim switched majors to Computer Information Systems and soon left a budding career in retail management to start a new career as a Systems Engineer at BPI Information Systems in Brecksville, OH.

After graduating from Kent State, Jim began heartily training and learning everything he could in the technology realm. He quickly earned several highly regarded certifications, such as:

• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
• Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) and Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA)
• Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator (CCEA)
• HP Accredited Platform Specialist - ProLiant Servers (APS)
• CompTIA A+ and Server+

After just a few years, he was promoted to the position of managing the Systems Engineers.

Spending your life as a technology specialist means spending a lot of time as a technology specialist for friends and family. Soon, Jim began to question why there wasn't a book for the average computer user. There were books for dummies and books for geniuses, but almost every home or home office user falls in between - people who know how to get around on a computer to check email, work a little bit with pictures or music, surf the web, and use office programs.

What they didn't know how to do were things like:

• What to really look for when buying a new computer
• How to move data and settings to a new computer that was just purchased
• How to protect their computer properly from viruses, spyware, spam, and phishing
• How to back up important files - work files, pictures, music, etc.
• How to recover from minor or major losses of data

In mid 2005, Jim decided to write a book to cover these important topics. He decided to focus on the Windows Vista(tm) operating system even though it was still not publicly released to ensure it would be current. Jim was able to work with this operating system throughout its development, learn the ins and outs of it, and apply that information to the book. Shortly after the official release of the Windows Vista(tm) operating system to consumers in the beginning of 2007, Just the Computer Essentials was published.

Today, Jim lives with his wife Lisa in Stow, OH. He continues to manage the Systems Engineers at BPI Information Systems, contributes to the technical online community, and is contemplating his next book.

Customer Reviews

This book makes Windows Vista easy!
I've been using Windows XP for years now and just got a new computer with Windows Vista Home Premium on it. There's definitely a big difference between those two versions of Windows! I've become very good at using XP, but wanted to make sure that I got Windows setup right and wasn't missing anything. I looked at a couple Vista books and I'm happy that this was the book I chose. It's very straight-forward and to the point and leaves out a lot of the over-technical garbage that most home users wouldn't even care about. The author does, however, hit on everything I needed to get my computer running right. He discusses the specifics of the security software to run (like comparing different vendors) and he talks about some of the options for configuring backups (including some of the newer online backup services... this was excellent!).

I will also say that I already needed one of the chapters when my computer wouldn't boot up. I had a similar problem a couple years ago on my XP computer and HP had me reload the whole computer. I'm glad I thought to check this book first because I came to find out that there are some MUCH easier options in Windows Vista and was able to get back up and running in about ten minutes! So, that in itself made this a great purchase in my opinion - I probably saved a couple days worth of time in that alone!

Great book and definitely worth it!

Extremely Helpful Book!
My home computer started having problems and I wasn't sure what to do? A friend told me about "Just the Computer Essentials".

The book was extremely helpful and helped me navigate my way through my computer issues at home. It now has a place right next to my computer so I can grab it for quick reference if I need to.

I have also told several friends and family members about the book, who have all said that it has really helped them out in crunch time.

A great book, with lots of help inside, absolutely worth the purchase!

Dawn Sawyer

Great for beginners and beyond
I bought this book because I had just upgraded my computer to one with Windows Vista and wanted to learn the ins and outs quickly. It's been such a great tool in learning all of the new things I can now do!

Also, I teach introductory class online for first time college freshman, most of whom are older, non-traditional students, that covers study skills and basic computer skills (such as surfing the internet and attaching files to emails). Because they're just starting their college careers, many of them are looking at buying new computers and I've recommended that they all purchase this book to help them pick out and use their new computers.