Product Description

Windows is the world’s most popular operating system, and Windows For Dummies is the bestselling computer book ever. When you look at Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition, it’s easy to see why. Here’s all the stuff you want to know, served up in plain English and seasoned with a few chuckles. But make no mistake, this book means business.

Author Andy Rathbone listened to what you wanted to know, and this edition is loaded with additional information about

• E-mail, faxing, and troubleshooting
• Maximizing security features
• Customizing and upgrading Windows XP
• Multimedia applications—CDs, digital music and photos, video, and more
• Answers to questions asked by thousands of Windows users

If you’re just getting started with Windows XP, you’ll find Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is a lot easier than trying to get the fourth-grader next door to explain it to you. (Andy Rathbone is a lot more patient.) There’s a whole section devoted to “Windows XP Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know,” so you can get the hang of the basics quickly and in the privacy of your own home. And if you’ve been around a couple of generations of Windows, you’ll be especially interested in how to squeeze maximum security from the beefed-up anti-spam and firewall features in Service Pack 2.

Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is sort of like a buffet—you can sample everything, or just stick with the stuff you know you like. You’ll find out how to

• Locate programs and files, organize your information, and fax, scan, or print documents
• Get online safely, send and receive e-mail, work with Internet Explorer’s security toolbar, and steer clear of pop-ups, viruses, and spam
• Make Windows XP work the way you want it to, share your computer while maintaining your privacy, set up a network, and perform routine maintenance
• Transfer and organize pictures from your digital camera, edit digital video, and create custom CDs of your favorite tunes
• Use Windows XP’s troubleshooting wizards and become your own computer doctor

With its task-oriented table of contents and tear-out cheat sheet, Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is easy to use. You can quickly find what you want to know, and you just may discover that this book is as important to your computer as the power cord.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12599 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.com
Windows XP for Dummies does a good job in its role as the flagship of the Dummies line, providing Windows novices with a guided introduction to Microsoft's latest and most feature-rich operating system for everyday computer users. Its treatment of computer, Windows, and Internet fundamentals is among the best on the market, and author Andy Rathbone has an appealing way of writing that's simultaneously fun and detail-rich. If you're a Windows novice--meaning you don't know how to undelete a file that's been sent to the Recycle Bin, or what a Web browser is, or what it means to "cut and paste" text--you will get a lot out of Rathbone's work.

Some aspects of this book could be better, such as the part of the networking chapter that calls for an Ethernet hub without noting that a switch, though possibly more expensive, would do the job better, without any additional hassle. The networking coverage also does an inadequate job of explaining how to share a cable modem or DSL connection among several computers. This is a serious shortcoming, and we're getting to the point in our evolution as a society of computer users at which we can assume that everyone knows what the "Cancel" button does and would rather read about the newer, more exciting things that Windows XP can do. Even the dummies aren't that dumb anymore.

But that said--and Rathbone does confine a lot of the really elementary stuff to a skinny introductory chapter--this book is a boon to people who aren't familiar with Windows XP or its immediate predecessors (including Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me). It's also great for people who have learned a little about Windows on the job or from their kids, and want to expand on what they know. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP for people completely unfamiliar with the operating system and other recent versions of Windows. Coverage includes how to run programs, move and delete files, connect to the Internet, and use applications like electronic mail programs, Web browsers, and multimedia players.

Review
“…the most well-known range of computer books…” (Computer Active, January 2005)

“Readers will enjoy reading this bouncy, overwhelming accessible text….gives a peek at the next generation of Windows genius.” (Good Book Guide, December 2004)

“…sure to be a huge seller…” (Publishing News, July 2004)

Download Description
* The bestselling computer book of all time-more than eight million copies sold in all editions-now revised to cover the updates in Windows XP Service Pack 2 as well as updates in popular Windows applications * This fifty percent revision includes a fully revamped , "task-oriented" table of contents as well as expanded coverage of e-mail, anti-spam tools, faxing, troubleshooting, customization, multimedia, and CDs and DVDs-plus a brief look ahead to the next generation of Windows, codenamed "Longhorn" * Walks first-time Windows XP users through signing on, navigating the interface, using basic applications, finding and working with files, handling Internet functions, setting up peripherals, and fixing basic problems * Written in the friendly, accessible For Dummies style by Andy Rathbone-one of the bestselling tech authors of all time

Customer Reviews

WINDOWS XP FOR DUMMIES
HAD BOUGHT WINDOWS XP TO UPGRADE MY WIN 98 AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS ENOUGH OF A DIFFERENCE THAT I NEEDED A LITTLE EXTRA HELP. I JUST STARTED USING COMPUTERS AGAIN AFTER BEING AWAY FOR 13 YEARS AND THEY HAVE REALLY CHANGED. I HAD TO UPGRADE BECAUSE ALL THE NEWW EQUIPMENT THAT I BOUGHT HAD TO HAVE XP, 2000, OR BETTER TO RUN. THIS BOOK HAS THE HINTS THAT I NEED TO GET ME FROM STUCK TO UN-STUCK IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. TOO MANY OTHER BOOKS ARE TOO TECHNICAL FOR THE AVERAGE JOE TO UNDERSTAND.

windows for dummies
I have found this book to be very helpful, with easy to find answers to my questions.

The Dummy Helped
I have a friend who is in her 80's, relatively inexperienced in computers and dependent on grandchildren to help, that is when she could find them. I saw this and sent it to her. Her comments were very enthuiastic. She claims that it substituted for a grandchild quite well on several occasions.