Product Description

From choosing the edition that’s right for you to customizing Vista to make it your own, this book offers everything you expect from PC Magazine. You’ll find advice from an expert who was involved in beta testing every edition and update to Vista. Discover the differences in various editions and learn to set up Vista to work your way. Get acquainted with new features like Internet Explorer 7 and the expanded media applications, including Media Player version 11 and Windows Photo Gallery.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #743214 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 481 pages

From the Back Cover
Do you have it? Do you want it? How do you use it?

PC Magazine has the answers

From choosing the edition that's right for you to customizing Vista to make it your own, this book offers everything you expect from PC Magazine. You'll find advice from an expert who was involved in beta testing every edition and update. Discover the differences in various editions and learn to set up Vista to work your way. Get acquainted with new features like Internet Explorer® 7 and the expanded media applications, including Media Player version 11 and Windows® Photo Gallery. And love your Vista.

Your one-stop guide from installation to customization

• Understand what each edition of Vista does and be sure you have the right one for your needs
• Get the setup right the first time
• Use the Control Panel to customize Vista
• Set up user accounts, programs, networking, and security features
• Learn to use new Internet features and expanded media applications
• Explore Vista for laptops and Tablet PCs
• See how the enhanced Start menu makes it easier to find and run anything
• Discover the new look — it's more than just eye candy

Is Windows Vista a big deal?

Or is it just another upgrade? Let's see.

• Security enhancements — Windows listened to users
• Improved search functions — new places, new options
• Simplified, expanded document listing — see and sort files differently
• More options for media files — for playing music, videos, and DVDs
• New, improved applications — stay in touch, edit photos, and play new games

About the Author
Mark Justice Hinton eschewed computers in high school and college, delaying the inevitable. After burning out of the restaurant business, he got a job as a file clerk from a friend in a notorious investment company. In short order, he moved from divining the mysterious service bureau output to preparing the company for an in-house minicomputer, the IBM System/34, a box the size of 10 big PCs and the power of none of them. After two years as the Data Processing Manager of the National Symphony Orchestra (with an office in a broom closet way backstage in the Kennedy Center), Hinton followed his heart to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and founded PC Training and Consulting in 1984. Along with work for diverse clients, Hinton has taught computer classes for the University of New Mexico Division of Continuing Education since 1988. He has taught thousands of students in classes from DOS to Web design.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Introduction to What Vista Does
This book is an excellent introduction to Windows Vista in many ways. If you want to learn about Vista because you've gotten it on your new computer it's great. It has a summary of all the new features and capabilities that Vista brings. In fact, in my experience there's a point to recommend Vista that he doesn't mention, i.e. It's a lot more stable than XP. Vista simply doesn't crash. =

But should you upgrade an older system to Vista. Although this book talks a fair amount about upgrading to Vista, the author says on his web site that buying a machine with Vista pre-installed is a lot simpler. That too backs up my own experience. Vista is a lot more tricky about the hardware configuration than older systems. You need a lot more memory - 512 MB is minimum and a gigabyte is recommended. I'd really recommend 2 GB. Your video card now requires 64 MB, with 256 MB recommended. (Do you remember when PC's themselves didn't have that much memory?) And you need a 7200 RPM disk drive.

With the price of PC's these days, it's probably cheaper to buy a new machine with Vista installed than try to upgrade, especially if you have to buy memory, video card and a new hard drive.

Windows Help
This book is very well written and has helped solved some Vista troubles - but a book is simply not enough to make Vista any more cooperative. Vista takes more of my time than any other version of Windows (or DOS) has ever taken. I'd like to write more but . . . "NOT RESPONDING"

Windows Vista Solutions - What Solutions?
Don't waste your money. Information is very out of date with all the changes to Vista since the release. Basically a Vista for Dummies type book that does not really delve into why Vista is so quirky and how to fix it (if it can be fixed).