Press Release
May 14, 2002
"Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual"
Sebastopol, CA--Windows users, especially those who have been
comfortable with their Windows 98 or Me computers, may find their first
look at Windows XP disorienting. In fact, there hasn't been so dramatic
a change in Windows computing since the introduction of Windows 95. The
erstwhile icon-studded desktop is now astonishingly bare, and users are
disconcerted to find that even the Start menu is alien to them.
Although the look is not unfriendly, and most new users know that the
new Windows XP promises to be the best version of the operating system
yet, there is one important feature that seems to have been overlooked:
printed documentation. But for those who find themselves reaching for a
manual to help them come up to speed, bestselling author David Pogue
comes through once again with Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual (Pogue Press/O'Reilly, $US 24.95)--the book that should have
been in the box.
"Microsoft's goal in creating XP was gigantic," says Pogue. "It wanted
to merge its home line--the friendly but cranky Windows 95, 98, and
Me--with its corporate line--the unattractive but rock-solid Windows NT
and 2000--into a single, unified operating system that offers the best
of both. If you're used to one of the home versions you may be
surprised by some of the resulting changes; under the colorful,
three-dimensional new skin of Windows XP Home lurks Windows 2000, which
includes some of its beefy security features. This book will help you
get through them."
Windows XP offers dozens of important new features. In addition to the
vastly more elegant user interface, it offers drag-and-drop CD burning,
powerful built-in features for viewing and managing digital photos and
music, and a Remote Assistance feature that lets invited PC gurus or
help-desk technicians see and even manipulate what's on your screen
over the Internet. The latest Missing Manual includes authoritative
coverage of every new feature, from the two-column Start menu to
setting up a small-office network and sharing an Internet connection
among several PCs.
Written in the warm, witty, jargon-free style for which the Missing
Manual Series is known, the book begins with a tour of the Desktop and
the Start menu, with tips for customizing the taskbar and toolbars.
Later chapters explore the components of Windows XP, including an
item-by-item discussion of the software that makes up this operating
system--not just the items in the Control Panel, but the long list of
free programs that Microsoft includes: Windows Media Player, Movie
Maker, WordPad, and so on. Later chapters cover Windows online--the
Internet-related features of Windows--and the operating system's
relationship to the equipment you can attach to your PC such as
scanners, cameras, printers, etc.
"Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual" is designed to
accommodate readers at every technical level. The primary discussions
are written for advanced beginner or intermediate PC users. But
first-time Windows users will find special sidebar articles called "Up
To Speed" that provide the introductory information they'll need. For
advanced PC users, shaded boxes called "Power Users' Clinic" offer
technical tips, tricks, and shortcuts. Throughout the book, Pogue
reveals the refreshing humor, technical insight, and crystal-clear,
plain-English prose that made number one bestsellers out of his other
books in the Missing Manual Series, including Mac OS X, Windows Me, and
iMovie 2.
Additional resources:
Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual
By David Pogue
May 2002
ISBN 0-596-00260-2, 571 pages, $24.95 (US), $38.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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