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Computer Book Store > Computer books beginning with W
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Windows Vista: The L Line, The Express Line to Learning (The L Line: The Express Line To Learning) |
Author: Michael Meskers
Published: 2007-03-12 |
List price: $29.99
Our price: $26.99
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Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: December 03rd, 2008 07:35:35 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Great information
This has a lot of information and quick tips in it on how to do a lot of stuff in Vista and speed your system up. I bought it for my husband and he read it cover to cover.
Fast, easy to use, great info
Michael Meskers explains the subject well, showing good screen shots, having handy self-study quizzes, and making fun glossary entries by treating the entries as "street jargon." There's no Windows computer topic you couldn't find here - he even helps you understand how to update your knowledge if you're a DOS-based dinosaur (like I once was). I particularly loved the info on Vista's free tools, including speech recognition software, and also really appreciated the easy to use information on the Windows Security Center. Reading Michael's book even helped me overcome a security software blocking problem on an older computer (employing Internet Explorer). I like the book and it's right above my computer because it's a handy reference for the future. I wish all computer books were written this well.
Information at your fingertips
I am an author of technical books myself, having written five up to this point. I can tell that this author put in the time and effort to create an excellent reference that really covers what you'll really use in the operating system. The "Information Kiosks" are superb. You can really go through the book quickly - reading just the Kiosks - and get a lot of value right away. The shortcut key for accessing the traditional File, View, Edit, etc. menus in the Information Kiosk on page 90 was worth the price of the book to me. I didn't know that one and I pride myself on knowing valuable keyboard shortcuts (sorry, I'm an old DOS geek).
The "Street Jargon" sections at the end of each chapter should probably be read first - just my suggestion. This section defines new terms introduced in the chapter and knowing their definitions in advance will be very helpful. I'm sure the author would have placed them at the beginning given a choice, but this series by Wiley already has the structure fixed in place.
The section on Networking with Windows Vista (pages 325 to 335) provide an excellent, to-the-point understanding of how to configure a wireless or wired connection. No fluff, just the steps.
I used Chapter 9 to learn how to use the non-technical features of Vista like photo editing and the photo gallery. Us Information Technology people tend to learn about the "under-the-hood" features and not spend the time discovering these great tools. Actually, this book is aimed more at a Vista user than a Vista support professions, but it is filled with vast amounts of information for the support professional too. Trust me, your users will want to know the great shortcuts provided in this book.
I could go on-and-on about what I like in this book, but suffice it to say: I feel that, if you don't read this book, you don't know everything you need to know about Windows Vista.
Have a great summer everyone. - Tom Carpenter - Author: Wireless#, CWNA, CWSP and 70-431 Study Guides
 check out the speech recognition
So this is the long-anticipated (and somewhat delayed) Vista. Microsoft's answer to increasingly aggressive Macintosh and linux forays on the mass desktop. Meskers takes us on a guided tour, where he assumes that we are not computer experts. So he strives to write as plainly as possible, minimising technical jargon. This is reinforced by the train inspired graphics sprinkled generously throughout the book. So chapters begin with a turnstile logo and title "Enter the Station". A little hokey, I found, but maybe the metaphors will work for you.
Overall, the impression given by the book is that Vista's look and feel is converging to that of the Mac. It does seem that the ease of use is similar.
The most advanced feature of Vista, at least as explained by Meskers, could be speech recognition. It lets you control the computer using spoken commands, rather than the mouse or keyboard. To some users, this will be a paradigm shift. But to others, the novelty may quickly wear off. The speech recognition capability is impressive, and easy to set up. But it is not perfect. It may work best with isolated words as commands. Specifically, the best use in Vista could be inside Microsoft's Office suite. Unsurprisingly, this has been well integrated with speech recognition. And the restricted context of Office commands greatly improves the recognition.
Very clear and easy to follow
I have to agree with what one of the other reviewers had stated about not needing to be a geek. This book is very nicely laid out, is visually pleasing and an easy read.
I would recommend it for someone trying to get up to speed on Vista as well as for those who may be buying someone a computer that has Vista installed. It would be very helpful for finding and learning about new, key features.
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