Windows Vista for Dummies [With DVD]

An excellent book for a quick start in the basics of Vista. Answers many of your questions that you may have as this version of windows has moved around many of the tools that you were used to in the past versions of windows.

As with all the "Dummies" books I like the way Andy separates the wheat from the chaff by telling you up front which things you really need to know, and which things are nice to know but not necessary. He presents the information in easy to understand plain language and includes enough humor to keep it interesting. I find myself reading on screen help and then referring to "Dummies" to see what it really said.

This book is simply wonderful for someone who buys a new computer with Vista preinstalled and, if you actually pay attention to the advice it gives, it will be a big help. The most important thing with Vista is to create a Recovery Disk IMMEDIATELY. We didn't and had to wait for a week before we could buy one from HP. Meanwhile the computer sat like a paperweight.

I will keep it short. This book is a good starting point for anyone that wants to see what is new in Windows Vista from a 10,000ft view. If you want to go more indepth on it's features I would suggest another book.

Having been around Windows as long as Windows has been around, I know that I need two books on Windows Vista. First I want something quick and easy. Something that will give me the overview that tells me simple things like, 'what version do I want.' Vista comes in five main versions: Basic, Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. A quick glance on pages 18 & 19 tell me I need the Business version. Microsoft always throws in a bunch of new things just when you aren't expecting it. Vista, for instance, comes on a DVD, not a CD. I don't watch movies on my PC's, and they were constructed for business, not entertainment. So to use Vista, I've got to buy at least one DVD drive -- RATS. And this AeroGlass things seems to require high end graphics. How do I turn that off to work with low end graphics cards -- see page 376. Parental control, no kids here. Anyway you get the idea. This Dummies book is exactly what I need to get through these kinds of problems. It is easy to read, easy to find what you need, quickly tells you how to do simple things like turn off parental controls. The second book I'll need is something more complex, when you have a question like, 'how many open web sessions can Vista/Bussiness have' don't expect to find it in this book. Most likely I'll get Windows Vista Inside Out. It will cost at least double, have three times as many pages, and be much harder to find things. Start with this one. With it you can get started quickly and begin to find where your real problems are.