Windows Vista - The Missing Manual

Reviewed by Dr. Eric Flescher

Author: David Pogue O’Reilly - Pogue Press http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596528270/index.html Released: December 27, 2006 Pages: 848 $35 USD, $46 CND ISBN-10: 0596528272 ISBN-13: 978-0596528270 Novice/Intermediate/Advanced   Strengths: Nicely sized screenshots are easy to read. Nice table in introduction highlighting what different versions of Vista does and does not include. Needed information about security starts out in the front of the book. Book covers much that you need or want to know. Can be used as a resource in the future as you work with your computer and Vista. Book is fairly easy to understand. Instead of a CD there is website area you can look at to find updates, errors and additional information. Tip and note sections throughout the text help target additional important information.

Weaknesses: Huge book/ manual will take time to go through. Black and white throughout. Colorizing the book would have made the book nicer to look through instead of a “chore”. Some tutorial sequences but mostly notes and highlights of what to find in Vista. The Introduction section titled “What’s New in Windows Vista” should also have had direct page targeted numbers to instantly tell where in the book these valuable pieces of information can be found. Instead readers have to thumb through the massive text to find the information. This would make searching immediate concerns easier. I am surprised that there were not as many short hand arrow instructional sequences for faster understanding, as there are in many other Missing Manual books.

Introduction

 

The operating system which graces most of the world’s computers is Microsoft Windows. My preference is the Mac OS. However I thought it would be interesting to do a review of Windows latest operating system Vista. With information about Apple’s latest OS (Leopard) and armed with a recent article that named Vista as #10 in its listing of the “10 terrible tech products of all time, “ I was ready to get started. What better way to find out further information about this new “version” of Windows, by delving into a book, Windows Vista: The Missing Manual.

 

This book is written by David Pogue, the New York Times Technology columnist, continues to be the author at the helm of the series of books called “The Missing Manual”. Four major contributors helped write various parts of this book. The words on the front cover of the book say it is “the book that should have been in the box”. For the most part, you can call this the main theme of this series of books. The series books are self help guidebooks for learning how to use software and hardware that come with more then the meager original documentation or manuals. I like some of the series of these themed books. But in many ways this particular one is little different.

 

I already understood that this Windows OS is not just one version. Windows Vista has, more less depending on how you look at it, eight different versions. So difference manuals would not be feasible. These “versions from hell” (pages 6-7), are explained in the words but an even nicer Table of information explains the differences more easily. To many Vista novice users and those who will use the Intel Macs, this is definitely a welcome insight and a good place to start. But does this book also include information about difficulties with incompatibility with hardware, information about clearing security dialogue box warnings and more?

 

Illustrations and additional visual aids are in black and white. This is a drawback but screenshots are of ample size and very readable. Throughout the book, there are helpful ideas in the way of tips, help boxes, notes, and specialties called “gem in rough”. A full 27 chapters work through 7 sections in this book. There are including 2 appendices, cover what you want or should know.

 

The introduction highlights new program features, new explorer Window features. These include "service hardening" which does not allow access to the consequential system files by outsiders/unauthorized users. Other new security elements are the Windows Defender program which is designed to prevent installed spyware, a “phishing” filter within Internet Explorer, drive encryption, parental controls and more. I would have preferred that the section area (pages 2-3) in “What’s New in Windows Vista” (which is the heart of why you should buy Vista) should also have included direct page numbering, targeting instantly and telling you where in the book that this information is. That’s where I wanted to start. Instead I had to go “fishing”, thumbing through the book and searching the index and other areas of the chapter outline.

 

The same was true for the area “New Versions Windows features. However I welcomed the “Version Hell” page that “pulled no sucker punches” showing a nice table immediately highlighting what each Vista version had and did not have. This is a great way to know about Vista when you are starting out.

 

Part 1, “the Vista desktop”, covers the start menu, desktop and welcome center as well as the Taskbar. Organizing files, changing the way you want Vista to look and getting help.

 

Focusing on software, the Part 2 covers quite an abundance of information. Programs, documents, freebie software (including video and more and the control panel). Gadgets are also included here. Apple's widgets are like Vista gadgets and information on these little application have a place here. There is the start menu info, menu tips, how and what ways to look for files, customizing search, dealing with folders, selecting icons and dealing with short -cuts.

 

There is also nice information about compressing files and folders. “Aero or not” is a section that shows how to change the look and feel of icons and more while getting “up to snuff” with those “cool looking icons” stylized by Apple’s OSX (own admission of authors here.) Included are screen saver info, wallpaper, monitor settings.

 

Burning CD/DVDs (2 ways to format) step by step burning monitor settings helps with archiving. “When programs die” (crash / freeze) is insightful. File format drop down menu called "Up to Speed" is a nice note in this area. Export and import/ drag and drop are included.

 

There is even an FAQ when formatting is lost which is good to know. Speech recognition text and speech gem is rough. The cool Sidebars are a series of small innovative programs called gadgets (weather, puzzle, slide show) which sounds much like and act liked Apple’s newer Widget. Freebee software (Internet Explorer, accessories, games and more finish this part along with the control panel (why it landed here I am not sure as it is a big change and should have been included sooner).

 

Part 3 is all about Vista and the Internet. Hooking up to the Internet covers the regular information. The security issues then are highlighted which take up about half of the information in this whole section. IE7 (I stopped using IE and switched to Firefox in 2003) but it is good to know they have tabbed browsers and these are included here. There is a nice section on RSS feeds, tips for better surfing, newsgroup information and mail.

 

Part 4 includes pictures, movies and the Media Center to covers much of Vista’s multimedia functions that has taken “a back seat” to Apple’s multimedia suite of software iLife. Here is added help for burning CD/DVDs (2 ways to format) step by step burning monitor settings and even remote assistance with novice to expert advice which well done. There is even a comparisons of media applications, Apple’s iTunes and Microsoft's Zune.

 

Part 5 focus is upon hardware and peripherals. Printing, hardware information, driver setup and device manager along with laptop, table PC, working with Windows mobile devices and synching (the linking ) with mobile devices and off-line files round out the final parts.

 

I was interested in knowing if there was information related on Macintosh. I checked in the index and found several instances on four pages related to networking, Mac services, remote desktop and sharing files and folders.

 

Part 6 is the PC health covers troubleshooting and PC troublers. Troubleshooting, maintenance and problem solving are covered and is most helpful. But starting on page 614, there is lightly worded “Windows Update” page that really says more then the title. Vista finds patches and better “drivers” that are most helpful for providing more security and installs them. But what I found most interesting (page 617) is where the book states, “Microsoft hates when people choose anything but the first option because it leaves you potentially open to security holes”. While Microsoft handles the approach in a “my way or the highway manner”, the book nicely states otherwise and explains fresh options.

 

Part 7 includes the Vista Network. Particularly helpful is information about the architecture (separate users). A clear understanding of using workgroup and domain networks can and does really help out about these areas.

 

In Part 8, the Appendices are covered. Here is installing Vista while Appendix B includes fun with the mysterious registry which many avoid ). Appendix C, “Where’d it go” covers a brief listing n of what's missing in Vista from past Windows operating systems.

 

Appendix D displays the master keyboard shortcut lists and is really valuable for future working with the various parts of Vista.

 

Conclusions

 

While reviewing this book, I wanted to heed my own personal warning to review without indicting the Operating System itself. It was difficult not to compare Vista with the Mac OS Tiger and the new Leopard. This review gave me an insight into the past Windows XP and whether it was worth it, considering the many years it took to be created. Windows had to be revamped to keep up with the current state of browsing, operating systems and most of all security issues. And that includes some comparison to the Macintosh operating system.

 

Vista is blotted, like this book, but it has to be “thick” to cover all the parts of the operation system. Like Vista, the book does the job for many who want to go beyond Windows XP. The operating system has done what it can to catch up with some of the innovations already on Apple OS X. And it has done its best to add some different “goodies” that the public is looking for and wants. The book covers the operating system in a very comprehensive fashion. In many ways this book is like Vista itself- it’s not flashy, eyepoppingly intuitive.

 

The book for the most part is easy to understand but I was surprised that there were not more tutorial sections. There are some cosmetic touches to the book with chapter numbering and titles on the bottom. Blue titles on the top of the pages display the main topic on each page which make searching and finding in the text helpful.

 

This Missing Manual book is possibly good resource for beginning your time with Vista and working with it in the future. It certainly opened my eyes towards understanding what is in Vista. This Missing Manual book is not “colorful” in terms of “opening my eyes” to new technological wonders. The book covers much that you need or might need to know about the different Vista versions. It’s a necessity to know which one you want for your needs and why.

 

While it may be valuable resource for knowing about all the new features, upgrades and revamped parts of the operating system, some tutorials you may need to actually use parts of the operating system, may be lacking. More tutorial type sequenced instructions with actually using Vista instead of displaying the information about the operating system would have been good. These notes, tips and how the information displayed in the text still give me the view and understanding of how Vista is “a piecemeal approach and not the” sum of the whole”. The way the book is written makes me feel this way too.

 

While I continue to use Windows XP at my school, I am aware many PC users are still using XP and not upgrading, for a variety of reasons. When and how the next major upgrade takes place for Vista, no one knows. Until that time, you can either go back to Windows XP and use that until then or work with Vista. If Vista is the operating system you want, then this book is a good resource. But you still might have to hunt around to find out how to use some parts of the operating system and its parts due to limited tutorials. If you need more information on how to use various parts of Vista, another book may better.