- Publisher: O'Reilly
- ISBN: 9781596806392
- Price: £30.99 (UK) $39.99 (US) Recommended
Price
- Available From:
O'Reilly Media
Book Cover reproduced with
kind permission of O'Reilly Media, Inc
The Windows operating system is becoming so
complex nowadays that most authors have to write a
massive tome in order to convey all the relevant
information to the would-be reader.
Gone are the days of the 100 or so page user
guide supplied with your PC on purchase; instead we
now enter the sub 1000 page, gigantic source, of all
imaginable information.
As a follow on from Progue's Windows Vista for
Starters - the missing manual, which I reviewed a
few years ago (see
Windows Vista for Starters - the missing manual
), Progue's latest book, Windows 7 - the missing
manual doesn't disappoint. In fact at 854 pages,
excluding the index, you'll need plenty of time to
read and digest every word of the book's contents.
When I reviewed Progue's first missing manual
book for Windows Vista I wasn't overly impressed.
The book appeared to be hastily put together and it
contained numerous errors which should have been
picked up at the proof reading stage.
The publisher's blurb of the Windows Vista for
starters -the missing manual extolled the book as
being "warm and witty," a statement that even today
I find hard to believe. Okay, British and American
humour differs considerably, but some of the
supposed witty remarks simply made me cringe.
Strangely the publisher's blurb for Windows 7 -
the missing manual boasts that Progue's new book is
funny. A different play on words, maybe, but sadly
even funny doesn't begin to describe the book; but
now I am being too picky and that isn't the aim of
this review.
My impression of Windows 7 - the missing manual,
however, is completely different to Progue's
previous attempt at a 'missing manual.' Windows 7 -
the missing manual justly deserves its Manual status
even though a large proportion of the book is simply
a clone of Progue's Windows Vista for starters - the
missing manual (obviously with many of the previous
mistakes corrected) with additional pages added to
cover Windows 7's features.
Comprising eight main sections:
- The Windows 7 Desktop
- Windows 7 Software
- Windows 7 Online
- Pictures, Music, & TV
- Hardware & Peripherals
- PC Health
- Networking & Homegroups
- Appendices, comprising Installing and
Upgrading Windows 7; Fun with the Registry;
Where'd it go and The master keyboard shortcut
list.
Windows 7 - the missing manual covers just about
every aspect of the Windows 7 operating system.
Targetted primarily at the beginner/intermediate
user any advanced user picking up the book would be
sorely disappointed. Even so Windows 7 - the missing
manual does make interesting reading to any
beginner/intermediate user and one cannot dispute
that Progue certainly does have a way with words
when it comes to explaining and getting his point
across.
Verdict
I found Windows 7 - the missing manual a really
good read, with the author offering sound advice as
well as explaining the intricacies of the operating
system remarkably well. However, because of its
subject matter, the book is more suitable for
dipping in and out of rather than attempting to read
it from cover to cover.
My only bone of contention with Windows 7 - the
missing manual is the fact that it is double the
price of Progue's Windows Vista for starters - the
missing manual and well over half of the book is an
exact replica of Progue's Windows Vista book.
I agree that Windows 7, to coin a phrase, is
simply Windows Vista with an additional service
pack, but I would much rather have read a slimmed
down book containing all that was new in Windows 7
than have to re-read page after page of text I read
back in 2007 before coming to the part of the book I
was more interested in, Windows 7. Having said that,
if you haven't read Progue's Windows Vista - the
missing manual then his latest book, Windows 7 - the
missing manual is well worth the investment.
Rating
- Ease of Use: 9.0
- Features: 9.0
- Value for Money: 8.0
- Overall: 8.0