Der er en gammel joke, der lyder: Hvordan spiser man en elefant? En bid ad gangen^{(One bite at a time)} . For mange mennesker er det virkelig elefanten i rummet at oprette et hjemmenetværk. Det er ikke nær så svært, som det plejede at være, når du skulle købe ekstra software og hardware og lære en masse mystiske nye kommandoer, før du overhovedet kunne prøve det, men det er stadig vanskeligt nok til, at mange mennesker skal guides gennem behandle en "bid" ad gangen. Og hvad kan enhver med en computer uden et netværk i disse dage?

Trin for trin: konceptet

Jeg har altid været fan af velskrevne bøger, der ikke går ud fra, at læseren allerede ved meget om emnet, og som ikke antager, at noget er for trivielt til at besvære at forklare. Da den grundige, udtømmende trykte softwaremanual hører fortiden til, har Microsoft Press udfyldt hullet ved at udgive en række trin for ^(Step)trin^(Step) - bøger, der fungerer som lyse, rigt illustrerede primere for næsten alt, hvad Windows - brugere behøver at vide om næsten alt. involveret i at bruge Windows . Trin for trin: Netværk dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)}følger i sine forgængeres fodspor. Det antager, at læseren forstår det grundlæggende i computerbehandling og allerede har konfigureret Windows 7 - men hvis ikke, giver det nyttige ressourcer til folk, der ikke er nået så langt endnu, lige fra start. Ligesom med de andre Step By Step -guider findes der også en online-udgave af bogen. Dette er gratis og værd at tjekke ud. Og som med den anden Step By Stepvejledninger, kan bogen læses i vilkårlig rækkefølge, da kapitlerne er selvstændige. Jeg synes, at dette er en af ​​de mest nyttige funktioner ved bøgerne i denne serie, fordi min måde at komme videre fra det enkle til det komplekse ikke altid hænger sammen med trinene i bøgerne. Jeg vil tale om bogen som skrevet, og kort forklare, hvordan jeg ville have omarrangeret den til sidst.

Trin for trin: Netværk Dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} tager læseren et trin ad gangen ved at installere hardware, konfigurere den, indstille brugerkonti, oprette et netværk, oprette forbindelse til netværket, dele filer og enheder, mediestreaming, deling med andre operativsystemer og sikkerhed. Hvert trin er grundigt forklaret med eksempler fra den virkelige verden. Hvert trin er også tydeligt illustreret, så læseren kan se, hvad der kommer til at dukke op på skærmen. Jeg kan især godt lide denne tilgang. Det er altid godt at vide, hvad du har at gøre med.

Beskæftiger sig med din hardware

Hardwarekapitlet begynder ganske korrekt med at understrege, at korrekte drivere til alle enheder er absolut nødvendige. Det fortsætter derefter med at beskrive Device Stage i detaljer. Jeg er en relativ nybegynder til Windows 7 , og jeg anede ikke, at der var sådan noget som Device Stage . Det er overflødigt at sige, at jeg fandt denne sektion meget lærerig - især bemærkningen om, at den ikke hedder Device Stage på Windows 7 -skærmen, og du skal faktisk klikke på genvejen Devices and Printers på Start-menuen^{(Start Menu)} for at komme til den. Enhedstrin^{(Device Stage)}viser dig alle dine eksterne enheder med alle de tilgængelige konfigurationsmuligheder. Det er en yderst nyttig funktion, og jeg havde ikke engang set den nævnt i en Windows 7 - bog før. Konfiguration af en router er en ret kompleks procedure, og det er meget nemmere at gøre, hvis du starter med en grundlæggende forståelse af, hvad det er, du laver. Trin for trin: Netværk Dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} begynder med en generisk beskrivelse af routeropsætning, inklusive de nyttige råd til at tale med din internetudbyder for at sikre, at du har de indstillinger, de kræver, og bruger derefter opsætningen til en Belkin N+ og en D- Link DIR-615for at illustrere den slags ting, du sandsynligvis vil møde, når du konfigurerer din egen router. Bogen understreger vigtigheden af ​​at læse brugermanualen til den router, du køber, som den skal. Dette er et tilfælde, hvor du simpelthen ikke kan smide dokumentationen væk og vinge den på egen hånd. Jeg ville gerne have set en lidt længere beskrivelse af de forskellige former for trådløs sikkerhed i dette afsnit, og fordele og ulemper ved at få din router til at udsende dens SSID .

Windows 7s bedste funktioner, forklaret

Det næste kapitel omhandler brugerkonti, med en god forklaring på, hvad de er, hvorfor du har brug for dem, hvad de gør, og hvordan du opsætter dem. Det giver også den bedste forklaring, jeg har set, på, hvorfor en gæstekonto^(Guest) kan være meget nyttig - til at lade andre personer tjekke deres e-mail og så videre uden at ødelægge den primære computerbrugers indstillinger. Jeg ville ønske, at det var faldet mig ind, før jeg lod min bror tjekke alle de websteder med min computer. Der er også instruktioner til, hvordan du konfigurerer Windows 7 til automatisk at logge dig ind på din egen konto, hvilket er noget, de fleste vil finde næsten vigtigt. Dernæst er et kapitel om biblioteker^(Libraries) . Da dette er en ny funktion i Windows 7, og da dette er et af de begreber, der umiddelbart ser ud til at være komplekst, men som faktisk ikke er det, er den klare forklaring værd at læse. Biblioteker gør det nemmere at administrere dine data, fordi du kan opbevare filerne i separate mapper og stadig have dem grupperet og organiseret i virtuelle mapper til nem reference, med et indeks, der viser dig, hvad der er hvor. Dette er en funktion, jeg ofte brugte i det sene, beklagede DOS -program Lotus Magellan , og jeg er meget glad for at se den genoplivet endelig i Windows 7 . Trin for trin: Netværk dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} tager læseren gennem en generel forklaring af biblioteker^(Libraries) , efterfulgt af alle de nødvendige trin for at se på bibliotekerne^(Libraries) indbygget iWindows 7 , skift eller tilpas dem til dine egne anvendelser, opret nye biblioteker^(Libraries) , tilføj eller slet mapper, konfigurer, sorter og slet dem. Afsnittet kaldet "Redigering af et biblioteks egenskaber"^{("Editing the Properties of a Library")} er især nyttigt, da det virkelig sætter læseren på den rigtige vej til at få filer og mapper til at gå, hvor de skal hen. Og det er betryggende at få at vide, at sletning af et bibliotek^(Library) ikke gør noget ved de filer eller mapper, der var i det.

Kablet og trådløst

Så går bogen videre til netværks- og delingscenteret^{(Network and Sharing Center)} , og igen er dette et afsnit, hvor den trinvise beskrivelse og illustrationerne helt sikkert gør en kompleks proces meget lettere. Konfiguration^{(Configuring)} og tilslutning af netværksadaptere kan være enormt frustrerende for nybegynderen, og trådløst netværk er endnu mere udfordrende, når du først starter. Jeg tror, ​​jeg ville have lagt advarslen om, at hvis du ikke er tryg ved at fifle med IP, DNSog så videre, lad alt være som det er, og lad være med at rode med disse indstillinger i begyndelsen af ​​dette afsnit, fordi det er så nemt at rode tingene fuldstændig sammen, hvis du klikker på ting, du ikke helt forstår. Dette er erfaringens stemme, der taler her! Afsnittet om trådløst netværk guider læseren gennem processen med at oprette forbindelse for første gang. Det er rettet mod at forbinde en bærbar computer til et trådløst netværk, med passende advarsler om tilslutning på offentlige steder. Jeg tror, ​​jeg ville have tilføjet en advarselsmeddelelse om, at hvis der er mange trådløse netværk, der dukker op på din liste, skal du være meget sikker på, at du ved, hvad dit trådløse adgangspunkt hedder, så du ikke bliver skør af at prøve at oprette forbindelse til netværket ved siden af. Næste der'SSID (netværks-id). Du er mere tilbøjelig til at støde på dette, hvis du har oprettet din egen trådløse hjemmeforbindelse til ikke at udsende, så afsnittet starter med passende instruktioner for at sikre, at du ved, hvad dit netværks-id er, og for at skrive disse oplysninger ned for at være sikker på at du har det, når du er klar til at oprette forbindelse. Jeg ville have tilføjet en advarsel om at opbevare den information et sikkert sted bagefter. Der er ingen mening med at opsætte sikkerhedsforanstaltninger, hvis nogen, der får fat i din computer, ser al den information tapet på låget. Der er et afsnit om eksport og import af sikkerhedsnøglen senere i kapitlet, som bør kræves læsning. Jeg har ikke brugt Ad Hoc- netværk, selvom jeg ved, hvordan det fungerer, så jeg vidste ikke, at det kunne bruges til at dele et internetforbindelse mellem to computere. (Der er sandhed i ordsproget, at vi lærer noget nyt hver dag!) Afsnittet om Ad Hoc giver masser af detaljer og illustrationer og skal gøre det nemt at konfigurere Ad Hoc med så mange computere, som du ønsker. Jeg fandt også afsnittet om netværksplacering^{(Network Location)} meget nyttigt. At være i stand til at oprette forskellige profiler for forskellige almindeligt anvendte netværk er afgørende i disse dage, hvor så mange af os har bærbare computere, der rejser fra arbejde til hjem til offentlige adgangspunkter og forbindelser på hoteller, mens vi rejser. Hver profil har sine egne sikkerhedsindstillinger, og du kan vælge mellem Hjem, Arbejde^{(Home, Work,)} og Offentlig^(Public)der burde tage sig af næsten enhver situation. Det fjerner helt sikkert meget af det arbejde, vi havde at gøre med tidligere versioner af Windows og trådløst netværk flere steder.

Arbejde, Hjem, hvad er din gruppe?

De fleste af os har beskæftiget os med arbejdsgrupper før, men afsnittet om Arbejdsgrupper^(Workgroups) fungerer som en meget nyttig reference og understreger vigtigheden af ​​at have alle computere i den samme arbejdsgruppe^(Workgroup) , hvis de bruger forskellige operativsystemer. De næste to afsnit giver kortfattede, grundigt illustrerede forklaringer af deling og hjemmegrupper^(Homegroups) , og viser læseren, hvordan man ændrer indstillingerne og opretter en hjemmegruppe^(Homegroup) , som alle gør netværk meget mere nyttigt. Igen^(Again) gør dette trin for trin: netværk dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} til en værdifuld opslagsbog at have ved hånden. Da en af ​​de største fordele ved et netværk er muligheden for at dele filer, mapper og enheder, er afsnittene om deling et must-read.Windows 7 inkluderer en delingsguide, der sætter næsten alt op for dig, men jeg tror tilfældigvis, at automatiserede guider fungerer bedre, hvis du ved, hvad du laver, før du fortæller dem at gå videre. Bogen lever op til titlen ved at tage læseren trin for trin gennem alle de forskellige måder, data og enheder kan deles på, startende med mapper og biblioteker^(Libraries) . Først^(First) er der en god forklaring på det grundlæggende i mappe- og biblioteksdeling^(Library) og brugen af ​​den offentlige^(Public) mappe, og derefter, med udgangspunkt i dette grundlag, går bogen videre med at forklare avanceret deling (og forskellene mellem grundlæggende og avanceret deling), kortlægning af netværk mapper og FTPservere. Den gennemsnitlige computerbruger har måske ikke hørt om kortlægning før, og dette vil tjene som en glimrende introduktion til konceptet og de involverede processer. Det næste afsnit omhandler delingsenheder. Mange^(Many) af os har delt en printer på et netværk, så den del vil nok være bekendt. Bluetooth -forbindelser og deling af mobiltelefoner var ret besværlige i dagene før Windows 7 , så disse processer er måske mindre velkendte, og det er godt at have en grundig forklaring på, hvordan det hele fungerer, startende med enten telefonen eller computeren.

Spil det igen, Sam , på den anden computer

Så er det videre til det grundlæggende i streaming af medier gennem dit hjemmenetværk og over internettet^(Internet) , ved hjælp af (selvfølgelig) Windows Media Player 12 . Microsoft har opdateret Media Player til Windows 7 , og den nyeste version er nemmere at bruge og har endnu flere funktioner end før. Trin for trin vil du se, hvordan du opsætter Media Player , tilføjer medier, laver afspilningslister og deler dine medier med andre computere på dit netværk. Jeg var interesseret i at se, at det også er muligt at streame dine medier over internettet^(Internet) , hvis du har et Windows Live ID (der er komplette, illustrerede instruktioner til opsætning af ID og deling af medier).

Få andre OS'er til at samarbejde

Mange menneskers hjemmenetværk inkluderer computere, der kører forskellige versioner af Windows eller Windows plus andre operativsystemer som Mac OS X eller Linux . Trin for trin: Netværk Dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} bruger sin første halvdel til at beskrive og forklare problemer, der involverer Windows 7 alene. Derefter kommer tre ekstremt detaljerede kapitler, der forklarer, hvordan man netværker en Windows 7 -computer med først andre versioner af Windows og derefter Mac OS X og Ubuntu Linux . I vores hus har vi Windows 7 , Windows XP Professional og Mac OS X Tiger, og jeg er helt enig i, at det, som bogen siger, ikke er så nemt at få de forskellige computere til at fungere sammen over netværket, især med de forskellige versioner af Windows . Hvert afsnit er illustreret med skærmbilleder fra en computer, der kører operativsystemet under diskussion, som, udover deres værdi som illustrationer, viser forskellene mellem Windows^{(Windows 7)} 7s visuelle effekter og dem fra dets umiddelbare forgængere. Jeg fandt det ret sigende, at den længste how-to-forklaring handlede om netværk Windows XP . Det virker mærkeligt, at Microsoft ikke byggede en smule mere Windows XP- kompatibilitet ind i Windows 7. Vi har stadig nogle dvælende problemer med vores hjemmenetværk, og forklaringen i Trin for trin: Netværk Dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} hjalp mig med at pege mig i den rigtige retning (et spørgsmål om at justere nogle få Windows XP Professional - indstillinger). Vi havde kun en Windows Vista -computer i kort tid, men jeg kan huske, hvor svært det var at få den til at "spille godt" med Windows XP Professional -computerne. Det ville have været godt at have en bog som denne ved hånden for at rette op på det hele. Afsnittet om Mac OS X er ligetil og anerkender, at det er nemmere at netværke Mac'er^(Macs) med Windows 7 , end det var med tidligere Windowsversioner. I vores hus har vi fundet ud af, at dette er helt rigtigt. Vores Ubuntu Linux -computer opgav spøgelsen for et par måneder siden, så jeg havde ingen chance for at tjekke instruktionerne, men jeg er sikker på, at dette afsnit er lige så komplet og præcist som de andre.

Trygt og sikkert, endelig

Gem det bedste til sidst, Trin for trin: Netværk dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} indeholder en af ​​de mest grundige, bedst skrevne og bedst illustrerede diskussioner om sikkerhed, jeg nogensinde har set. Jeg var en af ​​de mennesker, der blev drevet narret af Windows Vistas ^{(Windows Vista)}brugerkontokontrol^{(User Account Control)} , til det punkt, hvor jeg endelig bare lukkede den ned. Windows 7 har gjort et meget bedre stykke arbejde med den funktion, og nu lærer vi, hvorfor det er vigtigt, og hvordan man forhindrer det i at irritere dig, mens det gør sit arbejde. Hurra! Der er lige så grundige afsnit, der forklarer Windows Update , Windows Defender og Windows Firewall , som alle er vigtige for at holde computere sikre. Jeg havde ikke klart forstået rollen somWindows Firewall før jeg så forklaringen her. Jeg er sikker på, at mange mennesker ikke helt forstår begrebet "tilladte programmer" i Windows Firewall , så den omhyggelige forklaring her kan gå langt hen imod brugeruddannelse. Jeg var også glad for at læse om Action Center , især delen om at konfigurere det til kun at vise de beskeder, du vil se. Der er også et afsnit, der forklarer forældrekontrol^{(Parental Controls)} . Indstilling af internetrestriktioner er afgørende, når små børn bruger en hjemmecomputer, og jeg ville bestemt gerne have haft tidsbegrænsninger og spilrestriktioner tilbage i de dage, hvor mine børn havde "diskussioner" med mig om de relative fordele ved lektier og computertid. Bogen afsluttes med et godt, solidt afsnit om fejlfinding af netværksproblemer, herunder en nyttig liste over weblinks, hvor der kan findes mere hjælp.

Hvad jeg ville gøre anderledes

Jeg skynder mig at sige, at jeg absolut ikke mener denne del af anmeldelsen som en kritik af Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices . Det er en fremragende, letforståelig ressource, præcis som den er. Jeg ville dog have sat afsnittene i nogle kapitler i en anden rækkefølge, og jeg ville have arrangeret kapitlerne anderledes. (Som sagt er det rigtig gode ved Step By Step -serien, at kapitlerne er selvstændige og kan læses i vilkårlig rækkefølge.) I det første kapitel skal trinene være i en anden rækkefølge. Sikkerhed^(Security)skulle komme umiddelbart efter opsætning af netværket og konfiguration af konti. Når netværket er sikkert, skal du håndtere alt andet. Jeg er bekymret for sikkerheden, fordi jeg kan se mange af mine naboers trådløse netværk, hvoraf nogle stadig ikke er sikret, og jeg har været i lejlighedsbygninger, hvor situationen er endnu værre. De kapitler, der omhandler hardware, brugerkonti, oprettelse af netværket og netværksdeling, burde have været grupperet sammen. Jeg ville også have lagt kapitlet om sikkerhed^(Security) umiddelbart efter kapitlerne om opsætning, så folk forstår, hvordan de kan gøre deres nyoprettede netværk sikkert lige fra starten. Mange mennesker vil opgradere til Windows 7 fra Windows Vista, og de skal vide om de store forbedringer i grænsefladen, hvad angår sikkerhed. Jeg ville gerne have set kapitlet om Biblioteker flyttet til senere i bogen, så kapitlerne, der handler om oprettelse af netværket, tilpasning af netværksindstillinger og Hjemmegruppen^(Homegroup) , ville følge kapitlet om brugerkonti. Der er et senere kapitel, der omhandler deling af biblioteker på tværs af et netværk. Jeg ville gerne have set de to kapitler ved siden af ​​hinanden i bogen, fordi det forekommer mig logisk at gå videre fra definitionen af ​​biblioteker til de mange måder, biblioteker kan deles og manipuleres på i Windows 7. Kapitlerne om at netværke andre operativsystemer burde være kommet forud for streamingmedier, for det er meget nemmere at dele dine data, hvis alle dine computere er lykkeligt forbundet.

Dom

Trin for trin: Netværk Dine computere og enheder^{(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)} bør udgøre rygraden i enhver husstands referencebibliotek. Informationen er nem at finde og let at forstå, og skærmbillederne på hver side er et klart plus. At tage komplekse koncepter et skridt ad gangen er den bedste måde at sikre succes på, og denne bog lever op til sit løfte.

Book Review - Network Your Computers & Devices, Step By Step

There's an old joke that goes: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. For many people, setting up a home network is truly the elephant in the room. It's nowhere near as difficult as it used to be, when you had to buy extra software and hardware and learn a lot of arcane new commands before you could attempt it at all, but it's still tricky enough that many people need to be guided through the process one "bite" at a time. And what can anyone with a computer do without a network these days?

Step by Step: the Concept

I have always been a fan of well-written books that don't assume the reader already knows a lot about the subject at hand, and don't assume that anything is too trivial to bother explaining. Since the thorough, exhaustive printed software manual is a thing of the past, Microsoft Press has filled in the gap by publishing a series of Step By Step books that serve as bright, profusely illustrated primers for nearly everything Windows users need to know about nearly everything involved in using Windows. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. It does assume the reader understands the basics of computing and has set up Windows 7 already--but if not, it provides helpful resources for people who haven't gotten that far yet, right off the bat. As with the other Step By Step guides, there is also an online edition of the book. This is free and well worth checking out. And, as with the other Step By Step guides, the book can be read in any order, since the chapters are self-contained. I find this one of the most useful features of the books in this series, because my way of progressing from the simple to the complex doesn't always mesh with the steps in the books. I'll talk about the book as written, and briefly explain how I would have rearranged it at the end.

Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices takes the reader one step at a time through installing hardware, configuring it, setting user accounts, creating a network, connecting to the network, sharing files and devices, media streaming, sharing with other operating systems, and security. Each step is thoroughly explained, with real-world examples. Each step is also clearly illustrated, so the reader can see what's going to appear on the screen. I particularly like this approach. It's always good to know what you'll be dealing with.

Dealing with your hardware

The hardware chapter begins quite properly by stressing that proper drivers for all devices are absolutely essential. It then goes on to describe Device Stage in detail. I am a relative newcomer to Windows 7, and I had no idea there was such a thing as Device Stage. Needless to say, I found this section very educational--especially the note that it's not called Device Stage on the Windows 7 screen and you actually have to click on the Devices and Printers shortcut on the Start Menu to get at it. Device Stage shows you all your external peripherals, with all the available configuration options. It's an extremely useful feature and I had not even seen it mentioned in a Windows 7 book before. Configuring a router is a fairly complex procedure, and it's a lot easier to do if you start with a basic understanding of what it is you're doing. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices begins with a generic description of router setup, including the helpful advice to talk with your ISP to make sure you have the settings they require, and then uses the setup for a Belkin N+ and a D-Link DIR-615 to illustrate the kinds of things you'll likely face when you configure your own router. The book stresses the importance of reading the user manual for whichever router you buy, as it should. This is one instance where you simply cannot throw the documentation away and wing it on your own. I would have liked to see a bit lengthier description of the various kinds of wireless security in this section, and the advantages and disadvantages of having your router broadcast its SSID.

Windows 7's best features, explained

The next chapter deals with user accounts, with a good explanation of what they are, why you need them, what they do and how to set them up. It also gives the best explanation I've seen of why a Guest account can be very useful--for letting other people check their email and so forth without messing up the primary computer user's settings. I wish that had occurred to me before I let my brother check all those web sites with my computer. There's also instructions for how to set up Windows 7 to log you into your own account automatically, which is something most people will find almost essential. Next up is a chapter on Libraries. Since this is a new feature in Windows 7, and since this is one of those concepts that appears at first to be complex but actually isn't, the clear explanation is well worth reading. Libraries make managing your data easier, because you can keep the files in separate folders and still have them grouped together and organized in virtual folders for easy reference, with an index to show you what's where. This is a feature I used often in the late, lamented DOS program Lotus Magellan, and I'm very happy to see it revived, finally, in Windows 7. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices takes the reader through a general explanation of Libraries, followed by all the necessary steps to look at the Libraries built into Windows 7, change or adapt those to your own uses, create new Libraries, add or delete folders, configure, sort and delete them. The section called "Editing the Properties of a Library" is especially useful, since it really sets the reader on the right path to getting files and folders to go where they're supposed to go. And it's reassuring to be told that deleting a Library doesn't do anything to the files or folders that were in it.

Wired and wireless

Then the book moves on to the Network and Sharing Center, and again, this is one section where the step-by-step description and the illustrations definitely make a complex process much easier. Configuring and connecting network adapters can be tremendously frustrating for the newcomer, and wireless networking is even more challenging when you're first starting out. I think I would have put the warning that if you're not comfortable fiddling with IP, DNS and so forth, leave everything as it is and don't mess with those settings, at the beginning of this section, because it's so easy to mess things up completely if you click on things you don't fully understand. This is the voice of experience speaking here! The section on wireless networking guides the reader through the process of connecting for the first time. It's geared toward connecting a laptop to a wireless network, with appropriate cautions about connecting in public places. I think I would have added a cautionary message that if there are a lot of wireless networks showing up on your list, you need to be very sure that you know what your wireless access point is called so you don't drive yourself crazy trying to connect to the network next door. Next there's a useful section on connecting to a wireless network that doesn't broadcast its SSID (network ID). You're more likely to encounter this if you've set up your own home wireless connection not to broadcast, so the section starts out with appropriate instructions to make sure you know what your network ID is, and to write that information down to be sure you have it when you are ready to connect. I would have added a warning to put that information away in a safe place afterwards. There's no sense setting up security measures if anyone who gets hold of your computer sees all that information taped to the lid. There's a section on exporting and importing the security key later in the chapter that should be required reading. I have not used Ad Hoc networking, although I do know how it works, so I didn't know that it could be used to share an Internet connection between two computers. (There's truth to the saying that we learn something new every day!) The section on Ad Hoc gives plenty of details and illustrations and should make it easy to set up Ad Hoc with as many computers as you wish. I found the section on Network Location very useful as well. Being able to set up different profiles for different commonly-used networks is essential these days, when so many of us have laptop computers that travel from work to home to public access points and connections in hotels while we're traveling. Each profile has its own security settings and you have a choice of Home, Work, and Public that should take care of almost any situation. It sure cuts out a lot of the work that we had to do with previous versions of Windows and wireless networking in multiple locations.

Work, Home, what's your group?

Most of us have dealt with workgroups before, but the section on Workgroups serves as a very useful reference, and stresses the importance of having all computers in the same Workgroup if they use different operating systems. The next two sections give concise, thoroughly illustrated explanations of sharing and Homegroups, showing the reader how to change the settings and create a Homegroup, all of which make networking much more useful. Again, this makes Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices a valuable reference book to keep on hand. Since one of the major advantages of a network is the ability to share files, folders, and devices, the sections on sharing are a must-read. Windows 7 includes a sharing wizard that will set almost anything up for you, but I happen to think that automated wizards work better if you know what you're doing before you tell them to go ahead. The book lives up to its title by taking the reader step by step through all the various ways data and devices can be shared, starting with folders and Libraries. First there's a good explanation of the basics of folder and Library sharing and the use of the Public folder, and then, building on that foundation, the book moves on to explain advanced sharing (and the differences between basic and advanced sharing), mapping network folders and FTP servers. The average computer user might not have heard of mapping before, and this will serve as an excellent introduction to the concept and the processes involved. The next section deals with sharing devices. Many of us have shared a printer on a network, so that part will probably be familiar. Bluetooth connections and mobile-phone sharing were pretty fiddly in the days before Windows 7, so these processes may be less familiar, and it's good to have a thorough explanation of how it all works, starting with either the phone or the computer.

Play it again, Sam, on that other computer

Then it's on to the basics of streaming media through your home network and over the Internet, using (of course) Windows Media Player 12. Microsoft has updated Media Player for Windows 7, and the newest version is easier to use and has even more features than before. Step by step, you'll see how to set up Media Player, add media, make playlists, and share your media with other computers on your network. I was interested to see that it's possible to stream your media across the Internet as well, if you have a Windows Live ID (there are complete, illustrated instructions for setting up the ID and sharing the media).

Getting other OS's to cooperate

Many people's home networks include computers running different versions of Windows, or Windows plus other operating systems like Mac OS X or Linux. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices uses its first half describing and explaining issues involving Windows 7 alone. Then come three extremely detailed chapters that explain how to network a Windows 7 computer with, first, other versions of Windows, and then Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux. In our house we have Windows 7, Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X Tiger, and I definitely agree that making those different computers work smoothly together over the network is, as the book says, not as easy as it should be, especially with the various versions of Windows. Each section is illustrated with screenshots from a computer running the operating system under discussion, which, besides their value as illustrations, showcases the differences between Windows 7's visual effects and those of its immediate predecessors. I found it quite telling that the longest how-to explanation dealt with networking Windows XP. It seems odd that Microsoft didn't build a bit more Windows XP compatibility into Windows 7. We still have some lingering issues with our home network and the explanation in Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices helped point me in the right direction (a matter of tweaking a few Windows XP Professional settings). We only had a Windows Vista computer for a short time, but I remember how difficult it was to get it to "play nice" with the Windows XP Professional computers. It would have been good to have a book like this on hand to straighten all that out. The section on Mac OS X is straightforward and acknowledges that it's easier to network Macs with Windows 7 than it was with previous Windows versions. In our house we have found this to be quite true. Our Ubuntu Linux computer gave up the ghost a few months back so I had no chance to check out the instructions, but I am certain this section is just as complete and accurate as the others.

Safe and secure, at last

Saving the best for last, Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices contains one of the most thorough, best-written, best-illustrated discussions on security that I've ever seen. I was one of those people who were driven bonkers by Windows Vista's User Account Control, to the point where I finally just shut it down. Windows 7 has done a much better job with that feature, and now we learn why it's important and how to keep it from annoying you while it does its job. Hooray! There are equally thorough sections that explain Windows Update, Windows Defender, and Windows Firewall, all of which are essential for keeping computers secure. I had not clearly understood the role of Windows Firewall before I saw the explanation here. I am sure many people don't fully understand the concept of "allowed programs" in the Windows Firewall, so the careful explanation here can go a long way toward user education. I was also glad to read about the Action Center, especially the part about configuring it to show only the messages you want to see. There's also a section that explains Parental Controls. Setting Internet restrictions is essential when young children are using a home computer, and I certainly would have liked to have had time limits and game restrictions back in the days when my children were having "discussions" with me about the relative merits of homework and computer time. The book concludes with a good, solid section on troubleshooting networking problems, including a useful list of web links where more help can be found.

What I'd do differently

I hasten to say that I absolutely do not mean this section of the review as a criticism of Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices. It's an excellent, easy-to-understand resource just the way it is. I would, however, have put the sections in some chapters in a different order, and I would have arranged the chapters themselves differently. (As I said, the really good thing about the Step By Step series is that the chapters are self-contained and can be read in any order.) In the first chapter, the steps should be in a different order. Security should come immediately after setting up the network and configuring the accounts. Once the network is secure, then deal with everything else. I'm concerned about security because I can see many of my neighbors' wireless networks, some of which are still not secured, and I've been in apartment buildings where the situation is even worse. The chapters dealing with hardware, user accounts, creating the network and network sharing should have been grouped together. I would also have put the chapter on Security immediately following the chapters dealing with setup, so people understand how to make their newly-created network secure right from the get-go. Many people will upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, and they'll need to know about the major improvements in the interface where security is concerned. I would have liked to see the chapter on Libraries moved to later in the book, so that the chapters that deal with creating the network, customizing network settings, and the Homegroup would follow the chapter on user accounts. There is a later chapter that deals with sharing Libraries across a network. I would have liked to see those two chapters next to each other in the book, because it seems logical to me to progress from the definition of Libraries to the many ways Libraries can be shared and manipulated in Windows 7. The chapters on networking other operating systems should have come ahead of streaming media, because it's a lot easier to share your data if all your computers are happily connected.

Verdict

Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices should form the backbone of any household's reference library. The information is easy to find and easy to understand, and the screenshots on each page are a definite plus. Taking complex concepts one step at a time is the best way to insure success, and this book lives up to its promise.

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