Er^(Are) du lige begyndt med Windows 7 efter at have brugt en anden version af Windows ? Kunne du tænke dig en kompakt bog, der er større indvendigt end udvendigt, og som forklarer næsten alt, hvad en person, der møder Windows 7 for første gang, behøver at vide, uden at tale ned til dig? Kan du lide bøger, der går i detaljer nok om alt det grundlæggende og illustrerer alt, hvad de viser dig? Hvis svaret er ja på alle disse spørgsmål, så er denne bog noget for dig.

Op, op og væk

Afsløring:^{(Disclosure:)} Jeg troede ikke, jeg ville kunne lide denne bog. Jeg foretrækker computerbøger, der forklarer tingene for mig i detaljer med masser af illustrationer, så jeg ved, hvad jeg kommer til at se, før jeg selv slår til, og jeg troede ikke, at en så kompakt bog ville være i stand til job. Jeg er glad for at kunne rapportere, at min første antagelse var fuldstændig forkert. Windows 7: Up and Running fokuserer på det væsentlige og giver klare illustrationer til hvert trin

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Forfatteren antager, at læseren har erfaring med tidligere versioner af Windows , primært Windows XP eller Windows Vista , og ikke bruger tid på at forklare ting som "det er din mus, det er dit tastatur" og lignende. Bogen starter med at beskrive forskellene mellem versionerne af Windows 7 og systemkravene for en vellykket installation. Det giver en klar og nyttig vejledning til folk, der opgraderer fra Windows XP ved hjælp af Microsofts ^(Microsoft)Easy Transfer - værktøj. Selvom nem overførsel^{(Easy Transfer)}lever bestemt op til sit navn, jeg ville have været glad for at have så tydeligt illustrerede instruktioner foran mig, mens jeg installerede Windows 7 på min computer, der kørte Windows XP . Desværre havde jeg ikke denne bog, da jeg lavede installationen.

Det næste afsnit forklarer, hvordan du installerer Windows 7 , hvis du har fået en helt ny computer, eller hvis du opgraderer fra Windows Vista , da proceduren er meget den samme. Jeg synes dog, at det måske er lidt for nemt at gå glip af instruktionerne til at opgradere fra Windows Vista - at du skal køre Windows 7 installationsprogrammet inde fra ^(within) Windows Vista , hvis du vil have dine nuværende data bevaret. Den information burde være kommet først. Forfatteren giver instruktionerne til en ren installation, med kun én sætning, der noterer den anderledes procedure for Windows Vista , og vender derefter tilbage til Windows Vistainstallationsprocessen i slutningen af ​​afsnittet. Jeg tror, ​​det er mere sandsynligt, at læseren ville opgradere fra Windows Vista i stedet for at installere Windows 7 på en ny harddisk, så advarslen om at køre installationsprogrammet inde fra Windows Vista og ikke starte fra disken burde have været foran og i midten i stedet for to sider senere.

Åh se, den er ny!

Næste op er en beskrivelse af alle de nye funktioner i Windows 7 , designet til at vise folk, der har brugt Windows XP eller Windows Vista , den slags ting, de vil finde mest nyttige efter opgraderingen, begyndende med proceslinjen og gå videre til en velillustreret forklaring af Aero og alle dens variationer. (En mere udførlig forklaring af proceslinjen og Aero kommer i næste kapitel.) Derefter taler bogen kort om Desktop Gadgets (meget forbedret fra dem i Windows Vista ) og de nyligt reviderede udgaver af så ærværdige Windows-indbyggede applikationer som Paint , WordPad og lommeregneren^(Calculator). Forfatteren antager, at folk allerede ved, hvordan man bruger disse applikationer.

Navigation og mere

Windows 7's proceslinje er blevet væsentligt opgraderet i forhold til sine forgængere, og de nye funktioner fortjener en fuldstændig forklaring - hvilket de får. Jeg satte bestemt pris på illustrationerne af Aero Peek , da min computer er for gammel til at udnytte Aero fuldt ud . Og forklaringen på, hvordan man fastgør applikationer til proceslinjen, var også meget nyttig. For år siden brugte jeg et program kaldet Geoworks , der lader dig fastgøre enhver menu, og jeg har altid troet, at Windows forkortede folk ved ikke at lade dem gøre sådan noget. Nå^(Well) , nu har Windows -udviklingen indhentet det, og det gør grænsefladen meget mere brugervenlig. Forklaringen af ​​Jump Listsvar lige så værdifuldt.

En tur på biblioteket

Windows 7: Up and Running forklarer konceptet med biblioteker^(Libraries) klart med masser af illustrationer. Dette er endnu en ny funktion, som Microsoft har skabt for at hjælpe Windows 7 - brugere med at holde styr på deres oplysninger mere effektivt. Ifølge bogen brugte de fleste mennesker ikke mapperne "Mine dokumenter", men oprettede deres egne. Jeg fandt dette ret overraskende. Jeg troede, det bare var vintage computerbrugere som mig, der lavede deres egne mapper i stedet for at bruge dem, som Microsoft er indbygget i (jeg bruger stadig stort set den samme mappestruktur, som jeg havde på min allerførste pc i slutningen af ​​1980'erne). Biblioteket^(Library) _lader folk få det bedste fra begge verdener - deres egne foretrukne mapper plus en struktur, der gør det nemt at holde styr på, hvad du har lagt hvor. Jeg satte virkelig pris på de klare illustrationer og forklaringen af, hvordan bibliotekssystemet^(Library) fungerer. Jeg vil oprette min egen biblioteksstruktur^(Library) med det samme.

Go Go Gadget

Jeg må sige, at jeg ikke er fan af desktop-"ting". Jeg beholder kun nogle få ikoner på mine, og foretrækker at bruge undermenuer fra Startmenuen^{(Start Menu)} for at komme derhen, hvor jeg vil hen. Sidebjælken på min Windows Vista -computer gjorde mig sindssyg, og jeg slukkede den ret hurtigt, efter jeg først stødte på den. Windows 7: Up and Running viser de tilgængelige Windows 7 Desktop-gadgets og forklarer, at de ikke længere er begrænset til sidepanelet^(Sidebar) . Dette gav mig en indikation af, at de trods alt kunne være nyttige. For folk, der ikke er så kræsne med skrivebordsindhold som jeg er, gadgetsville helt sikkert være nyttigt, og forklaringen gør det nemt at bruge dem. Jeg vil selv prøve et par stykker, nu hvor jeg kan placere dem, hvor jeg vil.

Del og del ens

Det næste afsnit af bogen er dedikeret til fildeling og hjemmegruppen^(HomeGroup) . Startende med en klar forklaring af, hvad en hjemmegruppe^(HomeGroup) er, og hvordan man opretter en, der fungerer for dig og de andre på dit netværk, går Windows 7: Up and Running ind på de specifikke detaljer omkring deling af filer, beskyttelse af dine data og kontrol af, hvem der har adgang til hvad. Hvert trin kommer med en klar illustration af, hvad du vil se på din skærm. For første gang er det nemt at dele en USB-tilsluttet printer, og det er også nemt at dele musik mellem computere i den samme HomeGroup . Da jeg læste dette afsnit igennem, var jeg kun alt for klar over, at vores husstand indtil videre kun indeholder én Windows 7 -computer - resten bruger Windows XPeller Mac OS X - så jeg ville ikke kunne drage fordel af alle Windows 7 -forbedringer i netværk og fildeling. Så fik jeg øje på de sektioner, der specifikt omhandler deling af filer med de andre operativsystemer, og jeg var en glad campist. Jeg kan godt lide at flytte filer frem og tilbage mellem computere og havde ikke haft helt held med at integrere Windows 7 -computeren i vores hjemmenetværk. Nu ved jeg, hvordan det gøres. Jeg tror, ​​at dette afsnit alene ville have været værd at købe bogen for.

Sikker og sikker

Ingen bog om nogen version af Windows kunne være komplet uden et godt afsnit om sikkerhed. Windows 7: Up and Running nærmer sig dette væsentlige problem med et ret langt kapitel, der dækker et ret bredt spektrum af emner, hvoraf nogle ikke rigtig er relateret til hinanden, selvom de stadig falder ind under kategorien "sikkerhed". Dette er ikke så forvirrende, som det måske lyder, fordi hvert sikkerhedselement er tydeligt forklaret, men selve kapitlet er noget hakkende, og nogle emner ser måske ikke ud til at have noget med sikkerhed at gøre ved første øjekast. For eksempel indeholder bogen Action Center , da Action Center beskæftiger sig med system- og sikkerhedsmeddelelser. Det forklarer, hvordan Action Centerfjernede en masse af Windows Vistas^{(Windows Vista)} visuelle rod og hvordan man tilpasser det, eller endda lukker det ud, hvis du ønsker det. Det næste emne er et, som folk, der har brugt Windows Vista , vil være alt for fortrolige med, og ikke nødvendigvis på en god måde. Microsoft lyttede til brugernes klager over Windows Vistas^{(Windows Vista)} ekstremt irriterende brugerkontokontrol^{(User Account Control)} og gjorde op med de værste irritationer, hvilket gjorde Windows 7 meget mere indbydende end sin forgænger. Windows 7: Up and Running yder fuld retfærdighed til brugerkontokontrollens^{(User Account Control's)} nye, mere brugervenlige grænseflade. Hvert muligt sikkerhedsniveau er tydeligt forklaret.

Bogen fortsætter med andre sikkerhedsrelaterede indbyggede applikationer og bemærker, at Windows Vista introducerede Credential Manager , et sikkert og sikkert sted at gemme dine logins, adgangskoder og certifikater. Windows 7 gør det nemmere at bruge, og Windows 7: Up and Running giver en detaljeret forklaring på, hvordan det fungerer, og hvordan man tilpasser det, så det passer til dine behov. Windows Vista introducerede også BitLocker , et program til drevkryptering, der kunne gøre indholdet af dit drev meget mere modstandsdygtigt over for nysgerrighed. Windows 7 introducerer BitLocker to Go, som giver dig mulighed for at kryptere flytbare drev. (Det er ikke tilgængeligt i alle versioner af Windows 7.) Hvis du er interesseret i drevsikkerhed, vil dette afsnit være meget nyttigt. Windows 7: Up and Running forklarer også tydeligt, hvordan man krypterer individuelle filer og mapper med NTFS-kryptering^{(NTFS Encryption)} (også ikke tilgængelig i alle versioner af Windows 7 ). Bogen går i en masse meget nyttige detaljer om certifikater^{(Certificates)} , som jeg ikke havde set forklaret så tydeligt før. Der er en kort forklaring af Windows Defender og Windows Firewall . Givet^(Given)hvor nødvendige den slags forsvar er i dag, kunne dette afsnit have været lidt mere detaljeret. Der er ingen diskussion om standardindstillingerne eller om brugeren måtte ønske at ændre dem, ej heller en forklaring på hvad en firewall er. Indrømmet, forfatteren antager erfaring med en tidligere version af Windows , men med dagens vægt på sikkerhed burde disse to indbyggede applikationer have været diskuteret mere detaljeret.

Er disse essentielle?

Det næste afsnit er afsat til "væsentlige applikationer." Desværre refererer denne titel til komponenterne i Windows Live Essentials , som måske eller måske ikke er essentielle. Windows Live Essentials er af ukendte årsager ikke inkluderet i Windows 7 , men det er tilgængeligt til gratis download fra Microsofts^(Microsoft) websted. Det inkluderer Messenger , Mail , Photo Gallery , Writer , Family Safety og Movie Maker. Hver komponent er kort beskrevet og illustreret. For ikke at nedgøre disse meget nyttige applikationer, men jeg tror ikke, at nogen af ​​dem virkelig gør karakteren "essentiel", og tilsyneladende føler Microsoft det samme, eftersom de ikke er indbygget i Windows 7 .

De indbyggede

Windows 7 indeholder flere virkelig nyttige applikationer, der kommer tættere på at være "essentielle". Der er klippeværktøjet^{(Snipping Tool)} (skærmoptagelse), lydoptager^{(Sound Recorder)} , Windows PowerShell (et scriptsprog og kommandolinjeapplikation til ekspertbrugere), fotofremviser^{(Photo Viewer)} , diskbilledbrænder^{(Disc Image Burner)} , mediecenter^{(Media Center)} (ikke tilgængelig i alle versioner), matematisk inputpanel^{(Math Input Panel)} ( som lader dig "skrive" matematiske problemer), XPS Viewer (til oprettelse og signering af dine dokumenter med digitale signaturer - et andet program for eksperter), Sticky Notes , Lommeregner^(Calculator) , WordPad , Paintog medieafspiller^{(Media Player)} . Windows 7: Up and Running tilbyder korte, illustrerede instruktioner til disse applikationer, men enhver, der ønsker at gøre fuld brug af dem, vil have en bog, der går meget mere i detaljer. Alligevel er det meget nyttigt at se, hvad du har ved hånden, uden at skulle lede efter tredjepartssoftware.

Udforsker Internet Explorer

Kapitlet om Internet Explorer 8 går i detaljer om browserens mange funktioner og illustrerer dem alle tydeligt. Microsoft lyttede til sine brugere (og var meget opmærksom på, hvad de andre browserprogrammører lavede) og gjorde Internet Explorer 8 meget mere alsidig end tidligere udgaver. Her kan du lære om Smart-^{(Smart Address)} adresselinjen, Forbedret^(Enhanced) browsing og gruppering med faner, Kompatibilitetsvisning^{(Compatibility View)} , Find på siden^(Page) , Forbedret^(Improved) søgning, Web Slices , Acceleratorer^{(Accelerators)} , InPrivate-browsing , InPrivate-filtrering^{(InPrivate Filtering)} ,Foreslåede websteder^{(Suggested Sites)} , domænefremhævning^(Domain) og SmartScreen-filter . Da mange af disse funktioner er nye for Internet Explorer 8 , eller er en stor forbedring i forhold til deres forgængere, er Windows 7: Up and Running en meget nyttig reference for alle, der bruger Internet Explorer .

Få nye venner, behold de gamle

En grund til, at mange enkeltpersoner og virksomheder var tilbageholdende med at opgradere til Windows Vista , var dens manglende kompatibilitet med deres væsentlige software. Nogle versioner af Windows 7 ( Professionel^{(Professional)} , Ultimate og Enterprise ) inkluderer Windows XP-tilstand^{(Windows XP Mode)} , som er Microsofts^(Microsoft) erkendelse af, at ikke alle har råd til al ny software til et helt nyt operativsystem. Windows XP-tilstand^{(Windows XP Mode)} kan kræve download og installation af Windows Virtual PC , hvilket kan være mere kompliceret, end den gennemsnitlige bruger er villig til at prøve. Med de illustrerede instruktioner i Windows 7: Up and Running, dette er ikke helt så skræmmende, som det kan se ud i første omgang. Bogen tager læseren trin for trin gennem download, installation og brug af Windows XP Mode . Forfatteren fortæller også om mulige fejl, man kan støde på, mens man bruger en virtuel maskine, og hvad man kan gøre for at komme forbi dem. Og en anden brug af Windows Virtual PC er at installere andre operativsystemer. Ubuntu Linux bruges som en demonstration. Enhver, der er interesseret i at udforske anvendelserne af Windows Virtual PC , vil have en meget mere detaljeret bog end denne, men Windows 7: Up and Running vil give læseren en god begyndelse.

Tips og tricks

Bogen afsluttes med et udvalg af nyttige tips og tricks, der fokuserer på tilpasning af Windows 7 -grænsefladen, fejlfinding, brug af tastaturgenveje, brænding af diskbilleder og installation af Windows 7 på flytbare medier såsom tommelfingerdrev. Der er også et kort, men nyttigt afsnit, der forklarer, hvordan du konfigurerer din computer til dual-boot Windows 7 og Windows XP . Nogle af tipsene i dette afsnit er bestemt ikke for den nye Windows 7 -bruger, og jeg er ikke sikker på, hvorfor de blev inkluderet. Efter at have fokuseret på det grundlæggende, virker det mærkeligt at se en sektion, der indeholder en masse kommandolinjearbejde.

Dom

Som jeg sagde i begyndelsen, fandt jeg denne bog ekstremt nyttig, da den forklarer tingene på den måde, jeg bedst lærer: ligefrem snak og masser af billeder. Jeg tror, ​​at arrangementet af nogle sektioner, især installationssektionen, kunne have været bedre, og ikke alle kapitler vil være nyttige for alle mennesker. Men det er små skænderier, og for mig er bogen en keeper. Windows 7: Up and Running er en fremragende ressource for en person, der allerede er bekendt med Windows og ikke har brug for "dette er din mus" i hånden. Det forklarer Windows 7kortfattet og med masser af illustrationer. Selvom det faktisk er designet til at få læseren "op at køre", kan det bestemt finde sin plads på en bogreol som reference, da brugeren får mere erfaring og ønsker at udforske alle de fantastiske nye funktioner i Windows 7 .

Book Review - Windows 7 Up and Running

Are you just starting out with Windows 7, aftеr having used another vеrsion of Windows? Would you lіke a compaсt book that's bigger on the inside than on the outside, and explains just about everything someone encountering Windows 7 for the first time nеeds tо know, without talking down to you? Do you lіke books that go into jυst enough detail about all the basics and illustrate everything they're shоwing you? If the answer is yes to all those questions, than this book is for you.

Up, Up and Away

Disclosure: I didn't think I was going to like this book. I prefer computer books that explain things to me in detail with plenty of illustrations so I know what I'm going to see before I take a whack at it myself, and I didn't think a book this compact would be able to do the job. I'm happy to report that my first assumption was dead wrong. Windows 7: Up and Running focuses on the essentials and provides clear illustrations for every step

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The author assumes that the reader has experience with previous versions of Windows, primarily Windows XP or Windows Vista, and doesn't spend time explaining things like "this is your mouse, this is your keyboard," and the like. The book starts by detailing the differences between the versions of Windows 7, and the system requirements for successful installation. It provides a clear and useful guide for people upgrading from Windows XP using Microsoft's Easy Transfer utility. Although Easy Transfer definitely lives up to its name, I would have been happy to have such clearly illustrated instructions in front of me while I was installing Windows 7 on my computer that ran Windows XP. Unfortunately I did not have this book when I was doing the installation.

The next section explains how to install Windows 7 if you've got a brand new computer, or if you're upgrading from Windows Vista, since the procedure is much the same. However, I think it might be a bit too easy to miss the instructions for upgrading from Windows Vista - that you have to run the Windows 7 installer from within Windows Vista if you want your current data to be preserved. That information should have come first. The author gives the instructions for a clean install, with just one sentence noting the different procedure for Windows Vista, and then comes back to the Windows Vista installation process at the end of the section. I think it's more likely that the reader would be upgrading from Windows Vista rather than installing Windows 7 on a new hard drive, so the warning to run the installer from within Windows Vista and not boot from the disk should have been front and center instead of two pages later.

Oh look, it's new!

Next up is a description of all the new features in Windows 7, designed to show people who've been using Windows XP or Windows Vista the kinds of things they'll find most useful after the upgrade, starting with the taskbar and moving on to a well-illustrated explanation of Aero and all its variations. (A fuller explanation of the taskbar and Aero comes in the next chapter.) Then the book talks briefly about Desktop Gadgets (much improved from the ones in Windows Vista) and the newly revised editions of such venerable Windows built-in applications as Paint, WordPad, and the Calculator. The author assumes people already know how to use those applications.

Navigation and more

Windows 7's taskbar has been substantially upgraded from that of its predecessors, and the new features deserve a full explanation - which they get. I definitely appreciated the illustrations of Aero Peek, since my computer is too old to take full advantage of Aero. And the explanation of how to pin applications to the taskbar was very useful as well. Years ago, I used a program called Geoworks that let you pin any menu, and I always thought Windows shortchanged people by not letting them do something like that. Well, now Windows development has caught up, and it makes the interface much more user friendly. The explanation of Jump Lists was equally valuable.

A trip to the Library

Windows 7: Up and Running explains the concept of Libraries clearly, with plenty of illustrations. This is another new feature that Microsoft created to help Windows 7 users keep track of their information more efficiently. According to the book, most people didn't use the "My Documents" type folders but created their own. I found this rather surprising. I thought it was just vintage computer users like me who created their own folders instead of using the ones Microsoft built in (I am still using pretty much the same directory structure I had on my very first PC back in the late 1980s). The Library lets people have the best of both worlds - their own preferred folders plus a structure that makes it easy to keep track of what you've put where. I really appreciated the clear illustrations and the explanation of how the Library system works. I will be creating my own Library structure right away.

Go Go Gadget

I must say that I am not a fan of desktop "stuff." I keep only a few icons on mine, preferring to use sub-menus off the Start Menu to get where I want to go. The Sidebar on my Windows Vista computer drove me nuts and I turned it off pretty quickly after I first encountered it. Windows 7: Up and Running lists the available Windows 7 Desktop Gadgets, and explains that they're not confined to the Sidebar any more. This gave me an indication that they might be useful after all. For people who are not as picky about desktop contents as I am, the Gadgets would definitely be useful and the explanation makes using them easy. I'm going to try out a few myself, now that I can place them where I want.

Share and Share Alike

The next section of the book is dedicated to file sharing and the HomeGroup. Starting with a clear explanation of what a HomeGroup is and how to create one that works for you and the others on your network, Windows 7: Up and Running goes into the specifics of sharing files, protecting your data, and controlling who has access to what. Each step comes with a clear illustration of what you'll see on your screen. For the first time, sharing a USB-connected printer is simple, and sharing music between computers in the same HomeGroup is easy as well. As I read through this section, I was only too aware that our household so far contains only one Windows 7 computer - the rest use Windows XP or Mac OS X - so I would not be able to take advantage of all the Windows 7 improvements in networking and file sharing. Then I spotted the sections that deal specifically with sharing files with those other operating systems and I was a happy camper. I like to move files back and forth between computers and had not been entirely successful in integrating the Windows 7 computer into our home network. Now I know how it's done. I think this section alone would have been worth buying the book for.

Safe and Secure

No book about any version of Windows could be complete without a good section on security. Windows 7: Up and Running approaches this essential issue with a fairly long chapter that covers quite a broad spectrum of topics, some of which aren't really related to each other, although they still fall under the category of "security." This isn't as confusing as it might sound, because each security element is clearly explained, but the chapter itself is somewhat choppy and some topics might not seem to have anything to do with security at first glance. For example, the book includes the Action Center, since Action Center deals with system and security messages. It explains how the Action Center did away with a lot of Windows Vista's visual clutter and how to customize it, or even shut it off if you wish. The next topic is one that people who have been using Windows Vista will be all too familiar with, and not necessarily in a good way. Microsoft listened to users' complaints about Windows Vista's supremely annoying User Account Control and did away with the worst of the irritations, making Windows 7 much more inviting than its predecessor. Windows 7: Up and Running does full justice to the User Account Control's new, more user-friendly interface. Each possible level of security is clearly explained.

Continuing with other security-related built-in applications, the book notes that Windows Vista introduced the Credential Manager, a safe and secure place to store your logins, passwords, and certificates. Windows 7 makes it easier to use, and Windows 7: Up and Running offers a detailed explanation of how it works and how to customize it to suit your needs. Windows Vista also introduced BitLocker, a drive encryption application that could make the contents of your drive much more resistant to prying. Windows 7 introduces BitLocker to Go, which allows you to encrypt removable drives. (It's not available in all versions of Windows 7.) If you're interested in drive security, this section will be very useful. Windows 7: Up and Running also clearly explains how to encrypt individual files and folders with NTFS Encryption (also not available in all versions of Windows 7). The book goes into a lot of very useful detail about Certificates, which I had not seen explained so clearly before. There is a brief explanation of Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. Given how necessary these kinds of defenses are, nowadays, this section could have been a bit more detailed. There is no discussion about the default settings or whether the user might wish to change them, nor an explanation of what a firewall is. Granted, the author assumes experience with some previous version of Windows, but with today's emphasis on security, these two built-in applications should have been discussed in more detail.

Are These Essential?

The next section is devoted to "essential applications." Unfortunately, this title refers to the components of Windows Live Essentials, which may or may not really be essential. Windows Live Essentials is not, for some unknown reason, included with Windows 7, but it's available for free download from the Microsoft web site. It includes Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Writer, Family Safety, and Movie Maker. Each component is briefly described and illustrated. Not to disparage these very useful applications, but I don't think any of them really makes the grade as "essential," and apparently Microsoft feels the same, since they're not built into Windows 7.

The Built-Ins

Windows 7 does include several really useful applications that come closer to being "essentials." There is the Snipping Tool (screen capture), Sound Recorder, Windows PowerShell (a scripting language and command-line application for expert users), Photo Viewer, Disc Image Burner, Media Center (not available in all versions), Math Input Panel (which lets you "write" math problems), XPS Viewer (for creating and signing your documents with digital signatures--another application for experts), Sticky Notes, Calculator, WordPad, Paint, and Media Player. Windows 7: Up and Running offers brief, illustrated instructions for these applications, but anyone who wants to make full use of them will want a book that goes into a lot more detail. Still, it's very useful to see what you've got on hand, without having to look for third-party software.

Exploring Internet Explorer

The chapter on Internet Explorer 8 goes into detail about that browser's many features, and illustrates them all clearly. Microsoft listened to its users (and paid close attention to what the other browser programmers were doing) and made Internet Explorer 8 much more versatile than previous editions. Here you can learn about the Smart Address bar, Enhanced tabbed browsing and grouping, Compatibility View, Find on Page, Improved search, Web Slices, Accelerators, InPrivate Browsing, InPrivate Filtering, Suggested Sites, Domain highlighting and SmartScreen Filter. Since many of those features are new to Internet Explorer 8, or are a vast improvement over their predecessors, Windows 7: Up and Running is a very useful reference for anyone who uses Internet Explorer.

Make New Friends, Keep the Old

One reason many individuals and businesses were reluctant to upgrade to Windows Vista was its lack of compatibility with their essential software. Some versions of Windows 7 (Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise) include Windows XP Mode, which is Microsoft's acknowledgement that not everyone can afford all new software to go with an all new operating system. Windows XP Mode may require downloading and installing Windows Virtual PC, which could be more complicated than the average user is willing to attempt. With the illustrated instructions in Windows 7: Up and Running, this is not quite as daunting as it might appear at first. The book takes the reader step by step through the download, installation and use of Windows XP Mode. The author also talks about possible errors one might encounter while using a virtual machine, and what can be done to get past them. And one other use of the Windows Virtual PC is to install other operating systems. Ubuntu Linux is used as a demonstration. Anyone interested in exploring the uses of Windows Virtual PC will want a much more detailed book than this, but Windows 7: Up and Running will give the reader a good beginning.

Tips and Tricks

The book concludes with a selection of useful tips and tricks that focus on customizing the Windows 7 interface, troubleshooting, using keyboard shortcuts, burning disk images and installing Windows 7 on removable media such as thumb drives. There's also a brief but useful section that explains how to set up your computer to dual-boot Windows 7 and Windows XP. Some of the tips contained in this section are definitely not for the new Windows 7 user and I'm not sure why they were included. After focusing on the basics, it seems odd to see a section that includes a lot of command-line work.

Verdict

As I said in the beginning, I found this book extremely useful, since it explains things the way I learn best: straightforward talk and lots of pictures. I do think that the arrangement of some sections, especially the installation section, could have been better, and not all chapters will be useful to all people. But those are minor quibbles, and for me, the book's a keeper. Windows 7: Up and Running is an excellent resource for someone who is already familiar with Windows and doesn't need "this is your mouse" hand-holding. It explains Windows 7 concisely and with plenty of illustrations. While it is indeed designed to get the reader "up and running," it could certainly find its place on a bookshelf for reference, as the user gains more experience and wants to explore all the great new features in Windows 7.

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