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Not with this book, anyway.***Three Stars because it's a good all-round book for many intermediate to advanced users, and the daring beginners, too. I don't know about the book, but I tend to insert the DVD - if it's pre-installed, I roll up my sleeves and get uninstalling uselessnesses put there by vendors (usually involving the odd row with one or two of them about registry-cleaning routines they don't like releasing).How do I find the world Bluetooth in the index. And that frustrates me :-(.$$$Okay, I've changed my mind; it's okay for $11. And Vista has some stubborn legs, it's standing on; sort of a robocop of operating systems: "Don't you tweak around with me; I'll be bäck.".You need quite an arsenal of weaponry to win against Vista.
It's 'definitively' large and heavy. Only, that I find Vista - whilst hellishly narcissitic and a bit of a clever-clog (not quite unlike myself ;-) - quite 'beatable', and this book's not giving me any new angles for another 'Tweak-Attack'. Okay, I confess, I did this as a job for 15 years: Make computer do as I say, not the other way around; Vista included, Win 7 is already in the 'behavioural adjustment mill'. And I'm already used to calling upon its makers and them not being able to answer my questions, being I've tried all their suggestions before calling.Still, I expected more from this massive chunk of paper - I was mislead to think it was for people like me, who find more on forums than in here. I look in a different book - or should I not look under 'B'. In fact, I may not even sell it on, but post it to a good friend whose Vista is bugging her a lot.The book- is clean- well organized- has a lot for the accomplished user in it- is written in a chummy style.and Mr Stanek knows quite something about Vista, which means that what he suggests is (usually) workable and not so bad, just that he doesn't suggest what to do with this one little bluetooth-nag :-).But this is not the power-user's bible to forcing Vista down on its knees.
But not more stars, coz to me it's worth about one.A good effort gone wrong - or maybe the book just takes after the OS it's written for. Sadly, I'm already done, and now that I'm sitting here with this book - for it was cheap - I find myself thinking, 'yeah, and nasty. But I was to be wronged.Either that's it for Vista and that's all one can do or there's another book out there that gives you more. If your Vista isn't cluttered and runs smoothly, don't make my mistake and get this book in the hope that you can polish its lacquer (Vista's, not the book's) a tad more. So, okay, I have a laptop with a Bluetooth port on it - do they come without. Maybe it was my fault. This is NOT definitive.
oh, ball, I was really hoping this guy'd help me get this thing to run a tad slicker, still'. That one last question I had, on my bluetooth settings, I'll dig up somewhere - but then, what did I get the book for.---I'll be honest: I know a lot of people who can benefit from this book. I picked up a copy for £7.50 (about $11) and I'm already only really glad it's in such great condition that I'll be able to sell it on at no loss.How do you install Vista. That's a 'definitive' lack.
Also the reason I bought this book originally was that it was recommended by Library Journal. This book has answered my every question and is by far the best I've found. Not only did Library Journal recommend this book, but they recommended it over all other Windows Vista books. Not sure why anyone would say this isn't a good book when it's so excellent. You can't blame an author for Vista's shortcomings.
Maybe, if I were to sit down and read this massive tome cover to cover I would learn something that would help, but I have better things to do with hundreds of hours of my time. I have been using Vista for a year and a half now, and bought this book shortly after I bought the computer; I am getting rid of Vista, I have gotten tired of trying to make things work that worked fine in Win98 and XP; and this book has been no help at all. Yes, this book is huge and has lots of information. Unfortunately, it is poorly organized and I have not been able to find ANY of the problems I've tried to find answers to in this book.
I love his no nonsense approach. My copy of this book has so many dog-eared pages I bought a second copy. Truly, the definitive guide and so much better than Missing Manual or Inside Out. He goes into great depth and tells the reader not only how but why and when to use certain settings. I would definitely recommend it, even if you already have several Windows Vista books because this is the only you are likely to use the most. Weighin in at 922 pages, the book covers nearly everything you need to know about Windows Vista at home or at the office. Stanek has a unique gift for expressing complex details clearly and concisely.
It's not in the index and I was unable to find it in the book.Way too much of the book seems oriented to the new user. Sad to say, though, I think he blew it on this one.Exclusive of the index, there are 889 pages here and a lot of information. Let's say that you want to keep your documents on the D: drive instead of C:. Fine and dandy.
I really like William R. Sections like "How Does the Operating System Obtain Driver Updates" and "Viewing Installed Hardware" or "Setting up your speakers" just don't offer much to the experienced user.Like I said, I own a number of other Stanek titles and swear by them. As far as I can tell, Stanek doesn't tell you how. Stanek.
But there is nothing in the book that I have found about connecting other folders with the Personal Folder. This one is more suitable for swearing at.A much better guide to Windows Vista is Windows Vista: The Missing Manual by Dvid Pogue.Jerry Some of his books are frequent references for me. The problem is that a lot of the information is essentially useless for the user experienced with Windows XP who is simply transitioning to Vista.The organization of material is awful - and the index (or more precisely, the lack thereof) is a disaster.For example, Stanek describes the Personal Folder, the replacement for a number of Windows fixtures like My Documents, on page 26.
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