“Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks” Released by O’Reilly
Sebastopol, CA–“You should not be required to adjust the way you think in order to complete a task on a computer,” insists David A. Karp. “Rather, you should learn how to adjust the computer to work in a way that makes sense to you.” His new “Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition” (O’Reilly, US $34.95) allows readers to do just that.
“To put it simply, an annoyance is a problem to be solved,” says Karp, “and Windows certainly has no shortage of those.” Whether it’s the operating system’s “cute” styles, the sluggish performance, the way Windows rearranges desktop icons, the “Blue Screen of Death,” or the fact that Service Pack 2 (SP2) contains as many new bugs as it fixes, Windows XP is inarguably annoying. And in “Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks,” Karp helps users eliminate annoyances and streamline their work as they customize and troubleshoot Windows.
We need to understand problems and shortcomings in order to overcome them, says Karp. He motivates power users (and everyday users, too) to learn more about the their operating systems so they can work more efficiently and make their Windows experience less painful and more enjoyable. And he delivers countless tools, tricks, workarounds, and hidden features for accomplishing tasks such as:
-Setting up a wired or wireless network in minutes and working around the pitfalls of SP2’s new firewall, sharing Internet connections over a network, and sniffing out WiFi networks in a flash
-Tapping into SP2’s new security features to lock out malicious hackers, viruses, and spyware, then picking up where SP2 leaves off and patching the rest of XP’s flaws that expose a PC to danger
-Troubleshooting error messages, fixing hardware problems, crash-proofing a PC, and eliminating performance bottlenecks
-Customizing the interface to make Windows work the way a user wants it to, using styles, skins, themes, and tons of undocumented tweaks and settings
-Mastering the Registry, including finding undocumented settings, using Registry patches, fixing file types, and discovering new ways to hack Windows
Based on Karp’s highly popular Annoyances.org web site, this thorough reference guide is the intermediate to advanced user’s best resource for turning Windows into the most efficient, reliable, customizable system it can be.
Readers won’t regret buying this book, promises Jon Jacobi of “PC World”: “If you’ve ever gritted your teeth while Windows started searching your floppy drive for no apparent reason, this could be the best money you’ve ever spent.”
Praise for the previous edition:
“The Annoyances titles are the best Windows troubleshooting guides you are likely to find…a well-organised, practical discussion of solutions…Regardless of your level of experience, if you are running WinXP–or are thinking of installing it–this book is probably the best investment you can make. It has the potential to save countless hours of frustration, and puts the user in charge. And it is a good read.”
–Major Keary, Book News, December 2002
“This is a truly important book, and like all the Annoyances books from O’Reilly addresses, documents, and gives fixes or work-arounds for literally hundreds of major and minor Windows XP problems. Tired of the ‘personalizations’ that are a ‘feature’ in Windows XP? Here’s how to turn them off. File deletion, Internet Connection Sharing, hundreds of other features and annoyances, all explained. If you run Windows XP or will have to, get this book. Highly recommended.” –Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor, November 2002
Further reviews can be found at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winxpannoy/reviews.html
Additional Resources:
Chapter 5, “Maximizing Performance,” is available online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winxpannoy2/chapter/index.html
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winxpannoy2/index.html
For a cover graphic in JPEG format, go to:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596008767.jpg
Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition
David Karp
ISBN: 0-596-00876-7, 637 pages, $34.95 US, $50.95 CA
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