REVIEW: "Windows XP Solutions", Neil Randall

BKWNXPSL.RVW 20040623

"Windows XP Solutions", Neil Randall, 2004, 0-7645-6773-X,
U$24.99/C$35.99/UK#16.99
%A Neil Randall
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 2004
%G 0-7645-6773-X
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$24.99/C$35.99/UK#16.99 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/076456773X/robsladesinterne
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/076456773X/robsladesinte-21
%O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/076456773X/robsladesin03-20
%P 458 p.
%T "Windows XP Solutions"

Part one deals with user interface options and configuration. Chapter
one reviews the login, desktop, and appearance options. The Start
Menu and the Taskbar are covered in chapter two, while three is
primarily concerned with folder alternatives. Special selections,
such as accessibility factors, are in chapter four, along with the
functions of TweakUI.

Part two talks about installing and removing hardware and software.
Chapter five; installing software; is nothing special, while seven;
hardware; is nothing much. Removing software, in chapter six, details
various methods and has a valuable section on getting rid of spyware.
Troubleshooting hardware (mostly to do with driver updates) and some
brief hard disk maintenance tips are in chapter eight.

Users, permissions, and policies are the subject of part three.
Chapter nine discusses creating user accounts, but does not mention
the dangers of the defaults. Changing permissions, in chapter ten,
explains the dialogue boxes. Chapter eleven's material on handling
data files is not very useful. Chapter twelve lists some policy
options, but doesn't deal with the implications.

Part four reviews some aspects of security and recovery. Chapter
thirteen retails run-of-the-mill backup advice. The dialogue boxes
for the XP firewall and EFS (Encrypting File System) are in fourteen.
There are errors in chapter fifteen's explanation of Windows Update,
such as the fact that MS Office Update sometimes *does* involve the
same files as Windows Update, and has a less sophisticated engine,
which is why Windows Update should always be run after an Office
Update. System Restore is covered poorly (there is no mention of the
difficulties it can create when the user tries to customize the
machine) in chapter sixteen, along with other recovery related
activities.

Part five deals with creative bits. Chapter seventeen lists included
tools for modifying digital images, while eighteen and nineteen
discuss video, and twenty talks about audio.

Part six has an overview of Internet options. Chapter twenty one
takes a vague look at Internet connections, twenty two examines
choices in Outlook, twenty three deals with Internet Explorer, and
twenty four discusses Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance.

Part seven discusses home or small networks. Chapter twenty five
tabulates network device basics, twenty six takes a terse look at
small workgroup nets, and twenty seven provides just enough
information about starting Internet services to be dangerous.

This book does have some pointers, but (in a larger footprint) it has
nowhere near the value of David Karp's "Windows XP Annoyances" (cf.
BKWNXPAN.RVW) or even Gralla's "Windows XP Hacks" (cf. BKWNXPHK.RVW).

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2004 BKWNXPSL.RVW 20040623

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