This was a depressing weekend. Not only am I getting older, I seem to be doing it faster than the rest of my friends. I spent the weekend tearing up the shoddily built original deck so that I can replace it with something remotely attractive. But after only two days of hammer and crowbar work, I'm wheezing like John Goodman climbing stairs and can barely lift my hammer. Dave — who is three months older — is still bright eyed and bushy tailed. Makes me mad. It also makes me want to crawl into my easy chair with a scotch, half a pound of Advil, and some good reading.
That segue tenuously brings us to this year's Enterprise Windows Summer Reading List. Quite a bookworm's bounty this time around. First, David Pogue's people at O'Reilly read the review I did on his original "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual" on the SMB IT blog. They decided to follow that up with a review copy of the even easier "Windows Vista for Starters: The Missing Manual." Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me nearly as well as the original.
Admittedly, it's aimed at completely non-PC-literate audience, and it certainly finds the mark. This one covers stuff like where things are in the Aero interface, shutting the computer off, cutting and pasting, and so on. The language is clear and conversational, and certain sections really worked for the beginner crowd — but there's room for improvement.
For one, it needs more screen shots for users at this level. Let them see what you're talking about and you'll have a much easier time explaining new concepts. You should also more closely associate the screen shots you do put in with the text that references them — this book tends to space those a page or so apart.
It also needs a little more editing. For example, the book makes no distinction between the different types of Vista, and it talks about features available in the various SKUs as though you'll encounter them in any version. Minor concerns all in all, and the book is certainly helpful to beginners, but it could've been better.
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