Windows Vista in a Nutshell
A Desktop Quick Reference
By Preston Gralla
December 2006
Pages: 750
ISBN 10: 0-596-52707-1 |
ISBN 13: 9780596527075




(Average of 2 Customer Reviews)


Book description
This unique reference thoroughly documents every important setting and feature in Windows Vista, with alphabetical listings for hundreds of commands, windows, menus, listboxes, buttons, scrollbars, and other elements. To help you locate a specific setting, tool, or feature quickly, the book is organized into separate references for the user interface, file system, networking, hardware, security, mobility, multimedia, and command prompt. Also includes a system overview and a tour of the basics.
Full Description
This unique reference thoroughly documents every important setting and feature in Microsoft's new operating system, with alphabetical listings for hundreds of commands, windows, menus, listboxes, buttons, scrollbars and other elements of Windows Vista. With this book's simple organization, you'll easily find any setting, tool, or feature for the task you want to accomplish.
Along with a system overview that highlights major changes, and a tour of the basics such as manipulating files and getting around the interface, Windows Vista in a Nutshell offers alphabetized references for these topics:
- The User Interface: Covers the Sidebar, Aero Glass, the new Control Panel layout, and applets, as well as how to customize animated windows, the desktop, Start menu, pop-up windows on the Taskbar, and more.
- The File System, Drives, Data, and Search: Discusses working with the new Windows Explorer, Virtual Folders, searches, indexing, saved searches, metadata, and sharing.
- The Internet and Networking: Examines TCP/IP, RSS, tabbed browsing, and anti-phishing features of Internet Explorer, plus cookie handling, parental control features, and more.
- Networking and Wireless: Offers an illustrated, step-by-step guide to setting up a home network; covers the Network Center, Sync Center, Hot Spot access, wireless management, collaboration, and sharing.
- Working with Hardware: Describes how to set up, maintain, and troubleshoot hardware--including keyboards, mice, monitors, USB devices, scanners, cameras, and sound devices--and how to add, install, and troubleshoot drivers.
- Security: Includes the Security Center, Windows Defender, User Account Protection, System Protection, Network Access Protection, WiFi encryption, Windows Firewall, file encryption, and more.
- Mobility: Explains Mobility Center settings, plugging a secondary monitor into your computer, and the new "network projection" feature for making presentations.
- Multimedia: Covers Windows Photo Gallery, Media Player, Media Center, podcasting features, connecting to and synching with MP3 players, recording TV and videos, making videos with Windows Movie Maker, and burning CDs and DVDs.
- The Command Prompt: Provides commands for working with files, utilities for troubleshooting the network, and instructions on how to create your own batch files.
Appendixes include information on installation, keyboard shortcuts, common filename extensions, and more. Windows Vista in a Nutshell is your one-stop source for everything you need from Microsoft's latest operating system.
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Featured customer reviews

Outstanding Overview Of Windows Vista,
March 22 2007
Submitted by
Daniel McKinnon
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'Windows Vista in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference' by Preston Gralla is one of the best "in a Nutshell" books that I have seen. Covering every square inch of Windows Vista in a concise, compact manner, this guide is more like a 'teaching reference' about the ins and outs of Microsoft' newest operating system.
Packed full of 720 pages of Vista goodness, this book will take you quickly from the basics to the deepest crevices of what Vista has lurking around every corner. Vista administrators would be wise to pick up this book yesterday and start cramming their brains full of the content here.
If you are an IT professional and want to get Vista'd the best wasy possible you owe it to yourself to pick up this uber guide NOW.
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The quick reference you won't want to be without,
February 20 2007
Submitted by
Jan Ilacqua
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"Windows Vista in a Nutshell" is a great anytime, anyplace at-hand reference book. It provides brief but detailed information on all aspects of Vista, yet it's simple and easy to understand.
A great way to keep on your toes.
Jan :)
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Media reviews
"Given the dizzying number of editions of Vista and the multitude of options available under each edition, Gralla did an excellent job at providing all the necessary data and keeping it all straight. The heart of this book is Part II: Nutshell Reference. This was probably the most difficult part of the book to write because there's just so much material to organize and present."
-- James Pyles,
MCSE World
"This is a handy tome for finding info quickly, or simply browsing and discovering as you go. It's loaded with screen-shots and covers the essential ingredients such as Vista's networking features, Windows Mail (the nifty replacement for Outlook Express), a wide range of security settingsmany of them buried deep, as well as advice for configuring hardware. There's a lot more, too, and it's nicely all organized. It will quickly become your reference of choice."
-- Derek Pell,
DingBat Magazine: The Monthly Review of Cool Tools
"An amazingly prolific author, (Preston Gralla) as written more than 35 books that explore, explain, and enlightenusing plainspoken and easily accessible prosethe intricacies of a broad range of technologies."
-- Alice LaPlante,
InformationWeek.com
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