David Pogue is the weekly tech columnist for the New York Times, an Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, and the creator of the Missing Manual series. He's the author or co-author of 40 books, including 17 in this series and six in the "For Dummies" line (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music). In his other life, David is a former Broadway show conductor, a magician, and a pianist. News, photos, links to his columns and weekly videos await at www.davidpogue.com. He welcomes feedback about his books by email at david@pogueman.com.
Joli Ballew (Tablet PC and Media Center chapters) is an author, Microsoft columnist, media expert, consultant, teacher, and technical writer. She holds several certifications, including MCSE, A+, and MCDST, and has written almost two dozen books on operating systems, image editing, home organization, and more. Her book Degunking Windows won the 2004 Independent Publisher Book Award for best computer book, and was a Parade Magazine "Best Bet." Email: Joli@JoliBallew.com.
C.A. Callahan (Control Panel chapter) is a ten-year veteran of the IT industry, a Microsoft Certified Trainer, and owner of her own training/technical writing company. She's a frequent presenter at tech conferences and expos, including TechEd Boston, Windows Connections, and LinuxWorld/NetworkWorld Expo, and has co-authored several books, including the best selling technical reference Mastering Windows Server 2003. Her new book, due in June 2007, is Mastering Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Email: callahan@callahantech.com.
Preston Gralla (security, backup and maintenance chapters) has used every version of Windows since even before Windows 3.1. He's the author of over 35 books, including Windows Vista in a Nutshell and the Windows Vista Pocket Reference. His articles have appeared in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, PC Magazine, PC World, and many other newspapers and magazines. Email: preston@gralla.com.
Brian Jepson (domain, remote-control, installation chapters; tech editor) is an O'Reilly editor, programmer, and co-author of Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks and Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther. He's also a volunteer system administrator and all-around geek for AS220, a non-profit arts center in Providence, Rhode Island. AS220 gives Rhode Island artists uncensored and unjuried galleries, performance space, and publications for their work. Brian sees to it that technology, especially free software, supports that mission. Email: bjepson@oreilly.com.
Teresa Noelle Roberts (copy editor) is a freelance copy editor and proofreader, as well as a published fiction writer and poet. When she can tear herself away from the computer, she may be found gardening, belly dancing, or enjoying the beautiful beaches of New England.
On this edition, she was joined in her editorial duties by Missing Manuals editorial veteran John Cacciatore.
Rose Cassano (cover illustration) has worked as an independent designer and illustrator for 20 years. Assignments have spanned everything from the non-profit sector to corporate clientele. She lives in beautiful southern Oregon, grateful for the miracles of modern technology that make living and working there a reality. Email: cassano@highstream.net. Web: www.rosecassano.com.
Lesa Snider King (production editor and graphics goddess) assists David Pogue on many projects. As Chief Evangelist for iStockphoto.com and a veteran writer for international graphics publications, Lesa is on a mission to teach the world how to create beautiful graphics. You can see more of her work at TheGraphicReporter.com, and catch her live at many conferences. Email: lesa@graphicreporter.com.
Shawn King (graphics assistance and beta reader) is the host of a popular Internet broadcast called Your Mac Life, and has been using computers since several years B.D. (Before DOS). Having grabbed a PC mouse and literally followed every single step on every single page of this book to test for accuracy, he can safely say that he now knows more about Windows Vista than he ever hoped to know. Email: shawn@yourmaclife.com.
Phil Simpson (design and layout) works out of his office in Southbury, Connecticut, where he has had his graphic design business since 1982. He is experienced in many facets of graphic design, including corporate identity, publication design, and corporate and medical communications. Email: pmsimpson@earthlink.net.
The Missing Manual series is a joint venture between the dream team introduced on these pages and O'Reilly Media. I'm grateful to all of them, and also to a few people who did massive favors for this book. They include Matt Parretta and Frank Kane, PR guys for Microsoft who devoted themselves to helping me find information; Windows Vista product manager Greg Sullivan, who tolerated being henpecked with my questions; HP and Motion for loaning me testing gear; and proofreaders Sohaila Abdulali, John Cacciatore, Genevieve d'Entremont, Jamie Peppard, and Sada Preisch. Ellen Seebacher. The book owes its greatest debt, though, to the husband-and-wife team of Shawn King and Lesa Snider King.
I'll never forget the 16-hour days of cheerful, professional work they put in during the final three weeks of this book's creation, all in the name of making it the most polished, perfect book it could be. (I doubt they'll forget those days, either.)
Thanks to David Rogelberg for believing in the idea, and above all, to Jennifer, Kelly, Tia, and Jeffrey, who make these books—and everything else—possible.
—David Pogue
Missing Manual books are superbly written guides to computer products that don't come with printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each book features a handcrafted index; cross-references to specific page numbers (not just "See Chapter 14"); and RepKover, a detached-spine binding that lets the book lie perfectly flat without the assistance of weights or cinder blocks. Recent and upcoming titles include:
Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition by David Pogue
Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition by David Pogue, Craig Zacker, and L.J. Zacker
Access 2007: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
CSS: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland
Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
Digital Photography: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover, Barbara Brundage
Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland
Dreamweaver MX 2004: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland
eBay: The Missing Manual by Nancy Conner
Excel 2007: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual by Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser
Flash 8: The Missing Manual by Emily Moore
FrontPage 2003: The Missing Manual by Jessica Mantaro
Google: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition by Sarah Milstein and Rael Dornfest
Home Networking: The Missing Manual by Scott Lowe
The Internet: The Missing Manual by David Pogue and J.D. Biersdorfer
iPod: The Missing Manual, 5th Edition by J.D. Biersdorfer
PCs: The Missing Manual by Andy Rathbone
Photoshop Elements 5: The Missing Manual by Barbara Brundage
PowerPoint 2007: The Missing Manual by Emily A. Vander Veer
QuickBooks 2006: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore
Word 2007: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition by David Pogue
Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition by David Pogue
AppleScript: The Missing Manual by Adam Goldstein
AppleWorks 6: The Missing Manual by Jim Elferdink and David Reynolds
GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
iLife '05: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual by David Pogue and Derrick Story
iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, 4th Edition by J.D. Biersdorfer
iWork '05: The Missing Manual by Jim Elferdink
Office 2004 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual by Mark H. Walker, Franklin Tessler, and Paul Berkowitz
The "For Starters" books contain just the most essential information from their larger counterparts—in larger type, with a more spacious layout, and none of those advanced sidebars. Recent titles include:
Windows Vista for Starters: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
Windows XP for Starters: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
Access 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
Excel 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
Quicken 2006 for Starters: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore
Word 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover
PowerPoint 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual by Emily A. Vander Veer
Mac OS X for Starters: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
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