BKPCMOM.RVW   941230
 
"PC Mom: The Mother of All PC Books", Leonhard/Simon, 1995, 0-201-40952-6,
U$49.95/C$64.95
%A   Woody Leonhard
%A   Barry Simon
%C   1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA   01867-9984
%D   1995
%G   0-201-40952-6
%I   Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
%O   U$49.95/C$64.95 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273
%P   720
%T   "PC Mom: The Mother of All PC Books"
 
This is definitely a cut above the usual introductory PC books.  As far as
works like the "MS-DOS Bible" (BKMSDOSB.RVW) ... well, it's maybe a cut
sideways.
 
Let's take it backwards.  The book comes with two CD-ROMs which include games,
fonts, games, Shakespeare, games, game demos, games, a directory of "800"
numbers, games, utilities, games, sound and video clips, games, references,
games, literature, and more games.  Part four is a review of lots of computer
games.  Part three is an overview of many things (besides operating systems)
that you can get on CD-ROMs.
 
Part two is an overview of utility and application software, and for those who
either want to do, or are newly tasked with, the evaluation of software, this
is an excellent start.  If you haven't yet bought a computer, sit down with
part two for a while.  Think on the material, and then you will at least have
smart questions to ask your friends.
 
Part one, and bits of two, deal with the machine and the operating system.  The
coverage of IRQs (Interrupt ReQuest lines) is among the most helpful I've seen. 
The memory management section tends to stop just when you want it to go on, but
its coverage of CONFIG.SYS options is very useful.  The section on the choice
of a bus is probably worth the price of the book for anyone in the market for a
machine.  The coverage of viral programs is good, except for an odd suggestion
which they appear to think will avoid boot sector infectors (it won't), and the
recommendation to use MSAV.
 
I don't know that I could recommend it unreservedly.  There are lots of areas
which tend to "show off" advanced information to no real purpose.  There are
items at the same level which are missing.  By and large, though, this book
contains a lot of valuable background information for the user who wants to
take the first steps towards understanding what is "under the hood".  And,
depending upon your tastes, it has a *ton* of games.
 
(By the way, guys, didn't his name used to be Ighor?)
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995   BKPCMOM.RVW   941230

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