BKWXPKLT.RVW   20041023

"Windows XP Killer Tips", Kleber Stephenson, 2003, 0-7357-1357-X,
U$29.99/C$46.99/UK#23.50
%A   Kleber Stephenson
%C   201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN   46290
%D   2003
%G   0-7357-1357-X
%I   Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP)
%O   U$29.99/C$46.99/UK#23.50 800-858-7674 info@mcp.com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/073571357X/robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/073571357X/robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/073571357X/robsladesin03-20
%O   tl n rl 2 tc 2 ta 2 tv 3 wq 3
%P   258 p.
%T   "Windows XP Killer Tips"

I'm not sure that the title isn't a bit overblown.  These may not be
killer tips, but they are a very good collection, presented in a very
useful format, to take the novice user up to the intermediate level.

Chapter one contains basic operations, and goes slightly beyond the
normal "click on the icon and then move the mouse to drag it" plane. 
The tips all consist of a graphic, reasonably well chosen, and about
one paragraph of text explaining the action and use.  The tips vary
somewhat in utility, but that is going to be true regardless of the
actual material, since users will have different interests in
different functions.  Some fairly standard customizations are in
chapter two.  Chapter three has more operations and navigation.  Some
pieces dealing icons and selections are in chapter four.  Tips for
speeding up some common functions are listed in chapter five.  A
collection of seemingly miscellaneous tips are in chapter six, some of
them the most useful in the book.

Windows Media Player gets chapter seven all to itself.  Chapter eight
lists some basic operations of Internet Explorer while Outlook and
Messenger are in nine.  Movie Maker gets some explanation in chapter
ten, but the reader would have to be quite familiar with the program
before some of the tips even made sense.

Miscellaneous trivia and pranks are in chapter eleven.  Chapter twelve
has some tips regarding system information, performance, and
troubleshooting.  Some random effects that can be accomplished using
Registry settings are listed in chapter thirteen: these are powerful
but possibly dangerous.

This is a reasonably short, and graphically oriented, guide that will
allow the user new to Windows XP to achieve intermediate user status
within a brief time.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2004   BKWXPKLT.RVW   20041023