`Using Windows XP Professional’
$44.99, Que Publishing
Book/CD-ROM
www.quepublishing.com
Whether you just acquired a Windows XP-based computer or have been trying to figure one out for some time, this copious CD/book from Indianapolis-based Que beckons as a superb New Year’s resolution.
Although writers Robert Cowart and Brian Knittel focus on XP Professional, the book also covers all there is to know about the slightly less robust–and less expensive–XP Home Edition.
To say they cover XP isn’t to scratch the surface of splendid advice and helpful handholding offered over a whopping 1,272 pages of crystal-clear text. The included CD-ROM offers 45 minutes of video training in which the authors use film clips and screen shots to walk one through such tough ground as setting up and configuring a home or office network. Also handled well are tips on how to customize computer screens to simplify finding what one needs to find.
But it’s in drilling down to the nitty-gritty of problem-solving that this two-pound tome proves its mettle. Consider the treatment of the slick but complex Windows Messenger services that let users engage in video chats over the Internet but require some demanding set-up work. Cowart and Knittel cover what’s needed with clarity and an economy of words and make family video links a cakewalk.
Grazing these pages rewards with an avalanche of tidbits such as learning the Start/Run clipboard program that lets users access the clipboard used whenever anything is saved in Windows. Repeated images can be stored in files with a .clp extension.
Typical of the in-depth coverage is the treatment of Windows XP’s built-in Outlook Express e-mail software that goes far beyond the rudimentary help from Microsoft to explain sending encrypted messages, preventing Outlook Express from rejecting all attachments and requesting receipts for sent messages.
SONY
Editing on Acid sounds satisfying
Media giant Sony Pictures Digital Inc. bought out the hugely popular Sound Forge Acid music- and sound-editing software, and with its $69.95 Acid 4.0 offers an extraordinarily simple interface to ease the way to audio excellence everywhere, from garage bands to grandparents with video cameras and not a clue about how to add soundtracks. Stuff like fade in and fade out, track cleaning and special effects are accomplished easily, point-and-click style.
Beyond tools for bush leaguers, Acid 4.0 offers the multiple-track mixing and sampling tools of the highest-end audio software at a very tempting price.
LINKSYS
Alternating PCs an easy switch
If you added a new computer but hate to lose the old one, give a thought to the Linksys Pro Connect 2 KVM switch that includes the box and cables to connect an old computer and a new one to the same keyboard, video monitor and mouse and then switch back and forth by tapping Control twice.
The only space you add is the footprint for the old PC.
Think of losing those worries about losing stuff during upgrades.
