Are you a network administrator or application developer? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Preston Gralla, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that focuses on users and their networks and applications, not on large enterprise or corporate systems or network administration.
Gralla, begins with a brief guided tour of Windows Vista. Then, the author covers the basics of using windows, such as starting applications, manipulating files, and getting around the interface. Next, he provides a thorough examination of the elements that make up the Windows Vista graphical user interface. The author also covers all aspects of files and the file system, including the myriad of new features of Windows Explorer. He continues by detailing all aspects of the revamped browser in Windows. Then, the author puts the spotlight on the e-mail program formerly known as Outlook Express. Next, he covers wired and wireless networks, as well as laptops and mobile computing. The author then covers the myriad of new security tools built into Vista, with an emphasis on Internet security. He continues by covering everything about setting up, maintaining , and troubleshooting hardware, including keyboards, mice, monitors, USB devices, input devices, scanners, cameras, sound devices, and printers. Then, he covers how user accounts work on Windows Vista, and how to make use of them. Next, he covers all of the performance and troubleshooting tools in Windows. In addition, the author covers music and video playing and production, as well as new features that make it easier to connect a variety of multimedia devices to a PC. He continues by describing the organization o the Windows XP Registry, the central configuration database upon which Windows and all of your applications rely to function and remember your settings. Finally, the author provides complete documentation of the Command Prompt--which is often the overlooked and underestimated part of the operating system.
This most excellent book offers you a basic understanding of the deeper levels of network configuration available in large, enterprise-level networks. Perhaps more importantly, this book has tried to speak universal truths about Windows Vista.