The Secret Guide To Computers: The 29th Edition for 2004
Book Review
The Secret Guide To Computers:
The 29th Edition for 2004
Book Review
| By Dale Farris, Vice-President Golden Triangle PC Club October 2004 Buy This Book! You Will Be Glad You Did! This the best way I figure to get your focused interest on the super new edition of this classic in the computer book genre. Author Russ Walter has done it again. He has compiled yet another in his long line of editions of this marvelous collection that explains just about all computer topics in a manner anyone can understand. In addition to the wealth of information nicely packaged, when you buy his book, you are also buying an opportunity to use the author's free, 24-hour computer consulting service. If you have questions about computers, you can phone the author at the number listed below, and he will gladly answer your question. No Kidding! And this is not a service he has only recently started. Unbelievably, Mr. Walter has been providing this phone service for many years to countless customers that I am sure are as amazed as I that in these days of voice mail and email as the only means to reach computer technical support, you can call this author for help, and he will actually talk with you when you call. With this kind of commitment to computer owners, all of us owe him our gratitude for this unequaled support by buying at least one copy of his book. Mr. Walter built this book based on selected material culled from thousands of phone calls he has received over the 32 years this famous guide has been published. In 1972, he published the original edition, and the success has continued to grow. With this book, you can be assured you are getting extreme value for the minimal investment in the book. Over the many years of continued success publishing the 29 different editions, Mr. Walter has rightly earned a reputation for his comprehensive knowledge of many computer systems and computer languages, various operating systems and application software, his ability to break down complicated processes into the essential components, and his wry wit. Reading this computer guide book is a joy, which alone is remarkable, when considering how tedious and difficult it is to read so many other computer books that cannot match Mr. Walter's level of knowledge. There is so much solid information in this book that is amazing how Mr. Walter manages to continue keep up with the never-ending, rapid advances in computer technology. What's more, he consistently succeeds in translating highly technical material into language anyone at almost any reading level can understand. Combined in this unique book, you have a history of computers, an excellent explanation how computers work, a super story of the different companies making all the many different hardware components and how these devices work, and a very helpful analysis of how the different brands compare and contrast. You also have a thorough explanation how many operating systems work, as well as extremely thorough explanations of just about every feature in all of today's major office applications, including Microsoft's Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint, and Access, Corel's WordPerfect, Microsoft's Works, desktop publishing programs, accounting packages, graphics programs, and even artificial intelligence. To top it off, the 29th edition adds JavaScript, HTML, and Visual BASIC (which is quite different from old "BASIC"), but drops details about LOGO, DBASE, FORTRAN, and COBOL, though the history of those languages is in the book. Ending this superb, densely packed book is an excellent assortment of valuable tips on computer maintenance and repairs, computer viruses, and his projection of what may be on the horizon in the computer industry. What a combination! I was amazed when I first read through this work, and was especially impressed with Mr. Walter's obvious personal commitment to continue learning everything there is to know about computers, something sorely needed in today's complex world of information technology. I have many times been disappointed with so-called professional information technology (IT) staff persons that know a lot about how to support their network, but couldn't begin to help a computer novice get to first base in Microsoft Word. Their thinking was they are supposed to make sure the network works, and cannot be bothered with learning how to use the applications they support. In this case, however, Mr. Walter represents the finest example of what I perceive to be the pre-eminent computer information systems professional. While it is understandable that IT staffers do find themselves many times preoccupied with the realities of supporting their networks, the accompanying disdain for learning how to use all those applications they support is more than a mere disappointment. As they will see in reading this unique guide to computers, we have found one of the best role models IT support persons could ever emulate. The approach in the book is to be as comprehensive as possible, throwing the reader into the action fast, all designed to quickly enable them to become a competent computer user. The book is surprisingly easy to read, although each page is indeed packed with substance, which is a clue how the author has been able to condense so much material into these many pages in a way that never seems disorganized or cluttered. The first section explains how to buy a computer, then he explains how the various operating systems work, and then he covers many of the more popular computer applications now on the market. The inclusion of all this material in this one volume results in a genuinely unique computer guide that combines the best of many other singularly focused works also packing the retail shelves. While I suspect someone may indeed find some very specific feature in one of the applications more adequately covered in a different book that may concentrate only on the program, in this case, the majority of the available features in all these highly popular applications are well covered here. This makes you wonder why it takes over 600 pages to just talk about Microsoft Word, for example, when Mr. Walter shows us how to do it in his book that does not singularly focus only on this one application. All through the reading of this book you will find yourself frequently laughing at the always dry humor, and I think this adds to the significant uniqueness of Mr. Walter's work. Of course, a lot of the reason for this is his long history of self-publishing his solid book. This means he is more free to decide what to say, how to say it, and how much of it to include in the final copy, without external publishers and editors intervening in the process. So, in other words, the tremendous success of the long history of this essential book is indeed attributable to the work of this most unusual of computer professionals. As stated in the beginning of this review, anyone with the slightest interest in computers should make it a point to Buy This Book, and to make sure to keep up with the hoped for continued revisions. As we all know, the computer industry is one of the fastest of all businesses. We owe a lot of thanks to Mr. Walter for his diligence and hard work keeping up with all these changes in newer releases, and can only hope he can keep this up for many years to come. Content Features All CPU chips explained All common OS's explained, including DOS, Windows, Mac, Linux All word processors All of the Internet history All Microsoft Office tools All mass-market database tools All major computer languages All kinds of computer viruses Table of Contents The eight (8) solid chapters include the following.
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