Product Description

Over the 15 years since the first edition of PCs For Dummies, PCs have become immensely faster and more powerful. They have also sprouted new and wondrous capabilities at a dizzying pace. This 11th Edition of the all–time bestselling PC guide has been polished and honed to deliver everything you need to know about your twenty–first–century PC — from what plugs into what to adjusting your monitor to burning DVDs, and much more.

Whether you want to go online, install a firewall, live the digital life, or finally get a handle on the whole computer software concept, this fun, plain–English handbook is here to answer all your questions PC questions. You′ll find out why Windows Vista is the way to go and how to use it to get everywhere else. And, you′ll pick up Web and email tricks and learn about all the new levels of PC security.   Discover how to:

• Set up your PC
• Use Vista menus
• Store your stuff on Memory Cards
• Record live TV
• Download digital photos
• Connect to a wireless network
• Explore the Internet safely
• Print perfect documents, photos, and more
• Use your PC as the new hub of your digital world

Complete with helpful hints on how to avoid beginner mistakes, a list of extras and accessories you may want for your PC, and insider tips from a PC guru. PCs for Dummies, 11th Edition is the one PC accessory you can′t do without.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9132 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Explaining the fundamentals of personal computing to those who would rather read words than look at pictures, PCs for Dummies tells you everything you need to know in order to use an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 98. Dan Gookin's prose is technically astute and fun to read.

This isn't the book for you if you're looking through a computer catalogue and wondering what all the jargon means (Buying a Computer for Dummies covers that). Rather, this book will help you when you've got the machine into your home and you need to know what to do next. Starting with the process of unpacking the box and plugging in all the cables, this book shows you what to do with your new machine.

After assembly is out of the way, Gookin shows you how to get around in Windows 98 (and Windows 95, which is almost identical). He explains concepts like files, directories, and applications, and frequently explains the exact procedures involved in common tasks like adjusting screen resolution. Once you've heard all about the basics, Gookin goes on to explain modem configuration, printer problems, productivity software, and a fair amount about Internet use. --David Wall, Amazon.com

Review
"Easy and entertaining...explains computer terms and walks you through the more complicated aspects of computer life." —New York Daily News

“…I would implore any elderly person thinking about getting a computer to go and get one…” (Teesside Evening Gazette, 19 May 2003)

“…excellent and fun to read…” (Mourne Observer & County Down News, 23 July 2003)

Teesside Evening Gazette, 19 May 2003
"..I would implore any elderly person thinking about getting a computer to go and get one.."

Customer Reviews

The Best Introduction to Computers You Could Have
If you're a complete beginner or, like me, you have a just a small amount of knowledge and experience of computers then I don't see that you could find a better guide book than this one. I would strongly recommend it especially to people who have got a computer for the first time and find the whole business of what you can and can't do on it bewildering. The author has a degree in communications and it shows. Every aspect of using a computer is dealt with in turn and explained in a very effective way that gets the meaning across without being technical.

Brilliant for absolute beginners
I bought this book just over two years ago when I bought my first ever computer. At that point I knew absolutely nothing about PC's. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even know how to switch it on. This book is brilliant if you're a complete novice, as it starts off from ground zero, by assuming the reader knows nothing at all. It is written in a very easy to understand logical way. The author's wry sense of humour is never far away, causing me to burst out laughing every so often. You are taken by the hand and guided through all the basics you'll need to get you up and running, and totally familiar with your PC. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, particularly people a bit frightened of computers who have just bought their first one.

What's a Start Menu...............!?
The first thing you notice bout this book - is that it is funny. But after a while it starts to get a bit annoying as the book seems more like it's `trying' to be funny than actually being funny.

Anyway - I am pretty good with PCs (messed around with them for years) and decided to flick through this book that my mum-in-law has recently acquired.

It does a good job of separating the technobabble from the technology and gives good steady walkthroughs of what it deems to be the essentials. I'm sure though that everyone has their own idea of what is `the essentials' and so the book may never satisfy everyone.

The good thing about the non-reliance on techno-speak is that the book doesn't date too badly. I've seen an old edition of this book (2001 edition) and it is still pretty relevant today. It gives an example of a fast PC with 256MB of RAM which is laughable these days - but the book is still handy.

It isn't just the software side of things either that this book tackles - it deals with adjusting your monitor settings, what the various ports on your PC are for, what various components do. I'm not a massive Windows user myself, but the author explains at the beginning of the book that this covers only PCs running Windows based operating systems.

In a nutshell - This is a brilliant book for a PC novice. It doesn't make the reader feel daunted, and it should help inspire confidence. It is funny (even if it does grate after a while!), and even if you can only get your hands on a copy of an old edition - much of the information will still be relevant (unless you are using the ultimate PC slower-upper: Vista! In which case you'll probably need a more recent version as the others may only cover up to XP).