Sebastopol, CA--Question: What measures 9" x 7", weighs less than 2
pounds, helps run your new Windows 2000 Pro, but doesn't come in the
box?
Answer: The Missing Manual.
Apple does it. Adobe does it. Netscape and Microsoft do it. Almost
every major software company, in fact, sells increasingly sophisticated
software without a printed manual. Instead, even after paying $400 for
the software, you're expected to learn these complex programs by
reading electronic help screens. But online help is no substitute for a
real manual. You can't read online help in bed, underline something, or
flip between pages. And most online help lacks illustrations, page
numbers, and tutorial examples.
According to Microsoft, Windows 2000 Pro combines the friendly
interface of Windows 98 with the famous stability of Windows NT.
Windows 2000, the successor to NT, introduces many technologies that
weren't available in NT, including Plug-and-Play, support for USB
devices, power management features, and more. It's 25% faster than
Windows 98 and three times as stable. Unfortunately, despite all the
enhancements, Microsoft forgot to address one of NT's most glaring
omissions: Windows 2000 doesn't include a printed user manual.
In Windows 2000
Pro: The Missing Manual, best-selling Windows NT
author Sharon Crawford provides the friendly, authoritative book that
should have been in the box. It's the ideal (and desperately needed)
user guide for the world's most popular corporate operating system.
"I wrote the book because the idea of supplying the 'Missing Manual'
was irresistible," says Crawford. "I saw it as a chance to go beyond
the usual 'to do this, click that' material of beginners books. I
wanted to offer real insight into the premises behind Windows so the
reader could not only get quick answers but also figure out answers on
his or her own."
"Here's the operating system that greets hundreds of thousands of
people at work each day, with not a single page of
instructions--nothing but some unbelievably geeky, un-illustrated
online help screens," says David Pogue, creator of the "Missing Manual
Series." "Creating a proper user manual for Windows 2000 Pro was one of
the most important Missing Manual missions, and I'm thrilled that
Sharon Crawford has met the challenge."
Online Resources:
Windows 2000 Pro:
The Missing Manual
By Sharon Crawford
December 2000
ISBN 0-596-00010-3, 450 pages, $19.95
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
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