Press Release
December 1, 2004
"Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition": Control Your Machine Before It Controls You
Sebastopol, CA--"You should not be required to adjust the way you think in
order to complete a task on a computer," insists David A. Karp. "Rather,
you should learn how to adjust the computer to work in a way that makes
sense to you." His new Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition
(O'Reilly, US $34.95) allows readers to do just that.
"To put it simply, an annoyance is a problem to be solved," says Karp,
"and Windows certainly has no shortage of those." Whether it's the
operating system's "cute" styles, the sluggish performance, the way
Windows rearranges desktop icons, the "Blue Screen of Death," or the fact
that Service Pack 2 (SP2) contains as many new bugs as it fixes, Windows
XP is inarguably annoying. And in Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Karp
helps users eliminate annoyances and streamline their work as they
customize and troubleshoot Windows.
We need to understand problems and shortcomings in order to overcome them,
says Karp. He motivates power users (and everyday users, too) to learn
more about the their operating systems so they can work more efficiently
and make their Windows experience less painful and more enjoyable. And he
delivers countless tools, tricks, workarounds, and hidden features for
accomplishing tasks such as:
Setting up a wired or wireless network in minutes and working around the
pitfalls of SP2's new firewall, sharing Internet connections over a
network, and sniffing out WiFi networks in a flash
Tapping into SP2's new security features to lock out malicious hackers,
viruses, and spyware, then picking up where SP2 leaves off and patching
the rest of XP's flaws that expose a PC to danger
Troubleshooting error messages, fixing hardware problems, crash-proofing
a PC, and eliminating performance bottlenecks
Customizing the interface to make Windows work the way a user wants it
to, using styles, skins, themes, and tons of undocumented tweaks and
settings
Mastering the Registry, including finding undocumented settings, using
Registry patches, fixing file types, and discovering new ways to hack
Windows
Based on Karp's highly popular Annoyances.org web site, this thorough
reference guide is the intermediate to advanced user's best resource for
turning Windows into the most efficient, reliable, customizable system it
can be.
Readers won't regret buying this book, promises Jon Jacobi of "PC World":
"If you've ever gritted your teeth while Windows started searching your
floppy drive for no apparent reason, this could be the best money you've
ever spent."
Praise for the previous edition:
"The Annoyances titles are the best Windows troubleshooting guides you are
likely to find...a well-organised, practical discussion of solutions...Regardless
of your level of experience, if you are running WinXP--or are thinking of
installing it--this book is probably the best investment you can make. It has
the potential to save countless hours of frustration, and puts the user in charge.
And it is a good read."
--Major Keary, Book News, December 2002
"This is a truly important book, and like all the Annoyances books from
O'Reilly addresses, documents, and gives fixes or work-arounds for
literally hundreds of major and minor Windows XP problems. Tired of the
'personalizations' that are a 'feature' in Windows XP? Here's how to turn
them off. File deletion, Internet Connection Sharing, hundreds of other
features and annoyances, all explained. If you run Windows XP or will have
to, get this book. Highly recommended."
--Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor, November 2002
Further reviews can be found here.
Additional Resources:
Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition
David Karp
ISBN: 0-596-00876-7, 637 pages, $34.95 US, $50.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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