Access Cookbook, 2nd Edition

£28.40

Ken Getz,Paul Litwin and Andy Baron; ISBN: 0-596-00678-0

Not a reference book, and not a tutorial either, the new second edition of the highly regarded Access Cookbook is an uncommonly useful collection of solutions to problems that Access users and developers are likely to face as they attempt to build increasingly complex applications.

Although using any single "recipe" in the book will more than pay back the cost of the book in terms of both hours saved and frustration thwarted, Access Cookbook, Second Edition is much more than a handy assortment of cut-and-paste code.

Each of the "recipes" examine a particular problem--problems that commonly occur when you push the upper limits of Access, or ones that are likely to trip up a developer attempting to design a more elegant Access application--even some things you never knew Access could do. The authors then, in a clear, accessible, step-by-step style, present the problems' solution. Following each "recipe" are insights on how Access works, potential pitfalls, interesting programming techniques that are used in the solution, and how and why the solution works, so you can adapt the problem-solving techniques to other similar situations.

Fully updated for Access 2003, Access Cookbook, Second Edition is also one of the first books to thoroughly explore new support for .NET managed code and XML. All of the practical, real-world examples have been tested for compatibility with Access 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. This updated new edition also covers Access and SharePoint, Access and SmartTags, Access and .NET; and Access and XML.

Access power users and programmers at all levels, from the relatively inexperienced to the most sophisticated, will rely on the Access Cookbook for quick solutions to gnarly problems. With a dog-eared copy of Access Cookbook at your side, you can spend your time and energy where it matters most: working on the interesting facets of your Access application, not just the time-consuming ones.

Access Database Design & Programming, 3rd Edition

£19.96

Steven Roman, Ph.D.; ISBN: 0-59600-273-4

Access Database Design & Programming takes you behind the details of the Access interface, focusing on the general knowledge necessary for Access power users or developers to create effective database applications. When using software products with graphical interfaces, we frequently focus so much on the interface that we forget about the general concepts that allow us to understand and use the software effectively. In particular, this book focuses on three areas:

• Database design. The book provides an enjoyable, informative overview of database design that carefully shows you how to normalize tables to eliminate redundancy without losing data.
• Queries. The book examines multi-table queries (i.e.,various types of joins) and shows how to implement them indirectly by using the Access interface or directly by using Access SQL.
• Programming. The book examines the VBA integrated development environment (IDE). It then goes on to provide an excellent introduction to Data Access Objects (DAO), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and ADO Extensions for Data Definition and Security (ADOX). These sections serve as a handy introduction and primer for basic database operations,such as modifying a table under program control, dynamically adding and deleting a record, and repositioning a record pointer. The concluding chapter focuses on common programming problems, such as computing running sums and comparing two sets.

Unlike other Access books that take the long, detailed approach to every topic of concern to Access programmers, Access Database Design &Programming instead focuses on the core concepts, enabling programmers to develop solid, effective database applications. This book also serves as a 'second course' in Access that provides a relatively experienced Access user who is new to programming with the frequently overlooked techniques necessary to develop successfully in the Microsoft Access environment.

Anyone interested in learning Access in depth, rather than just scraping the surface, will enjoy and benefit immensely from reading this book.

Excel 2003 Personal Trainer

£15.96

CustomGuide Inc; ISBN: 0-596-00853-8

Every time a new version of Microsoft Excel appears, you're introduced to another batch of powerful features--most of which you'll never understand or use. Even if you're experienced with this spreadsheet program, you'll struggle to keep up with all of the improvements. But if you're a beginner, you probably don't know where to start.

Now, with Excel 2003 Personal Trainer, beginners and experts alike can become black belts, quickly and easily. This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach to learning, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and work your way to advance topics through dozens of task-oriented lessons---at your own pace. The companion CD tutorial guides you through each lesson interactively.

Excel 2003 Personal Trainer includes sections on editing, formatting, functions, formulas, lists, macros, creating and managing workbooks, and creating and editing charts. You'll also learn data analysis, what-if analysis, pivot tables, how get Excel to work with other programs and the Internet, and advanced topics like using detect and repair. Every chapter includes detailed diagrams and a review at the end to help you absorb and retain all you have learned.

If you already use Excel, you can dive right into those topics (and only those topics) that you need or want to learn. Unlike many consumer software tutorials that dumb down the material or present it in a confusing fashion, Excel 2003 Personal Trainer is written in a non-technical and engaging style that you will find fun, easy, and most of all, clear and informative. You don't have to wade through tons of jargon and technical information to become proficient with Excel.

Part of our new Personal Trainer Series, this book is based on content from CustomGuide (www.customguide.com), a leading provider of computer training materials. Founded by instructors who grew dissatisfied with the industry's dry course materials, CustomGuide offers courseware (for instructors and students), quick references, to software bulletins and e-learning courses that are fun, flexible, and easy to use.

Excel 2003 Programming: A Developer's Notebook

£16.76

Jeff Webb; ISBN: 0-596-00767-1

On the surface, it doesn't appear as if much in Excel 2003 has changed. There are a handful of new objects and the user interface is largely the same. But beyond a superficial glance, you'll see that there are fundamental shifts implied by the new features: Lists, XML, web services, .NET, and InfoPath build a framework for entirely new ways to exchange data with Excel. In fact, that's much of what Excel 2003 is all about--solving problems that deal with teamwork-- collecting and sharing data, programming across applications, and maintaining security.

The latest in our Developer's Notebook series, this guide introduces intermediate to advanced Excel VBA programmers to the newest programming features of Excel 2003,--focusing just on what's new--so you can get up to speed quickly. Light on theory and long on practical application, the book takes you directly to the topics you'll want to master through a series of hands-on projects. With dozens of practical labs, you'll be able to decide for yourself which new aspects of Excel will be useful or not in your own work. And best of all, you won't have to buy an expensive revision of a legacy Excel programming tutorial to learn about the new features--if they're covered there at all.

Excel 2003 Programming: A Developer's Notebook shows you how to work with lists and XML data, secure Excel applications, use Visual Studio Tools for Office, consume Web Services, and collect data with Infopath. Each chapter is organized into a collection of labs, each of which addresses a specific programming problem. You can follow along to complete the lab on your own, or jump ahead and use the samples the author has built for you.

The new Developer's Notebooks series from O'Reilly covers important new tools for software developers. Emphasizing example over explanation and practice over theory, they focus on learning by doing--you'll get the goods straight from the masters, in an informal and code-intensive style that suits developers. If you've been curious about Excel 2003, but haven't known where to start, this no-fluff, lab-style guide is the solution.

Excel Annoyances

£11.96

Curt Frye; ISBN: 0-596-00728-0

It's the solution to almost all of your electronic organization needs. Need to present a detailed expense report? Try an Excel spreadsheet. Keeping track of a complicated budget? Excel to the rescue. Want to keep tabs on your office football pool? You guessed it.

Thanks to its incredible versatility and power, Excel has emerged as more than just a mainstream program; it's now one of the most used applications on the planet. Everyone from run-of-the-mill PC users to leading financial analysts count on Excel to make sense of overflowing data. And to keep up with the overwhelming user demand, three different versions of Excel have hit the market since the debut of Excel 97: Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. Naturally, each version offers a new slate of next-generation upgrades--and, of course, operating bugs!

At last, Excel users have some relief: Excel Annoyances emerged from the suggestions of numerous Excel users who've struggled with these irritating bugs over the years. Written in the popular Annoyances format, this latest O'Reilly helper addresses all of the quirks, bugs, inconsistencies, and hidden features found in each of the four versions. Chances are if someone, somewhere, found a certain step confusing, then it's addressed in Excel Annoyances.

Author Curtis D. Frye breaks down the cavalcade of information into several tip-of-the-finger categories such as Entering Data, Formatting, Charting, Printing, and more. If you're one of the millions of people who use Excel, you're sure to find a goldmine of helpful nuggets that you can use to fix the program's most annoying traits. In the end, Excel Annoyances will help you to truly maximize Excel's seemingly limitless potential.

Excel Hacks

£14.00

David Hawley and Raina Hawley; ISBN: 0-596-00625-X

If you think that getting creative with Excel means the underhanded tweaking of numbers, think again. Excel Hacks shows even the most experienced users how to do things with Excel they might never have thought of doing--and lets them have a little fun while they're at it.

Microsoft Excel is not just the dominant spreadsheet in the world; it's also one of the most popular applications ever created. Its success lies not only in its power and flexibility, but also in its streamlined, familiar interface that casually conceals its considerable capabilities. You don't need to know everything that Excel can do in order to use it effectively, but if you're like the millions of Excel power users looking to improve productivity, then Excel Hacks will show you a wide variety of Excel tasks you can put to use, most of which are off the beaten path.

With this book, Excel power users can bring a hacker's creative approach to both common and uncommon Excel topics--"hackers" in this sense being those who like to tinker with technology to improve it. The "100 Industrial Strength Tips and Tools" in Excel Hacks include little known "backdoor" adjustments for everything from reducing workbook and worksheet frustration to hacking built-in features such as pivot tables, charts, formulas and functions, and even the macro language.

This resourceful roll-up-your-sleeves guide is for intermediate to advanced Excel users eager to explore new ways to make Excel do things--from data analysis to worksheet management to import/export--that you never thought possible. Excel Hacks will help you increase productivity with Excel and give you hours of "hacking" enjoyment along the way.

Excel: The Missing Manual

£22.80

Matthew MacDonald; ISBN: 0-596-00664-0

Whether you are an Excel neophyte, a sophisticate who knows the program inside out, or an intermediate-level plodder eager to hone your skills, Excel: The Missing Manual is sure to become your go-to resource for all things Excel. Covering all the features of Excel 2002 and 2003, Excel: The Missing Manual is an easy-to-read, thorough and downright enjoyable guide to one of the world's most popular, (and annoyingly complicated!) computer programs.

Never a candidate for "the most user-friendly of Microsoft programs," Excel demands study, practice and dedication to gain even a working knowledge of the basics. Excel 2003 is probably even tougher to use than any previous version of Excel. However, despite its fairly steep learning curve, this marvelously rich program enables users of every stripe to turn data into information using tools to analyze, communicate, and share knowledge. Excel can help you to collaborate effectively, and protect and control access to your work. Power users can take advantage of industry-standard Extensible Markup Language (XML) data to connect to business processes.

To unleash the power of the program and mine the full potential of their database talents, users need an authorative and friendly resource. None is more authoritative or friendlier than Excel: The Missing Manual. Not only does the book provide exhaustive coverage of the basics, it provides numerous tips and tricks, as well as advanced data analysis, programming and Web interface knowledge that pros can adopt for their latest project. Neophytes will find everything they need to create professional spreadsheets and become confident users.

Excel: The Missing Manual covers: worksheet basics, formulas and functions, organizing worksheets, charts and graphics, advanced data analysis, sharing data with the rest of the world, and programming.

If you buy just one book about using Excel, this has GOT to be it. This book has all you need to help you excel at Excel.

MCSD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams

£16.76

James Foxall, MCSD; ISBN: 1-56592-752-4

Since their introduction, the MCSD certification exams have been enthusiastically received by VB programmers who consider certification very important to their professional credibility.

Programmers tend to be specialists--they tend to do the same kind of programming over and over. The MCSD exam is targeted at technical generalists--developers familiar with a broad array of Microsoft technologies and development approaches that are incorporated into Visual Basic. With its comprehensive overview of core technology areas, MCSD in a Nutshell is the perfect study guide and resource to help developers master technologies that are less familiar to them. In fact, its thorough review of Visual Basic-related development technologies also makes this an excellent tutorial for experienced VB programmers who wish to get up to speed on speed on some technology with which they work infrequently, if at all.

Most certification books are really tutorials in disguise. In contrast, this book focuses on the advanced topics about which developers are actually tested on the exam.

Topics include:

• Understanding COM
• Creating ActiveX Code Components
• Creating ActiveX Controls
• Creating and Using ActiveX Documents
• Creating Internet-Aware Applications
• Testing and Debugging
• Integrating Help with an Application
• Optimizing an Application
• Package and Deployment
• Incorporating Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)

Incredibly, most certification books appear to assume that the reader has no prior experience with VB programming. In contrast, this book assumes an intermediate to advanced programmer who is concerned with learning more about each of the core technologies that are covered by the exam. And unlike some certification books,

MCSD in a Nutshell is written by an author who has successfully passed the certification exams.

MCSE in a Nutshell: The Windows 2000 Exams

£16.76

Michael Moncur and Paul Murphy; ISBN: 0-596-00030-8

Microsoft's MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) candidates in the Windows 2000 track are required to pass five core exams and two elective exams. These exams are designed to provide a valid and reliable measure of competency for experienced IT professionals working in the typically complex computing environment of medium to large organizations.

MCSE in a Nutshell: The Windows 2000 Exams is a comprehensive study guide and detailed quick reference that covers the following exams:

• Exam 70-210: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Exam 70-215: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Exam 70-216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure
• Exam 70-217: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure
• Exam 70-219: Designing a Microsoft. Windows. 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure
• Exam 70-221: Designing a Microsoft. Windows. 2000 Network Infrastructure
• Exam 70-220: Designing Security for a Microsoft. Windows. 2000 Network

Each chapter covers one exam. It includes:

• A summary of the key areas covered by the exam
• A description of the format, difficulty of each exam and tips for passing it
• Definitions of key terms

Any administrator who is serious about acquiring MCSE certification will find this book indispensable. MCSE in a Nutshell: The Windows 2000 Exams is the best value on the market, combining a low price and fast pace that will appeal to sophisticated users who need a bridge between real-world experience and the MCSE Exam requirements.

Managing Microsoft Exchange Server

£22.80

Paul Robichaux; ISBN: 1-56592-545-9

Microsoft Exchange is a big, complicated application; it requires more disk storage than Windows NT Server and has several hundred configuration property pages and dialogs. But it is also a very powerful and flexible messaging system. However, knowing that it can be made to do something and understanding how to do it are often worlds apart. Managing Microsoft Exchange Server bridges this gap.

This book is a no-nonsense, practical guide to planning, installing, managing, maintaining, and troubleshooting Exchange networks. Targeted at medium-sized installations and up, Managing Microsoft Exchange Server addresses the difficult problems these users face: Internet integration, storage management, cost of ownership, system security, and performance management. It goes beyond the basics to provide real hands-on advice about what you need to know after you have your first site up-and-running and are facing issues of growth, optimization, or recovery planning. Managing Microsoft Exchange Server comprehensively explains how Exchange works, what it can do, and how you can make it work for you.

Managing the Windows 2000 Registry

£22.80

Paul Robichaux; ISBN: 1-56592-943-8

The Windows 2000 Registry is the repository for all hardware, software, and application configuration settings, and Managing the Windows 2000 Registry is the system administrator's guide to maintaining, monitoring, and updating the Registry database. The book, which is an update of Managing the Windows NT Registry, addresses four main areas:

• What is the Registry? Where does it live on disk? How do system services access and use it? What do you do if it's damaged or corrupted? Every 2000 administrator faces questions like this, often in a desperate attempt to fix something that's broken.
• What tools are available? Detailed descriptions of Regedit, RegEdt32, the System Policy Editor, Group Policy Editor and selected Resource Kit utilities explain how to edit and secure the Registry both on local and on remote computers.
• How can I access the Registry from a program? Regularly monitoring the Registry's contents is one way to preclude unpleasant surprises. Using examples in C++, Visual Basic, and Perl, Managing the Windows 2000 Registry demonstrates how to create Registry-aware tools and scripts.
• What's in the Registry? Not all Registry keys are adequately documented by Microsoft or by the other vendors who store configuration data in the Registry. Managing the Windows 2000 Registry offers a guided tour of some of these undocumented keys.

This book is a "must have" for every 2000 system manager or administrator.

Mastering Visual Studio .NET

£22.80

Ian Griffiths,Jon Flanders and Chris Sells; ISBN: 0-596-00360-9

Mastering Visual Studio .NET provides you, as an experienced programmer, with all the information needed to get the most out of the latest and greatest development tool from Microsoft. It doesn't matter if you're an MFC, C++, STL, ATL, COM, Win32, Visual Basic, C#, HTML, XML, ASP.NET, database, web application, Web service, NT service, stand-alone client, or component programmer targeting Windows or one of the Windows variants (i.e. Windows CE or the PocketPC) -- this is the book that will help you master the toolkit.

Written by experienced developers and trainers John Flanders, Ian Griffiths, and Chris Sells, Mastering Visual Studio .NET begins with fundamental information about maximizing the power of Visual Studio .NET as it comes out of the box, including the following topics:

• projects and solutions
• files and the various file editors
• debugging
• web projects
• database projects
• setup projects

To experience the full spectrum of functionality and extensibility, Mastering Visual Studio .NET provides you with the practical depth and detail needed to best put these features to work. The second section of the book is about extending VS.NET to suit your specific needs:

• integrating controls and components with VS.NET
• the VS.NET automation object model
• macros and add-ins
• custom wizards
• the Visual Studio Integration Program (VSIP)

If you're serious about using the VS.NET toolkit, you'll want a book of this magnitude close by. Mastering Visual Studio .NET will take you beyond what you'll read in the standard documentation by offering hints and recommendations that the authors and the community at large have found to be useful after many years of experience.

Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET

£19.96

J. P. Hamilton; ISBN: 0-596-00146-0

One of the most significant features of Visual Basic .NET is the full support of object-oriented programming. For years, developers have been asking for it, but you may not be quite sure how it can help to create and maintain scalable .NET applications. VB.NET is a language that facilitates object-oriented programming, but does not guarantee good object-oriented code. That's where Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET comes in. It will show you how to think about similarities in your application logic and how to design and create objects that maximize the benefit and power the .NET Framework enables.

The concept of separating the interface from the implementation has been around for years, but with Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET you'll put it all into practice and you'll never willingly go back to those old ways. With chapters on object fundamentals and class anatomy, you'll lay a foundation that will prepare you to think and apply code reuse principles. Following that, you'll be ready to dive deep into code and the dynamic ecology that it interacts with. Inheritance, containment, polymorphism, overloading, and overriding are just the beginning of this adventure. From there, you'll discover exception handling, reflection, serialization, and I/O.

Packed with examples that will guide you through every step, Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET is a guide for those with some programming experience. This book is for those who know Visual Basic 6.0 and are ready or have started the process of developing with Visual Basic .NET. It is an essential tool that will build your skills, as you become a master of Visual Basic .NET.

It is one thing to know how to write object-oriented code. Knowing the when and the why is what makes good programmers. That's exactly what you'll know after reading this book.

Office 2003 XML

£22.80

Evan Lenz,Mary McRae and Simon St. Laurent; ISBN: 0-596-00538-5

In Microsoft's Office 2003, users experience the merger of the power of the classic Office suite of applications with the fluidity of data exchange inherent in XML. With XML at its heart, the new version of Microsoft's desktop suite liberates the information stored in millions of documents created with Office software over the past fifteen years, making it available to a wide variety of programs.

Office 2003 XML offers an in-depth exploration of the relationship between XML and Office 2003, examining how the various products in the Office suite both produce and consume XML. Developers will learn how they can connect Microsoft Office to others systems, while power users will learn to create and analyze XML documents using familiar Office tools.

The book begins with an overview of the XML features included in the various Office 2003 components, and explores in detail how Word, Excel, and Access interact with XML. This book covers both the user interface side, creating interfaces so that users can comfortably (and even unknowingly) work with XML, and the back end, exposing Office information to other processes. It also looks at Microsoft's new InfoPath application and how it fits with the rest of Office. Finally, the book's appendices introduce various XML technologies that may be useful in working with Office, including XSLT, W3C XML Schema, RELAX NG, and SOAP.

Office 2003 XML provides quick and clear guidance to a anyone who needs to import or export information from Office documents into other systems. Both XML programmers and Office power will learn how to get the most from this powerful new intersection between Office 2003 and XML.

Outlook 2003 Personal Trainer

£15.96

CustomGuide Inc; ISBN: 0-596-00935-6

Outlook 2003, the latest personal information program from Microsoft Office, provides an integrated solution for managing email messages, schedules, tasks, notes, contacts, and other information. Thanks to a number of valuable upgrades, Outlook 2003 is better equipped than ever. Now you can improve the way you manage information, communicate with others, and organize your work--all from one place.

To make absolutely certain that you know when and how to implement all of these powerful new features, O'Reilly has put together the Outlook 2003 Personal Trainer. This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach to learning, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and then work your way up to advance topics--at your own pace. Designed to get both beginners and experts into tip-top shape, this handy reference is written in a non-technical style that you're bound to find engaging and informative.

In addition to many other fundamentals, Outlook 2003 Personal Trainer discusses how you can use the following program elements to your best possible advantage:

• Email

• Address Book

• Contacts List

• Calendar

• Task List

• Journal

  The book also includes sections on advanced email features, organizing and finding information, collaborating with other users, and retrieving archived items. Every chapter includes detailed diagrams and a review at the end to help you absorb and retain all you have learned. The companion CD tutorial guides you through each lesson interactively.

  Part of O'Reilly's new Personal Trainer Series, this book is based on content from CustomGuide (www.customguide.com), a leading provider of computer training materials. Founded by instructors who grew dissatisfied with the industry's dry course materials, CustomGuide offers courseware (for instructors and students), quick references, to software bulletins and e-learning courses that are fun, flexible, and easy to use.

Outlook Pocket Guide

£5.56

Walter Glenn; ISBN: 0-596-00444-3

Any Outlook power user knows that Microsoft Outlook® is more than just an email program: it's a suite of organizational tools that can help you manage your schedule, contacts, and deadlines with remarkable efficiency. Outlook contains such a wealth of features that even the most experienced users find that there is always something new that they can master. Whether you are a power user, help desk staff, or just someone who wants to harness the full strength of this program, you'll find that the Outlook Pocket Guide significantly decreases the amount of time you spend trying to figure out tricky questions. It provides just what you need, when you need it, right at your fingertips.

Packed with information, this compact guide is a highly utilitarian tool that covers Microsoft Outlook's keyboard shortcuts, user interface, commands, and tasks. This little book is easy to use anywhere-it's the perfect quick reference for a veteran Outlook user who doesn't need a thousand-page tutorial.

The Outlook Pocket Guide covers the latest version of Microsoft Outlook and includes:

• A brief explanation of how Outlook works behind the scenes
• An extensive guide section for common tasks as well as little-known solutions
• Reference tables for keyboard shortcuts, regular expressions, and common file locations

O'Reilly's Pocket Guides are a favorite resource for people who want to get the most out of their applications. Packed with important details in a concise, well-organized format, these handy books deliver just what you need to grow in knowledge and proficiency without having to lug around a heavy reference volume. If you're an Outlook power user, or hope to be one, the Outlook Pocket Guide is a book you'll want nearby.

PowerPoint Personal Trainer

£15.96

CustomGuide Inc; ISBN: 0-596-00855-4

PowerPoint is the world's most widely used presentation program, a favorite of educators, trainers, and, of course, those in business everywhere. Yet, every time Microsoft releases a new version of the program, they introduce another set of features---most of which you'll never understand or use. Even if you have experience with PowerPoint, you'll struggle to keep up with the improvements. If you're a beginner, you probably don't know where to start.

Now, with PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer, beginners and experts alike can become black belts with this presentation program, quickly and easily. This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach to learning, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and work your way to advance topics through dozens of task-oriented lessons--at your own pace. The companion CD tutorial guides you through each lesson interactively.

PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer includes sections on editing, formatting, drawing, working with word art, tables, organization charts, multimedia, other programs, the Internet, and how to optimize presentation delivery. Every chapter includes detailed diagrams and a review at the end to help you absorb and retain all you have learned.

If you already use PowerPoint, you can dive right into those topics (and only those topics) that you need or want to learn. Unlike many consumer software tutorials that dumb down the material or present it in a confusing fashion, PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer is written in a non-technical and engaging style that you will find fun, easy, and most of all, clear and informative. You don't have to wade through tons of jargon and technical information to become proficient.

Part of our new Personal Trainer Series, this book is based on content from CustomGuide (www.customguide.com), a leading provider of computer training materials. Founded by instructors who grew dissatisfied with the industry's dry course materials, CustomGuide offers courseware (for instructors and students), quick references, to software bulletins and e-learning courses that are fun, flexible, and easy to use.

Securing Windows Server 2003

£22.80

Mike Danseglio; ISBN: 0-596-00685-3

With the success of computer viruses like Slammer, security issues are now a top priority for Windows system administrators, right alongside day-to-day tasks such as setting up accounts and managing performance. If you use Windows 2003 Server at a small to medium-sized organization, or use Microsoft's Small Business Server, this thorough yet concise tutorial offers the hands-on advice you need for securing your network.

Modern network operating systems include bundled services that range from traditional file and print sharing and Internet services to authentication, directory and remote access services each a potential security vulnerability as well as a capability. Securing Windows Server 2003 shows you how to put Windows security tools to work, and how to run the server's subsystems to protect users and resources. But that's just the beginning.

Network security needs to be well thought-out, not treated as a fire drill when a threat occurs. This book focuses primarily on ways to plan and implement a secure operating environment. Microsoft security veteran Mike Danseglio uses real-world examples to show you how various security concepts relate to your own system, including:

• File System Security
• Group Policy and security templates
• Running secure code
• Authentication
• IP security
• Public Key Certificates and Public Key Infrastructure
• Smart Card technology
• DHCP and DNS security
• Internet Information Services security
• Active Directory security
• Remote access security
• Security audits
• Sending secure email, and more

Many chapters include a debate, in which fictional protagonists discuss the pros and cons of a particular strategy or solution. These debates provide an objective look at competing methodologies, so you can select the solutions that best fit your network. Read this book cover to cover to create and implement a security plan, or use individual chapters as stand-alone lessons. Either way, Securing Windows Server 2003 will guide you safely through the morass of security threats.

Shared Source CLI Essentials

£19.96

David Stutz,Ted Neward and Geoff Shilling; ISBN: 0-596-00351-X

Microsoft's Shared Source CLI (code-named "Rotor") is the publicly available implementation of the ECMA Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and the ECMA C# language specification. Loaded with three million lines of source code, it presents a wealth of programming language technology that targets developers interested in the internal workings of the Microsoft .NET Framework, academics working with advanced compiler technology, and people developing their own CLI implementations. The CLI, at its heart, is an approach to building software that enables code from many independent sources to co-exist and interoperate safely.

Shared Source CLI Essentials is a companion guide to Rotor's code. This concise and insightful volume provides a road map for anyone wishing to navigate, understand, or alter the Shared Source CLI code. This book illustrates the design principles used in the CLI standard and discusses the complexities involved when building virtual machines. Included with the book is a CD-ROM that contains all the source code and files.

After introducing the CLI, its core concepts, and the Shared Source CLI implementation, Shared Source CLI Essentials covers these topics:

• The CLI type system
• Component packaging and assemblies
• Type loading and JIT Compilation
• Managed code and the execution engine
• Garbage collection and memory management
• The Platform Adaptation Layer (PAL): a portability layer for Win32, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD

Written by members of the core Microsoft team that designed the .NET Framework, Shared Source CLI Essentials is for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of what goes on under the hood of the .NET runtime and the ECMA CLI. Advanced .NET programmers, researchers, the academic community, and CLI implementers who have asked hard questions about the .NET Framework will find that this behind-the-scenes look at the .NET nucleus provides them with excellent resources from which they can extract answers.

VB.NET Core Classes in a Nutshell

£25.56

Budi Kurniawan and Ted Neward; ISBN: 0-596-00257-2

The .NET platform gives Visual Basic developers access to an entirely new and comprehensive class library that promises to further simplify and speed VB application development. In VB.NET Core Classes in a Nutshell, VB Programmers will find a concise and thorough reference to the types found in the core namespaces of the .NET Framework Class Library.

The heart of this book is a classic Nutshell Quick Reference to all the types found in 22 core .NET namespaces. The entry for each type describes its significance, explains how the type is used in .NET applications and lists its members and their signatures in readable VB.NET syntax.

The core namespaces documented in this book include types in the following areas:

• Essential system and programming services found in the System namespace
• Text handling and regular expression pattern searches
• Diagnostics, debugging, and performance monitoring
• Generalized and specialized collection objects
• Reflection
• Extensible Markup Language (XML)
• Input/output and serialization
• Networking
• Threading and timers
• COM interop and globalization

An essential companion to VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, this book completes a two-volume reference that VB.NET programmers will turn to repeatedly in both its print and online versions.

Thanks to a special partnership between O?Reilly and Microsoft, now you can integrate the content from this ?In a Nutshell? title with the Dynamic Help inside Visual Studio .NET. Once you install the plug-in using the enclosed CD-ROM, you?ll have full access to its 22 namespace overviews and 700-plus type entries. Requires Visual Studio .NET or Visual Basic .NET.

VB.NET Language Pocket Reference

£5.56

Steven Roman, Ph.D.,Ron Petrusha and Paul Lomax; ISBN: 0-596-00428-1

Visual Basic .NET is a radically new version of Microsoft Visual Basic, the world's most widely used rapid application development (RAD) package. Whether you are just beginning application development with Visual Basic .NET or are already deep in code, you will appreciate just how easy and valuable the VB.NET Language Pocket Reference is.

VB.NET Language Pocket Reference contains a concise description of all language elements by category. These include language elements implemented by the Visual Basic compiler, as well as all procedures and functions implemented in the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace. Use it anytime you want to look up those pesky details of Visual Basic syntax or usage. With concise detail and no fluff, you'll want to take this book everywhere.

VBScript Pocket Reference

£5.56

Paul Lomax,Matt Childs and Ron Petrusha; ISBN: 0-596-00126-6

Microsoft's Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), a subset of Visual Basic for Applications, is a powerful language for Internet application development, where it can serve as a scripting language for server-side, client-side, and system scripting. Whether you're developing code for Active Server Pages, client-side scripts for Internet Explorer, code for Outlook forms, or scripts for Windows Script Host, VBScript Pocket Reference will be your constant companion.

Don't let the pocket-friendly format fool you. Based on the bestselling

VBScript in a Nutshell, this small book details every VBScript language element--every statement, function, and object--both in VBScript itself, and in the Microsoft Scripting Runtime Library. There's a special emphasis on the following details:

• The syntax, using standard code conventions
• The arguments accepted by the function or procedure, if any exist

Entries are arranged alphabetically by topic, so that you can, for instance, easily find details about that string-handling function that you can't quite remember. In addition, appendixes list VBScript operators and VBScript intrinsic constants. Regardless of how much VBScript programming experience you have, the VBScript Pocket Reference is the book you'll pick up time and time again as your standard quick reference guide to the VBScript language. It is indispensable for anyone writing scripts with VBScript.

Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook

£16.76

Matthew MacDonald; ISBN: 0-596-00726-4

When Microsoft introduced the Visual Basic .NET programming language, as part of its move to the .NET Framework two years ago, many developers willingly made the switch. Millions of others, however, continued to stick with Visual Basic 6. They weren't ready for such a radical change, which included an object-oriented environment similar to Java. They liked the old Visual Basic just fine.

In an effort to win over those diehard VB6 developers, the company has included a new version of VB.NET in its upcoming next generation release of the Visual Studio .NET development platform. Visual Basic 2005 comes with innovative language constructs, new compiler features, dramatically enhanced productivity and an improved debugging experience. The language's new version is now available in beta release, and Microsoft is encouraging developers to give it a test drive.

Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook provides the ideal test track. With nearly 50 hands-on projects, this practical introduction to VB 2005 will bring you up to speed on all the new features of this language by allowing you to work with them directly. The book summarizes the changes that VB 2005 brings, and tells you how to acquire, install and configure the beta version of VB 2005 SDK. Each project or experiment explores a different feature, with emphasis on changes that can increase productivity, simplify programming tasks, and help you add new functionality to your applications.

This one-of-a-kind book also offers suggestions for further experimentation, links to on-line documentation and other sources of information, and practical notes and warnings from the author.

The new Developer's Notebooks series from O'Reilly offers an in-depth first look at important new tools for software developers. Emphasizing example over explanation and practice over theory, they focus on learning by doing you'll get the goods straight from the masters, in an informal and code-intensive style. For those who want to get up speed with VB 2005 right away, this is the perfect all lab, no lecture guide.

Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell

£22.80

Mitch Tulloch; ISBN: 1-56592-713-3

Anyone who installs Windows 2000, creates a user, or adds a printer is a 2000 system administrator. This book covers all the important day-to-day administrative tasks, and the tools for performing each task are included in a handy easy-to-look-up alphabetical reference. What's the same and what's different between the Windows 2000 and Windows NT platform? Has the GUI or the networking architecture changed, and if so, how? Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell addresses the problems associated with bridging the gap between the Windows NT and Windows 2000 platforms.

This book covers:

• Commonalities and differences between Windows NT and Windows 2000
• All the administrative tasks, including Installation, Group Policies, Terminal Services, User Accounts, and Virtual Private Networks
• Microsoft Management Console tool (MMC)
• What's new and significant in the Control Panel utilities
• Command-line Tools, Utilities and Wizards
• TCP/IP networking with Windows 2000

Whether the concern is new security issues or how Active Directory works, Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell is as useful to the single-system home user as it is to the administrator of a 1,000-node corporate network.

Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference

£5.56

Æleen Frisch; ISBN: 0-596-00148-7

Windows administrators can accomplish many of their routine tasks much more quickly by using the command line (similar to the command line of DOS or Unix-based systems) than by going through the graphical user interface that most users associate with Windows.

Windows 20000 Commands Pocket Reference documents the Windows command mode. It's designed for system administrators, but will also be valuable to many users. It includes most available Windows 2000 commands, as well as the most useful system administration command-line utilities from the Resource Kit. Weeded out of this book are Windows commands and command options that are obscure, obsolete, broken, unacceptably insecure, or frankly inadvisable, as well a few special-purpose classes of commands. Whenever several utilities perform essentially identical tasks, we include only the best of them.

Commands are grouped according to their purpose and function; within a group, commands are arranged alphabetically. Options for each command are grouped by function and ordered by importance.

The Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference complements Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell by conveying the kind of no-nonsense, boiled-down information typical of O'Reilly's highly successful companion Pocket Reference series. It's a valuable, concise reference to Windows 2000 commands and command-line utilities.

Windows 2000 Performance Guide

£25.56

Mark Friedman and Odysseas Pentakalos; ISBN: 1-56592-466-5

It is characteristic of most computer systems that they do not degrade gradually. The painful reality is that performance is acceptable day after day, until quite suddenly it all falls apart. When this happens, the administrator needs to be prepared to help the organization get through the crisis.

Computer applications are growing ever more intelligent and easy to use. One of the by-products of making applications easier to use is that they usually also require more resources to run. And wherever productivity is a central factor in the decisions you make, performance considerations loom large and continue to play an important role in system management.

Are you wondering, for example, if more expensive equipment would give better performance? The answer is often yes, but not always. This book will show you why it is important to understand the performance characteristics of the hardware and of the workload, and how they match up against each other. Windows 2000 Performance Guide takes you through problem solving techniques like measurement methodology, workload characterization, benchmarking, decomposition techniques, and analytic queuing models.

This book covers:

• Processor performance
• Application profiling and hardware considerations
• Multiprocessing
• Memory and paging
• File cache
• Disk performance
• Networking
• IIS

The horror stories of failed development projects that did not meet cost and performance specifications reflect the fact that expectations about what computer technology can do far exceed the reality. Even as hardware performance continues to improve, managing performance will not get perceptibly easier. This book will give you the tools and information you need to meet the challenges of performance management now and in the future.

Many of the popular computer books out there promise easy answers, but this is the only book for those tricky situations that have no direct precedent. Windows 2000 Performance Guide will give you the information and the conceptual framework to become your own Windows 2000 performance expert.

Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual

£11.16

Sharon Crawford; ISBN: 0-596-00010-3

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's manual.

In Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual, bestselling Windows NT author Sharon Crawford provides the ideal (and desperately needed) user's guide for the world's most popular corporate operating system. The book covers:

• Getting started. The early chapters cover using menus, finding lost files, reducing window clutter, and taming the wild Start menu.
• What's what. A complete guide, this book explains the purpose of every Control Panel item, accessory program, and maintenance tool.
• Mastering the network. Special chapters help you navigate the corporate network, dial in from the road, and even set up your own small-office (peer-to-peer) network, step by step.
• Understanding security. User accounts, file encryption, and the NTFS file system keep your private files private, while still offering network access to coworkers you specify.
• Flying the Net. This book demystifies the rich Internet suite of Windows 2000 Pro: its email, newsgroup, Web-browsing, and video conferencing programs.

Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual isn't for system administrators or OS theory geeks; it's for the novice or budding power user who wants to master the machine and get down to work. Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual is the crystal-clear, jargon-free book that should have been in the box.

Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

£16.76

Jim Boyce; ISBN: 0-596-00017-0

For those who are faced with switching over to the powerful but often confusing Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Quick Fixes offers something completely new: not just solutions, but a fast, easy way to find them. Designed with the power user in mind, this book is laid out for optimal accessibility; it defines problems clearly and follows up with concise, yet detailed, solutions.

Windows 2000 Quick Fixes is an essential reference for both the novice and the well-seasoned Microsoft OS user. For instance, newcomers to Windows 2000 who have children using their computers can quickly learn how to protect some areas without walling off the entire system. Old hands at Windows will learn quick and easy new ways to recover data or what to do when the administrator's password's been forgotten.

Unlike many of the oversized and poorly organized books on the market,

Windows 2000 Quick Fixes doesn't waste time with endless tutorials, fluff, and useless background material. And while the book is designed for easy access, the material is by no means basic. It provides extensive coverage of problems for both the Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server editions, and takes power users from installation issues, through complex networking configuration problems, to important backup and security concerns.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Setting up a dual-boot system
• Recovering data
• Resolving hardware configuration conflicts
• Restoring the Registry from a back up
• Making a printer available through the Internet
• Using automatic address assignment without DHCP
• Configuring Internet Connection Sharing
• Hosting a web site

With its clear, well-organized fixes to common problems,

Windows 2000 Quick Fixes is the book to reach for when the pressure is on and there's no time to waste hunting for buried solutions.

Windows 98 Annoyances

£11.96

David A. Karp; ISBN: 1-56592-417-7

An operating system is a piece of software that should do its work in the background while you do your work in the foreground. In an ideal world, that's precisely how an operating system would work. In our world, however, operating systems constantly get in our way. They annoy us. And few are more annoying than Microsoft Windows 98. Perhaps you're annoyed with the icons that Windows deposits on your desktop and that you never use. Or you're frustrated with the new elements of the Windows 98 interface. Or you consider Windows 98's central feature, its integration of Windows and the Web, to be a massive inconvenience.

With Windows 98 Annoyances, you can put an end to these and countless other annoyances. Given the book's format, which presents particular problems and immediately offers one or more solutions, you can quickly identify the Windows 98 features that most annoy you and equally quickly provide a fix for them. In the process, you'll take charge of Windows so that it works the way you want, rather than the way that Microsoft or some other software publisher has configured it.

Based on the author's extremely popular Windows Annoyances web site (http://www.annoyances.org), Windows 98 Annoyances provides an authoritative collection of techniques for customizing Windows 98, including:

• Useful keyboard shortcuts that let you work with Windows 98 more efficiently
• Techniques for working with the Windows registry, the database of system and application-specific configuration information
• Available third-party software and utilities that handle some of the more complex workarounds and customizations
• Dealing with software applications that overwrite your file associations without warning
• A discussion of scripting with the Windows Scripting Host as a means of eliminating many of the Windows 98's annoyances to be the definitive resource for customizing Windows 98.

Windows 98 in a Nutshell

£14.00

Tim O'Reilly,Troy Mott and Walter Glenn; ISBN: 1-56592-486-X

Windows 98 in a Nutshell is a comprehensive, compact reference that systematically unveils what serious users of Windows 98 will find interesting and useful. Little known details of the operating system, utility programs, and configuration settings are all captured in a consistent reference format.

Based on the bestselling "In a Nutshell" approach, this book contains more information about using Windows 98 than any other book on the market. Guaranteed. Windows 98 in a Nutshell was coauthored by Tim O'Reilly, the publisher whose books have revolutionized computer book publishing with their commonsense approach, depth of detail, and focus on practical information that you can really use. If you can't remember which option on a dialog box controls a function, or if you just want to have a better handle on what's available in Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition, this is the book you need.

It contains:

• Detailed information on almost every command and utility available with Windows 98, including Start Menu accessories, DOS commands, hidden system administration utilities such as the Registry Editor, Policy Editor, and TweakUI, as well as new utilities in Windows 98
• Detailed advice and documentation on system configuration via the Control Panel, system startup files, and the Registry
• A detailed treatment of Internet configuration and access via Dial-Up Networking
• Hundreds of tips, gotchas, and clever ways to do familiar and not-so-familiar tasks
• A focus on ways to integrate the command line into your work with Windows 98
• Pointers to dozens of useful online sites that contain additional information
• Information on how to use Win98's new Web integration features to build custom "Web applications" within folders or on your desktop
• Detailed information on Windows Script Host (WSH), the feature that lets you use VBScript or other scripting languages to automate common tasks

This book follows the commonsense O'Reilly approach, cutting through the hype and giving practical details you can use every day. Any user who wants to make the most of Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition will love this book.

Windows Me Annoyances

£11.96

David A. Karp; ISBN: 0-596-00060-X

In an ideal world, an operating system is a collection of software that handles a computer's "dirty work" invisibly, quickly, and most of all, painlessly. For many of us, however, Microsoft Windows exists outside this ideal world. We are annoyed by "personalized Menus" that keep changing, icons we don't use cluttering up our workspace, periodic crashes, unintelligible error messages, and inadequate documentation to help us figure it all out.

Windows Me Annoyances has the insider information you need for overcoming Windows' many annoyances and limitations. Whether you're looking to finally solve a nagging problem, dramatically improve system performance, or customize the interface to better suit your work habits, the Windows Me Annoyances solution-oriented format makes finding information and implementing solutions easy and pain free. Thanks to the thorough and relevant documentation on the registry, Windows Scripting Host, and Windows' built-in networking capabilities, customizing and improving Windows Me is easier than ever.

Based on the author's extremely popular Annoyances.org web sites, Windows Me Annoyances delivers an authoritative collection of techniques and tools for customizing Windows Me, including:

• Several approaches and hidden tools for working with the Windows registry, the database of system- and application-specific configuration information
• How to bypass Windows roadblocks such as the Home Networking and System Restore wizards, allowing you to take control of the processes quickly and painlessly
• A tutorial and reference on automation with the Windows Scripting Host as a means of eliminating many Windows Me annoyances
• Using third-party software and utilities to handle some of the more complex workarounds and customizations
• Dealing with software that overwrites your file associations and other settings without warning

Windows Me Annoyances is the intermediate and advanced Windows user's best resource for turning Windows into the user-friendly, customizable interface it was meant to be, but doesn't always manage to be on its own.

Windows NT in a Nutshell

£14.00

Eric Pearce; ISBN: 1-56592-251-4

Anyone who installs Windows NT, creates a user, or adds a printer is an NT system administrator (whether they realize it or not). This book organizes NT's complex GUI interface, dialog boxes, and multitude of DOS-shell commands into an easy-to-use quick reference for anyone who uses or manages an NT system. It features a new tagged callout approach to documenting the GUI as well as real-life examples of command usage and strategies for problem solving, with an emphasis on networking. Windows NT in a Nutshell will be as useful to the single-system home user as it will be to the administrator of a 1,000-node corporate network.

• Covers both Workstation and Server versions of NT
• Written primarily for NT 4.0, but still useful for 3.51
• Presents the GUI hierarchy with callouts to provide easy-to-locate documentation of options, buttons, and dialogs
• Covers the DOS-shell commands in great detail, as these come into increasing use by the experienced NT user when managing large and complex installations
• Includes an extensive index that quickly directs you to both GUI and DOS-shell methods of accomplishing a task, without requiring you to wade through unrelated material
• Examples demonstrate NT interoperating with UNIX, Novell Netware, and Apple Macintosh systems

Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell

£22.80

Mitch Tulloch; ISBN: 0-596-00404-4

So you've decided to adopt Windows Server 2003? Whether you're migrating from Windows 2000 or directly from Windows NT, Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell is packed with the detailed information that you will need as you administer this OS. To-the-point chapters on migration highlight important new features such as enhancements to Active Directory, shadow volume copies, and Windows Update. Even better for experienced NT and 2000 admins are details about where Microsoft put familiar options, helping you quickly get oriented to the new platform.

Those of you familiar with NT or Windows 2000 are well beyond the tutorial stage. Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell delivers a no-fluff guide with two alphabetical references, one for the GUI and one for the command-line. The Task Map chapter lets you find look up a task (such as "troubleshooting startup issues") to find appropriate topics in the references. Once you know where you're going, the book offers numerous step-by-step procedures in highly condensed form. This quick lookup reference is ideal for administration and deployment, as well as deeper issues such as planning, configuring, and troubleshooting.

The GUI chapter is organized by topic according to major themes of Windows Server 2003 administration, providing one-stop shopping for busy admins. For example, if you want to find out about Active Directory and how to manage it, you'd begin by turning to Active Directory. Each topic begins with a description of basic concepts, followed by a description of tools (such as Microsoft Management Console snap-ins) used to administer the feature, instructions on how to perform common or important administrative tasks, and notes detailing subtle points and potential gotchas.

Windows Server 2003 offers greatly enhanced command-line administration, and the command reference prominently highlights the many new commands in this release. Dozens of new commands and scripts have been added for administration of Active Directory, disks, event logs, Group Policy, IIS, network diagnostics, the pagefile, printers, processes, shared folders, and the Registry. The result is a Windows operating system platform that now rivals Unix in its ability to support command-line and scripted administration.

Microsoft has introduced the right server for a world now dominated by highly distributed systems and web-based server applications, and O'Reilly has written a book that will earn a prominent place on administrators' desk tops.

Windows System Policy Editor

£19.96

Stacey Anderson-Redick; ISBN: 1-56592-649-8

How can Windows administrators set up different security restrictions for different users? Or set one policy for a whole group? Configure desktops for roving users so that any computer they use will have the same look? Or protect a computer if it is unplugged from the network? These are just a few of the questions that Windows System Policy Editor answers.

The Windows system policy editor is a powerful tool for creating and editing local registry values to standardize desktop settings, prevent users from modifying hardware and environment settings, or control or restrict user actions.

Windows System Policy Editor enlightens readers on how to prevent security problems like file tampering, loss of data as a result of accidental system software changes, or users being locked out of their own computers.

This working manual leads the reader through both a Windows systems primer and the more complex aspects of:

• Different types of system policies, what they control, and how to modify them

• Installing the policy editor and creating the policy file

• Setting default workstation security

• Understanding the administrative files

• Security issues

• Troubleshooting

• The differences between the Win95 and Win98 policy editor

• Procedures for stand-alone computers as opposed to networked computers

  Computer security on publicly accessed computers poses unique challenges, today more than ever before. This book is for anyone who's in charge of administering workstations in a school, library, office, or any environment where increased security would be invaluable.

Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition

£19.96

David A. Karp; ISBN: 0-596-00876-7

In an ideal world, an operating system would do its job in the background, while you did yours in the foreground. In reality, though, operating systems often get in the way, fouling up the process at the most inopportune times. And Windows XP is no exception.

O'Reilly's popular series for customizing and troubleshooting Windows once again comes to the rescue with Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks. Offering dozens of on-target tips, workarounds, and warnings, Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks allows users to improve their overall experience with the Windows XP operating system in every way possible.

You'll learn how to use the Registry Editor; how to customize the interface beyond Microsoft's own intentions; and how to master Windows' built-in networking capabilities, including advanced technologies such as Internet Connection sharing, Remote Desktop sharing, and virtual private networking. And now, with this updated edition, you can also expect detailed coverage of the newly released Service Pack 2 (SP2) technology.

SP2 is designed to make your work with the Windows XP operating system even easier and safer by providing superior protection against viruses, hacker, and worms. Among the core SP2 components covered in Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks are Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and the new Windows Security Center.

David Karp, veteran author of several titles in the Windows Annoyances series, is behind the wheel of this comprehensive guide, as well. Karp points out numerous SP2-related quirks and unaccountable behaviors that are guaranteed to increase your level of perplexity and frustration. By recognizing these shortcomings, Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks arms you with the knowledge to overcome them.

Karp leaves no stone unturned in providing the ultimate resource for the ever-expanding Windows XP market. As a result, you'll be able to seize complete control of the Windows XP operating system--instead of the other way around.

Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition

£16.76

Preston Gralla; ISBN: 0-596-00918-6

A smart collection of insider tips and tricks, Windows XP Hacks, Second Edition covers the XP operating system from start to finish. Among the multitude of topics addressed, this must-have resource includes extensive coverage of hot-button issues such as:

• security

• web browsing

• controlling the control panel

• removing uninstallable XP components

• pop-up ads

  You'll also find timesaving hacks for file distribution; digital media, such as iTunes; and high-visibility web software, services, and exploits that have emerged since the book's last edition. Each hack in the book can be read easily in just a few minutes, saving countless hours of searching for the right answer.

  Now completely revised and updated to cover Service Pack 2 (SP2), the second edition of this bestseller carefully breaks down the new features that come with SP2, including IE pop-up blocker, Windows Firewall, and the new wireless client.

  Written by Preston Galla, the compact and affordable Windows XP Hacks, Second Edition provides direct, hands-on solutions that can be applied to the challenges facing XP beginners, as well as the more experienced power user. Each year, Windows XP is pre-installed on 90 million PCs worldwide, making it the world's most popular operating system.

Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

£14.00

David Pogue; ISBN: 0-596-00897-X

Windows XP Home Edition

offers dozens of new features for consumers a vastly more elegant user interface, drag-and-drop CD burning, powerful ways to view and manage digital photos and music. With the release of Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP now provides better protection against viruses, worms, and malicious hackers. But it still comes without a single page of printed instructions.

This superbly written guide fills the gap. Coauthored by David Pogue, New York Times technology columnist and Missing Manuals creator, Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual uses wit, technical insight, and scrupulous objectivity to light the way for first-time and intermediate PC fans. In fact, this jargon-free book explains XP's features so clearly revealing which work well and which don't that it should have been in the box in the first place.

In Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition, New York Times technology columnist (and Missing Manual series creator) David Pogue provides the friendly, authoritative book that is the ideal users' guide for the world's most popular operating system.

The book begins at the beginning: with a tour of the Desktop, the new, two-column Start menu, and instructions for customizing the Taskbar and toolbars. A special focus: Organizing files, folders, and windows for maximum efficiency and minimum clutter.

More advanced chapters explore each control panel and built-in application; walk through every conceivable configuration (setting up a PC for Internet use, peripheral equipment, laptop life, and so on); and setting up a small network, including how to share a single Internet connection among several PCs. Finally, special chapters are dedicated to standard rituals of Windows life: troubleshooting, installation, and upgrading.

Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition is a one-stop reference for the Windows user. In keeping with the high standards of the Missing Manual line, the book features superb writing, special features for both absolute novices and power users, and complete coverage. If Microsoft could wave its magic software wand and wish for the perfect guide to its flagship product, Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition would appear like magic.

Windows XP Personal Trainer

£15.96

CustomGuide Inc; ISBN: 0-596-00862-7

The most widely used operating system in the world, XP is certainly the most reliable and best-looking version of Windows. But it comes with a baffling multitude of features and functionality that you'll struggle to understand--despite all of the hours you've logged with Windows 2000, Windows Me, 98 or 95. And if you're a beginner, where do you start?

Windows XP Personal Trainer enables beginners and experts alike to become black belts, quickly and easily. This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach to learning, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and work your way to advance topics through dozens of task-oriented lessons--at your own pace. The companion CD tutorial guides you through each lesson interactively.

With plenty of detailed diagrams, Windows XP Personal Trainer includes sections on:

• Working with Windows

• Using the programs included with Windows XP (such as Media Player)

• Organizing files and folders

• Modifying the taskbar and desktop

• Customizing Windows XP

• Optimizing and maintaining the operating system

• Exploring the Internet

• Networking with Windows XP

  If you already have experience with Windows XP, you can dive right into those topics (and only those topics) that you need or want to learn. Unlike many consumer software tutorials that dumb down the material or present it in a confusing fashion, Windows XP Personal Trainer is written in a non-technical and engaging style that you will find fun, easy, and most of all, clear and informative. You can become proficient without wading through tons of jargon and technical information.

  Part of our new Personal Trainer Series, this book is based on content from CustomGuide (www.customguide.com), a leading provider of computer training materials. Founded by instructors who grew dissatisfied with the industry's dry course materials, CustomGuide offers courseware (for instructors and students), quick references, to software bulletins and e-learning courses that are fun, flexible, and easy to use.

Windows XP Pocket Reference

£5.56

David A. Karp; ISBN: 0-596-00425-7

Windows XP Pocket Reference

is a handy book for power users and system administrators who need a solid reference with quick answers, but not a lot of explanation. This book is a powerful tool that quickly covers XP's applications and tools, tasks and settings, and commands.

Windows XP Pocket Reference covers the following topics:

• Getting Started
• Mouse and Keyboard Shortcuts
• Components of Windows XP
• Setting Locator
• Registry Tweaks
• Command Prompt & Recovery Console
• Error Messages

Packed with information in an easy-to-read format, Windows XP Pocket Reference is perfect for someone familiar with Windows who wants to get the most out of Windows XP or needs to support other users as part of their job.

Windows XP Power Hand

£14.00

Preston Gralla; ISBN: 0-596-00619-5

Windows XP can be a great tool, but it is all too easy to trip over Windows XP's annoying traits more often than you leverage its productivity. Windows XP power-users troll online resources, documentation, and the expertise (or lucky finds) of friends for valuable tips and tricks--a keyboard shortcut here, an undocumented double-click there--to eliminate annoyances, save time, and take control of their Windows XP. But what if there was an easier way?

This new book presents literally hundreds of problems and solutions, amazing power tips, cool tricks, and clever workarounds in one clearly organized, easy to use, and portable resource. Truly insightful and amusing, Windows XP Power Hound gives Windows XP users practical hints for everything from the desktop to Office programs to the registry, and includes documented (but little-known) tips as well as previously undocumented tricks. Windows XP Power Hound moves far beyond mere productivity and explores what's possible with Windows XP--including cool things you probably never thought of doing.

An understanding of Windows XP basics will get the job done. But discovering the most useful I didn t know that! tips and shortcuts will make using Windows XP a far richer and less frustrating experience. The practical, concise format of Windows XP Power Hound makes it easy to dip into for a quick tip from time to time; the warm, jargon-free tone makes it easy to read cover to cover.

Anyone who wants to smooth out Windows XP's speed bumps and get some serious speed to accelerate through the bottlenecks will find that even a handful of these useful, to-the-point tips will make Windows XP Power Hound worth its weight in chocolate.

Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

£16.76

David Pogue,Craig Zacker and L.J. Zacker; ISBN: 0-596-00898-8

With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft latest and most reliable corporate desktop operating system now provides better protection against viruses, worms, and malicious hackers. SP2 includes Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and the new Windows Security Center. But it still comes without a single page of printed instructions.

This superbly written guide fills the gap. Coauthored by David Pogue, New York Times technology columnist and Missing Manuals creator, Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual uses wit, technical insight, and scrupulous objectivity to light the way for first-time and intermediate network and standalone PC users. In fact, this jargon-free book explains XP's features so clearly revealing which work well and which don't that it should have been in the box in the first place.

The book reveals which features work well and which don't, such as the Remote Desktop software that enables people to connect to the office from home, the encryption file system that protects sensitive information, a