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68 of 74 found the following review helpful:
 Another Woody masterpiece using the English languageDec 13, 2001
By James Vanderford
No one speaks Windows XP the way Woody speaks Windows XP in his new publication "Windows XP All-in-one Desk Reference", which is a masterpiece of organization, indexing, and commom sense treatment of technical topics in non-technical discourse. Not since Woody's publication of "Woody Leonhard teaches Microsoft Office 97" has such an instructive, clearly written and illustrated technical book on Microsoft products been published. There is a mind-boggling number of subjects each treated individually in short, simple explanation that gets to the heart of the subject. The dialog and explanations are laced with amusing analogs that make reading a pleasure, aside from the technical content. Subjects ranging from the simplicity of the XP Desktop to the meaning of the highly technical term DHCP, are handled with the same masterful stroke of simplicity. This book is a must-have in every home and office that expects to stay on-line in the 21st century.
55 of 60 found the following review helpful:
 DisappointingAug 19, 2002
By Librarian Scott
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book for beginners, intermediate, or expert computer users. I like other things Woody has written (Mother of All Windows 95 books is a classic) and other Dummies books (Word 2000 for Windows for Dummies is good). But this book is poor. First, it isn't really "9 books in 1." The AOL "book" is a joke, clearly written with the intention for you to avoid AOL at all costs (minimizes the importance of chat rooms, nothing about automatic Zipping of e-mail attachments, nothing about accessing e-mail from outside the AOL client (hello does Netscape browser ring a bell?). The MSN "book" is even more of a joke (nothing about Money, nothing about free storage for pictures and web sites). The hardware "book" doesn't mention any brands and gives corny advice (optical mice only good for people with pets). Second, there is no practical advice on dealing with Windows on a day-to-day basis. It acts like all the problems have been solved with XP (wow the stability). Nothing on dealing with the co-branding, pop-ups (both OS and Internet), and spyware. So much of the advice is generic (get AV software installed, updated, and working), with no specifics. No whys (like why should I use IE over Netscape, why should I use Media Player over Real, why should I use built-in ZIP over WinZip). The basics just aren't considered. Third, this book is designed for teenage wannabe-geeks. Specifically, the only real hints in this book are game cheats (registry mods and the like). Fourth, the humor in this book is all too hard to find and falls flat. I am disappointed. This author can do so much better (check out his Office newsletters). Look elsewhere on this one folks.
34 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Not really a reference -- more like a rambleFeb 02, 2004
This book could have used a thorough editing. It is supposed to be a "desk reference," which to me means you can look up information quickly. However, it's hard to find what you're looking for here. The worthwhile information is buried in the everyday stuff that I already knew, so to find what I wanted, I had to wade through many pages of material I was already familiar with. Take Chapter 2, "Finding Your Way from Start to Finish," for example. It explains very basic stuff such as changing user settings, and then, starting about 40 pages into the chapter where you would least expect it, are instructions for sharing a file on the Internet, a sophisticated task. I found this book very frustrating. On top of not being able to find instructions I wanted by browsing in the book, I found the index unhelpful. Finally, I don't understand why the author devoted 65 pages to America Online. Since when is America Online part of Windows XP? The book makes no mention of the Windows Registry. This book should rightly be called "A Ramble through Windows XP." It is not a reference. It is not a friendly book that you can find information in.
36 of 41 found the following review helpful:
The best choice for WinXP usersJan 17, 2002
By Phil Y
I must leap to the defence of Mr Leonhard from the ill-informed attack on his book that's been placed among the user reviews. I was intruiged about 'kenonline' and his complaint so I went hunting through my copy. Sure enough on page 202 there's a reference to 'NTBACKUP' but that's NOT the authors fault - that's the name of the folder that _Microsoft_ used. The Backup option in XP/Home is pointless (you can backup but not restore) which is presumably why Woody decided not to spend pages on a laborious explanation of how to use it. In any event the online help is more than enough if you want to waste your time with it. Woody Leonhard has been producing great books and newsletters for as long as I've been computing. They are easy to read, informative and he'll tell you things that Microsoft wants to keep quiet about. It's a great shame that his latest book has been maligned in such as fashion. It's a pitiful case of a person not carefully reading what's in front of them and then blaming the messenger. I sure won't be returning my copy of 'Windows XP all in one desk reference' and I'm happy to recommend it to one and all.
24 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Too cute ..not funny, just a waste of time.Jul 14, 2002
By Leo J. Landkamer
Leonhard does an excellent job of explaining how to do things in XP, but you must skip through several pages of really awful attempts at humer to get to the real subject. Showing filename extensions is a good example. He starts that subject on page 85. On page 87 he gives 5 steps in bold type which explains exactly how to get XP to show filename extensions. But pages 85, 86 and most of 87 are pure garbage with respect to the subject. Just before the 5 steps on page 87 he insults the reader with a complete paragraph about pointing your finger at the computer screen and shouting " Show me filename extensions, sucka, or I'm gonna getcha!". The book is 80% junk and 20% well written advice.
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