Customer Reviews
Fit for purpose. - By: Ocelot, 07 Sep 2008 
I received this as a gift from my other half when I bought a new laptop, which came with Windows Vista pre-installed. There's nothing much to complain about. The chapters are structuredin a sensible way, & I find Andy Rathbone's tone really appropriate to the needs of the 'Dummies' series (I mean this as a compliment rather than a criticism). My only real criticism is that I don't think Windows Vista is half as far detached from XP as a lot of people try to insist. This isn't to say that the existence of this book is unnecessary, just that a lot of the material herein will be already known to a lot of those of us who used XP extensively. I'm not an advanced user or anything like that, but I felt that this book covered a lot of old ground,in Windows terms, & was wantingin other more detailed areas. I think our needs would have been better met by something that spent less time covering the similarities between XP & Vista & more time dealing with the more advanced issues, but then that isn't the role & function of the 'Dummies' series. This book is generally very good, & I imagine excellent if you're on your first Windows operating system. It also doesn't crawl to the sensibilities of Microsoft, which is most refreshing. If you're moving from XP to Vista & you're anxious then this is great for general reference. At the risk of sounding cynical, I think that the myth that Vista is a total nightmare, excessively security conscious & so on has probably helped to shift a lot of copies of this. In reality, Vista isn't that scary.
Does what it says on the cover - By: J. Mclaren, 21 Jun 2008 If you are looking for a light introductory guide to Windows Vista then look no further. If you are looking for a book that will get you out of trouble, then you'd be better looking at (for want of a better expression) more serious titles.
LAP FOF DUMMEYS AND INTERNET FOR DUMMETS - By: B. todd, 11 May 2008 
VERY HELPFULL IN EVERY WAY PUT IN LINGO YOU UNDER STAND WITH ALL THE BULL TAKEN OUT ONE RE SAID THAY WHERE FOR USA MARKET NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT THAY GOOD FUN AS WELL AS DOING THE JOB THAY WHERE MADE FOR KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BARRY ENGLAND
Learn and smile... - By: tallpete33, 11 Jan 2008 I remember buying Windows 3.1 for Dummies many moons ago & it was a big helpin my fledgling IT career. Having bought a new PC with Vista pre-installed, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a Dummies book for the new Windows & I'm glad I did. It is a solid & welcome addition to the series, unbiased & informative text, well laid out & the Gary Larson style cartoons give it a friendly feel.
It explains clearly the different versions of Vista, installation issues & the differences between it & XP. All Vistas quirks & features are describedin plain English. A useful crib-sheet lists useful shortcuts to impress your colleagues. Home users & office users alike of any skill level would benefit from this book.
What this book is :
A Windows Vista reference, not a comprehensive training manual - choose what you need to gen up on & look for that chapter. Having said that, working through the book a chapter at a time is of use & would not take months
Useful, un-patronising & pretty funny
What this book is not:
Microsoft propaganda - Rathbone tells it like it is & probably won't be top of Bill Gates Christmas card list for some of his comments
A full blown tech guide for geeks, though they would certainly find it useful (without admitting it of course!)
Great book & for this price, it's a steal
A Cracking Edition of For Dummies - By: Mr. Dominic Langmead, 02 Jan 2008 After Purchasing Vista & not being able to get to grips with it my dad got me this book,
it explainsin great detail how to do everything that you need to do, it uses friendly language & does not insult your intelligence like some books.
I got the one with the free DVD which i have found very useful.
Amazon are the cheapest retailers of this product that i have seen, it comes wrappedin a standard Amazon packaging -- however you must be at home for delivery as it does not fit through your letter box :(
In All buy this book, you will find it useful, either that look on Google & find the answers for free :P
