Windows 2000 Professional for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Dummies Only Need Apply....
Review: "Windows 2000 Professional for Dummies" follows a troubling list of recent releases that do little, if anything, to educate future Win2k users. Plenty of screen shots give it a good feel. The comedy, synonimous with "Dummies" books, is always at hand. Yet the troubling fact of "Win2k Pro for Dummies" is its lack of specifics and penchant for the general. Indeed, Win '95 and '98 users, not to mention NT4 users, will find little of interest here. Topics such as Copying floppy disk, finding Files and Folders, and Webby Designs are already second-nature to most novice to professional users.

I was highly disappointed with Win2k Pro for Dummies. It contains little useful information or mediating contrasts between 95/98/NT and the new Win2k. I wish the writers would have skipped the basics and concentrated on the specifics that professionals undeniably need to know.

This book is perfect for those who have little to no knowledge of 95/98/NT. For those who are looking for specific information regarding Windows 2000 Professional, skip this one...

Rating:
Summary: not as helpful as other dummies guides
Review: Although I enjoyed the usual snide tone of this dummies book, my major complaint is that it never gets beyond the dummy level. I read the whole book in one sitting -- now I'm hardly a computer genius and have only had Windows 2000 for a week, but I only learned THREE new tricks from this entire book! I never thought of myself as a computer jock, but this book had such basics that I began to feel like a true nerd. There are other major things I wanted to learn about windows 2000: why does it make my passwords look 3 times their normal size? Is that some kind of encoding thing? I'm sure there are other aspects to learn besides 3 ways to copy a folder or file. Unless you haven't spent any time at all with Windows (any edition), you probably won't learn all that much from this very basic book.

Rating:
Summary: not as helpful as other dummies guides
Review: Although I enjoyed the usual snide tone of this dummies book, my major complaint is that it never gets beyond the dummy level. I read the whole book in one sitting -- now I'm hardly a computer genius and have only had Windows 2000 for a week, but I only learned THREE new tricks from this entire book! I never thought of myself as a computer jock, but this book had such basics that I began to feel like a true nerd. There are other major things I wanted to learn about windows 2000: why does it make my passwords look 3 times their normal size? Is that some kind of encoding thing? I'm sure there are other aspects to learn besides 3 ways to copy a folder or file. Unless you haven't spent any time at all with Windows (any edition), you probably won't learn all that much from this very basic book.

Rating:
Summary: Written for the stupid
Review: As a programming professional for over 25 years, I routinely use the "For Dummies" books to get a quick introduction to a new topic. My problem with this book is that it is written with the attitude that the reader is stupid, not ignorant. Ignorant means you don't know, stupid means you cannot learn. From the beginning, the author treats his reader in a condescending fashion, which serves to turn off, not inform.

Rating:
Summary: Written for the stupid
Review: As a programming professional for over 25 years, I routinely use the "For Dummies" books to get a quick introduction to a new topic. My problem with this book is that it is written with the attitude that the reader is stupid, not ignorant. Ignorant means you don't know, stupid means you cannot learn. From the beginning, the author treats his reader in a condescending fashion, which serves to turn off, not inform.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, That's Why They Call it "For Dummies"
Review: Great book for beginners. If you want advanced stuff go look for "Windows for Geniuses", this isn't the book for you. But if you're new to Windows 2000, this book will be a lot of help and its funny too.

Rating:
Summary: If you need the bare minimum...
Review: There is two sides to this book. In one respect it is not nearly as comprehensive as it should be, in the other, it is ideal for someone who knows nothing about computers. Windows Professional for Dummies takes you through the bare minimum of features on a step-by-step basis. The advantage of this is that you don't have to be a genius to use the book, but the disadvantage is that you don't get as much out of the book as you would have liked. When my father first started using a PC he knew nothing about it and this book was a great start for him. I am impressed by my father's progress since he received this book, but I realize that most of his progress was through trial and error, not through this book. If you have to learn how to click a mouse, this book is great, if you want to be able to do more, I would recommend you look for another book.