Recenzirali smo originalno izdanje Windows 7 Inside Out još 2010. godine i smatrali smo je sjajnom knjigom za ljude koji žele dublje proći kroz svoje razumijevanje operacijskog sustava Windows 7 . Autori su zajedno s Microsoft Pressom^{(Microsoft Press)} upravo lansirali Deluxe izdanje^{(Deluxe Edition)} knjige. Pa sam se pitao: što ovo novo izdanje čini dostojnim naziva Deluxe ? Jako me zanimalo saznati.

NAPOMENA:^(NOTE:) Kao i kod naše prethodne recenzije, recenziram verziju e-knjige, tako da ne mogu komentirati dodatne materijale u tiskanom izdanju.

Što je novo i... Deluxe?

Autori ( Ed Bott , Carl Siechert i Craig Stinson ) kažu da su dodali nekoliko novih poglavlja i svoje kontinuirano istraživanje sustava Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} stavili u druge revizije kroz knjigu. Budući da je izvorna verzija bila dugačka "samo" 1000 stranica, a ovo izdanje ima 1360 stranica, jasno je da su dali sve da čitatelju daju još više. Neke velike knjige dobivaju svoju veličinu od punila, ilustracija i uredničke digresije, ali ova knjiga nije jedna od njih. Pun je pravih, korisnih informacija koje dostavljaju ljudi koji jasno znaju o čemu govore i — što je još važnije — kako sve to objasniti drugim ljudima koji trebaju znati više.

Poglavlja i dijelovi knjige uglavnom su logično raspoređeni. Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition počinje s uvodom u operativni sustav, zatim vodi čitatelja kroz razlike između Windowsa 7^{(Windows 7)} i prethodnih verzija Microsoft Windowsa^{(Microsoft Windows)} , a zatim objašnjava kako ga postaviti i konfigurirati. Zapravo, većina knjige posvećena je stvarima koje se mogu raditi sa sustavom Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} na računalu, bez povezivanja na internet ili korištenja dodatnog softvera. Postoje informacije o Internet Exploreru^{(Internet Explorer)} , Windows Liveu^{(Windows Live)} i pomoći^{(Windows Help)} za Windows uključene u "1. dio. Početak rada"^{("Part 1. Getting Started")}, ali to je jedini dio knjige koji vas vodi izvan vlastitog radnog prostora. Volio bih vidjeti sve te informacije objedinjene u zaseban odjeljak, koji se nalazi na kraju knjige nakon svih poglavlja o postavljanju vašeg Windows 7 računala i upravljanju prema vašim vlastitim specifikacijama, ali to je manja prepirka.

Sve o svemu?

Iako je ovo ogromna knjiga, dobro je posložena i poglavlja vode čitatelja kroz svaku temu logičnim koracima. Autori jasno poznaju svoju temu i njihovo pisanje je jasno i do točke. Osobito mi je privlačan neposredan, razgovorni stil. Autori uvijek jasno daju do znanja kada neke verzije sustava Windows 7 imaju ili nemaju značajke o kojima raspravljaju. Postoji skraćeni sadržaj^{(Table of Contents)} i jedan detaljniji, te indeks od 70 stranica, tako da je pronalaženje bilo koje određene teme jednostavno, čak i ako nemate na raspolaganju elektroničke alate za pretraživanje. Knjiga je dostupna u više formata e-knjiga, iako je datoteka možda prevelika za neke starije e-čitače (kao što je moj Sony Touch ). Kao i gotovo sve kompjuterske knjige,Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition ne treba čitati do kraja, iako postoji toliko zanimljivih sitnica dostupnih u cijeloj knjizi da netko tko samo pogleda ono što treba znati može puno toga propustiti. Naravno, nije svima potrebno bogatstvo informacija koje je ovdje, a iznimno opsežno istraživanje sustava Windows 7 definitivno nije za svakoga. Posebno mi se svidio dio koji se bavi Windows Explorerom . To je bila jedna od mojih najčešće korištenih aplikacija svih godina koliko sam koristio razne verzije Microsoft Windowsa^{(Microsoft Windows)} , a sučelje se tako radikalno promijenilo između Windowsa XP^{(Windows XP)} i novijih verzija da je, kada sam prvi put instalirao Windows 7, teško sam se prilagodio. Ovaj odjeljak mi je dao neke sjajne ideje kako da Windows Explorer radi onako kako ja želim (knjiga u cjelini govori puno o personalizaciji i logičkim prečacima) i nakon što sam je pročitao dobio sam sučelje koje ima smisla za način na koji ja raditi. Definitivni plus.

Ugađanje, podešavanje^(Tweaking) i popravljanje^(Fixing) svega

Peti dio knjige, Podešavanje, podešavanje i rješavanje problema^{(Tuning, Tweaking and Troubleshooting)} , ima šest poglavlja, od kojih bi dva trebala biti obavezna za čitanje za svakoga: Izvođenje rutinskog održavanja^{(Performing Routine Maintenance)} i Rješavanje problema s pogreškama i rušenjem sustava Windows^{(Troubleshooting Windows Errors and Crashes)} . Budući da Windows 7 radi tako dobro, mnogi od nas smatraju da ne moramo održavati ono što smo morali učiniti kako bismo zadržali prethodne verzije sustava Windowsživ. Iako su stvari poput defragmentacije diska sada puno manje potrebne nego što su nekada bile, dobro je vidjeti da autori objašnjavaju zašto to još uvijek treba učiniti. Oduvijek sam bio čvrst zagovornik da se tvrdi diskovi ne koriste za mrtvu pohranu, i bio sam sretan što su se autori složili sa mnom oko toga i dali dobre, zdravorazumske upute za upravljanje datotekama, čišćenje diska, uklanjanje Windowsa 7^{(Windows 7)} značajki koje čitatelj ne koristi i općenite strategije za očuvanje prostora. Iskreno^(Quite) govoreći, volio bih da više knjiga o sustavu Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} uključuje takav odjeljak. Prije mnogo godina, kada sam radio na radio stanici, kada su stvari pošle po zlu, uvijek smo znali da će prvo pitanje glavnog inženjera^{(Chief Engineer)} biti"Što ste učinili da pokušate riješiti problem?" ^{("What have you done to try to fix the problem?")}. Računala s vremena na vrijeme mogu biti zbunjujuća i zastrašujuća, a naoružana dobrom referentnom knjigom kao što je Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition može uvelike učiniti da se čitatelj osjeća samouvjereno. Poglavlje Rješavanje pogrešaka i rušenja sustava Windows^{(Troubleshooting Windows Errors and Crashes)} pomaže čitatelju dati povjerenje u proces izvješćivanja o greškama i samopouzdanje u otkrivanju što je možda pošlo po zlu i ispravljanju. Samo to bi moglo biti vrijedno cijene knjige.

Što mi se svidjelo, a što nije

Iskreno, našao sam vrlo malo toga što mi se ne sviđa u ovoj knjizi. Lako se čita i pun je praktičnih i zanimljivih informacija. Autori znaju svoju temu i očito su uživali kopati dublje u Windows 7 nego većina ljudi. Vole objašnjavati stvari i nuditi korisne savjete kako bi sve funkcioniralo učinkovitije. Lako je pronaći informacije u knjizi, a budući da su pisanje i objašnjenja tako jasni, lako je razumjeti što učiniti nakon što ih pronađete. Ipak, ovo je vrlo velika knjiga i zapravo nije za početnike koji samo žele jednostavne upute za pokretanje sustava Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} i njegovo ispravno funkcioniranje. To ide u puno detalja, što može biti više nego što se neki ljudi žele baviti. Fokus je na obavljanju stvari sWindows 7 u vašem vlastitom radnom prostoru, a ne stvarima koje možete učiniti kada ste povezani s vanjskim svijetom. Odjeljak pod nazivom Neki korisni dodatni programi^{(Some Useful Accessory Programs)} odnosi se na aplikacije ugrađene u Windows 7 , a ne na lako dostupan softver iz drugih izvora.

Presuda

Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition izvrsna je referenca i pravi obrazovni resurs. To je ogromna knjiga i sadrži sve vrste informacija koje čitatelj možda prije nije znao (ali se odmah mogu dobro iskoristiti). Ako želite kupiti samo jednu referencu za Windows 7, ovo bi definitivno trebala biti ta. To je čuvar! Ako ste kupili prvo izdanje knjige, pogledajte sadržaj^{(table of contents)} ovog novog izdanja. Prilično sam siguran da ćete pronaći nova poglavlja i sadržaj koji će vas natjerati da razmislite o ovom novom izdanju. Ako niste kupili prvo izdanje knjige, idite izravno na Deluxe izdanje^{(Deluxe Edition)} . Ne možete dobiti cjelovitije knjige o sustavu Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} od ove.

Book Review - Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition

We reviеwed the original edition of Windows 7 Inside Out back in 2010 and we considered it a great book for people who want to go in depth with their understanding of the Windows 7 operating system. The authors together with Microsoft Press, just launched a Deluxe Edition of the book. So I wondered: what makes this new edition worthy of being called Deluxe? I was very interested to find out.

NOTE: As with our previous review, I am reviewing the e-book version, so I can't comment on the extra materials in the printed edition.

What's New and... Deluxe?

The authors (Ed Bott, Carl Siechert and Craig Stinson) say that they added several new chapters and put their continuing research into Windows 7 into other revisions throughout the book. Since the original version was a "mere" 1000 pages long, and this edition is 1360 pages long, it's clear they've gone all out to give the reader even more. Some large books get their size from filler, illustrations and editorial digressions, but this book is not one of them. It's full of genuine, useful information delivered by people who clearly know what they're talking about and—more importantly—how to explain it all to other people who need to know more.

The book's chapters and sections are logically laid out, for the most part. Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition starts with an introduction to the operating system, then leads the reader through the differences between Windows 7 and previous versions of Microsoft Windows, and then explains how to set it up and configure it. In fact, most of the book is devoted to things that one can do with Windows 7 on your computer, without connecting to the Internet or using additional software. There's information about Internet Explorer, Windows Live, and Windows Help included in "Part 1. Getting Started", but that's the only part of the book that takes you outside your own workspace. I would have liked to see all that information combined in a section of its own, placed at the end of the book after all the chapters about getting your Windows 7 computer set up and managed to your own specifications, but that's a minor quibble.

Everything about everything?

Even though this is a huge book, it's well laid out and the chapters walk the reader through each topic in logical steps. The authors clearly know their subject and their writing is clear and to the point. I found the straightforward, conversational style especially appealing. The authors always make it clear when some versions of Windows 7 have, or don't have, the features they're discussing. There's an abbreviated Table of Contents and a more detailed one, and a 70-page index, so finding any particular topic is easy, even if you don't have electronic search tools at your disposal. The book is available in multiple e-book formats, although the file may be too large for some older e-readers (like my Sony Touch). Like almost all computer books, Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition need not be read straight through, although there are so many interesting tidbits available throughout the book that someone who just looks up what they need to know may miss out on a lot. Of course, not everyone needs the wealth of information that's here, and the extremely extensive exploration of Windows 7 is definitely not for everyone. I especially liked the section that deals with Windows Explorer. That's been one of my most-used applications for all the years I've been using various versions of Microsoft Windows, and the interface changed so radically between Windows XP and newer versions that, when I first installed Windows 7, I had a difficult time adapting. This section gave me some great ideas for making Windows Explorerwork the way I want it to (the book as a whole talks a lot about personalization and logical shortcuts) and after reading it I've got an interface that makes sense for the way I work. A definite plus.

Tuning, Tweaking & Fixing Everything

Part 5 of the book, Tuning, Tweaking and Troubleshooting, has six chapters, two of which should be required reading for everyone: Performing Routine Maintenance and Troubleshooting Windows Errors and Crashes. Since Windows 7 works so well, many of us figure we don't need to keep up the maintenance that we had to do to keep previous versions of Windows alive. While things like disk defragmentation are a lot less necessary now than they once were, it's good to see the authors explain why it still should be done. I've always been a firm advocate of not using hard drives for dead storage, and I was happy to see the authors agreed with me on that, and gave good, common-sense instructions for file management, disk cleanup, removal of the Windows 7 features the reader does not use, and general strategies for conserving space. Quite frankly, I wish more books about Windows 7 would include a section like that. Years ago when I worked at a radio station, when things went wrong, we always knew the Chief Engineer's first question would be "What have you done to try to fix the problem?". Computers can be confusing and scary at times, and being armed with a good solid reference book like Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition can go a long way toward making the reader feel confident. The Troubleshooting Windows Errors and Crashes chapter helps give the reader confidence in the error-reporting process and confidence in finding out what might have gone wrong and putting it right. That alone might be well worth the price of the book.

What I Liked and Did Not Like

Honestly, I found very little not to like in this book. It's easy to read and loaded with practical and interesting information. The authors know their subject and clearly have enjoyed digging deeper into Windows 7 than most people would. They like explaining things and offering helpful tips to make everything work more efficiently. It is easy to find information in the book, and since the writing and explanations are so clear, it's easy to understand what to do once one finds the information. That said, this is a very large book and it's not really for the beginner who just wants simple instructions to get Windows 7 up and running and to keep it working right. It goes into a lot of detail, which may be more than some people want to deal with. The focus is on doing things with Windows 7 in your own workspace rather than the things one can do when connected to the outside world. The section called Some Useful Accessory Programs is about applications built into Windows 7, rather than easily available software from other sources.

Verdict

Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition is an excellent reference and a genuine educational resource. It's a huge book and has all kinds of information that the reader may not have known before (but can be put to good use immediately). If you want buy only one Windows 7 reference book, this definitely should be the one. It's a keeper! If you purchased the first edition of the book, look through the table of contents of this new edition. I'm pretty sure you will find new chapters & content which will make you consider this new edition. If you did not purchase the first edition of the book, then go directly for the Deluxe Edition. You don't get more complete books about Windows 7 than this.

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