Computer Technology

David L. Farquhar, Optimising Windows for Games, Graphics & Multimedia, Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2000, pp.278 ISBN: 1565926773.
Technical manual offering tips, settings, and performance-tweaking to speed up your computer. Also helps you understand operating systems, disk architecture, and memory. Excellent advice, and much easier to understand than you might imagine.
Full review HERE








Walter Glenn, Word 2000 in a Nutshell: A Power User's Quick Reference, Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2000, pp.491, ISBN 1565924894
Workshop repair manual for the popular word processor. It goes through all the menu options, and explores the deeper level of customisation available via Tools -> Options. Takes you through the features for collaborative writing (using comments and notes) creating style templates, and even designing Web pages. There's a big list of keyboard shortcuts; a list of filters and converters, and a huge index. Full review HERE






Rick Maybury, Boot Up: The Daily Telegraph Beginner's Guide to Computers and Computing, London: Orion Business Books, 1999, pp. 185, ISBN 0752820990.
Based on popular weekly column of answers to readers' frequently asked questions. Includes a guide to all computer basics. Useful tips on how to choose equipment, maintain your desktop, improve performance, avoid crashes, and recover from viruses. Full review HERE







Rick Maybury, Boot Up Projects: The Daily Telegraph Guide to Doing Something Useful with your Computer, London: Orion Business Books, 2000, pp. 191, ISBN 1842030167.
Follow-up to the book above. Putting your PC to good use - produce your own stationery, organize finances, make a screensaver, create a newsletter, design a web site, and upgrade by adding memory and a DVD player. Full review HERE







Scott Mueller, Upgrading and Repairing PCs, Indianapolis (IN): Que, 13th edition, 2002, pp.1556, ISBN 0789725428
This is not just a repair guide - it's a major encyclopaedia of computer components, their specifications, and a workshop manual on all aspects of dealing with PC hardware. This is a serious, heavy-duty book which has proved itself in the best-seller lists. It is now in its thirteenth edition and is just about as up-to-date as it's possible to be. Full review HERE







Peter Norton and John Goodman, Peter Norton's 'Inside the PC', (seventh edition) Sams, 1998, pp.721, ISBN 0672310414.
Excellent and fully comprehensive guide to how the PC works. Especially good on memory, disk architecture, and operating systems. Includes tips on selecting equipment, repairs and upgrading. Also considers speech recognition software, multimedia, and peripherals such as laptops and modems.
Full review HERE







Tim O'Reilley and Troy Mott, Windows 95 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, Sebastopol (CA): O'Reilly and Associates, 1998, pp.504, ISBN 1565923162.
Concise guide for those who want to know how Win95 really works. Includes clever tips and shortcuts - especially for customising the Win95 desktop and commands. Also includes a section on the Registry - explaining how to deal with this nightmare zone of configuration settings. Full review HERE







Robert Bruce Thompson & Barbara Fritchman Thompson, PC Hardware in a Nutshell, Sebastopol (CA): O'Reilly, pp.501, 2000, ISBN 1565925998.
Practical guide to buying parts for repairing, upgrading, and even building computers. Hands-on, D-I-Y advice, and particularly good on judging prices. Covers all equipment, from motherboards, power supply, hard drives, floppies, and CD writers, to monitors, video adapters, and sound cards. Excellent guide.
Full review HERE







Stephen L. Nelson, Microsoft HelpDesk for Microsoft Windows 98, Washington: Microsoft Press, 1999, pp.986, ISBN 0735606323.
Blockbuster reference book which enables you to locate any of the 1,200 problems and solutions that the book covers. These come from the Microsoft Help Desk - so they are genuine. You can also access them via a forty-page index. Handsome layout.
Full review HERE








Faithe Wempen et al, Microsoft Office 97 Professional 6 in 1, Indiana: Que Corporation, 1998, pp.804, ISBN 0789715155.
Guidance manual on full Office 97 suite. Introduction to Windows 95, file management, and the basics of copying, moving, and good housekeeping. Covers Word [word-processing] Excel [spreadsheets] PowerPoint [presentations] Outlook [personal information manager (PIM) - combination of diary,address book, and email organiser] and Access. Full review HERE