Computer Technology, Home Computer User & Beginner, Computer Technology, Personal Computers

PCs For Dummies

Name: PCs For Dummies
Author: Dan Gookin
ISBN: 9781118197349

by Dan Gookin

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Overview

The all-time bestselling PC reference, fully updated for the newest technologies!

Previous editions of this fun and friendly PC guide have sold more than three million copies, making it the bestselling PC reference in the world. Dan Gookin, the author whose straightforward and entertaining style is the foundation of the For Dummies series, gives you the same easy-to-follow guidance in this edition, fully updated for Windows 8, using the cloud, and all the newest PC bells and whistles. It's perfect for the absolute beginner as well as for anyone switching to the latest hardware and software.

Updated with information on all the latest upgrades, this edition of a worldwide bestseller covers all the essentials of using a PC, and presents them in a fun, non-intimidating style
Popular technology author Dan Gookin starts at the beginning with all the basics that other books assume everyone knows
Covers setting up your PC, exploring the Windows 8 interface, using network hardware and software, getting online and browsing with the newest version of Internet Explorer, setting up an e-mail account, connecting to the cloud, and using cloud-based services
Shows you how to install and upgrade programs and manage files and folders
Explores working with digital photos, downloading music, watching movies, and participating in social media

PCs For Dummies, 12th Edition is the jargon-free, easy-to-use guide to everything you need to know about your PC.

About the Author, Dan Gookin

Dan Gookin has been writing about technology for over 20 years. He has contributed articles to numerous high-tech magazines and written over 110 books on personal computers, many of them accurate.
Dan combines his love of writing with his gizmo fascination to create books that are informative, entertaining, and not boring. Having sold more than 14 million titles translated into over 30 languages, Dan can attest that his method of crafting computer tomes seems to work.
Perhaps his most famous title is the original DOS For Dummies, published in 1991. It became the world’s fastest-selling computer book, at one time moving more copies per week than the New York Times #1 bestseller (though, as a reference, it could not be listed on the NYT bestseller list). That book spawned the entire line of For Dummies books, which remains a publishing phenomenon to this day.
Dan’s most popular titles include Word 2007 For Dummies, Laptops For Dummies, and Troubleshooting Your PC For Dummies (all published by Wiley). He also maintains the vast and helpful Web page www.wambooli.com.
Dan holds a degree in communications/visual arts from the University of California, San Diego. Presently, he lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he enjoys spending time with his sons in the gentle woods of Idaho.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Got a new PC this fall? Getting one for the holidays? Or maybe your great aunt is finally joining the digital revolution? We've got the accessory that really ought to come standard: PCs for Dummies, Eighth Edition. Dan Gookin invented the For Dummies series, and over a decade later, there's still nobody you'd rather learn PCs from.

Of course, there's plenty of new technology to cover in this edition (which is one reason this might be just the right book even if you've been a casual PC user for years already). Gookin has added about 80 entirely new pages: new coverage of Windows XP, 2000, and Me; new stuff on USB and on your digital camcorder's FireWire interface; flat-panel monitors, CD burners, digital cameras, and lots of new Internet coverage -- including a full chapter on using Outlook Express as your email software.

Gookin nails the nitty-gritty stuff: how to switch your mouse for lefties, what computer game ratings mean, how to adjust your monitor, where you can't get viruses from. There's also a good deal of simple troubleshooting -- including the solution to the ever-popular "I accidentally moved my taskbar and now I can't put it back" problem (Tip: in Windows XP, you can lock your taskbar in place. About time!) (Bill Camarda)

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer with nearly 20 years' experience in helping technology companies deploy and market advanced software, computing, and networking products and services. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.

Library Journal

Who would have thought a line of reference works "for dummies" would ever sell? Well, they have, and this series installment by author Gookin is an excellent example of how to make something otherwise complicated simple for lay readers. Newbie computer users will find much useful information here, from opening the box and setting up a new computer system to basic file management, hardware and software issues, and basic WindowsR steps. Gookin's fun and easy-to-follow advice is tailor-made for the many people buying PCs for the first time. This new version includes Windows 95R procedures, as well as helpful hints on understanding how computers operate, how to read and write files to hard and floppy disks, and how to set up a basic Windows system configuration. Because of the technical nature of this material, many readers may also want to read the book (available from IDG) while they follow these handy tips with their own computer. This item and the entire "DummiesTM" line is a sure bet for all public libraries.Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.