Author Andy Rathbone listened to what you wanted to know, and this edition is loaded with additional information about

• E-mail, faxing, and troubleshooting
• Maximizing security features
• Customizing and upgrading Windows XP
• Multimedia applications—CDs, digital music and photos, video, and more
• Answers to questions asked by thousands of Windows users

If you’re just getting started with Windows XP, you’ll find Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is a lot easier than trying to get the fourth-grader next door to explain it to you. (Andy Rathbone is a lot more patient.) There’s a whole section devoted to “Windows XP Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know,” so you can get the hang of the basics quickly and in the privacy of your own home. And if you’ve been around a couple of generations of Windows, you’ll be especially interested in how to squeeze maximum security from the beefed-up anti-spam and firewall features in Service Pack 2.

Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is sort of like a buffet—you can sample everything, or just stick with the stuff you know you like. You’ll find out how to

• Locate programs and files, organize your information, and fax, scan, or print documents
• Get online safely, send and receive e-mail, work with Internet Explorer’s security toolbar, and steer clear of pop-ups, viruses, and spam
• Make Windows XP work the way you want it to, share your computer while maintaining your privacy, set up a network, and perform routine maintenance
• Transfer and organize pictures from your digital camera, edit digital video, and create custom CDs of your favorite tunes
• Use Windows XP’s troubleshooting wizards and become your own computer doctor

With its task-oriented table of contents and tear-out cheat sheet, Windows XP For Dummies, 2^nd Edition is easy to use. You can quickly find what you want to know, and you just may discover that this book is as important to your computer as the power cord.

Some aspects of this book could be better, such as the part of the networking chapter that calls for an Ethernet hub without noting that a switch, though possibly more expensive, would do the job better, without any additional hassle. The networking coverage also does an inadequate job of explaining how to share a cable modem or DSL connection among several computers. This is a serious shortcoming, and we're getting to the point in our evolution as a society of computer users at which we can assume that everyone knows what the "Cancel" button does and would rather read about the newer, more exciting things that Windows XP can do. Even the dummies aren't that dumb anymore.

But that said--and Rathbone does confine a lot of the really elementary stuff to a skinny introductory chapter--this book is a boon to people who aren't familiar with Windows XP or its immediate predecessors (including Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me). It's also great for people who have learned a little about Windows on the job or from their kids, and want to expand on what they know. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP for people completely unfamiliar with the operating system and other recent versions of Windows. Coverage includes how to run programs, move and delete files, connect to the Internet, and use applications like electronic mail programs, Web browsers, and multimedia players.