Teach Yourself Windows 98 in 24 Hours (Preview Edition)

Whether you're a new Windows 98 user or you're upgrading from Windows 95, prepare to tackle Windows 98 with Sams Teach Yourself Windows 98 in 24 Hours, Preview Edition. Take the advice of proven master Greg Perry to learn short and easy tasks to gain a strong knowledge of the new Windows 98 operating system. Create an exciting environment by installing your own programs on Windows 98. The easy-to-follow lessons will explain, in detail, how to make your transition from PC to the Internet. Windows 98 virtually eliminates the boundaries between a user's machine and the rest of the world--take advantage of it with Sams Teach Yourself Windows 98 in 24 Hours, Preview Edition.

• Master Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 to surf the Web
• Install your own programs to accomodate your specific needs
• Use push technology and channels to bring the Internet to you as you like it
• Update your software with Update Manager and automatic downloads

Organized around a somewhat gimmicky template of 24 one-hour lessons, this book does a serviceable job of explaining Windows 98 fundamentals to the uninitiated. If you're unfamiliar with switching among applications using the taskbar or not clear on how to use Outlook Express to handle electronic mail, this book can help you get up to speed.

Early lessons address the fundamentals of Windows 98, giving you a tour of key features and explaining how this version of Windows differs from earlier ones. Discussion of the taskbar, files and folders, Windows Explorer, the accessibility settings, and the procedures involved in installing and removing applications follow. Later lessons have to do with using Windows 98 on a portable computer, employing the operating system's multimedia features, and generally getting jobs done more quickly. Each lesson begins on what should be familiar ground, gradually progressing into more complicated subject matter.

This book's prime shortcoming is its elementary focus. It's doubtful that even the rankest amateur would really require an hour to figure out how to use Windows Help. Despite the slow pace, this book is a decent guide to the essentials of Windows 98. --David Wall