With each new version of Microsoft Windows there are tons of new things to deal with, some of which you will love and some of which you will hate. Windows Vista is like this, there are many nice little convenience features to love and even some new under the hood technology that will make things better for all of us. But, there are also things to hate like User Access Control (UAC) add to that that Microsoft seems to delight in spreading similar settings and controls all over the place, for example networking settings and controls seem to be spread all over more the OS instead of just being in one central place. All of these big and little things means that even if you have used Windows from the start you will still need a good book to work you through the new and enhanced features as well as finding where things are now located. Since Windows Vista doesn’t come with any documentation worth speaking of there is yet another reason a good book on Vista is a must have.

Having looked at several books on Windows Vista I have decided that at least for myself that Microsoft Press’s Windows Vista Inside Out Cover Shot is the one for me. Unlike some other books this book goes in to details and it doesn’t just cover the basic things it covers the not so basic things and I like that. If you have used any version of Windows for any length of time then you probably already have the basics down, things like how to close a window, how to minimize a window, etc. What you really want is something that delves in to the guts of Windows and how to use all of the controls and settings to get the most from the OS. Windows Vista Inside Out is just such a book. It is very well written, very well designed and laid out and is in fairly plain English with just a bit of techno-babble (they do assume that you know a bit about computers and Windows)

Chapter 1: What’s new in Windows Vista.
Chapter 2: Installing and configuring Windows Vista.
Chapter 3: Personalizing Windows Vista.
Chapter 4: Adding, removing and managing programs.
Chapter 5: Setting up and troubleshooting hardware.
Chapter 6: Using Internet Explorer 6.
Chapter 7: Finding and organizing files and information.
Chapter 8: E-mail collaboration, and personal productivity.
Chapter 9: Obtaining help and support.
Chapter 10: Security essentials.
Chapter 11: Managing user accounts, passwords and logons.
Chapter 12: Setting up a small network.
Chapter 13: Managing shared folders and printers.
Chapter 14: Tweaking and troubleshooting a small network.
Chapter 15: Digital media essentials.
Chapter 16: Playing and organizing a digital music collection.
Chapter 17: Viewing, organizing and sharing digital photos.
Chapter 18: Creating and Watching Movies and DVDs.
Chapter 19: Using Windows Media Center.
Chapter 20: Performing routine maintenance.
Chapter 21: Tuning up and monitoring performance.
Chapter 22: Monitoring system activities with event viewer.
Chapter 23: Troubleshooting Windows errors.
Chapter 24: Recovering from a computer crash.
Chapter 25: Managing services.
Chapter 26: Editing the registry.
Chapter 27: Advanced Internet Explorer security and administration.
Chapter 28: Managing disks and drives.
Chapter 29: Controlling access to files and folders.
Chapter 30: Automating Windows Vista.
Chapter 31: Advanced security management.
Appendix A: Windows Vista editions at a glance.
Appendix B: Working with the command prompt.
Appendix C: Using and Customizing Microsoft management console.
Appendix D: Viewing system information.

This is in my opinion one of the best books on Windows Vista available. It covers all areas of the OS and is the perfect user’s guide for anyone upgrading to Windows Vista and is a good book for those coming from some other OS to Windows for the first time.