BKCGTWFW.RVW 931201 Macmillan of Canada 29 Birch Avenue Toronto, Ontario M4V 1E2 Elizabeth Wilson 416-963-8830 Fax: 416-923-4821 or Microsoft Press 1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA "Concise Guide to Windows for Workgroups", Jamsa, 1993, 1-55615-505-0, C$17.95 Another "second source" set of documentation for Windows. Note please: Windows. More than half of this book deals with functions and features which are *not* specific to Windows for Workgroups. The chapters relating to the Control Panel and Accessories, for example, contain almost no material relating to features other than those found in a stand alone version of Windows. Which raises another point. The cover blurb states that this book covers "everything from installation to customization." Well, given some latitude in interpretation, that could be said to be true. However, to those who have worked with Windows, let alone those who have struggled with the Workgroups part, installation and customization refer to those times when the defaults don't quite work as advertised. Instead, what we get for "installation" here is a run through the screens of the installation program. As for customization; well, I'll be kind and assume that they are referring only to the screen colour changes you can make with the Control Panel. It could be said to be concise. There is no reference material. There is no attempt to point out any "tips and tricks." The material appears to be a rewriting and reformatting of the standard Windows documentation. The ultimate question is, "Why?" Windows is supposed to be "user-friendly." (Please, no unseemly laughter from you in the back, there.) Windows is supposed to be usable without documentation at all. Why, then, this type of rehash from third parties? copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCGTWFW.RVW 931201 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" (Oct. '94) Springer-Verlag