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Oxenbury R. J. G.
December 6th 03, 10:24 AM
Dear Mary,

Many thanks for your kind, useful and very prompt reply.
I am certainly a dummy with computers and Windows, but I
have seen at my local bookshop the book you recommend,
and I have to say that in my humble opinion it is far
from comprehensive. Even if I were to buy it, I should
have to buy a more advanced tome not long afterwards;
which would be wasteful as well as initially less
effectual.

Most grateful all the same, especially for the advice
about "cookies". (Perhaps I have consulted the wrong sort
of "expert"! - but it certainly looks as if "cookies" are
not universally popular.)

Sincere best wishes,

Roger Oxenbury

>-----Original Message-----
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-
0966137-0148708
>Windows XP for Dummies!
>
>I have no idea why your expert told you to
disable "cookies". You can manually delete
>any cookie you find objectionable. There are some very
helpful cookies. Could be the
>reason you are getting the same update over and over.
>Microsoft has a Knowledge Base that is second to none.
>http://support.microsoft.com/
>If you have a specific question, just ask; someone will
walk you through it.
>There are web sites devoted to Windows; for example
>http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm
>
>--
>Mary Sauer MS MVP
>http://dgl.microsoft.com/
>http://mvps.org/msauer/
>"Oxenbury R. J. G." > wrote
in message
...
>> I have this new IBM-style computer and am using very
few
>> of its facilities. It runs Microsoft Windows XP: Home
>> Edition. I thought it would come with a comprehensive
>> manual, but the documentation is pathetic. There are
all
>> kinds of books about Windows XP, but I cannot find a
>> comprehensive Microsoft official manual for XP-HE
>> anywhere. "Help" files invariably refer me to the root
of
>> the Windows CD; why I cannot figure, as the blessed
thing
>> is supposed to have been installed: and besides, if I
try
>> to load it, it would not surprise me (Microsoft Windows
>> being what it is) if it re-installed the operating
system
>> without the updates I have religiously downloaded
>> recently and without which nothing works properly, if
at
>> all.
>>
>> I have been advised by an "expert" that it would
>> be "disastrous" to enable "cookies": as a result I
cannot
>> even order groceries from my local supermarket, let
alone
>> get in touch with Microsoft.
>>
>> What I need at the moment is hard-copy of fully
>> comprehensive documentation about the system: only then
>> can I begin to find out what I have and how I may use
it
>> in part, let alone in full. Microsoft and its system
are
>> not much use to me at the moment - I am still using my
>> word-processor for "snail mail" for
reliability, "Outlook
>> Express" not being fully accessible to me in terms of
>> drafting and attaching long documents and the like
>> through lack of a proper manual - and besides the
system
>> must still be a pig's breakfast because I keep
>> getting "pop-ups" on the opening screen telling me I
need
>> to download updates that have already been successfully
>> downloaded and successfully installed (according to the
>> installation history) ages ago. Perhaps the
installation
>> history programme is badly bugged, but I cannot find
out
>> at the moment.
>>
>> I realise that youngsters prefer to "dip into" 'help'
>> files for this and that, rather than wade through
>> reference materials; but that is not my way, and I am
>> getting nowhere with it: moreover, it seems to me that
>> the cost of printing out some of the little "snippets"
of
>> information available here and there (and elsewhere
that
>> cannot easily be determined) must be far higher than
>> getting a proper manual for the lot.
>>
>> I suppose this will sound like a bit of a Meldrew moan,
>> but I should be most grateful for any information that
>> might assist me with any of the above.
>
>
>.
>

Kent W. England [MVP]
December 6th 03, 10:26 AM
If the Dummies book is too dumb for you, then you'll find most of the
books too tedious, going over basics that you already know. I know you
want a written book, but you would be best served by these newsgroups.
You are already ahead of 99% of all the people who access these
newsgroups via the web interface because you posted a message, found a
response, and replied. 99% of web users can't do that!!

These groups are your friend. Switch to using Outlook Express to read
news. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/default.mspx
and click on Windows XP and then click on the "Open with newsreader"
links to open your news in Outlook Express.

Now you can see all the newsgroups when you click on the news server
folder in your OE folder bar. You can create rules to watch your posts
and see responses in a different color. You can do a Ctl-H to do the
same thing when you view.

Go to microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlooke xpress for more
help with Outlook Express setup. Also see www.tomsterdam.com for "Inside
OE". Also see microsoft.public.windowsupdate to fix your problems with
updates. Then explore the microsoft.public.windowsxp.* newsgroups for
more help with specific XP issues. Also learn how to use the Google
Advanced Groups search page to find answers to your questions that have
already been answered for others. Once you get the hang of it, you'll
prefer it to flipping through a hardbound book.

Within a week or two, you will amaze yourself at how many of your issues
you have addressed and how you have advanced. You seem like a natural
news participant and I predict within a month you'll be posting answers
to other newcomers questions.

--
Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows



"Oxenbury R. J. G." > wrote in message
...
> Dear Mary,
>
> Many thanks for your kind, useful and very prompt reply.
> I am certainly a dummy with computers and Windows, but I
> have seen at my local bookshop the book you recommend,
> and I have to say that in my humble opinion it is far
> from comprehensive. Even if I were to buy it, I should
> have to buy a more advanced tome not long afterwards;
> which would be wasteful as well as initially less
> effectual.
>
> Most grateful all the same, especially for the advice
> about "cookies". (Perhaps I have consulted the wrong sort
> of "expert"! - but it certainly looks as if "cookies" are
> not universally popular.)
>
> Sincere best wishes,
>
> Roger Oxenbury
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-
> 0966137-0148708
> >Windows XP for Dummies!
> >
> >I have no idea why your expert told you to
> disable "cookies". You can manually delete
> >any cookie you find objectionable. There are some very
> helpful cookies. Could be the
> >reason you are getting the same update over and over.
> >Microsoft has a Knowledge Base that is second to none.
> >http://support.microsoft.com/
> >If you have a specific question, just ask; someone will
> walk you through it.
> >There are web sites devoted to Windows; for example
> >http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm
> >
> >--
> >Mary Sauer MS MVP
> >http://dgl.microsoft.com/
> >http://mvps.org/msauer/
> >"Oxenbury R. J. G." > wrote
> in message
> ...
> >> I have this new IBM-style computer and am using very
> few
> >> of its facilities. It runs Microsoft Windows XP: Home
> >> Edition. I thought it would come with a comprehensive
> >> manual, but the documentation is pathetic. There are
> all
> >> kinds of books about Windows XP, but I cannot find a
> >> comprehensive Microsoft official manual for XP-HE
> >> anywhere. "Help" files invariably refer me to the root
> of
> >> the Windows CD; why I cannot figure, as the blessed
> thing
> >> is supposed to have been installed: and besides, if I
> try
> >> to load it, it would not surprise me (Microsoft Windows
> >> being what it is) if it re-installed the operating
> system
> >> without the updates I have religiously downloaded
> >> recently and without which nothing works properly, if
> at
> >> all.
> >>
> >> I have been advised by an "expert" that it would
> >> be "disastrous" to enable "cookies": as a result I
> cannot
> >> even order groceries from my local supermarket, let
> alone
> >> get in touch with Microsoft.
> >>
> >> What I need at the moment is hard-copy of fully
> >> comprehensive documentation about the system: only then
> >> can I begin to find out what I have and how I may use
> it
> >> in part, let alone in full. Microsoft and its system
> are
> >> not much use to me at the moment - I am still using my
> >> word-processor for "snail mail" for
> reliability, "Outlook
> >> Express" not being fully accessible to me in terms of
> >> drafting and attaching long documents and the like
> >> through lack of a proper manual - and besides the
> system
> >> must still be a pig's breakfast because I keep
> >> getting "pop-ups" on the opening screen telling me I
> need
> >> to download updates that have already been successfully
> >> downloaded and successfully installed (according to the
> >> installation history) ages ago. Perhaps the
> installation
> >> history programme is badly bugged, but I cannot find
> out
> >> at the moment.
> >>
> >> I realise that youngsters prefer to "dip into" 'help'
> >> files for this and that, rather than wade through
> >> reference materials; but that is not my way, and I am
> >> getting nowhere with it: moreover, it seems to me that
> >> the cost of printing out some of the little "snippets"
> of
> >> information available here and there (and elsewhere
> that
> >> cannot easily be determined) must be far higher than
> >> getting a proper manual for the lot.
> >>
> >> I suppose this will sound like a bit of a Meldrew moan,
> >> but I should be most grateful for any information that
> >> might assist me with any of the above.
> >
> >
> >.
> >

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