My book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins is out! This book checks out the weird and wacky histories of nearly 600 words and phrases, from A1 to zydeco.

To learn more the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, please see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book (co-authored with David Pabian) iPhone 3G Portable Genius is now available! This is the first book in Wiley's new Portable Genius series, which features full-color screen shots, a clean, crisp layout, and content that turns the book into a portable version of Apple's Genius Bar. In this case, of course, the content is related to the iPhone 3G smartphone, and you learn all kinds of tips, tricks, and workarounds to help you get the most out of your iPhone 3G.

For much more info about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Build It. Fix It. Own It.: A Beginner's Guide to Building and Upgrading a PC is now available at fine bookstores everywhere. This book teaches you how to build a PC with the sweat of your own brow, and shows you that it takes very little sweat indeed, even if you've never so much as glanced at the inside of a computer. You learn what parts you need, how to make smart buying decisions, how to set up your work area, and what tools you need. From there, you learn how to build various types of PCs, from a simple-but-functional basic machine for those on a budget, to a screaming gaming PC that will handle any anything you care to throw at it.

For much more info about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

The Second Edition of my book Microsoft Windows Vista Unleashed is out and ready to read! My goal in this book is to cover the good, the bad, and, yes, even the ugly of Windows Vista, including Service Pack 1. In particular, I give you complete coverage of the intermediate-to-advanced features of Windows Vista. This means that I bypass basic topics, such as wielding the mouse, in favor of more complex operations, such as working with the Registry, maintaining and troubleshooting your system, networking, and getting around the Internet.

For more info, see the book's home page. If you want to discuss the book or ask questions about it, head for The Dialogue Box.

My latest book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Windows Home Server was released on January 29, 2008. This book uses the famous full-color, profusely illustrated style that's the hallmark of the Teach Yourself VISUALLY series. In more than 130 lessons, this book gives you the full scoop on Windows Home Server. You learn what its features are, how to configure it, and how to get your home network set up. From there, you learn how to take full advantage of Windows Home Server's many features, including automated backups, centralized storage, streaming media, folder duplication, the Windows Home Server Console, and remote access to your home computers.

For much more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Networking with Microsoft WIndows Vista: Your Guide to Easy and Secure Windows Vista Networking was published on December 19, 2007. It's a beginner's guide to networking computers, with a focus on Windows Vista's networking features. You learn about both wired and wireless networking hardware, and I show you how to buy the equipment that's right for you. You also learn how to put your network together, incuding making the connections and configuring your router. You then learn all about Vista's networking features, including making connections, sharing resources, implementing security, and even how to set up your own Windows Vista web server!

For much more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Excel 2007 PivotTables and PivotCharts is now available in North America. The book covers building PivotTables, customizing PivotTable data and calculations, creating custom calculations, visualizing data with PivotCharts, and creating advanced PivotTables from multiple consolidatation ranges, external databases, and even OLAP data cubes.

For much more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed is now available in North America. The book covers installing Windows Home Server, gettng the most out of media sharing, storage, backups, and remote access, and advanced features such as network monitoring and troubleshooting, Windows Home Server maintenance and optimization, and using the server to run a website and SharePoint site.

For much more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Computers Fifth Edition is now available in North America. This is a full-color, copiously illustrated book designed to take the mystery out of computers and the devices that attach to them.

For lots more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion forum for my books.

My book Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007: Top 100 Tips & Tricks is now available. This book uses step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations to enhance your PowerPoint 2007 skills. In 100 useful tips and tricks, you learn powerful techniques for customizing presentations, using graphics, applying effects and animations, adding audio, video, and sound, and delivering presentations

For much more information about the book, see the book's home page. If you have questions or comments about the book, see The Dialogue Box, this site's discussion group.

My book Tricks of the Microsoft Office 2007 Gurus is now available. This book is a compilation of tips and shortcuts and little-known techniques—in short, tricks—that help you take Office to a whole new level. To learn more about it, see the book's home page. If you want to talk about the book, you can do so in The Dialogue Box, this site's forum for readers.

My book Microsoft Office Access 2007 Forms, Reports, and Queries is now available. This book shows you how to get the most out of Access 2007 by focusing on powerful and useful techniques for forms, reports, and queries. To learn more, see the book's home page. If you want to talk about the book, you can do so in The Dialogue Box, this site's forum for readers.

My book VBA for the 2007 Microsoft Office System has been published and is available at finer stores everywhere. VBA for the 2007 Microsoft Office System teaches you the ins and outs of Visual Basic for Applications, the Office 2007 macro language, even if you've never programmed before.

For lots of links to book content and info, see the book's home page. If you want to talk about the book, or if you have a question or three, the place to be is The Dialogue Box, this site's handy discussion forum.

The latest edition of my book Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2007 is now available. This book demystifies worksheet formulas and presents the most useful Excel functions in an accessible, jargon-free way.

To find out more about Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2007, see the book's home page. If you want to talk about the book or ask a question or two, head over to The Dialogue Box.

Stop the presses! No, wait, they're already stopped! Anyway, my book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Windows Vista is piping hot and ready to serve. I show you how to wrestle with Microsoft's latest operating system and come out with no physical scars (I make no promises about mental ones, however).

To get the 411 (as the kids say) on the book, surf over to the book's home page. If you're just dying to talk about the book, or if you have a question or six about the book, the place to go is The Dialogue Box.