Paul McFedries' Tech Tonic

Part 1—Windows Vista Everywhere: A Few Things You Need to Know

Chapter 1—Windows Vista: the 50¢ Tour

Starting Windows Vista

A Tour of the Screen

The Desktop

The Taskbar

A few Mouse and Keyboard Fundamentals

Basic Mouse Maneuvers

Common Keyboard Conveniences

Activating Your Copy of Windows XP

Shutting Down Windows for the Night

Chapter 2—Making Something Happen: Launching and Controlling Programs

Launching a Program

A Look Around the Start Menu

Navigating the Start Menu

Now What? Getting a Program to Do Something Useful

Selecting Commands from Pull-Down Menus

Some Toolbar Basics

Dealing with Dialog Boxes

Switching From One Program to Another

Viewing Taskbar Thumbnails

Switching with Flip

Switching with Flip 3D

Quitting a Program

Chapter 3—Working with Vista's Windows

Touring a Typical Window

Learning Window Basics

Minimizing a Window

Maximizing a Window

Restoring a Window

Moving a Window

Sizing a Window

Cascading and Tiling Windows

Using Scrollbars

Chapter 4—Saving, Opening, Printing, and Other Document Lore

"What On Earth Is a Document?"

Manufacturing a New Document

Saving Your Work for Posterity

Saving a New Document

Saving an Existing Document

Taking Advantage of the Documents Folder

Using the Save As Command to Make a Copy Of a Document

Document Editing for Beginners

Document Formatting for Beginners

Closing a Document

Opening an Existing Document

Sending a Document to the Printer

Chapter 5—Fiddling with Files and Folders

Getting Around In the Computer Folder

Workaday File and Folder Maintenance

Creating a New File or Folder

Selecting Files and Folders

Copying and Moving a File or Folder

Renaming a File or Folder

Deleting a File or Folder

Creating a Compressed Folder

"Burning" Files to a CD-R or CD-RW Disc

Finding a File In That Mess You Call a Hard Disk

Searching from the Start Menu

As-You-Type Searching

More Powerful Searches

Points of View: Changing the Folder View

Adding Comments, Keywords, and Other Document Data

Ordering Your Files Around

Sorting Files

Grouping Files

Stacking Files

Chapter 6—Installing and Removing Programs and Devices

Installing Software

Installing a Windows Vista Component

Installing a New Program

Changing a Program's Installed Components

Removing Software

Uninstalling a Windows Vista Component

Giving a Program the Heave-Ho

Installing Devices

Understanding Hardware Types

Running the Add Hardware Wizard

Installing Specific Devices

Removing Devices

Part 2—Windows Vista at Home

Chapter 7—Playing with Images

Figuring Out Image File Formats

A Tour of the Pictures Folder

Previewing a Picture

Converting an Image to Another Format

Setting Up an Image Slide Show

No Film? No Problem: Ordering Prints Online

Printing Pictures

Browsing Images in the Windows Photo Gallery

Capturing a Picture of the Screen

Chapter 8—Getting Images from Scanners and Digital Cameras

Installing a Scanner or Digital Camera

Testing Your Scanner or Camera

Getting Images from Your Scanner or Camera

Using the Scanner and Camera Wizard with Newer Scanners

How the Wizard Deals with a Scanner

How the Wizard Deals with a Digital Camera

How the Wizard Deals with a Memory Card

Completing the Scan

Browsing Digital Camera Images

Chapter 9—Sights and Sounds: Vista's Digital Media Tools

Controlling Program Volume

Making Media Whoopee with Media Player

Giving Media Player Some Media to Play

Playing Media

Ripping Tracks from a CD

Creating a Custom Playlist

Burning Tracks to a CD or Device

Generously Sharing Your Media Library

Movies, Tunes, and More: Running Media Center

Playing DVD Movies

Playing Music and Radio

Viewing Pictures and Videos

Chapter 10—Making Movies with Windows Vista

Mastering Windows Movie Maker

What Hardware Do You Need to Use Movie Maker?

A Tour of the Movie Maker Screen

Adding Video to a Project

Hip Clip Tips: Working with Clips

From Projector to Project: Creating Your Movie Project

Authoring Your Own DVDs with DVD Maker

Chapter 11—Sharing Your Computer with Others

Understanding User Accounts

Creating a New Account

Changing an Existing Account

Changing the User's Name

Creating an Account Password

Changing the User's Picture

Changing the Account Type

Deleting an Account

Logging On to an Account

"What's with All the Dialog Boxes?" (User Account Protection)

Sharing Documents with (and Hiding Them from) Others

Using the Public Folder

Sharing (or Keeping Private) Documents

Protecting Your Kids with Parental Controls

Part 3—Windows Vista at Work

Chapter 12—Places to Go, People to See: Using Windows Calendar

Navigating the Calendar Window

Creating a New Appointment

Setting Up a New Task

Publishing Your Calendar

Subscribing to Another Calendar

Chapter 13—Fax-It-Yourself: Using Windows Vista's Faxing Features

Setting Up Windows Vista to Do the Faxing Thing

Running Windows Fax and Scan

Sending a Regular Fax

Sending a Fax from a Scanner

Creating a Fax Cover Page

Receiving a Fax

Annotating a Fax

A Few Fax Options

Chapter 14—Windows Vista and Your Notebook Computer

Your One-Stop Notebook Shop: The Mobile PC Control Panel

Getting a Bird's-Eye View with the Mobility Center

Better Battery Life Through Power Management

Keeping an Eye Peeled on Battery Life

Power to the People: Specifying a Power Plan

Even More Power to the People: Creating a Custom Plan

Configuring Your Notebook's Power Buttons

Setting Up Your Notebook for a Presentation

Working with Those Little PC Card Doodads

Popping In a PC Card Device

Yanking Out a PC Card Device

Part 4—Windows Vista on the Internet

Chapter 15—Getting on the Internet

Plug and Pray: Getting Your Cables In the Right Places

What to Look For in an Internet Service Provider

Setting Up an Internet Connection

What You Need to Know Before Getting Started

Setting Up a Broadband Connection

Setting Up a Dial-Up Connection

Setting Up a Wireless Connection

Making the Connection

Severing the Connection

Now What? Windows Vista's Internet Features

Chapter 16—Wandering the Web with Internet Explorer

A Tour of the Internet Explorer Screen

Web Page Navigation Basics

Techniques for Efficient Web Gallivanting

Getting the Most Out of Tabs

Managing Your Favorites

Searching for Sites

Using the History List

Offline Surfing: Reading Pages When You're Not Connected

Customizing the Handy Links Bar

Dealing with Files in Internet Explorer

Subscribing to RSS Feeds

A Few More Useful Internet Explorer Options

Chapter 17—Sending and Receiving E-mail with Windows Mail

Setting Up Your Internet E-mail Account

A Tour of the Windows Mail Window

The Outbox: Sending an E-mail Message

The Basics: Composing and Sending a Message

Easier Addressing: Using the Contacts List

Inserting Attachments and Other Hangers-On

The Inbox: Getting and Reading E-mail Messages

Getting Your Messages

Reading Your Messages

Attending to Attachments

What to Do with a Message After You've Read It

Taking Charge of Your Message Folders

Some Handy Message Maneuvers

Better E-Letters: Setting the Default Message Font

Working with Stationery

Setting Up a Signature

Seven Useful Sending Settings

Dealing with the Onslaught: Filtering Messages

Chapter 18—Your Net Safety Net

Keeping Intruders Out of Your System

The First Line of Defense: Windows Firewall

Squashing Spyware with Windows Defender

Working with E-Mail Safely and Securely

Protecting Yourself Against E-Mail Viruses

Using the Junk Mail Filter to Can Spam

Maintaining Your Privacy While Reading E-Mail

Other Security Doodads in Windows Mail

Caveat Surfer: Internet Explorer and Security

Avoiding the Lures of Scammers with the Phishing Filter

Covering Your Tracks: Deleting Your Browsing History

Restricting Your Cookie Diet: Internet Explorer's Privacy Features

Understanding Internet Explorer's Advanced Security Options

Part 5—Windows Vista at the Shop: Customizing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting

Chapter 19—Refurbishing the Desktop

Why Customize?

Changing the Desktop Background

Wallpapering the Desktop

Image Is Nothing: Setting the Desktop to a Solid Color

Adding Gadgets to the Windows Sidebar

Screen Saver Silliness

Makeover Time: Changing the Desktop Colors and Fonts

Making Your Own Appearance Scheme

Changing Desktop Visual Effects

Changing the Screen Area and Color Depth

Applying Desktop Themes

Chapter 20—Revamping the Start Menu and Taskbar

Reconstructing the Start Menu

Toggling Some Start Menu Settings On and Off

Adding Your Own Start Menu Icons

Easy Start Menu Maintenance

Renovating the Taskbar

Unlocking the Taskbar

Taskbar Travels: Moving and Sizing the Taskbar

Some Useful Taskbar Options

Displaying and Tweaking Taskbar Toolbars

Creating Your Own Toolbars

Chapter 21—Maintaining Your System In 10 Easy Steps

Step 1—Check Your Hard Disk for Errors

Step 2—Check Free Disk Space

Step 3—Delete Unnecessary Files

Step 4—Defragment Your Hard Disk

Step 5—Set System Restore Points

Step 6—Back Up Your Files

Step 7—Create a System Image Backup

Step 8—Check For Updates and Security Patches

Step 9—Check the Reliability Monitor

Step 10—Set Up a Maintenance Schedule

Chapter 22—Troubleshooting and Recovering From Problems

Determining the Source of a Problem

General Troubleshooting Tips

Troubleshooting Using Online Resources

Recovering From a Problem

Reverting to a Previous Version of a File

Booting Using the Last Known Good Configuration

Recovering Using System Restore

Recovering Using the Recovery Console

Reinstalling Windows Vista

Recovering Using a System Image Backup

Appendix —The Complete Idiot's Command Card