I have in my library Windows XP Home Edition written by Faithe Wempen. This book is a comprehensive coverage of WinXP. Comparing this book and Karp’sWindows XP Annoyances to this WinXP pocket reference, I was surprised to see that he has been able to include in this very small paperback book computer information not contained in any of those references. I suspect some of the computer information in this pocket book is also in a different format from that appearing in his other publications. Karp intended for this pocket edition to be a compact reference for users who want to quickly access keyboard and mouse shortcuts, summaries of all WinXP programs, and games. In addition he includes commonly used Registry tweaks for the more experienced users, a computer security checklist, and even a brief crash course for the less experienced WinXP novices. Karp begins the book with the crash course in the basics of WinXP. He then transitions to the Shortcuts, Components, Settings, Registry Tweaks, Command Prompts, and concludes with a Security Checklist. Perhaps the most useful information in this pocket reference is the Setting Index part of the book. This section provides a comprehensive listing of more than 700 entries sorted in alphabetical order by their function rather than by location in the operating system interface.

The book has 181 pages printed in small, black print which enables him to provide a great deal of computer details. Unfortunately, though, senior citizen users with limited vision may have difficulty using this pocket reference because of the small print. For the novices, there are no color illustrations, pictures or other graphic aids such as those found in the “Dummies” or the “Teach Yourself” visual books and publications. Nonetheless, I found this pocket reference to be a valuable tool especially for “road warriors.” Of course, although designed to help all computer users, it may best be used by the intermediate and advanced computer person.

In summary, it is packed full of easily accessible information for using the WinXP operating system and small enough to fit into a laptop briefcase.

Published by O’Reilly & Associates, 1st Edition, 181 pages.