我以前从来没有遇到过这种情况：我开始复习这本书，仅 3 分钟后，我的脑海中就清楚地形成了最终的结论。具有讽刺意味的是，这只会让任务变得更加困难，因为我不得不努力摆脱成见，停止思考如何为我奶奶包装礼物，通读一遍，看看Windows 7 Plain & Simple是否真的很简单(plain and simple)看起来很简单。
谁应该读这本书
作者Jerry Joyce 和 Marianne Moon(Jerry Joyce and Marianne Moon)从一开始就设置了观众。如果你有一台电脑……在某个地方，如果你整天呆在显示器前没有任何刺激感，但这是一种必要的邪恶，你使用它只是因为你必须这样做，那么宾果游戏(Bingo)！正如作者所说，这本书应该“帮助你快速高效地完成工作，从而让你远离电脑，过上你的生活”。现在你可能明白为什么我这么快就下结论了。然而，读完这本书后，我很想去想另一个目标受众(target audience): 入门级用户。当我说入门级时，我是认真的。你可能第一次在电脑前，只有这本书作为指南，仍然表现得体。这本书甚至教你如何通过移动鼠标来唤醒你的电脑。说够了(Enough)。
本书的组织方式
本书分为 16 章，几乎包含您在使用Windows 7时可能遇到的所有基本任务。这本书的好处是它从一开始就开始。它教您如何启动和关闭Windows 7，如何启动程序以及如何查找和打开文件夹或文档。它不做任何假设，它只是从您拥有一台运行正常的计算机、安装了Windows 7并且Internet可以正常工作的前提开始。您不必将任何计算机相关知识的包袱带入等式，这就是它非常适合初学者的原因。
我能从中学到什么？
正如我刚才所说，当你开始阅读本文时，你不必对计算机了解太多，你仍然可以做一份体面的工作。这些信息是可以理解的，并且其结构可以让您在很短的时间内找到问题的答案。您不必阅读所有内容，只需浏览目录，找到当时的问题，转到页面，按照分步程序快速执行任务，这样您就可以走上你的路，“过你的生活”。这听起来确实不错，但这也意味着您不会从中获得太多关于 Windows 7 的知识。这本书就像芬兰语(Finnish)的对话指南(conversation guide). 是的，你可以问厕所在哪里，然后找到它，但你永远学不会这门语言。
作者想写一本关于计算机的书，没有计算机语言(computer talk)。阅读起来非常友好和有趣，但如果你想要一些技术性的东西，你需要去别的地方看看。如果您不太关心技术背景，并且只想在计算机上完成一些事情，并且不费吹灰之力，那么这本书就是完美的选择。以下是我们可以在其中找到的内容：
- 第一章是本书的介绍。作者谈论计算机就像谈论任何其他家用电器(home appliance)一样，旨在为您工作，而不是占用您的大量时间。计算机爱好者(computer enthusiast)会对此嗤之以鼻，而不会费心阅读其余部分，因此，如果您面带微笑通过第 1 章(Chapter 1)，您会对其余部分感到非常满意。
- 第二章，暗示性地命名为“Jump Right In”，涵盖了非常基本的操作，例如启动Windows 7、关闭、启动程序、处理文件和文件夹或获得帮助。第三章侧重于访问和组织文件和文件夹，第四章侧重于运行程序。
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第 5 章(Chapter 5)专门介绍 Windows 界面的个性化，而第 6 章则是关于使用 Internet Explorer 8 进行 Internet 浏览的全部内容。
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第 7 章到第 10 章(Chapters 7 to 10)探索游戏，使用图片、多媒体和语音。在四个部分的乐趣和游戏之后，本书将我们带入了不那么有趣但更复杂的问题。
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第 11 章(Chapter 11)是关于打印和扫描(Printing and Scanning)的，第 12 章(Chapter 12)侧重于通过电子邮件进行通信，而第 13 章(Chapter 13)试图在没有计算机的情况下解释网络。在这里，事情并不像应有的那么顺利，因为不幸的是，需要一些技术背景才能理解这些概念。例如，如果您是初学者，并且想使用本书作为指南来创建 VPN 连接(Create a VPN Connection)，那么当您看到这 5 个步骤中的一个时，您会非常迷茫（并且敢说，非常生气）显示的是“输入连接名称，然后选择所需的任何选项。”这听起来像是“做任何事情”，而且不是很有帮助。循序渐进的方法非常适合简单的任务，但在遇到更复杂的问题时会失败。
- 最后三章侧重于设置、使用不同帐户维护安全性，最后是管理Windows 7。
信息是否易于理解？
乍一看，是的！它是简单的英语(English)，没有电脑对话(computer talk)，它试图在更个人化、人性化的层面上接触读者。循序渐进的方法在开始时效果很好，当简单的任务被解释时，但随着问题变得越来越复杂，过程变得坎坷。这么多地避免使用技术术语是一种冒险的野心，因为就像本书想要的那样简单明了(plain and simple)，它毕竟是关于计算机的。
判决
读完这本书后，我意识到最初的判断是正确的。Windows 7 Plain & Simple非常适合那些只想了解自己在Windows 7中的方式并自己执行简单任务的人，而无需阅读他们不关心的数百页技术背景。这对入门级用户也有好处，因为他们将能够轻松地习惯Windows 7。应用我之前使用的相同比喻，我可以说，如果您只是不时访问Windows 7并想了解自己的方式，这本书是完美的(Windows 7)对话指南(conversation guide)。但是，如果您想了解有关此操作系统(operating system)的更多信息，请为自己购买一本“字典”。
Book Review - Windows 7 Plain & Simple
Never has this hapрened to me before: І start to review this book and I have the final verdict clearly shaped into my mind aftеr only 3 mіnutes. Ironically, that only mаde the task more difficult, as I had to make a grеat effort to lose the preconсeption, stop thinking about how to gift-wrap this for my grandmа, read through and seе if Windows 7 Plain & Simple is actually as plain and simple as it seems.
Who should read this book
The authors, Jerry Joyce and Marianne Moon, set the audience from the start. If you have a computer around there… somewhere, if you don't find any thrill in staying in front of the monitor all day but it's a necessary evil, and you use it only because you have to, then Bingo! This book should, as the authors say, "help you get your work done quickly and efficiently so that you can get away from the computer and live your life". Now you might understand why I was so quick to jump to conclusions. However, after reading the book, I'm tempted to think of another target audience: entry-level users. And when I say entry-level I really mean it. You could be in front of a computer for the first time in your life, have only this book as a guide and still perform decently. The book even teaches you how to wake up your computer by moving the mouse around. Enough said.
How the book is organized
The book is split into 16 chapters, which contain almost any basic task you might come across while working with Windows 7. The good thing about this book is that it starts at the very beginning. It teaches you how to start and shut down Windows 7, how to start a program and how to find and open a folder or a document. It doesn't assume anything, it only starts from the premise that you have a functional computer, with Windows 7 on it, and that the Internet works. You don't have to bring any baggage of computer-related knowledge into the equation, and that's what makes it great for beginners.
What can I learn from it?
As I said just now, you don't have to know much about computers when you start reading this, you'll still be able to do a decent job. The information is comprehensible, and it's structured in a manner that allows you to find the answer to your problem in a very short time. You don't have to read everything, you just have to browse the table of contents, find what ails you at that certain moment, go to the page, follow the step-by-step procedure and perform the task quickly, so you can be on your way and "live your life". That sounds really nice indeed, but that also means that you won't get much knowledge on Windows 7 from it. This book is like a conversation guide in Finnish. Yes, you will be able to ask where the toilet is, and find it, but you'll never learn the language.
The authors wanted to write a book on computers with no computer talk. It's very friendly and fun to read, but if you want some technical stuff, you will need to look someplace else. If you couldn't care less about the technical background and you only want to get something done on a computer with the minimum amount of headaches, then this book is perfect. Here's what we can find in it:
- The first chapter is an introduction to the book. The authors talk about computers like they would about any other home appliance, meant to work for you, not to occupy a good chunk of your time. A computer enthusiast will huff and puff at this and not bother reading the rest, so if you made it through Chapter 1 with a smile on your face you'll be quite pleased with the rest.
- The second chapter, suggestively named "Jump Right In", covers the very basic maneuvers, like starting Windows 7, shutting down, starting programs, working with files and folders or getting help. The third chapter focuses on accessing and organizing files and folders, while the fourth is about running programs.
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Chapter 5 is dedicated to personalizing the Windows interface, and chapter six is all about Internet browsing, using Internet Explorer 8.
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Chapters 7 to 10 explore games, working with pictures, multimedia and voice. After four sections of fun and games, the book takes us to less entertaining, but more complex issues.
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Chapter 11 is about Printing and Scanning, Chapter 12 is focused on communicating via E-Mail, while Chapter 13 tries to explain Networking with no computer talk. Here, things are not as smooth as they should be, because, unfortunately, some technical background is needed in order to understand the notions. For example, if you're a beginner, and you want to Create a VPN Connection using this book as a guide, you will get quite lost (and, dare say, quite cross) when you'll see that one of the 5 steps presented is "Enter a name for the connection, and select any options you want." It sounds like "do whatever", and it's not very helpful. The step-by-step approach is great for simple tasks but fails when confronted with more complex issues.
- The last three chapters are focused on setting up, maintaining security using different accounts and, finally, managing Windows 7.
Is the information comprehensible?
At a first glance, yes! It's plain English, with no computer talk, it tries to reach the reader at a more personal, human level. The step-by-step approach works great in the beginning, when the simple tasks are explained, but gets bumpy on the way, as the issues get more complex. Avoiding the technical jargon this much is a risky ambition since, as plain and simple as this book wants to be, it deals after all with computers.
Verdict
After reading the book I realized that the initial verdict was the correct one. Windows 7 Plain & Simple is great for those who just want to know their way in Windows 7 and perform simple tasks on their own, without reading hundreds of pages of technical background they don't care about. It's also good for entry-level users, as they will be able to get accustomed to Windows 7 in an easy way. Applying the same metaphor I used earlier, I could say that, if you're just visiting Windows 7 from time to time and want to know your way around, this book is the perfect conversation guide. However, if you want to learn more about this operating system, buy yourself a 'dictionary'.
