我一直很喜欢大卫波格(David Pogue)的书。他是一群精英技术作家之一，他们可以处理一个复杂的主题，解释它以便几乎任何人都能理解，并在这个过程中很有趣。他撰写了Missing Manual系列中的一些最佳书籍，而这一次他解决了Windows 8.1问题。这本书不辜负它的前辈吗？一路走来有没有惊喜？(Did)让我们(Let)来了解一下。
介绍Windows 8.1……以及更多
尽管书名是Windows 8.1，这是它的主要关注点，但这本书实际上涵盖了Windows 8、Windows 8.1和Windows RT。事实上，介绍的第一部分是专门针对Windows 8的新手，然后才顺利进入Windows 8.1中引入和改进的内容。许多技术书籍可以按照读者选择的任何顺序阅读，但是这本——是的，从头开始。你会很高兴你做到了。
我只想说，我非常喜欢Pogue 先生(Mr. Pogue)的“ TileWorld ”新界面术语。🙂以及这本书背后的哲学，用他自己的话来说：
开个好头
全书分为五个部分。阅读第 1 部分(part one)( TileWorld ) 和第 2 部分(part two)( Windows 桌面(Windows Desktop)) 应该可以让几乎任何人——无论是经验丰富的用户还是新手——都能全面了解所有版本的Windows 8。每个主题都逐步涵盖，一切都以轻松的对话语气进行解释。如此多的技术书籍似乎被严格地用作参考，按主题逐个主题，邀请人们只查找他们需要的信息并跳过其余部分。Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual就像一本小说一样容易阅读。科技书籍越容易阅读，就越容易学习，对吧？由于TileWorld 界面(TileWorld interface)对新手来说可能是最令人困惑的，Pogue 先生(Mr. Pogue)以自然的方式一步一步地解释它。（本节适用于Windows 8 / 8.1 和 RT。）当然，开始(Start)屏幕首先出现。这本书是彩色插图（我最近读过的其他一些Windows 8书籍仍然是灰度的），它充分展示了“(Windows 8)开始(Start)”屏幕的优势。我立即了解到 Windows 8.1 的锁定屏幕(lock screen)让我无需登录即可直接进入相机或 Skype。这是我以前不知道的，尽管我已经多次查看该屏幕。我只是从不注意那些小图标。现在我明白了！本章的其余部分充满了同样有趣的花絮，以及对“开始(Start)”屏幕上的所有内容如何工作的很好的解释。本章旨在让新手和有经验的用户都能找到他们不知道的东西。触摸屏和鼠标键盘界面之间的差异非常明显，这并不是每本 Windows 8 / 8.1 的书都需要时间来完成的。
作为一名资深的界面调整者，我特别喜欢自定义锁定屏幕(lock screen)和开始(Start)屏幕的大量说明。如果您看到的屏幕外观和工作方式都符合您的要求，那么您已经有了一个很好的开始。名为TileWorld 的工作原理(How TileWorld Works)的部分本身就值这本书的价格。
熟悉(Familiar)和陌生的桌面(Desktop)，解释
我认为大多数第一次使用Windows 8或 8.1 的人会发现桌面界面(desktop interface)相当熟悉（毕竟，它在许多方面很像Windows 7）。但是仍然有很多新功能，而旧功能的工作方式并不完全相同，并且对那里的内容以及添加或更改的内容进行清晰的解释非常值得一读。桌面(Desktop)上的部分与TileWorld 部分(TileWorld section)一样全面且易于阅读，并且由于大多数人（如果可以选择）会在一个界面上花费更多时间而不是另一个界面，因此很高兴看到每个概念都给出了解释，使其看起来简单而合乎逻辑。如您所见，本节中的章节几乎涉及任何人(anything anyone)需要说明的任何内容。
作为Windows(Windows user)的老用户，我发现桌面界面(desktop interface)比TileWorld直观得多（如果我有触摸屏设备(screen device)可能会有所不同，但我没有）。毕竟，它很像Windows 7的界面。但是在有新功能的地方，Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual提供了令人满意的细节。我立刻注意到了“秘密开始菜单(start menu)”的描述——再一次，我以前没有真正注意过的东西。我是Windows 8.1的新手，手头有这本书已经帮助我充分利用它。还有一个漂亮的全彩插图(color illustration)Classic Shell ，一个很多人喜欢微软(Microsoft)勇敢新世界的第三方开始菜单程序。(start menu program)
我很高兴地发现下一节叫做The Complete Guide to Ignoring TileWorld。我敢打赌，这是本书最受欢迎的部分。🙂 我不认为为两个界面使用相同壁纸的建议一定是一件好事。我试过了，它只会让我感到困惑。但也许我太容易混淆了。描述 Windows 中现在可用的所有功能的部分特别有趣。再一次，有很多新功能我要么没有真正注意到，要么没有充分利用它们的潜力。对不起，微软(Microsoft)，但没有什么能说服我喜欢这个功能区。但至少Windows 8.1 缺失的手册(Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual)提供了它可以做的所有事情的快速和简单的参考。还有一个很棒的部分将教读者如何自定义工具栏——再一次，一种让你的屏幕真正属于你的方法。Windows 8 对搜索过程(search process)进行了重大改进，这些改进已延续到Windows 8.1。在这里，您将找到一个易于理解的索引过程说明（获得搜索的全部好处所必需的）以及您可以自定义搜索的方式。从Windows XP进入Windows 8.1的人应该从本节中学到很多东西。
哦，名为重新设计桌面世界(Redesigning the Desktop World)的部分首先解释了如何关闭桌面(Desktop)的几乎所有新功能。是的，可以使Windows 8.1看起来很像Windows XP。我认识几个 XP 的顽固分子，他们会购买这本书只是为了了解它是如何完成的。🙂
但是等等，还有更多
以下是O'Reilly Media 网站(O'Reilly Media web)上对本书的描述：Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual。花一点时间向下滚动目录。如您所见，这本书只是塞满了信息。如果我要对每个部分都做到完全公正，那么这篇评论可能会一个接一个地播放，让你睡着了。（你最好(Better)花时间阅读这本书。）所以让我指出我在阅读时取得的一些显着发现。在有关Internet Explorer 11的章节中，我第一次发现Internet Explorer可以充当RSS 提要(RSS feed)阅读器。我一直是RSS 提要的粉丝(RSS feed)s，因为它们使一次检查一堆网站变得如此容易。任何可以为我节省大量点击时间并提高浏览效率的东西都会自动引起我的注意。Internet Explorer不是我的默认浏览器(default browser)，但这让它看起来更好。
维护、速度、调整和故障排除(Maintenance, Speed, Tweaks and Troubleshooting)部分的信息似乎已经很熟悉了。那是因为7 Tutorials发表了很多很棒的文章，详细解释了这些内置实用程序。显然，我们也提供优秀的教育！名为“建立小型网络(Setting Up A Small Network)”的部分是我读过的最好的部分之一。由于我们大多数人都有某种家庭网络(home network)，而且由于常用来描述网络协议和功能的语言对于普通计算机用户(computer user)来说听起来像是火星语，所以对所有内容进行解释和说明也值得这本书的价格。Windows 8.1 缺失的手册(Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual)砰的一声出去了。附录（我会很迂腐，坚持附录复数的正确拼写）充满了必读的东西。那一章叫它去哪儿了？(Where'd It Go?)包含在Windows 8(Windows 8) / 8.1中已删除、放在不同位置或重命名的内容的完整列表。如果您有一个旧的最喜欢的命令或程序(command or program)但找不到，那么这里就是您要查找的地方。Pogue 先生(Mr. Pogue)还建议了当今已不存在的程序的替代方案。
最后，有一个 31 页的综合索引应该会让像我这样的老书读者高兴。🙂
判决
Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual是对David Pogue的一长串令人印象深刻的作品的重要补充，也是任何人书架的绝佳参考。除了我上面提到的一点点挑剔的细节之外，我找不到任何可以批评它的东西，而且任何阅读我评论的人都知道，当材料需要时，我可能会非常挑剔。我喜欢读这本书。Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual是一本书中的教育。它有印刷版和电子书版（我查看了电子书版），将成为任何人书架的绝佳补充。如果您已阅读本书并想发表评论，请这样做！
Book Review - Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual, by David Pogue
I have long been a fan of Dаvid Pogue's books. He's one of an еlite group of tech writers whо can take a complex subject, explаin it ѕo that nearly anyone can understand, and be entеrtaining in the proсess. He's written sоme of the best books in the Missing Manual series, and this time he's tackled Windows 8.1. Does this book live up to its predecessors? Did it provide any surprises along the way? Let's find out.
Introducing Windows 8.1… and a lot more
Although the title says Windows 8.1, and that is its primary focus, this book actually covers Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT. In fact, the first part of the introduction is specifically aimed at newcomers to Windows 8, and then it moves smoothly into the things that were introduced and improved in Windows 8.1. Many technical books can be read in any order the reader chooses, but this one—yeah, start at the beginning. You'll be glad you did.
And let me just say that I absolutely love Mr. Pogue's "TileWorld" term for the new interface. 🙂 And the philosophy behind the book, in his own words:
Getting off to a good start
The book is divided into five parts. Reading part one (TileWorld) and part two (The Windows Desktop) should give just about anyone—experienced users and newcomers alike—a complete education in all versions of Windows 8. Each topic is covered step by step, and everything is explained in a breezy conversational tone. So many technical books appear to be written strictly for use as references, topic by topic, inviting people to just look up the information they need and skip the rest. Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual is as easy to read as a novel. And the easier a tech book is to read, the easier it is to learn, right? Since the TileWorld interface is likely to be the most confusing to a newcomer, Mr. Pogue explains it step by step, in a natural progression. (This section applies to both Windows 8 / 8.1 and RT.) The Start screen comes first, of course. And this book is illustrated in color (some other Windows 8 books I've read recently are still done in greyscale) which shows off the Start screen to its best advantage. I learned right off the bat that Windows 8.1's lock screen lets me go directly to the camera or to Skype without logging in. This is something I hadn't known before, despite having looked at that screen plenty of times. I just never paid attention to those little icons. Now I know! The rest of the chapter is full of equally interesting tidbits, along with a great explanation of how everything on the Start screen works. The chapter is designed so that both newcomers and experienced users are sure to find something they didn't already know. The differences between the touch screen and mouse-keyboard interfaces are made quite clear, which is something not every Windows 8 / 8.1 book takes time to do.
As a veteran interface-tweaker, I especially loved the extensive instructions for customizing the lock screen and Start screen. If you're looking at a screen that looks and works the way you want it to, you're already off to a great start. The section called How TileWorld Works is worth the price of the book all by itself.
Familiar and unfamiliar Desktop, explained
I think most people coming to Windows 8 or 8.1 for the first time will find the desktop interface reasonably familiar (it is, after all, a lot like Windows 7 in many ways). But there are still plenty of new features, and old features that don't work in quite the same way, and a good clear explanation of what's there and what's been added or changed is well worth reading. The section on the Desktop is just as thorough and easy to read as the TileWorld section, and since most people (given a choice) will spend more time in one interface than the other, it's good to see every concept given an explanation that makes it all seem simple and logical. As you can see, the chapters in this section take care of just about anything anyone would need instructions for.
As a long time Windows user, I have found the desktop interface much more intuitive than TileWorld (it might be different if I had a touch screen device, but I don't). After all, it's very much like the Windows 7 interface. But where there are new features, Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual goes into satisfying detail. I noticed the description of the "secret start menu" right away—once again, something I hadn't really paid attention to before. I'm a newcomer to Windows 8.1 and having this book on hand is already helping me get the most out of it. There's also a nice full color illustration of Classic Shell, a third-party start menu program that a lot of people prefer to Microsoft's brave new world.
And I was very amused to find that the very next section is called The Complete Guide to Ignoring TileWorld. I bet that's the most popular part of the book. 🙂 I don't think the suggestion to use the same wallpaper for both interfaces is necessarily a good thing, though. I tried it and it only confused me. But then maybe I'm just too easily confused. The section describing all the features now available in the windows was especially interesting. Once again, there were quite a few new features that I either hadn't really noticed or hadn't used to their full potential. And sorry, Microsoft, but nothing has ever convinced me to like the ribbon. But at least Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual provides a quick and easy reference to all the things it can do. There is also a terrific section that will teach the reader how to customize toolbars—once again, a way to make your screen truly yours. Windows 8 made major improvements in the search process, which have carried over into Windows 8.1. Here you'll find an easy to understand explanation of the process of indexing (necessary to get the full benefit of your searches) and the ways you can customize your searches. People who come to Windows 8.1 from Windows XP should learn a lot from this section.
Oh, and the section called Redesigning the Desktop World starts out by explaining how to turn almost all the Desktop's new features off. Yes, it's possible to make Windows 8.1 look a lot like Windows XP. I know a couple of XP diehards who would buy the book just to find out how this is done. 🙂
But wait, there's more
Here's the description of this book from the O'Reilly Media web site: Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual. Take just a moment to scroll down the table of contents. As you can see, this book is just jam-packed with information. If I were to do full justice to every section, this review could go on for screen after screen and put you to sleep. (Better you spend time reading the book instead.) So let me just point out a couple of the notable discoveries I made while reading. In the chapter on Internet Explorer 11, I discovered for the first time that Internet Explorer can act as an RSS feed reader. I've long been a fan of RSS feeds, because they make it so easy to check a bunch of websites at once. Anything that saves me a lot of point-and-click time and makes browsing efficient has got my attention automatically. Internet Explorer is not my default browser, but this is making it look better.
The Maintenance, Speed, Tweaks and Troubleshooting section's information seemed familiar already. That's because 7 Tutorials has published so many great articles explaining these built-in utilities in detail. Clearly, we provide an excellent education too! The section called Setting Up A Small Network is one of the best I've ever read. Since most of us have some kind of home network, and since the language commonly used to describe network protocols and functions can sound like Martian to the average computer user, having everything explained and illustrated is also worth the price of the book. Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual goes out with a bang. The appendices (I'm going to be pedantic and insist on the proper spelling of the plural of appendix) are packed full of must-read stuff. The chapter called Where'd It Go? contains a comprehensive list of things that were removed, put somewhere different, or renamed in Windows 8 / 8.1. If you've got an old favorite command or program that you can't find, this is the place to look. Mr. Pogue also suggests present day alternatives for programs that aren't there any more.
And finally, there's a comprehensive 31-page index that should delight old book readers like me. 🙂
Verdict
Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual is a great addition to David Pogue's long list of impressive credits, and a fantastic reference for anyone's bookshelf. I could not find anything to criticize about it except the one little nit-picky detail I mentioned above, and anyone who reads my reviews knows I can be pretty darn critical when the material warrants it. I loved reading this book. Windows 8.1 The Missing Manual is an education in a book. It's available in both print and e-book editions (I reviewed the e-book edition) and will be a great addition to anyone's bookshelf. If you've read the book and would like to comment, please do!
