我一直被那些提供摆脱烦恼或揭示秘密（或两者兼而有之）的技术书籍所吸引。这类书的出发点是读者已经掌握了一切，但渴望找到一些（正如我的一个朋友开玩笑所说的那样）“更安全”的信息，以使一切工作(everything work)得更好。因此(Thus)，我很高兴有机会回顾Windows 8 Secrets，因为有了这样的标题，我认为这绝对是我喜欢的书。它符合我的期望吗？让我们来看看。
了解我们
我一开始就注意到了几件事。首先是简单的对话式写作风格，我立刻就喜欢上了。第二个是作者有意识地选择继续使用术语“ Metro Interface ”，即使承认微软已经停止(Microsoft quit)使用它。第三，不幸的是这本书只有灰度图，对于像Windows 8(Windows 8)这样的彩色系统来说，这不是最好的选择。
大多数章节都遵循相同的结构。首先(First)参考熟悉的事物，然后与新的做事方式进行比较，然后讨论为什么新方式比旧方式更好，以及如何充分利用新的做事方式。这是一个很好的方法，让读者有充分的理由认识到改变不仅仅是为了改变，事情(change and things)是有充分理由的。Windows 8 Secrets与我最近阅读的其他Windows 8书籍不同，它首先假设读者正在考虑将以前版本的(Windows 8)Windows（最好是Windows 7）升级到Windows 8. 对Windows 8(Windows 8)的版本有一个很好的解释，我特别感谢，因为我之前对Windows 8 RT的概念还不是很清楚。有几个图表可以解释每个版本的所有功能，这是一个主要的优点。我还喜欢对英特尔兼容硬件和ARM(ARM)硬件之间差异的彻底、详细解释，以及为什么我们多年来熟悉的软件无法在ARM 芯片组(ARM chipset)设备上运行的解释。
关于升级的部分远远超出了我以前见过的任何内容，首先描述了哪些硬件可以工作，哪些硬件不能工作。由于Windows 8设计为在功能较弱的硬件上运行良好，因此我曾想过在我的上网本上进行测试安装，但(test installation)Windows 8 Secrets明确表示，如果不是徒劳的话，那将是一种令人沮丧的练习（上网本上的屏幕分辨率(screen resolution)是应用程序都错了，无法更改）。涵盖实际升级过程(upgrade process)的章节有非常详细的说明，几乎涵盖了任何人(anything anyone)在潜入程序之前想知道。我喜欢这种深入的描述，因为如果我知道会发生什么，我就会更有信心去做。在线安装程序和(online installer and installation)从磁盘安装都被详细描述为任何人都希望的那样。设置双启动系统和安装完成后配置Windows 8也是如此。甚至还有一节描述了如何在Mac上安装(Mac)Windows 8，这是我计划最终尝试的内容。我在这个书签里放了一个很好的老式书签。🙂
关于一切的一切
本书的其余部分与开头一样详细且易于阅读。与其像许多科技作家那样谨慎中立，作者们会毫不犹豫地表达他们的观点。我发现这既有趣又令人耳目一新，我认为它增加了这本书的吸引力。手写字体(handwriting font)中的边注很少，包含特别有趣的细节。我对深蓝色文本的“突出显示”不太兴奋，这使它更引人注目但可读性更低。在安装章节之后，对多点触控（以前称为Metro）界面有很好的深入介绍。我认为任何人从以前版本的Windows进入Windows 8会发现这一章是必读的。正如作者不断指出的那样，Windows 8已从头开始重新设计，虽然桌面(Desktop)界面看起来令人放心，但触摸屏界面以全新的方式做事，我认为很多人不仅需要时间，还需要保证(time but reassurance)当他们了解这一切是如何运作的。在此学习过程中， Windows 8 Secrets(Windows 8 Secrets)将成为真正的资产。关于桌面(Desktop)界面的章节通过展示桌面与熟悉的桌面(Desktop)的(Desktop)相似方式做了完全正确的事情以前的版本，然后让读者了解它的不同之处——以及变化背后的原因。我认为他们所谓的“开始体验(Start experience)”的解释特别有用（当你想点击开始按钮(Start button)但没有找到时你会做什么？）
不幸的是，这是本书的黑白插图确实非常失败的众多领域之一。不可能看到屏幕的样子，因为许多正常颜色显示为几乎相同的灰色阴影。我希望出版商们能提供几张彩色图片，即使这本书的其余部分必须是单色的。作为仍在使用许多旧桌面应用程序的人，我很欣赏这些应用程序将如何安装和显示的概述。作为一个永远不会让操作系统(operating system)看起来像刚安装时那样的人，我真的很喜欢解释 Windows 8 可以自定义的多种方式的章节。
应用程序等
共有三章涉及应用程序。奇怪的是，它们并没有按照逻辑应该组合在一起。首先是关于Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)的章节，然后是关于Internet Explorer 10的章节，然后是解释生产力应用程序和照片(productivity apps and photo)和娱乐应用程序(entertainment apps)的章节。由于后两章详细介绍了Windows 8附带的应用程序，所以我会先从这些开始，然后继续到Windows Store. 虽然“应用程序”与“桌面应用程序”的概念在介绍性章节中得到了很好的解释，但我认为大多数人更容易习惯已经安装的应用程序，然后开始浏览、选择和安装已安装的应用程序。可从Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)获得。在这之后应该会出现有关Internet Explorer 10的章节（因为您可以通过单击或点击磁贴而不是了解如何使用浏览器来访问Windows 应用商店）。(Windows Store)解释Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)规则的部分内容广泛且写得很好。“应用程序”整体概念的新手应该对Windows 应用商店中提供的产品有充分的了解(Windows Store)已经标准化，以及为什么Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)是应用程序可用的唯一地方。以下部分解释了如何在商店中找到您想要的东西以及如何将这些新应用程序添加到Windows 8中，这应该会给任何人带来信心(anyone confidence)。但我必须说，黑白插图在这里也完全失败。Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)是一个非常丰富多彩的地方！
由于Windows 8不包含以前 Windows 版本附带的任何游戏（纸牌、扫雷、弹球(Solitaire, Minesweeper, Pinball)等），因此包含一个关于新Xbox LIVE 游戏商店(Xbox LIVE Game Store)的章节而不是旧的熟悉时间是合乎逻辑的 -废物。我不是一个游戏玩家（因为从第一天(Day One)开始我就对视频游戏无能为力），但读完这一章后，我真的看到了Xbox LIVE 游戏商店(Xbox LIVE Game Store)的潜在吸引力。涵盖存储、备份、恢复和网络(recovery and networking)的章节遵循使用熟悉示例的既定模式，然后继续介绍Windows 8如何(Windows 8)把事情做得更好。由于其中一些领域（尤其是备份）即使使用熟悉的旧软件也被很多人忽视，因此逐步演练(step walkthrough)和谈论(pep talk)Windows 8会变得更好、更快和更容易的事情可能会激发人们的积极性做正确的事。甚至还有一章名为Windows 8 for Business，其中包含对Windows 8 Enterprise的描述，这是迄今为止我在大多数入门书籍中都没有看到的内容。
那么，我怎么想的？
让我们不要拐弯抹角：我真的很喜欢Windows 8 Secrets，尽管我在书中的内容中没有看到太多“秘密”的方式。它不像其他一些书那么重，但它不需要。这些信息写得很好，很容易理解。其他一些想法：亲：(Pro:)
- 对话式的写作风格(writing style)和作家毫不犹豫地发表自己的意见。
- 章节的结构，从熟悉到新的以及新的原因会更好。
- (Written)为已经具备一定技能和经验(skill and experience)并且不需要初学者认为必要的基本任务的详细说明的人编写。
- 包含诸如商业用途(business use)之类的主题，这些主题通常不包含在消费者操作(consumer how-to)指南中。
缺点：(Con:)
- 灰度(Grayscale)插图，根本无法展示丰富多彩的界面。
- 深(Dark)蓝色“突出显示”，它模糊而不是强调文本。
如果我能找到一本书的所有外观问题，那就表明它是一个守门员。🙂
判决
一个出色的指南，它使 Windows 8 易于理解并吸引几乎任何人。虽然它不适合绝对的初学者，但它应该适合其他所有人。每一章的设置都是为了让读者从熟悉到新的感觉很棒（希望其他作者也采用这种方法），感觉好像作者是在用页边空白处的评论亲自与读者交谈，所有其中也值得一读。使用(Use one)以下链接之一订购您自己的副本；你不会后悔的！
Book Review - Windows 8 Secrets
I've always been attracted to technical books that offer to get rid of annoyances or reveal secrets (or both). These are the kinds of books that begin with the notiоn that the reader'ѕ got things pretty wеll іn hand already, but is eager to find somе (as one of my friends jokingly puts it) "sooper sekrit" informatiоn to make everything work even bеtter. Thus, I was happy to get the chancе to rеview Windows 8 Secrets, because with a title like that I thought it'd definitely be my kind of book. Did it meet my expectations? Let's take a look.
Getting to know us
There are several things that I noticed right off the bat. The first is the easy, conversational style of the writing, which I liked immediately. The second was that the authors made a conscious choice to keep using the term "Metro Interface" even while acknowledging that Microsoft quit using it. And the third was that the book is unfortunately illustrated in grayscale only, which is not the greatest choice for a colorful system like Windows 8.
Most chapters follow the same structure. First the reference to something familiar, then a comparison to the new way of doing things, and then a discussion of why the new way is better than the old way, and how to use the new way of doing things to its best advantage. This is an excellent approach, giving the reader good reasons to realize that the change isn't just for the sake of change and things are done for good reasons. Windows 8 Secrets, unlike the other Windows 8 books I have recently reviewed, starts by assuming the reader is considering upgrading a previous version of Windows (preferably Windows 7) to Windows 8. There's a great explanation of the versions of Windows 8, which I especially appreciated since I had not quite been clear on the concept of Windows 8 RT before now. There are several graphs which explain all the features for each edition, a major plus. I also liked the thorough, detailed explanation of the differences between Intel-compatible and ARM hardware—and the explanation of why the software we've become familiar with over the years won't run on an ARM chipset device.
The section on upgrading goes way beyond any I've seen before, beginning with a description of what hardware will work and what won't. Since Windows 8 is designed to work well on less powerful hardware I had thought of doing a test installation on my netbook, but Windows 8 Secrets makes it clear that that would be an exercise in frustration if not futility (the screen resolution on the netbook is all wrong for apps and can't be changed). The chapter that covers the actual upgrade process has extremely detailed instructions that cover just about anything anyone would want to know before diving into the procedure. I love this kind of in-depth description, because if I know what to expect I feel a lot more confident about doing it. Both the online installer and installation from a disk are described as thoroughly as anyone could wish. The same can be said about setting up a dual-boot system and about configuring Windows 8 after the installation is done. And there is even a section that describes how to install Windows 8 on a Mac, which is something I plan to try eventually. I put a good old-fashioned bookmark into this one. 🙂
Everything about everything
The rest of the book is just as detailed and easy to read as the beginning. And rather than being carefully neutral like many tech writers, the authors don't hesitate to state their opinions. I found this both entertaining and refreshing and I thought it added to the appeal of the book. There are little marginal notes in a handwriting font that contain especially interesting details. I was less thrilled about the "highlighting" of text in dark blue, which makes it more noticeable but less readable. After the chapter on installation, there's a good solid introduction to the multi-touch (formerly known as Metro) interface. I think anyone coming into Windows 8 from a previous version of Windows will find this chapter a must-read. As the authors keep pointing out, Windows 8 has been redesigned from the ground up, and although the Desktop interface will look reassuringly familiar, the touch-screen interface does things in entirely new ways and I think many people will need not only time but reassurance as they learn how it all works. Windows 8 Secrets will be a real asset during this learning process. The chapter on the Desktop interface does exactly the right thing by showing the ways in which the Desktop is similar to the familiar Desktop of previous versions, and then easing the reader into the ways in which it is different—and the reasons behind the changes. I thought the explanation of what they call "the Start experience" was especially useful (what DO you do when you want to click the Start button and there isn't one to be found?)
Unfortunately, this is one of many areas where the book's black and white illustrations really, really fail. It's impossible to see what the screen looks like, because so many of the normal colors show up as nearly identical shades of grey. I wish the publishers had sprung for a few color pictures, even if the rest of the book had to be in monochrome. As someone who's still using a lot of older desktop applications, I appreciated the overview of how those will install and display. And as someone who can never leave an operating system looking like it did when it was first installed, I really liked the chapter that explains the many ways that Windows 8 can be customized.
Apps and more
There are three chapters that deal with apps. Oddly, they are not grouped together as they should logically be. The chapter on the Windows Store is first, followed by a chapter about Internet Explorer 10, which is then followed by chapters that explain productivity apps and photo and entertainment apps. Since the latter two chapters go into a great deal of detail about the apps that come with Windows 8, I would have started with those and then continued to the Windows Store. While the concept of "apps" versus "desktop applications" is well explained in the introductory chapters, I think it would be easier for most people to get used to the apps that are already installed, and then move into browsing, choosing and installing what's available from the Windows Store. The chapter on Internet Explorer 10 should come after all that (since you can get to the Windows Store by clicking or tapping a tile rather than understanding how to use the browser). The section that explains the rules for the Windows Store is extensive and well written. Newcomers to the whole idea of "apps" should have a solid understanding of why the offerings in the Windows Store have been standardized and why the Windows Store is the only place the apps are available. The following sections that explain how to find what you want in the store and how to go about adding those new apps to Windows 8 should give anyone confidence. But I must say that the black and white illustrations are a total failure here as well. The Windows Store is a very colorful place!
Since Windows 8 doesn't include any of the games that came with previous Windows versions (Solitaire, Minesweeper, Pinball, etc) it was logical to include a chapter about the new Xbox LIVE Game Store that is included instead of the old familiar time-wasters. I'm not a gamer (because I have been hopelessly inept with video games from Day One) but after reading this chapter I can really see the potential appeal of the Xbox LIVE Game Store. The chapters that cover storage, backup, recovery and networking follow the established pattern of using a familiar example, then moving on to how Windows 8 does things better. Since some of these areas (especially backups) get neglected by a lot of people even with old familiar software, having the step by step walkthrough and the pep talk about how much better, faster and easier things will be with Windows 8 might get people motivated to do the right things. There is even a chapter called Windows 8 for Business that includes a description of Windows 8 Enterprise, which is something I haven't seen in most how-to books so far.
So, what did I think?
Let's not beat around the bush: I really liked Windows 8 Secrets, even though I didn't see much in the way of "secrets" in the contents of the book. It's not as hefty a book as some others, but it doesn't need to be. The information is well written and easy to understand. Some other thoughts: Pro:
- Conversational writing style and the writers don't hesitate to give their opinions.
- Structure of the chapters, moving from the familiar to the new and the reasons the new will be better.
- Written for people who already have some skill and experience and who don't need the detailed instructions for basic tasks that beginners would find necessary.
- Inclusion of topics like business use, which are not commonly included in consumer how-to guides.
Con:
- Grayscale illustrations, which simply do not work to demonstrate colorful interfaces.
- Dark blue "highlighting" which obscures rather than emphasizes text.
If cosmetic issues are all I can find wrong with a book, that's an indication that it is a keeper. 🙂
Verdict
An outstanding guide that makes Windows 8 both easy to understand and appealing for just about anyone. Although it is not for absolute beginners, it should be perfect for everyone else. The way each chapter is set up to walk the reader from the familiar to the new is great (wish some other authors had adopted this approach) and it feels as though the authors are speaking personally to the reader with the comments in the margin, all of which are also worth reading. Use one of the links below to order your own copy; you won't regret it!
