在过去的几周里，我回顾了一份全面、深入、所有你需要知道的Windows 8指南（Windows 8 Step By Step）和一本基础知识、准系统、初学者—— Windows 8的唯一指南（Teach Yourself Visually Windows 8。）根据过去的经验，我认为由Nancy Muir编写的Windows 8 Plain & Simple会处于中间位置，不太详细也不太简化。我以这种方式接近它是正确的吗？(Was)让我们(Let)来了解一下。
把事情整理好
一看目录(Table of Contents)，我就知道这本书的开端很好。这些章节完全按照我认为对于第一次接触Windows 8的人来说最合乎逻辑的顺序排列。(Windows 8)我对其他书籍的抱怨之一是，它们没有采取真正的循序渐进的方式，从设置计算机并根据个人喜好对其进行定制，再到熟悉瓷砖、魅力和桌面(Desktop)，管理文件等等。当然，没有宇宙法则说我的方式是唯一正确的方式，但这里是Windows 8 Plain & Simple中的章节列表。看看你的想法：
- 关于本书
- 了解 Windows 8 界面
- 提供输入
- 使用基本 Windows 设置
- 自定义Windows的外观(Appearance)
- 与用户和隐私合作
- 使用辅助功能设置
- 搜索
- 使用应用程序
- 文件管理
- 共享设置和文件
- 使用Internet Explorer 10(Internet Explorer 10)上网(Online)
- 使用邮件和消息
- 在 Windows 商店购买应用程序
- 管理人员和时间
- 使用地图
- 获得视觉
- 玩音乐
- 使用设备和网络
- 维护和排除计算机故障(Computer)
作者假设读者已经具备基本的计算机技能，并且之前有一些使用软件的经验，但不假设读者已经使用过触摸屏，这是一种很好的常识性方法。这本书采用全彩色插图，每幅插图上都标有清晰的分步说明。结果在视觉上令人愉悦且易于理解。这本书也以横向模式(landscape mode)打印，这意味着插图旁边有更多的文字空间。
熟悉新方法(New Approach)
由于Windows 8是自Windows 95取代Windows for Workgroups 3.11以来(Workgroups 3.11)Windows 界面(Windows interface)中最彻底的变化，因此有必要让读者轻松了解新的做事方式，这样差异不会引起混淆或沮丧(confusion or frustration). Windows 8 Plain & Simple在这方面做得很好。我特别喜欢介绍开始(Start)屏幕（及其内容）、桌面(Desktop)和Microsoft的章节(Microsoft)帐户。有足够的细节使一切易于理解，以及逐步准确地显示作者正在谈论的内容的插图。关于输入(Input)的章节说，大多数人仍将使用传统的输入设备，但也提供了有关如何使用带有触摸屏的Windows 8的广泛说明。(Windows 8)这确保了随着时间的推移和触摸屏变得越来越普遍，这本书仍将是有价值的参考。回到最近使用的应用程序的说明，我相信许多读者会定期做的事情，特别清楚。
关于用户和隐私(Users and Privacy)的章节非常好。它还以逻辑方式传输信息，从防火墙和应用程序权限开始，然后到Windows Defender。其中一些概念一开始可能会让新手感到困惑，但仔细阅读作者在此提供的信息后，我认为从那时起一切都会变得清晰。然后是用户账户、密码（包括新的图片密码和PIN(picture password and PIN)）、用户账户控制(User Account Control)和家庭安全指南(Family Safety). 一些新手可能不了解 Windows 8 处理用户的方式，这将引导他们了解概念并设置他们在自己的情况下需要的任何帐户和密码。对可访问性设置也有很好的解释。顺便说一句，并非所有这些设置都适合残疾人。我儿子会很感激设置左手鼠标的说明。🙂 我还了解到，仅使用键盘而不是鼠标使用计算机称为“插入符号浏览”。在我阅读Windows 8 Plain & Simple之前，我不知道有这样一个术语。
搜索和发现
借助Windows 8的新界面，即使是经验丰富的用户也必须学习新的搜索方式。Windows 8 Plain & Simple使这种新方法更容易理解。由于使用“开始(Start)”屏幕上的搜索工具将是一个陌生领域，因此对它们如何工作的解释特别详细和彻底。我认为可能会有更多关于从桌面搜索的内容，因为这对于使用过其他版本(Desktop)Windows的人来说会更熟悉，但这是一个小问题。默认搜索提供了很多详细信息，包括搜索Windows Store。我认为对于我们大多数人来说，这将有资格作为信息太多(Too Much Information)，因此自定义搜索的简要指南将是一个受欢迎的参考。
应用程序比您想象的要多
我们中的许多人已经熟悉“应用程序”的概念，即安装在手机上的免费或只需少量费用的小程序。在Windows 8中，所有程序，无论大小，免费或昂贵，都称为应用程序。因此，您单击或点击以获取天气预报的磁贴是一个应用程序，而(weather report)Microsoft Office等熟悉的软件现在被称为“桌面应用程序”。这本书并没有真正深入到这两种“应用程序”之间的区别，我想很多人可能对此感到困惑（我必须承认我是这样）。由于这种术语的变化可能需要一些时间来适应，如果一个人使用的是以前版本的Windows，Windows 8 Plain & Simple在应用程序的概念和使用上投入了大量时间。他们使用写字板(WordPad)来演示概念，这是一个绝妙的主意。通过使用写字板(WordPad)，他们可以演示诸如Microsoft Office等更复杂软件中可用的功能区之类的功能(ribbon)，以及菜单、工具栏、剪贴板(Clipboard)的概念、处理图形、格式化文本以及处理文件的基础知识（主题下一章会更详细地探讨）。由于写字板(WordPad)是Windows 8之一(Windows 8)的内置应用程序，每个人都可以进行试验，这是一个久经考验的程序，很难搞砸（相信我，多年来我有很多机会来测试它） . 还有一个关于玩游戏的简要介绍，尽管Windows 8实际上并没有附带任何游戏（游戏(Games)磁贴将您带到商店，您可以从那里获得Microsoft 和 Xbox 游戏(Microsoft and Xbox games)）。我认为游戏商店(Games Store)可能有更好的解释，因为简短的参考再次令人困惑。正如我所提到的，处理文件管理的章节有很好的说明和广泛的内容。每个重要的概念都被解释和探索。下一章将介绍共享设置、与其他设备同步以及SkyDrive(SkyDrive)的来龙去脉的基础知识。在(Between)这些章节之间，几乎每个人都会为处理数据和文件打下良好的基础。
以有限的方式探索世界
我对处理Internet Explorer 10(Internet Explorer 10)的那一章感到非常失望。它给出了从开始(Start)屏幕使用浏览器的相当详细的说明，但只是浏览器桌面(Desktop)版本的一页概述。由于以前的Windows用户更熟悉桌面版本，并且比(Desktop)开始(Start)屏幕版本具有更多功能，因此两个浏览器应该被赋予相同的空间。同样(Likewise)，虽然邮件和消息传递(Mail and Messaging)一章承认可以创建具有许多不同服务的电子邮件帐户，但它仅说明了使用Hotmail. 诚然本书无法涵盖所有电子邮件服务，但我认为至少应该包括Gmail 和 Yahoo Mail等服务的示例屏幕。(Gmail and Yahoo Mail)同样(Likewise)，即时通讯的描述过于敷衍，无法帮助初学者理解这个概念。与商店(Store)打交道的章节要好得多，它引导读者搜索商店、查找应用程序、研究评级以及安装免费和付费应用程序。对于还没有通过智能手机接触过应用商店(app store)概念的人来说，本章应该会让这个过程很容易理解。
涵盖使用设备和网络(Working with Devices and Networks)以及维护和排除计算机故障(Maintaining and Troubleshooting Your Computer)的章节也很敷衍，并且没有提供足够的细节来让初学者有信心(beginner confidence)。例如，在安装打印机的部分中，仅简要提及如果您的打印机不在列表中，您必须单击高级打印机设置(Advanced Printer Setup)并继续手动添加您的打印机。根据我多年从事技术支持的经验，这个所谓的简单程序可能会阻止初学者感冒(beginner cold)。关于创建家庭组的部分并(Homegroup)没有真正解释什么是家庭组(Homegroup)，因为家庭网络可能(home network)甚至可能不包括Homegroup，我认为更详细的解释会有所帮助。故障排除(Troubleshooting)章节讨论了设置Windows Update，我不认为这是故障排除(Troubleshooting)过程，并提供了将计算机重置为出厂设置的一页说明（对于可能不了解他们曾经创建的所有内容的初学者，不推荐在该计算机上将无法挽回地丢失），然后再给出有关如何刷新计算机的说明。这对作者来说确实是一个糟糕的决定。关于升级到Windows 8的章节仅涉及 Windows 8 的版本以及(Windows 8)确定您的设备是否可以运行Windows 8正常。没有关于实际升级到Windows 8的说明。我可以理解那些被排除在为初学者设计的书中的内容，但是如果这就是它所涵盖的全部内容，那么章节标题就会产生误导。(chapter title)
那我怎么想的？
Windows 8 Plain & Simple开局不错，我寄予厚望，在阅读完之后，我可以毫无资格地向那些已经过了绝对初级阶段(absolute beginner stage)但还没有完全进入中级阶段的人推荐它。然而，随着本书的进行，解释似乎变得越来越敷衍，当涉及到重要但更复杂的主题（如网络）和一些说明（如恢复出厂设置）时，这是一个真正的失败(factory reset)) 如果尝试它的人并不真正了解会发生什么，那将是彻头彻尾的灾难。我非常喜欢这些插图，而且本书的布局使每组图加文字都易于理解。作者清楚地了解她的主题，但对她的听众需要解释的内容做出了一些假设，这些假设可能是真实的，也可能不是真实的。
判决
这是每一位读者都必须仔细阅读并决定Windows 8 Plain & Simple是否是要购买的参考文本的另一本书。(reference text)其中大部分确实做得很好，但它有足够的缺点，我不能全心全意地向所有人推荐它。有足够的细节有用，但不足以成为初学者的完整指南。我绝对建议您从图书馆中查看它并浏览(library and browsing)它的一些章节，看看它是否适合您。
Book Review - Windows 8 Plain & Simple, by Nancy Muir
Over the past few weeks, I have reviewed a сomprehеnѕive, in-depth, everything-you-need-to-know guide to Windows 8 (Windows 8 Step By Step) and a just-the-basics, bare-bones, beginners-only guide to Windows 8 (Teach Yourself Visually Windows 8.) Based on past experience, I thought that Windows 8 Plain & Simple, written by Nancy Muir, would be somewhere in the middle, not too detailed and not too simplified. Was I right to approach it this way? Let's find out.
Getting things in order
One look at the Table of Contents showed me that this book was off to a great start. The chapters are arranged in exactly the order I thought would be most logical for someone approaching Windows 8 for the first time. One of my complaints about the other books was that they didn't take a true step-by-step path from setting up the computer and getting it customized for one's individual preferences, to becoming familiar with the tiles, charms, and the Desktop, to managing files, and so on. Of course, there is no cosmic law that says my way is the only right way, but here's a list of chapters in Windows 8 Plain & Simple. See what you think:
- About This Book
- Meet the Windows 8 Interface
- Providing Input
- Working With Basic Windows Settings
- Customizing the Appearance of Windows
- Working with Users and Privacy
- Working With Accessibility Settings
- Searching
- Working with Apps
- File Management
- Sharing Settings and Files
- Going Online with Internet Explorer 10
- Using Mail and Messaging
- Buying Apps at the Windows Store
- Managing People and Time
- Using Maps
- Getting Visual
- Playing Music
- Working with Devices and Networks
- Maintaining and Troubleshooting Your Computer
The author assumes that the reader already has the essential computer skills, and has some experience with using software before, but does not assume that the reader has already used a touch screen, which is a good, common-sense approach. The book is lavishly illustrated in full color, with clear, step-by-step directions that are labeled on each illustration. The result is both visually pleasing and easy to understand. The book is also printed in landscape mode, which means there is more space for the illustrations with the text beside them.
Getting Acquainted With The New Approach
Since Windows 8 is the most radical change in the Windows interface since Windows 95 replaced Windows for Workgroups 3.11, it makes sense to ease the reader into the new way of doing things, in such a way that the differences won't cause confusion or frustration. Windows 8 Plain & Simple does a great job on this. I especially liked the chapter that gives an introduction to the Start screen (and its contents), the Desktop, and Microsoft accounts. There is enough detail to make everything easy to understand, along with illustrations that show exactly what the author is talking about, step by step. The chapter on Input says that most people will still be using conventional input devices, but also gives extensive instructions on how to use Windows 8 with a touchscreen. This ensures that the book will remain a valuable reference as time goes on and touchscreens become more common. The instructions for going back to recently used apps, something I'm sure many readers will do on a regular basis, were especially clear.
The chapter on Users and Privacy is excellent. It also flows the information in a logical manner, beginning with the firewall and app permissions, then going on to Windows Defender. Some of these concepts may be confusing to a newcomer at the beginning, but after looking carefully at the information the author includes here, I think that from then on all will become clear. Then there are guides to user accounts, passwords (including the new picture password and PIN), User Account Control and Family Safety. Some newcomers may not know about the way Windows 8 handles users, and this will walk them through understanding the concept and setting up whatever accounts and passwords they will need for their own situations. There's also a good explanation of accessibility settings. Not all such settings are for people with disabilities, by the way. My son would appreciate the instructions for setting up a left-handed mouse. 🙂 I also learned that using the computer with only the keyboard, not the mouse, is called "caret browsing." Until I read Windows 8 Plain & Simple I had no idea there was such a term.
Searching and finding
With Windows 8's new interface, even experienced users will have to learn new ways of searching. Windows 8 Plain & Simple makes this new approach a lot easier to understand. Since using the search tools on the Start screen will be unfamiliar territory, the explanation of how they work is especially detailed and thoroughly illustrated. I thought there could have been a little more about searching from the Desktop, since that will be more familiar for people who have used other versions of Windows, but that's a minor quibble. The default searches give quite a lot of detail, including searching the Windows Store. I think that for most of us that would qualify as Too Much Information, so the brief guide to customizing searches will be a welcome reference.
Apps are more than you think
Many of us have become familiar with the concept of an "app" as a small program that's either free or costs only a small amount, that one installs on a phone. In Windows 8, all programs, large or small, free or expensive, are called apps. Thus, the tile you click or tap to get a weather report is an app— and familiar software like Microsoft Office is now referred to as a "desktop application." The book doesn't really get into the distinctions between the two kinds of "apps," and I think many people may be confused by this (I must admit I was). Since this change in terminology may take some getting used to if one's used a previous version of Windows, Windows 8 Plain & Simple devotes a lot of time to both the concept and the use of apps. They use WordPad to demonstrate the concepts, an excellent idea. By using WordPad they can demonstrate features like the ribbon that are available in more complex software like Microsoft Office, and also the concepts of menus, toolbars, the Clipboard, working with graphics, formatting text, and the basics of working with files (a subject explored in much more detail in the next chapter). Since WordPad is one of Windows 8's built-in apps, everyone will have it available to experiment with, and it's a tried-and-true program that's pretty hard to mess up (believe me, I've had plenty of opportunities to test that out over the years). There's also a brief introduction to playing games, although Windows 8 does not actually come with any games (the Games tile takes you to the Store from where you can get both Microsoft and Xbox games). I think there could have been a better explanation of the Games Store, because again the brief reference was confusing. As I mentioned, the chapter that deals with file management is well-illustrated and extensive. Each important concept is explained and explored. The next chapter covers the basics of sharing settings, syncing with other devices, and the ins and outs of SkyDrive. Between those chapters, nearly everyone will have a good foundation for working with data and files.
Exploring the world, in a limited way
I was very disappointed by the chapter that deals with Internet Explorer 10. It gave reasonably detailed instructions for using the browser from the Start screen, but just a one-page overview of the Desktop version of the browser. Since the Desktop version will be more familiar to previous Windows users and has more features than the Start screen version, both browsers should have been given equal space. Likewise, while the chapter on Mail and Messaging acknowledges that one can create email accounts with many different services, it only illustrates using Hotmail. Granted that the book can't cover every email service under the sun, I think that at least a sample screen from services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail should have been included. Likewise, the description of instant messaging was far too perfunctory to help a beginner understand the concept. The chapter dealing with the Store was much better and walks the reader through searching the store, finding apps, researching ratings and installing both free and paid apps. For anyone who hasn't yet encountered the concept of an app store through using a smartphone, this chapter should make the process easy to figure out.
The chapters that cover Working with Devices and Networks and Maintaining and Troubleshooting Your Computer are also perfunctory and don't offer enough detail to give a beginner confidence. For example, in the section on installing a printer, there's just a brief mention that if your printer isn't on the list, you have to click Advanced Printer Setup and go on to add your printer manually. Based on my experiences in years of doing tech support, this supposedly simple procedure might well stop a beginner cold. The section on creating a Homegroup doesn't really explain what a Homegroup is, and since it's possible that a home network might not even include a Homegroup, I think a more detailed explanation would have been helpful. The Troubleshooting chapter talks about setting up Windows Update, which I don't consider a Troubleshooting procedure, and gives one-page instructions for resetting the computer to factory settings (not really recommended for beginners who might not understand that everything they've ever created on that computer will be irretrievably lost) before it gives instructions on how to refresh the computer instead. This is really a bad decision on the author's part. The chapter on upgrading to Windows 8 only deals with the versions of Windows 8 and with finding out if your equipment will run Windows 8 properly. There are no instructions for actually upgrading to Windows 8. I can understand those being left out of a book designed for beginners, but the chapter title is misleading if that's all it covers.
So what did I think?
Windows 8 Plain & Simple got off to a great start and I had high hopes that, after reading it, I could recommend it without qualifications to people who are past the absolute beginner stage but not quite into the intermediate stage. However, as the book went along, the explanations seemed to get more and more perfunctory, which is a real failing when it comes to important but more complex subjects like networking, and some of the instructions (like a factory reset) would be downright catastrophic if the person who attempts it doesn't really understand what's going to happen. I liked the illustrations very much and the book's layout made each set of picture-plus-text easy to follow. The author clearly knows her subject but made some assumptions about what her audience would need to have explained that might or might not be true.
Verdict
This is another one of those books that each individual reader will have to look over and decide whether Windows 8 Plain & Simple is the reference text to buy. Much of it is very well done indeed, but it has enough shortcomings that I could not wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. There is enough detail to be useful, but not quite enough to be a complete guide for the beginner. I'd definitely recommend checking it out of the library and browsing through some of its chapters to see whether it's right for you.
