有一个古老的笑话：你怎么吃大象？一次一口(One bite at a time)。对于许多人来说，建立家庭网络(home network)确实是房间里的大象。当您必须购买额外的软件和硬件(software and hardware)并学习许多神秘的新命令才能尝试它时，这已远不及以前那么困难了，但它仍然很棘手，以至于许多人需要被引导通过一次处理一个(process one)“咬”。现在没有网络的人有电脑能做什么？
一步一步：概念
我一直很喜欢写得很好的书籍，这些书籍并不认为读者已经对手头的主题了解很多，也不认为任何事情都太琐碎而无法解释。由于彻底、详尽的印刷软件手册(software manual)已成为过去，Microsoft Press通过出版一系列Step By Step书籍填补了空白，这些书籍作为明亮、大量插图的入门书，几乎涵盖了Windows用户需要了解的几乎所有内容参与使用Windows。一步一步：将您的计算机和设备联网(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)追随其前辈的脚步。它确实假定读者了解计算的基础知识并且已经安装了 Windows 7，但如果没有，它会为那些还没有走得那么远的人提供有用的资源，马上开始。与其他分步(Step)指南(Step)一样，该书也有在线版本。这是免费的，非常值得一试。而且，与其他Step By Step一样(Step)指南，这本书可以按任何顺序阅读，因为章节是独立的。我发现这是本系列书籍中最有用的功能之一，因为我从简单到复杂的进展方式并不总是与书中的步骤相吻合。我将按原样谈论这本书，并简要说明我在最后将如何重新安排它。
一步一步：将您的计算机和设备联网(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)通过安装硬件、配置硬件、设置用户帐户、创建网络、连接到网络、共享文件和设备、媒体流、与其他操作系统共享，一步一步地引导读者(reader one)，和安全。每个步骤都通过真实世界的示例进行了详尽的解释。每个步骤也清楚地说明，因此读者可以看到屏幕上将出现的内容。我特别喜欢这种方法。知道你将要处理什么总是好的。
处理你的硬件
硬件章节一(hardware chapter)开始就非常恰当地强调所有设备的正确驱动程序是绝对必要的。然后继续详细描述Device Stage。我是Windows 7的新手，我不知道有Device Stage这样的东西。不用说，我发现这部分很有教育意义——特别是注意它在Windows 7屏幕上不称为(Windows 7)Device Stage ，实际上您必须单击“开始”菜单上的“(Start Menu)设备(Devices)和打印机(Printers)”快捷方式才能访问它。设备阶段(Device Stage)向您显示所有外部外围设备，以及所有可用的配置选项。这是一个非常有用的功能，我之前什至在Windows 7(Windows 7)的书中都没有提到过它。配置路由器是一个相当复杂的过程，如果您从对您正在做什么的基本了解开始，它会容易得多。一步一步：将您的计算机和设备联网首先是对(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)路由器设置(router setup)的一般描述，包括与您的 ISP 交谈以确保您拥有他们需要的设置的有用建议，然后使用Belkin N+和D-的设置链接 DIR-615(D-Link DIR-615)说明您在配置自己的路由器时可能会遇到的各种情况。这本书强调了阅读您购买的任何路由器的用户手册的重要性，因为它应该。(user manual)这是一个例子，您根本无法将文档扔掉并自己动手。我希望在本节中看到对各种无线安全性的更详细描述，以及让路由器广播其SSID(SSID)的优缺点。
Windows 7 的最佳功能，解释
下一章处理用户帐户，很好地解释了它们是什么，为什么需要它们，它们做什么以及如何设置它们。它还给出了我所见过的为什么访客(Guest)帐户非常有用的最佳解释——让其他人检查他们的电子邮件等等，而不会弄乱主要计算机用户(computer user)的设置。我希望在我让我的兄弟(brother check)用我的电脑检查所有这些网站之前，我已经想到了这一点。还有关于如何设置Windows 7以自动将您登录到您自己的帐户的说明，这对大多数人来说几乎是必不可少的。接下来是关于图书馆(Libraries)的一章。由于这是Windows 7中的一项新功能(Windows 7)，并且由于这是最初看起来很复杂但实际上并不复杂的概念之一，因此清晰的解释非常值得一读。库使您的数据管理变得更容易，因为您可以将文件保存在单独的文件夹中，并且仍然可以将它们组合在一起并组织在虚拟文件夹中以便于参考，并带有一个索引来显示您的位置。这是我在已故的DOS 程序(DOS program) Lotus Magellan中经常使用的一个功能，我很高兴看到它终于在Windows 7中复活了。一步一步：将您的计算机和设备联网让读者了解(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)库(Libraries)的一般说明，然后是查看内置库的所有必要步骤(Libraries)Windows 7，更改或调整它们以适应您自己的用途，创建新库(Libraries)，添加或删除文件夹，配置，排序和删除它们。名为“编辑库的属性”("Editing the Properties of a Library")的部分特别有用，因为它确实为读者设置了正确的路径，让文件和文件夹到达它们应该去的地方。令人欣慰的是，删除库(Library)对其中的文件或文件夹没有任何影响。
有线和无线
然后这本书转到网络和共享中心(Network and Sharing Center)，再一次，这是一步一步的描述和插图肯定使复杂的过程变得容易得多的部分。配置(Configuring)和连接网络适配器对于新手来说可能非常令人沮丧，而无线网络(wireless networking)在您刚开始时更具挑战性。我想我会在本节的开头提出警告，如果您不习惯摆弄 IP、DNS等，请保持一切原样，不要弄乱这些设置，因为它很容易如果你点击你不完全理解的东西，事情就会完全搞砸。这是经验之声(experience speaking)这里！无线网络(wireless networking)部分将引导读者完成第一次连接的过程。它旨在将笔记本电脑连接到无线网络(wireless network)，并在公共场所进行连接时要注意适当的注意事项。我想我会添加一条警告信息，如果您的列表中显示了很多无线网络(wireless network)，您需要非常确定您知道您的无线接入点(access point)被称为什么，这样您就不会让自己疯狂尝试连接到隔壁的网络。接下来是关于连接到不广播其SSID（网络 ID）的无线网络的有用部分。(wireless network)如果您设置了自己的，则更有可能遇到这种情况家庭无线连接(home wireless connection)不要广播，因此该部分以适当的说明开始，以确保您知道您的网络 ID 是什么，并写下该信息以确保您在准备连接时拥有它。我会添加一个警告，以便之后将这些信息放在安全的地方。如果任何掌握您计算机的人看到所有信息都贴在盖子上，那么设置安全措施是没有意义的。本章后面有一个关于导出和导入安全密钥(security key)的部分需要阅读。我没有使用Ad Hoc network(Ad Hoc networking)，虽然我知道它是如何工作的，所以我不知道它可以用来共享Internet 连接(Internet connection)两台电脑之间。（我们每天都在学习新东西的说法是真的！）关于Ad Hoc的部分提供了大量的细节和插图，并且应该可以轻松地使用任意数量的计算机设置Ad Hoc。我发现有关网络位置(Network Location)的部分也非常有用。如今，能够为不同的常用网络设置不同的配置文件至关重要，因为我们中的许多人都拥有笔记本电脑，可以在旅行时从工作地点到家到公共接入点和酒店的连接。每个配置文件都有自己的安全设置，您可以选择家庭、工作(Home, Work,)和公共(Public)这应该可以解决几乎任何情况。它确实减少了我们在多个位置使用以前版本的Windows和无线网络所做的大量工作。(wireless networking)
工作，家庭，你的组是什么？
我们中的大多数人以前都处理过工作组，但是关于工作组(Workgroups)的部分可以作为一个非常有用的参考，并强调如果所有计算机使用不同的操作系统，将它们放在同一个工作组中的重要性。(Workgroup)接下来的两部分对共享和家庭组(Homegroups)进行了简明扼要的说明，向读者展示了如何更改设置和创建家庭组(Homegroup)，所有这些都使网络变得更加有用。同样(Again)，这使Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices成为一本有价值的参考书(reference book)随时待命。由于网络的主要优势之一是能够共享文件、文件夹和设备，因此有关共享的部分是必读的。Windows 7包含一个共享向导，可以为您设置几乎所有内容，但我碰巧认为，如果您在告诉他们继续之前知道自己在做什么，那么自动向导会更好地工作。这本书名副其实，让读者逐步(reader step)了解可以共享数据和设备的所有各种方式，从文件夹和库(Libraries)开始。首先对(First)文件夹和库共享的基础知识以及(folder and Library sharing)公共文件夹(Public folder)的使用进行了很好的解释，然后，在此基础上，本书继续解释高级共享（以及基本共享和高级共享之间的区别）、映射网络文件夹和FTP服务器。普通计算机用户(computer user)以前可能没有听说过映射，这将作为对概念和所涉及过程的极好介绍。下一节将讨论共享设备。我们中的许多(Many)人都在网络上共享了一台打印机，所以这部分可能很熟悉。在Windows 7之前的日子里，(Windows 7)蓝牙(Bluetooth)连接和手机共享(mobile-phone sharing)相当繁琐，因此这些过程可能不太熟悉，最好从电话或计算机开始对它们的工作原理进行彻底的解释。
再玩一次，山姆(Sam)，在另一台电脑上
然后是通过家庭网络(home network)和Internet使用（当然）Windows Media Player 12的流媒体的基础知识。微软(Microsoft)为Windows 7更新了Media Player，最新版本比以前更易于使用，功能也更多。您将逐步了解如何设置媒体播放器(Media Player)、添加媒体、制作播放列表以及与网络上的其他计算机共享您的媒体。如果您有Windows Live ID，我很想知道是否可以通过Internet流式传输您的媒体(Internet)（有关于设置 ID 和共享媒体的完整图解说明）。
让其他操作系统合作
许多人的家庭网络包括运行不同版本的Windows或Windows以及其他操作系统（如Mac OS X 或 Linux(Mac OS X or Linux) ）的计算机。循序渐进：将您的计算机和设备联网(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)使用它的前半部分来描述(half describing)和解释仅涉及Windows 7的问题。然后是三个非常详细的章节，解释如何将Windows 7计算机与其他版本的Windows联网，然后是Mac OS X 和 Ubuntu Linux(Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux)。我们家有Windows 7、Windows XP Professional 和 Mac OS X Tiger(Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X Tiger)，而且我绝对同意让这些不同的计算机在网络上顺利地协同工作，正如书中所说，并不像它应该的那么容易，尤其是对于各种版本的Windows。每个部分都使用运行所讨论操作系统(operating system)的计算机的屏幕截图进行说明，这些屏幕截图除了作为插图的价值外，还展示了Windows 7的视觉效果与其直接前身的视觉效果之间的差异。我发现最长的操作方法解释涉及(explanation dealt)联网Windows XP非常有说服力。微软(Microsoft)没有在Windows 7中构建更多的(Windows 7)Windows XP 兼容性(Windows XP compatibility)似乎很奇怪. 我们的家庭网络仍然存在一些挥之不去的问题，(home network)逐步：网络您的计算机和设备(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)中的解释帮助我指出了正确的方向（调整一些Windows XP Professional设置的问题）。我们只有很短的时间拥有一台 Windows Vista 计算机(Windows Vista computer)，但我记得要让它与Windows XP Professional计算机“玩得很好”是多么困难。如果手头有一本这样的书来理顺这一切，那就太好了。关于Mac OS X的部分很简单，并承认与Windows 7联网(Windows 7)Mac(Macs)比使用以前的Windows更容易(Windows)版本。在我们家，我们发现这是完全正确的。我们的Ubuntu Linux 计算机(Ubuntu Linux computer)几个月前放弃了 ghost，所以我没有机会查看说明，但我确信这部分与其他部分一样完整和准确。
安全有保障，终于
将最好的留到最后，一步一步：将您的计算机和设备联网(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)包含我所见过的关于安全性的最彻底、写得最好、插图最好的讨论之一。我是那些被Windows Vista(Windows Vista)的用户帐户控制(User Account Control)逼疯的人之一，以至于我最终将其关闭。Windows 7 在该功能上做得更好，现在我们了解它为何如此重要，以及如何在它完成工作时不让您烦恼。万岁！有同样详尽的部分解释了Windows 更新(Windows Update)、Windows Defender和Windows 防火墙(Windows Firewall)，所有这些对于确保计算机安全都是必不可少的。我还没有清楚地理解角色的作用(Windows Firewall)在我看到这里的解释之前，Windows 防火墙。相信很多人并不完全理解Windows 防火墙(Windows Firewall)中“允许的程序”的概念，所以这里的仔细解释对用户教育大有帮助。我也很高兴阅读Action Center，尤其是关于将其配置为仅显示您想查看的消息的部分。还有一个部分解释了家长控制(Parental Controls)。当年幼的孩子使用家用电脑(home computer)时，设置互联网(Internet)限制是必不可少的，我当然希望在我的孩子与我“讨论”相对优点的日子里有时间限制和游戏限制。作业和电脑时间(homework and computer time)。本书的结尾有一个关于解决网络问题的好、扎实的部分，包括一个有用的 Web 链接列表，可以在其中找到更多帮助。
我会做不同的事情
我赶紧说，我绝对不是说这部分评论是对Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices的批评。它是一个优秀的、易于理解的资源。但是，我会以不同的顺序将某些章节中的章节排列，并且我会以不同的方式安排章节本身。（正如我所说，Step By Step 系列(Step series)的真正好处是章节是独立的，可以按任何顺序阅读。）在第一章中，步骤应该以不同的顺序排列。安全(Security)应在设置网络和配置帐户后立即进行。一旦网络安全，然后处理其他所有事情。我担心安全，因为我可以看到许多邻居的无线网络，其中一些仍然不安全，而且我一直在情况更糟的公寓楼里。处理硬件、用户帐户、创建网络和网络共享(network and network sharing)的章节应该放在一起。我也会在处理设置的章节之后立即放置关于安全性的章节，以便人们从一开始就了解如何使他们新创建的(Security)网络安全(network secure right)。很多人会从Windows Vista升级到Windows 7，并且他们需要了解涉及安全性的界面的主要改进。我希望看到关于图书馆的章节移到本书后面的章节，以便处理创建网络、自定义网络设置和家庭组(Homegroup)的章节将跟随关于用户帐户的章节。后面的一章涉及跨网络共享库。我希望在书中看到这两章并排，因为在我看来，从库的定义发展到在Windows 7中可以共享和操作库的多种方式似乎是合乎逻辑的(Windows 7). 与其他操作系统联网的章节应该排在流媒体之前，因为如果您的所有计算机都愉快地连接，那么共享您的数据会容易得多。
判决
循序渐进：联网 您的计算机和设备(Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices)应构成任何家庭参考图书馆(reference library)的支柱。这些信息很容易找到，也很容易理解，而且每页上的截图都是一个肯定的加分项。一步一步地采取复杂的概念是确保成功的最佳方式，而这本书也兑现了它的承诺。
Book Review - Network Your Computers & Devices, Step By Step
There's an old јoke that goes: How do yoυ eat an elephant? One bite at a time. For many people, setting up a home network is truly the elephant in the room. It's nowhere near as difficult as it used to be, when you had to buy extra software and hardware and learn a lot of arcane new commands before you could attempt it at all, but it's still tricky enough that many people need to be guided through the process one "bite" at a time. And what can anyone with a computer do without a network these days?
Step by Step: the Concept
I have always been a fan of well-written books that don't assume the reader already knows a lot about the subject at hand, and don't assume that anything is too trivial to bother explaining. Since the thorough, exhaustive printed software manual is a thing of the past, Microsoft Press has filled in the gap by publishing a series of Step By Step books that serve as bright, profusely illustrated primers for nearly everything Windows users need to know about nearly everything involved in using Windows. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. It does assume the reader understands the basics of computing and has set up Windows 7 already--but if not, it provides helpful resources for people who haven't gotten that far yet, right off the bat. As with the other Step By Step guides, there is also an online edition of the book. This is free and well worth checking out. And, as with the other Step By Step guides, the book can be read in any order, since the chapters are self-contained. I find this one of the most useful features of the books in this series, because my way of progressing from the simple to the complex doesn't always mesh with the steps in the books. I'll talk about the book as written, and briefly explain how I would have rearranged it at the end.
Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices takes the reader one step at a time through installing hardware, configuring it, setting user accounts, creating a network, connecting to the network, sharing files and devices, media streaming, sharing with other operating systems, and security. Each step is thoroughly explained, with real-world examples. Each step is also clearly illustrated, so the reader can see what's going to appear on the screen. I particularly like this approach. It's always good to know what you'll be dealing with.
Dealing with your hardware
The hardware chapter begins quite properly by stressing that proper drivers for all devices are absolutely essential. It then goes on to describe Device Stage in detail. I am a relative newcomer to Windows 7, and I had no idea there was such a thing as Device Stage. Needless to say, I found this section very educational--especially the note that it's not called Device Stage on the Windows 7 screen and you actually have to click on the Devices and Printers shortcut on the Start Menu to get at it. Device Stage shows you all your external peripherals, with all the available configuration options. It's an extremely useful feature and I had not even seen it mentioned in a Windows 7 book before. Configuring a router is a fairly complex procedure, and it's a lot easier to do if you start with a basic understanding of what it is you're doing. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices begins with a generic description of router setup, including the helpful advice to talk with your ISP to make sure you have the settings they require, and then uses the setup for a Belkin N+ and a D-Link DIR-615 to illustrate the kinds of things you'll likely face when you configure your own router. The book stresses the importance of reading the user manual for whichever router you buy, as it should. This is one instance where you simply cannot throw the documentation away and wing it on your own. I would have liked to see a bit lengthier description of the various kinds of wireless security in this section, and the advantages and disadvantages of having your router broadcast its SSID.
Windows 7's best features, explained
The next chapter deals with user accounts, with a good explanation of what they are, why you need them, what they do and how to set them up. It also gives the best explanation I've seen of why a Guest account can be very useful--for letting other people check their email and so forth without messing up the primary computer user's settings. I wish that had occurred to me before I let my brother check all those web sites with my computer. There's also instructions for how to set up Windows 7 to log you into your own account automatically, which is something most people will find almost essential. Next up is a chapter on Libraries. Since this is a new feature in Windows 7, and since this is one of those concepts that appears at first to be complex but actually isn't, the clear explanation is well worth reading. Libraries make managing your data easier, because you can keep the files in separate folders and still have them grouped together and organized in virtual folders for easy reference, with an index to show you what's where. This is a feature I used often in the late, lamented DOS program Lotus Magellan, and I'm very happy to see it revived, finally, in Windows 7. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices takes the reader through a general explanation of Libraries, followed by all the necessary steps to look at the Libraries built into Windows 7, change or adapt those to your own uses, create new Libraries, add or delete folders, configure, sort and delete them. The section called "Editing the Properties of a Library" is especially useful, since it really sets the reader on the right path to getting files and folders to go where they're supposed to go. And it's reassuring to be told that deleting a Library doesn't do anything to the files or folders that were in it.
Wired and wireless
Then the book moves on to the Network and Sharing Center, and again, this is one section where the step-by-step description and the illustrations definitely make a complex process much easier. Configuring and connecting network adapters can be tremendously frustrating for the newcomer, and wireless networking is even more challenging when you're first starting out. I think I would have put the warning that if you're not comfortable fiddling with IP, DNS and so forth, leave everything as it is and don't mess with those settings, at the beginning of this section, because it's so easy to mess things up completely if you click on things you don't fully understand. This is the voice of experience speaking here! The section on wireless networking guides the reader through the process of connecting for the first time. It's geared toward connecting a laptop to a wireless network, with appropriate cautions about connecting in public places. I think I would have added a cautionary message that if there are a lot of wireless networks showing up on your list, you need to be very sure that you know what your wireless access point is called so you don't drive yourself crazy trying to connect to the network next door. Next there's a useful section on connecting to a wireless network that doesn't broadcast its SSID (network ID). You're more likely to encounter this if you've set up your own home wireless connection not to broadcast, so the section starts out with appropriate instructions to make sure you know what your network ID is, and to write that information down to be sure you have it when you are ready to connect. I would have added a warning to put that information away in a safe place afterwards. There's no sense setting up security measures if anyone who gets hold of your computer sees all that information taped to the lid. There's a section on exporting and importing the security key later in the chapter that should be required reading. I have not used Ad Hoc networking, although I do know how it works, so I didn't know that it could be used to share an Internet connection between two computers. (There's truth to the saying that we learn something new every day!) The section on Ad Hoc gives plenty of details and illustrations and should make it easy to set up Ad Hoc with as many computers as you wish. I found the section on Network Location very useful as well. Being able to set up different profiles for different commonly-used networks is essential these days, when so many of us have laptop computers that travel from work to home to public access points and connections in hotels while we're traveling. Each profile has its own security settings and you have a choice of Home, Work, and Public that should take care of almost any situation. It sure cuts out a lot of the work that we had to do with previous versions of Windows and wireless networking in multiple locations.
Work, Home, what's your group?
Most of us have dealt with workgroups before, but the section on Workgroups serves as a very useful reference, and stresses the importance of having all computers in the same Workgroup if they use different operating systems. The next two sections give concise, thoroughly illustrated explanations of sharing and Homegroups, showing the reader how to change the settings and create a Homegroup, all of which make networking much more useful. Again, this makes Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices a valuable reference book to keep on hand. Since one of the major advantages of a network is the ability to share files, folders, and devices, the sections on sharing are a must-read. Windows 7 includes a sharing wizard that will set almost anything up for you, but I happen to think that automated wizards work better if you know what you're doing before you tell them to go ahead. The book lives up to its title by taking the reader step by step through all the various ways data and devices can be shared, starting with folders and Libraries. First there's a good explanation of the basics of folder and Library sharing and the use of the Public folder, and then, building on that foundation, the book moves on to explain advanced sharing (and the differences between basic and advanced sharing), mapping network folders and FTP servers. The average computer user might not have heard of mapping before, and this will serve as an excellent introduction to the concept and the processes involved. The next section deals with sharing devices. Many of us have shared a printer on a network, so that part will probably be familiar. Bluetooth connections and mobile-phone sharing were pretty fiddly in the days before Windows 7, so these processes may be less familiar, and it's good to have a thorough explanation of how it all works, starting with either the phone or the computer.
Play it again, Sam, on that other computer
Then it's on to the basics of streaming media through your home network and over the Internet, using (of course) Windows Media Player 12. Microsoft has updated Media Player for Windows 7, and the newest version is easier to use and has even more features than before. Step by step, you'll see how to set up Media Player, add media, make playlists, and share your media with other computers on your network. I was interested to see that it's possible to stream your media across the Internet as well, if you have a Windows Live ID (there are complete, illustrated instructions for setting up the ID and sharing the media).
Getting other OS's to cooperate
Many people's home networks include computers running different versions of Windows, or Windows plus other operating systems like Mac OS X or Linux. Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices uses its first half describing and explaining issues involving Windows 7 alone. Then come three extremely detailed chapters that explain how to network a Windows 7 computer with, first, other versions of Windows, and then Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux. In our house we have Windows 7, Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X Tiger, and I definitely agree that making those different computers work smoothly together over the network is, as the book says, not as easy as it should be, especially with the various versions of Windows. Each section is illustrated with screenshots from a computer running the operating system under discussion, which, besides their value as illustrations, showcases the differences between Windows 7's visual effects and those of its immediate predecessors. I found it quite telling that the longest how-to explanation dealt with networking Windows XP. It seems odd that Microsoft didn't build a bit more Windows XP compatibility into Windows 7. We still have some lingering issues with our home network and the explanation in Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices helped point me in the right direction (a matter of tweaking a few Windows XP Professional settings). We only had a Windows Vista computer for a short time, but I remember how difficult it was to get it to "play nice" with the Windows XP Professional computers. It would have been good to have a book like this on hand to straighten all that out. The section on Mac OS X is straightforward and acknowledges that it's easier to network Macs with Windows 7 than it was with previous Windows versions. In our house we have found this to be quite true. Our Ubuntu Linux computer gave up the ghost a few months back so I had no chance to check out the instructions, but I am certain this section is just as complete and accurate as the others.
Safe and secure, at last
Saving the best for last, Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices contains one of the most thorough, best-written, best-illustrated discussions on security that I've ever seen. I was one of those people who were driven bonkers by Windows Vista's User Account Control, to the point where I finally just shut it down. Windows 7 has done a much better job with that feature, and now we learn why it's important and how to keep it from annoying you while it does its job. Hooray! There are equally thorough sections that explain Windows Update, Windows Defender, and Windows Firewall, all of which are essential for keeping computers secure. I had not clearly understood the role of Windows Firewall before I saw the explanation here. I am sure many people don't fully understand the concept of "allowed programs" in the Windows Firewall, so the careful explanation here can go a long way toward user education. I was also glad to read about the Action Center, especially the part about configuring it to show only the messages you want to see. There's also a section that explains Parental Controls. Setting Internet restrictions is essential when young children are using a home computer, and I certainly would have liked to have had time limits and game restrictions back in the days when my children were having "discussions" with me about the relative merits of homework and computer time. The book concludes with a good, solid section on troubleshooting networking problems, including a useful list of web links where more help can be found.
What I'd do differently
I hasten to say that I absolutely do not mean this section of the review as a criticism of Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices. It's an excellent, easy-to-understand resource just the way it is. I would, however, have put the sections in some chapters in a different order, and I would have arranged the chapters themselves differently. (As I said, the really good thing about the Step By Step series is that the chapters are self-contained and can be read in any order.) In the first chapter, the steps should be in a different order. Security should come immediately after setting up the network and configuring the accounts. Once the network is secure, then deal with everything else. I'm concerned about security because I can see many of my neighbors' wireless networks, some of which are still not secured, and I've been in apartment buildings where the situation is even worse. The chapters dealing with hardware, user accounts, creating the network and network sharing should have been grouped together. I would also have put the chapter on Security immediately following the chapters dealing with setup, so people understand how to make their newly-created network secure right from the get-go. Many people will upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, and they'll need to know about the major improvements in the interface where security is concerned. I would have liked to see the chapter on Libraries moved to later in the book, so that the chapters that deal with creating the network, customizing network settings, and the Homegroup would follow the chapter on user accounts. There is a later chapter that deals with sharing Libraries across a network. I would have liked to see those two chapters next to each other in the book, because it seems logical to me to progress from the definition of Libraries to the many ways Libraries can be shared and manipulated in Windows 7. The chapters on networking other operating systems should have come ahead of streaming media, because it's a lot easier to share your data if all your computers are happily connected.
Verdict
Step By Step: Network Your Computers & Devices should form the backbone of any household's reference library. The information is easy to find and easy to understand, and the screenshots on each page are a definite plus. Taking complex concepts one step at a time is the best way to insure success, and this book lives up to its promise.
