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T Reisig · Mar 13, 2006, 08:00 AM

I'm an experienced Mac professional. We're purchasing a system running Windows XP and I'm looking for good resources (books, sites etc) to help me get up to speed on the Windows platform. I can get around it just fine (all the office utility PC's are Windows), so I'm beyond a "Windows for Dumies".

Tim

Super Mario · Mar 13, 2006, 09:43 AM

Dummies books are not really for dummies. They put everything you need to know simply easy to read and I love them all.

ghporter · Mar 13, 2006, 09:49 AM

If you "can get around it just fine" then what help do you need? Really, what specifically do you need help with?

As Super Mario points out, there is a huge amount of really helpful, NON-beginer stuff in Dummies books; I use the rather old '96 or '97 edition of UNIX for Dummies as my primary Unix, Linux, and sometimes OS X terminal commands reference. I've learned the important "new and improved" features of both Microsoft's Visual Studio and stand alone Visual Basic from Dummies books. they are a great resource.

Chuckit · Mar 13, 2006, 09:59 AM

Dummies books thirded. I have never read any of the Windows ones, but I'd take a look if you want to get up on your ****. The "Dummies" part generally means that they're easy to follow.

wallinbl · Mar 13, 2006, 09:59 AM

What's to learn about the OS? Are you really interested in learning the applications you're going to run on that OS? While you can argue that it's not as easy to use as OS X, it's light years easier than Linux. You'll be fine.

olePigeon · Mar 13, 2006, 10:41 AM

Before you do anything, right-click on the desktop, click advanced, then add back the icons onto the desktop. God damn it the default XP theme is horrible.

wallinbl · Mar 13, 2006, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Before you do anything, right-click on the desktop, click advanced, then add back the icons onto the desktop. God damn it the default XP theme is horrible.

Turn off the desktop cleanup wizard while you're at it. That thing will just harass you about the fact that you have icons on your desktop.

Mooga2 · Mar 13, 2006, 11:49 AM

Try lynda.com.

- Moo!

olePigeon · Mar 13, 2006, 12:21 PM

Is there a way to turn off ALL popup bubbles in XP? God damn it I hate those.

Teronzhul · Mar 13, 2006, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Is there a way to turn off ALL popup bubbles in XP? God damn it I hate those.

Yes, however it requires a registry hack. Also, shortly after you've done away with all of the bubbles, you'll soon realize that they ocasionally supply you with information that there is no other way to retrieve.

Such frustration.

Chuckit · Mar 13, 2006, 01:37 PM

Those ****ing popup bubbles alone will ensure I never ever run Windows as my main OS. Man, I hate those things.

meelk · Mar 13, 2006, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Teronzhul

Yes, however it requires a registry hack. Also, shortly after you've done away with all of the bubbles, you'll soon realize that they ocasionally supply you with information that there is no other way to retrieve.

Such frustration.

hrm. untrue.
the easiest way to get a quick fix on most everything in XP is to run tweak ui and select what you want/dont want. A few mins with tweak ui fixes almost everything.
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ertoySetup.exe
Its part of the XP power toys set.

Teronzhul · Mar 13, 2006, 01:56 PM

Well I did it a looong time ago when I was first exposed to XP. I should have realized an easier method would be devised. Does this still disable ALL bubbles however? I have a feeling I would still run into problems as I did before.

meelk · Mar 13, 2006, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by Teronzhul

Well I did it a looong time ago when I was first exposed to XP. I should have realized an easier method would be devised. Does this still disable ALL bubbles however? I have a feeling I would still run into problems as I did before.

honestly I dont know what bubbles you could possibly have that would be needed by anything. notifications of that type are just that, notifications. I havent used them since XP came out and have never lacked for any feedback from my system. If something happens like the power flickers and my wireless network acts up, I dont need a bubble to pop up telling me theres no signal strength, I know somethings wrong when I cant browse, and I simply check network properties to see whats happening.
etc.

Teronzhul · Mar 13, 2006, 02:05 PM

I don't remember what it was anymore, or if I still have it installed even. There was some program that would pop up in my system tray and was impossible to remove without first interacting with its popup bubble, which I had made nonexistant. It was even more annoying than the bubbles themselves. Again, this was a long time ago.

Super Mario · Mar 13, 2006, 02:12 PM

Just click and DRAG

It's easy even if Windows is overdressed.

jasonsRX7 · Mar 13, 2006, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by meelk

hrm. untrue.
the easiest way to get a quick fix on most everything in XP is to run tweak ui and select what you want/dont want. A few mins with tweak ui fixes almost everything.
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ertoySetup.exe
Its part of the XP power toys set.

I'll second the tweakui recommendation. And I'm the opposite of olePigeon, I prefer to have no icons on my desktop.