Specifications

2
Introduction
the focus from components (Internet Explorer, Mail, and so on) to subjects: customization,
performance, power tools, security, troubleshooting, and networking, and scripting. You
get in-depth and useful coverage of these seven areas that will help you unleash the full
potential of Windows 7.
Who Should Read This Book
All writers write with an audience in mind. Actually, I’m not sure whether that’s true for
novelists and poets and the like, but it should be true for any technical writer who wants
to create a useful and comprehensible book. Here are the members of my own imagined
audience:
. IT professionals—These brave souls must decide whether to move to Windows 7,
work out deployment issues, and support the new Windows 7 desktops. The whole
book has information related to your job and Windows 7.
. Power users—These elite users get their power via knowledge. With that in mind,
this book extends the Windows power user’s know-how by offering scripts, Registry
tweaks, group policy configurations, and other power tools.
. Business users—If your company is thinking of or has already committed to
moving to Windows 7, you need to know what you, your colleagues, and your staff
are getting into. You also want to know what Windows 7 will do to improve your
productivity and make your life at the office easier. You learn all of this and more
in this book.
. Small business owners—If you run a small or home business, you probably want
to know whether Windows 7 will give you a good return on investment. Will it
make it easier to set up and maintain a network? Will Windows 7 computers be
more stable? Will your employees be able to collaborate easier? The answer turns out
to be “yes” for all of these questions, and I’ll show you why.
. Home users—If you use Windows 7 at home, you probably want to maximize per-
formance, keep your system running smoothly, max out security, and perform cus-
tomizations that make Windows 7 conform to your style. Check, check, check,
check. This book’s got your covered in all these areas.
Also, to keep the chapters uncluttered, I’ve made a few assumptions about what you know
and what you don’t know:
. I assume that you have knowledge of rudimentary computer concepts, such as files
and folders.
. I assume that you’re familiar with the basic Windows skills: mouse maneuvering,
dialog box negotiation, pull-down menu jockeying, and so on.
. I assume that you can operate peripherals attached to your computer, such as the
keyboard and printer.