13 best windows 10 books

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From the Introduction

Microsoft’s challenge, in writing Windows 10, was to come up with a single operating system that handles two radically different kinds of computers: touchscreen tablets and keyboard-and-mouse machines. One requires big, fat finger-friendly buttons and controls; the other can pack more onto the screen, because you have a more precise pointing device.

With luck, you missed the company’s first attempt, a monstrosity called Windows 8. It was two operating systems superimposed: a touchscreen world and a traditional mouse world. The result was two web browsers, two Control Panels, two email programs, two ways of doing everything. Most people couldn’t stand it.

In hopes of getting as far from Windows 8 as possible, Microsoft skipped Windows 9 entirely; there never was an operating system called Windows 9.

Windows 10, though, nails it: It manages to accommodate both worlds of computers—touchscreen and not—with equal elegance.

Originally, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would be a perpetual work in progress—a continuously improved, living blob of software. There would be no more periodic service packs—megalithic chunks of updates and patches; instead, Microsoft said it would add features continuously via quiet, automatic software releases.

In practice, though, Microsoft has updated Windows 10 with big, megalithic chunks of updates about every six months, just as it always has.

Microsoft intends to continue with twice-a-year updates in this vein. That should make life interesting for you—and miserable for people who write and edit computer books.

About This Book

Despite the many improvements in Windows over the years, one feature hasn’t improved a bit: Microsoft’s documentation. Windows 10 comes with no printed guide at all.

When you do find online help, you’ll quickly discover that it’s tersely written, offers very little technical depth, and lacks examples. You can’t mark your place, underline things, or read it in the bathroom. Worst of all, the chaos of rapid Windows 10 releases means you’re never sure if the web article you’re reading applies to your version.

The purpose of this book, then, is to serve as the manual that should have accompanied the May 2019 Update. In these pages, you’ll find step-by-step instructions for using almost every Windows feature, including those you may not have understood, let alone mastered.

Incredibly, Microsoft intends for Windows 10 to run pretty much the same on desktop PCs and laptops and tablets. This book covers them all.

System Requirements for Your Brain

This book is designed to accommodate readers at every technical level (except system administrators, who will be happier with a different sort of book).

The primary discussions are written for advanced-beginner or intermediate PC owners. But if you’re using Windows for the first time, special sidebar articles called “Up to Speed” provide all the introductory information you need.

If you’re fairly advanced, on the other hand, keep your eye out for similar shaded boxes called “Power Users’ Clinic.” They offer more technical tips, tricks, and shortcuts for the veteran PC fan.