Ounce for ounce and dollar for dollar, the Pocket Consultant series from Microsoft Press is one of the best values around. The editors do a good job of recruiting competent authors and having them comply with well-thought-out style and formatting rules. Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Pocket Consultant is one of the gems of the series. Author William Stanek has spent time working with his subject--this book wasn't rushed to market to match the Windows XP release date--and he's good at revealing its administrative procedures clearly and concisely. The book is nicely indexed, so locating the section you need takes very little effort. This book--slightly larger than a paperback novel--is ideal for a harried administrator responsible for many different software products, as well as for consultants who need to learn how to use Windows XP Professional in a hurry.

A particularly nice characteristic of Stanek's style: His skill at combining straight procedures ("Just follow these steps and it'll work") with supplementary information about options ("On the other hand, if you're doing something unusual, you might need to modify the standard procedure a bit"). As no real-life installation of Windows XP ever seems to match authors' ideas of normalcy, the supplementary information is critical. Screen shots are nicely handled as well. Their presence helps clarify what the text means, but they're not so large as to waste space. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP Professional, as system administrators need to understand it. The author explains hardware installation, permissions setting, network security zones, and several kinds of network connectivity. Coverage of the specific requirements of mobile users--including virtual private networks (VPNs) and dial-up--is particularly welcome.


Book Description
MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATOR'S POCKET CONSULTANT is the ideal concise, on-the-go reference that administrators and consultants will want to carry with them as they support and manage this state-of-the-art desktop operating system. Designed as a quick reference, this pocket guide is focused on what matters. You won't find hundreds of useless pages here-only what you need-making it the ideal quick-reference for those tasks you don't perform very often. This guide covers essential Windows XP Professional topics such as desktop customization, dial-up networking, and multi-language support; user, group, and profile administration; system and network administration; and optimization and recovery. With a convenient pocket trim size, hard-to bend rounded corners, and durable cover, it's also exceptionally easy to carry with you from desktop to desktop.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Whether you're upgrading your entire enterprise or simply buying new PCs on an ad hoc basis, Windows XP Professional is coming into your enterprise. If you're responsible for supporting or administering it, this handy pocket guide offers you more useful answers per ounce than any other book we've seen. It's especially strong on XP's new administrative features, and those really important tasks (like setting up desktop VPN connections) that you won't do often enough to memorize on your own.

The book's organized into four sections: essentials, core administration, networking, and optimization/recovery. In 350 pages, it manages to be remarkably complete. Want to use Windows XP's new Remote Assistance feature to resolve users' problems without leaving your computer? Prohibit users from setting up Internet Connection Sharing on your DNS domain? Set a new home page for all your users at once? Place custom content on each user's desktop? Use System Restore across a network? Lock the taskbar, so it can't be moved or lost? William B. Stanek walks you through all these tasks, and more.

We could go on. Setting disk quotas. Managing security zones. Using notebook power schemes. Rolling back troublesome driver versions. Checking the status of a LAN connection. Configuring the synchronization of offline files. If you need to do it as a manager or support professional, there's no faster way to find out how. (Bill Camarda)

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer with nearly 20 years' experience in helping technology companies deploy and market advanced software, computing, and networking products and services. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The practical, portable guide to Windows® XP Professional!

Whether you support 50 desktops or 5000, this indispensable guide provides fast answers for the day-to-day administration of the Windows® XP Professional operating system. This pocket-sized resource zeroes in on essential desktop support issues and procedures￯﾿ﾽdelivering critical details through quick-reference tables, step-by-step instructions, and lists. It's the precise information you need to solve problems and get the job done￯﾿ﾽwhether you're at your desk or in the field!

Get fast facts to: Manage and troubleshoot system configuration Configure hardware and network devices Customize desktop settings and optimize the user workspace Control system access through user and group accounts Support laptops and mobile users Enable remote access￯﾿ﾽfrom dial-up to wireless Configure offline files and disk quotas Use Group Policy to customize Internet settings Schedule routine maintenance and backups Resolve system problems and optimize performance

SYNOPSIS