Windows 7: Windows 7 user guide comparison

I am a new Windows 7 user and would welcome your comments as to what user guide would be of service, e.g., Windows 7 QuickSteps by Matthews, Windows 7 for dummies by Andy Rathbone, etc.Thanks in advance for your suggestions,Grover Hughes

I never read a user guide as I usually figure out how to work things pretty quick but the dummies books are usually pretty good. You might want to make a google search for Windows 7 Book Reviews.

Hello Hughes,

The Tutorials sections here could be great at helping you learn more about Windows 7. Plus, posting any question that you may have about Windows 7 in the forums section will usually get you an answer to your question soon.

The tutorialS posted on this forum offer a wealth of information
Tutorials - Windows 7 Forums

You'll learn more from the great tutorials here than you will from any book.

The sheer volume of practical knowledge in them is awesome.

The advantage for me with books is that there is always stuff in them which I never would have searched for online..perhaps I didn't know it existed, perhaps I would have found it boring, etc. But if it's in the book and I'm reading the book, I'll at least read it over and might pick up a few useful tidbits.

Windows 7, the missing manual, by David Pogue.

It's tricky - there aren't many books that are a huge amount of use to someone who has used windows before and just wants a bit more knowledge.

They tend to be very large and expensive specialist tomes - or lots of big pictures saying click this then click that.
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You shouldn't need a book to learn Windows 7. The best way to do so is to roll up your sleeves and get dirty, meaning install it and play around. You can get 30 days (up to 120) without even putting in a license key, so play around with it as much as you want. Once you are done "playing", install it again clean, and then activate it with your key.

I'm another of the dying breed of manual readers, and browsing through a book often steers me in directions I would not have thought to explore. That being said, I find I am relying more and more on online help, especially for problem-solving, where the information is often more up to date than written material. Browsing user boards is a lot like scanning the manuals, too, and leads to new knowledge about all facets of the OS.

Bottom line, both methods work to educate and can go hand-in-hand. David Pogue's "missing manual" book and the Dummies offering are both good reference choices. Go to a local book store and page through the Windows 7 section. See which books are right for your level of experience.