Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 (2nd Edition)

Since the release of his early books on the intricacies of MS-DOS, Peter Norton has kept generations of PC users in the know. Sporting his trademark button-down shirt and half-smirk, his presence on his books' covers promises a lucid, comprehensive approach to the subject at hand. Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 upholds the tradition, interweaving solid documentation with intelligent commentary and advice. If you need analysis as well as information, this book will better fit your needs than other all-inclusive Windows 98 books.

Norton and his coauthor, John Paul Mueller, begin by explaining how to connect Windows 98 to the Internet via modem. They then discuss performance tuning, system optimization (including information on the new automatic update features), Task Scheduler, and Windows Explorer. From there, the authors cover every user-level aspect of Windows 98, from running DOS applications to using an Accelerated Graphics Port.

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 further distinguishes itself from other Windows 98 guides in its coverage of more advanced topics (like the Registry and the various file systems). If you're wondering how a virtual device driver (VxD) differs from a dynamic-link library (DLL), what goes on during boot up, or how Windows provides multitasking, look here. Norton and Mueller have crafted a useful and entertaining book for the power user interested in the technology behind Windows 98. --David Wall