In a matter of three years, he obtained his GED, A.A. degree, and a B.A. degree from Morehouse College and set a national record as the first person ever to do so. Through the benevolence of Oprah Winfrey, he was recognized for his efforts as a single parent, full-time student, and as a dedicated father with up to $100, 000 in funding to continue his education as a "Beating the Odds Scholar." He later received a Master's degree and is currently a successful Ph.D. candidate.

Having reclaimed the lives of his children and assumed the honorable role of single parent, Miller now reflects on his past life with pride. He understands that his repeated failures and perpetual struggles slowed his race to the finish line, but that did not prevent him from getting there. In this moving autobiography of a once hopeless, poor boy, one feels the warmth of hope and perseverance; one is taught that finishing the race is all that matters--even if it takes twenty-five years.

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics, 2E, teaches you how to get the most from your personal computer system - and from common peripherals, including CD burners, digital cameras, and PDAs. This book shows new computers users how to set up their computer hardware, find their way around the Windows XP desktop, learn to use essential software programs, and get connected to and start using the Internet. Users will also learn how to keep their computer systems up and running, and how to troubleshoot common computer problems.

Everything is explained in an easy-to-understand language, with step-by-step instructions and helpful illustrations. This book presents a non-technical approach to an otherwise technically intimidating topic, it's filled with practical information and real-world advice.

Think setting up your new PC is going to be a challenge that you don't have time for? Think again. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics, Third Edition can make setting up and learning about your new computer fun and easy. Step-by-step instructions and helpful illustrations will show you how to set up your computer, begin using Microsoft Windows XP and personalize your Windows XP experience. You'll also learn how to:

• Work with files and folders
• Add new hardware and devices to your system
• Perform maintenance and diagnose common problems
• Install new software
• Use the Internet
• Protect your PC from viruses, spam and other nuisances

 

Who knew how simple computers could be?

 

What can you do with your new PC? The sky's the limit! Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics will show you how to set up and configure your PC, including how to connect to the Internet. Then you'll learn how to fix your digital photos, create digital scrapbooks, download digital music to your iPod, burn your own custom CDs, watch DVD movies, write letters and memos, balance your checkbook, and create show-stopping presentations. And if you need more computing horsepower, you'll even learn how to upgrade your PC and add new peripherals. It's all easy, thanks to Michael Miller's step-by-step instructions and helpful advice!

 

Now updated for both Windows Vista™ and Windows® XP, Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computer Basics will have you using your new PC in no time! Here's a preview of

what you'll find inside:

• Learn how to set up and configure your new computer, and install new computer hardware and software
• Get the scoop on how to work with Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista, and how to personalize it just for you
• Learn how to use the most popular computer programs—including Microsoft®  Word, Microsoft®  Works, Microsoft®  Money, and Quicken
• Connect to the Internet for web surfing, email, instant messaging, blogging, and podcasts—and create your own MySpace page
• Become a digital media pro—learn to work with digital cameras and photos, download and listen to digital music, and burn your own CDs and DVDs
• Find out how to protect your PC from spam, viruses, spyware, and computer attacks
• Learn how to set up a wireless home network and share your Internet connection with multiple PCs

Introduction

I  Getting Started
1 Understanding Desktop PCs

2 Understanding Notebook PCs
3 Setting Up Your New Computer System

II Using Windows

4 Getting to Know Windows Vista

7 Working with Files, Folders, and Disks
III Upgrading and Maintaining Your System

9 Setting Up a Home Network

11 Dealing with Common Problems

12 Protecting Your PC from Viruses, Spam, and Other Online

IV Using Computer Software

13 Installing New Software

14 The Suite Spot: Working with Microsoft Works and Microsoft
15 Letters, Memos, and More: Working with Microsoft Word

16 Crunching Numbers: Working with Microsoft Excel 

17 Presenting Yourself: Working with Microsoft PowerPoint 

18 Banking and Beyond: Working with Microsoft Money and Quicken 

19 Connecting to the Internet—At Home and on the Road
V Using the Internet  

20 Sending and Receiving Email

21 Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer

22 Searching the Web

23 Shopping Online

24 Buying and Selling in eBay Online Auctions

25 Exploring Blogs and Podcasts

26 Social Networking with MySpace

27 Creating Your Own Web Page

28 Exploring Other Cool and Useful Websites

29 Sending and Receiving Instant Messages
VI Exploring the Digital Lifestyle

30 Using Your PC with a Digital Camera

31 Organizing and Editing Your Digital Photos

32 Sharing Your Digital Photos Online

33 Playing, Ripping, and Burning CDs

34 Downloading and Playing Digital Music

35 Using Your PC with an iPod or MP3 Player

36 Playing DVDs and Videos on Your PC

37 Downloading and Playing Videos from the Web

38 Making Your Own Digital Home Movies
Index

 

Michael Miller is the best-selling author of more than 75 how-to books, covering topics such as Windows XP and eBay online auctions. Michael has helped more than a million readers be productive with their PCs and has earned a reputation for practical advice, technical accuracy, and making difficult topics easy to understand.

 

Category: Computers & Internet

Covers:    General Computing

User Level:    Beginning

 

$21.99 USA / $26.99 CAN / £15.99 Net UK

 

www.quepublishing.com

On any given day there are more than 12 million items listed for auction at eBay, the world's largest online trading community. Almost $15 billion worth of merchandise, in more than 638 million individual auctions, was traded over eBay during the year 2002; that's $50 million a day, or $579 every second. At the end of 2002, eBay had more than 62 million registered users - almost triple the number of users just two years previous.

The first edition of this book is a runaway best-seller, so it's only natural we would update this great book to reflect some of eBay's most recent upgrades such as; Selling Manager (eBay's new auction management service), Turbo Lister (new listing creation software) eBay's new listing design features.

Everything casual users need to know to get the most out of their new Windows 7 PCs, software, and the Internet

 

 

This year, you may be one of the millions of casual computer users that will buy a new Windows 7 notebook or desktop PC. You'll want to know how to find your way around, get comfortable, and get the job done - without jargon, complexity, or hassle. There's a book for you: Michael Miller's Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics, Windows 7 Edition. It's the one book that covers everything today's beginners and near-beginners need to know: not just about Windows, but also about software, hardware, and the Internet. Through 90+ books, author Michael Miller has established an unparalleled track record in explaining complicated concepts simply and clearly, and empowering beginners. Now, he's thoroughly updated his best-selling Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics to cover today's user experience - with Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8, and today's hottest online tools, from craigslist and Facebook to Twitter, Wikipedia, and Google Docs. Miller offers step-by-step instructions and friendly, practical advice for making the most of Windows 7's improvements, including the new taskbar, Action Center, and Aero Snap. He walks through setting up a new computer; connecting to the Internet; working with digital media; burning custom CDs; watching DVD movies; using Microsoft Office and other popular software; managing money online; setting up home networks; keeping PCs running reliably; and protecting them from spam, viruses, and spyware. This is the one indispensable book for today's PC novice

Shopping. For some, it is a veritable sport. For others, it is a dreaded experience which they try to avoid at all costs. No matter which group you fit in to, chances are when you do shop you're looking for a bargain. Bargain Hunter's Secrets to Online Shopping is your one-stop-shop for finding the best bargains on the Internet in over 35 shopping categories. Over 1000 of the best Web sites for online bargain shopping are listed in this comprehensive, how-to guide. Nervous about making purchases online? You'll also learn how to identify reputable merchants, how to shop safely and the best ways to pay for an online purchase. Let your fingers do the walking through this guide and the world's largest shopping mall!

This is the eBook version of the printed book.

Blogging with the New Google Blogger is a digital short cut that covers Google's newest version of Blogger, their free software for creating a website from which to post thoughts, interact with people, and more. This short cut serves as an introduction to the world of blogging and to the Blogger application, as well as a guide to the new version of Blogger. Readers will learn how the new version of Blogger differs from the original version and how to create a Blogger blog. Advanced users will appreciate the information on customizing blog templates, using HTML, hosting their own Blogger blog, syndicating their blogs with RSS and Atom feeds, and making money with blog advertising.

 

Table of Contents

 

Welcome to the Blogosphere

    A general discussion on blogs--what they are, how they work, and why people blog

Introducing the New Version of Blogger

    Introduction to Blogger; discussion of the new and changed features in the new version of Blogger

Launching Your First Blog

    Detailed step-by-step instructions on how to create a Blogger blog

Creating New Blog Posts

    Posting from the Blogger dashboard, posting from the Google toolbar, categorizing your posts with labels

Multimedia and Mobile Blogging

    Including photos, feeds, and other media in your posts; mobloging from mobile phones

Managing Your Blog

    Using the Dashboard to manage your blog, controlling who can read your blog, creating a private blog, managing comments, examining blog usage statistics

Customizing Your Blog

    Choosing new Blogger templates, customizing templates, adding new page elements, coding non-standard elements with HTML

Hosting Your Own Blog

    Detailed instructions on how to host a Blogger blog on your own website; also covers how to assign a dedicated domain or URL to your blog

Syndicating Your Blog

    Adding RSS and Atom feeds, syndicating the feed, customizing your feed for individual posts or comments

Making Money from Your Blog

    Adding Google AdSense and other advertising to your blog

Danny Wilson returns to America after a long separation meant to keep him out of harm's way. The gutsy retired detective who risked life and limb caring for him for more than a decade grudgingly allows him the chance to fulfill childhood dreams and avenge murdered parents. Knowing this day will come, the father expends considerable effort over many years ensuring his adopted son is prepared. Long ago realizing Danny will likely stick his finger in any fan to protect ordinary innocent victims, the adopted father pushes for excellence beyond reasonable human limits.

Starting his new venture in two large metropolitan areas soon leads to opportunities he hoped would come his way. Danny's odd knack for embedding himself in strained circumstances proves he's the action hero most dream about when troubles spiral out of control.

This is the eBook version of the printed book.

Choosing an Online Payment System: Google Checkout vs. PayPal is a digital short cut that covers Google's new Google Checkout online payment system. It covers all aspects of using Google Checkout, for both buyers and sellers, and then compares and contrasts Google Checkout with PayPal, the current market-leader in online payments. You will learn which of the two payment systems, Google Checkout or PayPal, should be used, when given a choice. Sellers will learn which payment system is best to use for their online auctions and merchant websites.

 

Table of Contents

1. Buying and Selling Electronically: How Online Payment Systems Work: A general discussion on how PayPal, Google Checkout, and similar online payment systems work

 

2. Using Google Checkout: For Buyers: A detailed discussion on how to use Google Checkout to purchase items online

 

3. Using PayPal: For Buyers: A detailed discussion on how to use PayPal to purchase items online

 

4. Buyer's Choice: Google Checkout or PayPal?: A comparison of Google Checkout with PayPal for online purchasers; also covers other payment systems an online shopper might encounter

 

5. Using Google Checkout: For Sellers: A detailed discussion on how to add Google Checkout to your merchant website and use the service to manage customer payments

 

6. Using PayPal: For Sellers: A detailed discussion on how to add PayPal to your merchant website and eBay auctions and use the service to manage customer payments

 

7. Seller's Choice: Google Checkout or PayPal?: A comparison of Google Checkout with PayPal for online sellers; also covers other alternatives, such as Amazon Payments

Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate On-Line

 

Computing as you know it has changed. No longer are you tied to using expensive programs stored on your computer. No longer will you be able to only access your data from one computer. No longer will you be tied to doing work only from your work computer or playing only from your personal computer.

 

Enter cloud computing–an exciting new way to work with programs and data, collaborate with friends and family, share ideas with coworkers and friends, and most of all, be more productive! The “cloud” consists of thousands of computers and servers, all linked and accessible to you via the Internet.

 

With cloud computing, everything you do is now web-based instead of being desktop-based; you can access all your programs and documents from any computer that’s connected to the Internet. Whether you want to share photographs with your family, coordinate volunteers for a community organization, or manage a multi-faceted project in a large organization, cloud computing can help you do it more easily than ever before. Trust us. If you need to collaborate, cloud computing is the way to do it.

 

     •    Learn what cloud computing is, how it works, who should use it, and why it’s the wave of the future.

     •    Explore the practical benefits of cloud computing, from saving money on expensive programs to accessing your documents ANYWHERE.

     •    See just how easy it is to manage work and personal schedules, share documents with coworkers and friends, edit digital photos, and much more!

     •    Learn how to use web-based applications to collaborate on reports and presentations, share online calendars and to-do lists, manage large projects, and edit and store digital photographs.

 

Michael Miller is known for his casual, easy-to-read writing style and his ability to explain a wide variety of complex topics to an everyday audience. Mr. Miller has written more than 80 nonfiction books over the past two decades, with more than a million copies in print. His books for Que include Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computer Basics,  Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, and Is It Safe?: Protecting Your Computer, Your Business, and Yourself Online. His website is located at www.molehillgroup.com.

 

Covers the most popular cloud-based applications, including the following:

     • Adobe Photoshop Express

     • Apple MobileMe

     • Glide OS

     • Google Docs

     • Microsoft Office Live Workspace

     • Zoho Office

 

CATEGORY:  Web Applications

COVERS:  Cloud Computing

USER LEVEL:  Beginner-Intermediate

Your new PC just arrived. You open the box, excited to hook it up, start surfing the web, send e-mails...and then you see all of the cords, CD-ROMs and parts that need to be connected and installed, and suddenly it doesn't seem like so much fun anymore. The instructions look even more intimidating. Don't panic! Easy Computer Basics can help. This up-to-date, full-color, highly visual guide will walk you through the entire set-up process and then show you how to use the different programs to accomplish common tasks. You'll learn how to:

• Use Microsoft Windows, Works and Word
• Connect to the Internet
• Surf the web
• Read and write e-mail
• View and edit digital pictures
• Download and listen to digital music
• Add new devices, such as printers and hard drives
• Perform basic maintenance and security tasks

 

See it done. Do it yourself. It’s that Easy! Easy Computer Basics, Windows 7 Edition  teaches you the fundamentals to help you get the most from your computer hardware and software. Fully illustrated steps with simple instructions guide you through each task, building the skills you need to perform the most common computer tasks. No need to feel intimidated; we’ll hold your hand every step of the way.

 

In full color

 

Learn how to…

• Set up and configure your new computer system

• Upgrade your computer with new hardware and software

• Use Microsoft Windows 7–and personalize it just for you

• Connect to the Internet for web surfing, email, Facebook, and YouTube

• Manage and edit digital photos

• Play, copy, and burn your own music CDs–and download music from the Internet to play on your iPod

• Protect your family and your computer from viruses, spam, and spyware

• Set up a wireless home network and share your Internet connection with multiple computers

 

Category: General Computing

Covers: Hardware, Microsoft ® Windows 7

User Level: Beginner

 

Easy steps guide you through each task.

Items you select or click are shown in bold.

Each step is fully illustrated.

 

See it done. Do it yourself. It’s that Easy! Easy Computer Basics, Windows Vista Edition teaches you the fundamentals to help you get the most from your computer hardware and software. Fully illustrated steps with simple instructions guide you through each task, building the skills you need to do what you want to do. No need to feel intimidated; we’ll hold your hand every step of the way.

 

Learn how to…

• Set up and configure your new computer system
• Upgrade your computer with new hardware and software
• Use Windows Vista--and personalize it just for you
• Connect to the Internet for web surfing, email, and instant messaging
• Manage and edit digital photos with Windows Photo Gallery
• Play, copy, and burn your own music CDs--and download music from the Internet to play on your iPod
• Protect your family and your computer from viruses, spam, and spyware
• Set up a wireless home network and share your Internet connection with multiple computers

Easy steps guide you through each task.

Items you select or click are shown in bold.

Each step is fully illustrated.

 

Category: Computers

Covers: General Computing

User Level:  Beginning

 

Introduction 1

Part 1: Understanding How Your Computer Works 2

Part 2: Setting Up and Using a Desktop PC 14

Part 3: Setting Up and Using a Notebook PC 28

Part 4: Using Microsoft Windows Vista 38

Part 5: Working with Files and Folders 62

Part 6: Using Microsoft Word 78

Part 7: Connecting to the Internet 96

Part 8: Setting Up a Wireless Home Network 132

Part 9: Playing Music and Movies 150

Part 10: Working with Digital Photos 168

Part 11: Adding New Devices to Your System 190

Part 12: Protecting Your Computer 200

Part 13: Taking Care of Your Computer 214

Glossary 228