Woody Leonhard - Windows 10 All-in-One For Dummies

And that begins with Book 1, Chapter 1.

Some of the points in Windows 10 All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition, merit your special attention. I set off those points with icons.

When I’m jumping up and down on one foot with an idea so absolutely cool that I can’t stand it anymore, I stick a tip icon in the margin. You can browse any chapter and hit its highest points by jumping from tip to tip.

When you see this icon, you get the real story about Windows 10 — not the stuff that the Microsoft marketing droids want you to hear — and my take on the best way to get Windows 10 to work for you. You find the same take on Microsoft, Windows, and more at my eponymous website, www.AskWoody.com .

You don’t need to memorize the information marked with this icon, but you should try to remember that something special is lurking.

Achtung! Cuidado! Thar be tygers here! Anywhere that you see a warning icon, you can be sure that I’ve been burnt — badly. Mind your fingers. These are really, really mean suckers.

Okay, so I’m a geek. I admit it. Sure, I love to poke fun at geeks. But I’m a modern, New Age, sensitive guy, in touch with my inner geekiness. Sometimes, I just can’t help but let it out, ya know? That’s where the technical stuff icon comes in. If you get all tied up in knots about techie-type stuff, pass these paragraphs by. (For the record, I managed to write this entire book without telling you that an IPv4 address consists of a unique 32-bit combination of network ID and host ID, expressed as a set of four decimal numbers with each octet separated by periods. See? I can restrain myself sometimes.)

When I wrote the 4th edition of this book, I covered the Windows 10 May 2020 update, version 2004. Microsoft promises to keep Windows 10 updated twice a year. For details about significant updates or changes that occur between editions of this book, go to www.dummies.com , search for Windows 10 All-in-One For Dummies, and open the Download tab on this book’s dedicated page.

In addition, the cheat sheet for this book has handy Windows shortcuts and tips on other cool features worth checking out. To get to the cheat sheet, go to www.dummies.com , and then type Windows 10 All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the search box .

That’s about it. It’s time for you to crack this book open and have at it.

If you haven’t yet told Windows 10 to show you filename extensions, flip to Book 3, Chapter 1. If you haven’t yet set up the File History feature, go to Book 8, Chapter 1. If you’re worried about Microsoft keeping a list of all the searches that you conduct on your own computer, check out Book 2, Chapter 5.

Don’t forget to bookmark two websites: www.AskWoody.com and www.digitalcitizen.life . They will keep you up-to-date on all the Windows 10 stuff you need to know — including notes about this book, the latest Windows bugs and gaffes, patches that are worse than the problems they’re supposed to fix, useful tutorials, and much more — and you can submit your most pressing questions for free consultation from The Woodmeister and his merry gang.

See ya! Shoot me mail at woody@AskWoody.com .

Sometimes, it’s worth reading the Intro, eh?

Book 1

1 Chapter 1: Windows 10 4 N00bs Hardware and Software Why Do PCs Have to Run Windows? A Terminology Survival Kit What, Exactly, Is the Web? Buying a Windows 10 Computer What’s Wrong with Windows 10?

2 Chapter 2: Windows 10 for the Experienced If You Just Upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 A Brief History of Windows 10 Exploring the Versions of Windows 10 The Different Kinds of Windows Programs, Er, Apps What’s New for the XP Crowd What’s New for Windows 7 Users What’s New for Windows 8 and 8.1 Users What’s New for All of Windows Do You Need Windows 10?

3 Chapter 3: Which Version? Counting the Editions Choosing 32 Bit versus 64 Bit Which Version of Windows Are You Running?

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Reading the newbie’s quick guide

Understanding that hardware is hard — and software is hard, too

Seeing Windows’ place in the grand scheme of things

Defining computer words that all the grade-schoolers understand

Finding out what, exactly, is the web

Buying a Windows 10 computer

Don’t sweat it. We all started as newbies who didn't know much about technology.

If you’ve never used an earlier version of Windows, you’re in luck! With Windows 10, you don’t have to force your fingers to forget so much of what you’ve learned. This version is different from any Windows that has come before. It’s a melding of Windows 7 and Windows 8, tossed into a blender, speed turned up full, poured out on your screen.

If you heard that Windows 8 was a dog, you heard only the printable part of the story. By clumsily forcing a touchscreen approach down the throats of mouse-lovers everywhere, Windows 8 frustrated people who loved touch-based interfaces, drove mouse users nuts, and left everybody — aside from a few diehards — screaming in pain.

Windows 10 brings a kinder, gentler approach for the 1.7 billion or so people who have seen the Windows desktop and know a bit about struggling with it. Yes, Windows 10 exposes you to some smartphone-style tiles that you can touch, but they aren’t nearly as intrusive or scary as you think.

Some of you are reading this book because you specifically chose to run Windows 10. Others are here because Windows 10 came preinstalled on a new computer or because your company forced you to upgrade to Windows 10. Some of you are here because you fell victim to Microsoft’s much maligned “Get Windows 10” campaign. Whatever the reason, you've ended up on a good operating system, and it should serve you well — if you understand and respect its limitations.