PAUL MCFEDRIES

Welcome to the home page of Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed! Although what people create using a computer is a unique expression of who they are, how a person uses their computer probably isn't unique at all. Most Windows XP users follow the same Start menu paths to launch programs, use the standard techniques in programs like Windows Explorer and Outlook Express, and perform customizations that don't go much beyond changing the wallpaper. That's because most users find it easier to simply toe the Microsoft party line and follow the techniques outlined in the "Start Here" booklet and the Help system. To be sure, this is a reasonable approach for novice users who are intimidated by Windows and so prefer to tread carefully to avoid upsetting any digital apple carts.

However, what about those users who qualify as "post-novice"? By that I mean any person who either knows the basics of Windows XP or who has some computing experience and is smart enough to figure things out without having their hand held. For those users, doing things the official way is slower, less efficient, and less powerful because Windows XP was designed from the ground up so as not to confuse novice users. The result is default settings that restrict flexibility, interminable wizards that turn two-step tasks into twelve-step sagas, and the hiding of powerful and useful programs behind layers of menus and dialog boxes. To unleash the potential of Windows XP, the post-novice user needs a different approach that goes where the "Start Here" booklet and the Help system fear to tread.

That is the goal of Windows XP Unleashed

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