Wang, Wallace & Parker C. Roger. Microsoft Office 2000 for Windows for Dummies.

Points to make in class

The dummie series is a well known book series that is dedicated to making the confusing bits of various topics clear to the every day Joe. It is indeed a reputable source, having some fifty million books in print and having enough behind their good name to command the title of ì#1 Bestselling Computer Book Seriesî. There is in print, a companion quick reference guide for Office 2000 for Dummies. Also Word 2000 for Dummies is also available. This book was a worthy subject bescause of the various projects that we will do throughout the year concerning web publishing, word processing and spread sheets.

Summary of Book

Office 2000 for Dummies is a relief to read. With step by step instuctions, the only reason that you would mess up is if you were trying to mess up. After each command, generally there is a description of what to expect after the command has been carried out. Comics throughout the book help you along and encourage to the next part. The text in the book is also humorous and ensures that your reading is a unique experience. In the front of the book are quick reference cards that list commands and functions from the task bar of Excel to the functions of the mouse buttons. There is little that was not covered.

Relationship between book and class topic

As students we were given the Professional version of Office 2000. This book gladly covers this version and the Standard and the Premium Editions. I can not think of one person (typically in the novice realm) who likes technical jargon. Considering that this book is entitled to serve those of us a little less gifted than the rocket scientist, one would think that the book would skip the technical jargon. Actually, weather or not the jargon is skipped is completely up to you. It is offered in words that even a novice can understand, but instead of forcing you to learn it, they seperate it and indicate it for you. This book, I believe is a good choice for the class as it instructs you as to the functions and general workings of programs that we as students in IST110 are required to work in. The book uses a step by step proceedure that just about anyone can follow and throws in some humor that makes our reading even more enjoyable. All in all, I say that it is a pretty good buy.

My comments/insights/observation

I enjoy learning about computers in the easiest way possible and books such as the dummie series are a welcome asset. Iím not saying that if you read a chapter in here, you will learn everything there is to know about a specific topic. No, Iím not saying that at all; but I will say that you will come away the better for it. Also, Iím not saying that everything in here, including the examples, is crystal clear, but the book does do a good job at presenting relevant material to you. Personally, Iím looking forward to writing and transfering web page documents.

Sara Hassinger, IST110

seh194@psu.edu

January 20, 2000