The likelihood that you will interact with at least one Windows 8 device — either now or in the near future — is high. The newest operating system from Microsoft is available on more new devices than ever before: Smartphones, desktop and laptop computers, tablets and ultrabooks like the Dell Ultrabook family. There are a lot of them. Microsoft reports that 60 million licenses for Windows 8 have been sold so far.
You only have to click this link to fill out a short form, and an email with a download link for the book will arrive in your mailbox shortly.
Authored by Andy Rathbone, and supported by the Microsoft and Dell partnership, the Pocket Guide edition (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) is easy to read — and use — online. (You can print the guide, however. I got a fine copy from my printer by setting the print type as “Booklet” on the Print Property page and using two-sided printing with the landscape orientation setting.)
The trademark Dummies style is evident from the start. Not only is Andy Rathbone an experienced author (he’s got over 50 books to his credit, 3 other Dummies books and numerous “techie” articles), he’s also made several best sellers’ lists, which includes the New York Times. (Impressive!) Rathbone’s Windows 8 for Dummies book is ranked as the “Number 1 best-selling computer book of all time” with over 15 million copies sold worldwide.
The book is fun to read. Sentences like “Windows cleaned up the squeaky old file cabinet metaphor with whisper-quiet Windows icons” and “…bypass the technical hoopla and still get your work done” will entertain you while you learn.
Abundant illustrations accompany facts about icons, apps, charms, tiles and start screens. Instructions are framed in an easy style that doesn’t talk down to experienced users, but is still simple enough for newbies. For example, he reassures those who are new to touch screens by providing instructions for finger tapping actions. This includes the tap and lift maneuver, the tap and hold move, and the rapid-fire double-tap operation. There’s even a mouse and keyboard fallback procedure for the non-tapping crowd.
My favorite? I have to admit, it’s the “guilty pleasure” last chapter, “What You Will Hate About Windows 8.” I am betting that’s the first chapter most people will read, just for grins.
Here is the link: Open the form to get your copy of the Windows 8 for Dummies Pocket Guide from Dell here.
What do you think about the Windows 8 for Dummies Pocket Guide from Dell? What’s your favorite chapter? Tell us in the comments.
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Diana Ost is a social media advisor consultant and social journalist with Dell in Commercial Digital Online Marketing. Prior to this gig, Diana wrote web copy for Dell.com about topics ranging from cloud computing to big data. Diana is also a photographer and recorded musician. Follow Diana on Twitter @DianaAtDell. |
[i] Just how those 60 million licenses shake out is a bit hard to say. See the ZDNet article “Analyzing the Windows 8 sales numbers: Chicken, meet egg” by Mary Jo Foley for an analysis of the numbers and the reasons why quantifying them is a bit difficult.
Hi,
The link after “Microsoft reports” points at the following local file on your computer: file:///C:/Users/Diana_Ost/Desktop/Blog%20ideas%20TPO/Windows%208%20for%20Dummies-v-final-1.docx
At the same time – perhaps because I am a dummy – I was not able to figure out where to find the link with the form that you are referring to as the source of this book.
Regards – Lukacs
Thanks for the heads up, Lukacs. We will look in to those issues. –Nicole Smith
Thanks Lukacs for the information! The links are all fixed now, so please feel free to get your Windows 8 for Dummies ebook!
And please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
so we get the link where?
The link has been fixed. Thanks to all who alerted us to the issue.
– Ana Cantu, Tech Page One
searching for the link… apparently… it is not here…