From: "Rob Slade, Social Convener to the Net" <roberts@mukluk.decus.ca> Subject: Review of "Using MS-DOS" by Routledge Date: 11 May 1995 08:58:00 MET BKUSGDOS.RVW 950331 "Using DOS", Gerry Routledge (with Suzanne Weixel, Michael O'Mara), 1995, 0- 7897-0095-6, U$19.99/C$26.99/UK#18.49 %A Gerry Routledge %A Suzanne Weixel %A Michael O'Mara %C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 %D 1995 %G 0-7897-0095-6 %I Que Corporation (MCP) %O U$19.99/C$26.99/UK#18.49 800-858-7674 317-581-3743 %O 75141.2102@compuserve.com 72002.2515@compuserve.com rdrake@que.mcp.com %P 419 %T "Using DOS"When you buy DOS, you get documentation for it. So a DOS book should be better-written than the original, easier to read, or contain additional information.
This book is neither easier to read, nor better written than the original. Some parts may appear "friendlier" but this is generally at the expense of clarity. The important concepts take just as long to define, and sometimes aren't explained as well.
Which leaves additional information. Now, there *is* some. For example, the fact that you can't follow the asterisk (*) wildcard with anything *is* discussed, though not when wildcards are covered. (It's in the discussion of deletion.) On the other hand, the very useful "dir/s" isn't even mentioned in the command reference. The chapters on MEMMAKER and DoubleSpace/DriveSpace simply tell you to run them. The two computer virus chapters give more space than usual to the topic. Unfortunately, for every useful piece of information, there are several errors, opinions and misrepresentations, and I wouldn't want anyone who *is* infected with a virus to rely on it.
I can't think of any group to which I would recommend buying this book.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKUSGDOS.RVW 950331 ============= Vancouver ROBERTS@decus.ca | "The only thing necessary Institute for Robert_Slade@sfu.ca | for the triumph of evil Research into rslade@cue.bc.ca | is for good men to do User p1@CyberStore.ca | nothing." Security Canada V7K 2G6 | - Edmund Burke