08/17/98 WIN98: A GUIDE TO THE GUIDES

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WIN98: A GUIDE TO THE GUIDES
You'll probably need a book to negotiate this software. Here are three to consider
Not so long ago, an essential feature of any computer program was the extensive manual that came with the software. As software has grown in size, however, the manuals have shrunk. These days, the manual is little more than installation instructions. When you bump into a problem or can't remember that sequence of clicks that gets you where you want to go, you go to an electronic help file on your computer.
I miss those hefty manuals, even if they were sometimes written in technical jargon and made it hard to find the tip I needed. I particularly miss them with Windows 98. Win98 not only runs your computer but also provides a choice of no-nonsense word processors, a variety of connections to the Internet, a toolbox for computer tune-ups, and software for creating your own Web page--not to mention a clutch of games. Everybody seems to figure out solitaire with no problem, but trying to use all that other stuff is a challenge. The 129-page manual that came with my Win98 upgrade just scratches the surface. Using the on-screen help files often leaves me at step No.4 in some process, trying to remember whether I got step No.2 right. I need a book.
Picking one that I also could recommend to other people was harder than I thought. You could fill an entire store with computer books. Virtually every software program has a book for Dummies, a book for Idiots, a book for Busy People, a book for system administrators--just about anyone publishers can imagine. I started by narrowing my search to books for nontechnical people who have used earlier PC operating systems but are just starting with Win98. I wanted a book with clear explanations, plenty of graphics, and a comprehensive index. Most of the time, I use a book to solve a problem I've encountered--so I need an index to get me where I need to go fast.
I scanned several books to select three that I thought were worth a close look. Books in the ''Dummies'' series are typically the best-sellers among the various computer categories, so I included Windows 98 for Dummies from IDG Books Worldwide. The comparable Microsoft Press series is ''At a Glance,'' and I found Microsoft Windows 98 at a Glance a solid example. No.3 on my short list was Windows 98 for Busy People from Osborne, which, like BUSINESS WEEK, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Dummies' virtues quickly become clear. It's the most fun you'll have with a computer book. You can learn to cheat at solitaire or head to such sections as ''Please don't read this!'' and ''Ten atrocious acronyms.'' When you hit the inevitable snarls in Win98, this book feels your pain and prescribes a chuckle.
Unfortunately, I found the book less helpful than the other two. For example, a big, irreversible decision when you install Win98 is whether to use a new data-compression scheme called FAT32, for file allocation table. It lets you get more stuff on your hard drive, particularly if it is larger than 1 gigabyte. But as the manual with the software points out briefly, choosing the FAT32 format can cause problems, such as messing up the feature that puts some computers into suspended animation when they're not in use. Dummies provides no guidance and simply refers you to another book in the series.
SHORTCUTS. Microsoft's book surprised me. I expected an overly rosy view of the software's capabilities and, because of its layout, only sketchy information. But the book's advice was straightforward, and the combination of graphics and snippets of information turned out to be quite meaty. The way the book is set up, you can sometimes thumb through its pages to find what you need fast without even going to the index. (All three of these books have good indexes, incidentally.)
My favorite of the three is the Busy People book. It is well-organized, with different sections that can give you a quick overview or dig deeper. It's the only full-color book of the three, which makes the graphics more inviting and useful. It does a good job of highlighting important shortcuts and cautions. In most cases, it provides more complete advice than the other two. If you plan to become a Win98 power user, you will eventually outgrow all three of these books. But I'm making Windows 98 for Busy People my faithful computing companion.
BY G. DAVID WALLACE

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