Some of this book??™s projects are classic hardware jobs, like drive and memory upgrades
or dual-monitor setups. Others are more software oriented, like setting up your
PC as an IP phone or a living-room media center. And some projects are almost more
of a user upgrade??”the project on good practices and technology for backups fits that
category!
You may also want to enjoy the hottest project in PCs today: virtualization. The
idea of running more than one operating system on a single computer has been catching
on in a big way. Macs and PCs now run on the same CPUs, Linux operating systems
are desktop-friendly, and a certain d?©tente has been reached that admits some
operating systems are just better at some tasks than others. Now the question, ???Mac,
Linux, or PC???? can often be answered, ???Yes.???
One thing hasn??™t changed and that??™s the sharp metal edges inside your PC??™s case!
So put on some gloves, open your machine, thumb ahead in this book, and get ready
to create a new PC out of your old one. We promise, your nails will still be clean when
you??™re done.
Brian Cooley
CNET Editor-at-Large
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Acknowledgments
I??™d like to thank the following people for their help with this book:
Roger Stewart for developing the book and making it happen
Carly Stapleton for handling the acquisitions end of the book
Jennifer Kettell for reviewing the manuscript for technical accuracy and contributing
many helpful suggestions
Bill McManus for editing the manuscript
Vasundhara Sawhney, Jean Bodeaux, and Janet Walden for coordinating the
production of the book
International Typesetting and Composition for laying out the pages
WordCo Indexing Services for writing the index
?—? ?—? ?—? ?—? ?—? ?—? ?—?
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Introduction
PCs are amazing.
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