Windows XP + Internet Basics book/tutorial for an old person

Windows XP for dummies has been great for my uncle... it's not free (but not very expensive either), but apparently beginners like it: http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Dummies-2nd-Andy-Rathbone/dp/0764573268/ref=sr_1_6

"I would personally not try to do anything special over normal books as when I was looking at various books a while ago for someone, I thought that most were very patronising... (I would love to write a good one myself if I had the time!).

The first thing I would do is what I did for a friend, enable boot from USB (or disk) and use imaging to create a 100% image of the hard drive and a script that will automatically expand and use (I personally use Windows PE with an unattend script for imagex). If you want to create your own custom environment, use the WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit).

By doing the above, you can tell them that no matter what, they cannot break the system. Worst case scenario, they just put in the disk/usb stick and the machine will be back to where it was when you handed to them.

Next, just find a good ""for beginners"" book. Some of the good ones I have seen include the For Dummies series. However, the best thing you can do is just do everything for them once, slowly and make sure they have a notepad where they can write it all down.

The only thing I really did that was special for my nan was to increase desktop icon size, and put an icon to all the games on the desktop so she does not have to use the start menu. She can turn the machine on and off fine and launch Freecell!... Sometimes about 3+ copies... haven't found a good way to say you can run more than one program at a time and look at taskbar!... But she is getting better.

The number one key thing is patience, then just be available on the phone for any and all questions."

"I'm sorry if my answer is a bit off-topic, but I believe there is no answer to your question. Instead, I highly recommend at first sit down with her. Get started together.

Do not intervene, do not exhale air in despair while rolling your eyes, do not get upset, and let her do it. She needs to feel secure about it, even just to have somebody to directs complains to. This will save you money and time - no need to get a book she will not need, no time wasted asking around a generic question.

This approach has the added bonus that you, on the other hand, will know which level she's at. Will she need a long book she can read cover to cover? Or maybe an ""instruction manual"" where she can look up things as she needs them? Does she really need windows XP? How does she react to dialog boxes? Maybe you should get her a netbook pc? What about a web-only Linux host? Or a mac?"

"Why not going with Ubuntu instead?
It looks like a much better investment.
It is free, there is plenty of info about it.
It is reasonably usable and has apps that suit all needs of an average user.
Windows XP is also pretty dead, it will disappear in a couple of years. Microsoft already doesn't pay attention to it, this means there will be no security updates for new threats. Not to mention the superior security level of a Linux system and its lower exposure to viruses and malware."