Gavin Hoole and Cheryl Smith have just produced The really, really, really easy Step-by Step Computer Book 2 which they have written and illustrated.

This is a really really long title for an admirably concise and comprehensible book which runs to 136 pages that are packed with information. The authors, who are South Africans (the book is available in Afrikaans), are computer teachers and this is an expansion of an earlier work with the same title that proved highly popular.

For people like myself, and there must be a vast army of us, most computer manuals are impossibly technical and advanced, being apparently intended for people who are already expert users. This Step by Step book is easy to follow, with diagrams of the computer screen to help one over the unexpected hitches that await the unwary.

There is a good index, essential in a book of this nature, and the chapter headings give an idea of the subjects covered: working with programmes and windows, managing folders and files, working with documents in Word, and so forth.

I use my computer as a kind of advanced typewriter, with the facility to print, send and receive e-mail, and access the Internet. If you fall into this category, or something like it, this book should help you solve problems as they arise.

The book embraces information on Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, E-mail as well as the Internet and introductions to Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint and Access.

The really, really, really easy Step-by Step Computer Book 2 is published in soft cover by Struik, price R99,95. - Michael Green