Acknowledgments

My deepest thanks to Rick Kughen and the Que Publishing team, who love cool, new consumer-oriented technologies as much as I do.

I'd also like to express my appreciation to Tom Laemmle from Microsoft for answering endless questions, and sending me beta after beta as I tried to write knowledgeably about an operating system that seemed to be evolving on a daily basis. Ed Rich, the Windows eHome program manager, also generously gave of his time to track down pesky details and troubleshoot undocumented procedures. He even performed a comprehensive technical edit of the book just days before its publication. Special thanks also go to Kristen Reeves representing Hewlett-Packard, and the PR folks from Gateway, Toshiba, ABS Technologies, Sonic, Movielink, CinemaNow, and other companies who were so accommodating with their products and knowledge.

Above all, I'd like to thank my family ”Julie, Nick, Aaron & Jenna ”for their love, support, and forbearance. I couldn't have done it without them (and I wouldn't have wanted to, anyway).