Thanks for the support! According to many posters here, I should also likely Google programming languages, learn to program, write my own IM/chat application, etc. There are a lot of people on Slashdot who have already gone through all the research and have a ton of experience using a particular server or client. I didn't ask this question on other boards or sites because I knew I wouldn't get honest, helpful answers from the other sites... I chose Slashdot because the community is resourceful, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Thanks again for your post!

I work for a helpdesk and I find that the most difficult thing to get out of a user is what the heck they are trying to do. "I can't get into my system!" can mean Windows, a terminal session, VPN, AS/400, Unix, AIX, HPUX, webmail, Exchange, or any of the other 10 proprietary "systems" my company uses. I am also in charge of training all the n00bs. The first thing I tell them is that our employees are the stupidest people you will ever meet. The second is that getting the information out of them that you will need to solve their problem is 90% of the battle. It sure is easy to be smug and arrogant about knowing how to use PCs (and tech in general) when you work at the helpdesk, but it is always settling to remember that I sure as heck couldn't be a pharmacist (like most of the callers are).

SO... I guess one thing I would include would be to work hard to distinguish the difference between (for example) Windows and Office and Word. Windows = Operating system. Office = Application Suite. Word = word processing program. Yet somehow teach the reader that all of this is software at the same time. This isn't an easy task in a Windows-centric world (since Windows is document-based, rather than application based like Mac OS X). Good luck to you! I look forward to buying your book for my parents next Christmas.