The time has come for all of you visual learners out there to come out of the closet and declare your independence from the multitude of indecipherable manuals and computer books that are always tossed aside in disgust.

About three years ago I discovered VisiBooks, a concept developed by Chris Charuhas that uses pictures and very few words to teach us how to use everything from Microsoft Windows to Adobe Photoshop.

The idea here is to immerse readers into a classroom environment where they're shown, rather than told, how to use various programs. This way they get the nurturing of a professional tutor (or teacher) without spending the big bucks on a two-week course.

All of these books are written by classroom instructors that have experience working with beginners, making it easy for even folks like me to understand the most complex concepts. It's actually like having a teacher standing next to you guiding you through the process, step-by-step.

Simply put, these books make it easier for us to understand the aspects of using various programs, identifying each task and then breaking them down into simple steps that are easy to follow. Each step is illustrated and reinforced by citing examples and giving us exercises to perform, reinforcing what we have just learned.

Now, Charuhas has expanded his catalog of books to include Windows XP, all the components of Microsoft Office 2003, Dreamweaver and even a program as complex as Photoshop.

These new titles include: "FrontPage 2003 for Visual Learners," "Paint Shop Pro 8 for Visual Learners," "Windows XP for Visual Learners," "Excel 2003 for Visual Learners," "PowerPoint 2003 for Visual Learners," "Photoshop CS for Visual Learners," "Publisher 2003 for Visual Learners," "Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Visual Learners," "Word 2003 for Visual Learners," and "Access 2003 for Visual Learners."

Unfortunately, as you often hear in commercials for the latest gadgets on TV, these books aren't available in stores. Instead you have to visit Charuhas' Web site at www.visibooks.com where you have a choice of downloading copies of each book for $4.95 or purchasing spiral-bound copies for $21.95.

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