The Internet
Ernest Ackerman and Karen Hartman, Internet Today! Email, searching, and the World Wide Web, Chicago & London: Franklin, Beedle & Associates, 1999, pp.302, ISBN 1579581943.
This is a guide to practical Internet basics with questions and exercises. It is aimed at college students - particularly for use in the classroom. Full colour, large-format book sporting screenshots, explanatory cartoons and attractive design features.
Full review HERE
Brian Austin, Using the Internet, Warwickshire (UK): Computer
Step, 2000, pp.512, ISBN 1840781106.
Pocket-book guide to getting on line, searching the Internet, email techniques, newsgroups, making your own web pages, and understanding how it all works. Comprehensive indexes of service providers, newsgroups, a Web directory, and a glossary. Fully illustrated with screenshots.
Full review HERE
Sven Birkerts, The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of
Reading in an Electronic Age, Fawcett Columbine,
1994, ISBN 0449910091.
Technophobic defense of reading printed books - which Nicolas Negroponte calls 'ink squeezed onto dead trees'. Birkerts believes that we should preserve the tradition of reading on paper rather than the screen - and many might agree with him. This is one of the better technophobic arguments - but he's wrong of course.
Full review HERE
Kiersten Conner and Ed Krol, The Whole Internet: The Next Generation, Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 1999, pp.576, ISBN 1565924282.
Best-selling practical guide to how the Internet works. Includes emailing, searching, spam-busting, e-commerce, ftp, and trouble-shooting. This is the latest and much-improved edition - now much more readable, comprehensive, and up to date. An excellent resource. Highly recommended.
Full review HERE
Robert X. Cringley, Accidental Empires,
Addison-Wesley/Viking, 2nd edition, 1996, pp.358,
ISBN 0-14-025826-4.
Insider account of the early years of computer and Internet development. Robert Cringely takes a swashbuckling and irreverent view of the Big Names in the industry. This is a set text on the Open University's most popular course - You, Your Computer, and the Internet. Informative - and very amusing too.
Full review HERE
Chris DiBona et al, Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 1999, pp.272, ISBN 15659258237.
Collection of essays written by leading figures in the 'free software' movement. These people are in favour of giving away the results of their efforts, working collaboratively, and using the Internet as a resource for sharing. An IT futurist manifesto. This is the politics of the Internet - and you will not be surprised to hear that they are against firms such as Microsoft.
Full review HERE
Esther Dyson, Release 2.0: A design for living in
the digital age, Viking: London, 1997, pp.307, ISBN
0670876003.
Business investment advisor considers the social implications of IT and the Internet for education, citizenship, and commerce. This is a light perusal of the ethics of the internet. What do we do about pronography, copyright, and such matters? She raises more questions than she answers - but they are the questions which worry people.
Full review HERE
Bill Gates, The Road Ahead, Viking, 1996, pp.332,
ISBN 0140260404.
Chairman Bill's upbeat digital enthusiasm following an (undeclared) conversion to all things Net. He deals with the business and the politics of new technology - and claims he has the average user's interests at heart. It's easy to criticise him - though he does give away a lot of money. [But he's also got a lot left.] Fortunately, this is very easy to read.
Full review HERE
David Gauntlett, Web.Studies: Rewiring media studies for
the digital age, London: Arnold, 2000, pp.250, ISBN 0340760494.
Collection of academic 'media studies' essays on practical examples of how the Web is being used - from self-expression homepages, through teaching and learning, to exhibitionist Webcams, ethnography, and even site log analyses. This is the 'Cutural Studies' side of the Internet. Good Webographies.
Full review HERE
Gordon Graham, The Internet: a philosophical
inquiry, Routledge, 1999, pp.179, ISBN
041519749X.
A professional academic philosopher looks at the much-discussed issues of censorship, pornography, copyright, and related moral problems of the Internet. He takes a relaxed and tolerant line on most of these topics. This might be useful for those who need an introduction to Net ethics. Easy to read - and no surprise answers.
Full review HERE
Duncan Grey, The Internet in School, London: Cassell, 1999,
pp.155, ISBN: 0304705314.
Practical solutions to problems of using the Internet in schools - written by head of resources at a school in Cambridge UK. Explains the nature of the Net, how it works, capital equipment costs, online charges, and the formulation of a school-wide policy. Covers what equipment you will need, and how to get connected. There's also an explanation of the current relation of IT with government policies.
Full review HERE
Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon, Where Wizards Stay
Up Late: the origins of the Internet, Simon &
Schuster, 1998, pp.304, ISBN 0684832674.
Vivid account of the early years of computer and Net development. Focuses on the scientific developments and technological issues. Be prepared for some fairly heavy and serious reading - but it's worth the effort. This is a set text on the Open University course, You, Your Computer, and the Internet.
Full review HERE
Charles Jonscher, WiredLife, Bantam Press, 1999,
pp.245, ISBN 0593043154.
Sceptical thoughts on the nature of life in the digital age. Argues that a traditional approach should be kept alive. He also has a firm and informative grasp of the science, economics and technical achievement behind the current information revolution. Appears to have different titles, covers, and publishers for its UK and US editions.
Full review HERE
Peter Buckley, The Internet: The Rough Guide, London: Rough Guides, 1999, pp. 502, ISBN 1858283434
Best-selling cheap and cheerful pocket guide to how it works and what's available. Covers Net basics, how to get connected, and how to choose an Service Provider. He explains e-mail, file transfers, and newsgroups; search engines, how to create a Web page, Internet Relay Chat, online gaming, and how to stay connected while travelling. Ideal for beginners.
Full review HERE
Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web, London: Orion Business Books, 1999, pp.234, ISBN 0752820907.
First hand account of the history of the World Wide Web and its future - from the man who invented it. He covers the origins and the difficulties of convincing people it would all work. He discusses encryption, privacy, censorship, and domain name registration. Strongly endorses the benefits of XML, and looks into what might come next.
Full review HERE
John Naughton, A Brief History of the Future: The Origins of the Internet, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999, pp. 320, ISBN 0297643304.
Full historical account of Internet development re-told in upbeat manner by Open University course author. Describes the development of hypertext and the World Wide Web. The story flows from Vannevar Bush, via Douglas Engelbart and Ted Nelson, through to Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreesson. Perfect overview of Internet history.
Full review HERE
Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital, Hodder &
Stoughton, 1995, pp. 243, ISBN 0340645253.
Expanded versions of Negroponte's thought-provoking column in WIRED. Future potential of the Net from the head of development at the MIT multi-media laboratory.
Covers data compression; desktop publishing; ownership and intellectual property rights, holography, teleconferencing, speech recognition, virtual reality, and
how PCs will develop. There's something here for everybody.
Review HERE
Geoff Preston, The Internet in Easy Steps, Warwickshire: Computer Step,
2000, pp.384, ISBN: 1840780665.
A beginner's guide to getting online and using email, web browsers, Internet Relay Chat, and other basics. Also covers zipping and unzipping files, Usenet newsgroups, video and voice email, MP3 and making your own CDs, and then setting up your own web site. The advice he gives is simple and clear.
Full review HERE
Eric S. Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar:
Musings on Linux and Open Source by an
Accidental Revolutionary, Sebastopol: O'Reilly,
1999, pp.268, ISBN 1565927249.
Essays on the rise of the Open Sources movement and the development of Linux - a challenge to the monopoly of Microsoft. Basically, this is an impassioned argument in favour of a new strategy in software development which is released not only for free use, but collaborative further development.
Full review HERE
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