Amazon.co.uk Review
Here we have an introductory Internet book (indeed, an introduction to intermediate-level personal computing in a lot of ways) that is well suited to people who don't mind reading.
Web 101: Making the Net Work for You is meant as a textbook for use in a classroom, so it's also for people who don't mind spending money. Is this book accurate, thorough and readable? Yes. Is it a good value? Not really. Don't hesitate to buy it if you need it for a class, though--you won't be disappointed.
Author Wendy Lehnert assumes her readers know next to nothing about the Internet, and proceeds to educate them largely through the "naming of parts" approach. This book teems with lists of terms, plus other textbook features like questions and exercises at the end of each chapter. Some of the questions associated with the online exercises seem kind of silly ("What did you have to do to view your postcard?"), but should serve to push reluctant surfers online. Lehnert takes care to allay readers' fears about scams, viruses and security, explaining what the hazards are and how they are best avoided. She also likes to treat the Internet as a community to be joined, rather than as a technology to be coped with. In a typical section, she explains how to shop for software by consulting expert reviews on information sites, as well as visiting software shops. --David Wall
Product Description
- The book presents a completely new and innovative approach to the Web that is tailored to individual users' needs, as opposed to simply studying tools that are used on the Web. It is designed around important issues that all users of the World Wide Web need to know to take full advantage of its power. Upon using this book, students will be familiar with:
- Protecting themselves on the Internet by studying potential consequences, including legal ramifications and technical and personal complications;
- Selecting the mail software that best suits their needs, and then using the best options and techniques for managing the vast amounts of mail that will follow;
- How to quickly and accurately access the best information on the Internet through effective search techniques;
- Determining the value of Virtual Communities on the Web, and mastering the software options that are of value when a part of Virtual Communities (ie: mail digests, listerv commands, Usenet display options, and kill files);
- Creating Web Pages, both with a minimal knowledge of HTML in combination with key tools, or with HTML and JavaScript, in order to create good-looking Web pages;
- How to locate software worth having, and how to safely download and install software while protecting themselves from computer viruses, as well as understanding the most commonly used file formats, file utilities, file archives, self-extracting files, installers, and uninstallers;
- How to make their browser take full advantage of multimedia Web sites, including use of audio and video files, creating a music library, burning their own music CDs, putting photos and sounds on their Web pages, and expanding their bandwidth without shrinking their wallets;
- How to make the most out of Electronic Commerce, including comparison shopping, safe use of credit cards online, protecting themselves in an online auction, and the privacy trade-offs and prospective pitfalls of shopping in the online world;
- How to encrypt their online communication to ensure privacy;
- How to coordinate their Internet access from multiple points-of-access, including Telnet and FTP.
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