The Internet: The Missing Manual

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 460 pages
• Published by: Pogue Press
• Edition: 1st Edition July 21, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 059652742X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0596527426
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Product Description


The Internet is almost synonymous with change--that's one of its charms, and one of its headaches. You may think you know the Internet, but are you really up to speed on internet telephones, movie and TV downloading, blogging, gaming, online banking, dating, and photosharing?
This utterly current book covers:

Getting Online. Readers will have all the information they need to decide what kind of broadband connection works best for them, which browser they should use, and what kind of spyware-fighting and virus-and spam-protection measures they need to protect themselves.

Finding Information. Google may be the leading search site, but it's certainly not the only game in town. This book introduces a diverse and useful collection of sites that help uncover everything from health care information, to shopping, travel and finance, to dependable reviews and ratings.

Movies, music, and photos. The Web's teeming with entertainment--and not just the sort of postage-stamp sized videos that only a geek could love. Learn where to download movies, watch TV online, listen to music, play games, and post and share photographs with friends.

Keeping in touch. Email's only the beginning. This book introduces readers to the many tools that make the modern Internet such a great way to stay connected. From Web-based discussion groups to instant messaging programs, and from blogs and podcasts to Internet-based phone calls, this book will help you join the conversation.

Ideal for anyone just venturing into cyberspace, this book is also perfect for more experienced users who could use an update to today's most exciting internet applications.

About The Author
J.D. Biersdorfer has been writing the weekly Q&A column for the Circuits section of The New York Times since 1998, and she occasionally writes feature stories and how-to articles for the same section. She has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review and the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, among other publications, and has contributed essays on the collision of pop culture and technology for the books The Education of the E-Designer (2001) and Sex Appeal (2000), both published by Allworth Press. She is the author of iPod Shuffle Fan Book and iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual.

David Pogue, Yale '85, is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. With nearly 3 million books in print, he is also one of the world's bestselling how-to authors, having written or co-written seven books in the "for Dummies" series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music), along with several computer-humor books and a technothriller, "Hard Drive" (a New York Times "notable book of the year"). Pogue is also the creator and primary author of the Missing Manual series, complete, funny computer books. Titles in the series include Mac OS X, Windows, iPod, Microsoft Office, iPhoto, Dreamweaver, iMovie, and many others. His Web page is www.davidpogue.com, and his email address is david@pogueman.com.

Reader Reviews
Back in the 90s, the Whole Internet was the book to read to learn about the Internet. Sadly, that book has gone out of print. But this book (the latest in the Missing Manual series) essentially picks up where that book left off. And while this may indeed be a book more suited to beginning (yes Virginia, there still are folk who aren't on the Internet) and intermediate users, there's still enough information here that even long time Internet users like myself can learn something new. In my case, it was learning about podcasts, RSS feeds, more about VOIP, and online backup and storage sites. The Internet has gotten so big and spawned so many different technologies over the past fifteen years alone, that it can be a big challenge to keep up with the constant changes. All of them are documented in this book. It gives a general look at all things not just with the topics I mention here, but also topics like searching and surfing the web, blogs, web sites that list peer reviews (sorta like this review!), shopping online, games, music, videos, communicating with others online (whether it's chat rooms, mailing lists, or "community sites"), even ways of staying safe and secure online. There are countless books available about the Internet and its many forms, but this is a great book to have if you need a well-written all purpose book about the 'Net.