The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet [Paperback]

Peter Kent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

By the end of the year, International Data Corporation predicts that there will be 30 million World Wide Web users. Those new users will be looking for an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand guide -- here it is! With a humorous, light-hearted approach, this updated references provides an overview of everything the Internet has to offer.
-- Provides information that every Internet user needs in a format that is quick, accessible, and fun
-- Complete coverage of Internet software and hardware, service providers, email, chat groups, popular browsers, cool sites to visit, and more
-- CD-ROM provides useful Internet tools and utilities

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet is a great resource for the inexperienced cybertraveler. You'll learn how to get up and running on the Internet, to send and receive e-mail messages, to navigate around and find what you're looking for the World Wide Web, to participate in Internet discussion groups, and to communicate with friends and family. The guide also introduces you to Web multimedia, gopher, chat, and telnet and teaches you how to create your own Web page. All topics are presented in the easy-to-understand language that is customary within the Complete Idiot's Guide series. The attached CD-ROM includes everything you need to get connected plus numerous Web tools and electronic copies of this and other books in the series.

Review

This lighthearted but information-packed guide helps newcomers hook up to--and find their way around--this sprawling network. Featuring a disk packed with free software, this guide has everything reluctant users need to access the Internet. Introduces the must-know resources that make the Internet so popular, including electronic mail, government databases, news services, and much more. Features a disk with all the software users need to access the Internet. Humorous, non-technical approach helps beginners learn their way around. Includes "Speak Like a Geek" definitions, E-Z Shortcuts, and Techno-Nerd tips for the curious. Full-color tear-out road map shows users how to get to the most popular Internet services. Covers the Internet for IBM & Compatibles. -- Alpha Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: Que Pub; 3rd Bk&CD edition (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789708620
• ISBN-13: 978-0789708625
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,978,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty Basics and Then Some!, January 14, 2000

By 

J. Boyer "dfw1" (Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet (Paperback)

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet" is an instrumental reference and tutor for anyone wishing to plunge or even tip-toe into the Information Superhighway world! I have found this book outstanding as an preparation aid for teaching an "Introduction to the Internet" class. Much of the information contained in the book may already be common knowledge among internet enthusiasts, but the added bits of information on many topics (including valid websites for help!) are invaluable. In covering the "history" of the Internet, the book even goes into specifics of the past accomplishments and failures, leading up to today.

It's best to have some knowledge of Microsoft Windows (preferably Windows 98) prior to jumping to Internet activity, however. This book covers a few Windows basics.

If you're looking to get a late start into electronic information-age, this book is a good start, and at a pretty decent price!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RIght on target to teach the technically uncertain, March 30, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet (7th Edition) (Paperback)

At least in the United States, the demographics of people who are just beginning to use the Internet have changed. The bulk of the new users are now either the very young, or older people who are more technically uncertain. As is generally the case with the youthful brain, the young people need a minimum of direction, most of which must be focused towards keeping them away from the bad stuff. However, the older people need assistance in the very basics, which is where books like this are invaluable.
In teaching a couple of sections of community education Internet classes for elders, two things became very clear. The people in the class really want to learn how to use the Internet and they are capable, but must be treated with more sensitivity than others. Ironically, the hardest problem is convincing them that the old adage about teaching old dogs new tricks does not apply to the Internet. With the proper approach, they can learn how to use it to solve their problems.
This book takes just the right approach in teaching people like them how to use the Internet. Using soft spoken tones and with just the right amount of humor without descending into cuteness, this book provides the helping hand that is needed to get beginners up and enjoying the fruits of the web. Many of the latest controversies are also dealt with, such as the flaps over Napster and the Instant Message (IM) wars. I often field questions about such topics when I teach beginners how to use the net. Most are regular followers of the news and take an interest in what is happening in the world.
The growth in the number of Internet users in North America is slowing down and the background of new users has changed to include more adults who are not computer literate. This creates a different market for beginning books and this one hits that market dead center. With the right approach and covering all the basics, this book will help insure that the Internet continues to expand and serve a broader based constituency.