Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet---Better, Faster, Easier [Paperback]

Mark Frauenfelder (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 12, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0312363338 | ISBN-13: 978-0312363338 | Edition: 1st

In Rule the Web, you'll learn how to:

* Browse recklessly, free from viruses, ads, and spyware

* Turn your browser into a secure and powerful anywhere office

* Raze your old home page and build a modern Web masterpiece

* Get the news so fast it’ll leave skidmarks on your inbox

* Fire your broker and let the Internet make you rich

* Claim your fifteen megabytes of fame with a blog or podcast

You use the Web to shop, do your banking, have fun, find facts, connect with family, share your thoughts with the world, and more. But aren’t you curious about what else the Web can do for you? Or if there are better, faster, or easier ways to do what you’re already doing? Let the world’s foremost technology writer, Mark Frauenfelder, help you unlock the Internet’s potential—and open up a richer, nimbler, and more useful trove of resources and services, including:
 
EXPRESS YOURSELF, SAFELY. Create and share blogs, podcasts, and online video with friends, family, and millions of potential audience members, while protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud.
 
DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Tackle even the most complex online tasks with ease, from whipping up a gorgeous Web site to doing all your work faster and more efficiently within your browser, from word processing to investing to planning a party.
 
THE RIGHT WAY, EVERY TIME. Master state-of-the-art techniques for doing everything from selling your house to shopping for electronics, with hundreds of carefully researched tips and tricks.
 
TIPS FROM THE INSIDERS. Mark has asked dozens of the best bloggers around to share their favorite tips on getting the most out of the Web.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Frauenfelder knows the answer to every question you have ever asked. Luckily he has written it all down here for you, on non-electric pages which even you can understand."--John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
 
"Frauenfelder doesn't just live on the cutting edge…he is the cutting edge."--Seth Godin, author of Small is the New Big

 

"When it comes to capturing the zeitgeist of the Web, nobody does it better than Mark Frauenfelder."--John Battelle, author of The Search

 

"Rule the Web is like The Joy of Cooking, only it's about the Web instead of meatloaf."--Xeni Jardin, NPR News technology contributor

About the Author

Mark Frauenfelder is the founding editor of the world's most popular blog, BoingBoing.net, as well as the editor-in-chief of the hit technology magazine Make. Formerly an editor at Wired and a technology columnist for Playboy, he is frequently interviewed for television, radio, and print, including MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and Business Week.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363338
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363338
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a writer and illustrator living in Los Angeles. I am the editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine (http://makezine.com) I co-founded bOING bOING magazine, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Wired Online. I write a monthly column for Playboy called 'Living Online,' and was the co-editor of The Happy Mutant Handbook (Putnam-Berkley, 1995). Find out more about me at http://boingboing.net

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars might be the most valuable reference book I own June 15, 2007

By MJQ

Format:Paperback

Create your owk wiki? Find coupon codes? Music way cheaper than Itunes? Bittorrent files? Want to text your friend money? Skype? Bluetooth?

How are we supposed to know everything we can get out of the internet? We didn't learn it in school and one would feel dorky for buying Internet For Dummies.

The cool thing about this book is it answers every question you ever had about using the internet, and the cooler thing is it answers questions you wished you ask. The tone is breezy - never boring or didactic. There's a lot in here for web neophytes and a lot for people that consider themselves web experts. You can tell the author's labour of love is getting the most out of the internet, and he's filtered that love into a mind opening reference book.

It'll be next to my computer for a long time.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars For beginners only September 23, 2007

By Tony

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

While the author is a very successful blogger the blog he is famous for founding is a non-technical one, Boing Boing - it does feature some techie news links but if you bother following the tech news the ones at Boing Boing are always a few days old. The tips and tools he presents are all things that anyone with technical common sense can find within ten minutes doing a simple search. I do recommend it if you are the type of person who likes dead trees. I would not have bought it had I known the information would be this light. From a positive point of view the book is clear and well written and it is good to have recommendations from someone with an honest perspective.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening For the Newest of Users, But Much "Already Knew That" for Old Hands July 29, 2007

By Michael Fleming

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Maybe it's gratifying to know that I could already have done much of what's in Mark's book, but I don't think I'm all that savvy compared to a couple of million other people who regularly use the Web for our work and home lives. I have dog-eared a number of pages that I intend to go up and try, which is why this is definitely worth it even for me, but I think the value would be even greater for the people who don't already consider themselves marginally power Web-Heads.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Put It Down August 1, 2007

By Deb and Brad Schepp

Format:Paperback

Ok, so we're nerds and have been at this Internet stuff for years and years now. We thought we were pretty wired into what's going on. This book showed us just how much we have to learn. We have it by our computer and in the two days we've had it we've dipped into it a dozen times or so (and we should be doing other things). Whether you run a web site, or are just curious about how to get the most out of what's on the web we guarantee you this book will teach you a thing or two. We've already created new web pages in a flash, found new places to post content, found out about a fantastic people search tool, and a whole lot more. Can you tell we like this book?

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Horray for Mark June 28, 2007

By G. Caro

Format:Paperback

Mark Frauenfelder has written a fantastic book on harnessing the power of the web. He gives wonderfully clear and concise explanations about cool technology that lets you be more productive and better informed. Every page has something that I found useful. It is a wonderful reference. I'm sure I'll be reaching for it over and over again in the future. Frauenfelder is without a doubt one of the shining stars on the web.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Full of good info August 9, 2007

By N. Bowerbank

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Critics will tell you that there's nothing in here that you couldn't find out for yourself given a couple hours to spend time researching it on the Internet. And that's true. But the reason this book is great isn't because it's a compendium of useful knowledge. No, the thing that's great about this book is it's a compendium of useful knowledge about things you never heard of but wish you had. After a couple of hours with this book you'll have ideas about new ways to do some things, and the information you need to actually be able to accomplish it. It's great.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Already read Boingboing? You might not find anything new here... July 13, 2007

By B. Thedell

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's an alright book. There are lots of useful tips, and lots of rather obvious ones. I think this would be a *great* book for a web newbie; if you read Frauenfelder's [...], however, you're already up on at least 1/3rd of these tips. If you read technology blogs and news sites regularly, then you know another 1/3rd.

I debated giving it four stars; it feels like a "three and a half" to me. Maybe I'd rate it higher if more of the material were new to me.

Still, recommended if you can buy it at or near the $10 amazon rate.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get out your highlighters, folks! August 21, 2007

By Mary K. Lafrance

Format:Paperback

If the idea of reading another technical manual makes you yawn, let me assure you that this is NOT that kind of manual. Reading this book was like spending time with a bag of chocolate chip cookies. I started out saying I'd just read one chapter and soon found I'd read the whole book in an evening. Frauenfelder, well-known in internet circles for his websites, blogs and articles, is also a graphic designer and his right-brain comes in handy for making this book both interesting and informative.

The first page of chapter one contains a key bit of information for all entrepreneurs in today's internet age and sets the tone for the entire book: "You no longer need money to have your voice heard by a large audience; you just need to be interesting." Get out your highlighters, folks!

Frauenfelder goes on to take readers through the entire website set-up process, quickly and easily, explaining the unexplainable in a way that makes an experienced web-user like myself drop their jaw in amazement. He does show a fondness for all things "Google", which I initially found surprising because it seemed so EASY, but, hey, this guy obviously knows what he's talking about. Google for everything is part of the beautiful simplicity of his thesis. From "What's a Domain Name?" to "How Can I Encrypt My Email?" to "How Can I Prevent My PC from Becoming a "Spam Zombie"?" - it's all in here. All of the stuff that many of us take for granted and some of us never thought to ask.
Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet---Better, Faster, Easier