Whole Internet: User's Guide and Catalog - Academic Edition (Nutshell Handbook) [Paperback]

O'Reilly (Author), Ed Krol (Author), Bruce Klopfenstein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534506747 | ISBN-13: 978-0534506742 | Publication Date: December 13, 1995 | Edition: 1

An exclusive Edition of the best-selling Internet book on the market (which sold more than 250,000 copies in its first year!), this book unlocks the Internet's resources covering everything from the basics (electronic mail, news groups, and FTP archives, etc.) to the newest developments while avoiding use of highly technical language to make the text accessible to even novice computer users.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An exclusive academic edition of the bestselling Internet textbook on the market, The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog unlocks the Internet's vast resources. Co-published by O'Reilly & Associates and Integrated Media Group (IMG), an imprint of Wadsworth Publishing Company, and adapted into a textbook by Bruce Klopfenstein, this specialized book covers everything from basics such as electronic mail to the newest developments. By keeping technical language to a minimum, The Whole Internet is completely accessible to novice computer users. This edition adds creative figures depicting network functions to demonstrate otherwise complicated and technical information graphically, and adds research-oriented examples to help you use the Internet for academic research purposes. It also supplies information about news groups and FTP archives, eliminates some of the more complex UNIX information, and expands its glossary and resource listings. Other key elements in The Whole Internet include: An introduction to Netscape Navigator 2.0b An introduction to Multimedia email Coverage of the latest improvements to services including Gopher, Archie, and WAIS An Internet address for students to access additional assignments More information for Windows and Macintosh users Exercises at the end of each chapter to give direction to the users This book is intended for any student who wants to become an expert at accessing the Internet and World Wide Web's tremendous resources. It's a book for university, community college, and high school students and teachers. This revision of the second edition of The Whole Internet is designed for those who want to use the network particularly for research applications. It is not intended in any way as an engineer's guide to internetworking, and you do not need to learn UNIX to use it. Some references to UNIX remain, but those that do are there only for the benefit of those who already know a little bit about UNIX or might choose to learn more. The classroom instructor can certainly help steer his/her students clear of any sections that still sneak into the UNIX world.

About the Author

Krol has a degree in computer science from the University of Illinois. He is assistant director for Network Information Services, Computing and Communications Service Office, University of Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 609 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology; 1 edition (December 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534506747
• ISBN-13: 978-0534506742
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,771,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Internet Handbook!, October 19, 1999

By 

Eileen ([e-mail]) (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whole Internet: User's Guide and Catalog - Academic Edition (Nutshell Handbook) (Paperback)

Very well written! The organization of this book offers the reader the option to learn a little or dig deeper, either way, the reader will gain functional, usable knowledge. Each chapter builds upon itself, making digestion of complex material very simple. I highly recommend reading this if you want more than AOL has to offer!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for net-novices who aren't computer-illiterates, February 9, 1998

By 

Levi (Reston, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog (Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog) (Paperback)

The first book I ever read about the internet. I got this book way back in '92 (or perhaps the spring of '93). It was one of only two books that were out (at least that people knew about on the net), the other one being The Hitchikers Guide to the Internet, or something like that. I still have the old copy, so I can't vouch for the newest releases, but since the author is the same, I trust his text has only improved. It was a great book to start out learning about the net because it didn't just skim the surface, but got into the nitty gritty of many different aspects, including email, ftp, the web (then in its infancy), usenet news, telnet, WAIS, GOPHER, and even connecting your computer to the net (not an easy task in 1992!), and more, all in just 350 or so pages! It was enough to get me hooked and to make all the cryptic unix commands that you had to deal with if you were connecting via a university (not many other choices back then) seem a little less cryptic. If you are a relative newcomer to the net, this book is a great place to start, unless you are very computer-illiterate, in which case you'll probably have an easier time with a Dummies book which doesn't go into as much detail. Even for those who are not so new to the net, Kroll has a good deal of historical information about the net and some stuff on the actual network systems that connect everything - the mbones and all that - so you will gain a lot from this as well. All in all, a very useful book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but slightly out of date, December 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog (Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog) (Paperback)

I really liked this book. It was recommended to me by a web-designer friend. He gave me the book to read and told me what was out of date. The parts that are still usable were very informative, but when it comes to computers you must admit that it is better to get a new publication. I hope he writes a third edition soon, I'll buy the first copy.