The Internet Made Simple - Softcover

McBride, P. K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0750645768 ISBN 13: 9780750645768

Publisher: Made Simple, 1999

Synopsis

A handbook to using the Internet. It covers: setting up the connection; the Web browsers; navigating the Web; using email; reading newsgroups; searching the Internet; and downloading files; creating Web pages; and the use of both Netscape and Explorer.

About this title

Review

The Internet is fast becoming an essential part of everyday life. Now you can buy your weekly groceries, check the football results and order great books and CDs simply at the click of your mouse button. But surfing alone on the Internet for the first time can be difficult and confusing. It is not always immediately clear how to get to the best sites, and the complicated jargon can be off-putting. Internet novices who are finding surfing a bit frustrating will therefore be grateful to have the opportunity to read the second edition of P.K. McBride's The Internet Made Simple.

The guide is split into clear sections covering the background to the Net, how to get online and the ways to use e-mail. There are also introductions to using search engines, newsgroups and, for the ambitious, building your own Web site.

The strength of this book is the use of screen shots to explain how the Internet can work for you. It provides a particularly good explanation of all the different features of a typical Internet browser, with arrows pointing to the different tools you see on your PC screen. McBride gives step-by-step instructions for using Web-based directories like Yahoo!, clearly illustrating and work with the many responses they can generate.

It's impossible to keep up with all the latest developments on the Internet, and some sections seem dated. The section on banks and finance, for example, doesn't mention the growth of online trading, and the shopping section doesn't cover online loyalty card schemes or auctions. But overall, Internet Made Simple successfully provides surfing novices with a handy guide and the basic tools to reduce the stress of those exciting first days on the Web.--Justin Hunt

About the Author

Mac's first steps into computing came 19 years ago when he taught himself Basic on a ZX81. He started his first book shortly afterwards, when he realised that (a) programming was fun, and (b) no-one was writing simple books on it. Since then he has programmed in, taught and/or written about 9 varieties of Basic, 3 Pascals, 2 Cs, Assembler, Cobol and Java, 5 spreadsheets, 3 databases, 4 word-processors, and 6 operating systems. He is looking forward to the time when developers stop producing new software and books don't go out of date in a couple of years. Mac can usually be found either in the kitchen or running a taxi service for his family. He lives in Southampton with 4 children, 2 cats and 40 fishes. Web page: homepages.tcp.co.uk/~macbride Mac is the author of the following Made Simple books: The Internet for Windows 95 (Second Edition) The Internet for Windows 3.1 (First Edition) The Internet for Windows 95 (First Edition) The Internet for Windows 98 The Internet (Colour Edition) First Edition the Internet (Colour Edition) Second Edition Office 95 Office 97 Office 2000 Works for Windows 3.1 Works for Windows 95 Windows 3.1 Windows 95 Windows 98 Internet Resources Microsoft Networking Explorer 3.0 Explorer 4.0 Explorer 5.0 Netscape Navigator Searching the Internet Java JavaScript Pascal UNIX Outlook 2000 Sage Accounts HTML 4.0 Mac is also the series advisor/editor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Made Simple
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750645768
• ISBN 13: 9780750645768
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 270