BKCONINT.RVW 930914 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 103 Morris Street, Suite A Sebastopol, CA 95472 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 info@ora.com "Connecting to the Internet", Estrada, 1993, U$15.95 dlist-update@ora.com When I give my "Beginner's Guide to the Nets" talk, I know that one question is inevitable. "Great! How do I get an account?" Here, then, is a book directed at answering that question. Of course, without the talk to precede it, some explanation of the Internet is in order. Estrada's explanation comprises the first three chapters. It is framed in the language and style of one addressing the neophyte. Viewed from that perspective, though, the contents may be a little odd. The non-technical reader doesn't need to know, in chapter one, that the Internet is a packet- switched network using TCP/IP. Chapter two talks about connection speed and gives some useful examples. The distinction, however, between the speed of the local connection and the speed of the backbone is not as clearly specified. Also, the illustration of information as water may not be universally informative, given the necessity to keep converting books to gallons. (I suspect, as well, that the measures for audio and video are a bit ... conservative.) There is certainly room for a book for the computer novice who wants access to email, electronic discussions and a few files from the Internet. There is also room for a book which gives technical details about the Internet for those who are trying to attach mainframes, VAXen, workstations and even PCs in such a manner as to be fully part of the Internet. These two books need not be separate volumes, as the two groups of explanations could be accomodated in one book if sufficiently carefully planned. Apparently, this is what Estrada has tried to do. However, some readers may find the use of "novice style" throughout the book, even in those parts directed at the technical expert, to be somewhat disconcerting. Chapter three approaches the issue of an Internet connection the same way I counsel first-time computer buyers: don't ask "what's best," ask "what do I want to do?" Clearer than the first two, this chapter provides a good overview of the basic functions and services on the Internet. The discussion is quite brief (none of the mentions of email, conferencing or "chat" refer at all to online etiquette), and there is a strong emphasis on multimedia applications. Chapters four, five and six deal with the selection of connections, via providers, dial-up and lease lines. These chapters are generally very good, and provide both checklist, and charts to help you evaluate various services. Given the previous non-technical tone of the book, some of the inclusions (such as example "trouble tickets") may be odd, but chapter six seems to indicate an eagerness to be of service to technical types as well. Most of the rest of the book; most of the book, actually; is made up of two appendices which list providers through whom one can obtain Internet access of varying types and degrees. Appendix A is the Kaminski PDIAL list which describes those systems providing individual accounts with access to the Internet. While I have no reason to suspect the integrity of the American portion of the list, I note that Canada is represented only by a single company in Montreal. Canada Remote Systems, Mindlink and CyberStore are notable by their absence. The "international" section has only three listings. Appendix B is a list of those providers offering dedicated line connections, most likely for those wishing their own "domain". This DLIST is maintained by the author of the book. The American emphasis is still strong, but there are signs of good efforts being made to expand. Canada gets a whole section to itself, although BC is represented only by BCNet and Wimsey is unmentioned. There are still a number of areas missing. Commercial online services, such as CompuServe, GEnie, America On-Line and now (finally) Prodigy provide email links, although possibly at substantially higher charges than one might see through other providers. They are mentioned, but very briefly. Any Fidonet board that offers netmail can send messages to, and receive from, the Internet. If there are no providers locally, I often recommend checking with local universities and colleges. Freenet is mentioned only in the glossary. (In BC alone there is one functioning Freenet and three "under construction".) Regardless of these flaws, this is bound to become a major reference work as more and more individuals and businesses seek access to the Internet. The coverage that this work gives to both the PDIAL and DLIST references will lead to feedback which will strengthen them for future editions (as well as the online versions noted). copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCONINT.RVW 930914 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" (Oct. '94) Springer-Verlag