The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 FrontRunner: Your Hands-On Introduction to Microsoft's New Web Browser':
Reviewer amazon.com wrote:Penned by three self-professed ex-Netscape junkies, this book uses a cheeky tone to bring you up to speed with Microsoft's showpiece browser. You'll have to wade through a certain amount of Web cheerleading, but you'll learn the basics of setup and surfing, as well as some useful tricks, such as how to use Microsoft Internet mail while interacting with America Online (AOL) and CompuServe. Other topics covered include how to customize Microsoft Network (MSN), how to get the most from newsgroups, how to do cross-postings, and how to set up timesaving mail groups. The guide does discuss heavier topics too, such as ActiveX and how much of your hard drive to use for cached files. It's a colorful book that's got some attitude and lots of great tips.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
In a not very well identified piece at the front of the book, someone states
that the objective of this book series "is to provide [the reader] with the
best possible information on new technology products the day they're released
to the public. Not `soft stuff' or hot air, either--just real, useful,
practical information ..." Well, quick off the mark I can give them, but this
book certainly is mostly soft stuff and hot air.
There is decent documentation for Internet Explorer here, and given that third
party documentation is the only documentation that you'll find, that is a plus.
But the book certainly is not an unbiased look at the product. There are
repeated cries that "Internet Explorer 3.0 will dramatically shift how the
world views the Internet." The content, however, does not support that
statement. IE does Web browsing, IE does downloads, IE does email (well, not
yet), IE does news (well, not yet), but then so do other browsers. There is
mention of additional and advanced functions, but that is all there is:
mention. The book states that "MSIE is the first browser to support the safe
downloading of code and controls by offering code signing". This may be
technically true, but without a definition and explanation of "code signing" it
is meaningless.
Good enough docs if you need docs for IE. Watch out for details of functions
that don't exist yet.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996
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