Book details of 'The Windows Internet Tour Guide: Cruising the Internet the Easy Way/Book and Disk'

Title	The Windows Internet Tour Guide: Cruising the Internet the Easy Way/Book and Disk
Author(s)	Michael Fraase
ISBN	1566040817
Language	English
Published	June 1994
Publisher	Ventana Communications Group Inc.

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'The Windows Internet Tour Guide: Cruising the Internet the Easy Way/Book and Disk':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
Fraase's book is a real grab bag. It has some good information, some excellent writing, some gaps, some errors, some promises and a lot of graphics (of which the author seems inordinately fond). It isn't so much Windows specific as (NetManage's) Chameleon specific. Overall, the discussion of Internet applications and use covers the major topics, and gives the new user a reasonable understanding of the basic tools. The chapter on "Getting Connected" proposes a very broadly based and helpfully divided overview of the various options. It starts with talk of the university, government, and corporate options, of which many potential users remain unaware. The difference between dedicated dial-up IP and dial-up terminal is raised, although the promised discussion of dial-up terminal and commercial "email gateway" access never seems to materialize. The personal and community aspects of the net get a lot of space. Some important, but often neglected, aspects of file characteristics and transfer are raised, albeit briefly. The "Neat Stuff" section really does have some interesting and little known resources. On the other hand, the quality of the information is very uneven. The setup of the included programs is said to be easy, but I suspect that a very thorough familiarity with modems would be needed in view of the extremely brief instructions for the Chameleon software configuration. (The Chameleon Sampler software is included with the book.) The "points of interest" are interesting, but seldom have anything to do with the surrounding text. (A pleasant exception to this are some of the useful and helpful points in the email section.) The directions on how to use and access resources on the net are *not* going to be helpful unless you are using the included software (and that type of dial-up connection). Every set of directions assume a full, or at least dial-up, IP connection. Interestingly, the heavy reliance on gopher apparent in "The PC Internet Tour Guide" seems to be somewhat reduced (though not eliminated) here. There are a number of dated addresses, as well as some that are just plain wrong (one suspects through bad editing). Seasoned Internauts will be able to correct these errors, but then, seasoned Internauts aren't likely to be using the book. At one seminar I was told to promote this book because it had software. The software included may be useful, depending upon the user's level of access to the net, but is neither necessary nor unique. Most local Internet providers use dynamic address allocation, and that isn't covered in this book. In any case, the included materials are demonstration software, and available online. An interesting feature is the promise of an electronic update to the guide, distributed via electronic mail. The book has a coupon for two of the quarterly updates free; regular price is $25 per year. Although I've reviewed two other books in this series, I have not seen any of the updates. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994
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