Online! The Book by John C. Dvorak, Wendy Taylor, Chris Pirillo, Wendy Taylor (With), Chris Pirillo

From the Publisher

The perfect gift for any computer user!
Are you getting the best of the Internet? No way! The Web's packed with great sites you haven't discovered. Great tools you haven't tried. Great stuff you haven't done.

But that's about to change!

You're looking at an amazing collection of today's coolest Web stuff. Hundreds of incredible ideas, tips, techniques, and sites...all compiled by three legendary Web and PC insiders. Here's just a taste of what you'll learn...

• Trash that spam: no more junk email
• Download faster and smarter
• Protect yourself against today's toughest viruses and hackers
• Build your own next-generation Web site, fast
• Blog the world...even distribute your personal content to hundreds of sites
• Deliver your own streaming media broadcasts
• Cut the wires and go mobile
• Connect to your office PC over the Web
• Find the Web community you've been searching for
• Make the most of peer-to-peer networks
• Use your online connection to make cheap, high-quality phone calls

Includes complete, up-to-the-minute primer for beginners!

Victoria Recano

This is the most practical and valuable book about the Internet you can get. A perfect reference for anyone who goes online. (Inside Edition)

Lance Ulanoff

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Internet and really ought to ask. I love this book! (Executive Editor, PCMAG.COM)

What People Are Saying

Ron White
For 20 years or more, no one else has given us the same no-nonsense, in-your-face advice John C. Dvorak has. His expertise and influence among makers and consumers of software and hardware are legendary, as is the dry sardonic humor he brings to everything he writes about. If you want to know why you should go online and what to do once you get there, you can trust Dvorak's advice like you would trust your mother's--if Mom were intimately knowledgeable about computing, and if she could make you laugh while pointing out computing's foibles. (author "How Computers Work, 10th Anniversary Edition")

Scott Cook
If you go online, see how much more you can gain, without the pain. Fascinating, fun, and delightfully written. The invaluable tool for everyone that makes you laugh out loud to read. (Founder and Chairman of Intuit Software)

William R. Hearst III
There is only one Dvorak. He invented the idea that technology was as worth covering as news, he wrote the first gossip column on the inductry, and even has answered tech questions on call-in shows. He's the Orson Wells to Bill Gates's Kane. (Publisher and Venture Capitalist)

Marc Canter
Chris Pirillo is one of those original geeks, dating back to when he first brought common sense to the Help Desk. From there he's built bridges between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, landing somewhere in a conceptual San Luis Obispo--the grey area between content and technology. (Founder, Macromedia )

Brett Trout
Pirillo is truly the Internet guru of our times. Hundreds of thousands of his 'Gnomie' followers can't be wrong. Online! is a Rosetta Stone, bringing the priceless, yet nearly costless, millennial treasure of the Internet to the masses. Online! is the first truly practical book about the Internet, exploring the depth of its power, without the typical techno-jargon. Online! will leave you asking how you ever got along without it. (author of "Internet Laws Affecting Your Company" and Chair of the Iowa State Bar Association Technology Committee)

Ken White
For hundreds of thousands of computer users, Chris Pirillo is the face of the Internet. Combining a sharp wit and the technical knowledge that comes with living computers and the Internet 24/7, Chris simplifies complex technical issues, helps computer users make informed decisions in the crowded software marketplace, and manages to entertain while still delivering the facts. By embracing technology as a way of life, this techno-geek has become the net's most trusted voice. (CEO, NextUp.com)

Robert Scoble
Chris Pirillo is at the center of the digital universe. (Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation)

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Forewords & Introductions

Table of Contents

Forewords & Introductions

Introduction

This book is about everything you ever wanted to know about going online and were afraid to ask. Unlike other books of this type, we go overboard and cover everything we can think of: from getting your first modem or DSL connection to selling something using online and email marketing tricks. The book is, simply put, about everything that has anything to do with going online, presented in the most comprehensive manner we can.

The problem with past books about the Internet and the Web is that they are too focused on one or two topics. We noticed that the market lacked a book that covers everything and offers people an introduction to a topic and the ability to decide whether they want to learn more by specializing. This doesn't mean that this book is shallow because it isn't. It means that it is an in-depth primer for every topic that has to do with online, Internet, and Web activity.

The authors have worked closely with computer users and the public at large for decades, and we've all learned that there are gaps in knowledge that do not seem to be addressed by either books or magazines. There are fewer and fewer books for beginners that take a broader sweep than today's specialty book. We've further discovered that most users are neither beginners nor experts but perpetually intermediate users. There is virtually nothing out there for them, either. And finally, the expert users tend to be like the books themselves--expert in limited arenas. Out of this thinking, this book was born. It addresses common gaps in information and introduces people to new and exciting aspects of the online world they may otherwise never discover. The book is designed to beused as a reference, a guide, and an overview of all topics related to the world of online communications.

To make the book even more valuable, we've added a Web site that you can access for more in-depth information and trends that will affect the online world. You can use it to discover additional new links and to find more features and articles on new topics of interest. Product listings and free software will be posted on the site, as well as new material written by the authors and others.

Over the next few decades, you and your friends will be spending thousands of dollars just to maintain a connection with the online world. The monthly fees add up over time, and we think it's a shame if you do not get your money's worth. We're all convinced that if you know more about the Net, you'll get more out of it. In fact, you should greatly benefit from efficient use of the Internet, enough so that the cost of being online will be offset quickly. And it's not that we think everyone should run Web sites or online businesses. It's just that the power of the Internet and the Web in particular, combined with the efficiency of email, should make your life easier. And it should also make your work life easier. After all, knowledge is power, and the online world gives you access to more knowledge than you can ever absorb.

So read this book cover to cover or browse it when you have to. But above all, keep it nearby.