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The Internet Book: Everything You Need to Know About Computer Networking and How the Internet Works (4th Edition)
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List Price:
$62.00
Global Home Business Price:
$44.18
Your Savings: $ 17.82 ( 29% )
Subject To Change Without Notice
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.678
EAN: 9780132335539
ISBN: 0132335530
Label: Prentice Hall
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: 2006-09-08
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Studio: Prentice Hall
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Editorial Reviews:
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Internet Book, The: Everything You Need to Know About Computer Networking and How the Internet Works, 4/e utilizes a non-technical perspective to explain the technology of how computers communicate, what the Internet is, how the Internet works, and what the Internet can do for people. This book works to fully connect readers to the “big picture” by presenting a solid overview of networking and the Internet, rather than burying them with details. Comer assumes no prior background in computer networking or the Internet. Introduces computer communication system concepts and technology, reviews the history of the Internet and its growth, describes basic Internet technology and capabilities, and describes services currently available on the Internet and how to use them. For anyone interested in learning how to navigate the Internet to its full potential.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Have More Questions Than Answers
Comment: Based on the glowing praise of previous editions of this book and reviews of this book I purchased. I am very new to networking and was very excited to purchase based on all the outstanding reviews.
Unfortunately I am disappointed overall. While the author does have a very good way of presenting the information and provides tremendous analogies to illustrate concepts, there really is no "meat" to the book. I found myself excited to grasp the basic idea of each chapter only to be disappointed that the author does not take it further. It really does not teach you how things work. It is too much of an overview. I would also agree with other reviews that there is a lot of useless historical info that is very interesting but is really just filler.
At $50+, this book really does not deliver on the expectation. The authors writing style and examples are excellent but the ultimate information content is lacking. At the end I found myself with far more questions than I had before reading it. Unless you are extraordinarily new to computers I think readers will find this to be a disappointment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: MBA Text
Comment: This book was required reading for an MBA class. The simplicity of the technical explanations, as well as the simple diagrams make it an easy book to understand. There are a few places where I wish the author would delve a bit deeper, on the topic of security as one example. Overall though, a good book for those who need a basic understanding of internet technology.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a good book to start if you are scared.
Comment: The author is one of the "founding fathers" of the internet, he does explain basic concepts clearly. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any sense of humor. The book reminded me a conversation between an old-fashioned professor and his grandkids. Also, some material is outdated in 2005, (e.g. there is a lot of pages devoted to the bulletin board system, and no mention of instant messaging.)
Customer Rating:
Summary: You're no "dummy" but new? This one's for you.
Comment: He's the leader in his field. I've used his books for teaching and as referrals. He's so readable but does not talk down to you like the silly "dummy" stuff. You'll be so glad you gave this a try.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A basic guide for novice users.
Comment: Although initially frightened by all the acronyms surrounding the Internet and its language, I was put as ease while reading Comer's book. I found that it was written for a person like myself. I have some amount of knowledge of how the Internet and other systems work, but I am a typical user of computer applications and am happy when my machine gives me the information I ask of it. Required reading in a college class is often the only reading I've done for the past seven years. I used to be a reader who read for many reasons. Some days I wanted to be transported away into a science fiction novel. Other days I wanted to live the life of another while reading a fascinating piece of fiction. Sometimes, due to necessity, I read a non-fiction work in order to educate myself just in case I need to know something. Upon picking up Comer's book, I felt that I didn't really need to know much about the Internet. However, after reading, I find that my curiosity was aroused. In fact, Comer dedicates the book to "Everyone Who Is Curious." I became one of these people. Comer's writing was a highlight of the book. The complex became simple in regards to understanding the inner-workings of different systems. I found this book to be a perfect companion for the class as it helped me understand a number of concepts in theories that I simply could not understand no matter how many people explained it in the weekly postings. While reading reviews about the book from an Internet book supply company, many critics are not bashful in their feeling that Comer spent too much time relating the history of the Internet to the reader. I wholeheartedly disagree with these critics and found that the history of the Internet had to be explained in order to fully understand why certain features of the Internet and its accompanying systems are in existence today. The book seemed to be quite simply a recap of all that has led up to today's modern systems. LANs, WANs, and other acronyms had to be explained for the Internet novice. Comer did an excellent job of introducing these areas and their relation to where we are today in regards to technology. Others may have wanted him to be somewhat controversial in his interpretations of where the Internet will lead us. For those people, I would suggest another text. For a person like myself, this text was near perfection. There is only major problem that I did have with Comer's book. With my limited knowledge does come some understanding of today's Internet markets. I believe that if Comer would have mentioned a few prominent companies while explaining certain aspects of the Internet, the book may have been easier to read. I found myself writing questions on the margins such as, "Is this what Netscape is?" His only mentioning of some real world company was of Purdue University. It is only as I write my response to this question that I read that he is a professor at that University. I'm not sure why companies would refuse to give permission for Comer to name them while explaining certain areas. One would think that free publicity is always welcome. I'm not sure if Comer is well known throughout the Internet world. Perhaps he is some type of radical that companies fear. Either way, it would have been easier to understand some concepts if the reader could relate them to aspects in the real world.
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