Gioved, 4 novembre 1993 16:30:14 From: Mario Ghezzi Vi trasmetto in questo lungo messaggio una particolare anteprima: l'annuncio e recensione del libro che molto probabilmente diventer la Bibbia di noi telematici. Il libro scritto da Bernard Aboba, gi autore di altri testi sul tema, e curatore della loro revisone ed aggiornamento telematici (vedi anche nella cartella Comunicazioni di PAN). Altre credenziali: Aboba stato uno dei fondatori di BMUG Online, e fanatico appassionato (c' bisogno di dirlo ...) del Mac. _______________________________________________________________ The Online User's Encyclopedia: Bulletin Boards and Beyond by Bernard Aboba Addison-Wesley, 1993 806 pages. $32.95. Summary: An American Indian once remarked about outsiders visiting and writing about life on his reservation : "One day--a newspaper article. One week--a book." Those of us who think we live in the online world have seen these pop up like mushrooms, especially as Internet fever sweeps out of nerd villages in the highlands into the consumer metropolises in the valley below. Bernard Aboba is coming down from the mountain with this massive book in hand. It is the result of a long involvement with the many subjects he covers. Aboba has a big picture: "...telecommunications is so useful that in a decade lots of ordinary people will be using it to do ordinary (and some extraordinary) things." Like the movie "Powers of Ten" he can zoom into a description of the pin configurations on a modem cable or back out to a good introduction to communications. When most of us started out with computers, it was little more than a word that we had heard and perhaps a story about 'electronic brains' or something from the popular press. As we learned through experience or reading or instruction, the amorphous cloud took shape, and we had a better idea of what we knew and did not know. The Online User's Encyclopedia (I'll call it OUE) confronts the vast fog of telecommunications and blows it away, subject by subject. It is geared toward the user of Intel machines, Macintoshes, and NextStep, whether they are users, system operators, or people in telecommunications support in a computer center full of work stations and mainframes. There are 39 chapters plus eleven appendices; among the many topics: modems, computer security, civic and community neworking, global networks, the Internet, using bulletin boards, electronic mail, finding people, mailing lists, file transfer, online libraries, USENET, Talk, IRC, MUDs, Z39.50, WAIS, World Wide Web, Gopher, TCP/IP, connecting a BBS to the Internet, UUCP, BITNET, FidoNet, Point software, PCBoard Networks, message readers, saving money on your phone bill, file transfers, file conversion, compression primer, a guide to K12Net, electronic home control, and twelve chapters on visions of the future and memories from pioneers of the network world (Tom Grundner, Vint Cerf, Tom Jennings, etc). The strongest chapters reflect the author's experience with BBS systems, inter-connecting disparate systems, and his familiarity with all the sofware developments in the world of the Internet and dialup BBSes. Many telecomm books, especially on the Internet, are snapshots that fade quickly, but this is Aboba's whole photo collection, and he has a commitment to keep it updated (perhaps online). Indeed, this volume is a much changed and expanded version of a previous book that had narrow distribution (BMUG's Bulletin Boards and Beyond). I enjoyed his humor as well as view of technology where his enthusiasm is tempered by some of the negative aspects. Here is a selection from a section entitled "Lifestyles of the online and infamous" wherein the archetypes of warped online inhabitants are described: "The Adolescent The adolescent is found logging into bulletin boards using assumed names such as The Avenger. Since they have spent most of their lives in front of a terminal, they may be unaware that their country is involved in a civil war, or that their parents have been swept away in a flash flood. The Adolescent types messages IN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT YET FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THE SHIFT KEY." Aboba skewers many of us in the rest of the section. The unique sections of OUE were the home networking chapter, the memories chapters, and the extensive reviews of software, hardware, and services in Choice Products. When he was speculating about a product (but wanted to list it) he put it at the beginning of the listing. Choice Products alone would make me recommend this book. Problems The book is desktop published on 8.5 by 11 inch format with two columns. Many screen shots are reproduced, but the size is so reduced that many details may be guessed at, not actually seen. Another problem with my version,much of the online text was in a very faint Courier font that was very hard to read. When it was in bold, it was fine. Although the book is meant to be an online encyclopedia there is only a couple of mentions of Dialog, Mead-Data, BRS, and the commercial information services that are so important to information professionals and librarians who use telecom. services. There are many publications that deal with this (ONLINE and database are two of the best), so you will have to look elsewhere for this information. I reviewed an early, spiral-bound print version, so I can't comment on what actually reaches the bookstores. Libraries should check the binding because circulating a paperback this large will be a problem. Why? Because it's going to be popular, just as John Quarterman's The Matrix became popular (and remains so). Conclusion OUE would really be a good candidate for World Wide Web, if the author and Addison-Wesley could find a way to charge for access, Perhaps a couple of chapters could be mounted at no charge as other publishers have done with books and periodicals on the Internet. However, it is so large that many people are going to need just a few pages of information from the whole work. I plan to keep in at my desk at home. Schools and other organizations such as user groups can buy it at a discount by calling: Addison-Wesley Special Markets (617) 944-3700, ext. 2915. The author, a telecommunications consultant, can be reached at: aboba@world.std.com. Readers are encouraged to register their copy of the book for updates and special offers.