From: phanson@well.sf.ca.us (Pete Hanson)
Subject: Re: the whole internet (textbook) by Kroll
Keywords: bbs
Reply-To: phanson@well.sf.ca.us
Organization: The WELL
Distribution: alt
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 16:45:27 GMT

ratzan@rwja.umdnj.edu (Lee Ratzan) writes:

>Is anyone aware of a text entitled The Whole Internet by a person
>named Kroll (spelling unsure)? Is there an online version on the
>net or does anyone have any editorial comments about how it compares
>to Zen and the Art of the Internet by Kehoe?

Here's some information on the book.  To my knowledge, it isn't available
in an online version.  It has been getting rave reviews from people I 
know, with most of them saying it is much better than Zen.
 
 From: Gleason Sackman <sackman@PLAINS.NODAK.EDU>
 Sender: Consortium for School Networking Discussion Forum List
  <COSNDISC@BITNIC.BITNET>
 
 Thought you might find the following of interest:
 ----------------------------
  
             The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog
                             By Ed Krol
                        O'Reilly and Associates
  
  
 o 400 pages (approx); Will probably include a quickref
 o $24.95; quantity discounts available
 o ISBN 1-56592-025-2
 o Available September 10, 1992  (available overseas in late October)
 o Order from ORA directly (1-800-998-9938) or your local bookstore
  
 "The Whole Internet" is a complete and comprehensive introduction to
 the Internet for new users.  In the Nutshell tradition, it contains
 "all you need to know" about the Internet to get started and to make
 use of it.  The author, Ed Krol, has been around the Internet for
 years, and is well-known as the author of RFC 1118, "The Hitchhiker's
 Guide to the Internet."  However, this book is more than an update of
 the "Hitchhiker's Guide": it's a complete new work, aimed at readers who
 are new to the Net; users who have been poking around the Net, but
 haven't really figured out how to use it well; and even users who have
 been around for a while, but want to read up on some of the newer
 services that are available.
  
 We started this project when we were asked to write a book that would
 answer most of the questions that a new Internet user brings to a
 network administrator.  The challenge was very frank: "If you've
 succeeded, I can stick a note on my door telling users to buy this
 book before bugging me with questions--and then only deal with real
 problems."  We think we've succeeded.  If you're an administrator, you
 can recommend this book, and watch your workload decline.  If you're a
 new user, you can read this book and avoid dealing with your grumpy
 admin.
  
 Another of our goals was evangelistic: to generate interest among
 people who are only vaguely familiar with the Internet.  We did this
 by showing what the Network offers--most specifically, in the form of
 a Resource Catalog that lists a broad range of the resources that are
 out there, ranging from the Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews to Project
 Hermes (law) to Not Just Cows (agriculture) and the University of
 Stuttgart's wonderful online cookbook.  We chose to make this list as
 broad and eclectic as possible.  It's not a list of free software
 sources, for example; it's a list that anyone from a high-school
 teacher to a theologian can pick up, glance at, and say "yes, that's
 interesting; this Internet thing might be worthwhile."
  
 Of course, this book offers everything that you'd expect in a book
 about the Internet--a little history, how the net works, addressing,
 and general background on what you're allowed to do.  We cover the
 standard Internet services--telnet, ftp, mail, news, white-pages,
 including "minor" applications like talk and chat.  We give advice on
 what to do and what not to do: how electronic mail differs from postal
 mail or a phone message, how to avoid poorly thought-out news postings
 that can start seemingly endless flame wars.
  
 But basic knowledge of the tools and etiquetter is only half the problem.
 To a new user--or even to an old user--the Internet is
 fairly confusing and disorganized.  Finding what you want can be like
 searching for a needle in a haystack.  Not long ago, the only way to
 find out about Internet resources was to keep you ear to the ground,
 attend conferences, and talk to gurus.  Our Resource Catalog only
 partly solves this problem: we've had to be selective, and new
 resources are added daily.  Four new Internet applications--Archie,
 the Gopher, WAIS, and the World-Wide Web (WWW)--provide the real
 solution.  These four tools are like "reference librarians" that let
 you find, with relatively little trouble, exactly what you want:
  
 Archie  points you at files in FTP archives.  It's particularly useful
         for finding free software;
 Gopher  is a general tool for accessing any Internet resource, via
         subject-oriented menus;
 WAIS    is an extremely powerful tool for searching large libraries
         and collections, based on keywords;
 WWW     organizes all of the Internet's resources in terms of a
         "hypertext" model.  You can move between resources by
         following "links."
 To a new user, these are the tools that make the Internet worthwhile.
 This is the only book we know of that covers all of these tools.
  
 At $24.95, this book is a bargain!
  
 CONTENTS:
  
 1:  What Is This Book About?
 2:  What is the Internet?
 3:  How the Internet Works
 4:  What's Allowed on the Internet
 5:  Remote Login: Telnet
 6:  Moving a File: FTP
 7:  Electronic Mail
 8:  Network News
 9:  Finding Software: Archie
 10: Finding Someone
 11: Finding Anything: Gopher
 12: Searching Libraries: WAIS
 13: The World as Hypertext: WWW
 14: Other Applications
 15: Dealing with Problems
     Resources of the Internet
 A:  Service Providers
 B:  International Network Connectivity
 C:  Acceptable Use
     INDEX
  
 The Resource Catalog portion of the book will be available through the
 Internet.  We haven't decided on actually how (anonymous FTP, WAIS
 resource, hypertext?), so stay tuned for details.
  
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 This and other O'Reilly books are available through bookstores or directly
 from the publisher. For a list of our overseas distributors or US
 bookstores
 mail, FAX, or call 707-829-0515.
 US and Canada: To order from the publisher, write to O'Reilly &
 Associates,
 103A Morris St, Sebastopol, CA  95472, call 1-800-998-9938, or FAX
 707-829-0104.
 Email questions to nuts@ora.com or uunet!ora!nuts.
  
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gleason Sackman                           BBS:       sackman@sendit.nodak.edu
 Coordinator                               Internet:  sackman@plains.nodak.edu
 SENDIT - NoDak's K-12 Telcom Network      Bitnet:    sackman@plains.bitnet
 BOX 5164,  NDSU Computer Center           Voice: (701)237-8109
 Fargo, ND  58105                          Fax:   (701)237-8541
 
 
-- 
                             =====================
                                  Pete Hanson
                             phanson@well.sf.ca.us
                             =====================
Newsgroups: alt.bbs.internet