INTERNET HOW-TO
                         Reviewed By: Chip Cox

        The Waite Groups INTERNET HOW-TO by Harry Henderson is an internet
survival guide for UNIX shell account users. For those of you who do not
know what I am talking about when I refer to a shell account, a shell
account is an account on any system which after logging in leaves you at the
operating system prompt (DOS prompt, UNIX $  etc). Today there are several
alternatives to this type of account in the form of X windows systems for
UNIX users and Microsoft Windows systems for DOS users. Each of these offers
a graphical user interface to the internet.
        The INTERNET HOW-TO guide is written in a unique "Q&A" format. All
of the topics are listed in the table of contents. Each section consists of
five sections, Problem, Technique, Steps, How it works, and Comment. The
five sections are pretty much self explanatory and remind me of my Statics
and Dynamics courses in Engineering. The first step to resolving a problem
is to identify the problem. The next step is to decide upon the technique to
use to resolve the problem. Next you detail the steps to resolve the problem
as indicated by the technique. A welcome addition to the standard
engineering formula for problem solving is the "How it works" section. Here
we get a brief easy to understand description of what the steps section
actually accomplished. Finally, the comment section describes additional
features and limitations of the selected technique.
        This format allows in depth coverage of some of  the programs used
to resolve problems on the internet. However there are a couple of drawbacks
and things to note about this format. First, this is not a book to site down
and read in bed. This book is for those impatient souls who get into their
shell account and then say "what do I do now?" This book and format will be
very helpful for those users. Due to the nature of a shell account, only
command line systems are presented here. None of the newer graphical easy to
use windows based packages are discussed. Finally for any given problem only
one system is discussed for resolving it. Granted the resolution usually
involves packages almost certain to be on any system connected to the
Internet. However, as an example when discussing Usenet news readers the
discussion revolves around the "nn" news reader. This is a full featured
package available on most UNIX systems. I, however, use "tin", a menu based
Usenet news reading package.
        In conclusion, if you are looking for good bedtime reading this
probably is not the book for you. If you have gotten a shell account and do
not know what to do with it, this is the book for you. It is full of useful
information in an easy to access, use and understand format. I wish I had
reviewed it last year when I got my shell account and had to learn to
stumble around in it. INTERNET HOW-TO is probably available in your local
bookstore. If not they can probably order it for you or you can contact the
Waite Group at the address below. I am sure they can help. It has a list
price of $34.95 US funds or $48.95 in Canada.

                            The Waite Group
                            200 Tamal Plaza
                         Corte Madera, CA 94925

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