ASSOCIATES (vol. 2, no. 1, July 1995) - associates.ucr.edu
_THE INTERNET YELLOW PAGES_
Harley Hahn & Rick Stout
2nd ed., 1995
Osborne, McGraw-Hill
ISBN 0-07-882098-7
$29.95
A Review
by
Bob Farnsworth
Senior Library Technical Assistant
Serials Department
University of North Florida
Admit it! You are probably getting just a little bit tired of
all the hype about the Information Superhighway. If you're like
I am, you do spend more and more time on it. But after a while,
like any highway, it gets to be just a bit tedious - especially
if you're stopping at the same old exits.
So along comes the _Internet Yellow Pages_ - a volume that isn't
all that much smaller than some phone books - weighing in at a
heft 812 pages.
To quote the author, "What do you need to know to use this book?
To use this book you need to have access to the Internet, and you
need to know how to use the Internet."
Once you have satisfied these two requirements, you'll have a
great time trying out the many sources of information in this
book. The sections and indexes are clearly marked. As its title
promises, the volume is set up (including its color) like a
yellow pages directory.
Topics range from "Agriculture" (want to join an agricultural
mailing list? Try ) to Zines (these are
similar to magazines - such as the first thirty issues of the
science fiction publication _Other Realms_.)
In the library world, many of us deal with requests for rather
esoteric information. This volume does provide a wealth of
sources - from Australian law (What can and can't you do with a
kangaroo?) to the computer address for "Mr. Microsoft", Bill
Gates ().
If you want to extend your computer knowledge into developing
other pastimes, the "Hobbies" section gives you information for
addresses or subscription lists of interest group ranging from
artists to unicyclists.
There are fascinating comments and wild cartoons liberally spread
throughout the book. Many of them can help to educate you about
the Internet and computers in general - while making you giggle
at the humor. Quotations are handy for your next coffee break:
"To dream is human; to telnet is divine".
Other fun stuff? The "Games" section is quite a treat. One game
I tried out (not during work time, of course!) is called
"Conquest". It's a Medieval war strategy game. It's done
(through IRC) in real time with players from all over the world
(who bear such nicknames as Romulus and Ravenfire).
In summary - yes, we have all seen many new books on the
Internet. Many of them are well-written and useful at work.
However, I recommend this book not only for practical
applications at work, but as a great "weekend or vacation read".
It's a lot of fun!