Gareth Branwyn
Jargon watch: A Pocket dictionary for the jitterati.
San Francisco: HardWired, 1997.
boards, [166] p.,
ISBN 1-888-86906-2, $US8.95
HardWired: http://www.hardwired.co
m/
Jargon Watch: http://www.jargonwatc
h.com/
Definitely not Eric Raymond's The New
Hacker's Dictionary (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,
1993) or Stan Kelly-Bootle's The Computer
Contradictionary (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,
1995), Jargon Watch is a funny collection of
cyberslang, accumulated in part from the pages of
Wired . Starting with "ABCD" (an acronym
referring to the joint efforts of the ABC Network and
Disney) and ending with, most appropriately, "Zen Mail"
(electronic mail with no text), Branwyn's blithe and
brief definitions will have you laughing and recycling
much into your ordinary digital conversations. Some of
terms in this collection have already crossed the line
from jargon into more common ordinary use (such as "road
rage"); it would be fascinating to track the number of
terms in Jargon Watch that eventually become
mainstream (in newspaper headlines, television programs,
and elsewhere) in six months, a year, two years. The
tiny format of this book - a mere 12.5 cms. by 9 cms. -
will make this book the perfect, essential, and
non-electric accessory for any traveler. Buy this book,
you won't regret it. I only hope Branwyn teams up with a
few international colleagues to devise translations of
all these terms so I can find the French equivalent of
"link rot" and the Japanese version of "Dilberted."- ejv
Judi Fernandez
MIME, Uuencode, & Zip:
Decompressing & decoding Internet files.
New York.:
MIS: Press, 1997.
paper, 317 p., with diskette. ISBN
1-55828-528-8, $US24.95
MIS:Press: http://www.mispress.com/
With terabytes of files, programs, and images
floating on the Internet, compression and decompression
utilities are becoming more and more important, to save
time and reduce bandwidth consumption. Fernandez takes a
practical approach in this useful guide to the sometimes
befuddling chore of deciphering formats and files.
Written largely for those using Windows machines, this
book describes the basics of compression; how to
download and upload files; and viruses. The heart of the
book describes how to operate WinZip, PKZip, and Stuffit
Expander, with plenty of examples and illustrations. The
last chapter outlines - very clearly - how to attach
files to electronic messages and how to upload and
download files in America Online, CompuServe, Netscape,
Eudora, and the Microsoft Network. This book will be
quite valuable to those just beginning to explore the
mysteries of file transfer, compression, and
decompression with their Windows and Internet-connected
computers. Those looking for more technical details
would best be served by Mark Nelson and Jean-Loup
Gailly's The Data Compression Book (New York:
M&T Books, 1996).- ejv
Simson Garfinkel with
Gene Spafford
Web security & commerce.
Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly & Associates, 1997.
paper, 483 p., ISBN 1-565-92245-X, $US32.95
O'Reilly: http://www.ora.com/
With digital break-ins, browser loopholes, and server
compromises making headlines, it is not surprising that
security is the number one issue among administrators
and Web content providers. In seven sections and
nineteen chapters, Garfinkel and Spafford provide a
concise survey of the many problems with solutions,
scripts, and commonsense. The first third of the book
examines the fundamental security issues for users and
their browsers to server operators and their scripts and
code. The middle parts of the book treat digital
certificates and cryptography while the last part
examines UNIX and Windows NT server security and civil
and criminal issues. Appendices touch on certificates,
the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol, and PICS, among
other topics. This book is written not just for security
experts and server managers; for those looking for a
good introduction to security, cryptography, and
electronic commerce, this book definitely fits the bill.
Comprehensive and highly readable, with many
illustrations and digital references, Web Security
& Commerce is a welcome addition to the growing
collection of books dedicated to security on the
Internet.- ejv
Wayne Rash, Jr.
Politics on the
Nets: Wiring the political process.
New York: W. H.
Freeman & Co., 1997.
cloth, 206 p., ISBN
0-716-78324-X, $US22.95
W. H. Freeman: http://www.whfreeman.co
m/
The Internet and especially the World Wide
Web are increasingly playing a large role for
politicians and their constituents in local, state, and
national elections in the United States. Rash's
Politics on the Net examines the complex uses of
the Internet in the American Presidential campaigns in
1996, as well as in some other races of importance. With
many examples (including a collection of color plates),
Rash explains how some sites worked and some didn't and
how the Internet became part of overall strategies in
reaching voters of all sizes, shapes, and digital
connections. There's good advice for politicians
contemplating a Web site (keep your site interactive)
and for voters learning more about a candidate. For all
of those involved in the democratic process, there is
much to learn. For example, the chapter on the press is
particularly valuable in understanding the role of the
Internet as a "source. " Focused on American politics,
there is not much in this book on the use of the
Internet for political ends elsewhere in the world.
That's unfortunate because many political uses of the
Internet in the U. S. have inspired politicians
elsewhere to exploit this medium. Providing a generous
overview of the American approach to this subject,
Politics on the Net is a good place to start
understanding this new and rapidly evolving scene. - ejv
Gregory J. E. Rawlins
Slaves of the machine: The
Quickening of computer technology.
Cambridge, Mass.:
MIT Press, 1997.
cloth, 135 p., ISBN 0-262-18183-5,
$US25.00
MIT Press: http://www-mitpress.
mit.edu/
A fascinating book, Rawlins describes
Slaves of the Machine as something you would
"read at the beach" to learn more about what computers
"can do for you - or to you." Six short and absorbing
chapters take you on a wild cerebral ride on your
nearest beach, looking at the history and future of
computing. For those more experienced in the ways of
computing and the history of technology, Rawlins will
challenge your assumptions. His ideas on the future of
programming, especially those involving a move toward a
more adaptive style of computer systems, are refreshing
and challenging. Throughout this all too brief book,
Rawlins imposes a sense of order on the computer past
and present and, with this framework, analyzes what the
future may bring in the form of truly intelligent
computers. Full of quotes, details, and ideas, this book
should find its place not only on the beach but in
classrooms and corporate board rooms.- ejv
Jonathan
Rosenoer
CyberLaw: The Law on the Internet.
New
York: Springer-Verlag, 1997.
cloth, 362 p., ISBN
0-387-94832-5, $US34.95
Springer-Verlag: http://www.springer-n
y.com/
It is no small task to summarize, in a
mere 363 pages, legal issues related to the Internet.
Rosenoer, creator of CyberLaw at
http://www.cyberlaw.com, tackles this topic with gusto, making many legal
opinions and judicial decisions understandable to mere
mortals. Sixteen chapters examine copyright, defamation,
privacy, criminal liabilities, electronic contracts,
ethics, and other topics. Several chapters - on
copyright, trademarks, defamation, privacy, liability,
commerce, and ethics - include appendices that discuss
the issues in greater detail by focusing on specific
cases and decisions. Given the rapidly shifting scenery
of law related to the Internet, this book provides a
good starting point for anyone getting up to speed with
many of these convoluted topics. Focusing on decisions
in the United States, Rosenoer's opus helps the average
Internet user understand the sometimes rough,confusing,
and dangerous interface between computers, digital
networks, law, and the courts.- ejv
