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How the Internet Works: Special Edition

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A basic introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web explains how online information services and communications technologies work, answering questions about ISDN lines, modems, Java, offline browsers, push and pull, and other important topics. Original. (Beginner).

290 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1991

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Preston Gralla

84 books3 followers

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5 stars
56 (39%)
4 stars
36 (25%)
3 stars
37 (26%)
2 stars
9 (6%)
1 star
3 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
12 reviews
May 23, 2017
I was looking for something that went into a bit more detail, but it did go over some interesting concepts that were new to me.
Profile Image for Schnaucl.
993 reviews29 followers
unfinished
January 2, 2010
This actually isn't a bad book. In fact, I think the style of explaining something in text then showing it in diagram form is pretty good. The problem is that the edition I was reading was from 2003 so at least some of the information was pretty dated (AOL and Compuserve are used as frequent examples and there's talk about a certain technology about to take over but in reality that technology has been abandoned. Not the author's fault, of course).

There's no getting around it's just a dry subject and eventually I just got more interested in other things.
74 reviews
October 6, 2012
A great overall and categorized depiction of the various machines, sequences of ones and zeros, connections, standards, and abstractions which make up the internet. Concepts are illustrated with lots of pictures, which gives this book an advantage over rigorous studies of ISO standards, protocols, network structures, and technology outlines.
Profile Image for Brenda.
70 reviews
July 28, 2020
While some of the content in this book is outdated, much of content is still relevant. Overall, the book is very good at providing useful information about the many moving parts that make up the Internet.

One issue, at least in the edition on Safari Online Books (by O'Reilly), was that each of the diagrams was missing step 1 of the diagram descriptions.
32 reviews
August 29, 2008
This richly illustrated book is an absolute masterpiece of clarity about a difficult technical subject.Do you know what DSL and XML stand for? Do you understand how bluetooth works? Peruse this book and amaze your friends.
609 reviews
October 6, 2012
I felt like I should already know how the internet works, but I decided to just admit I don't and read this book. There were a lot of words I've heard before, but it's always good to go over the basics again.
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151 reviews5 followers
Read
October 31, 2008
How the Internet Works (8th Edition) (How It Works) by Preston Gralla (2006)
Profile Image for Nabeel.
11 reviews
October 16, 2009
Probably the best get-to-know-about I've read about the internet. Very concise, and the examples are excellent.
Profile Image for Vikram Ketkar.
88 reviews1 follower
June 21, 2014
Excellent and easy to understand introduction to computers, networking and the internet
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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