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Dave Barry in Cyberspace
by
Dave Barry
"RELENTLESSLY FUNNY . . . BARRY SHINES."
--People
A self-professed computer geek who actually does Windows 95, bestselling humorist Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious hard drive via the information superhighway--and into the very heart of cyberspace, asking the provocative question: If God had wanted us to be concise, why give us so many fonts?
Inside you'll find juicy bytes...more
--People
A self-professed computer geek who actually does Windows 95, bestselling humorist Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious hard drive via the information superhighway--and into the very heart of cyberspace, asking the provocative question: If God had wanted us to be concise, why give us so many fonts?
Inside you'll find juicy bytes...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
September 29th 2010
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1996)
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Tracey
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Recommends it for:
those of us who have been floating around on the 'Net for a decade or longer
Picked up Dave Barry in Cyberspace over the weekend at the used bookstore for Scott - ended up skimming thru it myself.
Written in 1996, a good chunk of the material is a bit dated -- Microsoft's latest & greatest was Windows 95, the Internet and chat rooms were just starting to take off and COMDEX was still more or less the refuge of nerds, such as Mr. Barry. I didn't realize he had such a long history of being frustrated with computers!
However, much of it is still applicab...more
Written in 1996, a good chunk of the material is a bit dated -- Microsoft's latest & greatest was Windows 95, the Internet and chat rooms were just starting to take off and COMDEX was still more or less the refuge of nerds, such as Mr. Barry. I didn't realize he had such a long history of being frustrated with computers!
However, much of it is still applicab...more
Okay, so this is not your normal computer book. In fact, take everything you know about computer books and throw it out the window because Dave Barry certainly did. This book is a humorous look at the booming computer age - written back in 1996. Windows 95 was the hot hot hot operating system; AOL was one of the top internet service provider - and you would be ridiculed for being an AOL newb if your ip address ended in aol.com; and the internet was shiny and new.
Humor columist for...more
Humor columist for...more
This is an old book. It is written from the perspective of Windows 95. It's still funny. And he makes it funny for all folks. Or, again, perhaps it's only funny to me because I used to do tech support and I understand him.
For example, the chapter on computer terminology contains;
Hardware: The part of the computer that quits working when you spill beer on it.
Software: These are the programs that you put on the computer hard drive by sticking them through the li...more
For example, the chapter on computer terminology contains;
Hardware: The part of the computer that quits working when you spill beer on it.
Software: These are the programs that you put on the computer hard drive by sticking them through the li...more
Although dated, as Dave Barry himself predicted, this book recalls some of the more delightful problems with buying, installing, choosing software, and getting on the internet in the early days. The humor is definitely LOL, which I did, much to my embarrassment, while reading it in public spots. I kept wanting to excuse myself by announcing, "Well, it's Dave Barry. What do you expect?" I am definitely going to have to do some internet research to see how many of the sites mentioned...more
Dave Barry's talent as a humor columnist does not generally adapt well to longer works, and this book is not an exception.
I found a library giving it away for free, and picked it up to flip through casually, not intending to keep it. But one of the later chapters offered something I'd not seen Barry attempt before - fiction. And he did it well. Written in the era of Windows 95 and AOL dial-up, Barry told the story of a still-married middle-aged mother with a normal&boring life who e...more
I found a library giving it away for free, and picked it up to flip through casually, not intending to keep it. But one of the later chapters offered something I'd not seen Barry attempt before - fiction. And he did it well. Written in the era of Windows 95 and AOL dial-up, Barry told the story of a still-married middle-aged mother with a normal&boring life who e...more
I loved Dave Barry in middle and high school. Since that time, I've occasionally picked up one of his books, but they seem to have ever diminishing returns. This one in particular seems to miss the mark because it is so badly dated. It came out in 1996, making its computer tech humor irrelevent and sometimes almost unintelligable. The whole thing feels pretty paint by numbers.
The one caveat is the story of the two people that meet online and possibly start a relationship, which h...more
The one caveat is the story of the two people that meet online and possibly start a relationship, which h...more
Don't mistake Dave Barry as someone who is only funny. He can be quite thought-provoking when he forgets himself. I found this book lying around a relative's house and gave it a look-see. I was belly-laughing by page two and couldn't put the book down. This is a fairly quick, light read. But since it's a book, not just a series of essays, Mr. Barry is able to expand into things like subplot and visual aids.
Mr. Barry also crafts a story arc involving a Web-novice mother who finds her...more
Mr. Barry also crafts a story arc involving a Web-novice mother who finds her...more
FUNNY!!!! lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
I liked this book. Dave Barry is a ...more
I liked this book. Dave Barry is a ...more
Even though most of the chapters didn't do anything for me (I only laughed out loud once, which is very unusual for me when I'm reading a Dave Barry book), I'd still recommend this, if only because the story about MsPtato and RayAdverb was Dave Barry as I have never seen him before. Otherwise, it's meh. If not for that chapter, I'd tell people to skip it (which is BLASPHEMY as far as me and my boy Dave Barry are concerned. Sigh).
In 2011, a 1996 book about computers and the Internet is dated in ways his other books aren't, which he sort of anticipates when he writes that its information "would be of immense practical value if not for the fact that it all became obsolete minutes after I wrote it." That said, this remains funny, many of his observations hold true and his surprise short story (!) about chat rooms is a successful stretch.
I've read this one before, but not since the late 90s, so this is a re-read for me.
I always forget just how funny Dave Barry really is until I read him again. Seriously, I was already laughing just reading the table of contents. And just like another author I adore, Mary Roach, he really knows how to make use of footnotes!
I always forget just how funny Dave Barry really is until I read him again. Seriously, I was already laughing just reading the table of contents. And just like another author I adore, Mary Roach, he really knows how to make use of footnotes!
this might have been funny when it was written but to read a book where Windows 95 is the newest in Computer technology just doesn't work. And I normally love Dave Barry--I think it stands to reason, though, that I wouldn't use a 1995 computer anymore, so I probably won't laugh at a nearly 20 year old joke about them!
A friend reccomended this because she said I had much the same attitude to computers and I think she was right. There was alot of funny snark and perhaps it was dated but that wasn't really the point. However, the story of MsPtato was painfully awful. Otherwise it was much fun.
I couldn't stop laughing throughout this entire book -- it was like the Erma Bombeck of modern technology (modern in at least 1996, which scarily enough, while technology has advanced since then, many aspects have stayed the same).
It's a funny book, but I originally read it in the late '90s. I recently picked it up and skimmed it again and it's still funny today, if you remember what technology was like back in the '90s.
Very funny. Written about 1995, so a little outdated though. I wonder if he is coming out yearly with a new version of this book so he can make more money just like Bill Gates does?
This was a quick one hour CD of Dave Barry's book - which is sadly way out of date now. It started funny, but lost the plot half way through.
It was fun revisiting the computer era of the mid-nineties with comedian Dave Barry. One forgets just how far we have come (or not...).
So incredibly funny! This audio book provided no small amount of inside jokes for my brother and I.
A very silly look at the world of computers. Dave Barry fans will probably enjoy it.
some laugh out loud funny stuff (as is typical w Barry stuff), though old / dated.
I was a little bored with this one. Still funny every once in awhile though.
Funny guy, Dave. I was pleasantly surprised (shocked?) by a serious chapter regarding online romance.
Slightly dated but still funny especially given how computers have completely invaded and taken over our every daily chore.
funny read :)
"Anybody here from Texas?"
Dave Barry is a very funny man. To my mind, this is one of the funniest books he's ever written. It's even better if you still have a feel for what using a computer was like ten years ago, but it definitely still holds up.
Dave Barry is a very funny man. To my mind, this is one of the funniest books he's ever written. It's even better if you still have a feel for what using a computer was like ten years ago, but it definitely still holds up.
Anyone like humor and a guy who trying to make money out of making jokes, this is the book for you.
It is a kind of guilty pleasure. But we all want to read something funny once in a while.
It is a kind of guilty pleasure. But we all want to read something funny once in a while.
This was so funny! I listened to the audiobook and it was the shortest audiobook I've ever listened to! But totally hilarious!! I very much recommend!
This was written at a time when dial-up internet was your only option. Dave's commentary is hilarious (ROTFL) to those who lived through it.
This remains one of the funniest books about computers. Ever. I still die when I read his take on geek culture and troubleshooting problems.
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Dave Barry is a humor columnist. For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.
Dave has also written a total of 30 books, although virtually none of them contain useful information. Two of his books were u...more
More about Dave Barry...
Dave has also written a total of 30 books, although virtually none of them contain useful information. Two of his books were u...more
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