How the Internet Works

by Preston Gralla

Simple, clear explanations walk you through every technology Detailed explanations walk you through the technology. The Internet has changed the world... and, with everything from blogs to podcasts, Internet phones to video, it’s still changing the world. Now, it’s easy to understand how it all works! This book’s big, brilliant, full-color illustrations and clear explanations make it all incredibly simple! DISCOVER HOW THE INTERNET REALLY WORKS... IT’S AMAZINGLY EASY! This new edition has been completely updated for today’s hottest Internet technologies, Web connections, hardware, communications and entertainment services, and much more! • See how the Internet can deliver any kind of information, anywhere: web pages, email, music, video, phone calls, and more! • Understand the most exciting new Internet technologies, from blogs and podcasting to wikis and BitTorrent • Discover how your connection to the Internet works... wireless, cable modem, DSL, even cellphones • Go behind the scenes with today’s most sophisticated websites, applications, and services • Protect yourself from the latest Internet dangers, including phishing, web surveillance, and wireless hacking Preston Gralla is the award-winning author of more than 30 books, including How the Internet Works, Complete Idiot’s Guide to Internet Privacy and Security, Complete Idiot’s Guide to Protecting Your Child Online, and How Wireless Works. He has written frequently about security issues, computer technology, the Internet, and has been a columnist for many magazines, websites and newspapers.

Genres: Reference, Technology, Computers, Nonfiction, Programming, Internet

432 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1991

Reviews

[Bill Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Eli Isabela]

I am start to read it

[Schnaucl]

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.

[Booklist54321 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Cwalsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[RJ]

How the Internet Works (8th Edition) (How It Works) by Preston Gralla (2006)

[Nabeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the best get-to-know-about I've read about the internet. Very concise, and the examples are excellent.

[Saranya.j]

Huge amount of things to learn from this book

[Ravirajnarayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the internet related

[Hari Krishna]

Feeling excited to read this book

[Narendra Sagadevan]

It awosum

[Lathigasaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

fine

[Sakthivel Sambandam]

ssdhfhdzdfh

[Tomdestefano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well done as how computers work, but still informative.

[Ganesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice

[Vikram Ketkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and easy to understand introduction to computers, networking and the internet

[Radhika]

rty