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Digitally Daunted: The Consumer's Guide to Taking Control of the Technology in Your Life
Wi-fi or wired? Cable or fiber optic? HDMI or RCA? MP3 or AAC?
Do you feel overwhelmed when you hear these terms? You’re not alone—smart people everywhere feel intimidated by the technology in their life. Standing in an electronics store trying to decode the specs on a purchase can make anyone feel powerless. Worse—it can leave you with costly mistakes that you can barely get out of the packaging. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right education, you can regain the control you need to survive and thrive in the digital world.
In Digitally Daunted, an IT pro and his practical wife show you how to demystify the mumbo jumbo and become a confident consumer of all the things that are supposed to make your life easier. You’ll learn how to shop for and manage the electronics in your PCs to phone systems, televisions, cameras, and music and movie software and hardware.
Digitally Daunted will help
* Choose, use, and maintain all the modern “appliances” you need or want
* Decide what to buy, how to buy, and how much to spend
* Be prepared for the digital television conversion
* Get and stay connected on the Internet the fastest, cheapest, most secure way possible
* Discover everything you needed to know about phone service, both landline and cellular
* Determine what you need and want from your television, DVD player, DVD recorder, and service provider be it cable, fiber-optic or over-the-air
* Get the most out of digital cameras—still and video
* Learn about new ways to enjoy your music, photos and videos
* Introduce you to the latest in home gaming systems
* Figure out what to do when things go wrong
* Organize your tech stuff with checklists for shopping, maintenance, and service calls
Also includes a glossary of all the tech terms you need to know, green tips and some suggested web resources. Companion website is Digitally Daunted.com
Do you feel overwhelmed when you hear these terms? You’re not alone—smart people everywhere feel intimidated by the technology in their life. Standing in an electronics store trying to decode the specs on a purchase can make anyone feel powerless. Worse—it can leave you with costly mistakes that you can barely get out of the packaging. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right education, you can regain the control you need to survive and thrive in the digital world.
In Digitally Daunted, an IT pro and his practical wife show you how to demystify the mumbo jumbo and become a confident consumer of all the things that are supposed to make your life easier. You’ll learn how to shop for and manage the electronics in your PCs to phone systems, televisions, cameras, and music and movie software and hardware.
Digitally Daunted will help
* Choose, use, and maintain all the modern “appliances” you need or want
* Decide what to buy, how to buy, and how much to spend
* Be prepared for the digital television conversion
* Get and stay connected on the Internet the fastest, cheapest, most secure way possible
* Discover everything you needed to know about phone service, both landline and cellular
* Determine what you need and want from your television, DVD player, DVD recorder, and service provider be it cable, fiber-optic or over-the-air
* Get the most out of digital cameras—still and video
* Learn about new ways to enjoy your music, photos and videos
* Introduce you to the latest in home gaming systems
* Figure out what to do when things go wrong
* Organize your tech stuff with checklists for shopping, maintenance, and service calls
Also includes a glossary of all the tech terms you need to know, green tips and some suggested web resources. Companion website is Digitally Daunted.com
177 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 12, 2010
There is only one word to describe Digitally Daunted – Useful. The book is exactly as its title state, it provides the reader with a basic, step by step guideline on purchasing, maintaining and troubleshooting the technology in our lives. Some of the technology outlined in this book was computers, internet, cell phones, television, cameras and the media.
The book is written by two IT trained professionals and is full of information that can help the consumer understand some of the latest technological gadgets that currently exist. You would think that the content or jargon covered are complicated and would fly right over your head however the authors stay true to their word by making the book very basic and comprehensible. Added to that are the many checklists, comparison and price charts, personal records and reference sheets that all serve to make the reader more informed and empowered about their purchases.
The title is definitely fitting especially since we do live in a digital age. People can often get confused about the technology that they interact with. In reading this book, I did notice that this book is geared towards a specific age group even if it is not explicitly stated by the authors. Digitally Daunted may be more relevant to digital immigrants or those of us who were not born in the digital era and have to grow accustom to using the technology. One example of a digital immigrant is a person born before the advent of the internet and email. I think the entire structure and content of the book would be more suitable to those people. However the book is too basic for digital natives or those of us who were born in the digital era and are already accustomed to these new technologies. My reason for saying this is because I can identify with this group and while reading through the book, I found that certain chapters were filled with information that I already knew.
Aside from this, I think that this book will make a great addition to one’s personal library or make a great gift.
The book is written by two IT trained professionals and is full of information that can help the consumer understand some of the latest technological gadgets that currently exist. You would think that the content or jargon covered are complicated and would fly right over your head however the authors stay true to their word by making the book very basic and comprehensible. Added to that are the many checklists, comparison and price charts, personal records and reference sheets that all serve to make the reader more informed and empowered about their purchases.
The title is definitely fitting especially since we do live in a digital age. People can often get confused about the technology that they interact with. In reading this book, I did notice that this book is geared towards a specific age group even if it is not explicitly stated by the authors. Digitally Daunted may be more relevant to digital immigrants or those of us who were not born in the digital era and have to grow accustom to using the technology. One example of a digital immigrant is a person born before the advent of the internet and email. I think the entire structure and content of the book would be more suitable to those people. However the book is too basic for digital natives or those of us who were born in the digital era and are already accustomed to these new technologies. My reason for saying this is because I can identify with this group and while reading through the book, I found that certain chapters were filled with information that I already knew.
Aside from this, I think that this book will make a great addition to one’s personal library or make a great gift.
April 15, 2010
I requested this title from LIBRARY THING's Early Reviewers program, because I was looking for a Consumer Guide to all the Techie Toys out there. I'm glad I got this one.
Who knew that a common sense approach would work in a Consumer guide of this sort? Not I. The language is clear, and concise. The "Geekspeak", when it shows up, is explained in a non-condescending manner. I did not read this book cover-to-cover, as I would a novel...probably because the plot is pretty thin. However, the Table of Contents is detailed enough that an Index is unnecessary. It's easy enough to find what one is after...and then some. My focus was on Computers and Digital Cameras, both of which I own. I learned quite a lot of The Basics....and even some not-so General Info. The chapters on Cell Phones and Televisions were interesting..but I still don't want one of the former...and I've been without Network TV since everything went Digital. I learned a lot that I had not known..especially the bits on HI-DEF TV. I still don't understand why anyone would want a camera on her phone..but this book won't answer that question..it does explain Cell Phone Bills/Features/Networks so that even I understood.
This is not a Bells-and-Whistles Guide..it is Basic and well-written. I'm glad I have it..and plan to share with other non-Techies I know.
4 Stars (****)
Who knew that a common sense approach would work in a Consumer guide of this sort? Not I. The language is clear, and concise. The "Geekspeak", when it shows up, is explained in a non-condescending manner. I did not read this book cover-to-cover, as I would a novel...probably because the plot is pretty thin. However, the Table of Contents is detailed enough that an Index is unnecessary. It's easy enough to find what one is after...and then some. My focus was on Computers and Digital Cameras, both of which I own. I learned quite a lot of The Basics....and even some not-so General Info. The chapters on Cell Phones and Televisions were interesting..but I still don't want one of the former...and I've been without Network TV since everything went Digital. I learned a lot that I had not known..especially the bits on HI-DEF TV. I still don't understand why anyone would want a camera on her phone..but this book won't answer that question..it does explain Cell Phone Bills/Features/Networks so that even I understood.
This is not a Bells-and-Whistles Guide..it is Basic and well-written. I'm glad I have it..and plan to share with other non-Techies I know.
4 Stars (****)
June 2, 2012
This is a guide to purchasing and using various types of tech--computers, mobile phones, portable music players, etc. It's aimed at your typical technology-ignorant individual, but has a lot of information that I found useful as someone with fair-to-middling knowledge of newfangled devices. If it's updated with any regularity, I think it could be a valuable resource.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews