AOL in a Nutshell

A Desktop Guide to America Online

By Curt Degenhart, Jen Muehlbauer
January 1900
Pages: 533
ISBN 10: 1-56592-424-X | ISBN 13: 9781565924246

This book is OUT OF PRINT.

Book description

This definitive reference breaks through the hype and shows advanced AOL users and sophisticated beginners how to get the most out of AOL 4.0's tools and features. You'll learn how to customize AOL to meet your needs, work around annoying idiosyncrasies, avoid unwanted email and Instant Messages, actually understand Parental Controls, and turn off intrusive advertisements. It's an indispensable guide for users who aren't dummies.
Full Description

Are you sick of all the sugary sweet books touting the wonders of AOL? AOL in a Nutshell breaks through the hype as the definitive reference for advanced AOL users and sophisticated beginners. Unlike other AOL books, this one cuts through the glossy banter and gets right to the details. AOL often buries its best features to make the software "easier." We show you how to uncover these powerful features to unlock AOL 4.0's surprising potential. Where most other AOL books try to teach only the basics of AOL, AOL in a Nutshell is a detailed reference that enables AOL users to make informed choices as they use the software and the service. We answer all the questions -- not just the most common ones -- in a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand reference style. This book is for anyone who's getting bored by AOL or for members who don't feel it meets their expectations. We show you how to get the most out of each of AOL's tools, including Buddy Lists, Instant Messages, email, chat, message boards, newsgroups, and AOL's integrated Web browser. We cover features that many AOL users shy away from due to lack of documentation, such as FTP, Telnet, and alternative Web browsers. Most entries are accompanied by a list of benefits and drawbacks, so you can decide for yourself how to use each feature. It's an informative and honest book that shows you how to use and modify AOL to suit your needs, not the needs of AOL. You'll learn how to:

Customize AOL so it works the way you want it to
Work around scores of annoying idiosyncrasies
Avoid unwanted email and Instant Messages
Actually understand Parental Controls

Each topic is divided into concise, distinct chapters, designed to help you find the information you want at a glance. You can use it as a day-to-day quick reference, or go further in-depth with the extensive cross-referencing system that makes it easy to teach yourself. It's an indispensable guide for users who aren't dummies.

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Book details

First Edition: January 1900
ISBN: 1-56592-424-X
Pages: 533

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Media reviews

This new book from O'Reilly finally provides the sort of information AOL users have been looking for. It is a true "soup to nuts" reference on AOL, covering both beginning and more advanced AOL features and functions.

AOL in a Nutshell begins with the basics of getting connected: from installing the AOL software (or how to get it if you haven't received one of the zillions of diskettes or CD-ROMs AOL has mailed out over the years), to setting up a new account, to understanding the toolbar features. It then describes how to use basic services like email, instant messaging and buddy lists, and how to access newsgroups, and chat forums.

It also contains sections on how to find information online, the basics of using the Web, and how to organize things like your personal filing cabinet or favorite places effectively. All of this information is invaluable to beginners, and is guaranteed to make a newbie's life on AOL much easier.

For the more advanced AOLer, there is a section devoted to becoming a "power user" by understanding and utilizing such things as keyboard shortcuts, Web publishing, Automatic AOL, and setting up Parental Control. More obscure subjects that are poorly documented like FTP, Telnet, and using alternative Web browsers are also covered here.

Both authors are experienced AOL users, who don't pussyfoot around what they see as the deficiencies in America Online, listing the pros and cons of various services (hopefully somebody in AOL management has a copy of this book). At $24.95, this book is far cheaper than other O'Reilly books-a smart move that will undoubtedly put it in the hands of many more keen AOL users.

This is a handy reference for any AOL subscriber who wants to get the most from the service. It's stay-flat binding makes it perfect for use beside the keyboard, and its concise style will make it the book of choice for many AOLers.

Many books on AOL aim too low, pandering only to rank beginners. The marketing blurb at the back of the books correctly states that it is "the first book to take AOL seriously." AOL in a Nutshell will satisfy new and experienced AOL users alike.

--Keith Schengili-Roberts TCP Online September 1998 Issue

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