Press Release
February 3, 2005
"Internet Annoyances": Go Online Without Going Crazy
Sebastopol, CA--Preston Gralla has been using the Internet since before
the Web was invented, when to connect meant getting a "shell account" and
typing incomprehensible UNIX commands to do simple things like get your
email. But as Gralla observes, "Those days seem rosy compared to today,
when spyware, pop-ups, scammers, and spam are everywhere; when broadband
connections always seem to go on the fritz, wireless hotspots can drive
you to distraction, and your wireless home network gets fried every time
you turn on your microwave."
According to Gralla, the accumulated daily frustrations of using the
Internet finally got to him: "One final pop-up ad pushed me over the edge.
I jumped out of my chair shouted, 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to
take it any more!' and then sat down and started writing." The outcome?
Internet Annoyances (O'Reilly, US $24.95), a book that will show you how
to fix the most annoying things about going online.
Most people agree that as the Internet becomes more and more a part of our
everyday lives, it also becomes more annoying. "We're all getting
high-speed, broadband connections and those connections are getting faster
all the time," Gralla points out. "That means that the Internet can annoy
us at even faster rates that ever before. So we need some way to fight
back. This book can do it."
Based on real-world gripes supplied by Internet users from far and wide,
Internet Annoyances tackles some of the most annoying things you'll
encounter online, from the hassles of simply connecting, to browser
idiosyncrasies, to the hazards of buying and selling online. Readers may
want to read the book from cover to cover but will more likely prefer to
jump straight to their "favorite" annoyances to be rid of them once and
for all. Some of the topics covered include:
Stay sane: stop spam, spyware, and pop-up ads
Thwart hackers: fix your router, surf safely, and use protective
utilities
Empower your email: tame Outlook, master Gmail, and become Eudora-savvy
Run smarter searches: use the right terms, hack Google, and find the info
you need
Troubleshoot cable and DSL: keep connected, block out snooping neighbors,
and maximize performance
Keep it simple: streamline AOL, cut the clutter, and make surfing safe for kids
Buy and sell: shop safe, run auctions, avoid scams, and always get your
money's worth
If you've had it with the Web's quirks, bugs, and design "enhancements";
if you've spent all night trying to get your router to work; if email and
spam and spam and spam are driving you crazy...Internet Annoyances could
be the key to retaining (or reclaiming) your sanity.
Additional Resources:
Internet Annoyances
Preston Gralla
ISBN: 0-596-00735-3, 239 pages, $24.95 US, $36.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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