 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group For the bookshelf Peter Smith and Lesley Howells |
The Age Computer Guide - Your most asked questions
Peter Smith
I am always horrified when I see a computer book with a RRP not much less than the cost of the software it purports to describe. So it's just one of many pleasures to see that Melb PC Life Member, George Skarbek's, first book has what can only be described as a "shareware" price.
Don't let the price fool you that the book is somehow inferior. Far from it, its 128 pages are packed with easily read and well-researched answers to questions from George's weekly "Computer Age" column.
The questions and answers are grouped into 15 major topics plus a catch-all general section. A keyword index helps you to find a particular topic. Although the overall level is pitched at the less-experienced user, those with many years behind the keyboard will find useful answers and different ways to solve thorny problems.
I first met George long before the IBM-style PC was thought of, when we were both proud TRS-80 owners. He was a fount of knowledge then and has kept up with computing advances, and ahead of most people in the industry ever since.
I might be charged with heresy, but I venture to suggest that this book is even better value than a Melb PC membership. To keep you from getting to much techo-overload it has light-hearted quotes throughout- a couple of my favourites; All computers wait at the same speed and, from another Melb PC member, Tom Coleman, Backups are done tomorrow. Hard disks crash today.
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George Skarbek: The Age Computer Guide - Your most asked questions ISBN 0 985 84601 4 Published by BRW Media 128 pages RRP $9.95 |
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A Pocket Tour of Music on the Internet
Lesley Howells
You are a music aficionado in any area of music; classics, opera, world music, folk or rock and you want to find music resources on the Internet. Where do you start? What do you need to know? What equipment is necessary? This book will help anyone to get connected. If you are a
"newbie" all the information is here on choosing modems, software, an Internet provider, and a descrambler for Internet jargon.
The second section contains an extensive (but by no means exhaustive) list of music sites; on the World Wide Web, music newsgroups, ftp sites where you can download files, and e-mail lists. It is divided by music type, followed by resources for musicians, special collectors, online music calendars and online magazines. Last is a "Beyond category" section which contains sites such as
Elvis seance, Film music, Lesbian and gay chorus; Barbershop harmony, Karaoke, Musical instrument conservation, Music theatre, Space music, and Rock and roll digital
gallery.
I am convinced that no matter how obscure or arcane your topic of interest is, you can find it on the Internet. I have found for my students lyrics to every ABBA song (in English or Swedish) and lyrics to the Silver Chair song that caused controversy in a US murder trial! You can find a home page for every rock or pop singer, resources on almost every musical instrument, and every classical composer, plus MIDI and electronic music and equipment. The online magazines are devoted to rock and alternative music.
Addicted to Noise has excellent graphics and interesting current news and articles.
Because the Internet is a dynamic beast, I found that a number of WWW sites had changed their addresses (URLs) since publication. This book does not contain much on using search engines, but using WWW Worm and the wonderful
Metacrawler, most could be located, along with a host of other similar sites. Newsgroups, ftp sites and mailing list seem less subject to change.
This book would be useful to musicians and music lovers of all ages.
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Colin Berry: A Pocket Tour of Music on the Internet ISBN 0 7821 1695 7 Published by Sybex 1995 185 pages RRP $26.95 |
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Reprinted from the September 1996 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
