PUTTING IT ON PAPER

A Quick look at three Communications Books...

The most comprehensive general introduction to getting your computer communicating with the outside world has to be Ray Hammond's On-Line Handbook, published by Fontana at £4.95.

Mr Hammond starts off by outlining the benefits of linking your computer up with the outside world and then goes on to explain how to go about achieving the link up. As a guide to selecting your communications software and modem and connecting up to the phone line, his book provides an excellent starting point for the communications novice. It will also act as a handy reference guide to the services available once you're linked up and ready to go.

The book is not machine-specific and the first section gives an excellent overview of communications hardware and software, and sets out to explain how communication with other computers is effected without burying the reader in unintelligible technical jargon. In this aim it should succeed with even the most computer illiterate person, and have him or her well on the way to getting on-line.

The remainder of the book is effectively a comprehensive directory of the bulletin boards and on-line databases available in the UK and overseas and it contains a wealth of valuable information that even the most experienced modem user should want to keep on hand.

AUTHOR: Ray Hammond
PUBLISHER: Fontana
PRICE: £4.95

This book is really two books worked into one. The major part is directed at the intelligent novice who wishes to access the world from their home micro for leisure purposes. A considerable amount of time is also spent, however, on more "serious" uses which may prove to be of interest to some readers, but which most will find over-expensive, irrelevant and too esoteric for them. Although it's nice to know they exist, I think the author goes over the top in giving us page after page of details on services few are ever likely to use.

This excess baggage aside, however, the rest of the book really does live up to its title - it's a handbook for going on-line. It's packed with tips, addresses, phone numbers, and the kind of factual information you would otherwise have to discover by trial-and-error, or from someone of your acquaintance who already knew it (and was willing to tell you!).

Hammond tries to describe things objectively, so readers may decide for themselves about which products they'll need to try. This works quite well when comparing, say, Prestel with CompuNet, because good arguments both for and against are presented; in the more general discussions, though, such as the overview of modems, more comprehensive reviews of equipment, with advice as to which are the best buys, would have been appreciated. His list of suppliers is still quite handy, I suppose.

The book is very readable, and I particularly liked the short asides ("log-on messages") which are scattered throughout the text, containing interesting, although not essential, snippets of info. The long "examples", however, which are logs of various services in use, left me cold. It's fairly obvious that they're just verbatim print-outs of sessions, which have not been sufficiently edited. Repeating entire records on the "greenhouse effect" just to show the detail contained in a database is, frankly, a waste of time.

All in all, the book is very competently written, certainly of help to the novice, and well worth having - even if it doesn't mention Mud! The "serious" modem-user, although well-catered for, is unlikely to read it (anyone who can afford up to £140 a month to register with a single database probably employs someone who knows all about comms anyway!).

I certainly recommend this book, although perhaps you'd better rush out and buy it fairly quickly before the detailed information it contains is obsolete; already the sterling-dollar exchange rates mentioned are (unfortunately) way out of step with reality!

Written by Ray Hammond and published by Fontana, this book claims to supply all the information required to connect your humble micro to the outside world, and I can honestly say that it does live up to its claim. When I received the bundle of books, I first of all had a quick thumb through all of them. On picking this one up, much like a good thriller, I just could not put it down.

The reader is initially introduced to what is meant by the term 'going ON-LINE' and how easy this is. The advantages of doing so are also heavily emphasised (perhaps the author has the controlling interest in Telecom shares!). The book then progresses to show what is needed, whether using a ZX80 or an IBM PC to go on-line. Various technicalities are explained, from the basics of the ASCII character set to the modem and interface operation and, if armed with a soldering iron, even how to wire up an RS232 cable (WOW!). The explanation of how data is sent across a telephone line is also included and is very interesting.

The remainder of the book then shows how to log on to various computer Bulletin boards, Prestel, Micronet and various useful Databases. Some of the above methods need passwords and up-front payment, and the reader is fully instructed on how to go about this. Many examples of the author's on-line experience, showing what happens when you actually go on-line are also given.

This book is a must for anyone who has the slightest interest in communications and at the mere price of £4.95, it is a great buy. This book will be taking pride of place on my bookshelf for quite a time. One last note - the book does not tread onto the path of the so-called 'hacker' and is totally legitimate.