Kimberly S. Young
Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction
and a Winning Strategy for Recover
N. Y.: Wiley & Sons, 1998
cloth, 248 p., ISBN 0-471-19159-0, $US22.95
Wiley & Sons: http://www.wiley.com/
Click here to buy the book on-line ($16.07)
"My name is Monica and I'm an Internet addict."
 It's not a joke. Internet addiction is real. A quick search on
Excite resulted in 3,140 different sites that
discuss this growing problem. The Center
for On-line Addiction, the Assessment of Internet Addiction,
Internet Junkies Anonymous and even the Internet Addiction Support
Group (an online discussion support group!) are just a small sample
of the dozens of support organizations which have sprouted in response
to this problem.
In addition, a just completed two-year, $1.5-million study by researchers
at Carnegie Mellon University, funded by the National Science Foundation
and major technology companies, has concluded that Internet use
appears to cause a decline in psychological well-being.
In Caught in the Net, the author, an assistant professor
of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh shares the results
of her three-year study. This book claims to be the first authoritative
medical book written by a member of the mental health community.
Dr. Kimberly Young defines Internet addiction as a problem that
must be taken as seriously as alcoholism or drug addiction. Through
her research, she has uncovered that many Internet addicts suffer
the same problems most addicts face: low self esteem, depression
and anxiety. She delves into why the Internet is so compelling to
so many people and discusses how some people have crossed the line
between recreational or business use and an out-of-control habit.
Young gives many examples of actual cases. The chapter on "Profiles
on On-lineaholics" includes a list of who is in danger of becoming
addicted and their personality types.
- People with significant emotional or psychiatric problems before
they ever go online
- Former alcoholics or other ex-addicts
- Women: Internet addiction is not limited to young, male "techies."
Women made up 61 percent of respondents to Young's survey.
- In general, gender issues surface in the way people use the
Internet. Men use it to gain power, status and dominance while
women use it to form supportive friendships, seek romance or complain
about their husbands.
- Many Internet addicts adopt new personas online
- Internet addicts are not shy people
- Most Internet addicts deny they have a problem
Young then continues to give some chilling examples of how some
people have let the Internet completely run their lives, even mothers
who virtually abandoned their children to spent hours at a time
in chat rooms.
In the chapter "The Fraternities of Netheads," Young discusses
Internet addiction on U. S. college campuses. In "Cyberwidows" she
gives examples of cyberaffairs and how destructive they can be on
a couple's relationship.
This book also includes a twenty-question test to help you determine
if you have a problem with Internet addiction. Questions include:
- How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?
- How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time
online?
- How often do you check your e-mail before something else that
you need to do?
- How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?
- How often do you choose to spend more time online over going
out with others?
It's a revealing self-examination of one's Internet usage. I was
personally a little uncomfortable with the results of my self-test.
However, there is a hopeful side to Caught in the Net. Young
believes that it is possible to recover from Internet addiction
and she gives some very concrete advice and steps to take to get
this monkey off one's back. - Monica
Ertel
Maria Langer
Database Publishing with FileMaker Pro on the Web
Berkeley, Calif.: Peachpit Press, 1998
paper, 410 p., ISBN 0-201-69665-7, $US29.95
Peachpit Press: http://www.peachpit.com/
Click here to buy the book on-line ($23.96)
Webmasters looking for an easy way to put a database on
 the Web
now have a new ally in FileMaker Pro 4.0. This book explains the
alternatives available for making the most of that ally to publish
Web databases. Claris' built-in "instant Web publishing" option,
and its custom Web publishing options are illuminated. Web security
as well as static versus dynamic publishing options are examined
in detail. Claris' companion program, Claris Home Page 3.0, is also
discussed. However, some readers may find themselves wishing that
discussion had been far more extensive, since the two programs are
so closely integrated, if not altogether interdependent.
In addition to the built-in Web-publishing features of version
4.0, the author covers third-party solutions including Lasso, Tango,
and WEB*FM. The final sections provide examples of basic data publishing,
using graphics in FileMaker Pro, making data interactive, performing
calculations, and handling transactions. A companion Web site provides
readers access to files and solutions for most chapters, a feature
which significantly enhances the value of the book.
Overall this book is a well-written, nicely organized work that
will provide useful examples and guidance for would-be Web database
publishers. - James Hodson, University of Illinois at Chicago, jhodson@uic.edu
Shirley Duglin Kennedy
Best Bet Internet: Reference and Research When You Don't Have Time
to Mess Around
Chicago: ALA Editions, 1998.
paper, 194 p., ISBN 0-838-90712-1, $US35.00
ALA Editions: http://www.ala.org/editions
Click here to buy the book on-line ($23.96)
A print filter of the Internet? Best Bet Internet is an
attempt to take a snapshot of the best of the Internet, according
to a librarian. Twelve chapters, three appendices, a glossary, bibliography,
and index make up this analysis of the Internet. What criteria are
used to decide the best? Good question. Unfortunately, there's
no description of the author's own evaluative process to decide
what makes the grade, and what fails. A chapter entitled "Information
Quality, Information Quantity" discusses some criteria that might
be used - such as "accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and
scope" - but there's no indication that the author applied her own
rules to the contents of the book. Plenty of URLs and illustrations
fill this book, but as always, some of the hyperlinks are inoperative.
If you're looking for helpful information on Gopher, telnet, WAIS,
FTP, and finger, look elsewhere. Overall, a disappointing book that
should have been considerably less breathless in its review of Internet
resources. - ejv
Derek Leebaert (Editor)
The Future of the Electronic Marketplace
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998.
cloth, 383 p., ISBN 0-262-12209-x, $US35.00
MIT Press: http://www.mitpress.mit.edu/
Click here to buy the book on-line ($35.00)
Electronic commerce seems to be a future quickly turning into a
reality. Politicians rave about it ("In just a few years, the Internet
will be generating hundreds of billions of dollars in sales of goods
and services. If we establish an environment in which electronic
commerce can flourish, then every computer can be a window open
to every business, large and small, everywhere in the world." -
U. S. Vice President Al Gore). As Derek Leebaert remarks in the
beginning of this book, "Anyone with access to electricity can make
a market at will." In four sections, the eleven chapters of the
book take you from the fantastic to the merely logical, in describing
the digital futures of consumerism. The first section describes
the importance of information in this future because, as Edward
Horowitz of Citicorp notes, "The Internet will have to be everything
to everybody." In the second section of services and goods, intelligent
agents are described as information filters, content screeners,
and ultimately humanizers of technology. The "new" economy is described
in the third section, where "global commerce is a logical extension
of the Internet's ideal of instant universal access" (according
to David Braunschvig of Lazard Frères). The last section
addresses the thorny issues of privacy, forms of digital currencies,
interoperability, and other difficult topics. An impressive and
thought-provoking collection of essays, this book is required reading
for anyone interested in economics and finance in the next century.
- ejv
Charlie Scott, Paul Wolfe and Mike Erwin
Virtual Private Networks
Sebastopol, Calif..: O'Reilly & Associates, 1998.
paper, 177 p., ISBN 1-565-92319-7, $US29.95
O'Reilly & Associates: http://www.oreilly.com/
Click here to buy the book on-line ($23.96)
Given some of the problems associated with the public Internet,
it's not surprising that virtual private networks have emerged as 
a solution for organizations to speed access and protect users.
This book attempts to tackle these newly evolving networks in ten
all-too-brief chapters and two appendices. Ranging from the basics
of "why deploy a VPN?" to firewalls and tunnels, the authors try
to do a little bit of everything for everyone. Unfortunately, this
sort of technical stew means that some topics are completely glossed
over or ignored. For those with some experience in VPNs, this book
will not provide much technical help; those seeking some basic information
will find the introductory four chapters confusing. Those concerned
about security issues will be best served by many other recent surveys
on Internet and Web security; with hope, perhaps this book will
inspire a more fundamental review of VPN technicalities in the very
near future. - ejv
John E. Simpson
JustXML
Upper Saddle River, N. J..: Prentice-Hall PTR, 1998.
paper, 381 p., ISBN 0-139-43417-8, $US34.99
Prentice-Hall PTR: http://www.phptr.com/
Click here to buy the book on-line ($27.99)
XML - the eXtensible Markup Language - will change the way the
World Wide Web works, by finally allowing the
 "Internet to understand
itself" (according to the author). From that philosophical premise,
John Simpson takes you on a grand tour of the basic features of
XML, intertwined with his personal fascination with "B" movies (I
am not making this up). Eleven chapters in five parts provide a
sound and quite readable introduction to XML (and the repeated references
to obscure films (well, obscure to me) make this book certainly
different from any other tome on the subject). Introductory chapters
explain XML's structure and terminology; plenty of examples help
you understand links, pointers, and other details that drastically
differ from HTML. The middle part of the book is dedicated to more
advanced features such as style sheets and DTD. The last part of
the book examines XML's prospects, including software solutions
such as editors and style sheet tools. For those looking for an
introduction to XML without pretensions, JustXML is for you.
- ejv
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