Modeling

Elisabeth Parker's objective in this book is to get her reader up and running fast on every function of Netscape Communicator. Because Communicator is such an extensive product, Netscape Communicator covers a lot of territory and is organized to make accessing information as easy as possible. Those new to the Net will want to start at the beginning, which explains the history and basic operation of the Internet and intranets. Others can jump in at chapter 2 to get an overview of Communicator and its capabilities. But those who already know the basics can start with chapter 3, which is a guide to setting up the software on your computer. Parker provides clear and friendly handholding on how to test Communicator's features and customize it to suit individual preferences. The remaining chapters are more detailed, explaining how to use Communicator to take advantage of everything from e-mail to newsgroups to receiving server push channels. Those with more ambitious goals will benefit from Elisabeth Parker's discussions of creating Web pages, setting up mailing lists and online conference calls, and even handling contact management and security issues. The enclosed CD-ROM offers free software to aid in creating and improving Web pages and features a copy of The Internet Watchdog to let users monitor their computer activity.