UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
This file contains a more detailed description of the following book, not the text of the book: THE WORLD AT YOUR KEYBOARD; AN ALTERNATIVE GUIDE TO GLOBAL COMPUTER NETWORKING
Burkhard Luber
Many thousands of people around the world use their home computers to
make contact with other people, often thousands of miles away, who share
their leisure or other interests. Millions more could do the same, given
a few words of advice and the purchase of the necessary modem. Written
in simple, jargon-free language this book contains all the information a
computer owner needs to gain access to this alternative world of open
communication.
The author describes the history of the world's two biggest networks
that are dedicated to uncensored communication of information on
environmental, peace, development and other political issues. GreeNet is
based in London, PeaceNet in California, but both can be accessed from
anywhere in the world. There is simple advice on how to use the
networks, how to send and receive electronic mail and how to participate
in the numerous 'confrences'. A number of useful 'scripts' are included
(no technical knowledge needed!) to help the reader make the most
efficient and economical use of the service.
To illustrate how practical and useful computer networking can be,
Burkhard Luber takes actual illustrations from his own work in peace
research. The reader sits by his desk and watches Dr. Luber read his
incoming mail, communicate with people in the Baltic states as the
Russian troops mive in, exchange information with an Australian about US
spy-satellite facilities in Australia and Germany, and check through a
number of conferences for new contributions. Included is an up-to-date
list of 'bulletin boards' in Russia, so that the readers can have direct
access to people and information there.
Contents:
Acknowledgements - Abbreviations
1 Electronic networking and mailing: setting the terms of reference
2 The history of PeaceNet and GreenNet
3 The profile of the Network
4 At the heart of the network: inside the conferences
5 Thirty minutes on-line
6 Peace work: making connections
7 Electronic breaches in the barricades
8 Participating in the electronic communications culture
Appendix 1 Using the Network more effectively
Appendix 2 Useful adresses
Appendix 3 Useful publications
Appendix 4 Abouth the Threshold Foundation
The author:
Dr. Burkhard Luber has degrees in political science, history and English
from the universities of Frankfurt and Giessen, and the Certificate in
American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently
Director of the Threshold Foundation at Bremen, Germany. He lectures
throughout Eastern Europe and the US on disarmament and peace research
and is visiting professor at the University of Riga. He is founder and
editor of the Transcontinental Peace Newsletter, a quaterly journal of
peace research. Dr. Luber's previous books include one in English. When
Trees Become the Enemy: The Military Use of Defoliants (New York, 1990).
First published 1993 by Jon Carpenter Publishing, PO Box 129, Oxford OX1
4PH. Trade distribution in the UK and Europe: Central Books, 99 Wallis
Road, London E9 5LN. Mail order: please add p&p and send your order to
Jon Carpenter Publishing at the address above. 7.99 paperback 160pp
Burkhard Luber's fax: (49+)-4293-1337 / Electronic mail address:
B.Luber@Bionic.Zer.De
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