Andrea Benites
Unleashing Web 2.0: From Concepts to Creativity
By: Gottfried Vossen & Stephan Hagemann
Published: 2007
Pages: 368
Today, the term “internet” is an understatement. However, we first begin with the device itself, the computer. Over these past decades the computer has evolved from a tiny fat portable block. Back then these computers just read in black and white for general purposes, as in sending short messages and emails to others. Unlike then, computers today have transformed drastically and not by the way they look alone. From frequently updating programs to creating new software, computers as a whole seem to reinvent themselves on a daily basis. However, its not just simply about this device we call a computer/laptop that’s changed the way we communicate, its what the computer has to offer. The World Wide Web has opened countless doors and opportunities too just about anything the world is willing to show and share, which means just about everything.
Unleashing Web 2.0: From Concepts to Creativity begins with the earliest stages of the web. This book is great for people who want to know the entire biography of the Internet itself. Mosaic was the earliest browser developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois in the United States. I personally have heard of Mosaic but never knew that the only thing that has not changed is that the computer began on a client/server principle idea. The client requests services and the servers are the ones providing them. That idea might sound like common sense yet I find it really interesting that there is still one true characteristic that the Internet posses from its beginning stages. For those who are interested in the technology, as in the hardware, the way a network works, and the steps the client/server take in order to function, this book is definitely for you.
However for those who enjoy more of the social media and interactive aspect, this book touches just a brief amount of it. I would not suggest this book for someone who specifically knows what part of a web application he or she prefers interacting with. For instance, chapter 13.1 speaks about blogs and wikis. It informs you what exactly it is, how its used, and what it does and can do for you. If you prefer to know more in-depth about blogging and wikis, seven pages of information won’t be enough for your craving. Online social networking is what caught my attention in this book. I really enjoy, sometimes too much, going online and logging into my personal account and interact with others through the infamous Facebook. However, this book only speaks about Myspace. Which I found really mind blowing due to the fact that it was published in 2007 and Facebook was definitely, in my opinion, over coming Myspace before then. Although Facebook was not spoken about, Myspace still has the same characteristics as in communicating with only your close friends or with the hundreds of friends you wish too have. It can do a lot of wonders with branching out your business, meeting new people, reconnect with old friends, or keep in contact with all family members.
After the social media chapter, the book goes back and continues what script writing is and how it will impact the world within the next couple years. It does not matter whether you are computer literate or not, most people know how to access the Internet and use it to their advantage. If you are one of those people who enjoy diving right into new applications and mastering them on your own, then this book is not for you. This book targets and should be more directed towards those who will be using computers as their degree. I am very glad I read this book cause my degree is Computing Information and Technology; it has benefited me for my future. I have taken classes before that touch base of some of the topics here, yet it was much more easy to understand and put in perspective with this book. Programming, networking, and the technology a computer needs and uses in order for the Internet and World Wide Web to function is what I need to know. There are copious amounts of interesting and amusing websites throughout the entire Internet but underneath the surface is what I must aquire my knowledge, and this book did just that.
