Sean Westcott

Published nearly four years ago now, some of the info is becoming dated. But there s still a lot of good basic info here, and it is presented in language that aught to be readily understandable to those who are barely computer literate (like me).

A good basic introduction to those who are reluctant to adopt technology that has now become essential. The Westcotts discuss computers, internet connections, telephones (landline and cellular, television, digital cameras, and media (portable media players, video gaming consoles, HD and satellite radio. Worksheets are given for comparison and research. Unfortunately printed works on this subject quickly go out of date.

This is a great little book -- it's essentially a basic primer for non-tech people to such things as computers, cellphones, TV's VCRs and so on. It's comprehensive and informative, written in non-jargon language. There's even a chapter at the end of the book about what to do when things don't work as they are supposed to, with many good ideas. A small quibble is that it did not say anything about netbooks. Despite that I strongly recommend it.

This is *the* book for you to give that older parent of yours that truly wants to understand today's technology and needs a book to do it. I teach this stuff for a living and I learned a few things.