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Author | Dave Barry |
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Language | English |
Publisher | Crown |
Publication date | 1996 |
Pages | 215 (hardcover edition) |
ISBN | 0-517-59575-3 |
OCLC | 37823051 |
Dave Barry in Cyberspace is a best-selling humor book by Dave Barry. Written in 1996, this book takes the view point of a computer geek who enjoys using Windows 95. The book covers (in a comical way) such topics as The History of Computing, How Computers Work, Software, and even mundane topics such as Internet shorthand.
The book starts out with what it calls "A Brief History of Computing from Cave Walls to Windows 95" where it describes how certain aspects of computing (such as emoticons (hieroglyphics)) have existed for thousands of years. As the book progresses, it drifts off to some more sexual topics (in a more humorous than sexual manner). It talks about everything from Quicken to chat rooms and everything in between. It also has some fictitious excerpts from chat room conversations.
The book ends with a fictional story from the second-person viewpoint of a married, stay-at-home mom and her gradual acceptance of and proficiency at using the family PC, especially surfing the Internet through the AOL online service. Eventually, she meets an English teacher online, and the two develop feelings for one another. The story ends with them deciding they should meet in person, even though this potentially will change their lives forever. There has been speculation that this is a fictionalized retelling of Dave Barry's relationship with his current wife Michelle; the male character's online name in the AOL chat rooms is RayAdverb, an anagram of Dave Barry. This theory has not been confirmed by Barry. (Barry's Twitter handle is RayAdverb.)
AOL is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
AIM was an instant messaging and presence computer program created by AOL, which used the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time.
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from real-time online chat and online interaction with strangers to fully immersive graphical social environments.
An internet relationship is a relationship between people who have met online, and in many cases know each other only via the Internet. Online relationships are similar in many ways to pen pal relationships. This relationship can be romantic, platonic, or even based on business affairs. An internet relationship is generally sustained for a certain amount of time before being titled a relationship, just as in-person relationships. The major difference here is that an internet relationship is sustained via computer or online service, and the individuals in the relationship may or may not ever meet each other in person. Otherwise, the term is quite broad and can include relationships based upon text, video, audio, or even virtual character. This relationship can be between people in different regions, different countries, different sides of the world, or even people who reside in the same area but do not communicate in person.
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and triggers a transmission to the recipient(s), who are all connected on a common network. It differs from email in that conversations over instant messaging happen in real-time. Most modern IM applications use push technology and also add other features such as emojis, file transfer, chatbots, voice over IP, or video chat capabilities.
CompuServe was an American online service, the first major commercial one in the world. It opened in 1969 as a timesharing and remote access service marketed to corporations. After a successful 1979 venture selling otherwise under-utilized after-hours time to Radio Shack customers, the system was opened to the public, roughly the same time as The Source. H&R Block bought the company in 1980 and began to more aggressively advertise the service.
Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex, e-sex and, colloquially, cyber or cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication and other electronics connected to a computer network.
A virtual community is a social work of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are online communities operating under social networking services.
Yahoo! Messenger was an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!. Yahoo! Messenger was provided free of charge and could be downloaded and used with a generic "Yahoo ID" which also allowed access to other Yahoo! services, such as Yahoo! Mail. The service also offered VoIP, file transfers, webcam hosting, a text messaging service, and chat rooms in various categories.
eWorld was an online service operated by Apple Inc. between June 1994 and March 1996. The services included email, news, software installs and a bulletin board system. Users of eWorld were often referred to as "ePeople."
Online help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. The purpose of most online help is to assist in using a software application, web application or operating system. However, it can also present information on a broad range of subjects. Online help linked to the application's state is called Context-sensitive help.
Sexual grooming refers to actions or behaviors used to establish an emotional connection with a minor, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. It can occur in various settings, including online, in person, and through other means of communication. Children who are groomed may experience mental health issues, including "anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts."
The AOL Community Leader Program or AOL CLP was the official name for the large group of America Online online service volunteers who moderated chat rooms, message boards, and download libraries.
Tracy Reed is an American writer who created the first episodic online story, the QuantumLink Serial on AOL.
Literotica is a free erotic fiction website. It allows any user to register as an author and submit stories and has over 2.5 million registered users as of March 2023. Amateur authors contribute stories, poems, essays, illustrated stories and audio stories in a variety of categories. As of March 2023 there were more than 500,000 erotic stories posted,and the Site allows Stories to be posted in several different Languages.
Internet homicide refers to killing in which victim and perpetrator met online, in some cases having known each other previously only through the Internet. Also Internet killer is an appellation found in media reports for a person who broadcasts the crime of murder online or who murders a victim met through the Internet. Depending on the venue used, other terms used in the media are Internet chat room killer, Craigslist killer, Facebook serial killer. Internet homicide can also be part of an Internet suicide pact or consensual homicide. Some commentators believe that reports on these homicides have overemphasized their connection to the Internet.
WebChat Broadcasting System, or WBS for short, is a virtual community created during the 1990s. Supported by online advertising, it was one of few services at the time to offer free integrated community services including chat rooms, message boards, and free personal web pages. Extremely popular during the mid to late 1990s in the era prior to the Dot-com bust, WBS was at that time the largest and best-known social media website on the internet. In 1998, WBS was acquired by the search engine Infoseek, which was in turn acquired by Disney/ABC. The original WebChat Broadcasting System closed on 15 September 1999 after its chat rooms were integrated into Disney's existing Go Network chat rooms. A revival of WBS was launched in 2009 and is virtually identical to the original community.
Barry Francis Crimmins was an American stand-up comedian, political satirist, activist, author, Air America Radio writer and correspondent, and comedy club owner.
MSN Dial-up is an Internet service provider operated by Microsoft in the United States and formerly also in several other countries. Originally named The Microsoft Network, it debuted as a proprietary online service on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of Windows 95. In 1996 and 1997, a revised web-based version of the ISP was an early experiment at interactive multimedia content on the Internet.
Comparison of user features of messaging platforms refers to a comparison of all the various user features of various electronic instant messaging platforms. This includes a wide variety of resources; it includes standalone apps, platforms within websites, computer software, and various internal functions available on specific devices, such as iMessage for iPhones.