I don't know what Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) thinks about his most famous phrase ("Don't Panic!") appearing trademarked on an instructional video (I guess it's kind of like"...For Dummies," "Complete Idiot's Guide to..." or "Total Friggin' Moron's Handbook for..."), but I found this "Don't Panic!" guide for beginning web surfers to be fun, informative, and cheap. Viewers will learn how to get connected, search the web, send e-mail, and even personalize the Internet (choosing your own start page, getting a free Hotmail account, etc.). In addition, the program visits a handful of popular sites in the categories of travel, job searching, medical information, software downloads, stock quotes, and news. Not everyone will find the bridging skits funny (revolving around set-ups that include a male secretary with an emery board, and a swamped website selling kilts), but I certainly did. We've recommended other fine introductions to the Internet in the past (such as The Video Guide to the Internet [VL-9/96]), but given the Internet's rapid rate of change, it makes sense to replace older introductions with newer titles such as this one. Note: this is also available bundled with a color illustrated book for $29.95. Highly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
The Real People's Guide to the Internet
(1999) 35 min. $14.95 ($49.95 w/PPR). Booklet included. thoughtSource. Color cover. ISBN: 0-9669483-1-9. Vol. 14, Issue 4
The Real People's Guide to the Internet
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
