The Library Knows Business: The library means business: today's cyber nuts and bolts

Many people drive a car every day of the year without ever having to know what goes on under the hood. The fact that it starts when they turn the ignition, stops when they apply the brakes and turns when they spin the wheel is good enough for them. But there are those who know their way around under the hood, who marvel at the complexities of the parts of a car and understand the engineering required to make them work synchronously. These people are often referred to as "gearheads."

It's no different with computers, really, except we call the people who know their way around the CPU a "wonk" instead of a "gearhead." For all you wonks (and wonk wannabes) out there, here are a few books and Web sites on computer hardware available at the Springfield-Greene County Library.

Books @ the Library

Dan Gookin's "For Dummies" guides to DOS, PCs, Microsoft Word and other topics have sold more than 4.5 million copies. Now he has a revised edition of "Buying a Computer for Dummies," 004 G. This primer leads shoppers, step by step, to the computer that's best for them. Modems? Recordable CD-ROMS? IDE or SCSI drives? Whether you're a PC newbie or a seasoned user, you're going to find out what's important and what isn't. Developments such as Pentium III, the iBook, palmtops, shopping online and "free" PCs are all there. However, Gookin doesn't recommend specific brand names.

Another Gookin production is "Illustrated Computer Dictionary for Dummies," 004.03 G. Geek-speak and technobabble this ain't. The emphasis is on plain-English explanations of terms, buzzwords, technologies and acronyms. Jocular entries and witty illustrations, a hallmark of Gookin's approach, are interspersed throughout. To augment this and other "For Dummies" books, go to the publisher's Web site (www.dummies.com) and try the "Ask the Dummies Answer Network." Just type in your technology question and click "Ask."

Are you involved in repairing, maintaining, upgrading or building your own computer? Are you wondering how successful you might be if you tried to do so? Here's a book that will separate the wannabes from the can-dos. "PC Hardware in a Nutshell" by Robert Bruce Thompson, 621.3916 T, will tell you where and how to buy components, what prices are realistic (and why), and how to design and assemble a system from the very beginning. Motherboards and processors, video adapters and sound cards! Hard disk drives and interfaces! If you find yourself nodding off while reading this book, you'd better file yourself under "Plug and Play."

Pertinent Web sites

msneshop.epinions.com/cmd

Real users share their experiences, evaluations, opinions and occasional rants on hardware and software. You probably wouldn't want to completely base your buying decisions on this, but you do get the perspective of at least some sane and sensible end-users.

www.consumersearch.com/www/index.html

Here's a service that ranks comparative product reviews according to credibility, based on specific criteria developed for this purpose. These criteria are built upon reviewer expertise and methodology, timeliness, documentation, detail and clear explanation. This site covers everything from cat food to weight-loss programs, but look for the extensive "Computers" category. Some of the sub-categories are "Flat Panel Monitors," "Photo-Editing Software" and "Internet Service Providers."

www.zdnet.com/reviews/

Look for exhaustive reviews of everything technological. For instance, go to "Select a Category" and choose "Printers." You'll be able to search by printer type, price, review date and manufacturer name. Watch for the "Editors' Pick" icon. For each printer, you can read an overview or full review, get the tests, scores and user ratings and see the company directory information and detailed item specs and features. Benchmarks show how well a printer performs in comparison to similar models in its class.

(Mike DePue is the business librarian at the Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell. For almost 20 years he has answered thousands of questions on as many topics.)