Acknowledgments

This book, like the Internet, is a collaborative work. My name might be on the cover, but I am far from the only person involved in its creation.

Acquisitions editor Stephanie McComb was instrumental in getting the book off the ground, and as always, was a pleasure to work with.

The illustrator for the book, Michael Troller, deserves many thanks. His illustrations made this book a rich, visually pleasing experience.

Thanks also go to illustrators of past editions: Mina Reimer, Sarah Ishida, Shelly Norris, and Stephen Adams. And many thanks to the entire team at Que who produced the book, including Kevin Howard, Mandie Frank, Linda Seifert, Tammy Graham, and Ken Johnson.

Thanks also have to go to the many, many people I interviewed for this book. People from Quarterdeck Corporation, Chaco Communications, Progressive Networks, White Pine Software, Microsoft, Netscape, Headspace, SurfWatch Software, WebTV, Accrue, VDONet Corporation, America Online, Yahoo!, Hilgraeve, Fairmarket, eWallet, and Nuborn Technologies are only a few of the folks who gave their time to help me understand the nitty-gritty of how various Internet technologies work. Tim Smith offered me vital help as well.

I gleaned much information from the many FAQs and similar documents widely available on the Internet. I'd like to thank the anonymous authors of those documents, whoever they are.

Finally, big thanks have to go to my wife, Lydia. She put up with those occasional glassy-eyed looks that were replies to simple questions like, "Did you leave your keys in the refrigerator again?" She also endured my extreme absent-mindedness while I was figuring out ways to explain how firewalls, DSL, or zombies work when I should have been concentrating on more immediate matters.