Several years ago, if not more than ten (seeing my edition dates from 2002 and costed 38 EUR then), I frequently used whatis.com to look up info on certain IT-related terms and subjects. I found it a very useful resource and when I discovered there was a book version as well, I simply had to have it. Books remain useful, even when you have an Internet connection and surely when that connection fails.

This encyclopaedia has a nice and clear lay-out, sorting everything alphabetically like in a dictionary. All terms, acronyms, ... come with a short, but clear explanation. Drawings were added where necessary.

The first few pages contain:
- an overview of chat abbreviations
- an overview of emoticons
- a table with the characteristics (speed, what it's made of, how it's used) of several technological devices: GSM, ISDN, Cable modem, Ethernet, and many more.
- an overview / table of the several physical units, DSL, Drive types, and so on.

In short, a thick and heavily recommended encyclopaedia for, as is written on the back, "technical professionals, students, and technology enthusiasts", as it covers various aspects of IT, the WWW, hardware, software, networking, and more. ( )