First the Net, now the video

The World Wide Web, FTP, Telnet, Usenet - dreadful buzzwords, but ones that anyone remotely interested in the Internet must come to terms with. To help them, a couple of videos have now come on to the market.

First is Internet: The Cyberian Connection, produced by Purple Training with London's Cyberia caf, which aims to explain everything from the World Wide Web to Internet jargon. It is split into sections covering the most used parts of the Internet, the best of which covers the Web. The video assumes a basic knowledge of computers and Windows software. It is a slick, glossy product which occasionally over-uses Internet jargon. It also tends to gloss over some Internet issues such as hardware and Internet Relay Chat. Another minor criticism is that the video time index to let you fast-forward to a particular part is written on the video itself - making it useless unless you write it down separately.

The Internet Video is a more down-to-earth guide. It is packed with information on all aspects of the Internet from using e-mail to Internet security. It covers jargon, the hardware needed, and has a brief history of the Internet. If you can put up with the slightly patronising American style, it is a good starting point. One criticism is that it uses a DOS-based Web browser which doesn't show the Web's full potential.

'Internet: The Cyberian Connection' (60 mins), £16.99 + VAT (£19.96), available from Purple Training at 10 Barley Mow Passage, London, W4 4PH. Tel: 0181 742 0607. 'The Internet Video' (91 mins), £25.99 inc. p+p, available from Coast and Country Publications, 3 Mayfield Avenue, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO12 6DF. Tel: 01723 503456