Not being a techie, I had reservations about this book. I am happy to say that my fears were unfounded. First impressions: art was decent. But what really struck me was how the book is not merely written for hackers and technomancers; it was a very good summary of how the average citizen (or at least the average shadowrunner) interacts with the virtual world. I learned more from "The Idiot's Guide to the Matrix" section then I did the Virtual World section of 4E. The sections on AIs and technomancers were very interesting, even if one is not inclined to focus on those areas of SR. Fluff was terrific; I had always wondered exactly what went into producing a sim, signing up with an MSP (legit or not), and the actual construction of the Matrix itself, not to mention all sorts of useful new hardware/software goodies. Also I was impressed with the...what's the right way to put this...the structure of the book. With each new Shadowrun book, the writing seems to become stronger and tighter. Bottom line: great job, well worth the money. I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of Runner's Companion.