Almost everybody uses the Internet, but how many of us have even a basic grasp of this powerful, complex tool?

A local gentleman named Uyless Black does, and lucky for us, he’s happy to share much of his Internet research and insights.

In a 10-part series that begins tomorrow, Black will lay out — from an insider’s view as well as an adept researcher’s — details on key topics. They include:

• Intrusive advertisements

• Net neutrality

• Protecting user content

• Twitter and literacy

• Big data and megadata

• Government surveillance

• Commercial surveillance

• Hard copy and concrete

• Clouds

• Who controls the Internet

Black, who has contributed a handful of intriguing and sometimes controversial articles to The Press over the past couple of years, has written nearly 40 books. The first 35 were on computer networks and the Internet, subjects he also tackled eloquently as an international lecturer.

A U.S. Navy officer during the Vietnam War, Black later was assigned to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, where as a department head he worked with military bases and attaches around the world. From there, Black was assigned to a Navy computer programming facility in the nation’s capital, where he wrote software that simulated submarine warfare. That’s when he came into contact with administrators from the forerunner to the Internet: ARAPNET.

Black’s expertise led him to the Federal Reserve Board, where he wrote the country’s first software simulating the nation’s money supply. Black worked for the Federal Reserve System for 10 years, going from programmer to assistant director of the Federal Reserve Board. In his spare time, Black earned a master’s degree in computer systems at American University and became an adjunct professor to create and teach a new grad course in data communications.

After leaving the Federal Reserve Board, Black went on to own three businesses dealing with computer networks. For 20 years he also consulted with corporate managers and software engineers about data communications network architecture and Internet protocols.

You can read — free, with no advertisements attached — over 200 of Black’s essays on Blog.UylessBlack.com. But do that later.

For the next couple of weeks we’ll keep your brain busy with Black’s 10-part series, exclusively in The Press.