Computing Internet Books

I was in Mr. Cloninger's class in college and was very hesitant over picking up this book. He after all had written it and was using us as his guinea pigs to make his sells increase, right?

Wrong! This book is fantastic. I still continue to reference it every time I go in to design a webpage. It's full of humor (check out his dedication at the front) and quirky wisdom. The book is showing its age now with some of the browser displays, but he told me recently that he's coming out with an updated version soon. I will definitely be ordering it as soon as its available.

I highly recommend this book for someone who has a vague notion of internet design trends and wants a better explanation of it and how to mimic the style.

You CAN judge a book by its cover artwork. Yes, the cover art is supposed to make one think of Seattle grunge, but undoubtedly it also will remind you of what that refrigerator must smell like. Nice pictures, nice layout, nice presentation, but pretty much useless if you want realistic ideas that you can use, let alone implement, in the corporate world (and BTW, the corporate world does extend to rockers like the Stones). If you really want to take a look at the book, go down to your nearest Big Box bricks-n-mortar storefront and thumb through it there.

I love this book. I am a student in webdesign and I had no idea what to expect when our teacher asked us to buy this book. when I started flipping through it and read a bit about the gothic organic style, I fell in love instantly.

one problem designers often run into (including myelf), is that once we come up with a good style, we tend to use and re-use it a lot. we get too comfortable with it. this book allows you to explore other techniques and break out of your shell.

sure, I wouldn't follow it word for word. some things have always annoyed me, such as cross browser/platform capabilities, window sizes, loading time, functionality and so on. this book doesn't think much of it. but this doesn't mean we can't use elements of the styles described and reflect the general essence of it in our own works.

I challenge you to at least try each style. just make a layout and navigation scheme, with no content. just to get a feel of the style. don't think about browsers, window sizes and whatnot. then place these layouts in your portfolio and see what your potential employers think of it.

it is quite challenging, but the result is amazingly refreshing. this book is a must-have for every webdesigner to break out of their rut.

I bought this book for the same reason many did, inspiration and to get out of the design rut I felt myself in. I was tired of going onto the web design newsgroups and hearing about tables versus css and non-validating pages and usability and browser compatibility.

It was nice to see someone advocating something that might not have been coded "by the book." That thumbed its nose at "fuddy duddy" web design. But this book careened a little too far off the path for my taste.

I was taken aback that anyone could suggest, as this book did, that the designer was being "playful" by hiding navigation elements. This is just bad web design, no matter whether you are designing a web page for a cutting edge alternative rock band or for a law firm.

The section on Sim City smashes any theories of usability all to hell. I was literally raked over the coals in a web design newsgroup for committing the unpardonable Sin of specifying pixel sizes. I'd love to see those same people review the sites featured in this book. Especially any site based on the Sim City design... 8px? Uh, yeah, RIGHT! You sure better know who your audience is before you undertake wild site designs like most of the ones featured here.

And entropy8 -- or more accurately, its new incarnation, entropy8zuper.org ... I'm invoking the rule my mother taught me long ago: If you can't say something nice....

I'm not sure how much this book would help anyone who designs web pages for a living. It's a nice coffee table book, but it's not a book that will sit beside any of my other HTML or web design books. No, they won't have it. And neither will I.

Now, I'm off to e-Bay to see if I can unload this four-day old unrefrigerated fish.

I'm a developer. I program. I make the html that makes the pretty pages. I figured that this book would help me come up with some designs (for those oftentimes rare moments that I'm given a design project). I'd impress the boss and get more design projects. It didn't quite work out that way.

This book made me feel like I was in design class. A basic page and its "template" was defined, and then there were more examples that if you squint and shook your head, then you could see it fits that template. I don't think it's so black and white. If so, then they aren't that fresh, are they?

If someone is stuck for design ideas, I'm not sure this book would necessarily help since it's giving more templates. We're trying to move away from looking like everyone else, right? But some ideas for colors did come from this book, so that's good.

I enjoyed the idea of boiling down a lot of web designs into a few basic themes, templates, etc. but think that doing so might make it that much harder to break out of the box and be fresh. Or, if you're like me, once you know the rules, you can break them more easily.

I also liked the little bit of a history lesson that came with this design class. It's quite amazing what some people did with their websites back in the day, and quite amazing how not so far they have come.

Perhaps this book would be better for the true designer and not so much for the developer wanting to be a designer.

Java comes with a nice set of Swing widgets, that are generally easy to program. But sometimes extensive graphics coding in Swing leads you to find limitations in this default package, extensive though it is. What this book discusses is the next step. Using another large library built atop Swing. NetBeans.

There are several APIs that come with NetBeans. Along with classes that instantiate those APIs. The overall approach is to make things readily extensible and replaceable by you. Sometimes, this might be to have a loosely coupled system. Where different groups can contribute code for new modules, without having to rewrite the currently existing modules.

Of the NetBeans graphics classes, one immediate benefit is improved GUI layout management. The default layout managers that come with Swing are either limited or very awkward to use. NetBeans has a GUI builder that is as elegant as anything Microsoft has put out for its applications. (Some NetBeans fans would surely claim this NetBeans builder is much better.) A chapter on this builder has screen shots showing how you can drag and drop widgets to make any form based on Swing. Very intuitive to learn. And when you've stabilised on a form, the builder spits out a Java file that makes the form.

It should also be said that NetBeans is not restricted to graphics-type classes. Though perhaps these might be the ones that attract the most attention from some developers. In a broader context, the book also shows classes that let you get at the filesystem, where you can decouple to a large extent from the specifics of different filesystems.

Tim Boudreau, Jaroslav Tulach, and Geertjan Wielenga's RICH CLIENT PROGRAMMING: PLUGGING INTO THE NETBEANS PLATFORM covers the open-source NetBeans Platform, which can be used to build rich client applications - and it's the first guide for NetBeans IDE 5.0, so no serious Java programming collection should be without it. Java developers receive a guide to advanced NetBeans module development, using proven real-world ideas for building reliable desktop software.

This is an excellent pragmatic view of implementing an ITIL conformant Configuation Management system. It is very useful in understanding the space between ITIL abstract ideals and reality. In addition to a solid description of the technical issues, it provides insight into how to manage expectations and organizational challenges. I highly recommend.

This book purchased was what I wanted and provided me with the information on ITIL that I was looking for.

This is a good book about implementing the process, because it describe common mistakes and best practices. So the project approach is clearly explained.
However the book doesn't go into the details of the CMDB schema. I think that the approach for this book is more useful for implementing existing CM solutions (i.e. Tivoli) rather for building a new CM system. Be aware that implementing the CM process in isolation is not as affective as implementing together with Change Managemenr (as suggested by ITIL and this book).

I was recently assigned the project manager role to implement a configuration management system for a Fortune 500 information technology department. While I had experience implementing configuration management systems from a CMM/CMMI perspective, I had never implemented one based on ITIL.

Mr. Klosterboer's book provided the framework for me to: plan the project, orient my team on the approach we would be taking, and provide reference material for the team. Members of my team have decided to purchase the book based on the invaluable content. The table of contents is well defined so as to allow you to go to the section you need quickly.

I have been involved in over a dozen process improvement efforts and have never found a resource so well designed to assist in implementation. Too often the books I have read have been more theory than practical application. I find myself looking at some section of the book every day.

At the technical manager level, this book helps you decide on a configuration management system. There is a moderate amount of jargon in the narrative. But overall, the book's recommendations seem valid. Details are supplied about what to plan for. And it is emphasised that planning is vital to a successful project.

You might want to look carefully at the chapter describing failure analysis. It looks at finding single points of failure. Suggesting that you might prepare a risk statement for each such point. Where this is as detailed as you can make it, covering factors like the probability of the event and an action plan to minimise this. Or to recover if it occurs.

Utilizo este libro como referencia para cursos de redes y me parece excelente recurso. Lo único que lamento es que no hay, hasta la fecha, una revisión más actual, pues las tecnologías de redes han cambiado mucho y necesitamos estar al día.

Pero la organización de temas es muy útil y ayuda a entender la historia de las redes y los conceptos fundamentales de éstas.

This book is somewhat less terse and succint than other books I've read. I don't have tons of time to read so appreciate short books that get to the point. This book was a little thicker than it needed to be. I like it but "Programming for the Java Virtual Machine" by Engel and O'Reilly's "Java Virtual Machine" are somewhat better books and thinner. PFTJVM has some nice diagrams while JVM has some better explainations on things like exceptions. It might be best to check out these three and pick according to taste.

so many pages, and so little stuff. what a waste of time and money!

This book spends too much paper explaining the Java history and why it is a good programming language. It is very, very boring. The advanced stuff begins after chapter 3, but they are not well explained. Well, all I can say is I really regret having bought this book, and I do not recommend it to any expirienced and short-in-time Java programmer like me.

This book is mostly a rehashing of the Java Virtual Machine Specification (which is available online from Sun, or in printed form). I found its reference section to be slightly less intuitively-organized than the JVM spec, and the rest of the book didn't really add a lot of new insight, beyond a semi-guided tour of the Java Class File format. I would've like a much more detailed tour of the really interesting JVM elements: locking/synchronization implementation, JITs, threads, and advanced garbage collection implementations. There's a lot of active research into JVM design, but not a drop of it can be found in here, sadly.

The book covers many abstract concepts, but it is hard to understand what something abstract means without a concrete example. Implementation of the heap, object layout, etc. is difficult to conceptualize without a real example. I would have been happy if this book discussed the VM as it does now with a running commentary on the Sun Win32 JVM implementation.

First, let me say that I don't read tech books cover to cover. I use them as a reference when I need info on a specific subject. After buying this book, the first subject I needed info on is Terminal Services.

The editors must have been half asleep on this one. There are 6 lines of text in this book on Terminal Services (page 68). Under those 6 lines is a Note:

"Appendix A contains an overview of the way a terminal server works in Windows Server 2003."

I immediately flip to Appendix A. I begin reading..."Appendix A: Internet Information Services 6. DOH!" Not a single word about Terminal Services in the Appendix.

I immediately lost my faith in this book, and I haven't looked at it since. I can't comment on the rest of the book, because as I mentioned I haven't looked at the rest of it. Some may say it is unfair to judge the book based on one subject area. In my opinion, this is a major editing blunder. The fact is, when I need answers I have to trust the source. And after this, I don't trust this book.

Of all the Windows 2003 book I've purchased and have reviewed, this is by far the most comprehensive of them all. The Ivens book is a blend of all the facts you would normally get out of an MCSE book, but the real world flair that talks to implementation strategies and technologies. Great book!

This is a very good book, running from the fundamentals to more advanced topics about MPLS. Easy to read.

MPLS Fundamental book contain essential information for any expert CCIP and CCIE.
However, the book contain the following items that make it complex and unsuitable
To a junior IT staff reader:

1. The lab/demos don't use one lab design. Learning each chapter (and sometimes
Any page) with a new lab design, make the self study learning hard.
Although the author tried to avoid this issue, the issue reoccur in each chapter.

2. Each into/overview after chapter 6 doesn't cover the learning purpose and the
Important information that the reader will learn .

3. The "Who Should Read This Book?" section should provide information that
Expert in routing (especially in BGP 4) is a pre-requirement to learn MPLS.

This is a fairly exhaustive book on cisco MPLS implementation. The name "MPLS Fundamentals" gives an idea that this is a good place to start with, ut unfortunately not. It starts at a basic level, but in no time dives in deep. Use this book only if you want to understand specific areas in depth and not for an overview. Also, if you have access to your own lab, you will find it much easier to follow along.

This is a book where you are given not only an in depth what it is and how its implemented of the protocol but you are also given great insight as to the why its done this way. You are given all of this in a very readable format. I agree with another reviewer that this is an exhaustive text into the internals of MPLS. I love the level of detail it goes into.

This book covers dreamweaver pretty thoroughly. My copy doesn't get much use anymore, but It was a good read.

The tittle of this book says it all and it's not kidding . I have an associate degree in art in Internet Services Technology and I code by hand using a variety of languages such as VB.NET ,C#, Actionscript, etc ,and own a lot of programming books ,but I write my code using Dreamweaver as a tool and the The Missing Manual as a resource. I have found information in this book that is not even in advanced dedicated programming manuals so it is allways the first book that I grab when I get stuck. My personal website photo gallery:http://www.sigmacumlaude.com was ,coded using a combination of asp.net and Flash MX Pro. The process was much facilitated by referencing The Missing Manual and I recomend it to any web programmer of any level .

I use Dreamweaver MX to create interactive training web sites for a government agency. When I first started learning Dreamweaver MX, I bought three reference books. I don't even look at the other two books now. This is the one that sits on my desk at all times. I've never had a problem that I haven't been able to find the solution to with the help of this book.

I highly recommend it.

Hands down this is the best book for learning Dreamweaver. This author is very informative and his style is very encouraging to the new user who may be daunted by the sheer complexity that Dreamweaver can possess.

Using Dreamweaver MX 2004, I expected this book to be somewhat outdated. Nevertheless, I had a great time learning how to use Dreamweaver since there are very few major differences between MX 2004 and MX.

I've had a bit of experience with Dreamweaver, but this book rounded out my education. It contains all the information I needed (and more), has clear & well-written text, and an excellent structure that allowed me to access the information very quickly (they even made the binding in such a way that the pages lie flat). Not only is book accessible, but it continues to be a valuable resource on my bookshelf. As others have mentioned, one of the great things about this book is the fact that it also talks about Dreamweaver's limitations; options (such as frames) that could lead to problems later on. By the time I've gone through computer manuals, I usually riddle them with post-its in an effort to organize the information; this book is so well thought-out that so far I haven't needed to.

Earlier I'd bought the Visual Quickstart Guide's Dreamweaver MX manual (filled with post-it tabs in response to poor organization and because the information was so difficult to extract), but ever since I bought the McFarland book, the Quickstart Guide been collecting dust.

Good real experience as topic are treated, very good explanation of fine tuning and fine understanding of ISA in dept.
Advisable for purchase

For those who who have used the Shinder's prior ISA Server books and want a concise presentation.

A lot of really good ideas are presented here. The author loses focus and creativity around numbers 98 to 100, but aside from that, there is still a lot to take in.

In "No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog" by Margaret Mason, we get as advertised.

I blog a lot, on everything from running to Hungarian recipes, as well as my thoughts on life. Arguably, my blogs are like 99% of the ones which are out there. Except, rarely is my lunch discussed. I tossed my lunch, if you will.

The audience is the new blogger who is not a writer by trade. My friend who is chronicling his weight loss adventure in a blog, brand-new to blogging in general, might find this modestly useful before he quickly graduates into veteran status.

Was there anything I could learn?

Yes. Two things. One: I'm on the right track. Two: Anything, but lunch, goes. Pardon me. 2.5 things. The point five is that there is not much here for experienced writers and bloggers.

Anything goes? Which parts of anything? All of them.
* Hobbies (that would be my running blog, but could be your praying mantis kit).
* Food (that's my Hungarian recipe blog, but could be your ice cream tasting blog)
* Books (my personal blog does a lot of this, with reviews just like this one, but could be about bookbinding too)

Where the book runs aground is its self-indulgence. 128 pages? Why not 25? It is laid out like a bathroom book, with more white space than is needed. I read it in two hours. I was lucky enough to borrow my copy from a library, and recommend you do likewise.

The veteran blogger will gain a thing or two from reading other blogs, and richer books like Blogging For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)). Not here.

Anthony Trendl
AnthonyTrendl.blogspot.com

Margaret Mason's No One Cares What You Had for Lunch promises us 100 Ideas for Your Blog. This is the sort of trendy topic that tends to inspire writers to try to make a quick buck by whipping through and capitalizing on a subject's popularity without having to put in a lot of hard work. In this case, however, Ms. Mason has done a fantastic job of addressing the topic of blogging in a manner that will be of great benefit to her readers and is fun to read.

The suggestions in each chapter are divided primarily by the amount of time they're likely to take. Some suggestions involve individual posts. Some tackle your overall approach to your blog. Others deal with ongoing projects within your blogging, or your relationship to other blogs and bloggers. The entries are short and pithy, much like blog entries themselves, serving as great examples as well as instructions. Many of them further include real-world examples from various blogs (the author's and those belonging to other bloggers) that entertain and amuse while perfectly demonstrating Ms. Mason's points.

Ms. Mason has a great handle on the kind of posts that intrigue and interest people. Better than any particular individual suggestion, what I took away from this book is a general feel for the kinds of personal posts and details that readers find fascinating and why.

I was in the mood for a book on blogging, and after finding this title on Tom "Duffbert" Duff's site, decided to give it a read.

Contents:
Fifteen Minutes to Fame
Thirty Minutes Away from the TV
An Hour at the Screen
Take Your Time
Think Like a Writer

This is not one of those "how to create a blog" books. "Nobody Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog," by Margaret Mason, is a book that will provide you with some excellent ideas for content. Each chapter consists of about 20 ideas for a blog entry. If you suffer from writers block or have no idea what to write, this book will provide you with some ideas. As you may gather from the contents list, each chapter will require a little more time than the preceding one. "Fifteen Minutes to Fame" includes a topic that will get you away from the computer - your family. Spend some time with them and you will come away with a blog topic. Specifically, the author recommends that you spend time with your children, as they will provide you with some great material. I have already put this one to use, when I blogged about losing a tooth. The section, "Take Your Time," is at the other end of the spectrum. In this chapter, Mason recounts some blogs that require thought and time, such as one where you post a picture of everything you eat for a week/month/year. Even those midnight snacks. Somewhere between these two extremes, she asks you to provide some item that will date you - like posting your high school senior picture. Sure, we may all laugh at it, but the result is that you may get others to do the same and you will definitely get some comments. And we will be back to see what other embarrassing thing you may have for us.

The book is a quick read, at only 128 pages, but you walk away with some thoughts for blog posts. Some may not suit you or your blog, but they are entertaining reads, nonetheless. If you haven't posted something in quite a while, want to jump start your blog, or are lacking for ideas, this book will get those creative juices flowing.

Case in point: She recommends taking pictures of items in your closet. I took her advice and shot that picture of a Lotus Collection sweatshirt and wrote about the memories that it invoked in me. It was a fun post, as you don't know that trouble that I went to, to get a good picture (it could be better still). And then when it came to writing the post, that I was amazed at how much I was able to recall. I am now looking through some other closets for similar stories.

I will keep this book close by, for those times when I am hard pressed to write about something. Not everyone will be able to use every idea in this book, but they do help you to put more of a personal touch to your writing and to your blog. Hopefully, you will post more and not let your blog become stagnant or stale.

I've already taken some of her advice. :-)

Well, blogging has arrived. I mean really.
This book is a good example of that, one of those 101 and "in 24 hours" books.
The subject is fun, the content is about 100 blog posts, the price for this is ridiculous.
The author complains that people are writing about their lunch, but funny thing is that her 31st idea for blogging is - yes, you guessed, lunch.
The book is basically about how to bare youself more to the public, how to put more of your private life on the net - hey, you got an embarrassing memory that makes you cry and curl up? Post it!
You got embarrassing photos? Post it!

No one cares what you had for lunch, but hey, why don't you tell us what's in your purse?

Blogging has arrived. And this book is one of those "lets make some money without any effort" books.

But, if you don't mind the price - 20 USD? for this? -, you can have a good bedtime reading. And there are some good thoughts in this. Just not too much.