5 comments about TOAD Handbook (Developer's Library).

1. Useful book for users new to TOAD, especially those who don't want to or have the time to play and feel their way around products or software that are new to them.
   Not something without which one cannot survive but something that is really useful to keep handy.



2. While I enjoy the brevity and straightforwardness of the Toad Pocket Reference for Oracle, this book really gave a lot of insight as to WHY and HOW I could use Toad to accomplish my daily tasks with Toad.
   
   It was also great to see that the things I'm doing as an Oracle professional are in line with what Bert and Dan are advocating.



3. I've been using TOAD for a few years, but like most users, tended to only use a few of the controls. I knew the product could do more, and could probably be more useful, but I never had the time to explore.
   
   This book suits my purposes well. From just reading the first part of the book I was able to customise and de-clutter screens which was of immediate benefit. The book is well-suited to jumping in to relevant sections and skipping others of less interest. Whenever I have a few minutes to spare, I can usually browse through the book and find some feature that I wasn't aware of.



4. Great Book, Easy to read and well organized however the materials were for version 7.4 and the current release is 9.6.



5. The book doesn't cover the current version of the product. If it is the only source of help for TOAD, then it doesn't help as the product is not at all like the book's version.

5 comments about Oracle Essentials, 3e: Oracle Database 10g.

1. As with most O'Reilly books, Oracle Essentials is crammed full of information. The book is geared for DBA's, system admins and developers. The book assumes some general knowledge of databases, but most concepts are explained as they come up. For example, there are sidebars for normalization and RAID.

   The third edition is updated for Oracle 10g. Since the authors point out which features are specific to Oracle 8i, 9i and 10g, this book is just as useful for older versions of Oracle. For readers of previous editions, the book has an appendix directing the reader to the new 10g content.

   For developers, using Java with Oracle is explained. There are good sections on SQLJ, JDBC, EJBs and Java stored procedures. For DBA's and system admins, the book covers architecture, failover and deployment.

   The book uses a good mix of text, diagrams and examples. Many cutting-edge topics are explained with a non-platform specific background of the topic and examples. These topics include OLTP, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence and of course - Grid Computing.

   I found the list of major technologies to be extremely useful. Chapter 1 has a paragraph on Oracle features in the database, application server and standalone development tools. The rest of the book focuses on the database itself. This book covers almost everything you would want to know about Oracle and provides references for more detail on each topic. If you are only going to buy one Oracle book, this is the one to buy.




2. I code databases for a living and use Oracle quite often. I picked this book to increase my knowledge on the oracle database partly out of curiosity. The book is refreshingly small (~300 pages) but make no mistake, this doesn't leave many essentials out. It doesn't cover SQL and PL/SQL though. It's a one trick pony which is very good at what it advertises i.e. good intro to database architecture and features



3. I've used a number of different database systems before, but never had the pleasure of working with Oracle's software. I installed a development version of 10g and was somewhat taken aback when the installer proudly announced "169 products installed." I glumly thought "Gee, hope the database server is in there somewhere."
   
   I picked up a copy of Oracle Essentials and found it to be an excellent introduction to Oracle. The book is short enough to read end-to-end, but it is packed with information about Oracle's architecture and most of those 169 products. The authors write lucidly, in an easily accessible style. Even though the book is eminently readable, it doesn't "talk down" to the reader, nor skimp on details. There is surprising depth in so short a book with such broad scope!
   
   As another reviewer mentioned, there is essentially nothing about SQL and PL/SQL in this book. That's okay with me - there are plenty of excellent texts on those two topics.
   
   Oracle Essentials claims it is "What you need to know about Oracle Database architecture and features." I agree completely!



4. I agree with the good things my fellow reviewers have to say about this book - it is an excellent introduction to the Oracle architecture. But be advised that although the book is rich in theory, there is virtually no hands-on, how-to information. As a result I sometimes spent hours researching how to implement a feature described in the book, when the author could have explained it in a couple of sentences. I highly recommend it - but if you plan on working with the database yourself you will need to supplement it with a good hands-on book, the Oracle on-line documentation, and a lot of trial and error.



5. This book can probably justify its cost by removing the 10g bit from its title. There is very little information about 10g [except Appendix A, which is simply defn of terms]. In general, this book is very shallow. I was completely disappointed.

5 comments about Oracle Tuning: The Definitive Reference (Oracle in-Focus Series).

1. Overall, I found this book well worth the read. As with most rampant books I've read, it has the following consistent issues:
   
   Lack of organization and proofreading
   Too bloated (redundant information, large fonts and too many pictures)
   
   Additionally, I found numerous errors in the code depot scripts that required reworking for them to function properly. That being said, there are some really great nuggets of wisdom here as well as some key concepts that DBAs should be aware of. The methodologies are usually solid and the information is often, but not always correct.
   
   One thing missing from this book that I find in the works of Tom Kyte and Lewis are the actual examples. There are so many good ideas here, but no before and after statistics to give the DBA a feel for the validity of the arguments. Strong test scenario scripts provide proof to the theory and give the learning DBA a chance to practice through example, not just study the concepts. And this is woefully lacking in this book.
   
   Overall, I'm glad I read it and I did gain some insights, but it could have been much better. Take these theories and then dig into APress works for actual applications and some revisions. And take everything with a grain of salt until you prove it yourself.



2. I had high hopes for this book but as I worked my way through it I kept finding myself attempting to puzzle out the author's meaning because of typographical errors, poor proofreading and poor editing. Sometimes I literally could not see the connection between what the text was saying the sample output was and the sample output that was printed on the page. I expect a technical book to be technically clear and this one let me down too many times to instill confidence. I also came away with the sinking feeling that it was at heart a grand advertisement for the WISE software; another confidence killer. This is my second Rampant book and I think my last.
   To be fair, I learned some new things and will undoubtedly improve my skills because of this book, but I would say to the authors and publisher that you made me more mad than you made me smart. You have lost me.



3. This is a well written and good book targeted for senior DBAs. I gained a very good understanding of the Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) reading this book. But there is a huge and fundamental flaw in many of the scripts used throughout the book. Let me explain this:
   Most the tables in the AWR stores cumulative data for various Oracle statistics. If you think about it, it makes sense because Oracle can get the delta between two snapshots by doing subtraction. The scripts in this book does not consider this fact. I fail to understand how the authors can miss this point. Because of this the output of most of the scripts is wrong or meaningless. Of course, it is not a big deal to fix these scripts ourselves. But the fact that the authors missed this fundamental point annoys me and that is the reason for single star rating from me. I will be happy to be corrected if the authors (or some other oracle experts) can explain that scripts are indeed correct.



4. As someone who is working hard to learn the ins and outs of Oracle, I've acquired a fairly large number of books. It doesn't bother me to note that the authors stumble a little with the language and grammar as it's a logical conclusion that English, in today's world, isn't everyone's first language. I know the language; I want to learn how to make my Oracle database as efficient as possible. This book holds a tremendous amount of information and is well worth the cover price. I've tried the scripts, but I never took it to mean that "script" was short for "scripture" and I didn't buy a Tuning Bible looking for answers without having to do the work. I bought a Tuning Reference, and as such it's never more than an arm's length away.



5. It would be easy to criticize any book on such a big topic for being incomplete. The problem here is that this book leaves out essentials that the authors have to know and just didn't bother writing down. Here's an example. "The parameter named optimizer_index_cost_adj controls the CBO's propensity to favor index scans over full table scans." Well, that's great and it's something I needed to know. So what are the values and what do they mean? You'll have to go look that up on the web. This happens over and over and suggests to me that no one bothered to read the book critically.
   
   Now I've had the book for a few days and it keeps getting worse - if I were writing my review now it would be at 3 stars and heading down toward 2. There are SO many mistakes. There are sentences with extra words in the middle - no one ever read this stuff. There are scripts that just don't work, that have SQL errors. There are pompous bits that don't say much strewn here and there. In spite of the book's apparent top-level organization, the chapters themselves are pieced together carelessly with very little development of any ideas. Bits of a given concept are referred to here and there with no attempt to tie them together. One chapter cites one value for an init parameter, another mentions a second value, but nowhere are all the values explained or compared. There's still a lot of information but some of it is hardly usable because it's incomplete, or wrong. Maybe one star....
   
   To add insult, each script contains a warning that it can't be used for a commercial purpose without licensing it from these folks! Who on earth do they imagine is buying these books? Schoolkids? If the scripts worked this would be really sad, but as they don't it's not much of a loss.
   
   I like to think that if I get one really good idea or strategy from a book it will pay for itself, but "Oracle Tuning: The Definitive Reference" is causing me to re-think that philosophy, because it's such hard work wading through all the mess.
   
   In contrast, I'm reading Jonathan Lewis's book on the cost-based optimizer. It's lucid, coherent, well developed, and very usable. Even his old book on 8i is far more useful to me than Burleson!

5 comments about OCP Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-050) (Osborne Oracle Press).

1. Undoubtedly this book will be the de facto resource for Oracle DBA's wishing to upgrade their certification (myself included).
   As with other books like this you cannot go in to it cold and must practise what is covered.
   Unfortunately there are several nasty errors to trip up the unwary.
   If you test things out you will find them.
   e.g. Chapter 3 page 6 - the code at the bottom of the page WILL NOT work!
   you actually need to issue a SELECT ... FROM DUAL.
   
   This kind of thing SHOULD NOT happen!
   
   Hopefully the errors will be fixed in the 2nd edition of this book.



2. Unfortunately, the book contains an incredible amount of errors - both typing and meaningful: different paragraphs conflict with each other, questions conflict with material in chapters, etc ...
   Previous "exam cram" books contained many mistakes, but definitely not as much as this one ...



3. I'm about half way through the book and am amazed by all the typing mistakes in the book. Most are so obvious and some can cause some confusion to readers. Hopefully the publisher releases errata [...]. The actual content seems to be ok and has provided me enough information to research on my own. Hope there is a second edition and hopefully it's better...



4. I cannot believe the author, as an experienced Oracle DBA, provided the following command (here only one bad example from huge other mistakes)to run a pl/sql function!
   
   Chapter 4, page 233.
   Using the EVOLVE_SQL_PLAN_BASELINE Function
   SQL>exec dbms_spm.evolve_sql_plan_baseline(sql_handle=>'123456789999');
   
   The Correct Command should be:
   SET SERVEROUTPUT ON
   SET LONG 10000
   DECLARE
   report clob;
   BEGIN
   report := DBMS_SPM.EVOLVE_SQL_PLAN_BASELINE(
   sql_handle => '123456789999');
   
   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(report);
   END;
   /
   
   The other simple misleading errors are the default value of the new parameters. When I read this book, I have to compare the related contents with Oracle manuals for 11g.
   
   This book should be called back!



5. The 'Acknowledgments' section starts thus: "I wish to acknowledge the excellent technical editing of the book by April Wells. Thanks to April's careful and expert technical vetting, I've been able to avoid errors and improve the quality of the presentation."
   
   It's therefore hard to know who is most at fault for the appalling quality of this book. I wouldn't hire either of them for a job that required any attention to detail.
   
   I started making a list of errors to see whether my initial impression was correct, and I am finding at least one per page on average. Here's a typical example: in a 3-page discussion of Automatic Memory Management starting on p328, there are (by my count) 63 mentions of memory-related parameters; of these, 9 are incorrectly named. And recognising the correct names of parameters is a common exam question!
   
   There are also inconsistencies between different parts of the text, and in the self-test questions and answers, which means that you'll have to look up the correct information elsewhere.
   
   Moreover, many of the explanations are extremely woolly and repetitive. For example: "The DBMS_ADDM package contains several 'directive' procedures to add specific directives to create directives of various kinds."
   
   It's almost as though the publishers have used the first draft by mistake. No doubt the coverage of exam topics is comprehensive (I haven't checked against the syllabus), but the errors and the imprecise explanations make this a book to avoid if you want to pass the exam.

5 comments about Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date.

1. Robert Cringely's book captures the ethos of early and mid-90s Silicon Valley - when nerds were starting to change the world, but the masses didn't get it yet. He captures the gossip, makes bold predictions (Bill Gates won't get married while his Mom is still alive - doh!) and accurately relates the ethos of the era. At the time it was almost a call to arms. Now it still suffices for historical context.



2. Published in 1992, this book is a good retrospective on the rise of the microcomputer and the fortunes it helped generate. However, Cringely almost totally fails when he attempts to look into the future. Cringely writes a regular industry gossip column for "InfoWorld" and so is well connected with the inner workings of the IT industry. As you will be able to see from Cringely's writings, the choice of the title is only marginally correct.
   It is true that Bill Gates, Steven Jobs and the others who gleaned enormous fortunes from the rise of the personal computer were in the right place at the right time. To this extent, the use of the term accidental is appropriate. However, they were also smart enough to recognize opportunities that others did not, so in that area there was nothing accidental about their success.
   If you read this book with that in mind, then there are many benefits to reading it. However, without that perspective, you may reach the end with a biased and incorrect opinion of how these incredible fortunes were made.



3. If you wish to know and better understand the computer business this book is for you. If you wish to know and better understand the computer history this book is for you too.
   It's an excellent book, easy to read with full details.
   Only one expection, Robert Cringley didn't metion Amiga computer and it's importance.
   I recommend this excellent book for all !



4. If you are as fortunate as me, you will be able to read ACCIDENTAL EMPIRES and, at that time, realize that Mr. Robert Cringeley has a profund writing style. Better than that craft of many suspense writers. Yet, this is all real. It's as real as it gets...Rather, as real as it had been. Cringely has an immaculate sense of pace and timing...he teleports you from the distant past to the nearly present, to the potential future. A non-fiction writer who can captivate my attention with that kind of 3-Dimensial approach is, "in my books", a genius of the first rite. Add to that, a touch of humor at exactly the right point, not just timing, but to help crystallize critical concepts, and you have someone who, as my T'ai Chi instructor once said, is practising the supreme art of the "Grand Ultimate". Mr. Cringely is artist and master. Though he is artist and master of the computer reportorial world, I was the guinea pig he describes, [my terminology, not his]. I was the real-world, unwitting consumer who suffered and struggled with the early versions of software and hardware. I saw myself in his book! In a very real sense, I was there though my experience took place thousands of miles from where Silicon Valley established itself. Now, I have the understanding of why...Knowing it was not all my fault. Knowing I was not a total moron. It all helps. Even this late in the "game". Phew! That's a relief. I thought I was losing my touch. Yippie. I've been validated by Mr. Cringely's step-by-step descriptions of the hidden agendas running amock in Silicon Valley that caught us, [me, in particular], right in the middle. My Vice President, back then, had been so impressed with my go-get-em attitude that he bought our company's first DeskTop PC for Business Executives...and I was the first in my company to be asked to use it. Heck...I didn't even know how to switch it on! I reminded him that I was the guy who talked his way out of taking a mandatory FORTRAN course while at my undergraduate school. Like a dope, I studied the specification manual, thinking it was a progamming language. I was just beginning to crack the darn "code" when a pal showed me a book on programming in the language of BASIC. Instantly, I was a programmer. How nifty was that?! Wow. I remember how delighted I was to create code that let a shooting star whip across my screen. I branched out into other programs that I wrote with every increasing facility. Then there was a surge of ready-made software. It caused me to question why anyone who go through the pain of learning a programming language when, with a little creative thinking, some of these new, powerful software packages can do everything you need it to do? I was among lead users of those programs in his text: Visicalc, Symphony, Lotus 1-2-3, and on and on. Then the momentus day when my very own $4,000 plus computer arrived at home, with the most advanced software from IBM, their OS2 operating system. Wow. I was excited. Impressed to be part of the legendary company, etc. What a pain that was! And Cringely now tells us why. Interesting. I was caught in that vortex!! Is there someone at IBM I can call and bill them retro-actively for all my pain and suffering? [Just kidding!] In summary, Cringely provided me with the right amount of history. I lived some of it. I dodged some of it. I was wowed by some of it. But it happened right before my eyes! I was there. I was part of that. And I make it a point of telling my children. Plus, Cringely has a mature "try me" attitude when it comes to where's it all going? What's next. Many real lessons are contained in his masterpiece. It took me a long time to learn my lesson: I waited until Dec. 25th, 2006 to ask for this to be my Christmas present from my children. If your heirs do not find this book among your most precious books on your bookshelf...well, shame on you. Congratulations, Mr. Cringely. A true masterpiece's masterpiece. Oh...PPS.: It is VERY refreshing to read a labor of love, such as this, where the writer went out and DISCOVERED the background material on a first-hand basis, him-, or herself. Bravo. It is refreshing to have such a seminal work in my library. Mr. Cringely "rules!"



5. Accidental Empires (later made into a great TV production called: Triumph of the Nerds) is an eye opening view of the personal computer revolution and the who made it happen from an inside writer who knew the individuals.
   
   Robert Cringley does an exceptionally thorough job of providing a bird's eye view of the personalities, motivations, business environment and savvy of the nerds who changed the world.
   
   I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entire book. One of the parts that sticks out in my mind is about how the personal computer revolution happened so quickly. Cringley points out that the personal computer industry was totally different than any other industry. The participants shared their friendships, work, and knowledge freely. This "free sharing of knowledge" was on of the primary the lynch pin that allowed the industry to explode so quickly.
   
   They shared this knowledge because it all started out as a hobby and many hobbyists freely share ideas. The nerds had no idea of the powder keg of an industry they were sitting on!
   
   Cringley points out a second lynch pin was the growth of the industry was partially because of the youth and exuberance of its participants. For example, he states: "In the PC business, constant change is the only norm, and adolescent energy is the source of that change."
   
   This is an incredible book for anyone interested in learning about the fascinating story of the start of the PC industry.
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

5 comments about Oracle E-Business Suite Financials Handbook (Osborne ORACLE Press Series).

1. We should appreciate that this is the first book published on market talking about Oracle Financials. However, this is the book that contains only general introduction. It doesn't have any detail information either for functional users or technical persons. As an Oracle Financial developer with many years of experience, I don't get any useful information out of it. May be it's good for somebody who don't know Oracle Financials at all.



2. I bought this book because I was trying to teach myself enough to become a Financials Developer. This still MIGHT be the right book for me. However, this is not a step by step guide to the installation. In addition, the book assumes some familiarity with accounting systems.



3. I have tried to buy this book from Amazon. When buying it says it will ship in 2-3 weeks, but even after two months Amazon keeps mailing that it would still be delayed by a month. Be careful while buying this book from amazon, as in my case the purpose is finshed before i even got the book.



4. OCP Advisor advises his blog readers at ebizocp dot blogspot dot com on study materials, preparation tips and exam experiences for 11i OCP exams.
   OCP Advisor recommends the Oracle Financials Handbook as a must read to review your concepts and use the book to prepare flash cards and exam cram checklist. While a handbook cannot replace user guides and other documentations, it serves as an excellent tool to revise the fundamentals tested in the certification exams. The book should be undergoing a makeover pretty soon as Release 12 introduces radically new features for the Oracle Financials foundation. Read more about R12 at oracler12 dot blogpsot dot com. Happy Reading!



5. If you're getting ready to implement E-Business Financials, this is a "one size fits all" book. It reviews pre-implementation guidelines, helpful hints, general accounting refreshers, and basically walks you through what it takes to implement this Oracle product successfully. I return to this book several times a day as we are planning the implementations.

5 comments about The Oracle Hacker's Handbook: Hacking and Defending Oracle.

1. The Oracle Hacker's Handbook (OHH) is a collection of techniques that could be used by an attacker to gain unauthorised access to an Oracle database server upto and including 10gR2. Most of these techniques are currently not public, so OHH is both new knowledge for an attacker and vital warning to those responsible for securing Oracle servers.
   In a nutshell the new attacks include how to gain the version number remotely, brute force usernames, gain passwords/hashes from the OS, attack the listener, escalate privilege internally through PLSQL Packages and Triggers both directly and indirectly as well as defeating VPD. These attacks are illustrated both directly and through application server. By using these techniques and by accessing the Oracle files directly through the OS an attacker would be able to gain DBA privileges on most secured servers. Additionally using the code examples included an attacker could gain password hashes and then the actual DBA clear text password from the network using the password decryption code included. This will work even with complex quoted passwords.
   This is the most effective public analysis of security vulnerabilities in Oracle products so far.
   OHH is a technical book and not really an introduction to the subject though it could be picked up reasonably quickly as the text avoids unnecessary jargon.
   The book could be enhanced by including more on defense strategies, such as, how to prepare and respond to an attack where the attacker has gained the clear text DBA password.
   OHH has a free download site for pre-written proof of concept code which will helps avoid unnecessary typing. From a general readability point of view the book is concise and to the point. The sections are logically laid out and the examples have worked when tested. I would recommend those involved in Oracle security to read this book as soon as they can.



2. When I have started with this book I was amazed and afraid both. By this book all those tricks of SQL injections in Oracle has started to be a public knowledge. So this book is like a knife... you can cut the bread or you can kill with it. :) But let's be honest. It is always better to know especially when you are DBA, because of you are always far behind the attackers who probably spend their lifetime on browsing the code for security flaws. For that reason everyone how is responsible for practical Oracle security should read this book and learn how to defend. I belive that this book will grow in the future and will provide more & more examples. That is the game we use to play. New releases, new bugs, new flaws, new workarounds and finally some vendor final fixes. That is how oracle security process cycle should work. It is worth to be mentioned that in terms of quality, David Litchfield has started completly new period in cycle.



3. Have just read this book this week and it was a nice read, especialy after some of the c***p I have been reading lately!
   
   Basicaly - If your systems estate has Oracle - Then you MUST read this.
   
   I like this book, its good and the author really does know his stuff - its a light weight (easy to carry) book and good value for money
   
   Some nice C / Java Snipets - so it helps if you know C.



4. After reading it I thought "...well what were you expecting?, the keys to the house of Larry Ellison also?". It has interesting information for a non hacker like me, but much of the security problems are in the Oracle source code, and therefore there is not much I can do about it. Yes, now I know what not to do in the new code I program. You have to be a programmer to make sense of the code listings and have seen like dumps of snifers before. The language used by the author is clear for me.
   
   Hope this helps



5. I found this book to be an excellent resource, and use it quite often at work.

5 comments about Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices.

1. I found this book to be an excellent (re-)introduction to good programming practices in PL/SQL. After reading the first few pages a little defensively ("I don't make those sorts of mistakes do I?") I soon realised that there was much to learn in this book as well as much that I had forgotten.

   This book has lead to an instant improvement in the quality of my PL/SQL code. I particularly like the Quick Reference card in the back of the book.




2. 1. I do not follow every practice in this book.
   2. Only some of those I don't follow do I think I should follow.
   3. All of the practices strike me as at least arguable.

   It does what it sets out to do. I believe that it will help the reader use PL/SQL more effectively. In the next edition, I'd like to see a section on unit testing, using the utPLSQL system that Feuerstein is managing the development of.




3. Simply put, this book should be required reading for anyone who considers themselves a professional PL/SQL developer. It is full of pearls and gems, and succinctly presents many, many programming proverbs that must be followed if developing in 0racle



4. This is not a text for learning PL/SQL programming. Feuerstein's PL/SQL Programming text is much more suited for that. What you have in this book is information that the author has distilled from his other works. In a way it could be considered a summary as the title might suggest. This book is a must have for the leader of an organization that is beginning to use PL/SQL. You will find what you need for your programming standards here.

   In addition to good standards suggestions, the author also gives a lot of resources that are available to PL/SQL developers. One of the prime examples is utPLSQL, a unit testing tool for stored procedures and functions. The author gives numerous other web sites and tool suggestions throughout the book.

   Anyone looking to increase their PL/SQL productivity should pick up this book.




5. Steven Feuerstein's ORACLE PL/SQL BEST PRACTICES, 2ND EDITION provides the author's years of programming, teaching and writing experiences in a set of 'best practices' for developing applications. The latest release of Oracle is covered in chapters which cover nine categories in chapters which are quick and easy to consult, arranged in a problem/solution format to reflect real-world programming examples and challenges.

5 comments about Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire.

1. This is really a story of how Gates led Microsoft to its apex, ending in about 1992. It is well written and a good balance bewteen criticism, an explanation of the business model, and historical detail. The story is, to put it mildly, remarkable no matter what you think of MS and Gates.
   
   While a student at Harvard in December, 1974, Bill Gates III and Paul Allen informed Ed Roberts by telephone that they had invented a BASIC computer language for the MITS Altair 8080, which was the first "personal computer" kit for hobbyists. Could they license it along with each Altair kit, Gates asked, to customers for a royalty fee? It was an audacious proposal, because not only had Gates and Allen invented no such thing, but they neither owned an Altair kit nor did they even know the technical specifications for the Intel 8080 chip. Skeptical of their claim, Roberts replied that whoever demonstrated a working BASIC would win the account: Gates and Allen were in competition, he told them, with 50 other "geeks" who already had made the same claim. Gates and Allen then hunkered down for 8 weeks to write the first BASIC for a microcomputer. The resulting "software", which immediately won over Roberts, was the first application of what would become Microsoft BASIC. Gates was 19.
   
   As the company founders, Gates and Allen shared a vision that virtually every home and every office desk would eventually have a PC on them, all operating with their software. To run Microsoft full time, Gates dropped out of Harvard in January, 1977. Their business quickly expanded beyond the Altair as competing brands of personal computers emerged, including the Tandy from Radio Shack and the Apple II computer; they were also called upon to program BASIC into a number of other electronic devices. All along, Gates' goal was to gain market share, in effect setting the software standard for most, if not all, PC users. As a true believer who intimately knew the product, Gates was the principal salesman, while Allen concentrated on technical development.
   
   During this formative period, Microsoft's corporate culture was established. Perhaps as a result of hiring many of his programmers straight out of university, Microsoft's offices (and later the campus in Redmond, Washington) took on the look and feel of a college campus, that is, an informal and a freewheeling intellectual atmosphere with "late hours, loud music, walls full of junk, anything goes dress, Coke, adrenaline, unbuttoned behavior." Employees tended to be very young with a programmer or engineering mentality; they designed their products for tech-savvy customers - male in their early 20s - like themselves, a kind of fellowship for computer adepts. Like Gates, they loved to play with and program electronic gadgets.
   
   Microsoft hired the brightest programmers with demonstrated practical abilities. Employees were also expected to work extremely long hours as a team toward a common goal, not as strident individualists. Gates encouraged them to develop their entrepreneurial passions, forcefully advancing their own ideas of useful products for new markets. Overseeing it all was Gates, who gained the reputation of a harsh and challenging critic with a relentless drive for excellence, whether to beat the competition or out of fear of falling behind in such a fast-changing industry. As the sole remaining founder after Allen's departure in 1983, Gates remained deeply involved in both technical and business details as well as the general direction of company strategy. Nonetheless, as the principal revenue generators, Microsoft's product groups increasingly became the seats of decision-making power, in spite of Gates' active engagement.
   
   At the end of 1979, Microsoft had $US 4 million in sales. Most of these revenues came from BASIC, which enabled programmers to create applications, such as word processing and accounting spread sheets. The level below BASIC and the other languages under development at Microsoft was the computer operating system, which performed the most elementary tasks required to run computers. With the prospect of providing software to IBM for the basic PC it was planning to market for a reasonable price, Gates and Allen began to acquire the rights to, and then develop, software for a computer operating system. Known later as DOS, it again set an industry standard that would enable Microsoft to efficiently develop languages and software applications in a single engineering environment rather than painstakingly customize them for a variety of incompatible operating systems. This would immensely simplify Microsoft's programming process as well as enhance its efficiency.
   
   As Gates foresaw, this was a near-ideal position to occupy at the moment that the PC market was poised to grow explosively with the introduction of the inexpensive IBM PC, which was made of off-the-shelf components and hence easy to copy, or "clone". With the dual ownership of DOS and several major programming languages, Microsoft became one of the fastest growing companies in the world. By 1985, just prior to its IPO, on revenues of $US 140 million, Microsoft had a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 34%, no long-term debt, and cash reserves of $US 38 million. By 1987, the company surpassed Lotus to become the world's largest software vendor for PCs. Gates was on his way to become the richest man in the world, at least for a time.
   
   However, the ownership of DOS and the programming languages would also, critics later claimed, confer an "unfair advantage" on the company. First, the Microsoft applications groups were accused to obtaining "inside information" from the operating systems group, which enabled them to design their products to function more quickly and smoothly than competitors could. Second, because each change in DOS required competitors to supply their latest products to Microsoft programmers to ensure compatibility, critics charged that this amounted to an inside peek into their strategy at the cutting edge of their capabilities. It was a symbiotic relationship that made many outside vendors - independent companies developing applications to run on Microsoft operating systems -uneasy and resentful. Third, DOS programmers were accused by rivals of inserting "hidden bugs" into the operating system in order to hinder the function of competing products, such as the Lotus spread sheet, damaging their competitive position and brand. The resulting negative publicity did a great deal of damage to the Microsoft brand, which began to be seen as the industry bully.
   
   While Gates insisted that he had erected a "Chinese Wall" between Microsoft's applications division and its Operating System's Group, it was not enough to deter the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from opening a probe into the company for anti-competitive practices that purportedly hurt consumers. By 1991, when the FTC probe became widely known, Microsoft controlled one-quarter of the applications market and dominated the operating systems market with Windows. There was speculation about the imminent breakup of Microsoft into separate companies for these markets, similar to the dismantlement of AT&T. For their part, defenders of Microsoft argued that it was winning because it was better and smarter, presenting its customers with superior products at bargain prices.
   
   This a pretty much where the book stops, which badly dates it. Not only is the story of the anti-trust law suits left untold, but subsequent business developments - notably the internet - are not even mentioned. Thus, this is an excellent early history, but the reader must look elsewhere for more detail. Of the shelf of books on MS, in my opinion this is one of the best, and it was most useful to me for a research project. Recommended.



2. This is the definitive Book about Bill Gates (and the history of Windows). It covers all the management aspects of how he drove Microsoft and how the work became his life. The man doesn't do business... He LIVES it. And this book describes it in very much detail.
   
   The details includes how Bill "turned over" IBM... Promissing them the OS/2 under the "NT Technology" flag and how he realeased Windows 95 and killed IBM forever from the Desktop business. It also shows Gates apreciation for Older woman (and many that took him to bed). As part of this "private" package, it also explains the problems that He had with Steve Ballmer. How Ballmer was showing poor management and leadership under Gates perspective and how Ballmer got over it and made his loyalty to Gates forever.
   
   I was more interested on the part that explains how Microsoft Windows 1.0 was developed. How disastrous the first Office was compared to the competition and how they managed to "work around" and fix it, by "coping" the competition and improving it "the Microsoft way".
   
   Buy this if you want to know how business can be done... or be "copied".



3. Delightful book. Its one flaw is its addictiveness, I couldn't put it down which did cost me sleep (I'm an IT professional with an entrepreneur spirit- your results may vary).
   
   The Microsoft/Gates biography is impeccable in its wealth of interesting details and engaging story-telling.
   
   Bill Gates is a fantastic decision maker. He would be as successful selling water or space suits, he just happened to be at the right time in the right booming industry and pushed with his business-business mentality to the limit. Right decision after right decision, the Microsoft journey is a story that any entrepreneur should nitpick and absorb as much as possible.
   
   Of course, his terrible capitalistic drive is a perfect subject for a discussion on morals, social responsibility and related matters, but without a doubt when it comes to maximizing outcome while playing by our economic rules, Hard Drive tells a tale of epic proportions featuring a superhero / villain that rivals the best of science fiction.



4. Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
   
   This book is a must-read for people who consider themselves ambitious and driven. It taught me the importance of single-minded drive and determination, coupled with a passion for the line of work one is in. IT is a tough line of work to be in - jobs could be outsourced anytime, skills become redundant quickly and there isn't the glamor or get-fabulously-rich possibility of finance or investment banking... but this book demonstrates that as long as you are passionate about what you do, there is always room at the top. Take heart from it!



5. This book "flows" easily and it does a great job covering the meteoric rise of both Bill Gates and Microsoft. The narrative is never dull and both, the man and his company, are given a fair treatment. This book was published in 1993 and a lot of interesting stuff remains to be told. Wish the authors would team up for a sequel. This is a well written and authoritative account of Microsoft and its founder.

5 comments about OCP: Oracle 10g Certification Kit (1Z0-042 and 1Z0-043).

1. i have got my oca last year and my ocp just last month, utilizing these two books and the ocp 10g all-in-one exam guide from john & damir. these two books have a quite complete coverage of the materials in oca and ocp 10g exams, which means it sometimes covers more than needed to pass the exam. in one way it is good for our knowledge, but it sometimes could be frustating because of the long chapters (need two books to pass ocp instead of one book with john/damir book). i would suggest however to still get the john/damir book in addition to this one to pass the oca/ocp exam (like i did), for the sake of completeness and chapter organizations. these two books have rather unique chapter structures (not aligned with oracle admin I and admin II training materials), for instance there are three chapters in the admin II training that combined into one chapter of the second book. overall it is still a good reference not just for 10g oca/ocp exam, but also for your oracle 10g knowledge in general.



2. i consider it a good idea for studing to OCA exam test. Even if you have not experience with Oracle databae, it is recommended for beginers.
   
   i recommend to read it more than one time, because there are so much details to know at the exam... practice a lot
   
   the book cover all the topics presented by the Exam



3. OCP:Oracle 10g Certification kit (IZO-042 and IZO -043) has been a very useful material for me. I appreciate Amazon for quick delivery of the material. I have been making several books purchases for the past one year. I have bought 5 differents IT related materials from Amazon. I develop absolute confident in them and wish to recommend them to any aspiring client.
   
   Seyi Ogunlaru
   Lagos, Nigeria



4. I was unable to install the ebook from the cd rom to my computer due to the permission set on it. I tried all the installation guides that was provided to no avail. it's a pain because i can't read the ebook on my computer, for this reason i'm giving ZERO RATING! because this is part of the services that i paid for, it's not convenient reading text book in the office.



5. This is a good book in many ways, but I have to subtract a star for the unacceptable hoops you have to jump thru if you want the electronic version. And even if you do install it, there are serious limits as to how you may use the material you just paid for.
   
   Sybex is one of these outfits that feel their customers are crooks, and they never let you forget it.
   
   Too bad, because some of their material is good. It's really tough to justify this product as a new purchase. If you can find it used, maybe then.