5 comments about High Noon: The Inside Story of Scott McNealy and the Rise of Sun Microsystems.

1. While I harbor no great love for Microsoft, I have even less for people who whine about a problem when they should be working on a solution. In my opinion, Scott McNealy is in that category. His constant verbal bashing of Microsoft detracts from what should be a positive message of Sun's advances in technology. Java, the crown jewel of software development at Sun, is a sound technical achievement. No one can examine the technical specifications of C#, the language developed at Microsoft, and not recognize its' Java "roots." In this book you learn about McNealy and I was gratified to learn that there are people at Sun who are just as frustrated at his "first whiner" tactics.
   While Southwick goes to great lengths to maintain an even-handed approach, there is still a clear, although slight bias towards Sun. However, it does not detract from the quality. In my opinion, what lessened the value of the book was the emphasis on the personality of McNealy rather than that of Sun. As a major technology company, it is far more interesting than its' talkative CEO. From my perspective, Sun chief scientist Bill Joy is a more interesting personality than McNealy. A superlative, extrapolative thinker, Joy is someone to be listened to.
   The complex interactions between Sun, IBM, HP, Oracle and Microsoft is one of the most fascinating events of our time. Simultaneously competitors as well as cooperators, how they move together dictates the rate of technical progress. This means far more to me than a series of negative comments about Bill and his group. Therefore, more ink should have been spent describing how these companies interact.



2. Unlike most books of the high-tech, hero-worship genre, these authors actually did their homework and then wrote an intelligent, well organized history of Sun Microsystems and Scott McNealy. Given the multiple transformations that Sun has gone through (workstations, chip design, software design, servers, memory systems, enterprise hardware and software, and Java), as well as its famous feud with Microsoft and Mister Bill, that is no easy task, but they provide a succinct (225 page) and unbiased view that will be of interest to anyone who is interested in learning more about these subjects. The endnotes are particularly helpful.
   
   Although the authors were not able to interview McNealy (he turned down their request), they do include intelligent observations about him and Sun from knowledgeable persons both within and outside Sun. Given the shallowness of McNealy's public comments and statements in other interviews to date (one suspects that he is finally learning to put a governor on his mouth), the omission is not noticeable.
   
   It is rumored that Ms. Southwick is in the process of preparing a similar volume about Oracle and Larry Ellison. If so, it will be a welcome improvement over the swill (e.g., "The Oracle of Oracle" by Florence Stone) that has been published about them to date.



3. After recently taking on some professional responsibility for a large Solaris farm after a long hiatus (about a decade) from Sun technology, I thought this might catch me up with the company and products. It did provide some good info, but this work is over four years old, an eternity in technology. It certainly did not reflect Sun's rapid decline in market cap and Linux debacles, both of which landed it on the front page of the WSJ a few weeks ago.

   I might have rated this four stars a few years ago. The only qualms are that the author should have presumed a more technical, computer-literate audience, and the audio quality was inferior (I listened to the unabridged Audible version).




4. If you were on a desert island from 1982 to 1999, this book might have extra value to you. Otherwise, you may already know a great deal about what's covered in this book.
   
   "High Noon" is quite readable but doesn't dig very deep. It provides a good, albeit Pollyanna-ish introduction to Sun's history and to McNealy...up until 1999. Did I learn anything? Yes, for example, I hadn't known that Gosling architected NeWS. But the level of this book isn't that much deeper than a Reader's Digest article.
   
   If you don't know much about Sun's pre-2000 past and want a quick survey, "High Noon" may help you.



5. Well, here I am, after reading the book for about two weeks every morning, and I am left with no deep impressions about either Sun or Scott.
   The book appears to be a collection of newspaper articles. My first impression from the title of the book was that it talks a lot about Scott McNealy, which the author clearly failed to achieve. I guess the author could have rather written two books - a biography on Scott and business history of Sun. The book fails to achieve either of these satisfactorily.
   I was hoping to know a lot about Java and Solaris, and although there were three chapters dedicated to Java, they didnt leave a lasting impression on me. The author seems to be unaware of other battles going around which would give Java a tough time to evolve.
   Finally, the book doesnt really form a story. Its more like every chapter can be read almost independent of each other.

5 comments about Oracle Desk Reference.

1. While this book does not contain a lot of detailed explanations about Oracle features, built-in packages, parameters, etc., it certainly does serve the purpose the I believe the author intended it to serve. It is a condensed version of about 10 different books from the core set of Oracle documentation. It is the single book I always carry in my briefcase while visiting clients - Extremely useful for quickly looking up syntax and definitions. Thanks so much for lightening the load!



2. This book was written for Oracle experts. It provides specific information for Oracle commands, however it expects that you know what to do with the information. I use it all the time as I generally know what I want to do, and have a good idea about what command I need to use to do it, but I'm fuzzy on the exact syntax of the command. This one little book has replaced several large tomes from Oracle and remains a critical component to my Oracle toolkit. It is much more complete than any other Oracle reference I have found.



3. What I like alot about this book besides compacting lots of great Oracle information used every day is the thickness of paper used to allow over 500 pages in half the space of other books thereby making the book alot easier to handle. This makes it much more accessible as a desk reference which is what it is intended to be. I have this plus a few other books in a small stack on my desk within armreach that I refer to frequently not only because they have great content but because they are easy to grab and flip through. The big, thick books look nice and impressive on a bookshelf but I'll bet many of you haven't opened them in years.

   We have the pdf files of Oracle docs, anyway, so who needs the concrete blocks?




4. I have a stack of Oracle Books... 8 and 9. This is the book I use the most. I always carry this book. I would like to see one small sample code on some of the more complicated syntax's, but otherwise it's a great book. The size of the book makes it so much more appealing than the rest of my books.

   I would like to see a new/updated edition. Maybe add an appendix with some info on the dictionary tables.




5. This is a great book I've kept with me for years. I used to reference all the time, but now I reference it less and less because it only covers through Oracle 8i. Is he going to come out with a edition that covers at least through Oracle 10g?

1 comments about The Gordian Knot: Political Gridlock on the Information Highway.

1. This was the first book I read about information and telecommunications policy, and it made me feel like I was not alone, lost in the confusing jungle of telecommunications: the historical baggage this field carries with it makes it difficult for any author to approach. However, Gordian Knot does a good job: comparing the present with the past (railways) and offering a solution that would really promote competition in communications. This book was read for an intro course on telecommunications policy, and is something I would suggest all people interested in the debates surrounding the development of infrastructure and competition in telecommunications should read. To supplement, I would suggest: Technologies of Freedom - Pool, and Brock's 'Telecom Policy for the Information Age'.

1 comments about Zeroes and Ones: Digital Women and the New Technoculture.

1. The label of "cyber-feminist" should not give readers the illusion of Plant's
   ability to mobilize women readers.
   She affirms the role of women as the pursuers of technology,
   as being part of the machine.
   Her words become as mysterious as the ghost in the machine
   because they are only a description of where we are in these times,
   and I was left without a sense of direction.
   Her throws to Ada Lovelace were numbing at some point,
   and I wondered if there were other women we could also look at.
   Possibly specific Asian women would have been a relief to hear about
   instead of her tendency to speak generally about women
   in Japanese and Taiwanese business slowly taking control.

   Her saving grace was her beautiful analogies of technology with textiles
   and of binary language with the roles of women and men.

3 comments about e-Business for the Oracle DBA.

1. I have been an Oracle DBA for over 10 years now and am in the process of transitioning from a "traditional" DBA to an "internet" DBA. This book has helped me enormously in understanding the various issues and solutions related to using Oracle with the Web. Each chapter of the book is packed with valuable information. The author does a great job in explaining the issues involved in such projects and also provides real-world tips and techniques for achieving availability, scalability, security and performance in e-Businesses using Oracle. I highly recommend this book as a good read and ready reference for Oracle DBAs, Developers and even Project Managers of Web-based projects and e-Business initiatives that make use of Oracle



2. This book is an excellent source of information for Oracle DBAs that work in an e-Business environment. I have read a number of books on e-Business and Oracle but this book does a superb job in showing what e-Business means to an Oracle DBA like me.
   I especially liked the chapters on availability and security. Each page in those chapters contains very good stuff. In my company, high availability and security is a must and the techniques shown in the book are a lifesaver. e.g. encryption techniques, implementing redundancy, security loop holes and so on.



3. I have been hearing about this e-Business stuff and associated acronynms for a while now: B2B, B2C, e-Commerce, EDI, m-Commerce..on and on. No book had so far explained to me what it all means to a DBA like me. This book finally explain in clear and simple terms what all the hoopla is about.

   The author uses simple and clear language in explaining the issues that really matter to DBAs....both technical and non-technical aspects of the e-Business environment are covered in this book.

   Thank you Meghraj for the wonderful explanation and clearing the myths.

No comments about Oracle Utilities: The Definitive Reference (Oracle In-Focus series).

1 comments about The Computer Industry (Emerging Industries in the United States).

1. A short but engaging book that lets you step back and take a look at this thing we call the computer industry. Yost traces its antecedants to Babbage and others in the 19th century. Yet it was only after the Second World War that it grew and grew, to ultimately affect Everyperson in a developed society.
   
   It's a story of hardware and software. Where ultimately the hardware improvements made everything else possible. Of course Moore's Law gets prominent mention. But the book goes behind it, to look at some of the people and inventions who have made it possible for the last 40 years.

5 comments about Lessons in Project Management.

1. Tom and Jeff Mochal have accomplished one of the most difficult aspects of training and mentoring others in the field of project management in their new book. Project Managers can attend classes, receive certifications, and still not have the benefit of an experienced Project Manager like Tom Mochal. Jeff has used his talent to take Tom's valuable and practical experience and made it easy to understand and apply immediately! If you are a project manager, you must have this book. Read through the various areas on risk, quality, scope, budget, etc. and apply these techniques today! You'll be glad you did. If you like what you read, (...). What are you waiting for?? Go see for yourself.



2. Rather pour. I think one should find those lessons info for free on the Web sources on project management.
   Every lessons has a little story half of it is completely irrelevant for the subject discussed.
   E.g. "The one thing I did know about Susan was she was a germ freak. She kept little moist toweletts in her desk drawer to wipe off the phone and doornobes periodically, and she also washed her hands more than anyone else I know." p.25
   "Ashley was married and had two children. She often volunteered at her kid's school and also helped out once a month at their neighbourhood church. She was wearing dark pants with a plain red turtleneck and red framed glasses..." p. 13
   and so on about half of page for each lesson, so you should expect more than 25 pages of such ladies novels in the 190 pages of text.
   No pictures, graphs, tables and any illustrative materials. Just a plain text. Several times it's hard to get the main idea of the lesson.
   Can recommend only as an additional to some serious book on project management. It's like a conversation with a sentimental old project manageк with a cup of tea.



3. This book would be most useful to someone who is currently running a project, is somewhat inexperienced, and who either knows or suspects that something may be going wrong. There are a lot of excellent situational examples of how to understand a problem, diagnose what to do appropriately to the size of the project, and resolve it. As noted by other reviewers, though, this shouldn't be taken as a book that contains a sequence of steps needed to run a successful project.
   
   My favorite explicit lesson was on underpromising and overdelivering. The authors point out that while that's a great approach, never use it as an excuse to sandbag your schedule or add more features that the client didn't necessarily ask for. Overdelivering should only come in the form of early or cheaper than expected delivery of the agreed-upon solution. I couldn't agree more.
   
   There was also a great implicit lesson buried in each of the lessons that wasn't called out explicitly and which at least one of the other reviewers failed to pick up on - the importance of developing a good rapport with project managers and members. In each of the lessons, the authors spend valuable book space describing fictional details and conversations tangential to the lessons at hand. However, I've found that to be an important part of conversations in all aspects of project management, as it's easier to have hard discussions about work-related problems when you've made it clear that you have empathy for them as a person and that any work-releated issues are not an attack on them.



4. This is a great book about project management. It's not like other books that you get tired of reading half way due to it's monotomy and over-terminology text. This books relate real project management cases in a story teller way that besides of making it fun, it also educate the reader. I just finished a project management class from University of Phoenix, and my goal is to become PMP certify. This book has motivaded me even more to continue seeking higher education.



5. I agree with the previous review that there are many implicit lessons to be learned--such as creating a rapport with the people you work with. Most projects fail because of communication--or lack there of--not technical issues. This book is full of nuggets of wisdom, albeit common sense for project managers who have learned them the hard way--from their own mistakes. So, do yourself a favor and buy this book so you can learn from other's mistakes.

5 comments about Oracle XML Handbook (Book/CD-ROM package).

1. The book provides an overview of XML from Oracle's standpoint. Chapter one is a basic introduction to XML itself, but from that point onwards it is more about how Oracle integrates XML into its products & how you might use them to put together a technology solution.

   If you are already vaguely familiar with what Oracle offer, then there this is a good starting point to determine how to solve problems using their fairly extensive toolset. Then you will probably want to purchase another title that focuses more upon the individual tools you choose.




2. There are several problems with this book. One is that very little coverage is given to the Oracle XML SDK. I could not find useful documentation on TechNet regarding use of the XML SDK via PL/SQL. I had hoped that this book would provide examples of SDK and a more complete set of documentation. To my disappointment, this book does not provide much more than an overview.

   The other problem with this book is that it was written with examples for Oracle Application Server, which has been replaced by iAS. Bottom line, this book reads like it was written for the first release of Oracle's XML SDK. Your better off on TechNet and the newsgroups.




3. If you've ever tried understanding Oracle's XML offering from the technet documentation, you've probably given up in despair, as the information is available, but it's totally disorganised.

   Unfortunately, this book suffers the same problems. Many of the examples can be found on technet, and the organisation is no better. Like many Oracle Press books, this layout is poor, and the examples are either superficial or non-existent.

   Instead, try Steve Muench's "Oracle XML Applications." It's superb.




4. There is very little of value in this book that shouldn't be posted on Oracle's web site as a tutorial or whitepaper. It is expectedly Oracle centric, but only covers their products in a very broad manner without much meat. For example, Chapter 4: "Developing for an Oracle Application" is only 16 pages and simply provides definitions for the variety of Oracle-side web apps/extensions.

   If you really want to buy an Oracle XML book, then get the O'Reilly "Oracle XML Applications". Now there's a 5* book.




5. There is very little of value in this book that shouldn't be posted on Oracle's web site as a tutorial or whitepaper. It is expectedly Oracle centric, but only covers their products in a very broad manner without much meat. For example, Chapter 4: "Developing for an Oracle Application" is only 16 pages and simply provides definitions for the variety of Oracle-side web apps/extensions.

   If you really want to buy an Oracle XML book, then get the O'Reilly "Oracle XML Applications". Now there's a 5* book.

5 comments about Oracle8i Database Administration.

1. The book is very useful for both new and experienced DBAs because it has a lot of practical examples. I especially like its Q&A format with scripts which makes reading very interesting.



2. Among all the Oracle reference books, I found this one to be the most useful and practical book. This book is very well written and has an easy to read format. The detailed step-by-step instructions in Q&A section helped me solve problems quickly. This saved me much time and effort than going through piles of other reference books and trying to pull pieces of information here and there together to get a complete picture. I highly recommend this book to Oracle DBA's in all levels.



3. As an Oracle Instructor and DBA I've had the opportunity to review numerous Oracle texts for DBA's and have to say I've been quite disappointed with most of them. Mr. Yuhanna's book however is an exception. Out of the many DBA texts I have on my shelf this is the one I goto most frequently. Unlike other texts which spend excessive amounts of time covering uncommonly used features and little to no time covering commonly used features this books covers almost all the basics in a hands on approach. The book is setup in a step by step how-to format. Although it doesn't discuss concepts much that is not its purpose and the best concepts book is the Oracle Documentation anyway. I've have yet to see a good how-to DBA book until I came across this one. As a consultant/instructor I recommend it quite frequently.



4. We all know, especially here in Brazil, the money that one pays to have a good Oracle trainning. If you already have a little knowledge of Oracle and its jargon and are self estimulated, this book will take you to high level of expertise without a pain . Want to know Oracle ? Start with it.



5. I already read many Oracle books from Oracle Press & other publications. They are very good. This book takes different approch of How-to Style content which is very much practical & solves day to day administrative needs. Topics are covered in detail. Most importantly examples given are from grounds up. Excellent! This book is also helpfull for all who know a little bit of Oracle Database & want to know more in depth