5 comments about Unix for Oracle DBAs Pocket Reference.

1. This is a book that should be in the pocket of all Oracle dbas
   beginners in unix, and specially those fighting with several
   flavors of unix.
   If you are an experienced oracle dba working with Windows NT
   or Open VMS and new in unix, these book can help you.
   It's reading is easy ç, since the book contains the basics that an oracle dba need to know in order to begin working with unix as soon as possible.



2. Decent reference - at least pointing out some interesting options and some things to watch out for at the OS level. As mentioned in other reviews - its HP-UX oriented with nearly as much focus on AIX, but lacks detail on Solaris (and Linux).
   Fairly well written - but mainly pretty simple content. Just keeps you from looking up the syntax in some cases. If you are new to UNIX its probably worth the purchase. If you are an experienced UNIX professional - find it used to make it a worth-while purchase.



3. This booklet is full of usefull Unix commands, most of them at the junior level and just a few more are complex. I used this book maybe 10 times since I bought it a couple of years ago, so I am not sure that I have utilizied my purchase well.
   
   Still, I would recommend the book to any DBA who is new to Unix.



4. This is a very helpful book which provides a basic overview of using Unix running Oracle. Perhaps the best feature of this book is that the author has spent lot of time providing only the most useful and salient Unix scripts for the Oracle DBA. You will not find any unnecessary or redundant information in this book. In fact, I highly recommend all Oracle DBAs to read this book and memorize all its ideas.
   
   Here are some of the best tips:
   1)Script to kill all Oracle processes.
   2)Place a SQL * Plus script in a Unix Shell Wrapper
   3)Ensure that only the Oracle user can run a Unix shell script
   4)Execute a SQL*Plus Script on all the instances in the enterprise.
   5)Automatically delete old trace and audit files
   6)Copy TNSnames.ora to all the Unix servers in the enterprise
   7)Detect when Oracle is not accepting connections and send alert



5. This booklet contains a collection of shell script code snippets and other UNIX tips for the DBA. Not everything will be useful for everyone, but only the most experienced UNIX geek will fail to find one trick or the other that he did not know before. And what else is UNIX expertise if not knowledge about such little tricks?
   
   I especially liked the sections about commands to collect performance statistics for the UNIX boxes your databases run on. You do not normally find these commands in general UNIX books (not even in the meatiest ones) and would have to turn to special UNIX admin books, which might be sort of an overkill for a mere DBA.
   
   The book also introduces into some very basic UNIX concepts like piping commands and changing file permissions. This is superfluous as this booklet does by no means repalce a full-fledged UNIX introduction. But if you are a DBA who has already read his "UNIX for Beginners" or the like and who wants to delve a little bit deeper into HP-UX or AIX, than this book is for you.

5 comments about Oracle Dataguard: Standby Database Failover Handbook (Oracle In-Focus series).

1. I had high hopes when I purchased the book. After reading it over, I found it poorly organized, written and edited. The information was little more than what's available in the Oracle documents and in metalink, as has been pointed out. The cartoons sprinkled throughout were distracting, amateurish, unfunny, and, in the case of the one on page 210, offensive.
   I have several books in this series and really like a few of them. Oracle Privacy Security Auditing is especially good. I wish the same were true of this waste of good paper.



2. I read this book and its good coverage for command line with Data Guard and concepts. Very useful and have used it on several projects to implement standby databases. Now would be great to see one that covers new features for 10gR2 and 11g.



3. This book provides detailed description of the ORACLE Dataguard's architecture, setup,troubleshooting, maintenance,failover, and performance tuning. Including:
   
   1)Physical and Logical Standby architecture and setup.
   2)Synchronous and Asynchronous transfers of Redo log information.
   3)Different Protection modes.
   4)Switchover and Failover
   5)Monitoring and checking the health and performance of Dataguard.
   
   I would certainly recommend this book for those who must manage Oracle Dataguard environment for disaster recovery and read only databases.



4. I thought that this book would be better than the online oracle documentation. It isn't. In fact it is pretty much a regurgitation of the stuff in the mostly worthless Oracle Dataguard Concepts and Administration document. I needed much more info regarding how to set up the standby host including how to initially configure oracle (ie. should you create a DB when you install or not?) Even after buying this book I found myself Googling to get the info I needed.



5. This book talks about a lot of functionalities of Data Guard.
   I recommend this if you want to learn install, manager and tuning your Data Guard enviroment.
   
   Best Regards,
   Paulo Portugal.

5 comments about Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer.

1. If innovation is in any way your concern read this. It memorializes fluently almost all the things a management can do to kill creativity.



2. This book tells the fascinating story of the invention of the first distributed personal computer systems at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), and how a copier company that had grown to over $1 billion in revenue in less than 10 years based on a single new technology (photocopying) was unable to capitalize on a new technology again, despite the best intentions of its leaders.

   The really innovative work at PARC was done under the direction of Bob Taylor. When Taylor was forced out, he started DEC's Systems Research Center (SRC) (later acquired by Compaq, and then HP), and he brought much of the top talent along with him.

   I read this book on Bob Taylor's recommendation when I first joined DEC SRC as a researcher. But I decided to read it again recently before attending a talk by George Pake, the founding director of PARC. Pake's history of PARC agreed with the book, but he drew very different conclusions about the overall benefit of PARC's inventions to Xerox. In particular, Pake gave far more credit to PARC for contributing to Xerox, but all the examples he gave related to how computer technology has come to be used in photocopiers, which entirely misses the point. As the book's subtitle suggests, most of PARC's astounding computer innovations were largely squandered by Xerox (and "borrowed" by Steve Jobs to create the Apple Macintosh).

   The first time I read the book, I was fresh out of school and didn't have much experience in the business world, so the parts of the book dealing with business issues were mostly a mystery to me. This time, it made much more sense, and I actually found the business aspects of the story more intriguing than the technical ones. Even so, the story of the first bit-mapped display, laser printer, ethernet, personal computer, and WYSIWYG editing software -- innovations we take largely for granted today -- is quite interesting!




3. I lived through these years on the 10th Floor at Xerox Corporation Systems Headquarters, El Segundo, California - as a Systems Administrator for New Product Development and Training. The book is accurate, but misses one very, very important point: The "Leadership" at Xerox Corporation at this time did not, repeat not, have the "best intentions". On the contrary, they were "Box People" (copier people) who did not have a clue about how to take advantage of this technology. In 1984 we did an internal survey of middle and upper management regarding use of the applications for the Star/Distributed Net (specifically email and Viewpoint software applications for those of you "in the know"). It found that while 76-percent of first and second level management used these applications on a daily or multiple-weekly basis, less than 10-percent of upper and executive management did so (the figure was under 5-percent on returns from Rochester and Stamford). Is this evidence of knowledge or having the "best intentions"? Those of us who did have the knowledge of the potential benefits were in middle management and could see those benefits to our own organisations at that time. We reported on these benefits, talked about them, begged people to come and see for themselves...for years...nothing happened. Many of us grew so frustrated we left (I was one, in 1989), although we still loved (and love) our exciting times at "Brand X". Some stayed, and watched Xerox "retreat" back to a primarily copier/printer company (and in doing so it crushed many a spirit). Most of us have wonderful, amazing, funny and frustrating stories to tell about those times (how about two trips in a single day to PARC from El Segundo just prior to the release of the 6085PCS?...or when the training Manager for New Produce Development left...only to turn up at Apple the following month...with all his notes and records?...Or producing training films for new releases with comedy sketches on the tail end for raising salespersons morale...). This book is too high level stuff for that...but it does reflect the failure of the top at Xerox...although it doesn't quite come out and say that...The top did not have a hint about these advances because they were from another world (Rochester, Copiers, not PARC/El Segundo and GUI/Ethernet). Read the book, but remember, no matter how hard those in middle management yell...if the top does "not have ears to hear" - it will not hear! ETW, Los Angeles, CA, now a retired TRW Employee



4. As most people in the computer industry know Xerox pioneered many of the key breakthroughs in the computer industry, but then they were not able to capitalize on the technology they developed. Many, many other companies have made billions of dollars; however, Xerox just couldn't figure out how to reap the benefits.

   The authors of "Fumbling the Future" go into this history in great detail. They first set the stage by describing Xerox's early history, how Xerox invented a copier, and for a number of years they were so successful that they were able to basically print money. Many of the major players in the industry are mentioned, their goals and interests. Xerox was very aggressive, and in some ways they were also a bit lucky, with the copier. Then Xerox decided they needed to also get into the computer industry.

   Next the authors talk about how the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was created, how George Pake selected various key people to help staff the research center, and the charter PARC was given. The book goes over who was hired, what they did, and how the groups at PARC worked together, and sometimes didn't work together.

   Here is where you can start to see the train wreck. The first President of Xerox, Joe Wilson, seems to have been a very gifted leader. In terms of "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, Joe Wilson was a level five leader. Unfortunately Joe Wilson dies, and the next president of Xerox, Peter McColough, was at best a level four leader. Peter decided to spend almost a billion dollars for a niche science computer company which Peter then tried to force out into the general computer market, going up against IBM. Peter also took Xerox into Medicine and Education. And Peter got involved in Politics and Charities. Peter McColough was not focused on Xerox, and let several problems simmer.

   We get some insights into what drove the researchers at PARC to develop the first personal computer, the Alto, and many of the reasons why it was revolutionary. The authors chart the destruction of the potential of the Alto, largely because of various managers at Xerox not catching the vision, or those who caught the vision not being able to work well with upper management.

   One thing which would have improved the book was to have some pictures. It would have been nice to have some pictures of the early copiers, the Alto, and some of the major players.

   It was a well written book, with a lot of good history, and some important lessons. Even though you know how it will all turn out, this was a hard book to put down.




5. This book tells the story of the greatest failure of a corporation in our time to create marketable products from truly great research. It starts by telling the story of how PARC was conceived and how it operated.
   
   In 1973, a number of researchers at Xerox PARC demonstrated the "Alto". The Alto was the first "personal computer" designed not only on a human scale for a single individual but supported by a number of improvements that rendered it "instantly responsive to the user's demands", each of them revolutionary in the computer field. They included: a graphics-oriented monitor with "icons" and overlapping "pages" on the screen that was coordinated by the "mouse" input device; a word-processing program "for nonexpert users"; a local area network, the "Ethernet"; and an object-oriented programming language that combined data with certain commands, which hugely simplified computer operations.
   
   These attributes represented nothing less than a paradigm shift for the computer industry, away from the punch cards, unwieldy printouts of results, obscure programming codes, and the awkward time-sharing arrangements that were the hallmarks of mainframe computers. At that moment, Xerox had a full five-year head start over its future rivals. (Amazingly, PCs have changed little. with the exception of incremental improvements, from this fundamental prototype.)
   
   Unfortunately, few at Xerox headquarters understood the importance of these developments. From its beginning, many executives at Xerox headquarters viewed PARC as a kind of uncontrollable island of insolence and arrogance. When Xerox managers visited PARC, they were struck by the rudeness and counter-cultural feel of the place. For their part, PARC researchers viewed headquarters with open disdain at the leadership's inability to understand not only what PARC was doing, but the jargon they were forging.
   
   The mutual distrust between headquarters and its Palo Alto lab neither encouraged Xerox executives to learn about how PARC's inventions might fit into the modern office nor allowed PARC's managers to sell their inventions to the company's manufacturing units. Even worse, PARC had no one in Xerox's top leadership to champion their product ideas or even to get things done - at the moment when PARC's technological innovations were ready for commercial development, the Xerox Corporation was entering a prolonged period of crisis, the "lost decade" of the 1970s.
   
   To the shock of many Xerox leaders, Japanese manufacturers came up with a number of basic innovations in design, greatly enhancing the reliability and performance of their copiers while reducing their cost. With this stunningly executed strategy, the Japanese manufacturers succeeded in turning Xerox's supposed comparative advantages (of a huge sales force and repair facilities and patented technolgies that were being squeezed of every last drop of their value) into unsustainable liabilities.
   
   It was in this context - a crisis of rapidly diminishing market share, with financiers and accountants ascendant within the Xerox bureaucracy - that PARC managers were attempting to sell their revolutionary inventions. Unfortuately, the top leadership at Xerox had turned its attention to investigating the methods of Japanese companies, in particular the techniques of total quality management, which would occupy the attention of David Kearns, the new Xerox CEO, into the 1980s.
   
   Beyond the numbers, PARC was pitting itself against the corporation's incentive system: because the Xerox manufacturing divisions had quarterly targets it had to meet, adding an entirely new line of products threatened to disrupt the flow of revenues, which meant they wouldn't get their bonuses.
   
   Moreover, as an embryonic business that could only promise growth somewhere in the future, the Alto III attracted little attention at headquarters - Xerox managers had long grown accustomed to massive returns rung up at the click of a button on a leased machine, in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In light of this expectation, the Alto III appeared too small to bother with.
   
   In December 1979, Steve Jobs had visited PARC and was working to incorporate the software capabilities he had observed into the first mass-market personal computers. In addition, Jobs, Bill Gates, and others had begun to hire researchers away from PARC: disgusted by the obtuseness of Xerox headquarters regarding their work, many of them were yearning to move to more entrepreneurial environments. They felt that they had accomplished virtually all that they could at PARC.
   
   Nonetheless, with approval from headquarters, a number of PARC's best engineers had begun to develop the Star workstation. Unveiled at a computer trade show in April 1981, the Star generated great excitement. Packed with many of PARC's best features, such an as-it-would-print document screen and electronic mail, the Star was unlike anything that had ever been sold in the industry. However, once on the market, the Star quickly revealed a number of drawbacks. First, with so many features that required processing power, it was extremely slow. Second, it was also too bulky for many offices. Third, it retailed at over US$16,000, pushing it out of reach of all but the richest of corporations. Fourth, the Star lacked a spread sheet, which many office executives wanted, and its "closed" software system would not run those offered by other companies.
   
   While criticized as a typical engineering product with an over-abundance of esoteric features, the Star was far more a reflection of Xerox headquarters: recalling the runaway success of the 914 monopoly, they had assumed that the Star would set the de facto standard for an entirely new industry, which Xerox would again dominate - regardless of the price. Even worse, they had failed to appreciate that this time, the company faced some extremely nimble and hungry competitors.
   
   Xerox had also failed to train its copier salesmen regarding the vision behind, and unique features of, the Star: it was supposed to be the first step in Xerox's re-making of the office environment. Unfortunately, accustomed to selling copiers to lower-level managers, Xerox salesmen understood little of this and many had no idea who to approach within corporations with this revolutionary new product. From their experience with the blockbuster early copier 914, they - along with the leaders in their company - were accustomed to marketing hardware, whereas the Star's principal advantages came from its software. Talk about implementation failure!!
   
   In August 1981, IBM introduced the personal computer (PC). While far more primitive and less user-friendly than the Star - with no mouse, no Ethernet capability, no icons, no multi-tasking windows - it was priced at less than US$5,000. Quickly surpassing the Star in sales, the IBM PC set the standard for the emerging market of affordable personal computers. For all intents and purposes, Xerox would view the PC revolution, which it had virtually created, from the sidelines - it had squandered a lead of over 5 years!!!
   
   Following the failure of the Star workstation, morale at PARC plummeted. To make things worse, in 1981 Xerox appointed a new director at PARC, Bill Spencer, who failed to grasp the unique chemistry of the computer lab. Spencer immediately locked horns with Bob Taylor, who resigned and took most of his top staff with him to DEC. This marked ended Xerox's effort to fundamentally reinvent the modern office.
   
   Nonetheless, PARC could boast a few commercial successes. Most prominent of these was Gary Starkweather's laser printer, which he had moved to PARC to develop in 1971. After a few years of work perfecting the device and a long and difficult period of promoting it from within Xerox, Starkweather was able to convince the company to manufacture a version of his machine in 1977. Though Xerox had barely beaten IBM to the market with the product in spite of a three-year technological lead, its laser printer became one of the best selling Xerox products of all time, eventually becoming a US$2 billion business per year. Its acceptance within the company was made easier by the fact that it was largely a hardware product, with technology familiar to Xerox.
   
   This is meaty stuff, and the authors cover it well and the book is very very well written. It is best when telling the story of the disconnect between PARC and Xerox HQ in an effort to explain the failure, though the technical aspects of how PARC operated are summarized well (and never in excessive detail). This is at heart an organizational behavior book, not a how-to (or how to not) innovate book.
   
   Recommended.

2 comments about Oracle Database 10g Express Edition PHP Web Programming (Osborne Oracle Press Series).

1. I found this book to be fantastic for learning PHP, and an amazing hidden gem for All Oracle web apps.
   
   The format of this book allows the experienced developer to go right to their area of weakness and get just the info they need for either PHP or Oracle web development. For beginners with either Oracle or PHP5, you're well served with this book alone. In particular I found the appendixes in the back a great way to learn how to develop ANY web application for oracle with examples in PHP. So an experienced PHP developer who's a deer in the headlights with databases will gain a solid understanding and real world skills.
   
   Chapter 13 has an exhaustive look at writing a "real" database application using Oracle and PHP. Most books shy away from OCI connections, this one jumps right in and helps you understand not just the how, but the why.
   
   You'll find this tackling of real world solutions repeated with things like handling LOBs. Again, most books do a simple case avoiding real world complications, this book attacks and conquers the details masterfully.
   
   One VERY important point: This book applies php web development on ANY edition of Oracle, not just express. Instead it limits its scope to the foundations of the database that are included in the free Express edition, but all skills are equally relevant for standard and enterprise editions.



2. As a student within a technology field at a university, I have been able to use this book in a few of my own projects.
   
   I can personally say that it's been something that has helped me to understand concepts in the PHP programming language. The example code used is simple to understand as well as easy to manipulate into projects that you wish to do.
   
   The chapters have been appropriately linked together so an individual may either read the chapters in a consecutive manner and build their understanding up within PHP, or you may really focus in on a principle that you would like to apply more fully in your abilities.
   
   Also, I want to add that the Glossary appears to be well-defined with the terms making it easier to navigate for a user's desired curriculum of study.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g Insider Solutions.

1. This book is easy to follow and drives straight into chapters essential for 10g. It does a wonderful job and covers installations on various platforms, new features and approach for identifying the performance issues. It provides practical advice using practical approach, tips and examples. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is learning or working with 10g.



2. Highly recommended reference book for DBA's that are familiar with previous version of Oracle and wants to find out the new features of 10g.



3. This book covers Release 2 of Oracle 10G. Concepts are presented in a clear manner. Each chapter can read in an hour or so. This is a great place to start for new DBAs. For experience DBAs, this a great book to get to know the New Features. Book is very easily read. Best book to learn Oracle 10g R2.



4. This is a really good book to have by an Oracle DBA for Oracle 10g reference. This book will help the Oracle DBA to identify and implement Oracle 10g new features. It has good tips for performance and tuning and setting up ASM. I give this book 5 star rating.



5. This is the best "How to" book on Oracle. I have read around 20 books on Oracle (I reviewed most of them on Amazon) and this one is the most practical Oracle book for intermediate to advance Oracle DBAs.
   
   The book skips most of the architecture and goes directly on how to configure and use some of the most salient features of Oracle 10g.
   
   Some of the examples are:
   
   1)How to manually install RAC instance
   2)How to migrate Non-ASM to ASM disks and vice versa.
   3)How to collect AWR reports using builtin scripts.
   4)How to install CRS
   5)How to Flashback Database and Flashback Table.
   6)How to Patch Dataguard Instances
   7)How to use flashback in Dataguard Standby.
   8)How to manually remove Oracle Instances.
   9)How to upgrade RMAN Catalog.
   10)How to use Wait statistics to measure and improve performance.
   
   Not all the topics are advanced. But it still helps to get down to the fundamentals, even for the advanced DBA with decade or more of experience.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to expand/improve their Oracle 10G skillset.

5 comments about Implementing Database Security and Auditing: Includes Examples for Oracle, SQL Server, DB2 UDB, Sybase.

1. The book is helpful and practical. It has the right mix of "what to do" with "how to do" and "why to do" - and it covers all the databases my company owns.



2. Really good book. Easy to read and good content. I recommend it to anyone doing db work.



3. This is a very good book. It is very readable and very informative. It has a lot of useful stuff. I recommend it highly.



4. The book is very practical and timely; it contains the complex of useful rules either dispersed in many different sources or not published at all. For example my colleague who is a DB Oracle administrator in Sony Computer Entertainment distinguished the following recommendations:
   · Hardening Oracle environment
   · Avoiding the use of mod_plsql
   · Not making a database a web server and not store HTML pages in the database
   
   From my perspective the rules concerning Web services and cross-site scripting are the most valuable. Working on these applications I see how vulnerable is a database server due to some security holes; therefore avoiding the holes is important.



5. I'm rarely moved to write a review on a technical book, perhaps because I read so many of them. However, this text is truly outstanding, due to it's breadth of coverage, i.e., Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, UBD and Sybase AND well written descriptions of problems and solutions.
   
   If you are seeking to secure your databases AND/OR audit them, this book contains both suggestions for scripting, triggers etc as well as where to look for vulnerabilities.
   
   Bravo to the author, and THANKS, I'm using regularly, the best compliment of all.

5 comments about Effective Oracle Database 10g Security by Design.

1. Best Book for Oracle Security.
   Comprehensive and well-written describe Oracle 10g new features for security.



2. It would be easy to be secure if all the data were in one room, there were no connections to the outside world (well I guess you have to have power coming in, but that's all), and there were no people who knew the data.
   
   Unfortunately that's not the real world. Breaking the German and Japanese codes during World War II would have been meaningless if that information wasn't used to sink the submarines, divert the convoy, or be ready at Midway.
   
   The situation hasn't changed, but the integral capabilities of the Oracle database itself have. As security has gotten ever more important, the steps you need to take get every more complex. At the same time, the users of your data can't be expected to agree, they have a job to do and if security systems prevent them from doing their job they will find ways to bypass or ignore the security system.
   
   This book can be read on two levels. First it is an excellent primer on security in general. Second it is Oracle centric so that anyone responsible for security on an Oracle based system need go no further.
   
   Note that the Foreward is by David Carey, former Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. It is generally believed that a big contract from the CIA was Oracle's first major success. The implication is that the CIA worked with Oracle to develop the security system discussed here. If the CIA says it's good enough....



3. Effective Oracle Database 10g Security by Design is sooo helpful.
   
   There is a lot of good info in the Oracle documentation, but David Knox fill in a lot of the blanks.



4. Buy this book if you haven't already... it's wonderful!
   
   An easy/enjoyable read full of everything you need to know about locking down a 10gDB install!



5. I'm trying to set up proxy authentication and the book made a lot of assumptions about what I know. The author uses the SCOTT, BLAKE and APP_USER accounts and assumes that we know exactly how these accounts where set up. It would seem that the APP_USER account seems to be the schema owner, or is it the SCOTT and BLAKE accounts. Am I to assume that the SCOTT account is the defualt demo account that is setup by oracle? Being new to high level Oracle security I would have preferred a step-by-step approach to solving my security problems. I noticed that all other reviews where by people that seem to have a handle on this and just needed hints. Even the setting up of an LDAP sever was confusing, we never got it to work and even after following the steps did not get the same things that the author got. Even though I have not been a DBA for too long I have been using Oracle for 20 years now, so I'm not a novice.

5 comments about Oracle Developer Advanced Forms and Reports.

1. Thought this book does not explain any of the subjects in detail but it touches almost all the advanced topics of Oracle Forms and Reports. If a lead can get you going and you can get the details yourself... this is the book for you.



2. This book is a great tool for creating Visual Basic Applications



3. This is a solid reference book for those doing primarily Forms development, but it lacks quite a little in the Reports department. If you're buying it for Reports development, as I did, you'll be disappointed. I have yet to find a very good Reports reference. That said, this is probably the best one out there. The book contains something like 70% - 30% Forms info to Reports info (and that may be a little generous). It does have a few good examples and is an easy read.



4. very poorly laid out and confusing presaentation of both forms and reports. some fairly good detailed examples (if you can find them) but the overall presentation is chaotic.
   
   really not worth the bucks



5. The seller is excellent. speedy delivery. I will buy books from him again.

5 comments about Oracle 10g Grid & Real Application Clusters: Oracle 10g Grid Computing with RAC (Oracle In-Focus series).

1. I found the information in this book to be quite good. There was a lot of focus on the interweaving of multiple techonologies that is required by RAC, and a significant amount of detail in each chapter. I think this book is a great start for a RAC DBA or DB and systems architects.
   
   I found this book to be very poorly edited however, with enough grammatical mistakes to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I know that rampant focuses on getting books out fast, and this shows in the editing. Unfortunately, this detracts from the professionalism of the work.
   
   Additionally, I found there to be a lot of filler material, either in the form of theoretical discussions of little relevance, extremely rudimentary concepts that should be assumed in the subject matter, or redundant material. The font was much too large, with too much whitespace per page, and too many useless and non-amusing pictures. They could have removed 300 pages from this book, which would result in a rich and smaller tome. For those of us who travel a lot or who have a large collection of books, 800 page books are a detriment unless the material warrants the size. In this case, the material did not.
   
   Overall, I'm glad I own the book. It has proven practical in my work and gave me some great insights. But I would like to see Rampant step up a notch in editing and packaging, and provide a new edition since this field is so fast-paced.



2. I own all of the books on Oracle Real Application clusters which is one of the most challenging areas within Oracle database technology. What I like about this book is that it covers a broad area of technology including hardware, software and design components on how to implement a RAC cluster. The author is a known expert in the Oracle field and his brilliant insights shows in this wonderful book. In particular, I like the coverage of hardware design issues and failover with a RAC cluster. There are also nicely referenced sections on topics that one can use to lookup on Metalink. To critics of the book, I am surprised- it is not simply a rehash of metalink rather a deep coverage of the challenges with building and maintaining a RAC environment.



3. I want to thanks Madhu Tuma and Mike Ault to wrote this very good book about RAC. It is the best book about RAC that i ever read.
   
   It's help me to solve a big problem about network in my RAC enviroment.
   
   Best regards,
   Paulo Portugal.



4. This is good book for DBA's who are just new to RAC Technology and this book touches all aspect of configuring and installing RAC. I personally like it. It also give some knowledge about tuning the RAC databases which is somewhat different from tuning the non RAC.



5. Too much theory and too much to go through.

5 comments about Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition).

1. This breezy read lightly covers the evolution of the personal computer mostly from the introduction of Altair until Steve Jobs' departure from Apple Computer. Covering as many people, machines and companies as possible the authors don't have time for a in-depth look at anything. The result seems like a 400 plus page newspaper or magazine article. The "Collector's Edition" has several additional chapters covering industry events up to 2000 and also contains a CD-ROM with more materials. I have not reviewed the CD-ROM.



2. The TV movie based on this book was rather lame, but this is a great read on how the PC revolution got started.



3. If you wanted to know about the history of how Bill Gates got started, don't buy this book. I would recommand Hardrive. If you wanted to learn about Apple Computer, buy Apple Confidential 2.
   
   Although this book does highlight the reason why the rise of the Personal Computer would happen. The major flaw of this book is it does not go in depth into the subject. The book is also too thick.



4. For the life of me, I cannot understand why this book and so many others completely fail to mention Commodore and it's contributions to the PC world. 1st millionth computer sold with VIC-20. Most computers ever sold with C64 (over 20 million!). First multitasking, etc. with Amiga. etc., etc... Commodore created the first, affordable home computer. They introduced computers to the masses. While Apple was trying to sell their Apple II series for astronomical prices, C64 was being sold for 1/3 - 1/5 the price.
   
   I trully hope that in the end, the historical accounts of the birth of a personal computer will give credit where the credit is due - Chuck Peddle for creation of the 6502 processor, and Commodore for creation of the most sucesfull computer ever made - C64.



5. First, this is a good book, and brings to light many of the early parts of
   home and business use of microcomputers.
   
   However, despite the "updated classic" state of the current printing, it
   contains factual errors that should be corrected. I started the book
   recently, and almost threw it out after seeing the historical errors in
   the front of the book.
   
   On page 9, the authors refer to ENIAC's "clanking teletype machines and
   whirring tape drives". Fascinating, since the tape drive for computer
   didn't arrive until 1951 (with the first Univac), and the ENIAC read and
   wrote cards.
   
   The book also drags out the tired story of Von Neumann creating the basic
   architecture of the stored program computer. This is mainly a media
   creation, since Von Neumann himself never claimed to have designed
   the stored program computer, and in fact, all he did do was place his
   name on a report from the EDVAC group drafted on a possible successor to
   the ENIAC.
   
   After the authors left early computer history, and went into the early
   origins of the home microcomputer revolution, I felt better about the
   book. However, I am skeptical of books where I see such obvious errors.
   I have to wonder what other errors exist that I simply don't have
   personal knowledge of.
   
   Unfortunately, this may never be seen 35 reviews deep, but this book
   is often quoted as being the "authority" on microcomputers.
   Mrs Freiberger and Swain, please FIX THIS BOOK. It needs to be reviewed
   for accuracy.
   
   Scott Moore