5 comments about Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering.

1. excellent book. I don't even own an xbox but I want to get into commercial hardware reverse engineering, there aren't any books out there about hardware reverese engineering other than this one. I hope that the author (this book is very well written) writes more books on hardware hacking.



2. This book could be a good resource for someone interested in general hacking and reverse engineering, but it fails to provide enough details or describe enough Xbox-specific projects to be truly called "Hacking the Xbox". Maybe if the title had just been "Hacking" it would have lived up to my expectations. As such, I feel that Jonathan Harbour's "The Black Art of Xbox Mods" was more what I was looking for. Still, this book has some value for me, particularly the soldering tutorial.



3. I really like to Thank's for this Amazing book, well done ... this book is a beauty and fully contain a lot of informations about my beloved XBOX System ... and more ... a lot of more .... I want to say for all .... Buy this item and enjoy ! ;-)



4. This book was published a couple of years ago, so it's problem is that it doesn't cover the newer 1.6 Xboxes and doesn't contain Microsoft Dashboard 5960 hacks. Otherwise, it's a wonderful book for someone looking to do something more interesting with their old Xbox, I mean, now that it's place is being taken by the newer 360.



5. Very good book if you are a beginner at computer/xbox mods. Need to have a little electrical knowledge to understand a lot of what is in the book. It is not a how-to book, but a book that will make you think and try stuff on your own. Lot of information on copyrights, DCMA and stuff like that. A great book to show how to get started, methods that can be used, and computer structure. If you are a computer wiz, then this book would seem basic, if not this would be a good book to read before you start hacking.

5 comments about Systematic Software Testing (Artech House Computer Library).

1. Books on software testing are usually something you read because you have to, not because you want to. Authors Rick Craig and Stefan Jaskiel have set out to change that, and the result is the best current book on software testing. A combination of the timeless and the cutting-edge, Systematic Software Testing is all you need to get to work and to get the job done well.

   The authors begin with the basics of software testing, including the evolution of the discipline over the years. They continue on to discuss STEP methodology, and then launch into the fundamentals of testing. Among the covered topics: risk analysis, test plans, automated test design and implementation, IEEE/CMM/ISO guidelines and standards, and test execution. For those who are going to be managing their own test groups, there is additional material on who to pick for the job, what those jobs are, and how to organize your testing.

   For both the software engineer and the engineering manager, this text is an invaluable resource. The methodology is sound and up to date, and following the clearly enumerated steps in this book will surely result in a superior product. If this isn't enough to convince you, the text is also FUN to read. This isn't your typical bare-bones textbook, as exemplified by Rick Craig's amusing and memorable anecdotes and the occasionally apt quotation. The wording is clear, everyday English and key points are clearly visible. The book is very well organized by topic and subsections, making it great for refreshing your memory on particular details.

   Even if you are not directly involved in testing, this book is worth reading. Just understanding the software lifecycle process is a major help when it comes to improving software quality, and this excellent text will grant you that understanding.




2. What strikes me most about this book is its friendliness and readability. The book is written in an easy and flowing manner, using day-to-day language. It's assembled in template style, which makes it extremely easy to implement its ideas. While this may not sound like much, these attributes make this book quite an entertaining read that scores high on effectiveness. Supplemented by an effective website...it does still suffer from some lack of depth and detail, though.
   The fully detailed "Sample Master Test Plan" provided by the book serves as an example for its mixture of usefulness coupled with a relative lack of depth. While quite effective, and certainly a nice feature that's easy to learn from, it is not the most fully detailed test plan I have ever seen, nor is it a match for a big scale project's master test plan. However, it is the best example for a test plan that I have seen in any testing book.
   Further comparisons with other testing books I've used make it clear: Applying the Pareto principle on it, this book gives you the 20% that you need in order to perform 80% of all you will ever want when it comes to testing. It may not sound like much, but this is a mighty achievement.
   The bottom line: This book will probably serve anyone who is into software testing. However, if you are looking to kick-start your organization into proper testing methodologies, or if you are new to the software testing arena, it would be a sin not to give this book a try.



3. I rarely recommend a book just from skimming it, but "Systematic Software Testing" is an exception. I ordered it based on references from other good books and 5-star reviews on the Internet, to see if it would live up to its reputation. It does. "Systematic Software Testing" is a comprehensive but easy-to-read book on all aspects of software testing. And you don't have to read everything at once -- pick a topic and chapter that interests you and start there. You will be glad you did.



4. Although I am a Systems Engineer and therfore more interested in Acceptance and System level test I found this text to a very useful overview of software testing with much of relevance to systems test too. There is a also a very practical process to follow as well as much real world experience and practical advice in this test. Highly recommended.



5. The book gives a complete view of what software testing is about. But as an experienced software testing professional, I find this book boring. And the book is written with words connected together. I don't see the author's own voice. It is more suitable for a text book, rather than a 'book' book.

4 comments about Designing Geodatabases: Case Studies in GIS Data Modeling.

1. The subject is considerably more specialised that designing a relational data base. The book is part of ESRI's ongoing way to publicise geodatabases, and hence ultimately drive demand for their products. So keep in mind that what is really being sold here is not the book but mindshare. Yours.
   
   The text has extensive explanations as to what you might need in a geodatabase, as well as what is technically feasible to put in it. It also suggests that you consider what you want your users to be able to do. And use this in no small way to drive the design requirements. Software developers will recognise this as the gathering of scenarios from stakeholders. So you probably should canvas your potential users, if this is at all possible.



2. This book provides a good introduction of steps and principles in designing geodatabases and the importance of information products and identifying thematic layers. The book presents 7 complex models: streams and river networks, census units and boundaries, addresses and locations, parcels and cadastre, surveying federal lands, using raster data, cartography and the base map. For each model they present the features, feature data sets, relationships, and topology rules. Readers working in these 7 areas will probably gain most from the book.
   
   I would have also liked simpler examples and more design principles on grouping features into feature data sets. One of the strengths of this book is in stressing the value of topology rules, and feature data sets are needed for topology rules. With a database background, I would have liked fuller exploration of database relationships and normality contrasted with GIS relationship classes, relates, and joins, since data is often "flattened" when put into GIS. Readers of this should probably start with Modeling Our World: The Esri Guide to Geodatabase design by Michael Zeiler.



3. la forma de desarrollo de cada tema esta muy bien explicado, mas alla de como armar una base de datos el libro proporciona un conocimineto claro para entender de los elementos en una base de datos y su relaciones. Da un esquema amplio que puede ser replicado para otros topicos donde sea necesario implementar sistemas parecidos.



4. All chapters are clearly developed, explained, organized and illustrated.
   
   It is worth reading either as a first try into GIS database design or as an authoritative source for on-going model design appraisal.
   
   It only lacks a chapter devoted to network modeling such as those employed by electric, water or gas utilities. The water hydro model does address 'networks' but it is of a very different sort and is not apt for utility modeling.

5 comments about Business Intelligence: The Savvy Manager's Guide (The Savvy Manager's Guides).

1. The book does a fantastic job of providing a managerial level overview of the business intelligence area and the various topics it includes (ETL, Data Cleansing, Metadata, Data Werehousing, ....).
   
   To me its easily the first book one should start with in understanding these areas. After which you can choose to dig into areas of interest - data mining, ....
   
   I direct a group of product managers in one of the leading business intelligence/ETL companies in this arena and I have made this required reading for all my product managers.
   
   I highly recommend this book. Simply buy it - read it.



2. Thanks for looking at the reviews for my book, "Business Intelligence - The Savvy Manager's Guide." If you are interested in the topics I describe in this book, you may also find my colleague Dave McComb's Savvy Manager's Guide, "Semantics in Business Systems" of great interest as well. As we focus more and more on understanding meaning, content, and context of the data that is available to us through multiple media, it is important to get a handle on notions of semantics, taxonomies, and information organization. Dave's book is a good complement to mine!



3. This book is a great primer for BI. If you only plan to read one book on the subject, this would be a good choice.



4. I had the misfortune of getting the book from the author when I attended a BI session where he was the guest feature.
   
   He was terrible; did not have one straight answer for even simple questions. The book does not have even one original thought and is re-hash of good books written earlier. Of-course it would have been a huge surprise if it did.
   
   I had, happily, forgotten about that wasted afternoon and this crappy book till a search on 'analytics' revealed that this book has such high ratings from readers.
   
   Then I was somewhat relieved to see that it was just 6 of the author's close friends who had sent in the reviews.
   
   PLEASE save yourself the money and take a look at this book at a bookstore/library before you invest your time and money in it.



5. I have been in the BI world since 1994 and I have read lots of white papers, articles, and books on Business Intelligence; today, the Savvy Manager's Guide on BI is my reference.
   I would certainly recommend it to every person in charge of a BI project, but, most importantly, to any executive who is not sure what BI really is and above all what BI can bring to their company.
   BI is a serious matter, and today, although executives start becoming BI-aware, there still are too many of them for whom BI is "just another expensive IT project". David Loshin did such a great work at explaining the impact of supporting the implementation of a Business Intelligence Strategy at the corporate level!

5 comments about Microsoft® Office System Step by Step -- 2003 Edition (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. First of all, the CD did not have all of the Practice Files I need to actually USE the book. Second, the features it runs through are so basic as to be useless to anyone who has ever used Word, Excel, etc. There's nothing on how to creat mail merges in Word, for example. This was a complete waste of $20. Only buy this crummy book if you know absolutely NOTHING about Word, Excel, etc.



2. "In browsing through this I was amazed to find out there were so much more that could be done in Office 2003 than I ever knew" ?!
   This is true only if you're totally, absolutely new to any edition of Microsoft office not just 2003, that is you've never or barely used Microsoft office before.
   If that's the case, then any book including this one here is a great one. But if you have minimum knowledge about Microsoft office don't waste your time and money, I'm saying this because I've been teaching Microsoft office for years now and I can hardly recommend this book for a beginner level.
   There are much better books out there, try the Special Edition(Que) or the Inside Out(Microsoft) series.
   5 stars for this book is a misleading review and aims only to boost the bad rating this book have.



3. Even though I have used Microsoft products for a number of years, I found this book helpful. This book gets you started using the basic features of the different Office products. The explanations are detailed yet not boring. The diagrams are easy to read and relevant to the text.
   
   I do wish that before the step-by-step excercises they would briefly explain what is about to be done.



4. This book is very good as a refresher manual. May be a bit complex if you are not familiar with it. Yet, overall, its a great reference book.



5. Office 2003 and Office XP are very similar. This book could guide you through both. This book is basically useless with Office 2007. The framework of Office 2007 is very different.

3 comments about Beginning PHP and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning: From Novice to Professional).

1. Buyer beware! There is no help for this book. Downloads (code) does not work. Email messages to authors help links are not answered.
   
   I have read and used many books about PHP and MYSQL, this one is impossible to get through the 3d Chapter successfully.



2. This is an excellent book. It has enhanced my PHP, MySQL, object oriented programming and e-commerce skills. It is challenging, (because of the wealth of knowledge), but well worth the effort. And when I had a problem, author Cristian Darle responded accurately and courteously to my email. Very highly recommended.



3. Even though it can be argued that this book's title should actually be interpreted as "Beginning E-Commerce (using PHP and MySQL)", I still think that the word "beginning" should not be printed on the cover of this book.
   
   The book deals with topics that fall into the intermediate developer's skill set, like OOP, templating with Smarty, PDO for DB access, Ajax and even REST/SOAP in the final chapter. YOU HAVE to have prior knowledge of those technologies before attempting to successfully complete this book, as the authors spend very little time introducing them.
   
   Along with "Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP" this book is one of the few full length practical tutorial books available on PHP. So, if you're an intermediate developer looking to sharpen your skills by taking on a larger project, then this is a book you definitely want to buy.
   
   I also want to point out that despite being from the same country as the authors, I've never heard of them before seeing their book on Amazon.

5 comments about Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics, Second Edition (Game Development Series).

1. This book is great for anyone interested in computer graphics. Even for people who do not have a lot of math/graphics experience, this book starts you off with the basics of vectors and matrices and has exercises/solutions for each chapter. It saves you the time of looking through your old linear algebra and differential equation math books and contains the must know information you will use as a graphics programmer.



2. 
   As a professional 3D graphics programmer, I can not stress enough the quality of this book. This book covers 3D math fundamentals, algorithms, and it is complete with easy to understand (!) proofs. The math is difficult because there is so many problems to be solved in 3D (and they draw from many different branches of mathematics), but it is written in such a clear way that every topic is made approachable. Unlike esoteric Ph. D papers, you aren't assumed to have any specific knowledge of math idioms or jargon. You simply need a decent grasp of college calculus and trigonometry to make the most of it. There are a few samples too to test your knowledge.
   
   Expect to spend at least a solid year to really make the use of this book. Treat it as you would a two - three semester course in college. During this process, you'll find yourself occasionally wanting to get more practice and referring to a respective book on it.
   
   If you could only own two books for 3D programming, buy this first and buy Ericson's book on collision detection next.
   
   In summary, Eric Lengyel's attention to detail and mastery of 3D math / algorithms really shines and this book is an example of it.



3. the second edition brings a new chapter on the graphics pipeline. Well done, except that it is extremely obscure, for those who already understood the arcanes of the graphics pipeline.
   Chapter 5 on "ray tracing": 6 pages on root finding of quadratic, cubic and quartic polynomials;
   to compare with Chapter 7: "Visibility determination": The spatial partitioning deserves solely 4 pages.
   What's the point on dwelling so much on something that is trivial and botching something that is hard to grasp and of paramount importance ?



4. I have personally used the C4 game engine (which is the commercial game engine developed by the author of this book), and can attest to its high quality. The engine is top notch, and so is this book.
   
   This book is exactly what you'd expect - a description of the math involved in game (and especially graphics) development. It also includes a fair amount of additional content (not necessarily math-related, such as a description of the stencil shadowing algorithm).
   
   The book is well-written, and does a good job of presenting fairly complex subject matter in a straight-forward manner. This is currently my favourite text book.



5. I was disappointed in how little explanations were included in this math book. It seemed more like a dictionary. It was as if someone listed all the math concepts that could be included and then put the list into a hard cover binder.
   I did read some of the other reviews thinking I had missed something. One suggested spending a year on the book. But there is so little there. My college book on linear algebra did a much better job of explaining the material. Theorems were explained, samples worked out and 10 to 20 problems were given at the end of each section. This book as 50 problems for the entire book. This book spends eight pages on quaternions. Studying these pages over an extended period of time would not give the understanding you could get from a book like Kuipers' Quaternions and Rotation Sequences. It took 75 pages but one is able to understand the system and how it relates to game programming.
   With all the colleges now offering game programming degrees, their must be a book written by someone who is use to explaining the material. That person would know the best way to present the material and could anticipate questions and include the answers in his or her explanations.

5 comments about TCP/IP Sockets in C#: Practical Guide for Programmers (The Practical Guides).

1. I've read through the first couple of chapters and I must say this is a good book. The thing I like most about this book is that the authors take time to not only give you working code but explain what the heck blocks within the programs do. If you are a novice programmer you may want to pick up a different book because it does assume you have a good understanding of basic C# programming.



2. Did you ever just want a book get to the point and tell you what you need to know? This is that book. If your new to winsock, this book will get you rolling quickly.



3. I think this book is very good because es simple, explain clearly and go directly to the matter.
   
   Juan Ramon Divison



4. This book is a good intermediate to somewhat advanced book on TCP and UDP protocols using Sockets in .Net - all examples of-course as the title suggests are in C#. It does show some interesting examples and was able to get me started using Sockets in .Net - however it didn't go as far as I had hoped. But if you're needing something to show you how to start using Sockets it is a very good book.



5. This book gets very high ratings on both amazon.co.uk and amazon.com. I've given it a slightly lower rating than some, although still four stars, and will explain why...
   
   The subtitle on the cover of the book is "Practical Guide for Programmers" which suggests it is going to be good even for experienced developers. It is only when you read the preface (page X) that you find that the book is aimed "primarily at students", and even then is "intended as a supplement, to be used with a traditional textbook", which seems a bit of a contradiction when it then says that "we have tried to make the book reasonably self-contained".
   
   Anyway, what are the good points of this book? Well, it does mention most of the bits that a developer using sockets will want to consider. It has everything from blocking sockets, through non-blocking sockets and the select model, through to overlapped I/O. It also mentions threading, the use of thread pools, broadcast and multicast. All good stuff. Even includes example code for each.
   
   Where the book falls down is that having skimmed over all of those topics it (a) doesn't provide adequate information about how to choose the model (synch vs. asynch, blocking vs. non-blocking, 1 thread vs. fixed number (> 1) of threads vs. thread pool, etc) to use for a particular project, and (b) falls short of being self-contained, doing the blah-blah is beyond the scope of this book thing.
   
   I have seen many projects developed using the wrong model, resulting in poor performance, lack of responsiveness, inability to shutdown cleanly etc. I'm pretty sure that the authors of the book will have seen projects like that too. Books about using sockets really need to advise on this area.
   
   It is understandable that a book of this size and price will say that some things are outside the scope of the book, but not something as basic as socket options (p52 refers the reader to the MSDN). Again, socket options are an area where well-meaning developers or support staff set values that are little better than guesses, and which sometimes cause adverse effects. If there's going to be a second edition of this book, please include advice on such matters.
   
   So, all in all, good for students or people new to sockets, but not quite great. It tells you the basic techniques, but not how to use them to best advantage. Having said that, I prefer this book to C# Network Programming which rambles, uses language that is ambiguous in places, and contains a significant error (if being very generous, it could be very lazy English causing an unintended meaning) on the very page I opened it on.
   
   It's probably best for people who already know sockets really well, but who are switching from one language to another (e.g. C++ or Java to C#). Those people probably know what model and options to use, just need to see how to do it in C# - something the book does do well.

3 comments about Java: A Beginner's Guide, 4th Ed..

1. Some computer books are nothing but dry text, and others are so full of intense graphics that your eyes burn. This book strikes an ideal balance between those extremes. The teaching style is engaging, and there's also plenty of reference material, making this a great book to start with and keep handy as you advance.



2. This book may be good if you can sit down and work your way through it from beginning to end, but I prefer the Sun Java tutorial online. I got through the first 5 chapters in this book and was still shaky with the concepts. Somehow it missed conveying the big picture to me. When I then went to the Sun tutorial it was a big "Aha!, so that's what they were talking about." Also, the Index is sparse.



3. I read this book to get a good start with Java. It's an excellent book to pick up if you have little/no java background or if it's been a while. I used this to build my foundation then went through a certification book and passed the scjp 5.

5 comments about Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0.

1. My current project at work required me to learn COM. I purchased several books to assist in the learning, and I must say that this book is absolutely indispensible, both as an instructional medium and as a reference. I highly recommend this book to anyone needing to learn about COM.
   
   What's inside? It starts with a basic intro to COM, useful (dare I say it) for managers as well as the developer to get the big picture. Then it goes into a discussion of ATL and design patterns. This second section is incredibly important since ATL is for COM as STL is for C++. It finishes off with some of the more advanced areas of study in COM. Only a few advanced topics are not covered (custom marshalling for one), but considering it starts from an assumed ignorance of COM, it does reach a good level of detail.
   
   Who am I? I studied computer science in University. However, I had never previously developped on Windows. I am primarily a C++ programmer, with some experience with Java. Knowledge of C++ (I would say more than just a familiarity) should be a prereq. to reading, but that's about it. It introduces most OO topics you need in the first chapters that most experienced developers can probably skip.



2. Describe low level COM and then ATL internals and interfaces which can let reader easily understand such complex mechanism. Though the book is a little bit old, it can still be served as a good reference.



3. I NEVER write reviews; however Mr. Troelsen for this effort has earned it. He has written by far one of the best written tech books on C programming I've ever read, and for COM/ATL this book makes writing interfaces for VB both understandable and accessible. Coverage and background is sufficient, and equally important for those who don't do this every day for a living, the depth in setting up projects in Visual Studio is also there so one unfamiliar with technical setup issues involved in setting up an ATL COM project are enabled to create their own. All I can say is well done, please keep up the good work, very much appreciated. Looking forward to your next releases.
   
   Sincerely,
   Dr. Mathew G. Pelletier, Research Engineer



4. Apart from the fact that so many customers gave 5 stars to this book, there's another indicator of its value: it looks like nobody wants to resell it after they are done reading it. I, for one, intend to keep it for reference...
   
   I've been programming in C# for a few years, and now I needed to learn COM. This book was the best tech manual I've ever read.
   
   My recommendation is: if you need to learn COM, do not waste your money on any other book until you've read this one.



5. This book is the perfect example of a good "Computer" book: It teaches what it needs to teach in a way you understand.
   It covers all the important stuf like BSTRs, Smart Pointers, DCOM, TLBs, IDLs and other buzz-like acronyms.
   I used it as an only reference for learning COM and I was doing complex COM projects within weeks. Andrew Troelsen is 'the man'!
   
   Best regards,