No comments about Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2 (Apple Pro Training Series).

5 comments about Spring in Action.

1. This book contains too many unnecessay talks, and few/complete code examples. It's painful to read 8 pages without seeing one line of codes.



2. I have a handful of Spring books and all but this one are more for reference than concepts. Between Spring online docs and Google, I don't use my Spring reference books. Spring In Action is the best book for learning about Spring. Topics like AOP, MVC and dependency injection are not ones you're likely to just read about and think "I've got it!". These are big concepts and require examples that encompass the concepts and break them down a piece at a time. I found the author's style engaging as well clear, indeed, many of the concepts put forward in this book have stayed with me for years.



3. I purchased this book to learn Spring. I was looking for a book that would plainly explain the reason for Spring, its benefit as a framework and provide clear examples of how to implement Spring in my projects.
   
   The authors do a satisfactory job explaining the need for Spring, it's history and its impact on alleviating code-dependencies. The examples are simple and easy to understand, overall. The authors fail, however, to clearly demonstrate how Spring is implemented. The examples are verbose with partial file listings. For example, I would like to know more about the framework context. The authors show snippets of XML code but do not show entire files or adequately explain how the files are related to the framework. The source code example is incomplete. Its missing dependencies and there is no explanation what they may be. I spent 30 mins searching then gave up.
   
   "Spring in Action" discusses implementing Spring with Struts, iBatis, Hibernate and some other frameworks in a failrly detailed manner.
   
   Overall I would say the book is OK but not concise.



4. I bought this book as an experienced programmer with 10 years of professional experience with Java, .NET, PHP, etc. Having no idea of what Spring was or how to use it, I read many reviews talking up this book.
   
   Its a good book in that it explains how to do configure options in the framework and gives some understandable examples. But at no point do you actually get walked through setting up a spring project say in NetBeans or Eclipse.
   
   Thats the perspective throughout the book. You move from chapter to chapter being presented with a new angle of the framework and a high-level example of how its done but no "Sit down and build this in your IDE, then hook it up using the spring feature to actually SEE it work".
   
   Good book, but I know that I will need some additional info to be able to start using the framework.



5. This book is exactly what you would expect from the In Action Series. The book is thorough and comprehensive. I even thought it had a slightly more personal writing style than some other In Action books.

5 comments about RESTful Web Services.

1. This book doesn't give a lot of technical details, but is a great introduction to resource oriented web service design and development.



2. RESTful web services is one of the (very) few books I read from start to finish without browsing the ToC for "more interesting" chapters than the one I was currently reading. From a writers perspective, this book is executed flawlessly: great organization of content, good segues that keep the flow, fun to read, etc.
   
   The title, however, should be "HTTP used correctly". Of course inventing a new term and world is more fun for everybody involved :) But this is what you will find in this book: An accurate description of the most popular application protocol that runs on top of the most widely-used transport protocol (TCP) on your internets. And enough information to show the SOAP/RPC-over-HTTP guys what they have been abusing for a decade.
   
   At some point before I read this book I was getting extremely annoyed by the "RESTful means your web application has to have nice URLs" statements everybody around me started to make. I then wrongly accused the REST proponents of spreading that kind of misinformation. I basically put them in the same drawer as the SOAP guys, people who just wanted to create new jargon to push some new nonsense methodology, wrapper, or layer; because they profit from more complicated software stacks in one way or another.
   
   So I finally decided to read up on what "RESTful" really means, and after finding more hand-waving and misinformation on wikis and blogs, I decided to read this book. What a surprise, these guys really want to show everyone how to use HTTP properly. Of course that would be great, and this book is the Manifesto this movement really needs.



3. The book is full of general knowledge that anyone in Web Development should know, but the editors did a horrible job. Nice book guyz but I would definitely s-can the intern who did the error checking.



4. Sure... it's got its issues: very repetitive, some glitches here & there... But overall, it's the best (if not the DEFINITIVE) guide to RESTful Web Services.
   
   If you've used SOAP and/or other Web Services-related technologies/schemas/etc. etc. etc. you should have no problem following this. For beginners, however, it is definitely not the place to start. You will need to read-up a bit more on Web Services in general and some of the options and practices out there.
   
   The repetition in the book isn't so bad. It drives home a lot of good points and covers quite a bit of in-depth information (sometimes too much, but it has come in handy when talking with other professionals/engineers).
   
   To work with Web Services and not have at least glanced over this book would be a huge mistake. Just be careful: it may take you a while to get through. It does get a little boring from time to time.



5. This book fills a gap that has existed for a long time. It clearly explains the advantages of RESTful architecture, It cuts through the SOAP vs. REST nonsense and helps you to understand some of the most important and poorly understood concepts of the web's architecture.

5 comments about SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide (Exam 310-055) (Certification Press Study Guides).

1. I considered myself a competent Java developer, but when I took some free online mock SCJP tests, I scored very poorly. With this book and at least 30 hours of reading, notes, review, and running sample code, I managed to pass the actual test on the first try. This book and a lot of time is all you need.
   
   I do have 3 criticisms. First, a handful of questions in the book and the actual exam included material that was not referenced directly or indirectly in the 'Two Minute Review' section at the end of each chapter. Second, the index is good but not great. More than once I had to hunt around for a while to find the exact material I wanted to review. Third, the 'Master Exam' software on the CD has at least two questions with typographical errors, e.g. something saying "foo" in one place and "fop" in another but the answer key indicates no error, and in another spot a single .jar file is referenced by two different name.



2. This is the absolute best certification prep book you can buy. Not only that, it also doubles as a useful reference book after you have gotten your certification. The writing is clear, concise, and unlike many tech books it is easy to read quickly.



3. From my point of view SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide is a great book to take with confidence the exam. So far (I've already studied the first 3 chapters) it's got simple and clear explanation and the concepts are really well organized.



4. Knowing and working with Java since a while the stuff is not really new to me. However I was afraid to see how many of the test questions I answered only correct in part, or simply wrong. In fact never due to missing knowledge but by falling into the pitfalls of those twisted questions or over reading hidden details in questions with apparently so obvious answers! (I had much less problems to answer the questions correctly in a competitors book from year 2000 handling the SCJP preparation for Java 1.2!)
   I guess this kind of training is as much as important as the mere java knowledge and I'm convinced, that those questions are able to show up smallest doubts and confusions of everybody taking the exam.



5. This is an excellent study resource for getting ready for the SCJP exam. It's a five star binding when coupled with Head First Java.

5 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services 2005.

1. It's sometimes hard to review a technical book without reviewing the technology the book discusses so I'll start by stating that Microsoft Reporting Services impressed me greatly but Microsoft's documentation is as bad as always. There's room for improvement but it's already better than Crystal Reports. Now on to the book review.
   
   I am familiar with SQL Server and Crystal Reports so I was looking for a book that didn't spend too much time on stuff I already knew. This book spent the first three chapters discussing database basics so I skipped them.
   
   I started reading the book in earnest at chapter four which discusses the report wizards. This is a quick way to throw reports together in Visual Studio and Brian Larson presents the information logically and clearly. It became quickly clear that I was reading an exceptional book. I'm guessing Brian had an experienced editor because the book is largely free of the gramatical errors that have been plaguing technical books recently. What impresses me even more is that all the examples worked flawlessly and were meaningful exercises that I will refer back to as I start to implement Reporting Services.
   
   The book references a database you need to download from the Osborne website. The instructions to do so are very clear and I had no problems whatsoever downloading and installing it. The only problem I had was that the user id in the examples (GalacticReporting) does not have access to the stored procedures. You need to give GalRep the 'Reporting' role. Minor problem.
   
   Brian, correctly, doesn't spend much time on the wizards and quickly gets into the meat of the application guiding the reader through successively more complex reporting scenarios. At first tasks are performed using point-and-click methods, then using quicker but more advanced methods. Finally Brian started taking shortcuts such as providing stored procedures. I saw Brian using this technique all through the book and I liked it.
   
   The first real problem I encountered with the book in is chapter 10 in the section on deploying custom assemblies. This is an area that Reporting Services is very weak and I hope to see Microsoft improve in future releases. You have two options - alter the config file or deploy via the GAC. Brian only mentions the first option and very poorly. He doesn't mention the GAC at all whereas I think the GAC is the better option. But in the next section on security Brian is back to his old form and does a splendid job of explaining a subject I normally have a very hard time with.
   
   The explanation of report caching, snapshots, and subscriptions is exceptionally good and does a great job of explaining these potentially confusing subjects. Again, his examples are well thought out and very simple to follow. As they occur after the section on security he points out what security tasks/roles are required to perform these function which was a great idea.
   
   I wish Brian had spent a little more time explaining the logging mechanism in chapter 11. He refers the reader to the Microsoft documentation which is actually wrong. The book could have spent half a page explaining how to create and populate the logging database and implementing the sample reports. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.
   
   The only other issue I have with the book is late in chapter 12 where Brian explains how to implement a custom, forms-based, security model. The example works well especially considering how complex it is, but I could not get the debugger to attach to the authentication dll even though I followed Brian's instructions to the letter. However, having Googled the problem it seems many, many people have problems attaching the Visual Studio debugger to already running threads so I suspect Bill should take some of the blame at least.
   
   Overall Brian Larson should be very pleased with his work. It's well worth the money and he has done us all a great service. He should buy his editor a beer too.



2. Got this book last week but I just started to read and do the chapters a few days back, and I'm not into chapter 6 already and finding it really helpful and easy read. The book is well laid out, and for a beginner like I find the steps so easy to follow.
   
   Also, the author was so helpful when I emailed him regarding the Galactic DB setup and he responded immediately within 30 minutes! Now, that's a plud factor! Highly recommended for beginners and intermediates but not so much for experts (as my officemate was looking for a peculiar way of doing the report in a matrix data region required by the business but can't find any that advanced format...)



3. I have been more than happy with this book and have recommended others to purchase it also. I feel this book is easy to follow and great for the experienced and also for the beginner.



4. This book served as a decent read as well as decent reference material for using SSRS.
   
   I could have done without the author's attempts at humor with lines such as "Be prepared. You're about to enter... the Matrix!". I would have preferred a "dryer" more serious approach however I can live with the writer's style because the book delivered on content.



5. I just worked my way cover-to-cover and did every exercise. Sure, there are some errors in the book and sometimes it is not as clear as I would like and it does help to be a DBA but I think the book is rather above average in its accuracy. The book is not useful as a reference. But I highly recommend it as a great start. If you are not going to download the problems and do the exercises, then do not buy this book. The value is in doing the exercises.

5 comments about MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition.

1. This series covers all of what I need to know for MCSE. It comes with a nice price. Well worth it.



2. The books are very informative. However, I gave this product four stars because Amazon shipped the book set in a large box and it got all banged up. Luckily the CD was still whole.



3. Read the books: they're easy to read and explanatory.
   
   If you're hoping on practice exams buy from another publisher. The ones provided my Measure Up are full of errors. The font size they use is tiny and not resizeable.
   
   When asked about the errata for the practice exam I was told by Measure Up to just look up microsoft kb articles to check the validity of the answer -- when I said I shouldn't need to look up the questions to be able to trust their validity the customer service agent basically told me I'd only need to do that if I was knowledgeable.
   
   I'd really stay away from this if you want it for the practice exams.



4. I ordered this book set and another book at the same time, from Amazon, and got free shipping. This book set came NEW as advertised. However it came with (1) 290 book, (1) 291 book (0) 293 books, and (2) 294 books. A mis-packaged set. I returned it only to find out I couldn't get a replacement - Amazon is out of stock. Now I can place a new order, from someone else, and pay $14.00 more for the same item. Not the bargain I was looking for. Amazon's response was in effect 'Oh well.' Even though I assume the mis-packaged set was not on purpose, the outcome is the same as the old 'bait and switch.' It would have been acceptable to say they would ship it when they received new stock, but that wasn't even offered.



5. This is a great series just make sure you get the latest version, this one only deals with SP1.

5 comments about Microsoft Office Project 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. I thought I already gave this one a review, but if you did not receive it, I just wanted you to know that your expedient service was excellent!



2. This book may have been usfull for running a home business but, not too usful for me.



3. I bought this book because it was recommended for an online-college course that I am taking. I couldn't believe that the same book was much higher in price on several other websites and how affordable it was to get through Amazon. The book itself is excellent as it gives step-by-step directions on how to use the project. It is an excellent resource and very easy to use. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking detailed, but easy to understand directions regarding the product it is designed for.



4. This item is half the price in the collage bookstore. It arrived quickly, unlike our bookstore with a record of delivering tech books after classes start for the upper level courses.



5. This has been a great book for learning Project 2007. If you already know Project, it does a great job of providing review material, guiding you away from unnecessary chapters. If you have never really spent time with Project, this book does a very good job of walking you through, Step by Step, aspects and capabilities of Project, as well as exposing you to solid project management practices.

5 comments about MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation.

1. OK, this book is a little dated, but I got a really good chuckle from an anecdote relayed by one of the authors that is still funny. Early in the book, on page 68, Mr. Wildermuth attempts to assert his expertise to the reader by declaring that he has "written hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of code". I have shown this little blurb around to many of my colleagues and clients. It has turned into somewhat of a euphemism for a n00b. For instance:
   
   Dev1: "How did the interview go with Ted?"
   Dev2: "Not great. He's got a good personality, but his skill set is a little weak."
   Dev1: "What kind of stuff has he worked on?"
   Dev2: "I would say that he has probably written hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of code."
   Both: "ROFL!"
   
   or
   
   Dev1: "Holy cow! Come over here and look at this mudball of code that I have to support now."
   Dev2: "Wow! You're not kidding. Who wrote this?"
   Dev1: "Who do you think? Joe."
   Dev2: "Oh man, he's written hundreds ..."
   Dev1: "If not thousands!"
   Dev2: "... of lines of code."
   
   All that said, this book does the job. It helped me pass the test. I have taken quite a few Microsoft exams and I have usually turned to the Microsoft Press Self-Paced Training Kit books as a first resource. This book lives up to the good name the series has earned for itself.
   
   I see from many of the reviews here that readers are disappointed if the book doesn't spoon feed them all the way through the exam. I would say that, for myself, preparing for an exam includes a multi-pronged approach. It starts with these books and continues to MSDN and Transcender. But most importantly, I think you have to definitely open up Visual Studio and practice. Write some code! Maybe even hundreds, if not thousands, of lines. ;)



2. Comming from the 1.0 and 1.1 framework, this book really helped me get up to speed with 2.0. It covers many new capabilies and enhancements of the new framework (isolated storage, generics, etc...). This is my "MAIN" reference book now... its almost like my programming bible. :)



3. This book is a good start, but you won't pass the test by just reading it. Experience and practice test will go a long way to help.



4. This books structure makes it very easy to get a chapter a night done and prepare you for the exam. The labs are good and the accompanying DVD contains both practice exams and a trial version of Visual Studio 2005, so you have everything you need in one book.
   
   This exam is only half of an MCTS qualification, so you'll need either the Web Development or Windows Development to go with it if you want an actual qualification.
   
   I only had issue with one or two of the answers given to questions, but I found it quite encouraging that I was able to think 'hey, that's not the best way to achieve that'.



5. I also have the newer (corrected) version of the book (check the copyright page in the beginning of the book, mine lists version: 5 6 7 8 9 QWT 1 0 9 8 7). Despite the numerous corrections, I still find some errors, even those that are unlisted in the errata list. When looking at the four KB articles on the Microsoft site, the errata list shows a gap between part 3 and 4. So I think there is something missing in the errata.
   
   For example: an error I discovered today, on page 712, the second bullet reads:
   
   "One or more PrincipalPermission properties. Use Authenticated to restrict access to authenticated users, Role to restrict access by group memberships, and User to restrict access to a specific user name."
   
   This is incorrect, there is no 'User' PrincipalPermission property. Replace 'User' with 'Name'.It should read instead:
   
   "One or more PrincipalPermission properties. Use Authenticated to restrict access to authenticated users, Role to restrict access by group memberships, and Name to restrict access to a specific user name."
   
   This is in particular a strange error, because on the previous page the authors says:
   
   "Memorize these three properties (Authenticated, Name, Role). Remember, PrincipalPermission doesn't expose any other properties--not a user's full name, phone number, password, or any other attribute."
   
   For the rest of the book, I found the topics are not very well explained. Except for the chapter dealing with Code Access Security, which I found was very clear. In general, I did not like the fact that there are so few images in the book that could clarify the text. Sometimes the text alone is a litte bit boring to read. But then again, it's part of the job, no?
   
   As there is no alternative for this book yet, I hope I will pass my exam by using this book and some internet resources... We'll see.
   
   Good luck to all exam takers!

5 comments about Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days.

1. Being in a start-up myself, I read this book to find comfort and confirmation about the volatility and emotional roller-coaster that comes with a working at the brink of software-as-a service. This book was just what it promised - interviews from some of the great successes in SV and elsewhere, their humble and sometimes difficult beginnings ('against all odds') that I am experiencing right now. It's not a literary piece of work - never intended to be, on the contrary, I felt the writing style was just what fits with a life in the fast lane - little time, easy to read chapters, inspiring and thank god, very 'down to earth.'
   The one critical point I would like to make: I am somewhat perplexed how the companies were chosen - there are so many other companies that could have fit the profile which seem much more of a success than some of the companies/products in the book (gmail? Comm'on, I guess the author wanted to have Google in there, but didn't get an interview so she went with gmail?). Other great companies are easy to find - they don't even need to be in the consumer space. How about Salesforce.com? I definitely liked the mix of 'new' and 'experienced' start ups. This book was a breeze to read and insightful for us start-up enterpreneurs.



2. This book has been so inspirational to me as I work on my internet startup. In just through reading the interviews with the founders I've picked up some excellent tips and have adjusted my business to avoid some of the mistakes they've made and implement some of their winning ideas. Read this book if you want to be inspired to create the next great technology company.



3. The value to be found in this book is undeniably from the access to a sampling of some truly great minds. Most of the interviews are worth reading, but a few of them are simply stellar; not because of Livingston's questions, but because the interviewees are very expressive and thoughtful people. When a single response in this book spans more than a typed page, generally the wisdom contained therein is worth its weight in gold.
   
   A few of the founders were boring or useless, but I think that's just the nature of things. Livingston's questions could have been less scripted and forced at times, but overall she did a good job presenting this in a readable and compelling piece. I recommend it to anyone interested in entrepreneurship or the tech industry in general.



4. This book captures the vision and courage of some of the most important entrepreneurs in high tech market. It also reveals the human side of these legendary people



5. This book is insightful. It's especially nice that I can just pick it up, read one review and not come back to the book for a while. Nicely compartmented.

5 comments about Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better.

1. I've read the entire book and implemented quite a few of the Hacks in my daily routine. Based on the amount of time I've already saved in just a few weeks, this book has easily paid for itself 2 or 3 times.
   
   Some of the specific Hacks that I'm using and their results:
   
   * Email Control - My Inbox is empty and I've finally got my email under control with filters and the 3-folders system created (I added a 4th folder - Print - for emails that I want a hard copy of but my laptop isn't connected to my printer)
   
   * Digital Photos - I've got all my photos tagged and organized for fast searches
   
   * Repetitive Typing - how did I ever get along without Texter???
   
   * Google Calendar - I love using my mobile phone to update my calendar when I'm on the road or need to post a quick reminder that Calendar will email and text me.
   
   I've still got a few things from the book on my To-Do List:
   
   * Get my bookmarks moved over to del.icio.us as described in the book
   * Setup my automated data backup to my external hard drive (I do it manually right now)
   
   Gina's written a great book that really works. The book is platform independent and she tells you when something is Mac or Windows specific. She also lets you know the skill level (Easy, Medium, Advanced) that a Hack will require.
   
   I enjoyed reading it and will probably go through it again soon to make sure I've implemented any hacks that can make my life easier - I'm sure I missed a few.



2. This book is insanely helpful! Can't recommend it enough for people who spend lots of time on the computer.



3. I have been working my way through this book and finding it so relevant for the modern day lifehacker (person who loves the computer revolution and the internet)
   
   It is great to try new tools have had to get through a few hoops before being recommended.
   
   It is very easy to actually read too. The size of the text makes cruising through the book quite easy too.
   
   I have a small blog www.keepordump.wordpress.com which is really about whether to keep or dump new software I have tried. This book has provided a lot of inspiration to keep adding to it.
   
   Two thumbs up.
   
   Tony
   Sydney, Australia



4. Great book. Very good to organize your life and ways to work. It should include more contents special for geek and very technical computer user. It is a must have for those who worry about get organized and get the things done! :)



5. I'm not the most disorganized person on the planet, but I'm not the most organized either. I found the book to be a good reference and helpful in getting things organized. The chapter on e-mails - first chapter - actually worked. I feel my inbox is managed well. 200 new messages a day (that's not as much as some folks!) and I'm breezing through them without backlog. On the down side, I found a few tips a little too "organized" for my taste. I'm more about simple effective solutions and this book provides quite a few. It's well worth the investment.