5 comments about Textpattern Solutions: PHP-Based Content Management Made Easy (Solutions).

1. Despite using Textpattern (TXP) since I started my own website I knew there was still a lot for me to learn and also a few things that could be improved with the way I setup my site. Needless to say when I got wind of this book there was no doubt in my mind that it would help me to be a better TXP user.
   
   The book is well-written and takes you through every aspect of TXP. Everything and I mean everything about TXP is covered in this book. You'll learn the ins and outs of installation, navigating and accomplishing various tasks in the administrative interface, go through the process of building a complete site covering articles, forms and pages, and even learn how to build you're own plugins. There are also 3 case studies that help to further demonstrate just how flexible TXP can be. What more could you ask for?
   
   This book was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is new to TXP, thinking about using it or who currently uses it and would like to learn more about this wonderful CMS.



2. I have been reading the e-book version and I am very dissapointed with this book. I needed a simple CMS for a 3 page site, and wanted an alternative to Jooma! which seemed overkill for this.
   After doing some research I decided to use Texpattern due to its simple core, with this book as a guide. What can I say? The book is so poorly written that I am seriously considering to just use Joomla!
   The authors use a sample site approach to illustrate how to use Textpattern. This usually is a great approach to learning, except they do an aweful job of it. The illustrations are never on the same page as the explanations. And instead of a clear and concise step by step approach (install this file here, modify it there...), authors dwell into lengthy passages including jokes and useless analogies, that by the time you wake up, you realized you missed some vital step which always seem to get lost in this verbosity. Usually actual instruction is merely mentioned or not clearly indicated.
   In comparison, Building Websites with Joomla, is a much better text that makes Joomla! (a far more complex CMS than Texpattern) easy to understand.
   If anything, "Textpattern Solutions" has made a potentially easy CMS become a nuisance to learn. You will be better off reading the online documentation.



3. Textpattern solutions is a great resource for those looking to learn how to use this excellent Open Source CMS. The example site (Buzzbomb) is not quite as linear as I would have hoped and doesn't quite function like you would expect a tutorial to, but I was able to follow along with a little help from the TXP forums. Regardless, the book serves as a great launching pad to get into the nuts and bolts of the cms and begin creating your own sites using TXP. It is also the only book out there on the subject, so the choice is either to use this book, or to muddle through the online resources (which you will need anyway). The book certainly cuts down the learning curve (which isn't that steep, really) and gives you the tools you need to start using the cms with more confidence.



4. I'd have liked to give this book more stars, because I do love Textpattern, but I just didn't get enough out of it. I don't consider myself an expert, but I've been using Textpattern for a couple of years. I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but mostly what I got was a validation that Yes, I'm doing this-or-that correctly or the most efficient way. I didn't gain a lot of new knowledge or tricks, except for the (small) section on plugins.
   So this book might be good for Textpattern beginners, but even then most of the information presented is in the very complete Textpattern wiki, or elsewhere online.
   So I'm glad this book was published, to promote Textpattern, but for me it was a slight disappointment.



5. Extremely easy to follow and well written. My only problem was a lot of the times the illustrations or images weren't on the same page as their textual reference. Not a big deal, but I lost my place a lot while flipping back and forth through pages.
   
   This book is really aimed at beginners. Luckily for me, I was one. Since I purchased this book a few months ago, I've made three sites using Textpattern and they've all been a hit with my clients. The admin interface is superbly easy to use and I love the clean XHTML.
   
   So, in conclusion, buy this book if you're wanting a beginner's guide to Textpattern, but do not buy if you already know your way around as a lot of this content may be redundant for you.

No comments about Build Your Own Security Lab: A Field Guide for Network Testing.

4 comments about MPLS Fundamentals.

1. This is a fairly exhaustive book on cisco MPLS implementation. The name "MPLS Fundamentals" gives an idea that this is a good place to start with, ut unfortunately not. It starts at a basic level, but in no time dives in deep. Use this book only if you want to understand specific areas in depth and not for an overview. Also, if you have access to your own lab, you will find it much easier to follow along.



2. This is a very good book, running from the fundamentals to more advanced topics about MPLS. Easy to read.



3. MPLS Fundamental book contain essential information for any expert CCIP and CCIE.
   However, the book contain the following items that make it complex and unsuitable
   To a junior IT staff reader:
   
   1. The lab/demos don't use one lab design. Learning each chapter (and sometimes
   Any page) with a new lab design, make the self study learning hard.
   Although the author tried to avoid this issue, the issue reoccur in each chapter.
   
   2. Each into/overview after chapter 6 doesn't cover the learning purpose and the
   Important information that the reader will learn .
   
   3. The "Who Should Read This Book?" section should provide information that
   Expert in routing (especially in BGP 4) is a pre-requirement to learn MPLS.



4. This is a book where you are given not only an in depth what it is and how its implemented of the protocol but you are also given great insight as to the why its done this way. You are given all of this in a very readable format. I agree with another reviewer that this is an exhaustive text into the internals of MPLS. I love the level of detail it goes into.

2 comments about Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA: Creating Great Mobile Applications (Java Series).

1. This book has many topics very well writen, i really recomend it.
   And it have new technology for J2ME



2. I really hate Netbeans, but in spite of that fact, and the fact that this book makes heavy use of the technology, I dug into the book. I have a real interest in learning about the development of Java programs on cell phones past the writing of small local applications and games, and this book seemed to fit the bill. I'm the happy owner of many of the author's past books, and this one didn't disappoint me either. At first glance parts of the book look rather sparse. That is because, for one, Knudsen doesn't see the point in just regurgitating the standard. The second reason is that much of the source code is on the book's accompanying website. If you are interested in writing mobile applications with Java, I highly recommend this book. I discuss the book's contents chapter by chapter as follows:
   
   Section: I Getting Started
   Chapter 1. Overview - explains why MIDP is such a good fit for mobile devices and describes how MIDP and the rest of the band fit together to form a powerful platform for mobile applications.
   Chapter 2. Tools - Building MIDP applications is surprisingly easy. This chapter describes several development alternatives and explains some of the magic that these tools provide. Also justifies Netbeans, which I dislike, but it's a fair trade-off to play with such cool stuff.
   Chapter 3. Quick Start -Describes a few simple parts of MIDP so that you can get something running right away. You'll also have a basic scaffolding upon which to build your later knowledge.
   Chapter 4. Core APIs - Don't assume that you know all this stuff, even if you're experienced with Java technology on the desktop or in a server environment. The constraints of small devices dictate that these APIs are more compact and less rich than their desktop counterparts.
   
   Section: II The Lives of MIDlets
   Chapter 5. The MIDlet Habitat - learn the details of how MIDlets live and die and how devices prevent bad MIDlets from performing bad deeds.
   Chapter 6. Starting MIDlets Automatically - Incoming network connections can start a MIDlet. For example, a Short Message Service (SMS) message arriving on a certain port or an incoming socket connection could launch a MIDlet. MIDlets can request to be started at a specific time. MIDlets can respond to specific types of content. For example, an audio player MIDlet can be set to handle one or more audio file types. Other applications can ask the device to launch a MIDlet to handle a certain type of content.
   
   Section: III User Interface
   Chapter 7. Basic User Interface - This chapter and Chapter 8 discuss the screens that LCDUI, the user interface, supplies and their supporting baggage.
   Chapter 8. More User Interface
   
   Section: IV Graphics
   Chapter 9. Creating Custom Screens - If the plain old LCDUI screens are not sufficiently jazzy or flexible for your application, you can create your own screen using a canvas. It's more work, but it's more fun. You can control almost all of the drawing on the display and you get fine-grained event information as well.
   Chapter 10. Custom Items - A middle ground lies between the easy path of canned LCDUI screens and the raw bravado of using Canvas. Custom items are your own items that can be placed into standard forms. A custom item is very similar to a canvas, but it has some additional equipment to allow it to be part of a form.
   Chapter 11. Using the Game API - One popular category of Java ME applications is games. Even when faster data networks make other types of applications more popular, games will always be an important part of the Java ME ecosystem. MIDP has a Game API designed to help you create 2D action or board games. It has a souped-up canvas and supports building a screen using multiple layers. The entire API consists of five classes that are discussed in this chapter.
   Chapter 12. Scalable Vector Graphics - The shortcomings of images on small devices are addressed by JSR 226, the Scalable 2D Vector Graphics API for J2ME. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a kind of XML for describing pictures. Because it is essentially a programming language, SVG can also describe animations and user interactions. JSR 226 is a standard API for displaying and manipulating SVG documents.
   Chapter 13. 3D Graphics - The Mobile 3D Graphics (M3G) API, gives MIDlets the ability to show 3D content. It is a scaled-down version of the desktop Java platform 3D API. The M3G API is a scene graph API, which means it knows how to render scenes that are described as a hierarchy of groups and objects. How to use the API is discussed here.
   
   Section: V Storage and Resources
   Chapter 14. Record Stores - MSA devices provide three ways to work with persistent storage. The first way is with record stores, which are tiny databases that contain records. The official name for this API is the Record Management System (RMS), which is covered in this chapter.
   Chapter 15. Reading and Writing Files - MIDP devices often have some kind of hierarchical file system. The PDA Optional Packages define a FileConnection API that provides access to a device's file system. It is a mandatory part of MSA and MSA subset. The FileConnection API is the subject of this chapter.
   Chapter 16. Contacts and Calendars - The Personal Information Management (PIM) API provides access to contact lists, calendars, and to-do lists on mobile devices. The API is the subject of this chapter.
   Chapter 17. Mobile Internationalization - A fancy phrase that means making your application run in different languages. Internationalization is handled by Mobile Internationalization API, the subject of this chapter.
   
   Section: VI Networking
   Chapter 18. The Generic Connection Framework - All network access in MIDP devices works through the Generic Connection Framework (GCF). The fundamental idea of GCF is very simple. Your application supplies a connection string, and GCF hands back the corresponding input and output streams.
   Chapter 19. Text and Multimedia Messaging - This chapter covers the Wireless Messaging API (WMA) which extends this capability of transmitting and receiving text messages to MIDlets.
   Chapter 20. Bluetooth and OBEX - teaches you the fundamentals of Bluetooth communication but does not attempt to cover the Bluetooth and OBEX (Object Exchange) APIs in meticulous detail.
   Chapter 21. XML and Web Services - describes how to use the XML parsing API, how to call Web services using the JAX-RPC API, and how to work with RESTful Web services. Examples will show how to parse a Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed and how to write a RESTful client for the Flickr photo-sharing service.
   Chapter 22. Session Initiation Protocol - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a standard way to set up a call, videoconference, or other session between two network endpoints. This chapter is a broad overview.
   
   Section: VII Multimedia
   Chapter 23. Playing and Recording Sound and Video - Discusses the Mobile Media API (MMAPI) for working with images, audio, and video. There are some good detailed examples here.
   Chapter 24. Advanced Multimedia - expands on the promise of MMAPI with 3D audio, image processing and encoding, camera and radio control. The basics are in the book, the online software has more detailed examples.
   
   Section: VIII Security and Transactions
   Chapter 25. Smart Cards and Cryptography - an introduction to the Security and Trust Services APIs (SATSA). SATSA actually contains four separate APIs. Two of these are for communicating with smart cards, while the other two relate to cryptography. Only the basics are covered.
   Chapter 26. Mobile Payments - discusses The Payment API, which provides MIDlets with a simple API for making payments.
   Chapter 27. Know Where You Are - discusses the Location API for using GPS to determine where you are or where you want to go.
   Chapter 28. Application Architecture - a good capstone chapter presents ideas to help you with your application design. This chapter gets you in the right frame of mind to design your own application effectively and imaginatively.

5 comments about Beginning Java EE 5: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: from Novice to Professional).

1. The book is very good until you reach chapter 9, i think the authors made this book with a no ready version of ejb 3.0 spec's.
   When i tried to run the examples i couldn?t. I prefered to start the jboss ejb 3.0 tutorial and i think im going to give just a glimpse to the
   next chapters to see if something works.
   
   It was good... until chapter 9



2. This book was published too early. By that I mean, Java EE 5 was not finalized so the code examples starting in chapter 9 don't work. Another example is chapter 10 titled EJB Entity Beans. According to the Sun tutorial, Entity Beans have been replaced by the Java Persistence API.



3. I bought this book to learn the newer concepts introduced as part of Java EE 5. This book did'nt meet my expectations, the example code described in the book has already been deprecated and just don't work on Glassfish. The code on the book may be tested to use beta version of Java EE5 reference implementation ! I could'nt figure it out.



4. Not happy with this book. The author does not provide enough details on environment configuration, unless you use JBoss. I would stick to Core Servlets by Marty Hall.



5. This book was a plethora of useful knowledge. However, it wasn't a jump in and get dirty type of title. When starting the path towards EJB/J2EE coding, one needs to do less messing around with devshed pre-coded examples, and learn by doing.
   This text references proprietary JAR packages from the authors. It is my feeling that APress let down the beginning J2EE/EJB programmer here. This book is not for the beginner java programmer -
   Repetition goes far when learning a new area of any language.
   
   Bottom Line:
   If you want to get up and go and are good at installing all the pre-defined jargon (or are highly skilled with guesswork) and just want some great examples, this book is great for You. If you prefer the repetition route, look elsewhere.
   - Hope this helps.

5 comments about The Science of Programming (Monographs in Computer Science).

1. The book deals with the way of development of programs using mathematical principles. This line of observation ( mentioned in the preface) " One can not learn to write large programs effectively until one has learned to write small ones effectively" captures the motivation of the book. There are three parts; part I introduces predicate logic; it includes natural deduction system; Part II builds the mathematical treatment of the programming constructs like assignment, alternative, iterative command and procedure call. Part III shows how programs are developed and proved correct using the mathematical principles discussed earlier. Given the nature of the area, the book is written with a lot of attention to instructional impact. The best recommendation for the book is by Dijkstra: The topic deserves no less author... To get the message across requires a scientist that combines his scientific involvement in the subject with the precious gifts of a devoted teacher".



2. Simply put, a book that re-introduces the idea of program correctness over all else. An excellent source on program design & analysis, checking for correctness using a logic-based approach. A book that builds from the fundamentals. Not for those who are looking for quick fixes.



3. The book provides an excellent introduction to logic and then shows how by using the language of logic and mathematics to specify pre-conditions and post-conditions one can develop provably correct programs from these pre-conditions and post-conditions.

   I have used the methods in this book to develop advanced algorithms in Computer Graphics which could not have been developed in any other way.

   The book is both a tutorial and reference. It is clearly written and organized.

   When I first read this book, it was as though a bolt of lightning had struck me. Applying its methods, I became a much better programmer. I went from someone who struggled to get the code right to someone who always got the code right. For the first time I understood what programming was all about. I read the book on vacation while my wife and I were staying at my father's home in Sag Harbor New York and it was one of the most incredible intellectual adventures of my life. I'll never forget the smell of the sea and the sand and the logic going off like lightning flashes inside my brain.




4. This book makes my top-ten list of best computing books of the decade of the eighties. It certainly changed my outlook on how to write programs. The incorporation of logic into the code to mathematically prove that it works correctly was an ideal in the eighties and to some extent it remains an ideal. Nevertheless, that is not a reflection of the value of program correctness, but a consequence of the slow changes that sometimes take place in computing. Programmers may change their languages easily, but often not their styles.
   At the time this book came out, I was in the process of designing and adding a course in computation theory with an emphasis on program correctness at Mount Mercy College. Before I encountered this book, I was having a difficult time pressing my case. However, after this book came out and I could use some of the comments regarding the significance of its' content, the course was easily approved. I also used the book in the class and the student comments were overwhelmingly positive. Ten years later, the book is still used in the class, something that is rare in computing.
   The quality of the writing and explanations of the examples in the book are outstanding. Most of the students had no experience in formal logic, and yet they had little difficulty understanding and applying the concepts. The examples of proving the code correct were well chosen and I rarely heard any of the traditional complaints from math students regarding their frustrations over having to work through proofs.
   The quality of programs would be dramatically increased if the principles of program correctness in this book were widely adopted. I continue to push for it every chance I get, and this review is one part of that push.



5. If you want to make a good programmer,you should study it. Many programmers just like programming , but they ignore how to verify their program is whether good enough or not.

5 comments about RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 11g: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in Oracle).

1. I just finished reading this book. I must admit that I like technical books that have examples you can test and see the results yourself. The book has a lot information and especially rman new features with Oracle 11g. The best way to take advantage of this book is to have a test server on hand to try RMAN problems in the book. I recommend this book. It will enhance your knowledge of rman in Oracle 11g.
   I give 5 stars.



2. I've referred to this book numerous times; it's excellent. In fact, I can barely get it back from one of my peers. In essence ... you're faced with a specific problem and this books provides an excellent guideline for tailoring a solution to your situation. A must buy!



3. This is an excellent book that I ever had. This book provides us what we need to do in a step by step method for all imaginable scenarios. This may look repetitive but it provides the complete solution in that fashion rather making us to scrape through different chapters and leaving us in doubt on what to do. If some one is looking for rman internal algorithms, they can search elsewhere. But if they are trying to have a book that could provide easy, quick and straight forward solutions in a crisis, this is the one they might need. This really helped me to troubleshoot and resolve the issues on different occassions.RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 11g: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in Oracle)
   -Nehru Kaja.



4. I just took a graduate level course on RMAN at Regis University which was taught by one of the authors (Darl Kuhn). I am very new to Oracle and this book serves several purposes:
   --Introduction to RMAN for those who have never used it
   --Learning through hands-on case scenarios and how to utilize them (for almost ANY situation)
   --A continuous reference for experienced DBAs
   --Touches on a few topics external to basic RMAN, such as the restoration of online redo logs, running RMAN on Windows, the data recovery adviser, and utilizing RMAN through the enterprise manager.
   
   I sell most of my text books after I'm done with the class, this one I will keep.



5. I have had this book just over a month and have found the book quite useful. I have yet to review the entire book but have been picking it and reading it from time to time and learning new things or better ways of doing tasks in RMAN.

5 comments about The RenderMan Shading Language Guide.

1. I'm quite pleased with the depth of this book. So many of the CGI titles I've bought that claim to be intermediate or advanced aren't. While the RenderMan Shading Language Guide assumes that you have no starting knowledge of RSL, it immediately dives into technical details without overwhelming the novice. For someone wishing to learn RSL (or even just shader theory), this book is wonderfully paced, containing a great depth of information, very well explained.
   
   At the same time, this isn't a book for dabblers. To get much out of the RenderMan Shading Language Guide, you need to be willing to put some effort and practice into it. This is a textbook and needs to be treated as a subject of study, rather than a casual enhancement for playing with CGI. If RenderMan intrigues you, but you don't want to get too deep into the technical (and programing/scripting) aspects, you'd be better off getting Pixar's RenderMan for Maya and a Digital Tutors or similar training DVD. You'll learn more of the simple, day-to-day things and get started making renderings faster.
   
   As another poster mentioned, the text mentions an included disk which isn't. The website doesn't have downloads either. That omission would knock the book down to 4.5 stars, but since I can't rate with half-stars, 5 stars more accurately reflects the value of the book than 4.



2. I have read many technical manuals relating to the 3D Animation and Visual Effects industries, and I can honestly say that this is easily one of the best available.
   
   Given the limited library of Renderman books, I'd call this an absolute must have for any Lighting/Rendering/Shader TD, or any artist or technical director involved in the look development and shot finaling pipelines.
   
   Even if you haven't yet worked within a Renderman pipeline, this is the perfect publication to introduce you to, and bring you up to speed in, the Renderman Shading Language (RSL).
   
   I've found that the majority of technical manuals suffer from a number of common flaws:
   
   1. The information is presented chaotically, and with minimal use of examples or descriptions, resulting in a publication that would readable only by those that already know everything it has to teach.
   
   2. The information is presented so laboriously that what should take a paragraph instead takes up three chapters.
   
   The Renderman Shading Language Guide is perfectly paced for beginners and intermediate users alike, and indeed when I showed the book to a couple of highly experienced Renderman TDs, they were surprised by the sheer volume of information and ordered copies for themselves.
   
   Everything is presented in short blocks with an easily readable description, examples, shortcuts and conclusions. There is no unecessarily complicated geek speek, and neither is the reader treated like a 4 year old.
   
   Even though I barely remember my high school math, and in the most flattering estimation I'd be considered a competent beginner when it comes to the math involved in RSL, I found the examples relatively easy to follow for the most part. And in those parts where the math went well over my head, I found the simple descriptions and concise, well explained instructions to be all I needed to quickly understand the topic.
   
   From cover to cover this book is crammed full of useful information. There is no wastage of space in these pages. It seems that every conceivable question is answered - every possible topic covered from introduction to an advanced level of understanding and a practical and immmediately useful conclusion.
   
   And at the price? This book is a steal.
   
   One very minor complaint I would make is in regards to the occasional typographical error. An equation or two is printed with "?" in place of "*" or another symbol, and there are a few spelling and grammatical errors. But as I said, it is a minor complaint.
   
   Also, I would have liked to have seen more complete shader examples demonstrated in a step-by-step process, as while this book is overflowing with informative mini-tutorials, it all seems a little incongruous. It would have been good to see a few more examples where the information was brought together in real-world ways to create some amazing completed shaders. Perhaps in a sequel? ;)
   
   All in all, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, from an industry Lead Lighting TD.
   
   9.5/10



3. I caught wind that this book was coming out well before it actually came out and could hardly contain my excitement. I had it ordered before it was even off the press.
   
   Let's face it, trying to learn Renderman online is like trying to ride a bike with a flat tire. You can go, but not very fast or very far. I own several other renderman books but found them to be a bit out of date and lacking in areas. Since leaving school and entering into the industry I had actually been considering writing a Renderman book myself. I am glad to say that now I don't have to!
   
   I have been enjoying my copy of the book since december of last year. I admit that I was thrown off by all the refrences to the accompanying cd, as well as a few typos throughout. I was overjoyed however to find the website today! This is the book that I have needed for a long time. It is well worth what you pay for it.



4. The RenderMan Shading Language Guide is an excellent resource. It contains numerous examples of shader code, to help get you started with writing your own shaders. I was happy to see the robust section on illumination models, with some sl code provided for most of them. I found the section that had common functions (like gamma() and remap()) very helpful, and appreciated the disscussion on more sophisticated components of the shading language (like subsurface scattering and global illumination). In addition, for the user who is new to the process of writing and compiling shaders, a number of pages are devoted to explaining how to achieve these goals. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to any user who wants to learn how to write his/her own RenderMan shaders.



5. I have all RenderMan books on the market.
   This one is impressed me!
   The authors explain step by step and that make readers understand RenderMan more.
   
   Same as other reviews, lacking of CD is the shame.
   However, overall still be very good to me.
   And if you consider the price is very worth for money.
   That's why I think this book should be given 5 stars.
   Hopefully, There will be more good RenderMan books available soon.
   
   Tee

5 comments about Windows Home Server Users Guide (Expert's Voice).

1. Chances are, if you are reading about this book you have heard about Windows Home Server from Microsoft. Perhaps you are a computer enthusiast who wants to "roll their own" solution using the OEM version of the software (Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM); or maybe you are looking into a pre-packaged hardware solution like the offers from HP (HP EX470 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live/ 64 Bit Sempron Processor, 500 GB Hard Drive)); or maybe you just want to read more about what Windows Home Server (WHS) is and see if it meets your needs. Whatever level you are at, "Windows Home Server User's Guide" will help you learn more about WHS, guide you through what it can do and hopefully help you with your decision on what to buy, or help you decide if WHS is for you.
   
   There are a number of books that are coming onto the market about WHS. Many of them are large techical books that can drown the non-geek user with information that goes into too much detail about what goes on behind-the-scenes. Many of the books assume you are using the OEM software and building your own system. Instead of helping the user learn more about WHS, they confuse them with meaningless jargon and technical details -- precisely what Windows Home Server was meant not to do.
   
   Luckily, in this book the author has done a good job of keeping the book on a level that can be understood by all. He doesn't assume that you are using one solution or the other, but rather walks you through what WHS is and how it can help you regardless of the solution you end up using.
   
   Each chapter walks you through features of WHS and how it can help connect your digital home and family, and shows you how to get the most out of it. Throughout the chapters the author has put in side notes that give you alternative ways of doing tasks, suggesting where to go for more information or warning you about potential risks. The chapters themselves are concise and full of illustrations and actual screen shots to help you understand what steps need to be taken. In short, this is the manual Microsoft should have included with the software!
   
   I particularly enjoyed how the author covered more "geek" features of the product by talking briefly about them (such as the API -- or Application Programming Interface) but then instead of devoting pages on pages of text to something that both changes frequently and is too much information for the average WHS user simply points you to resources where you can find out more about it if the subject interests you. In this way the author stays true to the audience without trying to make this a "catch all" type book.
   
   In short, if you are getting ready to purchase Windows Home Server or are deciding on if this is a solution for you, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book and read it. It will help you make a more informed buying decision and double as a great getting started guide to getting Windows Home Server setup and running in your house.



2. First of all, I would like to say I'm a big fan of most books published by Apress. I find the majority of them through on their given topic, and well written.
   "Windows Home Server Users Guide" is the first book from this publisher I've gotten where I feel like they let a book get past their editors that is nothing more than a fluff piece attempting to cash in on a new technology.
   This book does nothing more than to painstakingly itemize each and every tab and dialog that you will ever see in an attempt to bulk up a book that really tells you nothing. I found no added insight from this no-meat itemization of each field presented. Anybody that had what it takes to get their home server running could have written this book.
   
   Let's look at an example of where the writer attempt to expand on interpreting the log file if you have an error... this is taken directly from the book:
   "You will notice a series of error codes in the log file; for example, 0x8007000e. If the information
   contained in the installation log file is not very helpful, you might try doing a search on the Internet for
   that error code, or contacting Microsoft Product Support and telling them the error code and asking for
   some assistance."
   
   This is a common sample of the useless type of "extra information" that you can expect to get from this book. The rest of the text is nothing more than lots of pictures of each and every screen and dialog you will ever see, accompanied by write-ups similar to the one I have given. In fact, to find this example, all I did was randomly pick a page out of the book to prove this point. I did not look for a particularly bad example, but just the first example that I opened to.
   
   In summary, Apress is a publisher that I have grown to trust, but after this piece of swill, I will be focusing a more critical eye on them before I purchase sight-unseen again.



3. For the life of me, I don't understand the harsh review this book got. The main critique seems to be that the book isn't meaty enough. Having used it to get me through my first WHS install and two subsequent ones, I find that charge a bit, well, unfair.
   
   The book essentially goes through each Tab in the Windows Home Server console - that much I agree with in the other review. But I found that every single feature I was interested in was covered in more than enough detail to get me through it but never got longwinded or boring. It's precisely the concise nature of the book that makes it so useful. It's light and small, you can easily store it near the computer and you can *find whatever you want quickly* in it.
   
   The truth is, WHS is pretty straightforward and there's not a whole lot to it. What you see on the tabs if pretty much what's there other than Add-ins and the System Settings. The only really tricky task that I found was getting Remote Access to work and this book got me through it with flying colors. In fact, the same goes for every other task. Instaed of installing it and trying to figure it out later, I used this book as I went along and had no problems. The *only* thing I found tricky other than configuring remote access (and it's not the WHS side that's the problem, it's the router) was syncing user accounts on WHS with other accounts to machines I hooked up with Connector.
   
   Although I would have been pleasantly surprised to find a little more on the WHS SDK, every single important topic is covered and covered well. The author does a phenomenal job of getting to the point, telling you what you need to know and not confusing it with stuff you won't care about.
   
   Overall, it's an excellent book and the perfect WHS companion.



4. Well as I have said there are currently 6 Windows Home Server (WHS) books on the market and i'v read them all (yikes). So is the User's Guide from author Andrew Edney any good?
   Yes, Yes and Yes. What Andrew has managed to do is write a complete guide of getting the most out of your Windows Home Server. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro there is something for you within the books 300+ pages.
   Starting with what WHS is (just in case you didn't know), Andrew then takes us in detail, through the features of the product including how to install and most importantly the steps you should follow once installation has finished.
   Andrew also includes a network primer and details on how to build your own Windows home Server as well.
   Thoroughly recommended and defiantly one of the best WHS books currently on the market.



5. I don't normally go out of my way to trash a book....
   
   This book is nothing but screen shots and step by step instructions on how to configure and use a very straight forward operating system. If you feel comfortable using most Windows operating systems, you DON'T need this book.
   
   If you still want to buy this book - Buy mine, I am selling it on Amazon for a good price ;-).

2 comments about The Definitive Guide to db4o.

1. I used db4o during the last six months. I awaited this book for a long time. It provides much useful information about building applications using the db4o. Instead of the level of technical detail, the book is easy to read.
   
   In the very interesting Part I, the concept of open source native object database is introduced along with little history where object database came from. It also provide some useful background with regard to why the relational data model is not an ideal fit for objects.
   
   Part II step the reader through the processus of building a first db4o application and gives details for the inner working of db4o. The exemples are incrementally skilled with each step in the evolution of an application. It provide a lot detail on the topics covered in the earlier chapters. The chapters 7 through 9 are concerned with making the reader understand what each of the db4o parts actually does and how you can use the various functions to tune the behavior of the peristent part of your object application.
   
   The chapters of the Part III are great reference materials and introduces the readers to the rules you need to keep in mind while you came from RDBMS. It compare db4o features compare to the traditional SQL query-driven application. Comparison between RDBMS and OODBMS is a common theme in each chapter of this book. This Part gives you a new and open mind about persistent data in object application. I am happy that it gives you when RDBMS is good and when OODBMS is better instead of seeking to make me believe that OODBMS is the universal solution (but from my own experience, when objects are complex, it is the only solution). You will understand how db4o features compare to the SQL query-driven approach, how db4o query performes and when it is suitable for your application.
   
   I am happy by this book for two reasons. Firts, it provides much needed high-quality documentation for building fully object oriented applications. I mean object data model with object database. Second, it provides the information in an almost easy-to-understand progressive manner. I learned a lot more about db4o by reading this book, and I also learned a lot about object database in a more general sense. I recommend this book to anybody building an object application and don't want to tediously map objects to database table and depend on a string-based query language to manage and retreive the data.



2. Great book for anyone thinking about using an object database. Db4o is an awesome database to use for your projects. This books is a great way to get yourself in the game. The only thing is that the book is written for version 5.2 and 5.7 is already available for download and the new stuff in 5.7 isn't in the book.