Web Books

Pretty much what I was looking for. Relatively thin book packed with 'to the point' info, with mostly unambigious explanation. Have not found any printing mistakes yet.
Money's worth.

I knew a little about XML before reading this book, but nothing in-depth. I've been a software developer for years however, so I didn't want a basics book, but something that covered the subject quickly and in depth. After reading the other reviews I bought this book and was not disappointed. I was particularly interested in XML Schema and XSLT, and this book does an excellent job with both. I'm not sure you can find a more thorough reference outside the standards documents themselves. Datatypes, restrictions, defining complex types--I use this book for XML Schema like I use K&R for C programming. Note that this book has almost no coverage of subjects outside the W3C standards, such as the different types of validating tools and parsers or other XML schema languages such as RELAXNG from Oasis. You will have to go elsewhere for a fuller understanding of the entire 'XML Universe'. The only real gripe I have with this book is its constant use of Microsoft in the examples, which grates on this long-time Linux user. Of course, its from Microsoft Press, so what can you expect. Fortunately XML itself is non-OS specific, so nothing in this book is really Microsoft-centric. All in all, a great reference.

If you are a knowledgable IT professional and need to either learn XML or increase your knowledge quickly, this book is for you. Complete, fast-paced, no dead wood, and designed with the busy IT professional in mind. It reminds me of the Wrox "Handbook" series.

It's 370 pages but half-size, so equivalent to a normal-size 185-page book. Best book purchase I've made all year. Weird for an MSPress book to be so good :-)

Take the hint, MS Press... make all of your books like this!

I seldom award five stars but this book deserves it. If you can only buy one XML reference book, buy this one; if you have XML books that you're not satisfied with, buy this one: The XML Pocket Consultant is *the* XML "sleeper" title.

In my mind, I've retitled the XML Pocket Consultant "The XML Comprehensive Quick Reference." The book presents every aspect of XML and related technologies in a clear, crisp, understandable style. The book's excellent content is augmented by a professionally crafted visual style (page layout, whitespace, typeface, headings, list construction, examples) that facilitates information access and transfer; I mention this because too many books of this type look like they were designed and produced using consumer-level desktop publishing software.

I'm not normally this enthusiastic about a book, but The XML Pocket Consultant is truly a treasure: It's the single most useful, helpful, 5.5" x 8" x 1.2" compendium of XML information I've so far found.

"XML Pocket Consultant" is the best XML book on the market. It is really worth every penny. This book is packed with useful information. My biggest disappointment is that I had such a hard time find the book. For anyone wanting to learn XML, XSL, XPath this is the book I recommend.

I am new to programming.

This book starts at the beginning: building a graphical web page in Web Matrix. Following a entertaining blend of practical, funny and insightful steps, in a short period I was using Visual Basic.Net and databases to add dynamic features, controls and web services.

I was amazed at how easy it is to do. This book provides an enjoyable was to grasp a firm foundation in ASP.NET programming.

I am a college student having some programming knowledge but totally new in dynamic/ data-driven web creation. I found this book really helpful to get started from static to exciting data-driven stuff with ASP and MSDE. Although WebMatrix has a limitation(which was developed by a team of people from Microsoft at their spare time), it's a real great tool for beginner to get to know how to install database engine, create a data table, link to your web form with drag-n-drop and some hands-on coding (provided in the book). If you need to go on to industrial level, this book or WebMartix won't help.
Chap 1 starts with step by step instructions on how to install .NET framwork, MSDE (you need this if you don't have SQL running), then WebMartix (which has its own web server, you don't need IIS to run samples from the book). One of the great styles of this book is easy-to-follow-and-understand examples which has "Try It Out" & "How it Works" section which explains the code line by line in detail. I found Chap16 and 17 really helpful for general knowledge on "Web Services" and "Beyond WebMatrix," but make sure you finish this book first, then go on to more exciting Visual Studio .NET (which is a "bigbrother" of WebMatrix)
Oh..2 case studies at the back of the book, which explains step by step how to make a guestbook, reconizing customer and "log-on" stuff..and the CD includes some software WebMatrix, MSDE, etc..
Thanks to David Sussman and Wrox P2P

Great combination and perfect fit of beginning book and tool: ASP.Net Web Matrix. Excellent examples and basic ASP.Net concepts explanation.

You will be amazed when you read it. It is a step by step guide. I highly recommend this book for ASP .NET so far.

This book is a not bad introduction to ASP.NET. The reason I purchased it is I really needed to master Web Matrix ASAP and Mr. Sussman's book was quite helpful in accomplishing that goal. Of course, it is better to begin with Visual Studio since Web Matrix is somewhat limited resemblance of Visual Studuo but Web Matrix has something nobody could resist - it is free.
Make sure you learn as profoundly as possible chapters about datagrids and reusable content; these two are absolutely irreplaceble components of practically any online database application. Also pay attention to inclusion of namespaces at the very top of your code, it is forgetable. The only thing which was not working for me is Web Services. Other code samples work fine.
I would recommend to start with this book to anybody who needs to master ASP.NET.

Job hunters nowadays must use the internet in their job search but it can be "needle in a haystack" time if you don't have good reliable navigational tools. Crispin & Mehler have provided a great roadmap in their book Career X Roads. When I was searching last year, I used their book constantly. It's a great help for career coaches too who are helping others to find the right web sources to further their job search.

The latest version of CareerXroads continues to be the definitive source for job seekers and recruiters using the Internet. This outstanding reference enables the reader to determine, quickly without wasting valuable time, which are the best web sites to review for job opportunities and the resumes of qualified candidates. In addition to the directory portion of the book, there are many helpful articles on career management for both the job seeker and the recruiter. Whether you are looking for a new opportunity or searching for the best candidate to fill an open position, don't go on the Web without CareerXroads!

Even better than last year's edition.

A thorough reference for anyone interested in advancing their career or anyone in the career management business. Crispin and Mehler review over 500 job, resume and career management sites on the web. In addition, they provide some excellent articles on the subject of career management.

The book is a "must" for anyone in the job market, as well as all Human Resource Professionals.

Would you go to the supermarket without a shopping list? Could you board a commercial airplane flight without a ticket? You wouldn't have the gall to attend a wedding without offering a gift, would you? The answer to these questions is a resounding "No, of course not!" Likewise, at least to my mind and experience as a professional recruiter and staffing manager (and sometimes job seeker), it would be folly to engage in a job search or candidate search without first consulting Cripin & Mehler's "CareerXroads". Within its 435 pages, the authors successfully manage to review more than 1500 internet sites that focus on the ever-widening and complex world of jobs, resumes and career management. The authors' research and insights are presented clearly, in relevant and concise language that every reader should find invaluable. The payoff in saved time, effort and increased efficiency is priceless. Every passive or active job seeker and every hiring manager, recruiter or staffing professional should clear space for "CareerXroads" on their bookshelves and refer to it, daily. Read well and prosper.

This is the job hunters bible. For those looking for a new job, this book has it all. Everything you need to find your next job. If you are an employer or recruiter the listings and reviews of hundreds of job sites will help you target your search to find the best candidates.

This is a reference I keep on my desk at all times. I have used it in my job and have used it to find new jobs. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking to stay on top of the rapidly changing job market.

This is a very well-written study-guide. It gets to the point without getting too wordy. It could serve as a model for other study guides. But, I do have a few minor gripes. First, some of the pages were printed kind of blurry, a kind of shadow image. Second, there is too much preaching about what the author feels are best practices, some of which I question. Best practices questions are not on the exam, at least the one I took, and thus should be left out of a study guide except as perhaps small footnotes. There were also a few minor typos, but being a niche market I can forgive that for technical books.

This is pretty much the only material you need to pass the certification. I was thinking of getting the exam buster as previous reviewer suggested, but exam buster does not promise same day delivery of their products, and with the exam one day away, I had only this guide to rely on.

Here is the approach I took that might work for you as well if you are pressed for time: Work on the end of chapter exercises first, mark all the questions that you are unsure of, if you have the time, go back and read the chapters and correct your own mistakes (I skipped this one because of time issue), and finally check the answers at the back. Note all the ones you were unsure of or didn't get right and studied the reasons provided with each answer. If you don't feel confident of the topic or you have made enough mistakes in the questions, read that chapter.

Before I read the guide, I scored a 70% using Ben's site. After a day of going through the guide using the "algorithm" above, I got an Advanced certification the next day. It goes to show you how good the guide is. One thing to be aware of, some answers are not correct (ran into about 4-5 incorrect answers at the back of the book), thankfully the answer analysis are correct most of the time so you can catch any mistakes in the answers the book provides. Do Ben a favor and get this book, he really deserves the royalty.

Ben Forta's deep experience and practical application overflows from the pages of this book that I highly recommend. Of the dozens of computer books I've ever read, this one kept me astounded me with its perfect-sized chapters, handy reference and cross-reference segments, and the well-written pages. Not only is Ben Forta a good writer, he's an outstanding teacher.
Clarke Schroeder
Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion Certified

This is a very good book, however the coupon for 15% off of the exam is no longer valid. It expired December 31st of 2003.

This book does a good job of giving you information on every possible topic of the certification exam. I used the original study guide to take and pass the first exam. This book includes just about everything in the first book, and goes into topics that are relaevent for MX (i.e. CFCs, XML, Flash intergration, etc.). If you want answers in a few pages vs. a few chapters, then buy this book.

This one is worth every penny. If you are looking to see how the whole website experience goes together from planning the site, building the site, promoting the site and tracking the site then look no further. Martinez tells you how to do this and for free, in most cases.

As a webmaster myself I can say that "FREE" when used in webspeak translates to either limited or restricted or both but nothing comes closer than pointing you in the right direction than Cheap Web Tricks.

Some parts of the book may not be as in-depth as you would want but at least you don't have to go slogging through 10 or 20 different sources either. 5 stars for Martinez. Well done!

Perhaps it's just in my nature, or simply just the way I was brought up (I'm always looking for a bargain)... but I didn't learn anything new from reading this book.

Having said that, Cheap Web Tricks! Build and Promote a Successful Web Site Without Spending a Dime is a book that covers a lot of ground making it a good point of reference for anyone wanting a site starting out from scratch. In fact, the first part of the book takes you through the process of getting a site online without dealing with all the unnecessary details that inevitably get in the way.

Needless to say, this was not what I was expecting when I first opened the book. I guess I was just blind to fact that the word "build" was in the title but I was hoping for a lot more pages on the promotion side of things, so that I could pick up a few new ideas on the way.

One nice surprise was the section on making money from your site as it wasn't something I was expecting. Not only does it give you an overview of the various different ways you can make money from a web site, but also realistic with describing the results you can expect.

This has to be the reason why I'd still recommend it for the complete beginner. Of course, the book simply isn't big enough to go into all the details, nor does it claim to, but it goes a long way to giving an overview of what's involved in owning a web site. For many beginners, this is exactly what they need to know before starting out!

I thought I was a web genius until I read this book. It is absolutely amazing. The author Anne, even responded to a question I had within the hour by email. If you want to build a succesfull website you have to get this book.

Never thought it could happen, but with the help of Cheap Web Tricks this formerly computer illiterate senior has created a dynamite website. And am actually getting inquiries already about the talents I apparently convinced the folk I can offer. Now I just want to get that money rolling in!

An amazingly thorough examination of just about everything you need to know about websites. I feared the book would be boring and a rehash of things I knew; that was not the case. The information builds nicely and there are many great tips. Even if you don't utilize the "cheap" techniques(which are excellent I might add) there is a lot of useful information. Hats off to this author!

Rex Black helps you think about how testing can help your projects. In particular, the planning chapters (using the running example project) make many of the planning and risk management issues obvious. This book will help you determine which activities make sense for you to perform, how to analyze quality risks, how to estimate the work, and how to speak the language of the business (return vs. cost). If you only read the first seven chapters, you'll be farther ahead in your thinking about testing and preparing your group to test than you ever were before.

The prepare chapters (8-11) help you determine which people to select for your team, and how to prepare your test infrastructure, considering that test managers always have limited budgets, people, or time.

A particularly valuable piece of the perform chapters (12-13) is the discussion of how to manage the test builds, who owns what -- how to remove confusion from "which build do I test now?" to an organized plan of handoffs.

And in the perfect chapters, if you've been looking for a way to teach how to write test reports, chapter 14 is your answer.

If you're a manager, you'll use this book on every project, even if you only review the checklists to see if you've missed anything. If you'd like to become a test manager, read this book. Rex describes numerous ways of managing the testing and working with your peers across the organization, to become successful.

I highly recommend this book, whether you're starting a project, in the middle of a project, or completing one.

Sometimes a book comes along that just has to become part of your virtual profesional toolbox. Mr. Black has just given us poor testers another such book.
For me this book provides me with all the tips and tricks that I need during a project and that I would have to think of myself instead of just picking up this book and reading about them.
Even better, I now have an excellent source of course materials for our test engineers. Mr. Black explains and justifies every aspect of the testing process just about perfect and his gift for the metaphor makes this book a good evening read.
The checklist approach that he employs is a great planning aid. Our projections are much more precise this method.
I have added this book to our technical library for this project, and I will insist on making it part of every future test project that I will be part of. That is until Mr. Back publishes his next book.

Rex Black's latest book, "Critical Testing Processes" belongs in every test engineering library. Rex's book is logically organized; Part I, Prepare, embraces Chapters 1 through 7. He begins with a discussion of Planning, the first phase in the testing lifecycle, focusing on Quality Risks to assist test planning, He provides one of the best step-by-step examples I've seen to develop a test estimate. Rex sets the stage for us by showing how testing fits into the larger project context, and defining a 15-step testing process. He defines the context of his case study on the Sumatra project. In this chapter, Rex shows one of the nicer examples of the classic "V-Model" relating the development and testing lifecycles.
In Chapter 2, Rex explores the subject of Analyzing Quality Risks as the basis for his test planning, and shows a variety of templates and techniques that will assist the reader in performing this process, and links them to his case study. Note that using Quality Risks may have to be coupled with requirements/feature coverage on contracts with a government customer.
I believe that Chapter 3 (Gaze into the Crystal Ball; Estimate the Work Ahead), is one of the most helpful guides to Test Estimating that I've seen. Rex provides a variety of templates to assist folks unfamiliar with building a testing estimate.
Chapter 4 shows how testing provides "value-add", and gives the reader insight into aligning the initial estimate with the financial constraints of the project. Rex discusses ways to reduce cost by focusing testing based on the Quality Risks, in the context of the Sumatra case study. Templates, spreadsheets, and methods for calculating testing cost and return on investment are supplied.
In Chapter 5 Rex shows how to take the realistic estimate that was created and sell it to the project team. He also has a section titled "Predict with Honesty", which emphasizes the necessity for Ethics in our business.
Chapter 6 discusses the significant efforts in continuous test planning, It uses a variety of excellent figures to illustrate the author's points; however, note that there are 2 Figure 6-5's in this chapter, which results in the remaining figures being mis-numbered.
Chapter 7 goes into detail on how to get stakeholder support for the Test Plan. The Test Plan is the keystone for successful testing. Rex also provides an interesting section on what to do "When Key Players Don't Support the Test Plan" and how to work in a regulated (e.g., export restrictions) environment.
Chapters 8 through 11 are the section titled "Prepare". Chapter 8 on hiring testers is another area of the book not dealt with in many texts, but is extremely critical to successful testing. There are several parallels here to the Perry/Rice book "Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing".
In Chapter 9 Rex provides pointers to career growth in a testing team, and assessing skills of the team members. He gives some tips on creating job definitions. He also addresses the challenges posed by having to accept team members other managers don't want, and use of contractors and consultants. Good chapter!
Chapter 10 gets back into the more technical side of test management. Through his Sumatra case study, he provides some insights into stress testing, and use and support of test tools.
In Chapter 11 Rex discusses details of approaches to test coverage, test design, selection and implementation of automated tools. He also takes some time to discuss approaches to "vague requirements", which is a problem most of us face.
Chapters 12 and 13 are Part III, Perform. Rick provides an excellent discussion of management of test releases in Chapter 12. This discussion is nicely illustrated through the case study. Note that you need to have the ability and a mechanism to UNINSTALL any release.
In Chapter 13 Rex defines a test execution process, and then goes on to show how that process works. He defines a set of test tracking worksheets, and illustrates use of the process and the worksheets on "the Big Build".
Chapters 14 through 17 are Part IV. Rex defines the Bug Reporting process. He describes use of this process through application to "the Big Build". He goes on to show how to, and how NOT to, report bugs, and emphasizes the necessity of describing one symptom per bug report. One caution in this chapter; Rex uses shaded boxes to emphasize points. Several of these boxes were misplaced in the book assembly process, so the reader needs to use care in navigation on pages 391 through 394.
The title of Chapter 15 seems a little misleading to me, in that it doesn't deal with writing a Test Summary Report (IEEE definition), but rather with the critical, on-going process of reporting test metrics. Rex focuses on describing the creation of a "test dashboard", and use of that dashboard for providing a succinct delivery of test status. Rex describes what I believe are a useful set of metrics charts. Unfortunately, the book assembly process resulted in Figures 15-2 and 15.3 being reversed, which led to much confusion on my initial read.
In Chapter 16 Rex discusses change management as it applies to bug fixes. The Sumatra case study is used to provide an informative view into the change management process. Rex notes that such a process must balance considerations of features, schedule, budget, and quality by assessing impacts from all project groups.
Rex concludes his book with Chapter 17 with some thoughts as to how testing can provide value.
Rex finishes up with a Glossary that defines his terms.
A suggestion for the interested reader. Read Rex's book in concert with the book from Drabick titled "Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process: A Menu of Testing Tasks". Drabick's book shows the reader "What to Do"; Rex Black's book shows "How to implement the What".

This book is written for the test manager and/or project manager who oversees one or more testing efforts. The author has done a great job of taking his own personal experiences (good and bad) gleaned from years of "in the trenches" work, and threading them together into a single fictional story that he uses to illustrate his proven method of managing testing projects.
Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 7) talks about the stuff you need to do to Plan for a testing effort, such as; convincing senior management that spending money on testing is a good Return On Investment (ROI), how to get a realistic ballpark estimate for how long the testing is likely to take, and when & who should get involved in the project.
Part 2 (Chapters 8 to 11) deals with Preparing for test execution; selecting test strategies & techniques, putting a testing team together (and keeping them together), and determining the appropriate measure(s) of test coverage
Parts 3 & 4 (Chapters 12 to 17) first focuses on perhaps the most stressful phase of a testing project - test execution. When the "heat of battle" is most intense; it's useful to have examples, templates, and checklists that a test manager can draw upon to help them manage and report on the test execution in a controlled and credible manner. The book then wraps-up by discussing process improvement; what went well, and what could have been improved (no witch hunts please!).

In summary, I believe Rex has built a very comprehensive and detailed composite documentary on how he has defined and deployed the most critical processes needed to support a software testing effort.

In the vain of "full disclosure", you should know that I've known Rex for many years, and consequently I cannot be considered a completely impartial reviewer.

Critical Testing process is a book for the new test manager as well as a book for the test manager looking to refine what his or her process of testing is all about. What I liked about the book is it takes you through a fictitious company, Sumatra, whose is about to upgrade and introduce a new enhancement to their software. It is a dialog between the test managers, testers, program management, and VPs of the company. It's like reading a story with a narrator in the background commenting on what is going on. But then breaks off from the scenes talks about what was going on, and the reasons why these things had to happen that way.

As the first chapter starts out - getting the big picture. The biggest thing I have found with Test managers who are struggling in their field is not getting their test group involved - involved I mean from start - at the requirements and implementation phase, versus toward the end, where its almost too late.

The next few chapters go through is estimation and planning, as what we (test managers / test leaders) should all do is go through and then analyze the risks, come up with some estimation of time, and cost of the project. Then the ultimate, sell it too management where the project is most likely already over budgeted. Finally the sell tactic - to gain support for the test effort.

Assuming you have made it through all that planning, the next chapters talk about hiring and putting together a good test team and implementing the test cycle for what amounts to what you will be testing.

The next few chapter talk about the testing, everything from the release criteria handoff to executing test cases, reporting on the progress of testing, leveraging the opportunities and hitting some of the pitfalls. Ending with a summary of what the book was about, and putting it all together.

Some of the books I have read, I walk away with, how can I apply this book to what I am doing. This is a book where it is like a reference guide, where I can look up and gain a possible solution quickly as to how address my everyday scenarios in my test department. Or, as I have done already through ww.stickyminds.com web site, is recommend it to those new test managers who are trying to quickly get a department going, but want to do it correctly.

The first half of this book is written by the listed authors, followed by six essays by thought leaders on peer-to-peer commerce, collaborative commerce, portals, adaptive strategies for B2B marketplaces, B2B integration, and visibility in the extended supply chain. Fingar and Aronica have done a commendable job of examining and explaining the changes to business models brought by information technology. The authors tell the reader what they think was wrong with the dot-com economy and what needs to be done to succeed in the high-tech economy in which the major risk is not getting Amazoned so much as getting "GE'ed". The book straightforwardly delves into the business model implications of electronic marketplaces, peer-to-peer commerce, B2B exchanges, e-hubs, e-services, component-based architectures, m-commerce, collaborative commerce, value chain optimization, and more. The authors agree with a growing number of others, including re-engineering gurus Hammer and Champy, that the key to success now lies in extended business relationships. The book does an excellent job of looking at the new generation of Internet technologies need to enable new business models and processes. You do not need to be highly technically inclined to follow this discussion which helps business leaders understand what they need to do to power ahead in the real innovation economy. One strength of the book is reflected in the subtitle which shows that the authors are concerned not with technology alone but with how it fits together with new technologies and new business models.

Doing business on the Internet is now a mainstream phenomena ranging from novice online entrepreneurs to established multinational conglomerates. In The Death Of "e" And the Birth Of The Real New Economy, Peter Fingar and Ronald Aronic effectively collaborate to survey and explain the rapid and fundamental changes affecting how individuals and companies are doing business in this age of the computer whether the transactions are across town or on the other side of the world. The authors explain the emerging business models of the electronic marketplace, peer-to-peer commerce, e-hubs, B2B exchanges, auctions, wireless applications, m-commerce, intelligent agent technology, collaborative commerce, digital strategies, and more. The Death Of "e" And the Birth Of The Real New Economy is very highly recommended, essential reading for corporate executives, economists, business managers, and anyone with an interest in how the Internet is impacting upon local, regional, national, and international economies and business practices.

This book covers what assumptions were wrong in the dot-com economy and refocuses on the realities of business in the technological, digital-savy economy. It covers all of the P2Ps: Powerpoint-to-Production, Path-to-Profitability, and finally, Peer-to-Peer technologies among others.

Explained are the educational takeaways from historical, leading edge developments of e-commerce, e-procurement and electronic marketplaces and how they can be applied based on the realized importance of extended business relationships. This book then addresses the appication of the newest developments, including peer-to-peer, collaborative commerce, and B2B integration within the supply chain in the currently developing (Real New) digital economy.

This book is recommended reading as it clearly details the digital past and provokes thought on how to continue to execute using new technologies within business today.

During the dot.com craze, companies worried about being "amazoned," asaulted by young zealots who threw out all the rules of the old economy. But now after the crash of the dot.coms, the pendulum has swung back too far and many companies are tempted to think, "I told you so, the Internet was just a fad."

Not so. The true Internet business revolution is just beginning, and no company will be spared its impact.

Companies shouldn't worry about being amazoned, they should worry about being "GE'ed," where under the leadership of CEO, Jack Welch, the single most impotant business tool of our time is being used to gain operational hyperefficiency, and strategically position GE's many companies to dominate their industries. No overnight magic. No quick fixes. But deep and structural changes in what it means to be in business and and what it takes to dominate industries are altered by the anywhere, anytime, anyone connections of the Internet. This is the focus of this book.

I thoroughly agree with Xerox's John Seely Brown and his conclusion that "The Death of e is unquestionably the birth of a new understanding of where the real new economy is headed." The book explains the business models for Value Chain Innovation and Collaborative Commerce. But it doesn't stop there. It goes on to clarify the need for a new generation of Internet technologies to enable these new business models.

Web-services, peer-to-peer computing, intelligent agents and integrated commerce resource platforms are clearly described so that even not-technical readers can grasp the next generation Internet technologies needed to conduct business at the network's edge. In addition to this solid introduction to the new business technologies, in-depth chapters written by industry thought leaders are devoted to the critical concepts: Peer-to-Peer Commerce, Enterprise Portals for Conducting Business on the Network Edge, Collaborative Commerce, Adaptive Strategies for B2B Marketplaces, Dynamic B2B Integration, Bringing Visibility to the Extended Supply Chain, and Understanding ebXML, UDDI and XML/edi. The result is a book with both vision and substance. The downside of this breakthrough book is that I wish it was 800 pages instead of 360, as it triggers the need to learn more and more about the new way of competing. It does, however, provide a pointer to its accompaning Web site at mkpress for further reading and investigation.

Because business and technology cannot be treated as separate issues in today's extremely competitive markets, the book's subtitle indicates the balance provided in its pages: business models, technologies and strategies for the 21st century. The Death of 'e' does not restate the "conventional wisdom of e-business" found in the many other books on the subject. Instead it breaks new ground to show business leaders what they should be thinking and doing to dominate in the real new economy.

Timing is perfect - this is a book for all to read.

Symfony is one of the few well documented web application frameworks. Even so, the authors gave a great contribution to those willing to learn the basics as well as the complex aspects of Symfony in a clear, direct manner. Two thumbs up!

What separates symfony from the rest of the frameworks at the moment is the documentation. Every noteworthy feature and approach is documented in the book and the Askeet tutorial is great for real-life implementations. If you are serious about Symfony, get this book.

I'm a freelancer that was in search of a framework that would allow me to expeditiously develop applications for my clients, without sacrificing reliability. After researching several PHP-based MVC frameworks, I landed on symnfony due to its comprehensive set of features, strong OOP support, PHP5 utilization, and (very importantly) the great documentation. Yes, this book is available in web format online - but I'm very glad I made the purchase so I could learn the framework as I traveled, and it's much easier to use as a reference (I have it sprawled across my desk as I type this review). If you're looking for a great framework, I'm convinced symfony is it. And if you're looking to learn symfony, and have a resource as you build your skills, this book is what you'll need. The only caviat is, if you have no Object-Oriented programming experience, I would recommend you pick up "Objects, Patterns, & Practice" by Apress before learning symfony.

The books contains all the information you can find in the online manual on the website of the symfony project.
If you know this before (and I did), the book has the same quality like the online manual, in my opinion a very good one.

Well written and understandable for such a large chunk of software. You can be the judge yourself, of course, by reading it online before you buy the hard copy. I'd definitely recommend having the real thing if you're just starting with symfony though.. you can't dogear or bookmark the online version.

This book was excellent and very informative. At first there was so many to chose from but I am positive I made the right choice. It is not expensive and worth every penny. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in either buying or selling on ebay.

Michael Banks' The eBay Survival Guide is another fine guide to selling and buying on eBay - and avoiding common pitfalls - which covers just about everything including discerning the 'real prices' of items and learning more effective bidding strategies. From using HTML in listings and handling templates to considering private auctions and handling problem buyers or sellers, all the basics of the interactive auction forum that is eBay are covered.

This book is great whether you are new to eBay or you have been using it for years. I have done some buying and selling on eBay and while I don't consider myself an expert I felt pretty confident in my abilities. There are a great many books out there about mastering eBay, but this one stands out amongst the crowd. This book opened my eyes to a whole lot more that eBay can do, for me, for you. The first chapter is the basics of what eBay is. After that it is a plethora of information. It covers topics from how to search to how to bid and how to post and item for the best results and how to attract bidders. This should be called the eBay bible because it is all you need. It can save you money, time, and effort. This book is packed with information that is easy to read and understand. Space is not wasted on excessive graphics; only the most appropriate and useful graphics are included. It is a fast read especially when you start getting excited about what you will learn and how soon you can use this knowledge. For those who are interested in eBay it is a page-turner. I am recommending this book to any one who uses eBay, from beginners to seasoned eBayers. The author participated in some of the original auctions in 1983 aimed at trading computer parts on college campuses, and now is a regular on eBay. He has written over 40 books on various topics, such as technology, writing and eBay.

Are you a frequent buyer or seller on eBay. If you are, this book is for you. Author Michael Banks, has written an outstanding book that is a nonconformist, irreverent, and realistic handbook for both buyers and sellers.

Banks, begins by presenting an overview of the organization and structure of eBay, along with what it offers and the basics of how it works. Then, he covers the basics of participating in eBay auctions. The author continues by introducing you to the basics of searching on eBay. In addition, he also shows you how to combine basic search techniques with Search commands and unconventional techniques to conduct truly high-powered searches. The author also considers the relationship between value, price, and demand, and looks at some methods for calculating prices. Then, the author takes a look at how you can fit the profile of the ideal seller, and how to handle those less-than-ideal buyers you may consider. Next, he shows you how to decide what you are going to sell.
Next, the author suggests how you might go about finding items to sell on eBay. Then, he explains how to go about creating a successful auction. The author continues by showing you how to write copy on eBay. In addition, he covers how to relist an item and how to improve your chances of selling it. The author also presents an overview of things you should know before you bid and buy on eBay, focusing on dealing with sellers. Then, he answers questions about bidding and tracking auctions, along with information about techniques and tools you can use to win consistently. Next, he presents some approaches to getting those auction items you've lost. Then, the author covers the steps and options involved in paying for and getting your items. The author continues by looking at some common scams and downright illegal activities that take place on eBay. In addition, he looks at several types of products that aren't what they appear to be. Finally, the authors shows you how you might go about getting information about an eBay member, through eBay and other channels.

This excellent book shows you how eBay works; how to find things on eBay; how to bid effectively and win; the best times for buying and selling; how to draw bidders without spending a bunch on eBay auction features; how to spot shills, fraudulent sellers and deadbeat buyers; and, a lot more. In addition, you'll find information about how to handle the offline aspects of online buying and selling, and some useful information about using the Internet in general.

If you've never used eBay before you'd be silly to do so without first picking up 'The eBay Survival Guide' by Michael Banks. Even if you've been using the auction site for years you will also benefit from the information found in this book.

'The eBay Survival Guide' starts out, not surprisingly, with an overview and history of online auctions and of eBay itself. It then moves on to how the site works and also provides some great tips and techniques for finding items you want. Even though I've been using eBay since 1999 I found it interesting to go back to the beginning and get an overall sense of what's really happening on one of the biggest sites on the internet.

The next major section of the book is geared toward those people who are using the site to sell things. That brings up a point worth mentioning. This book is for both sellers and buyers on eBay. It's a 'survival guide' for all users, not just a "how to make lots of money on eBay" book. I'll look at the section for buyers in a minute. The section for sellers includes suggestions for creating better listings, when to relist items, how to deal with problems that may arise and so on. It's loaded with screenshots, so you're not just reading about eBay you're seeing what things will look like when you use the real site. I think a great many sellers would benefit from reading Chapter 10 called, "How To Create Listings That Sell". Banks points out the many pluses that come with writing effective descriptions and titles for your auction items.

Next comes the section for buyers. Again there are lots of screenshots that really help bring the examples to life. And there are more than just a few examples. The book is obviously written from a great deal of personal experience not just clinical research. Banks' anecdote about the historic airplane photograph and negative (page 186) is proof of this. In presenting it he helps illustrate best practices for bidding, outbidding and sniping. Here's an area where I had some experience but again felt that the book either reinforced some of the things I already knew (making me feel more confident in bidding) or suggested things I should be doing but wasn't (like spending more time researching other bidders).

Near the end of the book he discusses how not to get ripped off using eBay and in doing so exposes some of the uglier sides of the site. This is important information though and helps buyers and sellers better understand what can go wrong and how to avoid it.

Throughout the book Banks writes in a clear easy-to-understand style that feels like a friend sitting down to explain eBay to you. Despite the fact that the guide is about an internet website it feels not at all like a computer textbook. Its short concise sections make finding the information easy and learning from it even easier. You should find it easy to pick up the book and skip to whatever section is currently most relevant to your eBay activities. The well-written index also helps you to find the help you need quickly.

Whether you're new to eBay or not and no matter whether you're buying or selling it's a sure bet that "The eBay Survival Guide: How to Make Money and Avoid Losing Your Shirt" will help you get the most out of online auctions. Highly recommended.

product was received in great condition and propt service.....would definately purchase from this seller again...thanks

If you sell on ebay, you should read this. It's a quick, easy read and one you should keep handy for a reference. Good for buyers too. One of the best for ebay sellers.

I didnt realize how many facets there were to ebay until I picked up this book. For those of you who have an interest in selling on ebay but dont even know how or where to begin, this is a great starter book to learn the market, learn the inside and out of the website and learn how to get started! The layout is simple and there are topics covered which greatly simplify the overwhelming amount of information that is out there regarding buying and selling on ebay. This book is a must if you are serious about starting an online ebay business!

Excellant Tips & Tricks even for the experienced seller

Lets face it...most of those "helpful" eBay books are meant to make money for the author...nothing more. This book is an amazing contrast! The author actually knows what she is talking about. I am an old eBay pro but I have found this book to be helpful. And the beauty of this book is that it is organized in degrees of "difficulty". From easy to understand instructions for the newbie to more sopisticated info for the "pro". Take it from me, this book is worth the $$. Buy it and make more $$ on eBay!