Networks Books

This book offers good strategies for implementing VoIP. It covers the feasibility studies required and pre and post evaluation of the network. Technical details are covered well but the most important aspects such as QoS, SLA's are explained in some sort of details, which is an important area when dealing with VoIP.

I used this book as one of my main reference in my final year project with UOL BSc in CIS.

I recommend this book not just for Engineers, Technicians, Managers and IT staff, but also for anyone wishing to learn about the basis of VoIP.

As one of the lead Network / IP Telephony engineers for my employer, GE IT Solutions, I was excited to learn that Cisco Press had published a book addressing the business and project management aspects of Voice Over IP (VOIP). I was glad that I picked up "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" by John Walker and Jeffrey Hicks (ISBN 1587200929) and I highly recommend the book to any IT decision maker, project manager, or lead engineer considering VoIP technologies.

The authors clearly indicate in their preface that the book is not a technical "how-to" manual for VoIP. Rather, the target audience is "chief information officers and information technology managers who choose to deploy VoIP in their organizations". The book opens with an overview of VoIP terminology and acronyms. For the most part, the discussion remains at a high level, although the details on IP packet headers probably could've been scaled back, given the target audience. Chapter 2 delves into the business drivers for moving to VoIP, such as convergence and ROI.

Chapter 3, Planning for VoIP, was a particularly helpful section in relation to my job functions. The chapter does a excellent job discussing the value and importance of planning and design for VoIP networks, a critical piece of any VoIP project that I feel customers (and even some vendors and implementers) often overlook. In fact, if it weren't a copyright violation, I'd probably copy the entire chapter and hand it out to any of my existing and potential VoIP customers. Better still, I'll by them a copy of this book.

Subsequent chapters of the book's focus continue to balance the business considerations with the technical aspects of VoIP. Topics of discussion include finding the right implementer, QoS tuning, ongoing VoIP Management, SLAs, and security considerations.

As mentioned earlier, I highly recommend the book to any IT decision maker, project manager, or lead engineer. I've encouraged many of my non-technical business colleagues at GE ITS to read "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project". In fact, one of our Six Sigma quality leaders engrossed herself in the book and gained an very comprehensive understanding of both the business and technical aspects of VoIP. Next thing I know, she'll be pursuing her CCIE!

I recently read the book titled "Taking Charge Of Your VoIP Project" by John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks. ISBN: 1587200929.
The title is a great reference for understanding VoIP technology and helps identify the many aspects that one must consider for a successful deployment of Voice over IP. Reading this book ahead of time will empower the reader with the lingo, technology and solutions to be effective when leading a team.
The book starts out by giving the reader an understanding of the basic technology concepts surrounding traditional voice networks, or Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) and then goes right into the basic technologies that allow Voice over IP (Data) to be a viable alternative to the traditional phone networks.
Chapter 2, Building a Business Case for VoIP, gives the reader good information to ponder over and helps identify purpose for building a case for a VoIP solution.
The next chapter, "Planning for VoIP" is one of the larger chapters and for good reason. After all, anyone in business knows that planning determines whether the project will go smoothly with little surprise or whether it's a disaster. In this chapter you'll learn about reliability, call quality assessment, and over all VoIP readiness assessment, among other things.
Another great chapter is Chapter 5, "Quality of Service and Tuning". Probably one of the biggest challenges that an organization will face. QoS is challenging due to the complexity of a true end-to-end QoS solution in an already complex data network. Accomplishing QoS requires in-depth knowledge of the existing data network. Furthermore, the communication to others on the team of what it's going to take to get the network "up to snuff" to support VoIP will be a task in and of it self. It makes ATM technology look quite attractive. The chapter has quite a bit of detail; however the authors don't drop the reader over the deep end of the technologies.
I would recommend this book to those that are anticipating implementing Voice over IP in their network, those that are in the process of piloting Voice over IP or even those that are in the midst of a VoIP implementation would benefit from this title.
The book is best suited for Project Managers, management, telecommunication and Data networking personnel. Really and truly, most anyone would benefit from reading this title. It covers such a broad range of information that having a well educated project team is going to ensure that the project goes smoothly and all things are considered. This book does an excellent job of presenting all of the issues that personnel involved in a Voice over IP project should be aware of to ensure success. It gives the reader a great appreciation for the complexities and helps a great deal with ironing out a good sound strategy.
This book has several figures, tables and diagrams. Like the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". This statement holds true in the title. Like I always say, pictures are good.
The book covers everything you'd think about and everything you wouldn't think about.
Coming from the data side of a VoIP solution, I thought I had enough figured out to make a VoIP project a success. This titled made me think about issues that I would have otherwise over looked. Especially issues relating to traditional telecommunications.
Don't start you project without this book. It may end up costing you more than this book in mistakes if you don't.

Excellent book if you are looking for "in-depth" crash course in to VoIP. The amazing part was vendor neutral tone. Even though it came out of Cisco Press, it hardly preached any specific vendor. It was mostly focused on the fundamentals.

However the book lacks a decent index section. Hardly any important words are mentioned.

John Walker and Jeffrey Hicks's "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" (ISBN: 1587200929, Cisco Press) is an installment in Cisco's Network Business Series line of books and covers the topic of voice over IP (VoIP) from a business strategy perspective. Although the book does cover some technical aspects of VoIP, its main purpose is to guide the reader in understanding the steps from beginning to end on how to develop a business case all the way to deploying a successful and secure VoIP deployment. The book covers eight major areas:

* VoIP Basics
* Building a Business Case for VoIP
* Planning for VoIP
* Do It Yourself or Outsource?
* Quality of Service & Tuning
* Ongoing VoIP Management
* Establishing VoIP SLAs
* VoIP Security

This book's primary audience is meant to be at the managerial and above levels, although it does have value for senior technical staff, albeit from a different angle. For the management level, the book's value is in how it covers enough technical detail to make the reader aware of the complexities of VoIP, yet at the same time it presents both a business rationalization and realistic implementation steps so as not to scare the reader away (from the technology). For the senior technical staff or technical manager, the details of the technology will seem rudimentary, but the business framework may be less familiar territory, and therefore more valuable. For the technical audience, it addresses the often asked question of, "Where's the business need for VoIP?"

The eight categories can really be summed up into three major headings: VoIP Technology Summary, Business Justification, and Deployment Considerations. The "VoIP Basics" or technology summary provides the necessary background information on the PSTN and legacy PBX's in order to present the context for understanding how VoIP is a change in voice technology. This section is brief, and Walker and Hicks end with a general overview of data technology and how you converge old voice technology into it, discussing signaling, transport protocols, codecs, and the hardware necessary to make everything work. In terms of the business case for VoIP, the authors present three major cost savings opportunities: toll cost savings, simple network savings, and productivity savings. These areas are commonly talked about and should not be a surprise to the reader; the value here is that the book enables the reader to talk intelligently about the cost savings areas to a business audience. From here, Walker and Hicks cover how to project the ROI, how to make sure you have the data to back up your projections, and what associated costs should be considered before starting the project (e.g., is it cheaper to outsource?). Lastly, the authors spend time discussing both the pre and post implementation requirements and implications of running VoIP, spending less time on the technical details and more time on the big picture of implementing such a technology: Considering the quality requirements (i.e., QoS), integrating VoIP into a network management structure, establishing SLAs with the customer, and securing the technology.

Overall, the book provides a good, but broad treatment of how to present a case for VoIP and then deploy it. The irony of the book is that the readers who can best utilize the information will probably be the ones that find the book a little boring. For example, experienced managers will take away the unique points of implementing VoIP and recognize how it can fit in a realistic way for their particular environment. On the flip side, the knowledgeable network technician will similarly be able to see the nuances of VoIP that the book presents and understand the implications for the existing network. To both audiences, the pre-existing experience and knowledge may cause them to find the book too basic, although the lessons learned will most likely be valuable to them. To the less experienced readers (technical or managerial), the book is a great starting point and will most likely engage them more, but without additional references or resources (e.g., basic project management skills, understanding business budgeting cycles, etc.), the information learned may be just enough to make them dangerous.

"Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" is a great resource for its intended audience of decision makers and project managers. It is not necessarily meant for the technical person doing the implementing, although the information is beneficial as it ties the technical to the practical.

With a strong example-to-paragraph of information ratio, this this title is readable and well presented: highly reccomended. But I'll hold back on a 10 only because the authors only skimmed the most important aspect of HTML layout: tables. While this book *was* just a starter, as the "...24 Hours" claims, I am still struggling to learn how tables function. Still it's, very well-written, enjoyable, topical (covering what you need to know), and organized, giving you a good taste so all those lines of Hypertext Markup start becoming legible.

This is, without a doubt, the best book on the market for learning beginner's HTML.

This book helped me out so much when I just started out. I was 13, and had just gotten the internet and I realized that even the average person had a web page, so I looked at the source code and realized that it is not that hard. I wanted to expand my knowledge, so I bought this book, and it helped so much. It has definetly helped me as a resource when writing my pages now. I reccommend this book to anyone just starting out.

I bought 2 other HTML books before I found this one. This book was really awesome. It was easy to read and understand. I learnt a lot.

Dick Oliver is the best author!! You will really get a lot out of this book even if you are a beginner!

Not only does this book explain all aspects of TCP/IP in an easy to understand format, but the author also mentions how it relates to both Unix and MS OS and contrasts the differences.

As a graduate student of Telecommunications Management, I could only dream to have professors this eloquent in all my classes. I bought this book as an alternative to one recommended by a prof teaching this subject. I have read this book and skimmed the one recommended by the prof - no regrets!!

this book is very good, it is simple(but complete) , easy to read and easy to understand.

There may be a reason that Amazon dropped "in 21 days" from the title of this book... the topic is a complex one which demands more than three weeks of attention. Regardless of the title, this is still an excellent self-study course on the TCP/IP protocol suite. Rather than focusing on passing a now non-existent exam, the author masterfully leads you through the intricacies of TCP/IP on a variety of platforms, helping you develop valuable and portable skills.

Unlike other books which spend chapter after chapter on networking basics, this book has you deconstructing IP packets on day three and subnetting on day six. The pace is unrelenting to the end, but it's worth the effort.

Unlike most computer books, this one is not dated although it was published in 1998. It provides the best explanation of subnet masking--making that concept intuitive. Other books don't present concepts/rules in such a clear manner. It will take more than 21 days to read through this book, since one day's worth of material can take longer to digest. This isn't a book you simply read and skim through the exercises. Take the time to do the exercises and you will know this subject better than you thought you could. If you're being handed an IP network to manage and you need to learn IP quick, buy this book.

I have read at least a couple of dozen "computer books" in the last couple of years including a half dozen MCSE books. Despite its somewhat uninspiring title and cover it is without doubt the best one. I read another Sams book once (VB5) and wasn't particularly impressed. But this one,when i picked it up I knew virtually nothing about IP; I wrote the exam (well, a little more than 21 days later) and scored 94%. Besides being accurate, it is very well written, and doesn't come with the whimsical overhead of many like books. The only criticism I would have is that 2 of the chapters (on WINS and NBT, if I remember right) were written by different authors and had a lot of overlapping and in some cases slightly conflicting information.

I highly recommend Teaching with the Internet to the novice and experienced net user. It is a great sounce of "current" web sites spanning the educational needs for K-12 students. I have used lessons taken directly from the book with great success. I consider the text to be an invaluable resource in my personal journey in understanding the "net" as well as to open new areas of exploration for my young students. This book is also a wonderful tool for parents trying to assist their children with study projects, book reports, etc. The information in this book is updated regularly through its web site as changes take place on the www. This educational tool is a wise investment for anyone who uses the "net".

The is a very good resource. It gives great ideas on how to use the internet in the classroom. What I like particulary is the wealth of ideas it gives on how to incorporate the internet in the classroom.

Teaching With the Internet: Lessons From the Classroom is a practical, hands on guide well suited for layman use. It encompasses both Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers as well as the IBM and Macintosh systems. Each chapter is devoted to either a specific Internet strategy such as navigating and communicating or to specific subject areas and concerns within the public school curriculum K-12. This text should be included as an essential component in every school's technology reference library and utilized as an indispensable resource in effective Internet teaching. It is packed with countless creative teaching suggestions and noteworthy web sites as well as step by step instructions on how to implement it all.

This book proved to be very informative, giving step-by-step models to use to incorporate internet resources into classroom activities, computer workshops, research projects and student inquiries.It is organized by chapters that give curriculum based internet ideas, with excellent related educational web-sites. It is geared for all levels of teacher ability, so everyone can get their classroom started. Although some ideas and sites seemed repetitious, it allows you to refer to a specific chapter by subject area to find related sites and sample activities. This book is comprehensive enough to highlight features of various navigation tools, cover both MAC and PC platforms for grades K-12.

Don and Deborah Leu have created a great Interent reference/teaching guide for teachers of all computer skill levels, from beginners to old pros!

The book not only inlcudes explicit explanations of Internet terms and procedures, but includes plenty of figures and examples of what the screen would actually look like as you are working. The Email to You sections contain real teachers describing real projects that they have sucessfully done with their students. Leu and Leu also provide many, many links to resources and project ideas in the major academic disciplines for teachers to use as they begin to incorporate the Internet in to the classroom.

I would highly recommend this book to teachers and teacher educators alike. I consider my self to be an advanced user of the Internet and I learned several new things from reading this book!

I was very pleased with the vast wealth of information provided in this book. It was easy to understand and covered all aspects of the state of the media world!

This is an excellent overview of all aspects of the television industry and what it is morphing into. I can see this being invaluable to anyone already directly involved in, or on the periphery of this industry.

It is educational as well for those not working in the business, or those looking to invest in the emerging technologies.

This book is a must read for those navigating the changing waters of the media industry. It contains a comprehensive industry overview, insightful analysis of current trends, thought-provoking predictions....and, it's an interesting and entertaining read as well.

Television Disrupted is an excellent book, well written and intelligently describing a wide range of complex topics surrounding traditional TV and internet delivered video. It does a particularly good job in describing the recent changes and potential future directions of the television industry.

Working within the software industry serving traditional television, people have frequently asked me what they can read to build their knowledge of the TV business. Historically, this has been a tough question to answer as there have been a few discrete magazine articles that were interesting, but I was unware of any books that were current, accurate, or made sense about the future of TV. Television Disrupted has solved this dilema by providing a great overview of the historical television industry as well as the massive changes that are pending as the television business takes advantage of the opportunities provided by internet delivered video.

In Television Disrupted, Shelly Palmer does a great job at presenting the probable futures of TV. From broadcast to narrowcast, from linear to dynamic and time-shifted,from analog to digital, Shelly explores and tries to anticipate the response of "old media" (networks) to "new media" (networked). How will "IP" and user generated content overcome inertia and established advertising / revenue models? All fascinating questions in a well thought-out framework. In the end and as always consumers will choose and define what is to become a much richer experience known as Television 2.0!

Loved the humor, enjoyed the direct points of view, appreciated the lift it gave me to move forward. Valued the advise it gives in how to approach the cold markets. Would reccomend it to anyone in Direct selling.
Thanks

As the others have pointed out, this book is an EXCELLENT training manual and a great starter guide.

I also found that the comic book style made this book extremely accessable. People who might be intimidated by a 200-300 page book (and there are more than you'd think) will be willing to read this book because its essentially a large comic book.

But don't let the format fool you. The information density is very high and this is a book that belongs in everyone's library as a reference.

I also liked the emphasis on doing this business TOGETHER as a team. That's missing in a lot of books.

This is one of the best training books in the Network Marketing industry. It is done in a somewhat lame cartoon format and with lame humor. Yet the actual techniques are head and sholders above all the rest. No other book comes close to this one. This is one of the few books where they will tell you that you don't have to go to your dreaded friends and family (the list of 200 people they tell you to make) if you don't want to, and it gives you lots of techniques to build a business without them. On top of that it also teaches you how to build with a strong posture. You'll learn techniques so that you won't have to take abuse from those people who dump on the idea of MLM/Network Marketing even though they know nothing about it.

Kim tells you what it really takes to make money in NWM. And she tells you what works! If you are a beginner, or if you have been around for a bit, you will enjoy reading this.

If there was ever a book on network marketing that made me want to go back into it, this is THE book. I started with A----in 1977, and sure enough, was told to tell my family and friends.(The Pukeys)
Kim Klaver has changed all that with her wonderful sense of humor and all too uncommon good sense.
With Ms. Studs ROM (Reach Out Methods), I am all fired up and rarin' to go again.
I will require my first line people to read and re-read this book. It will make a good gift for anyone who is "leader"
material.

About half of this book is very Microsoft-specific (HTML applications, behaviors, etc.) However, the sections on XSL and interacting with the XML DOM are outstanding and contain much better explanations and examples than I've seen in any "pure" XSL book! I consider myself an XSL expert, but I still learned a great deal from this book. It's enabled me to write simpler, more concise and more efficient transformations. You can skip the Microsoft-specific stuff if you want and this book is still a great value.

This book is great! The chapters are well laid out and are easy to understand. It helped me learn a great deal about incorporating DHTML, XML and Web Scripting into my web applications. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to further expand their knowledge about web applications. The Web is the future and this book will lead you there!

This is a great book for those who are in web development. Very detailed and gives good scripting examples using ASP, HTML, XML, DHTML, and more. It even gives you some examples using JavaScript and VBScript. This book is well written and self explanatory. It helped me to understand, learn and write scripts that uses these components. I highly recommend this book. It will help your scripting be more efficient.

I was interested in this book to provide the components for building web applications. The book provides all the information in an easy to read manner so that I can create an application utilizing current web technology. The technical information provides information about Advanced IE functionality, DHTML, XML, ASP, and Web Scripting which allows me to write applications using the examples in this book. The example code was very useful which allowed me to integrate the sample code into new applications. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to integrate all these technologies in their applications.

I has been a Web developer for almost two years. Most of the books I have are very good for everyday work. However when I want more advance technique, It was very hard to find a good book. I am so glad to get this book. The book is easy to understand. There are more powerfull stuff for a Web developer to apply in the project. I am finding from chapter to chapter all the information I needed to finnish the project I was working on. .......................... This book is the book to buy.

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.

Finally a book out there that is easy to follow about getting online. It is well-written and clearly organized. I was already able to email friends, but "Wired in a Week" taught me how to do even more -- like checking my stocks, instant messaging and so much more. Buy it--it's worth it!

This book is a must have next to your computer. It tells you how to get started online and how to use AOL for checking stocks, sports scores, email and getting pictures online. I refer to it all the time.

This book was the answer to my prayers.....I have felt "left out" on the new internet wave and Regina Lewis's book brought me "in"!!.I had no idea how helpful the internet can be!.....Thank you ...Thank you!.......Now I can "really" join in all the conversations with my adult children. It feels great to be "connected" !!

This book was really helpful. I learned a lot about AOL that I didn't already know. Illustrations were very helpful too.

Finally a book out there that is easy to follow about getting online. It is well-written and clearly organized. I was already able to email friends, but "Wired in a Week" taught me how to do even more -- like checking my stocks, instant messaging and so much more. Buy it--it's worth it!

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an old technology by Internet standards, but still a very viable means of interpersonal communication; i.e., chat. Sure there are lots of nutcases out there, but you can also find people who can provide help on a wide variety of subjects (i.e., programming in specific languages), discussions on almost any subject (which is not to say they'll be intelligent or reasoned).

There's not much flash or glamour to be found in IRC or the tools to use with it. This book, however, is a great guide to IRC for those who need to know the nuts and bolts of whatever technology they deal with.

Though old, little in the technology or tools has changed since it was published in 2000.

It's an inexpensive and worthwhile addition to any techie's library or for anyone who is interested in enlarging their online social millieu.

Jerry

Very well written and illustrated guide that starts with the very basics and takes you all of the way through to advanced use. The IRC protocol and client side commands are explored in depth. Numerous clients for Window, OS X, and Unix are covered. This basic coverage, which is about two-thirds of the book ends with an excellent chapter on managing channels.

The advanced chapters cover installing an IRC server, using DCC, and some advanced security issues.

This book sets a comprehensive foundation of knowledge for IRC which is then supplemented by O'Reilly's IRC Hacks book. Beginners looking to get seriously into IRC will want to buy this book. More advanced users will want to look at the coverage of their areas of interest to make sure it's worth the investment.

An truly outstanding book. I have used IRC for many years now, and although I do not consider myself to be an expert-user I definitely know my way around. This book is really the only comprehensize "A - Z" source on IRC, and it is wonderfully-written as both an introductory text for IRC newbies as well as an in-depth compendium for power users. Even after using IRC for so long I could not believe how much I learned, particularly the last chapter which deals with server-side configurations.

Alex Charalabidis uses his expert knowledge of IRC to explain the network's subcultural quirks and expectations in all its many instances, and provides information about IRC on the whole in an amusing, almost rhythmical deliverance. In my opinion, a must read for all IRC users. Even Nick Burns, the company computer guy, suggests it! YOUR WELCOME!!!

I am an IRC junkie, so when I saw this book I just had to pick it up.

This book was written in 1999, and it shows. There are outdated server lists and statistics. The attacks described are mostly outdated (who "nukes" "jupes" and "floods" these days? This is only interesting from a historical perspective). The IRC clients described are now of outdated versions, and some of the now popular clients (xchat, irssi) aren't mentioned. The book claims to have a companion website with updates, which I was excited to see, but the site's domain (bookofirc.com) seems to have expired and been snatched up by an unrelated website.

All that aside, IRC is a pretty basic protocol, and most things about it haven't changed a whole lot, so this book is quite useful. It can walk someone new to IRC through the basics, describing what everything in the IRC world is, as well as providing experts with some interesting tidbits. The whole chapters on DCC and CTCP were especially informative to me. Appendix B "Terminology" was great for providing some of the "language" one might encounter in channels with tech/irc-saavy occupants.

The book even touches upon "IRC Netiquette" when it comes to what is acceptable or not behavior-wise in IRC (I think a whole chapter should have been devoted to this, this seems to be a major stumbling block to new IRCers). The fun way in which the author presents this book makes it very amusing to read, not at all like normal techical books (this is something I enjoy about all No Starch Press books).

In summary, this is a very informative book, even for someone like me who has been using IRC for over 6 years, and now run my own server. But it needs a second edition and/or the companion website revived.

This book is written by an experienced IRC user and operator and I can't think of anyone better qualified to write this book. Additionally, his sense of humor makes this book enjoyable to read as you find out about all the features of IRC. This book is useful for anyone who spends time on IRC, from the "newbies" to veteran IRC "addicts" like me. I wish there had been a book like this around six years ago, when I logged on to my first IRC channel.

Among the subjects the authors covers include a brief summary of IRC and its history, IRC clients for UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh machines, how to connect to an IRC server, finding various channels and people on IRC, and also a good description about the dreaded "net splits" and lag you will eventually run into on IRC. I just wish the author had gone into more detail about ways to deal with server splits and lag. Maybe the next edition will cover that.

More and more users are logging on to IRC all the time (which probably explains why it seems there's always those "splits" I mentioned) and this book is an excellent guide to what you can do on IRC and what to watch out for.