Hardware Books

I think these are useful books for beginners. Many (but not all) of the "Teach Yourself Visually" series books are good -- check reviews first on the one you are considering. This one ("Master Visually" Optimizing PC Performance) is a good one for beginners who get curious about such things.

Another good book in the Master Visually series. Even as a computer tech I found this book very informative. The average non-geek computer user out there will find plenty of ways to tune and tweak their machine without doing any harm to the computer or themselves. Just follow basic instructions. Most high end techies will find this book pretty basic but it is a book I can recommend to my clients. I'm not a book reviewer but once again it can be said that "a picture is worth a thousand words"!

This book gives me insight into knowing how to keep my computer running efficiently. It shows me ways of doing what is needed to maintain my computer so that I use it. The color graphics are a helpful part of this book. They help show me what the wording of the text is saying to me. This book is a refernce guide that everyone should have. To know how to care for your computer is highly important these days. This book shows me how to do just that. This book shows me how to get more out of my computer than if I didn't have this book. I love this book.

great book for my elderly father. he was able to follow along in it quite easily & stopped asking me so many questions. lol

In just over two years ICQ (I Seek You) rocketed from a messaging software with just over a million registered users to a full-blown communication suite with over 50 million registered users. The power of the program now goes far beyond simple (largely self-explanatory) chat features and a user guide has become essential for anyone wanting to use its full power.

The features covered in 'Mastering ICQ : The Official Guide', include ICQ mail, free homepages, streaming radio, voice communication, and plug-ins that expand the capabilities of the program. You will learn how to find people you know via ICQ, make yourself invisible while on ICQ, and send voice, graphics, and text files via ICQ. Also how to protect yourself from ICQ hackers, use ICQ as a personal assistant, and connect your phone to ICQ.

This excellent book uncovers and teaches dozens of uses for the program that you may not have discovered on your own. The new power of ICQ ensures that IRC (Internet Relay Chat ) will remain the Wild West of real-time online conversation, and learning to use ICQ's new power requires a clear, concise guide such as this. The topics are covered in easy-to-approach order and Peter Weverka, the author, has drawn heavily on modern teaching methods (Tell them what you're going to tell them --- Tell them --- Tell them what you told them). It might sound simplistic, but it works.

I highly recommend 'Mastering ICQ : The Official Guide' to anyone who wants to make use of this free internet software. (For more details, simply type icq.com into your search bar, and you'll be taken straight to the site).

With over 90 million users of ICQ worldwide, this book will easily be the best seller in computer book history, it's a MUST have for every ICQ experienced user or even newbie user of ICQ. This author has again brought us the most complete knowledge users need today! Talk to your friends, make new friends, look up old friends, effective in daily business or using ICQ to just relax. If you have the program, buy the book today, perfect companion, the two goes hand in hand together. I'm surprised the word ICQ hasn't been added to Websters. This clearly is the best resource I've seen for ICQ. I strongly encourage every ICQ user to pick this up.

If you're looking for a general Mac book, this is one you'll want to tuck into you're library next to The Mac Bible and The System 9 books by David Pogue. I've known Amy for a number of years and I know what she put into this book. It's well thought out, well researched and, even in 2000, helpful to the typical Mac user. Amy's an excellent Mac teacher and she knows how to distil the basic facts into phrases that both new and experienced users can understand and use. I've had a copy of this book on my selves since the day it came out and I keep refering to it all the time. You will too.

when I began my quest for macintosh knowledge many years ago, I bought this book. Then, I fell in love with the mac. Now, granted, the book is a tad dated, but the basics are there and one simply cant go wrong with this book as a starter. it will always hold a place of honor on my shelf. amy laskin should be commended for this work. YOU SHOULD READ IT! SHE DESERVES THE MONEY!

A computer book with a sense of humor, this book gives you helpful ideas for organizing your Macintosh hard drive, valuable troubleshooting tips, etc. A gem

Having been using Microsoft products (like many of us) through the generations, I find that most "techie" books are 90% review, 5% new, and 5% other. This book doesnt waste time with the old "this is a mouse, and press the left button once to click" stuff. It assumes that you have a working knowledge and takes off from there.
The authors do a great job of explaining this stuff in detail without all the mind-spinning technical jargon, while still keeping it out of the "for Dummies" range.

Ah, finally a Windows 2003 book with some *meat* to it! I bought Rand's Windows Server 2003 Unleashed book earlier this year when it came out and that helped us get migrated and started with Windows 2003! I've been looking for the next generation book and I was glad to see this Insider Solutions book come out!

Excellent information on Group Policies, security, and management. Exactly what I was looking for!

If you manage or administer a Windows 2003 network, get this book! Chapter 7 on Managing Desktops and Chapter 8 on Administering Windows 2003 Remotely were the most helpful chapters I've read for system administrators!

Great information on daily tasks like automating user creation, automating group modifications, etc. Also provides tips and best practices on things most administrators would not be aware of from normal day to day use.

I'm still reviewing other chapters that are of interest to me, so I'll probably post more later.

We all know that Mike Meyers is go to man for A+ and that is All-In-One Guide is a huge success and that a great number of people, including myself, owe him a huge bit of thanks for helping us to pass the exams. Now imagine taking the best parts of his guides and break it down even further and that is exactly what has been done here in this book.

The book is an excellent study tool for passing the A+ exams as both the Core and OS exam are covered in the 950 plus pages. One thing that could be added in future updates is a few more exercises. And once again as with other books from Mike, this one has material I have not seen anywhere else before. I also found that this book is current with the newest exams, which is another plus.

The thing that has always impressed me is the way that Mike Meyers can explain any topic. He is able to convey the concepts and ideas without boring the reader; in fact several students in my current A+ Class have found this manual to clear up some confusion from the study guides we are currently using.

The cd included has several practice exams and some videos you can use as additional study tools. The Learn Key Videos does a hardware check before allowing you to run the video demos, which is a good thing since 1 of my machines was not hardware ready. As with the written material, Mike is even better in the video segments with his use of real life situations and examples.

If you are just getting started and need a first step in the right direction, than let this book be the pace is all begins. Overall just another superb effort from Mike Meyers.

While I would not count on the book to teach me everything I must know to pass the A+ exams, I would definitely trust it to give me a strong foundation. Meyers includes all the basics and then some, and he goes into detail in a manner that should cater to almost all experience levels. The thing I liked the best about this book was how easy it was to read from beginning to end. Highly recommended to those who are looking for a place to start.

The text is well presented with about 40% white space on each page. The important items in each topic are highlighted and reviewed at the end of the chapter. My only suggestion for improvement would be to provide an answer key. Each question and key word has the page the topic was covered and hopefully the answer is there staring you in the face.

The author's tone is that of a "regular" person talking to a "regular" person. The CD that came with book is excellent, but simply not enough questions to feel comfortable passing the A+ exam on the first try.

Several schools in the local area use this exact text for instructor lead classes. I'd buy this text (expensive !! like a college text) but well worth it. Not too much detail for a tech, but more than a newbie would know going in.

Don't be Fooled by other author's who write MAC FOR DUMMIES BOOKS. David Pogue is the Master Mac writer. Anyone else is a pale wannabee. This book helped me learn to use my Mac within a week and I didn't even feel any pain! It was fun to read and easy to follow. I'm ready!!! More, More, More!! Marilyn

If you read & enjoyed MAC FOR DUMMIES, you will Love this one. It is even funnier& more informative than MAC FOR DUMMIES. It will help you with all those questions you are afraid to call Apple about because you think they will write "DUH" next to your name in a secret Mac File and you will sound like the numero uno Mac expert at the next users meeting or in the office with very little effort on your part. Mr. pogue does all the heavy lifting & we benefit. Thank you for another great Mac book, Mr. Pogue. Keep 'em coming. Eileen

Folks, I bought my Mac, a copy of Macs for Dummies, and in just a week I was flying with it! I went back to the store and grabbed a copy of More Macs for Dummies, and have been having a ball with my Mac ever since. These books are NOT manuals, indeed, I read mine "away" from my computer, by taking the book to work with me and reading on my breaks. Each night, I'd try out my new-found knowledge on my Mac. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! Every Mac home should have Macs & More Macs for dummies on their shelves. David Pogue is a delightful author; humourous, knowlegeable, and a fantastic teacher

Most books on Multimedia either deal with specific applications of multimedia or offer an analysis of just one Multimedia standard, but this book establishes the fundamentals of multimedia signal processing, introducing generic concepts and then offering a more detailed analysis of the underlying mathematical concepts.

The language is simple and the author does not try to confuse the reader with technical jargon. The material on audio and video compression and various standards is especially intensive. The example programs in the MATLAB CD are well written and give the user a clear understanding of the practical aspects of digital filtering, compression algorithms and the basics of multimedia signal processing. I would strongly recommend this book to someone who wants to know the `whys' as well as the `hows'.

Most books on Multimedia either deal with specific applications of multimedia or offer an analysis of just one Multimedia standard, but this book establishes the fundamentals of multimedia signal processing, introducing generic concepts and then offering a more detailed analysis of the underlying mathematical concepts.

The language is simple and the author does not try to confuse the reader with technical jargon- a very good read. The material on audio and video compression and various standards is especially intensive. The example programs in the MATLAB CD are well written and give a clear understanding of the practical aspects of digital filtering, compression algorithms and the basics of multimedia signal processing. I would strongly recommend this book to someone who wants to know the `whys' as well as the `hows'.

It is not easy to find a textbook on multimedia for upper level undergraduate and graduate computer engineering students. This book has filled the need, and has presented an excellent and interesting introduction to multimedia in fifteen chapters. Although, it has been assumed that the readers have knowledge about discrete-time signals and systems, a chapter has been included to review basic transforms and filter theory, as well as to present advanced theories such as discrete cosine transform and wavelets. The signal processing theories have been explained and demonstrated with simple examples. A strong point of the book is the accompanying CD that contains MATLAB codes for all relevant examples. The readers can easily run these codes and verify the results of the audio/image/video experiments presented in the book. For those who are not familiar with MATLAB, the processed audio/image/videos for several examples are provided in the CD. These readers can just play the audio file or display the image to verify the subjective quality. Instructors should also find the Power Point figures and tables provided by the author useful.

This book is written in an easy to read and understand format. A good refresher for anyone that needs it and will serve as a good future reference book. Very good simple examples.

The collaboration of COBOL experts Mike Murach, Anne Prince, and Raul Menendez, Murach's Mainframe COBOL is a tutorial, guide, and reference especially for anyone charged with developing or maintaining COBOL programs. Explicit examples and sample code spell out COBOL syntax in the clearest possible terms, and much of Murach's Mainframe COBOL is divided into individual sections that teach the reader how to complete any given specific task, such as "how to code select statements and FD statements" or "how to join data from two or more tables". An easy-to-follow guide for anyone learning the ins and outs of COBOL.

As a longtime mainframe programmer I have used Murach books for the times when I need a quick reminder of what COBOL statement to use and how to use it. Mike Murach has recently published a new "Mainframe COBOL" book. The Murach books feature a paired page format that has statement syntax and notes on the right hand page and detailed descriptions on the left hand page. With this format the book is useful for both the "seasoned" programmer and the newbie just getting started in writing structured COBOL programs. A new COBOL programmer can get good detailed instruction on how a structured program is designed coded and tested, the veteran can quickly access information on statement syntax and usage.

This book differs from Murach's "Structured COBOL" offering in that it has no mention of Personal or PC COBOL platforms. Those references have been replaced by chapter (17.) describing mainframe architecture, input/output devices, basic mainframe operating system features and IBM mainframe OS' that are currently used. Another new chapter (19.) gives a brief basic introduction in (AMS) Access Method Services necessary for working with VSAM files.

All in all, this book should be a good starting point for the mainframe COBOL programmer looking for a solid reference for writing batch programs. Programmers needing instruction or reference for CICS and DB2 application development should read the (also brief and basic) chapters on those subjects and then seriously consider investing in Murach's "CICS for the COBOL Programmer" and excellent "CICS Desk Reference" along with their two DB2 manuals. They also have a solid VSAM manual.

I learned computer networking in the early 90s. Among all the books that I bought, borrowed, and read, this particular title makes it to the top three.

Even now, ten years later, it still serves as an excellent explanation of many networking concepts. You will understand exactly why TCP belongs in the fourth layer and IP, in the third.

It's a great book. I still have mine.

This well-written book is a lodestone of information. Great for the professional and novice alike.

More and more my job requires me to hook various pieces of networking and computing equipment directly to the internet. Because of this I am not as professionally interested in the internet from the web page/Java/browser point of view, as I am in its physical layer, network component hardware and the fund amental softwares that run it. Additionally, job deadlines and practical restrictions of the workplace prevent me from taking too academic an approach to the underlying subjects of the internet, so I find myself constantly in need of lucid and pragmatic treatments of technical stuffs not easily satisfied by the vapid surveys presented in so-called Quick Guides, or Idiot Guides, or whatever the current popular rendering is as the moment among the computer press. As such, it was a special delight to discover Novell's Internet Plumbing Handbook. It fills a gaping hole in the networking literature of this era.

Mr Rybaczyk is obviously a talented and skilled presenter of technical subjects. His humor and easy approach to the subject suggests and man well at home in his material. He tackles each and every corner of the complex networks we call the internet in a fashion that renders each component as an understandable and wholly manageable morsel. Taken as a whole, the prospect of actually attaching your network, or part of your network, to the internet is a frightening proposition, but under Mr Rybaczyk's adept care you will be nailing down the bits and pieces of your internet connection that need to be added, upgraded and/or enhanced to optimize performance and service.

I especially liked his chapter on TCP/IP Routers and variable-length subnetting, and defy anyone to come away from the chapter without a sense of accomplishment at having mastered a subject that many authors beat to death but few bring to life. To be fair, Rybaczyk's use of the pie chart to illustrate subnet addressing is a big help and well done. Other chapters of merit include: Router Configuration, Internet Routing and his discussion of Switches in these emerging networks.

If you are a student of network technology or need to bone up on modern terminology or current cabling media, don't overlook this clear and concise reference. The introductory material on the OSI Model and IP addressing will get you started right away and you might find yourself in the midst of backbone router configuration and Tag Switching when you next look up from its pages.

I found this book very helpful in learning to use all of Painter's features effectively. It was easy to read & has lots of good photos. My only wish is that it had more accurate instructions on using the CD.

My favorite section was on the Painter pallets. It shows example pictures for each "brush" & it's variants. Sample photos also showed the various options available in the gradient box. These made it far easier to know what tool to use.

Other sections of the book covered masking, image hose use, painting & composite techniques, special effects, working with type, enhancing & outputting images, animation & web application, and using Painter with other programs.

The CD contains some good movies on making blobs, creating an image hose from a floater, building and editing floaters maps and making mosaic or patterned type. It also includes tutorials on making movies & working with color.

This book is very useful, in that the ideas and follow-through presented will get you well into capable use of the software. The organization, quality and content are top-notch.
Job Well Done!

Wayne D
Arizona-where art is everywhere!

It's an incredible book! A must-have for all Painter users. The book contains step by step instructions to create amazing effects seen on fully colored pictures.