Tools Books

Excellent Book. Who said an old dog can't learn new tricks. Found several little tid-bits that have trimmed a number of my scripts or changed the way I've implemented services! A great desktop companion for advanced and intermediate admins.

This is a very good book. These remarks are for Linux users on the way up. If you are already an über-üser, well, you will probably like this book anyway.

If you don't have the first volume, you might want to start with it. It has some simple but very useful things that apply to just about anyone with their own Linux box and a command line.

This volume is much more advanced, and most of the tricks and techniques deal with much more specialized problem domains, ie. things you might not have run into yet. One advantage of this book over the first is that it is very up to date in its recommendations of existing software to use.

'Linux Server Hacks Volume Two' by William von Hagen is an outstanding companion guide for ALL Linux users and administrators. Packed with over 450 pages and 100 new hacks not in Volume 1, these aren't just known by everybody things that you can do with Linux, these are hot tips and tricks that most any Linux freak can excel from learning about.

Chapters Covered:

01. Linux Authentication
02. Remote GUI Connectivity
03. System Services
04. Cool Sysadmin Tools and Tips
05. Storage Management and Backups
06. Standardizing, Sharing, and Synchronizing Resources
07. Security
08. Troubleshooting and Performance
09. Logfiles and Monitoring
10. System Rescue, Recovery, and Repair

Pick this book up now, you will NOT be disappointed in this delcious Linux FEAST!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I can't say enough about the work done in Linux Server Hacks vII by the two Bs. Bill and Brian have hit the ball out of the ballpark with this one.

Just the section on LVM (Logical Volume Management) have saved my bacon!

Every single "hack" (read tip) is extremely practical, applicable and relevant to managing and administering Linux systems whether "servers" or not!

The absolute best part of this book is that you get really useful, insightful views into the experiences of seasoned veterans of Unix systems. If you sit in a NOC or if you're the 24x7 guy/gal on a server farm, this book is an occupational requirement! Everyone else will appreciate it if they're running Linux. In my modest network of perhaps 30 Linux systems, I can tell you that I saved hours of effort with just two of the hacks included in this volume. Considering the time savings, buying this book saved my company more than 300% on the cover price.

Are you a system administrator? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Bill Von Hagen and Brian K Jones, have done an outstanding job of writing volume two of a book that focuses on cool hacks they developed or used in their server and system administration careers.

Von Hagen and Jones, begin by exploring the authentication options that are available to you in heterogeneous networked computing environments and simplify administering user accounts and passwords. Then, the authors explore ways of connecting to remote systems. Next, the authors explain how to set up central servers that do things like synchronize the time on all the systems in your environment, deliver IP addresses to newly connected hosts, and integrate these services with existing ones. The authors then present a variety of cool sysadmin tips and techniques that they've accumulated over the years, including how to keep processes running without writing a daemon or staying logged in, how to use PXE to netboot Linux, how to share information with fellow sysadmins in a centralized fashion, how to get the most out of classic but incredibly useful terminal-oriented applications, and so on. They continue to explore some cool ways of making it easier for you to manage storage, deploy new systems, do backups of today's huge disks, and even reduce the need for some of the restore requests that occasionally clog every sysadmin's inbox. Then, the authors provide some tips and tricks for managing distributed storage and making sure the administrative environments on your servers are synchronized. They then discuss a wide range of security tools and techniques that can help you sleep at night and protect your systems at the same time. Next, they provide techniques for optimizing system performance, whether by figuring out who's hogging the entire CPU and shooting down that user's network sessions or by using cool knobs in the /proc filesystem to tweak system performance or using journaling filesystems to minimize system restart time. Then, they include hacks that enable you to centralize log information in a variety of ways, be warned when problems arise, and get the most out of system status information, whether it's log information, internal disk controller status data, or remote hardware status information that you can collect via SNMP. Finally, the authors show you how to boot crippled systems so that you can diagnose problems, repair munged filesystems, and even recover deleted files of data that was stored on disks that have gone belly up.

This most excellent book has presented hacks that are techniques that the authors have used at various times. More importantly, they view these techniques as time- and hassle-savers that are usually downright fun and cool.

I would say that it is a very informative book and an easy read.
I read over half the book in 3 days. I would recommend this book for all to have in their reference library.
It's worth keeping near your Pro Tools rig

Wow! I'm an intermediate PTLE user, and this book blew me away. Now I know what's been missing from my mixes, and what to do about it.

This is not a book for beginners, although the initial section on setting Preferences for professional workflow is something I'd never seen covered in any other basic PT book. The authors explain WHY certain preference settings make your life easier or harder, and where certain settings can cause PT to behave in unexpected ways. The other feature for beginners is to show what to aim for in the way of pro quality results. However, the book assumes that the song, arrangement, playing, tracking, and basic mixing (EQ, comp, volume/mutes, panning, etc.) has been done to a reasonable quality level. The material covers the last 10% of tightening the rhythm and fixing any vocal glitches that separate a potential gold-record result from a semi-pro effort.

After getting the book, I went into a session I'm doing with some rather complex rhythm parts over a synth drum loop. After "pocketing" the parts, the song now sounds much crisper and more alive, but not mechanical. (NOW I know why I should have recorded the loop to a grid, and driven the synth from PT's clock. Oh well...) My next step will be to clean up the vocals, using the book's suggestions for using Auto Tune. Now I understand why I was always a bit dissatisfied with Auto Tune, even in Graphic mode.

Overall, the book is very well written and edited, and covers not just the easy situations but tells you how to handle a number of real-world oddities. Most of the text is accompanied by screen shots (including before / after, where appropriate.) The DVD is also very helpful, and I found myself really understanding material by referring between the text and the DVD.

I'm advanced ProTools User.
This book is more about Nathan particular techniques.
Dont adds much to me maybe works better to you.

Being a professional Recording Engineer in the music industry for 23 years and having used Pro Tools for the last 3 years, finally there is a book written that offers some useful and valuable information. Mostly all of the other Pro Tools books are written for beginners and intermediate users. They seem like edited down versions of the Digidesign documentation that already ships with Pro Tools. The most valuable part of the book to me was showing where to separate audio events before time stretching them. You always want to preserve the transient of the sound and the authors have some very good tips on how to best preserve the original piece of audio. Though editing is the tedious process that many hate to do, it many times is the difference between a good recording and a major label quality recording.

I am a songwriter and have a home studio where I demo my songs. Even though I know the mechanics of using pro tools, I was missing the practical knowledge of how to apply all of the nuts and bolts. This book and the other dvds by this same publisher do just that. You are sitting right there next to the engineer with actual raw studio tracks going through the entire post production process. The accomanying DVD/ROM provides you with narration and actual pro tools screen shots so you see and hear what the engineer is doing. This book covers editing and pocketing in extreme detail. I now appreciate pocketing - a term I had heard but never really understood with respect to post production. Now I KNOW how the records I hear sound so insanely tight. There are a lot of tweaks done in post and this book shows you how to do it. The autotuning chapter also is excellent. After so many disappointments with other books that basically rehashed the user's guide this book and all of the other Multi-Platinum Pro Tools products were exactly what I was looking for. They have been my rosetta stone to pro tools. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Get it!

I agree with the 5 star reviews that this is the best weight loss book now on the market. My reservation is that this is therapy. You must be prepared to be completely honest with yourself, to journal about your feelings, and your relationship to food, and how and why you got in the fix you're in. The book opened a real can of worms for me, and did so for my sister, and neither of us was prepared to go so deeply into the issues. I guess that's why previous diets have failed us! If one is truly ready to do the work, this book is the only tool you will ever need. The approach is encouraging and gentle, but the emotional baggage that comes up can be difficult. I think this book would be most safely used in a support group.

This is one of the best weight loss books I've ever read (and I've read them all). It is clear and well-written, non-gimmicky, with great tips for every situation. If you want to lose weight and you think you've tried everything, this book is for you.

This was the first weight/diet related book I ever read and it had quite an impact on me. This book offers useful information about how to eat and usefull tips on how to control impulses to overeat. I'm not saying that this book is the end-all to diet books but it has many helpfull tips and tidbits that can help anyone learn to eat a little healthier.

This is a wonderful book. It contains the most current research in the field of weight management in a format lay people can easily understand. Cathy, very courageously, does not offer a quick fix. She over and over demystifies the weight loss experience, and honors how difficult it is to change behavior and keep it changed. The overeating stories are an absolute hoot! I know I will recommend it to my clients and use it for myself.

How do you battle weight loss and maintenance? In her book "Outwit you Weight" Cathy Nonas provides 200 tools and tips to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

If you, like many people are concerned with the way you look and feel, this book will provide you many answers. In addition to tools, Cathy breaks down danger zones and physical fitness using real live examples. Healthy recipes are also provided.

"Outwit your Weight" is easy to read, well organized and full of facts and tips. Reading this book is like having a weight loss program at your fingertips. Definitely recommend.

A unique book... A collection of the best teambuilding-tools from the Pfeiffer-annuals. If you only should buy one book in your life about team activities... Choose this one!

I found the book to be chockful of helpful information--particularly the checklists, personal evaluations, and learning games and tools. I also liked the step-by-step instructions on everything. Very well organized. Easy to find things--just want you're looking for to solve a key issue or use in a special training class.

A terrific book of tools for trainers, consultants and facilitators. Edited by Elaine Biech, the contributors provide comprehensive and integrated teamwork activities to help you develop high-performing teams. A must buy!

This new offering from Pfeiffer/Elaine Biech allows trainers to learn from their peers - working professionals in the field of human resource development. The Ten Block Model clearly presents both a roadmap for new teams and a diagnostic tool for established teams that want to move to the next level. Each of the chapters offers training activities that focus on one of the ten blocks. The final chapter presents a series of team building tools that are practical, easy to use, and thought provoking. This book is the team building equivalent of a recroding star's top hits CD - it presents only the best, culled from a large selection of really good ideas from past Annual editions. A wise addition to your library - a book you'll turn to again and again!

In my work as a training consultant, I get called on to do a lot of work in the area of team building. There are a lot of books on the market that offer games and exercises, but fall short on theory and in depth debriefing. Elaine's book does a tremendous job of doing al of the above. Not only is there a wealth of the practical, but Elaine has gone over and above the expectations of delivering in depth training for the trainer so that one's tool kit if filled with reserve information when conducting teambuilding. YEAH!! Elaine has a way of taking the best of herself and others to make it work for the least to the most experienced trainer in the field. I will use this new tool a lot in my upcoming seminars. I look forward to new books from Elaine...they are ALL on my bookshelf and I use them all regularily for research as well sa recommend them to others!

I got this book as part of a college course i was doing, but in reality it is so good it has helped me out in my job. There are times in our jobs when we dont get a chance to do new things and this book actually makes it very simple to introduce new initiatives. I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering a career in quality mangement.

I am a CQE & Six Sigma Black Belt and have owned this book for a little over two years now. This book provides a very handy and useful reference for the tools used in problem-solving, quality management, six sigma and project management as well. The Tool Matrix in the first chapter divides the tools under various categories and helps to identify the right tool needed for a certain stage or situation.

The chapter on Quality Improvement Stories show the use of these tools in successful continuous improvement projects. The quality tools are arranged in alphabetical order with details like when, what and how with a very relevant example.

This text is recommended for anyone in the area of quality/process improvements. It is a learning book for beginners and reference for advanced users.

This book is so well done. For Six Sigma and Quality professionals it will become one of your most well worn books.

This is just about the most relevant and useful quality book I have come across. It provides a comprehensive library of tools to use to solve different kinds of problems. Many of the tools covered in this book are covered elsewhere, but in this case the author has a knack for guiding the reader through a set-by-step process in a way that it was very easy for me to instantly apply the tools to my job.

I also welcomed the fact that the book covers the overall history of the different quality methodologies. This is important because there are many choices to be made when it comes to choosing a quality methodology, so knowing where a tool came from helps you determine whether it applies to your particular problem.

If your job relates to quality, this is money well spent.

This is one of the best books I have ever reviewed. It is so easy to know the quality tools but understanding the tools is the key to effective implementation. The book provides a comprehensive review of all the tools in the quality profession with indexed case studies and applications. I use the quality tools while training Meirc participants on Total quality, six sigma, simplification of work processes and procedures in Dubai seminars and it is certainly has gained our participants lots of benefits on applying these tools. I would highly recommend this book for all quality professionals in the quality management and training.

What an absolutely awesome book! Mr. Kohler did a wonderful job. I love this book and recommend it to everyone interested in retro gaming. It is packed full of useful and insiteful information. To top it all off, the book is in a fun, easy-to-read and enjoyable format. I can't recommend it enough.

I hope Mr. Kohler does a revised and updated edition of this book. The information in it is too good to be allowed to just fade away. I'll definately buy an updated copy.

Just one comment to the author Chris Kohler should he read this review: How about a hack about the Scot Adam's text adventure series for the section of your book on Text Adventure games? Scot Adam's was big in the early 80s.

Thanks!

A great reference for those who like to tinker with the hardware side of retro games. I found this book to be a very good reference, well thought out and very applicable to the hobby of retro gaming and will appeal to the enthusiast at all levels.

Chris Kohler's RETRO GAMING HACKS: TIPS & TOOLS FOR PLAYING THE CLASSICS tells how to emulate classic games on cell phones to computers, how to locate vintage game hardware, how to convert gaming tools, and how to write your own retro-style games in various programs. From playing old games on original hardware or making conversions, RETRO GAMING HACKS is for avid gamers who want to tweak the experience.

Some of these 'hacks' I knew about, many i did not. But every 'hack' in here offered some level of detail that made my retro gaming experience just that much better.

The bulk of the hacks are focused on emulators - how to get them, how to use them, etc. Which means that you will be Retro-gaming on your PC. Before I nabbed this book, I thought that would be a slightly less than awesome experience. Mainly because the controls leave a lot to be desired (who wants to use a keyboard to play Satan's Hollow.) But thanks to one of the hacks, I now know where to go to get retro game controllers that fit right into your PC.

While retro-gaming on the PC is the the focus of the book, it by no means describes all the content. There is tunds of cruncy goodness in here on obtaining old platforms and cartridges, to hacking your old cartidges / games into your modern platform.

All in all a joy to read, and even more fun to implement. Pick it up! Its a good 'un.

Are you an avid game player, programmer or video game journalist? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Chris Kohler, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you everything you need to know to get your retro game on.

Kohler, begins by showing you how to play the real thing, setting up classic game systems, fixing broken hardware, and getting good deals on buying games. Then, the author covers new hardware and software that plays old games, whether on an all-in-one joystick or on the PalyStation 2. He continues by covering MAME from all the angles, learning how to play classic arcade games on the PC and other platforms. Next, the author shows you how to play classic console games. Then, the author brings back those classic computers, showing you how to set them up or emulate them. He also shows you how to play with text adventures. Then, he shows you how to get DOS games to work properly under modern operating systems, or even get DOS up and running again. The author continues by showing you how to play at game design. Finally, the author shows you how to hack around inside games, exploring glitches and bugs to your advantage.

The author of this most excellent book shows you how to emulate classic games on everything from cell phones to computers. More importantly, after reading this book, you will have everything you need to have to rediscover classic games in style.

One of the first book written on structured systems analysis and still, after 20 years, one of the best. The techniques has stood the test of time.

I read this book over 20 years ago. It is still the best. I keep it right on my desk.

I was introduced to Data Flow Diagraming in college with this book. Since then I have seen many other books describing DFD's. All fail to explain them as clearly as this book does. I highly recommend it!

This is an EXCELLENT text and workbook. I was searching for a current publication. I have a very old copy but I find it still extremely relevant. I Took a graduate course in structured systems analysis in 1997 and the text the professor/ school ordered for the students was horrible and absolutely no help. I took out my old copy and was able to follow along very well. (I would bet the professor was also using this text as his guide :-) THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE KEPT IN CIRCULATION!!!!

As a business process consultant and information systems designer, I am constantly looking for effective techniques for capturing business details and new system requirements. I have looked at every new tool and method to come along, but this is STILL the best one there is. A testament to this book and it's methods is that many of the latest software tools, using the latest technology, still build on the methods and diagrams used in this book. And it's all still valid. Every consultant, business analyst, and systems designer MUST have a copy of this book in their library!

This book is perfect for a first six sigma book.
There are no negative points.

It is amazing book for study six sigma. Good explanations and practical examples in combination with Minitab software. For those who are dedicated in learning six sigma, this book can offer enough information and practice.

I was surprised by the well balanced and complete coverage of the Six Sigma methodology from DMAIC, including managerial steps, all the way to statistics up through Design of Experiments. The all inclusive topics seem to parallel full Black Belt training. I would expect green belts to be offered selections from the book in a standard course. I would say no other book has this "textbooky" look and feel (that is not meant as a criticism). At the end of chapters find Minitab instructions including screen shots. The material is well written, hence understandable, hence I think this is one of the best overall introductions to the subject without slamming the reader with high levels of mathematical theory.

I think this book is an excellent resource for experienced Six Sima managers. However, if you want to buy this book as a study guide for the SSGB certification test, or as an introduction to Six Sigma, it isn't going to help you out much. I guess my lowered rating is due to the fact that the book didn't meet my expectations as it was described on the Amazon site.

This book was well worth my time and money! Being a Six Sigma beginer, I found this book to be easy to follow and comprehend.

Explained is the DMAIC process model, Voice of Customer (VOC), Voice of Process (VOP)and Design of Experements (DOE) in clarifying detail. Best of all, it includes step-by-step explanations of project experiments and the statistical analyses from the expereiments using Minitab 14!

Whether you want to learn the basics of the Six Sigma process (Chapters 1-8) and / or basic Six Sigma statistical tools and methods (Chapters 9-15), I highly recommend this book!

Note: Minitab 14 (Statistical software)is free for 30 days and the associated minitab-formatted excercise worksheets are down-loadable from the publisher's website.

This book is wonderful. I loved reading through all of the temperaments and comparing them to my children. We got a lot of laughs over all the heartache our potty training 2.5 year old was giving us. Turns out we have a Bei Ling Bluebird & we think our 1 year old is going to be exactly the same, but with more energy!!! We also found out that it could be worse. lol. I really enjoyed the section on relating to your child based on your personality type. The book really helped me to see where my child is coming from and relate to him there.

This remarkable, engaging little book can save you and your children from years of tears. It can protect you from unnecessary frustration, struggle, anger, and sadness, and can help you and the children you love grow in understanding and self-esteem. Solidly rooted in almost fifty years of published research and clinical experience, Temperament Tools shows readers, with insight and skill, how to understand and work with children's inborn traits.

Different children react differently to the world around them from the very start, and their inborn temperament traits usually persist. Active babies are likely to become active toddlers and preschoolers. The same is true, too, for babies who are sensitive, or persistent, or resistant to change, or easy to soothe. On the basis of their own extensive professional experience, authors Helen Neville and Diane Clark Johnson help readers assess children's temperament traits, understand the interactions between children's and parents' patterns of behavior, and learn how to provide the loving structure and support that can prevent challenges from becoming catastrophes. Ultimately, they provide practical, detailed, and accessible guidance for us in our efforts to help the children we care about learn to love, know, and respect themselves and others.

As a pediatrician working with parents, professionals, and friends to protect children's well-being during and after divorce, I draw freely and often from the material presented in Temperament Tools. As a professional or non-professional, you can expect heartfelt thanks from the relatives, teachers, and pediatricians to whom you give copies of this book. Beyond that, you can take pleasure in knowing how much you're helping the children whose lives they touch.

We have been having difficulty with my three year old's behavior both at home and at preschool. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I found it to be the most wonderful tool to understand and relate to my child. It helped me see things from his perspective and deal with things in the way that best helped him get through things without sacrificing the values that I wanted him to have. If you don't understand why your child does the things he does, I would recommend this to EVERYONE -- especially mothers of extremely active, verbal boys.

This is a book I think all parents and grandparents should read. I am ordering two and giving them to my kids grandparents.

I was truly amazed at how easily all 3 of my kids each fit into a different temperamental category listed in the book.

As a homeschooling mom for 6 years I truly know my kids but have found it hard for others ( especially grandparents) to understand that some things are just part of who they are. I have looked at and bought many books trying to explain this to my family. This is the best!!

I keep a copy in my bag and tell all of my friends about it when they are having issues with their children.

This book may seem to be directed towards very young children when you first look at it but our oldest is 10 and I find it to be helpful with him too.

This remarkable, engaging little book can save you and your children from years of tears. It can protect you from unnecessary frustration, struggle, anger, and sadness, and can help you and the children you love grow in understanding and self-esteem. Solidly rooted in almost fifty years of published research and clinical experience, Temperament Tools shows readers, with insight and skill, how to understand and work with children's inborn traits.

Different children react differently to the world around them from the very start, and their inborn temperament traits usually persist. Active babies are likely to become active toddlers and preschoolers. The same is true, too, for babies who are sensitive, or persistent, or resistant to change, or easy to soothe. On the basis of their own extensive professional experience, authors Helen Neville and Diane Clark Johnson help readers assess children's temperament traits, understand the interactions between children's and parents' patterns of behavior, and learn how to provide the loving structure and support that can prevent challenges from becoming catastrophes. Ultimately, they provide practical, detailed, and accessible guidance for us in our efforts to help the children we care about learn to love, know, and respect themselves and others.

As a pediatrician working with parents, professionals, and friends to protect children's well-being during and after divorce, I draw freely and often from the material presented in Temperament Tools. As a professional or non-professional, you can expect heartfelt thanks from the relatives, teachers, and pediatricians to whom you give copies of this book. Beyond that, you can take pleasure in knowing how much you're helping the children whose lives they touch.

A warmly written praise of gardening tools and the gardening process written by a person with a keen appreciation of the simple things in life. A must read for those who like to get their hands dirty in serach of the perfect flower or vegetable. The author has a fine sense of humor and mixes philosophy with wit. I read the book in one sitting.

I've been an organic gardener for 35 years and Jeff Taylor's "Tools of the Earth" is hands down the best book on what gardening is really about that I have ever read! His wit, style and humor leave me wanting to find this guy and just follow him around for a couple of months to see how much I can learn. He is amazing and I love his writing!

This is a pleasant read. Brought a smile when I didn't expect it. Though it didn't tell me "how to" create a beautiful garden it expressed the way I work in the earth. When I leave my tools laying about tucked in the flowers this book showed me others think the same and do the same. Practical info: the chapters are short and you can skip around chapter wise. The book is nicely presented with good quality paper. This would also make a wonerful gift.

Using a quiet sense of humour the author of this book coaxes a smile from the reader for the people who use the tools of the earth. You don't have to be a gardener to enjoy this book. It is a delight to read.

Would make a great wintertime gift for a gardner. It was fun and informative. It would help to fill-in that awful winter void when we gardners can't play in the dirt.