Tools Books

After looking for a book on Communicator I was impressed by the presentation and especially the price of this one. After just about one-third through, I learned a fist-full of better ways to do things, and it confirms my initial instinct that this was a good buy, even though I've been using Navigator and now Communicator since version 2. I like the structure and approach taken; there are good references to other parts of the book, so there's not much repetition. The frequent groups of "Tips" are good and tons of illustrations back up the claim to being a Visual guide. Although I don't use NetCaster and I don't expect to use Conferencing, I'm looking forward to learning better ways to use mail and news from the rest of the book.

This book is one of the best references for answers to questions about writing login scripts for both Novell 3x and 4x servers. I provide system support for system administrators and use this book frequently to solve their problems with their login scripts.

It provides many examples detailing many needs. It is written in an easy to read format and the explanations are succinct.

I highly recommend this book.

This is a wonderfully organized guide to what the network administrator needs to know before and after moving from Netware 3.12 to 4.x. Despite the book's name, this is not particularly about Netware's upgrade that Novell terms "migration" -- though the book covers the subject of migration very well. This book gets right into the kinds of details you're for if moving to 4.2, and gets into a good deal of details, not wasting time with fundamentals that an administrator would already know such as mapping drives, etc.

I don't have a lot to say about "Network Performance Open Source Toolkit" (NPOST), other than I think it's excellent. We need more tool-oriented books to teach admins how to do real work on their networks. NPOST delivers chapter after chapter of practical, hands-on material applicable to the networking shop in any organization.

NPOST shines in three respects. First, the author ensures readers can properly install each tool he discusses. When dealing with open source tools, installation cannot be taken for granted. (The exception is using the FreeBSD operating system's "ports tree," which almost guarantees easy installation of any tool listed in the system.) Second, the author walks readers through the use of each tool, explaining what it does and how to best deploy it. Finally, readers are given mini-case studies demonstrating the use of each tool to solve real-world problems. This is just the sort of approach which helps readers understand the differences between network simulators and emulators, for example.

I found only a few minor issues. When providing command-line tcpdump options on pages 230 and 234, I believe the author should have passed a '-s 1514' option to change the default 68-byte snaplength to something more reasonable. I felt the FreeBSD kernel configuration advice in chapter 14 was insufficient, and didn't specify whether it applied to 4.x or 5.x FreeBSD systems. Last, the author's tcpdump command line for capturing FTP sessions on p. 230 will only capture "active" FTP sessions using port 20 TCP. It will miss any passive FTP data channels.

In summary, I give NPOST two thumbs up. Since so many other open source networking tools are available, perhaps we'll see a second volume?

My son loves the book. We received it in good condition and in a timely manner. Thank you,

From the moment I opened this factual, precise and yet self- explanatory work of intellect, my answers to problems in the world of information technology were all fulfilled. Surely, the world of technology changes at the speed of light and so does the world of business. The author has fully incorporated this approach in creating a holistic work which embodies the concepts of the Internet and the World Wide Web (yes, they are in fact completely different), tying into the literature screen shots and sequential series which polish the seasoned user of Microsoft Access and I suppose, enlighten the skills of the novice.

The impact of global business and electronic commerce are both dependent upon effective, efficient and reliable database management systems. This book makes this point succinctly clear and dwelves only into the sticky programming issues if the reader wants to. You do not have to be a professional to read this book, but it is strongly advised that such a publication will indeed make you into a better professional. As a college student whose professor loaned him the said book overnight, I was overwhelmed to the point of visiting Amazon.com in order to execute my purchase!

I have a lot of books on developing new products but this is the best one in my collection. The author's background is in developing new food products. He has a wealth of experience. Thus his book is packed with practical ideas. He tells you how to research a winning new product idea step-by-step. I have underlined just about every other line in this book. My background is in marketing computer products and services (I have a software company), and I found this book to help me in those areas. This book would work for just about any product or service. Don't let the food product background of the author put you off. If you follow the steps in this book you will hone your product idea into a highly likely success category. He even gives you the percentages. He discusses positioning, uniqueness, a lot on the research process you must go through. He tells you the exact questions to ask. He tells you how to conduct the market research. No stone is left unturned. He is particularly good on adding emotional value to your product. Get this book before it goes out of print

Originally edited by Thomas White & Layna Fischer in 1994, a second edition was published in May this year, edited by Layna Fischer that replaces this title. See New Tools for New Times: The Workflow Paradigm, Second Edition. The second edition has been expanded, revised and reengineered. URL http://www.waria.com/waria/fischer.html for review of Second Edition.

Its a great book!!! plenty of pictures and cool ideas...
Every Interior designer must have this book!

"The Next Whole Earth Catalog" was seminal in crystallizing a way of conceiving of alternative tools, and providing access to them when it was published in the early 1980s. It's also significant in emblematizing a way of thinking that emerged perhaps with Earth Day in 1968, and which has been an interesting cultural current underlying green architecture. In this book, Brand identified Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language" (Oxford University Press, 1977) as the most significant work in the catalog. Both of these beautiful and conceptually far-reaching books can be delightful reads on a Sunday morning, and so much more. One of the things that Stewart Brand, who put "The Next Whole Earth Catalog" together, has gotten involved with recently is "The All Species Foundation," which attempts to identify and catalog how many species there are - an interesting project.