Software Books

As an ex-Microsoft employee I have read almost every book published about the company by both Microsoft people and external observers. This is the one I recommend to others who want to understand what it was like at Microsoft in the early years. This book is unique in that it does not try to "teach" you how Microsoft works, but rather it allows individuals who were there tell their unique stories to illustrate what it was like inside one of the fastest growing high-tech companies. Common experiences like how strange it was not having to beg for supplies or even ask permission to do something you thought needed to be done ("just exercise good judgement") ring true, as do the experiences of coming to grips with a growing company and balancing one's work and family time. Microsoft may not be like this today, but it accurately portrays the experiences in the early years through the first successful launch of Windows and Windows becoming a product that most of us use today. Remember these are the tales of people who had to explain to others that they worked for a small company in the Pacific Northwest that wrote software -- for Microsoft was not always the brand it is today.

While Microsoft enjoys a great reputation as an industry leader in its field, and while its business success has never been in question, there are all kinds of stories about what it is like to work there. This book gives the reader an inside look at what is was like as the company was getting started. This is important to note because most of these depictions are centered on the early days of the company, long before it became the large organization it is today.

The book broken into chapters centered on each of the 19 people. Each chapter introduces the particular individual and provides a bit of information on their background. The individuals themselves have each written an essay on their time at the company, and particular insights they have.

What is fascinating is that the perspectives are all different, and even though some common themes emerge, each person was impacted in a different way by their experiences. As a result the essays themselves are a joy to read, and are more like a conversation or a series of relatable observations, than a detailed analysis.

Some are quite funny. One individual in particular had me laughing so hard with his dry humor than I nearly fell off the exercise equipment I was working on while reading. Some are sad, some a bit bitter, and one or two actually seem to regard the experience as life changing in a much broader sense than merely a career.

The most common theme is money, in particular how the stock options made them rich, or didn't. It is profound to read about the impact this had on their lives. Some seem grateful, others give a feeling of entitlement, and others seem genuinely haunted by what could have been. So powerful was the wealth that was created, that most who did well discuss in equal balance the security and flexibility it gives them in their lives, and the isolation that is created with family and friends due to their wealth. It seems most have some difficulty in reconciling the wealth they amassed with the correlated effort and career opportunity.

Overall, while I'm sure the culture of the company is really not captured perfectly by any of them, the reader is nonetheless able to see some transcending themes emerge from all of the stories. This is a fascinating book from a psychology standpoint, as well as a brief, but powerful, inside look into a legendary company culture.

Everyone knows that the culture and success of Microsoft is the stuff legends are made of. This book does an excellent job of looking under the surface of this technology giant to learn what really goes on behind the scenes. There are many books about Bill Gates out there, but this one focuses on the individuals who went for a roller coaster ride that not only changed their lives, but the world. For some it was like winning the lottery, and it's interesting to see how different people viewed and managed their sudden fortune. Everybody has a different experience, some are bitter and some enamored but I found all the stories very interesting and even entertaining. Carter did a great job of pulling in a mix of people and capturing the real story behind the success of Microsoft.

I read this book because a friend of a friend of a friend is one of the "insiders," and I thought it would be fun to see if I could recognize his story. I didn't have any specific expectations about the book as a whole - and I was surprised to find myself riveted from early on. These people tell their stories in a variety of ways, and they all had different experiences at Microsoft and came away with different perspectives - but they all tell the same very human tale of making hard choices, recognizing opportunity, dealing with disappointment, growing up, clarifying values, etc. The fact that the context is Microsoft definitely adds an interesting dimension to the stories, but this is more of a generic character study of smart young people struggling with the big questions of life (like money - lots and lots of money) than anything really specific to Microsoft. Also, I have to say that they're not all (at least from their stories here) likeable people - but that just adds to the realism of the book as a whole. This is a fascinating book!

These cards are everyhting I hoped they would be. And very fast shipping too. I wouldn't hesitate to use this person again. Thank you.

The quick reference cards purchased from BrainStorm Inc. were an enormous aid to us. A life saver for the situation we found ourselves in. Thank you for your excellent service and timely distribution.

Given the differences between Office 2003 and 2007, these card are essential. They are easy to read and of high quality. I just bought my second set for a friend.

I teach Word and Excel and needed a quick start over the summer before school starts. These cards are great for both home and school.

I am a business consultant that works with Microsoft, HP, Oracle, HP, Xerox etc. and teaches how to conduct sales presentations to CXOs for a living. I can say that this book has taken the look, feel and ease of creating a first class executive level business case to a level I could have not imagined. At first it is quite daunting and overwhelming. But I had to get some business cases together for 50 marketing professionals in Sydney on a special workshop and I crashed into it. The MODD system once you "get it" is easy, fast and addictive. I ripped through Excel, PowerPoint and Word integrated data and information in no time flat with the MODD tools. It scared me it worked so well. This stuff is like awesome and it is refreshing to actually see a program work without a hitch. ( I wonder how they did that?)Krieger has made me look really, really good. Go for it!

I have trained over 3,000 people in Microsoft Word. None of them had ever heard of or used styles. Styles are necessary if you're going to use Word correctly. So, I bought this book for two reasons. First, I find that a woman writes a better book about learning software. I think women authors seem to explain software in better detail, especially for beginners. Second, the back cover describes a CD that has "Dozens of professional designs and layouts." I like examples for learning.

So, I opened the book. It looked very good. Good topics, easy reading, nice coverage of Word, Excel,and PowerPoint. But, not a single reference to Word styles. Did I waste my time? No. I then looked at the CD and guess what? There is more information for Word users on the CD than in the book. Don't get me wrong - the book is good. But the CD has articles that explain more about how Word works than most people know. And as for styles, I found them when I loaded the samples, they were filled with styles. And, the CD tells much about their use.

How about Excel and PowerPoint? They are also covered very well on the CD, along with great examples in the book.

So, this book is about integration of three programs, yet each is covered very well. In today's world of business, if you know how, you can always find a job. You will learn the "how" with "Document Designer." You'll also learn the "why", and, if you know why, you can always be the boss.

This book is like having an assistant to help with my documents. I create a lot of my own documents at work, and they have to look good. The book is a true help with that, not to mention the tools that come with the book. And, I can't believe how many how-to articles and tip sheets come along with the tools on the CD. Those articles are so great for quick and practical answers to the whatever I need to get done - I use them all the time.

This is the first book on Office that's not a theoretical reference or a laundry list of all the stuff you can do but will probably never use. The book and the tools actually help me get my work done. The tools save a lot of time, and they help me do things I didn't think I could do (like complex page layouts in Word or formatting Excel charts). I think Office 2003 is great, but I can do a lot more with it since I started using this book.

After purchasing this book over a month ago, I have attained the necessary tools and techniques to be able to create complex looking documents that weren't hard to create at all. The book was easy to read and the CD that was supplied had really great layouts that helped me put together some of the documents I needed for my job. Also the various toolbars were really helpful, so I didn't need to go searching; it was right there! After using Office 2003 / XP for quite some time I felt that something was missing...and this was it.

Superb. I looked at, and bought, a number of books focused on studying for the Word 97 Exam. This was the best. It is carefully edited, concise, and accurate. I just took the Expert test and scored 90% with the help of this book (75% is passing). Highly recommended!

I've used Word97 for a while, just picking up what I can when I can. I don't intend to take the Word97 exam but I do want to learn the material. I found the explanations very clear and helpful. After reading just the first chapter I had many new tips to share with coworkers. Can't wait to finish!

This book is the best resource I've found for passing both the Proficient and the Expert exams. I passed both on the 1st try, however, I also encountered a few questions that were not covered in the book. Just make certain you have an above average user's knowledge before you try to take the exams. Otherwise, you may find this book cannot teach you all that you need to pass the exams.

I bought this book to prepare for the exam. I've used Word for years, but needed to make sure I had all the exam requirements covered. The book was perfect. It taught exactly what I needed to know. It was concise, and it presented each topic three ways: step-by-step narrative, review questions, lab exercises. I highly recommend it.

Some books give you workbook like examples to do. Some times that approach works best, but for me, I just want to read about how the software works, and apply it to the work I am doing. This is not a step-by-step book where you do exercises, which for my needs is good. This book includes a CD of the whole book, plus other things. Overall, I have found this book able to address my techncial questions in depth, the CD is worth the price alone.

This book is by far one of the best I've seen on Outlook. It is geared to intermediate to advanced users and covers all the major topics in good detail. I found the chapters on integrating Outlook and Exchange Server particularly useful. There are a lot of great tips on configuring public folders and using advanced features that aren't covered in most of the other books. There is also a nice introduction to programming Outlook applications. If you are an experienced Outlook user or want to get up to speed on managing Outlook installations for Exchange Server, this is the book to have.

The book does an excellent job describing how outlook works at the right level of detail. There are lots of screen shots where they provide value. The text does an excellent job talking about WHAT outlook does and HOW you can do things with outlook. It provides TIPS on how to do things and how people combine features of outlook in ways that I did not know were possible!

I set out to learn how Outlook works. I decided that Outlook is a valuable productivity aid and that the "trial and error" method of learning it was not how I wanted to learn it. I found this book recommended on a web site, bought and read the book (cover-to-cover). I now feel I know what outlook can do, and how to do it.

And no. I do not know the author or have anything to gain from this review.

This book is a very comprehensive manual on the use of Outlook 2002, and is great if you are well versed with Windows, Internet Protocols, and computers. It includes detailed discussions of setting up Outlook for MS Exchange Server (which allows multiple users to access Outlook data at the same time).

If you're a novice, however, you may find the information in the book overwhelming and confusing. This book may well be too much information for the casual individual user. If you are a casual user who will use Outlook only to keep track of your calendar and your date book, you may want to buy a simpler book that just focuses on what you need to know in order to use Outlook.

I have found this book very easy to understand and very useful. I have learned alot from reading this book. It takes you step by step through all the processes. It is a total and complete over view of Windows 95 done very accurately and put into simplest terms. This is a very excellent book!

This book is thorough and clear. The exercises and practice disk are very helpful. The chapter summaries are useful for reviewing. It is an excellent training book for individuals or to supplement classroom teaching of beginning Windows 95. It is also a good book to have on the shelf for reference. I highly recommend it to my students and my friends.

This book is thorough and clear. The exercises and practice disk are very helpful. The chapter summaries are useful for reviewing. It is an excellent training book for individuals or to supplement classroom teaching of beginning Windows 95. It is also a good book to have on the shelf for reference. I highly recommend it to my students and my friends.

I routinely use this book in the Windows 95 classes that I teach. My students range from rank beginners with their first computer to old timers upgrading their systems from DOS and Windows 3.xx. In the classroom presentation I use examples that are different from the ones in the book. The students are instructed to do the Exercises for the Student in the book as their homework. This, of course, is where the learning really takes place. The most difficult part of the process for the rank beginners is loading the practice files on their computers. I can't tell you how many times students come to the first class and ask, "How do I open those practice files?" Beginners are also somewhat afraid to make the changes in how their computer is set up: video colors and patterns, shortcuts, etc. With a little encouragement, most overcome their fear. I do not find this book is a good reference book. I think that's what makes it a good teaching/learning tool.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Wordperfect user and was trying my best to switch over to Microsoft Word. This book has given me the oomph to stick with it. It is crucial to my home business for me to be somewhat proficient in Word and this book will do it. I love the two-page displays and simple tutorial. Thanks IDG Books.

As a teacher, I am often creating worksheets, homework, and notes to parents on the computer. With this book, I am now able to mail merge, create labels, and make more attractive and professional documents using my computer. I am now adding graphics with ease and my work looks more like the way that I want it to look without all of the extra trouble.

This book is extremely organized. The pictures and step-by-step instructions are easy to follow.

I highly recomment this book to anyone who is not a computer wizard. It will make you look like one.

This good book is too simplified. Layout and generous screen captures are good, but some graphics are too cute. I learned several things from it, but the audience for this book is on par of a "dummies" book. Word beginners could get better value with a book with more tips and advanced features without the fear of getting lost.

As a teacher I am always word processing worksheets, homework, and notes for parents. This book was extremely helpful in teaching me how to mail merge and to create labels. Even things like adding graphics and changing text styles were easily learned through this book. I can now make more attractive, more professional documents with ease. The step-by-step directions and pictures were easy to follow and the book was well organized. I highly recommend this if you are not a computer wizard. It'll help you look like one.

Some examples of documents are in color and others are in black and white. They all look good--professional. I think I can do that too, with the help of this book. Lots of good advice, tips and tricks. Good book!

This book is very easy to use, informative and has lots of good examples. It enables you to get the most out of Publisher 2000. There are many tips and tricks located throughout the book. Easy to read and comprehend.

The book has a lot of examples that showed me different ways to do my newsletter and other designs. I can never think of ideas for making the text and pictures look good together. Plus, the author uses a conversational tone in her writing...it's like she's sitting next to me and telling me what to do. Good book.

I like this book because the author offers a lot of tips and advice about using Publisher and about making documents look good.

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.

I am an EET studying for certifications. Also I use this book for a general troubleshooting reference. This is one of the best out there. I have several others and most just ramble about the technologies as an overview but do not get into applications needed. Meyers conveys the information as he is addressing people who are working in the real world. Good diagrams and the book is very well put together. Hey it is McGraw Hill. A top notch Publisher. A+

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.

Running at around 800 pages "The Minimum you need to know to be an OpenVMS Application Developer" by Roland Hughes is a complete reference book for people wishing to learn, develop and/or maintain code in the OpenVMS environment. The premise of the book is simple: to create the same simple application in different common languages used for development under the OpenVMS system. These languages are Basic,Fortran, Cobol, C and C++.

To accomplish the premise, Mr Hugues gives a rather thorough introduction to the fundamentals of the operating system whose topics range from the basics of logging-in to Symbols, Editors and their configurations and the OpenVMS's command line language DCL. Even goes so far as to cover developing a basic import program using DCL and indexed files. These first chapters are a lot harder to read for all those not too familiar with the OS itself and at times the information is given at a breakneck speed which might warrant the usual re-read from time to time. Once the basics are covered the author lunges into Basic and then veers for a few chapters giving us further introductions to OpenVMS tools like FMS, CDD, VMSMAIL, VMSPhone. The author also takes a look at setting up DEC's CMS tool for code management and the MMS (Module Management System-the make utility of the OpenVMS OS). The author continues then on to Fortran, Cobol, C and C++, and finally gets to the database programing section where he discuses both MySQL and DEC's own RDB database. Assignments for further study are included at the end of every chapter, and also included with the book comes a cd with all the code used in the book.

The approach taken to follow the premise is very deliberate and follows the order of the chapters in the book very closely. I don't recommend reading this book out of order. The author himself on the introduction recommends that the book be read once through first and then used as reference. As an example the chapters where the author veered off into after Basic to cover FMS,CDD,CMS and MMS, are an integral part of the book and are constantly referenced throughout the following chapters on Fortran, Cobol, C and C++.

The author uses a colloquial writing style in the book that is easy to read. From time to time he veers off to give further insights to the points he is trying to make but never looses sight of his main objectives, and this is laudable considering the amount of information being dispensed. This is mostly seen in the form of anecdotal information sometimes to clarify his own code other times to give more of a historical perspective. This colloquial style partnered with the unique structure of the book makes for a very interesting contrast as this book could be seen as a reference manual but at its core its a lot more of a personal account on good OpenVMS programming practice by Mr Hughes. A fact that he himself doesn't hide as he relates his opinions on such practices as well as many other subjects throughout the book with a great sense of humor which makes for a much more interesting reading.

Mr Hughes great sense of humor and insight culminates in this book's final chapter called "Ruminations and Observations" which has nothing to do with OpenVMS but is more of an opinion piece on a few subjects that touch all of us that work in IT. These subjects range from the real reason Y2k happened to offshore computing to avoiding a hellhole shop, and are bound to make more than one programmer laugh with glee and more than one manager blush.

In conclusion this is a must read for anybody wanting to learn to write code in this most venerable of Operating Systems.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (8/07)

While at first glance "The Minimum You Need to Know to Be an OpenVMS Application Developer" may look like a classroom textbook, you don't need to read very far into it to realize it is much, much more. Roland Hughes has managed to write a comprehensive guide on the OpenVMS operating system and a variety of the tools, languages, and databases used, as though he was standing over your shoulder mentoring you through the process. In addition to source code, best practices, and tips and tricks, aimed at saving the novice developer hours of frustration, Roland also includes critical historical information on various applications. This information transfer is critical to the success of the IT industry and consequently the success of all companies whose systems are impacted by the historical trends in application development!

"The Minimum You Need to Know to Be an OpenVMS Application Developer" covers the fundamentals of OpenVMS, including hardware and software, as well as some tips on choosing an editor, and then starts the reader off with some hands-on exercises that build throughout the book. Also included are some end-of-chapter exercises (with answers included at the end of the book) to ensure the reader has grasped the key elements of the chapter.

The chapters that follow cover various tools, languages, and databases for developing applications on the OpenVMS platform. Beginning with DCL and Utilities, moving through DEC, FMS, CMS, CDD, FORTRAN, COBOL, C/ C++, covering Object and Text libraries, as well as Message Utility, Mail and Phone, describing MySQL and RDB databases, and ending with a chapter on the authors observations on the IT industry. Each chapter includes an overview, a discussion of functionality, and other relevant historical information, tips, tricks, best practices, and much more, and then works through several programming examples and exercises (source code provided). Many of the exercises walk the reader through the same process with the various languages, providing an appreciation of the trade-offs between them. Where more advanced functionality is available, Hughes provides a high level overview of what the additional functionality can provide.

"The Minimum You Need to Know to Be an OpenVMS Application Developer" should be on the desktop of anyone new to the OpenVMS platform and on the bookshelf of those seasoned veterans looking for a comprehensive reference book. Hands-on programming throughout the book provides a highly effective learning tool, and the best practices, advice, and knowledge transfer from the author gives the reader the unique feeling that they are sitting down next to a mentor, being coached through the tricks of the trade!

Do you want to be an OpenVMS Application Developer? If you don't know what that is, then you probably don't need this book, but if you do, you've found the seemingly most comprehensive and readable guide to doing so. Roland Hughes' offering, "The Minimum You Need to know to be an OpenVMS Application Developer" is an abundance of information that you cannot afford to be without.

Here's some background: "OpenVMS (Open Virtual Memory System) is a high-end computer server operating system. As a multi-user, multiprocessing virtual memory-based operating system (OS), it is designed for use in time-sharing, batch processing, real time, and transaction processing. It offers high system availability through clustering and distributes the system over many machines." In other words, you need to know this!

This isn't a beginner's guide, to be sure. However, those in the IT industry will be thankful to Hughes as he describes uses of: the MMS and CMS tools from the widely used DECSET OpenVMS software development toolkit CDD FMS the RDB and MySQL databases. He describes other tools found in OpenVMS application development such as VMSMAIL, and PHONE. The book works readers through and around a single application which is developed in each of DEC BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, C and C++ using a variety of tools. On the accompanying CD, full source code is provided.

Hughes' language is easy to understand. He doesn't speak over the heads of the readers, nor talk down, and his tome is not the dry textbook form you may be used to. He uses humor and easy going guidance, making this likely one of the most readable IT guides out there.

Drawing on his vast experience and knowledge, Hughes rewards himself and the reader with a final chapter on the IT field. His guidance here is not so technical but rather personal when deciding where a developer wishes to work. His attention to company restrooms is something I did not expect to read about but is likely very valuable information. If you want to be an OpenVMS Application Developer, this is the book you need.

OpenVMS (Open Virtual Memory System) is a high-end computer server operating system. As a multi-user, multiprocessing virtual memory-based operating system (OS), it is designed for use in time-sharing, batch processing, real time, and transaction processing. It offers high system availability through clustering and distributes the system over many machines. The ability to distribute both the application and a single transaction across multiple nodes is the heart of clustering; otherwise, it is just networking.

Roland Hughes' book, The Minimum You Need to know to be an OpenVMS Application Developer, offers Computer Applications Developers, Consultants, Systems Analysts, and developers switching to OpenVMS, a detailed and informative companion guide to understanding and implementing the applications and modules needed to operate and maintain OpenVMS.

From logging into OpenVMS, each chapter charts a systematic guide to operating and sustaining the application coding and programming of essential modules running on OpenVMS. Such languages, tools, and databases as DCL, DEC BASIC, FMS, COBOL, CDD, FORTRAN, C/C++, MySQL, and RDB cover the heart of what you need to know as a maintenance programmer. Using a created lottery tracking system, Hughes generates a single application and develops it in each of the following: DEC BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, and C/C++. As well, Hughes shows readers how to use CDD, CMS, and MMS with these languages. By repeatedly applying the same method in different languages, Hughes demonstrates in a clearly written and easy to follow guide, how a programmer knowledgeable with one language can become skilled in others. The CD-ROM that comes with it contains the source code developed in the book allowing readers to learn the advantages and disadvantages of each language.

Well-illustrated examples with detailed analysis, descriptions, and definitions, allow the reader to follow the book while working with the server, thereby learning the "nuts and bolts" of creating, understanding, and managing command files. Each chapter details troubleshooting tips, error handling tips, reducing debugging time, as well as the Do's, and Don'ts of writing applications. Following each chapter, there are exercises to enhance comprehension of the modules and applications in OpenVMS.

With a wealth of experience, Roland Hughes provides thoughtful and knowledgeable observations about the IT field. One important bit of knowledge he conveys: "IT is a way of life, not a job." With easy to follow instructions and detailed examples, I highly recommend this informative and well-mapped book as an asset to those in the IT industry, as well to students entering the computer-programming field.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services