Wireless Data Books

This book is a great guide hacking your WRT54G. It covers a wide variety of topics and gives some good detail into each one without focusing on one topic more than it should.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit and wish it had been released a few months earlier for a project I was working on. I was happy to see clear examples and pictures on building JTAG cables, GPIO points, and other pieces of hardware. These were some things that took me a bit longer to research on my own and what I found required me to make several leaps of faith. The fun part of hacking hardware is that you have something to hold when you are done. The frustrating part is when you make a mistake and have to go buy more parts. (Anyone want a fried WRTSL54GS for cheap?) I appreciated the work Larry and Paul put into making this less of an issue.

I'd love to see information on writing software for these devices in the future. The book is good at showing you how to take what is out there and apply it to what you have. However, I'm starting to dig into developing applications for this platform and piecing things together off of the web can be a bit tedious.

This is a great book for anyone interested in knowing all about the WRT54G series routers and how to hack them. The authors Paul and Larry from the popular "PaulDotCom Security Weekly" podcast did a great job explaining the inner workings of the router and also have some great tips on how to hack the firmware and hardware.

I would have given this book a 5 star rating but it unfortunately covers too much info about using the OpenWRT "White Russian" firmware instead of the new NVRAM replacement firmware called OpenWRT "Kamikaze". In their defense though I acknowledge that at the time of print the OpenWRT "Kamikaze" stable version was finally released. But anyone needing to know all about the previous OpenWRT "White Russian" or the other optional firmware upgrades will definitely not be disappointed!

I highly recommend buying this book anyway and also recommend their related website "[...]" for more valuable info about these awesome little routers!

I think the most important contribution this book will make is to help people understand it is possible to change those innocuous Linksys boxes. After all, they are everywhere. I don't personally plan to try to hardware hack my Linksys router tonight after finishing reading the book, but it is on the list. Heavens knows, I have three or four sitting in the equipment closet from before we upgraded my home office to professional equipment. In the book we learn the parts of a Linksys router; to be truthful, I had never thought about that. There is a discussion about overcloking the router to make the processor run faster. Talk about a blast from the past, brings back the old 8086/8088 days. It was dangerous then and it still is today. There is a discussion about the OpenWrt team, without them, this would never be possible.

It was a real eyeopener to learn how much people have done with the WRT54G, there are a number of choices in firmware, even semi-commercial choices such as Talisman which allows you to establish VPNs, hotspots, mesh and even SIP VoIP. This book in extensively researched, we learn how to set up DHCP, SAMBA even X Windows! There are even several methods for increasing the radio output and or antenna modifications. U.S. readers are cautioned this can get you into trouble, I know I ended up sending my FM pirate radio system to a missionary group in Africa because it was just too tempting and in an urban area the FCC will eventually get you. The biggest surprise for me was the use of a WRT54G ( with an adapter ) as a bluetooth scanner.

My understanding is that the authors are going to offer a class, that sounds like a lot of fun. If you are going to be installing wireless it is a good idea to read this book, a lot of the information applies regardless of what brand of equipment you select. And as for me, I don't think I will ever look at a Linksys router in the same way ever again, from now on I will be wondering just exactly what is going on beneath the hood.

This book is full of fantastic information about modifying the WRT54G. I found it extremely useful and the projects have so far provided me with hours of hacking fun! However, the one beef I have with this book is it's written like Paul and Larry talk. Often times, they would tell you to do something one way, then contradict themselves later on in the chapter or go off on tangents, making the instruction somewhat hard to follow. Still, it's a great book for anyone interested in enhancing the capabilities of the WRT54G!

Not all is useful to me - but what I didn't need might be useful to you.

Some books about XP only tell a reader things he has probably figured out on his own, but this book will actually take you to the registry to fix problems. For this reason it is worth a good review. I only wish that the registry introduction were a tad more step by step.

If you want some really good information on Windows XP and hacks, this is the book. You have to be really interested in doing this kind of thing as it is not for a user, but an indepth computer person.

I thought this book was great. I'm an intermediate level user with XP using it every day and this book is just outstanding, even just for speeding up the star up for my computer.

This isn't a book for anybody just learning how to use a computer. If you know your stuff then this book can be very helpful in getting the most out of your Windows XP Operating System. If an individual is in the market for a computer and reading this review I HIGHLY recommend that you get a computer without a Windows OS. This is especially true if you plan on doing online banking and/or shopping. Windows is the WORST OS system out there when it comes to security. I have an old e-machine, that has windows xp, which I use every now and then. That is why I own this book, but I also own a Mac. Purchase a Mac or if you really want to get serious, get something based on Linux.

I thought this book gives an excellent overview at the 10,000 foot level of all the related technologies. It's perfect for someone in either a Technical Manager or a Senior Manager role to understand the basic vibe of what these technologies are and how they work without getting bogged down into too much "bits and bytes" level detail.

I found the book to be a bit lacking on some dimensioning and planning details and methodologies though.

Overall, it's a good book to reference with.

Although I find it sometimes a little too deep in the details, every chapter has a good overview of the technologies.

This book is a very comprehensive tool for learning any aspect of wireless systems. It is an excellent reference source for vendors, operators, consultants, and anyone who is involved in the business and technology of today's wireless networks.

Not only a very complet book about cellular comunications but also an easy one to understand

I really liked this book. I thought the diagrams were well displayed. I learned so much from reading this book. Experience in the networking field will help you understand 3G networks. This book has a lot of terminology. This book has a lot of usefull diagrams. Also this book has a lot of pictures. A picture is worth a 1000 words. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn 3G wireless networks.

Another book of wireless published, but this one is different.

First of all this is the updated second edition of the book and it is a pleasure to read.

Target group and goal
Target group for this book is beginner to intermediate with a clear and understandable flow and references. Anyone who can turn on a computer would more or less be able to build wireless networks with 802.11 after reading this book.
Further they would even have some security features turned on. That is the goal I think, having a book that a beginning junior administrator, a hobbyist new to wireless or somebody else interested would use for the main knowledge about building the network.

And the book succeeds very well in that respect. The examples are clearly explained and information is presented in chapters that make it easy to find what your are looking for. No matter if you are running Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X or Linux this book describes the steps to get wireless networks up and running.

Content of the book
Content of this book includes introduction to the technology, configuring the wireless clients, the access points, securing the network, using other networks - and then even some chapters on VPN, Smart Phones/PDAs and then even some thoughts on combining wireless with long-range and wireless broadband services like 3G/WiMAX. This is quite a lot of information for a book with only little more than 300 pages.

Great things
This is a great reference and it is easy to find what you are looking for in this book. This makes the book usefull immediately as a reference when doing practical work with wireless 802.11 networks.

Clarity is also the force of this book, making it easy to follow and understandable by people not really into neither computers or computer books. I expect to pass this book on to my brother who is not formally educated in computers, but who would benefit from this book.

There is also a clear indication that this author is an expert on this subject, but he has decided to filter ruthlessly in his material - to make it easy to read. This way of killing your darlings must be commended, as this makes the flow of the book better. If I were the author I would have mentioned several details along the way, but that would have made this book worse!

Forward references are contained in this text in many places to make it easy to find the information you need quickly. These references appear in the text as references to things later in the book. As an example in Chapter 4 "The Hardware You Need for WiFi" has this text right in the middle: "Chapter 12 contains more detailed information ...". This you would expect from a normal book to have in the presentation of the book, but in this book it is sprinkled in all the right places to make random browsing and reading easier.

For most readers you will also appreciate that John did not include a lot of mathematics and formulas about bandwidth etc., but decided to keep the text narrative instead.

Bad things
Some pictures are repeated several times, making the read from cover to cover a bit strange.
Did I forget to move the bookmark, have I read this before? The way this book was meant to be used, for practical building of networks it is fine, but expect some repeated information if you read from cover to cover. I consider this intended, but mention it anyway.

A thing to be mentioned with this book is that some details are left out. For instance several times it is mentioned that WEP is dead, dead and dead again (not with these words though) which is fine. That is the conclusion, and if you come away from this book only remembering that it is great ... but some people want the nasty details. These details are in some cases left for the reader, and some places include great links to get more information. But nevertheless some people would want more than this book has to offer.

No math, since I also wrote this in Great things, and I consider this both good and bad. Most people don't want math - but then again some people do. If you want to get down and dirty with math and formulas about wireless networks, this is not the book for you.

Conclusion
So to summarize, this book is packed with information that will make it easier to get your wireless network running. Also it includes a bigger picture with vital information about the security of using wireless networks. Further it introduces some other technologies that you can use when being a road warrior with a laptop.

When you have finished this book you will start using the detailed references to other papers and books while growing better at wireless technologies. This is the best wireless book from beginning to intermediate user and highly recommended.

This is not a book for professionals by any stretch. The book is for novices to intermediate-level users. There are several inaccuracies and omissions. For example, the author cites EDGE as the only alternative to EV-DO. This is false, and EDGE is an aging technology that is being used less and less. GSM has its own 3G, HSDPA. The book doesn't mention this, and confuses it with EDGE. As for omissions, the book doesn't mention WPA2, the most secure wireless encryption technology available. The book mentions WPA, and talks about its pitfalls. It doesn't even mention WPA2, which has been available for a few years now. It should have been mentioned in the 1st edition, but it didn't even make it into the 2nd edition.

This is a decent book for beginners, but be wary of the inaccuracies. Don't go into a cellphone store and ask for the 'fancy top-of-the-line' EDGE cellphones when there are much faster alternatives. I've seen these mistakes with only a cursory glance over the book, so take the whole book with a grain of salt.

The book should also be called 'The Book of Wi-fi'. The majority of the book is about Wi-fi. There are only a few short chapters at the end about cellular wireless (which aren't even accurate as I've said earlier). If you're looking for a complete book of wireless (Bluetooth and such) this is not the book for you.

An excellent guide to the mysteries of broadband wireless networks. It's pretty comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of networking, how wi-fi actually works, the various types of hardware you'll need and encounter, through to chapters on the hot topics of wireless security and wireless on your smartphone.

The text itself is friendly and clear, with great examples strewn throughout. There's a lot of depth to the explanations too - everyone from a techie to a wifi novice will find useful information in this book. There's a great chapter on installing and configuring your wifi access points, which covers everything you'll need to know. Other chapters are slightly more specialised, for example the one on long-range point-to-point links - interesting stuff, but aimed at the more advanced level. There are detailed chapters on setting up wifi for Windows, Mac and Linux - nice to see all three covered in detail.

The book moves onto with a look at the alternatives to wifi - EDGE, EV-DO, WiMax and so on, before finishing off with chapters on smartphones/PDAs and VPNs. Rounded off with a short but useful troubleshooting section, this book really does cover everything you'd need to know about wireless technology

"The Book of Wireless" by John Ross is an answer to the problem of learning about wireless networking. With the wide spread use of Wireless networks today anyone with a computer should at least know the basics of wireless. Also, with the wireless networking, users need to know how to protect themselves from wireless networking attacks.

Ross's book provides a general but detailed look at all parts of wireless on all different platforms and environment. The reader will gain an understanding of all parts of wireless networking, from physical layer to the application layer of networking with examples of setting up their own wireless network. The author explains why users need to take measures in securing their wireless networks. This book is intended for reader's who want to learn more about wireless networking. Those who are thinking about using wireless to the user who has already setup a home wireless network will find this book useful.

The first three chapters in the "The Book of Wireless" provides the reader with an introduction to networking and wireless. The author talks about the OSI Model, physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application layers. These chapters would be a good introduction to any computer networking class. It gives the reader the background information of how wireless networking works.

Chapters four and five look at the hardware used in networking and how-to setup a home or office WI-FI network. If you need to quickly setup a wireless network theses are the chapters for you. The author does a good job at explaining the different configuration options which the user has to choose from. This allows the user to choose which networking setup will work best for that particular user. Chapters six through eight focuses on ways of connecting to an access point with Windows, Mac, Linux or Unix. The author teaches the user how to use the different wireless tools out there no matter which operating system you use. I am happy to see a chapter on Linux where the author explains everything to the Linux user everything, which they need to connect to any wireless network. The author even explains the wireless device drive Linux users will need.

Chapter 9 brings to light all the details of setting up a wireless network. The reader will learn how to setup an access point and have a greater understanding of the different technologies used here. The author even goes into detail on how the user can setup a neighborhood network. An important step in setting up any wireless is security and the author states some of the different methods of increasing your wireless security when setting up a wireless access point.

Chapter 12 which I believe is the most important chapter in wireless networking is wireless network security. The author explains the differences between the different methods of increasing a wireless network. I liked how the author explains why users should use one method over another. This chapter is for any user that is wondering what are the differences between WEP and WPA and which one they should use. The author even goes into detail about how to use the firewall on your router to increase your network security and health. This chapter is a must read for anyone who has a wireless network.

Chapter 17 is for the user that is in charge of setting up their wireless network and has found a problem with it. The author goes into detail some of the common problems the user may come across.

In conclusion, if you or anyone you know has a wireless network or is planning on setting up one, "The Book of Wireless" is a valuable resource to read. You will gain a better understanding of wireless networking. No matter which operating system you are using, you will be able to connect and setup a secure wireless network in no time.

Are you an avid user of the Internet? If you are, then this book is for you. Author John Ross, has done an outstanding job of writing a second edition of a book that shows you how to choose the best wireless data service for your particular needs.

Ross, begins with an explanation of how data networks operate; how wireless technology can extend data networks beyond the reach of wired connections; and, how Wi-Fi networks work. Then, the author describes the hardware needed for Wi-Fi and how to design and install your own Wi-Fi network. Next, he shows you how to use a Wi-Fi network to connect to the Internet from a computer running Microsoft Windows. The author also covers Wi-Fi clients for Linux and Unix operating systems. He continues by providing similar information for Macintosh OS X. Then, the author shows you how to install and configure Wi-Fi access points. Next, he covers long-range, point-to-point WiFi links. The author continues by covering connecting to existing Wi-Fi networks and Wi-Fi security. Then, he describes some alternative broadband wireless services, including EV-DO, EDGE, and WiMAX. Next, the author explains how to use Wi-Fi and broadband services with smartphones and other pocket-size computers. He also describes virtual private networks. Then, the author explains how to use wireless links to place telephone calls through the Internet. Finally, the author offers troubleshooting tips and general advice.

This most excellent book shows you how to set up your computer for wireless. But, more importantly, the book shows you how to design and install your own wireless network.

Este libro ofrece información detalla acerca de la arquitectura de OCS. El contenido de este libro es amplio, ofrece un nivel de detalle que no he visto en otros libros, de lejos el mejor. Para los que lo están evaluando, no lo pienses dos veces.

OCS is a powerful product, enabling many different scenarios, and this resource kit is a must for administering it.

Just having the tools and OCS PowerShell scripts in one place is handy, but what makes the *book* a great buy is the content around the tools and scripts. The book is neatly organized by different scenarios, and show each of the reskit tools *as appropriate for each scenario*. That's a big help, because there are many useful tools and scripts here, but identifying which one(s) to use would take a lot of effort without this focus.

The material itself is structured so that it's easy to find high level information, but has deeper information embedded. It's easy to get right to the practical information while skipping over the deeper technical content if you don't need it, but it's easy to find and dig into that deeper material if you *do* need it.

Because of the organization and solid content, you don't have to read the whole book to get a lot of value. When I needed specific information about the changes from LCS (the previous generation of OCS), or when I needed to figure out the best tools tools to use for the *new* scenarios, I got practical guidance, quickly, on the appropriate techniques and tools.

Best of all, the book is filled with detailed and interesting side bars from experts, both within the Microsoft product team and from outside experts with extensive real world deployment and configuration experience. They were so much fun, I found myself skimming the rest of the book, just to read these sidebars.

This is a good, detailed look at Office Communications Server 2007. It has a lot of nitty gritty details, including information on how to debug the system with a network monitor and low-level protocol information. Where the book really misses the mark, is for administrators who do *not* have a giant, multi-site, zillion server network. Ironically, most sys admin books feel like the author only had access to 1 server to write the book, and admins in larger networks are left with no details on scaling out. This book goes in the opposite direction; huge portions of it are devoted to large networks, and all of the examples are for large networks. As the admin of a much smaller network, I found much of this to be useless, occassionally confusing, and trying to put me on an implementation path much more expensive than it needs to be for my organization.

J.Ja

This book explain in good way the general architecture of Office Communications Server 2007. This Microsoft product have many features and many server roles to install and configure and in the resource kit there are some real scenarios descriptions that facilitate undestanding. In the book's cd there are some important tools for better management of the Server. Don't are developed in deep mode the integration with others Microsoft servers like SharePoint Server 2007 and MOM.

The OCS 2007 Resource Kit is a must have for any OCS administrator. It has all the details about Office Communicator you need to fully support and understand this complicated product. It has all the WMI settings that any admin would need to make changes to there environment. Also detailed diagnostic information about IM, Conferencing, Telephony is fully exposed in their respective chapters. I highly reoommend it.

I've read lots of technical books. This is one of the best. Not only does he explain all the ins and outs of Merge Replication, he gives easy step by step instructions on how to setup an awesome tier 4 data center.

I was hoping for guidance for more complicated scenarios. Overall, it does a very good job with basic replication techniques. There isn't much else out there for us folks fed up with the inefficiency of web services for data sync.

This little book is an excellent step by step treatment of SQL replication. Very readable. Very understandable.

This a great book that waste no time in getting to the point on showing you step by step how to set up your environment for merge replication with mobile devices on the enterprise. It covers the IIS server, The SQL Distributor and the SQL Publisher. Once again a great book and easy reference guide for merge replication.

No fluff, just stuff you need to get the Server side of merge replication up and running for PDAs and other WinCE devices, with steps in the right order, screen shots and annotation on what the choices mean, which are the scalable routes to take, etc. This is an excellent companion to a theory book such as Pro SQL Server 2005 Replication (Definitive Guide)

Writing a book on wireless security is like writing a book on safe skydiving - if you want the safety and security, just don't do it. Hard-wired (cabled) networks have been around for decades and they are still for the most part insecure. Wireless networking (focusing on 802.11), which has been around for only a few years, is clearly an insecure technology. With that, there is currently not a lot to write about when it comes to effective wireless security.

Wireless Security Essentials: Defending Mobile Systems from Data Piracy confirms that there is little to say on this topic because although it is 345 pages in length, only about 75 pages deal with wireless security. Of those 75 pages (pages 135 - 207), about 15 pages discuss vendor products.

The first 135 pages and 4 chapters of the book are an introduction to computer technology, networking, wireless security, and basic security issues. In addition to the 75 pages on wireless security, pages 209 - 345 are composed of a comprehensive glossary and 4 appendixes.

Only in chapter 5 does the book get into " wireless security". For the most part, people equate wireless with 802.11. Within 802.11, the security functionality is provided by WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), which provides the underlying security of 802.11. But an insurmountable problem is that WEP has been proven (see Breaking 802.11 Security at [URL]) to be seriously flawed, and is therefore insecure. Since the security foundation of 802.11 is basically nil, 802.11 networks as of this writing simply can't be adequately secured.

So why do companies deploy wireless networks given their inherent security risks? For the same reason they deploy Windows -- functionality. While Windows is for the most part an insecure operating system, its functionality is huge, and history has shown that functionality wins over security.

The functionality of wireless has even given birth to a new pastime of war chalking. War chalking is when an area of public access has been determined to have a wireless access point available, it is marked with chalk to let everyone know. For more information on war chalking, see [URL]

While the book does have valuable information, the fact that only 75 pages of it are specific to wireless security may not warrant its [price] purchase price. There are numerous free articles on the Internet that provide roughly the same amount of information and may be more cost effective to most readers. One place to start is The Unofficial 802.11 Security Web Page at [URL]/ and also 802.11 Security Beyond WEP at [URL].

Two thumbs up! In depth coverage, but easy to read. The fifteen pages of references gives an indication of the extent of research backing this book, not to mention the author's extensive background in computer security. I like the fact that each chapter stands on it's own - You can dive in wherever you like and sink your teeth into it. The well thought-out formatting and illustrations make it a breeze to navigate. Whether you're looking for a guide to wireless security, or for a reference book on the alphabet soup of protocols and standards, this book is the answer!

If you think the only thing you need to do to ensure wireless security is not leaving your cell phone lying around, you should check this book out. I went right to this book, mostly because of the author, and it did not disappoint. His CISSP Prep Guide is also an amazing book.

The title may lead you to believe that only wireless security is addressed but this book is a complete source of security information and reference material that is useful for any computer user.

It provides detailed information on security standards and policies. Both for the wireless and connected environments. There is also specific information for the products of major vendors.

The true test of whether or not a technical book is useful is whether or not you can apply the information provided to the real world. After finding an unknown machine attached to my wireless network one day I was glad I had this book handy. It proved an invaluable asset in locking down our system and accessing any damage.

highly recommended for anyone interested in security. Wireless or not.

I found that this book was informative in explaining the different wireless protocols out there. It also explained some of the weaknesses, which helped me not only to set up my own wireless lan at home, but make recommendations in my office towards a more private network!

I recommend this book for anyone who needs to know about security with today's devices.

This is a GR8 second reference book for the iPhone..:-)
Small enough to carry around & not look like too big of a geek..:-)

This book is just OK. I also bought iphone-the missing manual which I thought was much better. It covered more topics in depth with more clarity.

How could a book dedicated to my little iBreen, Addie go wrong. :-)
It is a perfect companion to tuck into your backpack or the storage
compartment in your car. You will find it to be a great reference,
written in that witty and informative style which is precisely the
trademark feature of Christopher Breen. As it says on the cover,
"All the Secrets of the iPhone, Pocket Sized"

A very useful reference for the iPhone. I've been using Mac's since 96, but wanted to know as much useful information as possible about the iPhone. Chris Breen, for those who don't know him, is a witty, articulate editor for Macworld magazine, and contributes much to Macintosh community. You won't be sorry you got this book, unless you designed the phone yourself you'll be helped and entertained by this book,
Like his other book, The iTunes & iPod Pocket Guide this book won't fit in your average pocket.
You can't go wrong

I love this book! Without it I would miss many of the finer points of the IPhone. Easy to read and understand. Had a quick tutorial at the Apple Store but this book is much better.

A coworker referred me to this book - recommended.

I bought it for my wife that teach at the university and it is great.

This book provides a solid overview of the 802.16 standard. It does not address 802.16e, mobile WiMax; the authors state up front the topic is outside the scope of the book. The authors are IEEE 802.16 working group members who are the obviously most authoritative information sources on this subject. In addition, this is simply one of the most professionally written technical references I have ever read. I get so sick of trying to slog through technical references that are sloppy, vague or just incomprehensible. This book is absolutely one of the most crisply written and articulate technical references I've ever read, making it very easy to understand the technology details on one pass through. I absolutely commend the authors and the editorial staff. This is the first IEEE Press book I have purchased and it makes me want to buy more IEEE Press books in the future.

This book is excellent. The only drawback is that it does not include 802.16e and WiMAX networking (such as ASN/CSN mobility management).

I have read several of the so called WiMAX books out there. This is the only one that I have found useful. If you want to know how 802.16-2004 (Fixed WiMAX) actually works this is the book to buy.

Having read most of the other books this is the only book that I recommend to my colleages and customers.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I provides an excellent overview of location sensitive technologies and services. I particularly liked Chapter 10 ("Pulling it all together"), which provides practical advice on how to build new applications. The chapter on privacy was also extremely useful. I highly recommend this book.

Everything is fine with its content. I just don't like its style. RFCs are more enjoyable to read than this book. The writer says that this chapter will give you something but you have to find it, no bullets, no balds, no italics, just a plain text. To sum up, I don't find it readable.

Again I don't say anything about its content. This book gives you idea (nothing more) about Location Services for Wireless Web, but you should be ready to read 400 page plain text. Some may like this kind of books. If you want to enjoy while reading please think twice before buying.

This is the first book I have found that ties together positioning, geocoding, and the user interface. The author has done a tremendous job of being comprehensive, covering everything I could think about. The field varies from the arcane to the mundane, and there are a lot of threads to be tied together - and he manages to do so very well. He does say it is not a programmers cookbook, and I did not expect one. But he has done a guidebook to an industry that seems very fragmented - with this book, you get a good grip about what is fragmented and what is already standardized. The author really penetrates deep into the concepts, drilling down into position-service APIs, geocoding languages, and privacy aspects. Sometimes, he even manages to make the stuff funny, and it is readable all the time. There are a lot of tricky things here, and as a developer, you had better have a clue about which traps there are to avoid. So far, cost seems to be the biggest problem for deployment - GPS is too [costly], mobile phone networks do not offer this as a service (which they could, and this is very well covered in the book).
It is a five-star in my view.

This guy really took on a big area - and you get the impression it is still very much an area being worked on. There seems to be a lot of hot air and very proprietary solutions in the field, but not in the book. He concentrates on standards, since he like me realizes that the proprietary standards will not go anywhere. None of them can become big enough.

He talks about positioning systems, APIs, how to add geocodes using the Geographic Markup Language - really useful. The only things I missed were some more examples from real services. But he does say that since many use text messages phones, and almost all interfaces are proprietary, it is hard to talk about without being extremely specific. There could be more about how to use GPS on PDAs, though, but I guess there are not actually that many services out there.

The book really digs down into the subject (there is even a chapter on privacy), and I found it extremely useful. Lots of stuff there I did not know before. There could be more software on the CD, although there are pointers to lots of it. So I got it anyway. Good buy.