Communications Books

I will be brief.
I only have 4.5 years experience as a programmer, of those only 1.5 were spent on C++ and I have no experience whatsoever in game programming;
the new stuff I learned from this book could be printed on a letter page or less.

This is just generic, and rather primitive, data structures and algorithms book, that applies them to making a small game instead of usual example search/whatever programs. Sometimes it feels like a data structure was used merely as an example that fit in that place in grand example-place matching, and not as the most useful or efficient one...

One could probably turn it into "Data Structures for Database Server Programmers", "Data Structures For Embedded Device Programmers", or "Data Structures For Solving World Hunger" with copy/paste and minor grammatic corrections ;)

This book actually teaches Data Structures!! Data Structures are the essence of programming. Ron manages to present all the basic Data Structures and the most famous algorithms in a clean and gentle way.

Many many thanks to Ron Penton for his help! Ron Penton really knows how to write a book! His way of writing shows that he knows the subject perfectly and presents it in a way that anyone understands what he is talking about. No matter how hard the topic is! By the way, Ron Penton has a great sense of humour!

If I could I would give one more star for the GREAT job he did with the CD. Although I intended initially to learn Data Structures, I also learned SDL. Perfect combination for someone who wants to start writing games!

A pre-requisite for any book on Data Stuctures is that the person should be comfortable with the syntax and semantics of programming in a high level language such as C++ or Java. Hence this book assumes that you are comfortable with C++ and OOP. There is no such thing as Data Structures for Absolute Beginners. So discard the review with 2 stars. Overall this is an excellent and interesting book on Data Structures.

Bottom line is this, you can find the information presented in DS4GP in any other good book on data structures but what sets this book apart is the presentation, organization, practical content and the writing style of the author.

It's definetly not for beginners or for a person looking for a very detailed book on data structures that covers AVL trees and red-black trees. But for the other 99% its a must buy.

i wanted a book to brush up on some data structures since i've been out of programming for a few months. plus, most of my learning of these has been self taught and from the internet where there is limited (good) writings on more complex subjects such as programming. so i wanted to have a fresh perspective. not only does the book contain very useful details in many areas and to the point information (gets to the first data structure by page 14!) but the author somehow makes this stuff fun to read.
the author doesn't go hugely in to depth in some areas but that's pretty much what i wanted since i am already familiar with how to use most of the stuff. very good book and i'd highly recommend it. hope this author continues with more books!

Ron Penton, Data Structures for Game Programmers (Premier, 2003)

I don't normally get all googly-moogly over programming books. In fact, I just took a quick look back at my reading log since 1999, and a select few have gotten four stars, but nothing above that. But I picked up Penton's nine-hundred-page tome on Thursday and I finished it on Sunday. Nine hundred pages in four days. I've only been keeping track of page counts over the past year, but the books I've read that have come closest, page-wise, have been Robin Hobb's lovely novels, three of which I read earlier this year hovered around eight hundred pages. I read the shortest of them in eight days. And I love Robin Hobb.

Data Structures for Game Programmers is a wonderful book in no small part because Ron Penton was still an undergrad while writing it. Which is, of course, also the book's main problem, because someone like me who last saw ivy-covered halls well over a decade ago is likely to be sick with envy that some little greenhorn has already found his way into the world of professional computer-book publishing (and by "professional" here I don't mean "published by recognizable press," I mean "the kid's already published three books in three years, and they're ALL monstrous tomes, when does he have time to program?"). But let's face it, you expect something different when you read a book by a young writer, be it the hot new novelist or the new kid on the programming block. And Penton delivers it; Data Structures for Game Programmers is, if you're a programmer, the most readable computer book you've ever come across. Penton seems to have a healthy disrespect for textbooks, which he alludes to a few times in the course of the book, and it shows in his writing; he wants to write something that will teach you more than a textbook by being more accessible. And in this goal, he succeeds. Brilliantly. I learned more about C templates from reading this book than I have in any other three books devoted to nothing but templates, and here they're just referred to a few times in passing. How is this possible? Because Penton explains things in language far easier to understand than that of most programming books; simply put, he hasn't yet been so overwhelmed by jargon that he can't see when he's written something the layperson might not be able to understand, which is a common ailment among programming authors.

Also, there's been some minor grumbling from some critics about the book's insistence on reinventing the wheel. Of course it does. That's how you learn to program-- you bang away at it, doing something that's already been done, until you figure out why it's done that way. There may be five or six people on the planet who can read it in a textbook and immediately figure out why it's the case (and, one assumes, they are the same people as those critics), but the rest of us are much happier seeing it this way.

If any computer book publishers happen to be reading this, you, especially, should be reading Data Structures for Game Programmers. See what it's like. Try to get the rest of your authors to emulate it. You'll have much happier customers that way.

This is one of the handful of books I've read since getting a library card again (a total, in fact, of four since 2003) that, after returning it to the library, went back on my Amazon wish list, because I want a copy for myself.

If you are looking for a book to really understand the outgoing Net Revolution, don't look further. Martin takes you to the center of the digital movement in a cristal clear writing. This is a book to change the way we think, the way we live. The beggining of a personal revolution

An *EXCELLENT* book, written in a very easy-to-read style, that puts the Internet revolution in perspective. If you are a confirmed 'nethead, then this book is not for you - it is only telling you what you already know. If you don't "get it", and/or you are sceptical about the net, then GET THIS BOOK. It has changed our lives and will continue to change it for some time to come. Chuck uses real examples from real companies and people to drive home his points. Some of the links need to be updated on his website, but other than that, I highly recommend this. A good companion read would be James Martin's "Cybercorp"

In a domain positively viscous with lame literature, this book doesn't have any serious competition. It's very helpful at all levels, but its witty and humane approach is particularly good for business people moving onto the Web for the first time. Martin gives sound, detailed explanations of Web advertising, branding, business planning and building an on-line community by using the actual experiences of Net companies that are building today's new Internet economy

If you've been awake and actively using the net over the past few years, you probably already know just about everything in this book. Martin has very good insight into what the web can really be...beyond all the technology hoopla, building virtual communities, supplying appropriate content, making a corporate web site that is actually useful to consumers, etc.. A GREAT read for those trying to make sense of the web, understand how people use the web, and see how other companies have created successful enterprises or applications integrating the internet. The copy I got had some duplicate/missing pages in the introduction of the book.

This book is a "must read" for all company owners and managers involved in the corporate planning process. The Digital Estate digs into the successes and failures of pure on-line businesses and electronic efforts of other companies to define the principals of doing business today. This is not a "technology book" and is not targeted for "net heads" or persons already in the Internet business. It is a business book for executives that contrasts the "old way" and new methods that are transforming business thinking. It is a book for business heads that need a grounding in business on the Internet. Written in a clear and concise manner, sans hype and jargon, it is engrossing, clever and insightful. I can not over emphasize the importance of this book to all business executives.

After wanting this book for along time and being a somewhat hard core Edward Gorey fan, I finally ordered and received this book. I sat with it and experienced an intimate glimpse into his private world and found myself feeling and learning so much about this man and our times. I seriously laughed and cried and everything in between by the time I finished my first page-though. The rich content of the images took me on a journey through his home and collections that touched many familiar and unfamiliar bases. I not only gained insight into the man, but into a window in time in the art and collecting world that was very familiar to me as a baby-boomer aged art/literature/theater type. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is the least bit interested in Edward Gorey and the late 20th century arts milieu. I was/am profoundly moved by this book and know that I will revisit it often.

This is a beautiful book of photographs and text that allows the reader an intriguing view of the home in which Edward Gorey lived and the collections of curious objects, books, and cats he filled it with.

The photographs are large and beautiful - haunting even - and there are lots of them. There is just the right amount of text to cast some light on the man behind the house and his elusive character - anecdotes about his life, his work, his friends and the things that inspired him.

If you are fan of Edward Gorey, or of eclectic interior decorating and design, and displaying collections of antiques, this book will be a treasure in your library.

That's really all I can say. I have been waiting for this book for a long time, and it was the most incredible thing. Amazing photos. Read up on Gorey first, though. The details are some much better when you get the little visual jokes Gorey set up in his day-to-day life.

This book wouldn't mean much to anyone who isn't already a Gorey fan. I own (and love) the compilations 'Amphigorey', 'Amphigorey Too' & 'Amphogorey Also', so have a head start. I also have the auto(?) biography 'Ascending Peculiarity', which is almost a necessary co-requisite to this book - it helps explain the cats, and many other Gorey details. Now that the individual books are available again, I'm tempted to get them too, because they are such nice objects - but only if the kids promise to share with me!

If you are an Ogdred Weary fan...this is a truly wonderful book. Photographs of the exterior (peeling paint and kind of saggy porch) and the interior rooms of the house on Cape Cod in Gorey lived and worked, along with his cats and figbashes, piles of thousands of books, assorted rocks and oddish things, and the expected miriad of curiosities. Alas, or delightfully...just the environment one would expect of the eccentric Edward. A cabinet of curiosities...a delight!

Working with Exchange everyday this is a book I recommend to any IT person wanting to know more about Exchange. This is the best Exchange book I have purchased so far. Don't pass this book up.

I purchased this book as a sys admin working with Exchange Server for the first time, and this book took an already complex product and made it more frustrating. I was looking for a book that would explain the capabilities of Exchange Server and how to configure it to exploit these capabilities. This book seems much more concerned with migration of existing enterprise messaging systems to Exchange and upgrading existing Exchange installations than actually setting up Exchange from scratch.

While I am sure that there is good info in this book that I will eventually use, I would definitely not recommend this book to someone who didn't know quite a bit about Exchange Server to begin with.

This book is giving you hundreds of useful and practical advises about Exchange administration & configuration. Jim Mc Bee knows what he is talking about. Remember there is NO reference book about Exchange but don't miss what is in this one.

I don't usually write reviews, but I had to for this book. The author not only knows his stuff, but is capable of putting his indepth knowledge in a very step 1,2,3 approach, something I have found to be an exception in alot of what I read. One think I have to note, I am the main systems person for a trading firm, and we are required to do message journaling (keeping all communications for three years). I have tried to find information on this topic and how to implement it on many message boards and other forums, as well as in documentation. Being that I did not know the actual term was "journaling" I found this impossible, and therefore, have been backing up every single mailbox, and that does not even "legally" do the trick. This one 2 page section on how to implement this makes this book worth more than money, because we are now legal. To the author, thank you for your help, and I look forward to anymore lit. that you produce!

I picked up this book by accident thinking it would be a good "starter" book. AKA - Having never used exchange server before, I wanted a basic book for setting up accounts, addresses, basic administration, etc. This is not that book at all. If you want a really low level book, look elsewhere. However, I quickly found out Exchange Server is intuative enough that it's easy to figure out the basics all on your own just from playing with it. Aside from that, I am greatly impressed with this book. It's solved every problem I've ran across, and more. The best thirty bucks you'll spend this year.

I cannot say enough great things about this book. It is great for motivation in personal as well as professional life. I plan to read it again and again!!! I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE.

Although this book was written in the middle 1990s, the information is just as accurate today as it was then. Network marketing is on the move. In fact, since the stock market bubble burst, more people are coming back into network marketing than ever before.

This book make a great tool to build your belief in this industry. Great prospecting tool as well. If your prospects read this book and still have no interest, then they are not prospects.

I also recommend Who Stole The American Dream and Wave 4.

This is a great book to help build your belief in the network marketing industry. If that is the reason that you are buying it, this book does a great job. However, if you are buying this as a training manual, try somewhere else...

I received this book in the mail today and within 2 hours I learned more about network marketing than I have in the last three years. This book was wonderfully informative. I got some great ideas that I can't wait to put to work for my business.

Anyone considering a career in network marketing, should read this book first, it really put the industry in a clear perspective.

Michael has done what many people have spent enormous amounts of time and money trying to deliver a statement about what Network Marketing can do for you in your life. This easy and fun to read book portrays what life can be like if one is willing to take advantage of that little positive slight edge philosophy that is available to all of us.

It is a must have for anyone who is wondering about a career in Network Marketing or some one who is already experiencing the benefits and joys of the industry.

Once you start reading it you will not want to put it down and you will be wanting to go back and read it more than once.

Thanks Michael, you have made a difference in my career and life.

Well-done book, written concisely and full of information. I enjoyed the information against popular myths about the elevator pitch and giving presentations. I would recommend this as a great start for people going into pitch meetings.

This book was actually a gift for my husband. I remembered him commenting an article he had read about Stephanie Palmer and she impressed him. My husband is like a sponge. Always reading and trying to soak up knowledge. However, rarely does he comment out loud to me, unless the person or subject matter really zings him.

I also remember him indicating that Stephanie Palmer had a book out.
I decided to find the same book he was talking about, without hinting that I was going to buy it for him.

Well, I found it, he read it, he really liked it and got some excellent information from it. Now I am putting it on my list of the next books that I read.

He recommends this book and says it is helpful whether or not your are in a speaking position on any regular basis, a job you have that you may need to present yourself in front of anyone, or as he did to myself, just a housewife, he said would benefit me.

So, we give it an A+

this book is a must for anyone trying to improve their communication skills in any business. So much is done "in the room" and the fact remains that talent for the job and talent for getting the job are not the same thing. The author tells us things we may not want to believe but are things we are be better for knowing. It's like having ammunition, or a great coach with you when you go in for that interview or pitch meeting. I've already used some of the techniques and benefited greatly. Will most likely read this one a second time when another big meeting comes up.

We all have problems closing the deal. Whether it's pitching a screenplay to Spielberg, ironing out the final sale price with Trump, or negotiating who picks up the kids with the hubby/wifey.

This book provides an entire canon of strategies that can be used by different personality types in different situations. This isn't the stuff they teach you in school, but is precisely the type of knowledge and skills needed to be successful (or at least to avoid picking up the kids).

I can say first hand that the skills in this book helped me discover an unadvertised job in the industry of my dreams only a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I closed the deal and start next week.

I think that's worth doling out for the hardcover, don't you?

We don't often see everyone giving a book 5 stars - this one deserves it. The other reviewers have touched on some of the important points in the book, don't assume that you can extrapolate and get all the benefits just by reading the reviews - read, re-read, and study this book!

Although the book is focused on business applications specifically sales and moving up the corporate ladder - its tenants can be applied in most any interactions between people - friends, family, organizations, and of course business.

Palmer does not propose flashy or manipulative techniques; it's down in the trenches building solid and genuine foundations. She advocates thoughtful planning, with allowances for mis-steps along the way (and excellent advice on how to handle them).

A few of the gems that stand out for me relate to interacting with others - could be a boss or a (potential) client - organized a bit differently than in the book:

1. Before the meeting starts - do your homework, be prepared, dress appropriately (could be different that how client dresses), don't sit in the wrong chair.
2. Remind the others why you're there - the appointment could have been set days ago and they forgot.
3. Don't start your pitch too soon, develop rapport.
4. DO NOT try to be the smartest person in the room (even if you are) and do not be the center of attention.
5. When the inevitable interruptions happen - determine if it just a pause or a reason to break off the meeting for now. If getting back into the meeting after an interruption, easy back in with a brief summary of what was covered before the interruption.
6. Have a smooth way of informing the attendees on details that perhaps they should know, but perhaps don't remember (or don't know). "As you probably know, the Brothers Grimm are the nineteenth-century German professors..."

I could go on and on, but you need to read the book anyway. Go for it!

I only gave this book three stars because the author is rather jaded, and I am not entirely sure how much of what he says does what he says.

As an example: He spoke of remotely erasing data from devices to prevent someone who stole the device from obtaining data somewhere in the first chapter. That is simply not going to help you. If some one steals a device for the data, erasing it is not going to help you, they are just going to use a utility to rewrite all the allocation table indexs back to 1's, and whalla the data is back (if there smart they wont even have to buy anything to do it, because DOS has that utility built in). When it comes to file protection, encryption is the only way to go... unfortunately when someone has the device, if there good enough they can get at the key.

Making data hard to get at is one thing, but believing that there is an absolute solution is obsurd.

The book was helpful in that it introduced me to many if not most or all of the concepts. As with every one else that is most likely reading or going to read this book, I have not messed with wireless to terably much, and I now have a good bases to start researching the topics further... because I definitely do not trust this mans judgement.

The author also often feels that he can predict the future and tell you with in a good 3-6 month period of when certain vulnerabilities are going to be exploited... such as wireless viruses being written on a regular basis in mid 2006. That one has already been proven false... I suppose that is more of an annoying writing style though, I am sure that at some point they will start poping up more readily... just not in mid 2006!

This book provides the knowledge necessary to master wireless technology quickly and, more importantly, guide an individual/organization through the pitfalls of deploying the technology securely and rapidly.

As a professional consultant, increasingly I have to deal with wireless networks. This book provides for me the details about wireless networking, all at my fingertips.
No, it's not a complete guide on how to setup and install a wireless network, but it's not supposed to be. A book like that would be out of date before it went to print! Rather, this book lays out the necessary information for integrating wireless platforms into corporate and business enterprise--securely! It's all about the tools to use and what job to use them for. Knowing the right tool for the right job is half of what this book is about. The other half is about scenarios and procedures and security and the theory behind the technology. Everything you need to know whether you are involved in corporate firewalling of wireless networks, security, integration, etc. This book is a must-read for anyone involved in network architecture and planning.

I couldn't put the book down. Vacca's Guide to Wireless Network Security is the one-stop-shopping reference to everything you need to know about the security impacts associated with wireless technology. Just back from a roadtrip across the US, I was astonished to find almost every motel/hotel now equipped with wireless access. Upon use, I would always wonder about their implementations regarding the *real* protection of my data exchanges. This book has educated me and frankly has scared me quite a bit. IT professionals, this is a terrific read. Highly readable and highly recommended

John Vacca has brought to light, and more importantly, into focus all the underlying issues related to securing a wireless network in his new book Guide to Wireless Network Security. This all encompassing book belongs in the hands of all active IT professionals and "C" level executives needing to keep abreast of our ever changing technical environment.

A comprehensive, concise IT reference bible.

This book may be overkill for the CCIE R&S track, but if you want to UNDERSTAND VoX and related technologies, this book is awesome. Now I feel like jumping over to the C&S track.

I haven't read the whole book, I'm 50% done, but the first impression is that there's too much theorical information, but I think we really need that. That's absolutely a wonderful resource. After reading some parts of this book I was able to setup a successful VoIP connection. This book also helps to understand the codecs, problems you can find, etc..

Good choice!

Daniel Lafraia
CCNP,CCDP

I bought the 1st edition back in 2000 and since then it is still the most frequently visited reference when I helped my clients to build VoIP networks. It was written completely from a hands-on engineer perspective, aiming at getting the job done. So you would expect very detailed description on signaling ..., design scenario, IOS programming and trouble-shooting in debug mode. My favourite parts are the coverage on Echo, dial-peer programming and SIP. After finishing a SIP network project, I'm just amazed how a book in year 2000 can provide such a farsighted material.

Keagy brings up a lot of important issues a level deeper than most books on the subject. It is a great reference book but most sections are readable all the way through. If you are moderately technical or very technical you'll get something out of this book. The more books you buy the subject the more you'll appreciate this one for its attention to detail and clarity.

I'm a qualified Cisco CCSI/Microsoft course trainer, and needed a book to get me started in the area of Voice networks in a reasonably technical, practical and non-trivial manner. I definitely found it in this book. Keagy provided an excellent overview of the operational details of voice networks & SS7, and married this well to Voice-IP networks and WAN technologies. It was refreshing in that, although Cisco oriented, you are thankfully spared the worst of Cisco's product placement sales pitch (for which you'd need the CVoice book). In fact I can concur with other reviewers in that Keagy's obvious practical experience, mature expressive style with plenty of useful figures/illustrations (which I personally as a trainer really appreciate) and ability to impart knowledge in an enjoyable worldly manner shine throughout in the text in a style that is remniscent of Doyle Routing - I look forward to more books by Keagy (hopefully his wife will let him :o)
Although you can buy books that cover the individual chapters in more detail (Keagy provides numerous references), this single tome is a must for anyone breaking into the trendy area of Voice from a predominantly data networking background.

This is a benchmark book for interactive design. It separates the design process into information design, interactive design and presentation design. Those who head the process and focus on information design tasks at the beginning of an interactive project will find that costs are lower.

Information design changes are easiest at the beginning of a project and create large cost problems at the end.

If you have proceeded with good information design then interactive design and costs are much less difficult and less expensive.

Finally if you have made good information design and interactive design decisions, then you have a vast arrays of how to present the final product. It is at this stage the costs the highest with graphic designers, video producers, web developers, programmers and so on.

Read the book and memorize the process.

The book promised a lot based on previous readers' reviews and the publishing house's reputation but I was disappointed with its contents. The information is well presented but too simplistic. Lacking any further elaboration this book is of little use if you have some experience in the field of interactive design. A good brain-storming session at home would come up with the same findings of this book.

I have had this book for 4+ years. I loaned it to a friend once who didn't return it, so I bough another one.

Among the dozens of books I own and read on usability or project management, etc. this one is fantastic - a real stand-out.

The one drawback is that it's not as contemporary/up-to-the-minute as newer books. [shrug]

This is nicely organized, introduces important concepts and explains them in plain english. I used it as a textbook for a multimedia class and it was well received.

You will not find fancy tricks and designs, but you will get a good overview of multimedia, interface design and project management. It is 'outdated' so it is not suitable for experts but its information is excellent for an intro class, especially for people with little graphics experience.

For once, someone makes the distinction between information design, interaction design and presentation design. This book was invaluable in helping our division more clearly define our process for product development.

Great book! I've been working in transmission systems and networking for more than seven years now, and I've never found a book which had both subjects together. If your are planning to give some classes or seminars, this book is a very good outline and in-depth info source.

The book cover many important part about Data Comm.Useful for student and researcher.

I was very impressed with this vendor's service. The book was in great shape and got to me very quickly. Safe bet here.

The book which is written by Behrouz is one of the greatest book I haven't read in my life. I preffered to read this book to all of the viewer's who want to gain some knowledge in data communication and network field.

This is one of the all-time best books on computer networking and data communications. The diagrams make it perhaps the simplest to understand, of all books. The style is lucid, plenty of examples are given and there are exercises after every chapter. Apart from Tanenbaum and Comer, this is a must for every serious student of data communications.