Online Books

If you're not very knowledgeable on how to use, expand, personalize, and tweak Yahoo!, this book is for you! Author Paul Bausch, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that will help you do just that, in ways you never dreamed possible.

Bausch, begins by showing you how to become a Yahoo! power searcher by taking advantage of meta keywords in order to return more relevant results. Then, he shows you some unique ways on how to use Yahoo! Web Services, including monitoring your commute for problems, watching TV schedules automatically for appearances by your favorite celebrities, and visualizing your music collection. The author continues by showing you how to use the hacks to reach out and touch someone. Next, he introduces you to the backdoor that Yahoo! has opened for developers. Then, the author shows you how people are using Yahoo! data in their own applications and have a bit of fun in the process. Finally, he shows you how to get listed and introduces you to other Yahoo! components you can plug into your site.

You can read this excellent book from cover to cover if you like, but each hack stands on its own. Here, the author intends to show you what's possible when you view Yahoo! as a platform and inspire your inner hacker to take a new look at Yahoo!.

Paul Bausch's YAHOO! HACKS: TIPS & TOOLS FOR LIVING ON THE WEB FRONTIER tells how to personalize and use Yahoo! In new ways, from using keyword shortcuts and advanced syntax to get more from search queries to customizing Yahoo! Mail, using its blogging features and file share programs, and even building applications using Yahoo! web services. Everything there is to know about customizing and tweaking Yahoo! is in this book.

This book contains a hundred hacks to get Yahoo to work the way you want it to work. These hacks include tips for getting the results you want from a Yahoo search, dealing with advertiser cookies, tracking your stocks, getting news feeds and news crawlers, using Yahoo groups, programming Yahoo using various languages including Perl, Java, PHP, and VBScript and even how to plot multiple points on map at the same time. Of course the biggest question for many people is how to get your site listed at Yahoo and there is even a tip for that. Yahoo! Hacks is a highly recommended book to anyone who uses Yahoo or wants to know how to really master it.

When Yahoo! was created in 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo it was the simplest of web sites. Just a collection of web pages laid out in a simple unordered list, the entire Yahoo! web site was only a handful of pages with only a single, simple use: to list sites on the web separated out by the content they provided. Probably when someone today thinks of Yahoo! the first thing they think of is that it is a search engine. Well the 1st generation of the Yahoo! web site didn't even have that. There wasn't even a form field present, the only thing being a bunch of hyperlinks which navigated to more hyperlinks for the few sites that were in existence back in the day.

My what changes a decade brings.

When you think of the Internet today, probably the first couple of web sites that come to mind are eBay, Google, amazon and Yahoo!. It is safe to say that with thousands of employees and millions upon millions of revenue that Yahoo! is one of the greatest success stories on the web, and to think that only 10+ years ago this site was just a simple list that grew into so much more. Yahoo! has evolved to not only provide a way of searching the Internet, but it is now a portal site that provides News, Weather, Sports, Games... basically if you can think of something that you can find on the Internet then Yahoo! is a great place to go to start your web experience. There is so much to do and so many places to go when you use Yahoo! that it can become mind-boggling and that is where "Yahoo! Hacks" can be used to make your net experience the best it can be.

Providing 100 tips and tricks of how to best use Yahoo! to your advantage, Paul Bausch pulls no punches and doesn't skimp on the details. From learning how to use and customize 'My Yahoo!' to setting up and controlling your mail to setting your own personal TV listings, you can learn how to do this with this guide. From tracking your investments to created advanced searches that remember personalized settings to installing Yahoo! Messenger, you will learn the ins and outs with this book. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discussing all that Yahoo! Hacks has to offer. RSS, blogging, Calendar, sharing photos... the list goes on and on.

After reading Yahoo! Hacks you will soon feel like there is so much to offer from Yahoo! that you could do everything you needed to at one web site and never have to go anywhere else! Now with this guide you can get the most out of your Yahoo! experience and have fun while doing it.

This is what Hack books are supposed to be about!! For all Yahoo! enthusiasts out there who want to learn how to use Yahoo! to the fullest, this is the book for you!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." That quote might apply to Yahoo when you look at all the mindshare that Google has garnered of late. It's almost as if Yahoo is irrelevant and Google owns the search world. Not quite, and Paul Bausch's new book Yahoo! Hacks - Tips & Tools for Living on the Web Frontier reminded me of all the good and incredibly valuable things you can do with Yahoo...

Contents: Search; Services; Communicating; Web Services; Applications; Webmastering; Index

Like all Hacks titles, you have a number of cool tips and tricks that you can do using Yahoo as your technology starting point. In this case, there's 100 of them that cover a wide range of topics. For instance, tip #39 - Monitor Your Commute shows how Yahoo can provide updated traffic conditions overlaying a map of your driving commute. Even better, those traffic updates can be formatted in RSS and put on your My Yahoo page. I did that one right away. Tip #83 - Randomize Your Windows Desktop Background shows how, using Yahoo's web services API and some VBA code, you can create a random Windows wallpaper each day. Just hope you don't choose a search term that isn't "work safe". :) The whole Web Services chapter shows how you can access Yahoo's API using a variety of languages such as Perl, PHP, Python and a few others. Once you get the basic core structure down, you open up a whole universe of possibilities in terms of programmatic integration of Yahoo into your applications. This is really cool stuff...

I've been just as guilty as the next person of getting all "Google"-y eye'd at other search engines and forgetting the site that opened up a whole world of internet realities. Many of the things we take for granted now were ground-breaking ideas that Yahoo was pushing in the early days. Having two strong competitors in the search arena will lead to even more innovative thinking as they play off of each other. I can see how the Yahoo! Hacks title could go into multiple editions without even trying...

Excellent read with lots of code you can use immediately. If you've wandered away from Yahoo for other pastures, perhaps it's time to wander back and see what other options are out there. Yahoo Hacks will expand your thinking as to what you can do with search engines...

This book is the only one I came across that explains major internet job sites and what type of information they can provide. If one is a high school student, college student, or career changer, there is a list of the sites that offer free personality tests that can determine the best jobs out there for the individual. For people who know what jobs they are seeking there is a comprehensive list of web sites offering job openings as well as networking organizations and headhunters. Once you find the job you are interested in there ia a list of web site that will help you determine reputation of the company you are applying to and how well financially they are doing. In addition, you will find tips on interview techniques and writing cover letters as well as references on salary negotiation. Quick read, well worth anyone's time.

WOW! This book organizes your job search the same way a headhunter or career counselor would--for a small fraction of the cost! I was able to find the answer to every job search question I had, and then some, (from how to write a resume and cover letter to the best place to post your resume to learning what salaries and benefits you should ask for) by using the sites listed. I also liked learning how to find "insider's information" about the company you're applying to. Would highly recommend this book to anyone.

100 Top Internet Job Sites offers more than a simple listing of Internet job site resources, it shows the reader how to turn the Internet into a personalized career counselor, developing key job search skills along the way. Kristina Ackley shows how to prepare for success, demonstrate online netiquette, search and find "dream job" information, write effective resumes and cover letters, research potential employers, interview successfully, and negotiate salary and benefits. 100 Top Internet Job Sites is an invaluable, essential guide for those new to the advantages the Internet has to offer the dedicated job seeker and career developer.

Kristina Ackley's 100 Top Internet Job Sites tells how to prepare for employment via the Internet; from locating information about a dream job to locating resume-posting web sites and researching employers. A valuable book on career explorations via the Net.

This book has many strengths, from the credentials of the experts included to the variety of the topics they have chosen to write about. For some of us, the words "Improve Your Life" are frightening because there is, of course, so much work to be done. David Riklan's book is accessible, though, for each topic is short, sweet and pragmatic. If you're a writer, turn to pages 384-386, where you'll find Kelly Robbins' thoughts about using your words to focus on your life's challenges. If you're struggling with relationships, John Gray has some excellent advice on page 266. I especially like Shirley Cheng's "Dance With Your Heart" essay on page 350 because it presents such a positive approach to life. When it comes to titles, Alan Cohen's "Mistake Salad," is especially apt, and the words that follow are a great story with a thought-provoking question about the role of mistakes in our lives. Each of the essays in the book presents a bite-sized idea that, when pondered, makes for a very filling and nutritious meal.

101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2
by David Riklan

Self-Improvement: The Top 101 Experts Who Help Us Improve Our Lives
by David Riklan

I have deliberately bought these two books to be used as an intellectual resource on optimum performance technologies. Combined them with my earlier acquisition of Tom Butler-Brown's trilogy of books (which I have already reviewed), namely:

- 50 Self Help Classics;
- 50 Success Classics;
- 50 Spiritual Classics;

& my impending requisition of the author's latest '50 Psychology Classics', I now have, in my hands, more than 2,000 pages of well-researched & systematically organised information nuggets. What a formidable intellectual resource!

I have browsed the foregoing two books very quickly & I generally concur with most of the positive reviews by other reviewers, especially Donald Mitchell.

For readers who are still scouting for peak performance technologies, please go no further. Just follow my personal example.

David Riklan has done it again. He managed to get 101 self-improvement gurus to collaborate and share their collective wisdom. The result is '101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life-Volume 2'. The stories will improve your relationship with yourself, others, and the universe. Covering an enormous array of topics, the common denominator of the stories is that they will help you think more positively and feel and function better.

Shirley Cheng's chapter entitled 'Dance With Your Heart: How To Befriend Your Heart And The World Around You' is my favorite. She provides clear guidelines on how to not only dance with your heart but on how to become a dancing heart. It is a beautiful and instructive chapter written by this young woman who is a blind and physically disabled poet and author. I learned more about her by visiting the website [...]

The book is filled with many other stories to help you discover countless ways of feeling better and improving your life. Enthusiastically recommended.

At the time I read volume 1 of this great series, I couldn't imagine how David Riklan could possibly top that accomplishment. But somehow he did! If you liked that book, order this one immediately.

Like volume 1, volume 2 headlines articles by many famous authors: Jack Canfield; Richard Carlson; Alan Cohen; John Gray; and Bob Proctor. Beyond those marquee names, you'll also find many other excellent, previously published authors like: Lisa Angelettie; Ellyn Bader; Deborah Baker-Receniello; Annette Bau; Alex Benzer; Suzanne Blake; Teresa Bolen; Shirley Cheng; Annette Colby; Deanna Davis; Signe Dayhoff; John Dempsey; Shawn Driscoll; Catherine Eagan; J. Victor Eagan; Ronald Finklestein; Jeannie Fitzsimmons; Donald Flack; Mary Foley; John Forman; Leah Grant; Jeanne-Marie Grumet; Anne Hartley; Craig Howe; Anita Jefferson; Karen Jones; Dave Kurlan; Mary Jo Kurtz; Judy Lawrence; David Lazear; Leah Light; Chunyi Lin; Vicki Spring Love; Talia Mana; Peggy McColl; Dee McCrorey; Kathleen McGraw; Barbara McRae; June Marshall; Lesley Moore; Relly Nadler; Neill Neill; Anne Nelson; Michael Norwood; Sally O'Brien; Kara Oh; Heather O'Hara; Samuel Okoro; Sandy Paris; Peter Pearson; Nancy Pina; Susan Ratynski; Michael Rayel; Trish Regan; Nancy Richards; John Rifkin; Kelly Robbins; Michael Ruge; Daniel Saintjean; Linda Salazar; Linda Sapadin; Suzanne Schell; Karen Sherman; Colleen Hoffman Smith; Andreas Stark; Pauline Wallin; Brian Walsh; Margie Warrell; and Cathi Watson.

Lest you think that the best writing is by the best-known authors, the best written piece in the book is by Shirley Cheng, whose work you may not know yet . . . but you should. The title? Dance with Your Heart: How to Befriend Your Heart and the World around You

Here are my other favorites:

Action Today! by Daniel Saintjean
Being Graceful Makes Your Life Happen by Guru Kaur
Believe and You Will See by Peggy McColl
Embrace Positive Fatalism by Samuel Okoro
Failure Can Catapult Your Success by J. Victor Eagan
Finding the Work You Love! by Keri Coffman-Thiede
Five Steps to Creating a World-Class Social Network in Any City by Alex Benzer
Give People What They Are Longing For! by Suzanne Schell
Holding the Key to Your Emotions by Lesley Moore
How Can Writing Improve Your Life? by Kelly Robbins
How the Financial Markets Can Grow More Than Just Your Bank Account by John Forman
How to Use the TV to Help You Save Time by Teresa Bolen
Inspirational Tennis by Dave Kurlan
Learn to Choose by June Marshall
Live Like Your Nail Color! by Mary Foley
Make Small Talk? I'd Rather Eat Worms! by Signe Dayhoff
Mastering Eyesight and Expanding Insight y Jeannie "Viveka" Fitzsimmons
Persistence by Bob Proctor
Putting Your Best Foot Forward Instead of Your Mouth by Jeanne-Marie Grumet
Questions of Love by Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson
Some Simple Rules for a Satisfying Life by Andreas Stark
Ten Steps to Oratory Excellence by Craig Howe
The Map Is Not the Territory by Christoph Schertler
The Question Isn't How Smart You Are; Rather It's How You Are Smart by David Lazear
The Secret Hidden in Your Favorite Pastime by Leah Grant
Visualize and Affirm Your Desired Outcomes by Jack Canfield
What's Stopping You by Linda Sapadin

The breadth of offerings is also pretty impressive. Here's a partial list of subjects covered: Abuse and recovery; Accomplishment; Aging with Style; Anger; Approval; Aspirations; Awareness; Balance; Barriers to Success; Beliefs; Body Language; Boredom; Boundaries; Breathing Exercises; Budgeting; Business Visualization; Career Satisfaction; Change; Choices; Conquering Negativity; Courageous Vision; Dating; Decision Making; Desires; Determination; Difficult People; Drama; Embracing Opportunities; Emotions; Empowerment; Failure; Faith; Family Wisdom; Fate; Fearless Living: Finances; Freedom from Grudges; Giving; Grace; Gratitude; Healing Eyesight Naturally; Hobbies; Humor; Ideal Life; Inner Change; Inner Voice; Insights; Inspiration; Intimacy; Intuition; Job Preparation; Joy; Legacies; Liberation; Life Simplification; Love and Relationships; Meditation; Memory; Misconceptions; Mistakes; Morals, Multiple Intelligences; Neediness; Negotiating; Networking; Overcoming Resistance; Parenting; Passion; Perception; Persuasion; Priorities; Rituals; Satisfaction; Self-Doubt; Self-Esteem; Self-Management; Self-Talk; Speechwriting Tips; Spiritual Life; Stress-Free Living; Values; Wealth Plans; and Writing.

Each essay is three to four pages, just the right length to be stimulating . . . but not so long as to require a long sit. Many people will find that reading one of these essays in the morning can help set up a more successful day.

Start improving your life today with this great book!

I make my living by helping clients brand themselves. It's not easy. People really have no idea what they need to know and do to create a brand. They don't understand what it takes to look and actually be credible online.

This book answers many of the questions that online business people wonder about daily. It hits on issues that you often don't even consider and there are no other books (that I know of) that cover as much, so well.

I recommend this book to all online marketers and those who advise them.

A great read for anyone looking to improve their branded website. This book
breaks down the digital branding process into a number of logical, easy to
understand steps and focuses on what's really important in the eyes of the
consumer. It's also written in a very fluid style so it's also an
entertaining read (not stale and crusty like some business books!). "The Art
of Digital Branding" will be of particular interest to students, General
Managers and Marketers who are looking to improve their knowledge of
branding online. Web designers may also enjoy it, but as it isn't
particularly technically focused they may not find it detailed enough for
their needs.

I am a business adviser and often get asked what constitutes a good website - in future I will just ask people to buy this book. Its an excellent reference for any company that wants to improve it's online image as it nails every concept and explains the likes and dislikes of the average web consumer in detail - including the emotional responses that certain aspects of the website are likely to generate. I also found it humorous and well written - a refreshing change from some of the stuff that's out there.

A great book for those looking to understand the basics of online branding. Concepts covered included positioning, segmentation, basic design, technology, charities and online shopping. I've read a number of online marketing books lately, but from a branding perspective this one is the best so far as its casual humour and easy going language make everything easy to understand and it focuses on the real emotional issues that are likley to influence consumers. The "real world examples" are also a big plus, as are the author's references.

Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State, is neither an anti-porn zealot nor an "anything goes" libertarian. He finds adult pornography tolerable, even believing that "The positive aspects of...legal adult material should be stressed." (p. 222). But he is clearly opposed to child pornography, believing that it should remain illegal and that we should take measures to reduce its existence to a tolerable level.

I was reminded of the war against agricultural pests because what Professor Jenkins stresses is that it is impossible to get rid of child porn on the Net completely without destroying much of what is good about the Net. In trying to completely kill all the pests, we may inadvertently kill all the beneficial insects as well.

This book is ostensibly about the "kiddie porn" culture on the Web, its extent and what can be done about it. Jenkins uses quotes from child porn Bulletin Boards to demonstrate the mind set of the traffickers. He describes a war between citizen vigilante groups and the child pornographers, each employing their hacker expertise in trying to shut down the Web sites and expose the identities of their adversaries. Jenkins does not describe child pornography other than in the most general terms. He claims not to have actually seen any child pornography himself, noting that it is illegal to view such material even for research purposes, and indeed intimates that had he seen such material he would deny having seen it.

The picture that emerges is of a deviant, global community populated by persons hiding behind nicknames and proxies who view and exchange pictures of children through sites and servers from many different places in the world. Jenkins believes that because of the differing laws in the various countries, child pornography cannot be completely eliminated, that it can only be controlled. He depicts the regular deviants themselves as savvy, elusive individuals who change identities and addresses as they stay one step ahead of the law. Only the amateurs get caught.

But there is a bigger issue here emerging out of the struggle between law enforcement and the deviants, and that is the issue of privacy. How can we simultaneously monitor the Web sufficiently to trap, expose and prosecute child pornographers while at the same time protecting ourselves from Big Brother?

Jenkins begins Chapter Six, "Policing the Net," with a revealing quote from Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, a man who ought to know what he is talking about: "You already have zero privacy--get over it." My feeling is that our government and the large corporations already have enough information about us to serve a totalitarian regime (should one ever emerge). Every key stroke on Web can be monitored, recorded and stored. Right now this information is being used mostly for commercial purposes, but we can see how such information could be used to influence, intimidate and control individuals for political purposes. Consequently what this book is really about is the war between the interests of society and those of the individual, the social good verses private interest.

This war is of course as old as humanity, going back even into the tribal culture. But never before has there been such power to coerce and persuade. The tribal leader may have been all powerful within his tribe, so that if you went against him, you would meet with defeat. But you could run away to another place in the world, as humans have always done. Today, and increasingly tomorrow, there is and will be no place to run to.

One of the fears we have of one-world government, now enormously augmented with electronic and computer technology, as Jenkins notes, is that of a totalitarian state from which there is no escape. Our fear is that we will conform to the dictates of that state or we will be punished and "retrained." The Orwellian nightmare in comparison seems limited and amateurish.

So the struggle against the very real and intolerable evil of child pornography becomes in this book a precursor scenario of the struggle of the state against the individual. What Jenkins wants to see happen is some kind of control placed on the invasive nature of the state while somehow maintaining the ability to go after anti-social deviants like the child pornographers. Somehow the state must be restrained but the bad guys controlled.

This is an excellent book. Jenkins provides you with a wealth of information. By conducting his own original research into the newsgroups he gains a first-hand insight into the thoughts and involvments of these individuals, something quite unique!

Why aren't more people familiar with this book? It reads like a great novel and is full distrubing news: child pornography is a real problem on the internet. The book describes the inflitration of the kiddie porn community on the net by Jenkins and how this underground group of many thousands exhange images of child sex abuse. He writes very clearly about the recent history of child pornography and its explosive growth since the advent of the internet.

Some sociologists believe that child pornography is almost non-existent, a problem that was rooted out in the late 60's and 70's. Jenkins shatters this misconception and sheds some light on a very dark, very sick corner of the international underground.

Jenkins tackles a very difficult subject in a very professional manner. As Dennis Littrell suggested, Jenkins realizes that the 'trap the end user' approach will never even slow down the growth of this disturbing industry, and some of the more Draconian measures being suggested in some circles would only damage the freedom to surf of normal everyday users.

One point that many people might be unaware of is the fact that child pornography often involves children under five, as Jenkins suggests. Clearly this flies in the face of 'normal' sexual and reproductive urges, whereby males are only supposed to respond to females who are in the throes of puberty and beyond.

While it is certainly true to say that mere child nudity does not equate to child pornography, a common tactic of borderline sites is to place 'trigger' pictures in with legitimate 'lolita-esque' nude photos, which then lead to screens or sites that appear to offer a portal to an actual child pornography site, rather than plunging people straight into one.

The problem with writing books of this nature is that the Law is often in a state of flux. One of biggest 'gray' areas in terms of legality is the use of artificially generated/cgi child pornography. The 'pro' arguments suggest that as no children are being harmed or exploited, it doesn't qualify as child pornography. The 'contra' arguments suggest that it still involves images of adults having sex with children. At the time of writing this review, I believe it is still techincally legal.

Some years ago, a man was arrested for some sketches he made of naked adults and children embracing, without any specific suggestion of sexual contact. The counter argument to the prosecution stance made the point that drawing a sexual fantasy (or now, creating it with a computer graphics package) rather than merely thinking the same thoughts, should not be illegal, unless any attempt was being made to circulate it/them. The point being that this transition from a thought image to a cgi image, borders on the question of the Thought Crime of George Orwell's 1984, and the Inquisition logic of 'If she floats she's a witch and if she drowns, she's innocent'.

Jenkins has some solid ideas, such as monitoring message boards and the infrastructure by which the sub-net is able to operate, rather than setting up fake sites to lure in Joe Idiot who's just had a few beers, and thinking that such actions will ever impact the industry.

One of the biggest factors in the quantum growth of the 'CP' industry is the availability of white, Eastern European child victims. Previously, white children were never available in such numbers, which seems to have been a natural limiter on certain areas of this darkest of growth industries.

Sadly, where ever there is poverty, there will always be exploitation, and the online CP industry is just one part of a bigger picture - of a World and a people gone wrong, and the failure of the human race to love each other in the face of all our differences.

Yes, read this and be concerned about the sexual exploitation of children, but never forget that the greater obscenity is that 34,000 children DIE every day throughout the same world in which some rich people have gold-plated bath taps.

without a doubt - - - the most useful book i've ever seen. If you haven't bought it yet---order your copy now!

without a doubt - - - the most useful book i've ever seen. If you haven't bought it yet---order your copy now!

This is the book we have been waiting for. At long last, an easy to use, comprehensive guide that is as unbiased as it is informative. From internet newbies to experinced surfers, this book is terrific. I bought it as a gift, but ended up using it so much myself, that I bought a second copy. Be forewarned, one copy is not enough.

This is the best tool anyone could want this Christmas! It gives you the best online store locations to shop at! I don't even have to leave my house this year to buy a single gift.

The guide gives a great alphabetical listing of the good vendors listed on bizrate.com, along with their BizRating--so you know who you're buying from, and what type of reputation they have with other BizRate customers. Some entries even have comments straight from users' mouths. A great deal at a low price--something every avid online buyer should have.

This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in cultural resouces! As a social worker, I have found this book to be exteremely helpful for families and children. I highly recommend it!

This book is amazing! It has so much information. I have not been able to find so much information in one spot until I picked up this book. I particularly like the sites with Afrocentric children's games, online activities and books. But there is so much more than that. Parents: buy this book now! It is a worthwhile investment.

After reading this book, I was thrilled! There is so much useful information in it. No matter if you use the Internet sporadically or if you peruse the Net everyday, all day like I do, then there is something for you.
This book is simply a condensed and Black parenting specific search engine compiled into book form. No longer do parents have to be bothered with tooling around search engines, when most likely the results will be scant. Stacey Montgomery has done all of the work for you and keeps an updated list of Black parenting web resources on her website. A must buy for Black parents looking for Black parenting websites!

Stacey Montgomery has done a phenomenal job compiling about 375 web sites -- designed for the Black family -- into one resource. Her book is truly a "one-stop" shopping of information that is divided into 20 categories. There's something for everyone in this book.

For the regular Internet user such as myself -- who stays on the lookout for unique educational products for my family -- Montgomery's book is hard to put down. However, for those persons who surf the Internet very little or not at all, "Black Families Online" is still a powerful resource to have nearby because of its good-to-know information.

Thanks to this book, I have already begun compiling a list of my own of places to shop on the web for Christmas items and such. In "Black Families Online" I've come across web sites that I never knew existed that offer products that I never knew existed........a Multiplication Hip Hop CD and puzzles and interesting games that teach Black history, just to name a few.

In addition to providing an annotated list of web sites, Montgomery has added some nice additional touches, too. Quotes throughout the book from web site owners and parents answering the question, "Why go online?" or stating "Why my business is online" are also fun to read.

This book is a masterpiece. Montgomery should be proud of what obviously took a lot of time and effort.

Many thanks to her for a resource that has truly enriched my life. When not in my hands, this book is sure to stay close to my computer. I know I'll be using it often!!!

This book really goes a long way and covers every aspect of the matter.

I bought two books when I got this one: The other was Rebecca Blood's "the Weblog Handbook." It's a two-star, at best, while this one is four and 3/4. I only withhold the 1/4 because some terminology wasn't clear. I had read the MacWorld reviews of all the systems Todd covered, and I knew I wanted to use only one of them, because it offered the features I need. The terminology, though, was contained in the chapters on the other systems, so I had to go into the index and look them up. (The term I'm thinking of is "bookmarklet," but there were others.) A separate chapter on terminology would have been helpful. Still, it's the best book out there on getting it up (your Blog, that is). Immediately following finishing the book, I emailed Rick Ellis, the Technical Consultant (and creator of pMachine), got immediate answers, and have signed up to start my blog on Rick's service. The website blogonbook.com is good, too, though it doesn't show correctly in Netscape 4.7. I read the book in two days. Entertaining, informative. (Bill ...)

This is a well-structured, practical and fairly comprehensive look at blogging. It covers everything from the basic question of whether you need a weblog, through how to set up and use some of the popular software offerings, to writing, tweaking, and publicizing your blog. There's also a small section on using blogs in business. The author comes over as someone who knows his stuff; I like the clear line drawn between using a hosted service, and running your blog on your own machine, for example.

As with any book which gives such precise installation and operation details, this one is likely to date quickly when the available software changes. It also has only thin coverage of more lasting social and community aspects, so if you find a copy that's several years old, make sure the bulk of the book still makes sense before buying. It's not a secret, but the book has a strong affiliation with the pMachine blogging software, and in places this seems to crowd out alternative approaches a bit.

In general, a solid and worthwhile book for a beginner to blogging. This book gives you all the tools and knowledge to get started, but once you decide that blogging is for you and want to take it further, make sure to check out a wider range of software and deeper, more theoretical, books such as Powazek's "Design for Community" and Blood's "The Weblog Handbook".

This is a truly remarkable book. It is both a detailed primer for weblog novice and serves well as a reference for the experienced blogger or one desiring to attain that level.
Stauffer's organization of his material is unusually well structured. He begins at the very beginning: what is a blog, why you might want one and so one. Then there's a walk-through of four different blogging platforms, which is surprisingly detailed, yet easy to comprehend. This section not only cleared up a lot of mysteries for me, but also introduced me to the remarkable pMachine.
He then moves on to writing, designing and tweaking your blog - with information I didn't find in the other three books I first read. Finally, he concludes with sections on publicizing yourt blog and how to use it in business environments.
Overall, a remarkable tour de fource and in my estimation, the best book on blogging currently available. As noted I've read three of them and looked at all the others. This is the only one I would unreservedly endorse -- and I am not easy to please.

Jerry

Mr. Morris is very informative, easy to follow and ,the best part,he's very funny. I keep this book close to my computor at all times. D.Solomo

I had read this book and found very informative. I recommend it to the one who would like to know more about internet

Mr. Morris is very informative, easy to follow and ,the best part,he's very funny. I keep this book close to my computor at all times. D.Solomo

I love this book. If you want to use the internet to enhanceyour off-line reading experience, this book is a wonderful choice. Aguide to authors' sites, incredible on-line literary magazines, on-line libraries, and collections of great reading--real treasures, like Arts & Letters Daily. You'll bookmark a ton of URLs from this book! Plus how to publish your own work on-line. Highly recommended.

Having grown up in Maryland and evolved into an ACC basketball fanatic (even attending dreaded NC State), Cole Classics brought back wonderful memories of idols, games and the cold, crisp days of college basketball on Tobacco Road. I kept turning pages and saying, "Oh yeah, I remember him"! From great triumphs to mind-boggling losses, it all came back with a smile and a story for MY young kids. Fantastic reading, great stories and even greater memories!

In March 2002, a great piece of sports history closed its doors for the last time...Cole Field House. Home to the University of Maryland Terrapin basketball teams for 47 years, the 2001-2002 season was the last season that Cole would be host some of the greatest college basketball ever played. "Cole Classics" is a wonderful way to journey through the past and remember all the great moments that were visited upon hardwood there. "Cole Classics" remembers all the great games, from Maryland's 'slowdown' victory over #2 South Carolina back in the early 1970's to a stunning overtime victory in 1998 over a #1 North Carolina team just 10 days after getting dismantled by Duke, to 2001's 35-point season finale destruction of a good Virginia team that foreshadowed Maryland's run to the Final Four for the first time in history. In addition to highlighting the great games, "Cole Classics" also remember the great players and coaches who graced the Maryland program through the years.

Published prior to Cole's last season in order to capitalize on the nostalgia and demand for memorabilia of this arena, "Cole Classics" is missing a key element, the final season. In this final year, Maryland added another #1-ranked victim to its count when Maryland hammered Duke 87-73 in the last game to be played by these two teams at Cole. There is probably no other arena in the country that has proven to be a graveyard to as many #1 ranked opponents as Cole. In addition, Maryland finished the season undefeated at home for only the third time in school history. Oh, and there was that little think about a National Championship. This would have been a satisfyingly complete remembrance of Cole if the publishers had waited and the last season had been included. Aside from that omission, however, "Cole Classics" still serves as a marvelous scrapbook at one of the true sports landmarks in college basketball.

The book has a great way of jogging your memory of those great ACC battles from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Each mini-chapter tells the story of the old Maryland stars and big games. The book has lots of great photos and terrific quotes like this one from Derrick Lewis:

"We ran one play all year and we got away with it because Lenny [Bias] played like Superman. He was double-teamed and triple-teamed every night, and they couldn't stop him. I remember asking him, 'How do you do it?' Lenny said, 'If you want it more than they do, they can't stop you. You have to be intense all the time and you won't have a problem.' "

The final chapters bring you up to this year's team by including profiles of Gary Williams, Juan Dixon, and Lonny Baxter. Terp fans will really enjoy it.

Fear the Turtle!

I never missed a home game in 4 years in the ACC. This book brings back the feeling of a game -- the heat, the noise, the raucous fun. Great stories and quotes from players that I'd never heard before, they open up to tell what they loved about the game and the forum and what drove them to win. A quick read, an excellent gift for any fan of the ACC or college basketball. When Cole Field House goes inactive, it'll be a sad day in Maryland (although a happy one in North Carolina!).