Internet Books

I will admit to being prejudiced. I've known Del Coates for about four years now through Western Automotive Journalists.
He is a true gentleman who has always been willing to chat with me and help me to understand why I really liked a cetain car I was reviewing.

Del's book not only provides brief and clear analysis of why objects around us are made the way they are, but gave me a far more complete tool set with which to judge. What I learned will allow me to be a better writer who can now "make sense" out of what I am feeling.

I have not only told my friends about the book, I went out and purchased about a dozen and sent them to fellow writers and editors. And being the cheapskate that I am, this even surprised me.

This is simply a superb book and will be cherished by anyone who really wants to understand how Industrial Design developed
and grew into something that touches us every second of every day
whether we recognize it or not.

I will admit to being prejudiced. I've known Del Coates for about four years now through Western Automotive Journalists.
He is a true gentleman who has always been willing to chat with me and help me to understand why I really liked a cetain car I was reviewing.

Del's book not only provides brief and clear analysis of why objects around us are made the way they are, but gave me a far more complete tool set with which to judge. What I learned will allow me to be a better writer who can now "make sense" out of what I am feeling.

I have not only told my friends about the book, I went out and purchased about a dozen and sent them to fellow writers and editors. And being the cheapskate that I am, this even surprised me.

This is simply a superb book and will be cherished by anyone who really wants to understand how Industrial Design developed
and grew into something that touches us every second of every day whether we recognize it or not.

A book that addresses what many know but fail to acknowledge. This book brings the importance of design, which is a result of the power of the human senses, to the mainstream without dumbing down the material. The decisions people make in regards to buying products are largely based on unarticulated(Subconscious) reasons. Studies report that 80% of human communication is non-verbal and that visual communication is one of the oldest and most important forms of communication. In todays marketplace where most products are commodities, possesing similar features and functions, design is one of the most powerful forms of differentiation. This book details the importance of design and the key attributes that make one design stand out from another. Take notice of the "irregular" or different size of this books binding. Do you think some thought went into that?

"Watches Tell More than Time" is about how industrial designers influence the emotional responses that their products create. (Note: it's primarily concerned with physical objects, as opposed to computer software, which gets a lot of design press these days).

It explains these responses in terms of evolutionary psychology. And, in what I consider to be the reason to read the book, it tells you how to measure and optimize them. That is, it lays out the theoretical underpinnings for a small set of attributes (contrast, novelty, objective concinnity, and subjective concinnity) that are fundamentally responsible for our emotional responses to objects, then describes a systematic process by which you can strengthen the responses that you consider important for a given product, and then measure your success (using a semantic differential scale) and find out you whether you have simultaneously weakened other desirable responses.

There is some jargon, but it's well defined and to the point, and anyone interested in design should have no problem understanding it.

It's at its best when the author delves into specific examples. Many are from his experience in the car design field; others are everyday items that everyone can relate to. The detailed deconstruction of a "simple" Corelle cup is outstanding -- I wish the book had a dozen more like it.

The book's major weakness is the amount of time devoted to relatively elementary concepts, such as contrast and novelty. (How many times and in how many ways do we need to be told, for example, that new things command more of our attention than familiar ones?) I finished several chapters in a row thinking "OK, now that's he's got that out of his system, he's about to get to the good stuff." Eventually he does, but the repetition beforehand is why my rating is four stars, not five.

Note: The book is _not_ about what I might call the "mechanics of aesthetics". How is it that Curve A feels dull while Curve B -- a subtle, almost unnoticeable variation -- seems taut and alive? Why does this union of materials and forms seem exactly right, even inspiring, but that one fails to catch the eye?

For example, the author calls SUVs outwardly "robust", "rugged", and "militaristic". That feels right, but what makes it so? What is it, exactly, about the shapes and lines of an SUV that evoke such a different reaction than is typical for a minivan ("bland", "boring", "utilitarian")? Each is, after all, more like the other than like a sedan. Yet no one would have trouble identifying the type from a picture -- even without telltale backgrounds of the Rockies vs a youth soccer field. Each time I think I've got it nailed down, I see a counter-example on the road. I think it's mostly a matter of the angle between the hood and windshield, and the height of the grille. But that just begs the question: why are the more acute angle and higher grille more aggressive in the first place? A lower grille and gentler angle are considered more aggressive in a sports car.

"Watches Tell More than Time" tantalizingly dances around such questions, but fundamentally doesn't attempt to answer them. But it leaves you better equipped to wrestle with the answers yourself. (A sports car has different emotional goals than an SUV.)

So the book won't make you an industrial designer any more than a trip to the art supply store will make you an artist. Instead, it introduces you to a fundamental chunk of an industrial designer's toolkit. If you've already internalized "talk to your users" and "keep it simple", and you want a deeper understanding of how some products are able to become beloved icons, you'll probably find very interesting material here.

You will learn how humans react to a product - particularly great ones. I appreciate that the author has given me a new way to look at products and the effect of their designs.

The author describes from a neurological and pyschological point of view how you react to a new product the instant you see it. I am talking micro-seconds here. Then, he discusses how you come to like it or reject it (a few microseconds later). This was truly interesting. He relates it back to Information Theory -- yet the book was not about bits and bytes. He describes how various shapes communicate differing amounts of information. Too much results in an over load.

The author presents a simple model to analyze products. To help with this he discusses how he uses semantic difference surveys. I found this material very interesting although I wish that he had included samples of the survey documents. I didn't understand how the prospects visualized and then specified the ideal product to compare your product to.

This is truly a great book but it does requires you to slow down when you read. The author carefully defines his terms - which unfortunately have to deal with cultural abstractions (like 'zeitgeists', 'daimons'). To keep up with the author, you need to understand these terms, as the author defines them.

I will now go back a second time and try to make his framework more permanent in my brain.

The author sleeps and dreams about great design. He has been a great designer (cars) for some time and now teaches out in San Jose.

If you develop new products, or are a CEO of a company, or if you just like design... this is a required book.

I looked at the book at the book store several times and put it back because the abstract terminology turned me off. Later I went and sat down in the book store and read it more slowly. It was then that I realized what a jewell this book is. I'd love to sit in on one of his classes.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

I work in a non-technology based field, yet found this book to be a great tool for inspiring some new marketing ideas.

AT LAST! A definitive, concise, readable, understandable, helpful book on this subject that has literally changed the way I communicate and network in my business. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the authors!!

The world can be divided into two groups: those that get it, and those that don't. Real estate is a very competitive industry -- you not only have to be "with it," you have to be "ahead of it." This book is a must have for the business person -- in this case, realtor -- who needs and wants the cutting edge advantage.

Like many people looking for a book or information on web conferencing I was frustrated in my search by the surprising lack of available material. Needless to say I was thrilled when my search ended having come across "The Web Conferencing Book..." and was happier still when I found the book to be as an informative and engaging read as it is. Extremely comprehensive, The Web Conferencing Book answered virtually all of my questions on the subject - and even provided me with information I didn't even know I need to be aware of. I can't recommend this book enough for people needing to know more on the subject as it will undoubtedly have an immediate and highly positive impact on your web conferencing abilities and overall knowledge. The authors have provided us with an amazingly valuable resource and I'm now offically on the lookout for future technology books by them.

I'm a computer services manager working in local government, so I am probably not part of the target audience for this book.

This book will give maximum benefit to a non-technical person who knows nothing about on-line collaboration. The book is effective in giving a survey of the conferencing products and services available on the market at the time of publication.

Here is my description of my "wish list" for a book on Web Conferencing:

1. Target audience: Information systems professionals
2. Detailed coverage of network issues involved with Web conferencing, including bandwidth, infrastructure and security issues.
3. Cost structure for each product reviewed.
4. Some coverage of manipulating low cost configurations to provide high levels of service. (How to do more with less).
5. Professional, rather than chatty, tone.

As a teacher of promotional classes for authors, I cannot recommend this book enough. As an author, I have used it personally, and it has been an excellent resource. I've learned so much about RSS feeds and how to pep up your blog.

Again, I can't recommend it enough.

I read Patrice's blog and am a fellow author of multiple books (one of which is self-published). Patrice has hit upon a maximum-impact minimum-risk strategy of publicizing and marketing your books/articles online. The efforts she outlines seem much more effective and focused than what traditional publishers are able to do for their authors, which is becoming smaller all the time.

Whether you are published by a traditional publisher or self-publish, you can use the strategies in this book to sell more of yours! Those who would benefit most are non-fiction authors with a niche audience. But Patrice does address fiction and novel authors as well.

The only thing I wanted more of was more information about doing Virtual Book Tours. Patrice does say they're a good idea, but gives no specific information on setting one up. I'd love to see that in the future or in a special report!

This is exactly the book I needed. It's essential for savvy writers. This book impacteded writing promotion plan in such a massive way. I can't praise it enough. If you want to be successful as a writer today, you need this book.

What a lovely book. I'm really glad I purchased a copy for myself. I'm a SCORE volunteer counselor and quite often my clients ask about Web sites and Web site design, and how to incorporate them into their small business' marketing plan. This book is the one that comes to my mind when I recommend a tome for them to read so I don't have to go into a long-winded sermon on the ins-and-outs of building a Web site. The other book I like a lot is Susan Daffron's book entitled Web Business Success (ISBN: 0974924504).

The book has 12 chapters, but I haven't listed them below. The list below includes the topics covered in the book that I have prioritized and grouped the way I would have liked the book to read.

1. How to Design a Web site
2. Add a Blog
3. Add a Podcast
4. Add an Ezine
5. Create eBooks
6. Create audio CDs and DVDs
7. Learn about Shopping Cart technology
8. Learn about RSS technology
9. Learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
10. Learn about Online Advertising
11. Learn about Online Marketing
12. Learn about Using Amazon to Promote and Sell Your Book

My favorite topics were 1, 2, 5, 9 and 11. In my humble opinion they are the meat to putting together a Net presence using a Web site. It is these topics that I recommend my SCORE clients focus on when reading the book. I've tried the ezine thing, and I have found it to be a waste of time and effort. CDs and DVDs are beyond me at this time. But maybe in the future I might consider them as a great marketing vehicle. I think shopping cart technology is good for a retail shop. But an author with only one or two titles may want to skip it. I don't find much use for RSS technology since I don't go heavy on reading blogs. Maybe when there get to be a number of good blogs to read, then I might recommend RSS.

I have recently read a few books on using Amazon to promote and sell POD books. I think they were written after this book, and they seem to do a better job covering topic #12 above. Maybe the material on Amazon in this book is a little dated? But I saw a lot of good stuff on Amazon in this book. Consider also checking out Shepard's book entitled Aiming at Amazon (ISBN: 093849743X) and Weber's book entitled Plug Your Book! (ISBN: 0977240614).

Don't think that this book is only good for authors who want to use the Net to market their book. The principles and techniques beautifully explained in this book are equally applicable to promoting any business. So any wanta-be entrepreneur that doesn't know much about the Net or Web sites will do themselves a favor by getting this book, reading it, and then studying it. 5 stars!

The title to THE WEB-SAVVY WRITER, by Patrice-Anne Rutledge, holds a very important key. The reader should be web-savvy. At least more so than I am, because much of this book went over my head. I would have liked more detail on some of the technical stuff, but still, it emphasized my weaknesses and showed me the areas I need to study.

I would consider this a reference manual. This is not a book you should read once and try to retain. This is a book to keep on your shelf and refer to often. This is also not a one stop shop for marketing and promoting your book, but it does cover, quite thoroughly, the aspects of electronic marketing and promotion.

Someone more tech-savvy than me (and that includes most readers) would probably find this book more useful than I did, but I must add I did gain a lot of insight and once I do bone up on some of the technical areas, will read this one again. Even with my limited technical knowledge, I will reference this book often.

Of course Rutledge covers what you would expect here for book promotions - websites, search engine optimization, blogging - but goes much further. There are chapters on such promotional methods as RSS feeds, podcasts, ezines, and even how to sell and promote your book here, on Amazon.

Perhaps the best part of the book, for me at least, was at the end where Rutledge includes several author profiles. Here the reader learns first hand what has worked best for other authors in a variety of genres. Overall, a good book, even is some of it was over my head.

Tom Elliott your the best! Website 411: Business Survival in a Internet Economy is the best resorce book I've read to date. This is a user-friendly book both for the potential website client and for the website consultant. I highly recommend Tom's book to anyone who is thinking about purchasing a website or about selling websites. You would pay hundreds of dollars to get the training and information this quick read book will teach you!

Roxann & Eric Stevens
MA Website Consultants
Harrisburg, PA

Before I opened this book I knew virtually nothing about website development and design. A couple hours later I knew the basics and the questions to ask about website development. This book is designed to de-mystify the website process and help you choose an ethical, honest developer that you can work with to achieve the website you want. It also guides you on developing your own website. It breaks down the actual costs, teaches you how not to get ripped off and allows you to make informed decisions. The $25.00 cost may very well save you thousands. Not only is Website 411 a must read, it should be your first read.

Mr. Elliott has written a concise and helpful book for any business owner looking to establish an Internet presence. His writing style leaves out the tech jargon and uses plain language so that a newcomer to the web will understand his points with ease.

Given the amount of sales hype and inflated promises that exist in the world of web development, Mr. Elliott's book is a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended as I found it very helpful!

A plain english tool to use when learning about websites. Tom Elliott has done an outstanding job of communicating on the subject of websites.This A to Z informative book is a must read for everyone associcated with a website whether your a marketing person or a business owner. This book has critical information you must know before you spend a dime or even think about buying a website. Throughly enjoyed reading this "Bible of websites" book. Thanks again - Tom.

Before I share my opinion, I will first qualify it. I am a web site professional. I work mostly with traditional design, but I sometimes recommend various turnkey packages. I have been in the Internet industry for about 11 years. My business (which I founded in 1997) has consulted a portfolio of over 4200 clients and provided service to over 2300 web projects ranging from site development to search engine marketing. Needless to say, I lend a critical eye to any new book on the topic of web sites.

That said, I found Website 411 to be an INCREDIBLY VALUABLE resource. It is a book written to help business leaders make informed decisions, yet I have also found it to be an EXCEPTIONALLY USEFUL tool in my role as a web site service provider and consultant. It provides CREDIBLE, SUBSTANTIATED, and OBJECTIVE information to consumers (web site clients) in a way that is straightforward and easy to understand. It is evident that the author has INSIGHTFUL and RELEVANT professional experience with the subjects of web design, search engines, web usability, and marketing. Probably the most significant detail, however, is the simplicity with which these topics are conveyed in plain language (no computer jargon) so that non-technical business people can understand what they need to know. This USER-FRIENDLY book is a worthwhile resource for both the web site customer AND the web site professional.

As such, I have been successful in fulfilling two clients' needs by simply bookmarking a section of the book and asking them to read it. In short order, their questions were satisfied, saving everyone time and money in the consulting process. I will be keeping my copy of this book close at hand in my future consultations. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that every web site shopper reads it, and that every web site professional references it to their clients.

Jeff Pitzer

Reference: Website 411: Business Survival in the Internet Economy

A beautiful job of encouraging us Moms to continue to pray through every area of our children's and then grandchildren's lives, opening the floodgates of heaven upon their hearts and lives!
I have seen God's power and blessing, deliverance and goodness as never before ever since I daily started praying over and for my own children! (Especially PRAYING GOD'S WORD, the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT!) AND IT ENCOURAGES THEIR FAITH TO HEAR THE PRAYERS!
I myself was a prodigal child and had a committed Grandmother who faithfully prayed with her prayer groups; now my Mom, Dad, aunts and uncles, cousins, and I (and my husband) are all walking in joyful relationships with the LORD, as are my Dad and all 5 of my children (along with the rest of almost all her great-grandchildren children, so far)!
ONE PRAYING MOM/GRANDMOTHER WILL IMPACT THE ENTIRE FAMILY & GENERATIONS TO COME!
We can't leave our children out there and expect God's goodness to just happen upon them, GOD desires us to ask, seek & knock, that not only does He bless and keep them, but He blesses and transforms the "pray-er".
I was especially encouraged as she brought out all the different areas of prayer, with daily and weekly focuses, not leaving out friends, schools and the rest of the generations that need our prayers for REVIVAL, because they need more than ever>>>the Power, Presence and Protection of our Almighty God!
And the section regarding prayer in agreement, in groups is especially encouraging when going through seasons of "waiting" in prayer! We are usually not the willing ones to have to wait, and not until we've been encouraged and prayed through our wait do we usually see how God was making the stage larger while we waited, drawing us and others deeper into Himself, and all around He receives more glory. There are times in some of our children's lives it will imperative to have godly support and help from those who've been there and done that! If we're keeping them in daily prayer, there will be alot less "911" prayers that need to go up, and alot more praises, as you read you will be encouraged to faithfully pray>>YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE In THE LIVES FOR WHICH YOU PRAY!! (Don't forget future friends and spouses either!!)
Wonderful book, KEEP ON PRAYIN!!
TAMMY M PRICE/AUTHOR:
Alphabet Prayers: The Power of Praying Scripture into the Hearts You Love
40 Day Journey to the Heart of God
PRAYING GOD'S WORD for the WORLD-Lighting Pathways of Blessing!

I expected this book to be more for moms of younger children, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book was very applicable to moms like me who have older children.

Cheri tells of other mothers throughout history who prayed about situations their children encountered which are so similar to the problems of the youth today - and these women were the mothers of Augustine and Hudson Taylor!

I thought Cheri's suggested schedule of what to pray for on which days of the week was very helpful. She has many ideas which will give you ideas of your own.

She includes many scriptures to look up and use in your own prayers for your children. Her chapter on waiting was especially good, I thought!

There is a chapter on praying for prodigals and another about praying for grandchildren, so if you are a mom, this book is for you!

Thanks Cheri, for another great book on prayer.

My only suggestion would be for the author to include her email address so those of us who would like email her to tell her how much we enjoyed her book could do so!

Being a new mom myself, I am thrilled to find a book that will help me to pray over my child. It lets me know that I have a lot of power in my daughter's life as a prayer warrior for her. It is a very uplifting book and I love to read it right before bed to help me cover my daughter in prayer.

Cheri Fuller leads her reader through many different aspects and levels of praying for ones child/ren. Her book brings into focus the special relationship between God and Mothers and how we must allow God to do his part without our holding him back.

By stepping back and letting God do His will, we not only set our children free, we set ourselves free from the constant pressure to control situations that were God's to control to begin with!

Cheri's statement ("Effectual prayer means being completely committed to God's will. The prayer that brings results--that is great in its power--is one where we don't give God the answers...") couldn't be more true!

I highly recommend this book to Mothers of ALL ages!!!

One of the best things we can do for our children is to pray consistently and specifically for them. Cheri's "When Mothers Pray" comes alongside the mother and encourages her to pray through all the ups and downs--throughout a lifetime, even into the grandparenting years. I highly recommend this book.

I like the book, having skimmed my way through most of it, but I wish I didn't have to buy it. In other words, I wish I didn't own Vista Home Premium SP1. This piece of Sh_t has BSOD crashed more times in the 6 weeks I've used it than in the 3 years I used XP Pro SP2. The book warned me that Vista doesn't handle USB external HDDs well, & it is true. I rip my CDs to an external HDD. Rips fine. When I try to shut down Windows Media Player 11, I get a BSOD "IRQL_Not_Less_Than_Zero" error (or something like that...), crash then a reboot that never reboots. I have to shut the power off, then go through the whole "Windows did not start correctly" BS. I'm getting an Apple....

Windows Vista holds many annoyances for users and has many quirks stemming from bad design, so having WINDOWS VISTA ANNOYANCES in a developer or web applications collections is an important key to successfully using the system and working around common issues. From customizing Explorer and managing Vista's Registry options to optimizing the PC and using it to work a network, WINDOWS VISTA ANNOYANCES is packed with tips on how to make it work efficiently and well. Highly recommended as a methodical, practical series of applied steps and insights.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

For the advanced user, this book is a gold mine of information! I've bought half a dozen books on Vista, and this is the one that turned out to be actually quite useful. (The others, although quite thick, still mostly just cover basic stuff I already know.)

Sometimes, a book in the Annoyances series is one that you can use to fine-tune an application you use often. And then there's this one... Windows Vista Annoyances by David A. Karp. Regardless of whether you hate Vista or think it's the best Windows OS out there, you'll be finding useful and applicable tips on every other page here. Vista is just tailor-made for a book like this, and Karp takes full advantage of the opportunities.

Contents:
Get Started with Windows Vista: Editions of Vista; Install Windows Vista; Migration to Windows Vista
Shell Tweaks: Customize Windows Explorer; Working with Files and Folders
The Registry: The Registry Editor; Structure of the Registry; Registry Tasks and Tools; File Type Associations
Working with Media: Playing Video; Handling Online Video; Sound and Music; Photos, Pictures, Images; Media Center Annoyances; CD and DVD Drives
Performance: Trim the Fat; Make Your Hardware Perform; Hard Disk
Troubleshooting: Crashes and Error Messages; Dealing with Drivers and Other Tales of Hardware Troubleshooting; Preventative Maintenance and Data Recovery
Networking and Internet: Build Your Network; Internet Me; Secure Your Networked PC; Web and Email
Users and Security: Manage User Accounts; Permissions and Security; Logon and Profile Options; Share Files and Printers
Scripting and Automation: Windows Script Host; build a VBScript Script; Object References; Wacky Script Ideas; Command Prompt Scripting; Windows PowerShell
BIOS Settings
TCP/IP Ports
Index

When I bought my new laptop , it came loaded with Vista. Since it was pretty early in the Vista release cycle, I thought it would be good to learn it since adoption would be widespread in a short period of time. Yeah, right. Vista turned into one of the most annoying operating experiences of my life. Slow performance, endless "do you really want to..." dialog boxes, reboot times that took forever... While you can't get rid of the overall pain of Vista (unless you "upgrade" to XP or a Mac), you can use Karp's information to lessen the daily headaches. For instance, he takes you into the Performance Options settings to help you figure out what eye candy you can live without so that you actually get work done. He shows you how to tweak the registry to eliminate the menu opening delay. He also goes into some depth on how to get Vista set up to greatly reduce the start-up time (and that's a MAJOR accomplishment). And that's just a fraction of what you'll find here that will find immediate application in your life with Vista.

It's always a good thing to get a decent reference guide to the major software packages in your life. Vista is no exception. But there's a few packages where you need someone to tell you how to *live* with the less-than-stellar results on your screen. Vista's the poster child for that. Windows Vista Annoyances should be *very* close at hand as you work with the operating system. Assuming you haven't already switched to something else...

The XP version of this book (Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks) by the same author, had Appendix A (Setting Locator) covering 700+ individual XP settings and showed how to drop down through the menus to get to the respective setting/s. This was (and still is) of tremendous benefit to me.

The Vista book (Windows Vista Annoyances) does NOT have this Appendix and it is a major ommission, IMO.

Bazza

I enjoyed reading this book, and caught myself chuckling all the way through. Even though it's written with women in mind, it gives excellent advice for men as well as women and gives examples for why they advise it. I'd suggest it highly for men, women or teenagers who are interested in meeting people online. Great advice and with the space where you can write in your own information, it's easy to apply. I especially enjoyed the analyzing sample letters section.Too Cute!

From "The Bookwatch," a review from the MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW,

"Wired Not Weird incorporates personal anecdotes, a hefty dose of common sense, and simple, easy-to-understand advice and strategies about what to expect, what to stay away from, and what to say or not say during the first meeting in person....highly entertaining, with plenty of appraising observations to carefully consider--even if you're not interested in using the Internet to find love."

Wired Not Weird is very well written; clear, concise, organized. I found it easy to read, understand and apply. This book gave me the courage to venture onto the web in search of that special someone! So far I've corresponded with several intriguing men and have actually met and dated someone very special! I'll be sending copies to all my single friends for Christmas this year!

THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW'S publication "The Bookwatch"
praises WIRED NOT WEIRD,A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO DATING ONLINE.

"Wired Not Weird incorporated personal anecdotes, a hefty dose of common sense, and simple, easy-to-understand advice and strageties about what to expect, what to stay away from, and what to say or not say during the first meeting in person...highly entertaining, with plenty of of appraising observations to carefully consider..."

Wired Not Weird: A Woman's Guide To Dating Online begins with a ominous disclaimer: the reader must assume all responsibility for personal decisions or actions, regardless of whether they are influenced by reading this book. It is an unfortunate consequence of our unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, and unquestionably litigious society that such a warning must be so boldly declared, but the disclaimer also doubles as sound advice for life in general. Wired Not Weird dares to tackle a subject that is at best made light of in vapid comedy movies, at worst demonized with horror stories: online dating. Collaboratively written by Christy Clement and Kay McLean as a guide specifically for women, Wired Not Weird incorporates personal anecdotes, a hefty dose of common sense, and simple, easy-to-understand advice and strategies about what to expect, what to stay away from, and what to say or not say during the first meeting in person. Wired Not Weird's suggestions are also directly relevant to placing personal ads in the newspapers, which is basically the low-tech local equivalent of using the Internet to look for a date. Wired Not Weird is highly entertaining, with plenty of appraising observations to carefully consider -- even if you're not interested in using the Internet to find love.

First I should say that I HATE Word. So does Word annoy me? Obviously. However, I'm forced to use Word at work and am struggling with it each and every day and swearing at MS. I thought this book would help and it does. It's a very well written book that is easy to understand. The author is an expert in Word simply from having to use it for years and has figured it all out himself. Instead of being the typical manual that says do this/do that, the author has written it almost in the style of a FAQ, but in organized sections to make it easier to find answers. The author uses some amount of humour - statements like: will Word do that? No, get over it. Would I say that this book solved all my annoyances? No. But it certainly reduced the number of them. If you are completely annoyed with Word, switch to a different program. If you have to use Word, buy this book, it's worth every penny.

If you've ever said-even under your breath-"I hate Word," you'll like this book.

The book has answers for dozens of the little aggravations that Word visits upon you. It solves things you thought you just had to live with (though you knew you'd never forgive the programmers at Microsoft who made them this way).

The author writes in an engaging question- ("The Annoyance" by you) and-answer ("The Fix" by him) style that's friendly and yet precise. I would have liked it to be a bit less wordy, but it's okay because the directions are very clear and even, in many cases, contain version-specific instructions for Word 2000, 2003, XP and so on. He also sprinkles the text with occasional helpful tips in little text boxes.

Lots of documents you open frequently? The author shows you how to add a Work menu that will keep up to 9 documents readily available (p. 16). Hate it when Word won't let you put a .jpg or .gif in a document? You can change an option in the Office Setup Wizard. Want to unclutter your menus? Learn how to customize which commands show up.

Boy, this one really annoys me-how about you? Sometimes when I close Word, it asks me if I want to save the changes to Normal.dot. Now, I happen to know that Normal.dot is the default template for new documents. But I don't remember making changes to it! Why is this happening?
To kill this seemingly random prompt, choose Tools -> Options, click Save tab and uncheck "Prompt to save Normal template" box (pp. 9, 14). But it might still happen to you for other reasons-the only solution they say is to quit Word and restart Windows. Sigh.
That #$%^&@# Task Pane

This one I was paying my tech guru to fix for me-but he couldn't find the "next step." I gave up worrying about it but continued wasting time (and putting extra stress on my mouse hand) having to manually close the "new document" task pane that pops up-and stays up-on my screen, hogging valuable screen space. We'd both found the place to supposedly turn this off (Tools -> Options, click the View tab, uncheck the Startup Task Pane box in the Show area, click OK) but, as the author says, it just wouldn't obey! So I'm going to give you this whole fix in case that stupid pane annoys you, too.
If the task pane doesn't obey on your first effort, close Word and create a system restore point. Don't be afraid-this isn't as scary as it sounds. Choose Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore, click the "Create a restore point" option, click the Next button and follow the prompts.Next, choose Start -> Run, type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following Registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\General (in some versions it may read "...\Office\10.0\..."). Then, right-click the DoNotDismissFileNewTaskPane key, choose Delete from the shortcut menu and click OK to confirm. Choose File -> Exit to close the Registry Editor. Restart Word and you're done. This works like a charm, and I'm thoroughly delighted.

Template magic

Here's a really good tip if your work involves creating many documents of certain basic types, or if you work with others who have to create documents for you that use specific styles. Too bad I didn't read this one before that last big project-I spent hours manually correcting all the headings and fonts in the other writers' drafts because they didn't know how to use styles!

To create a template for each type of document you need, choose File -> New and in that task pane on the right that we mentioned earlier, click either "On my computer" (Word 2003) or "General templates" (Word XP). Up comes the Templates dialog box. (In Word 2000, choose File -> New to get there.)

Highlight an existing template, click Template at the bottom, and click OK. Save the .dot file with a name you'll remember. Then lay out and format the document (fonts, headings, etc.) as you want all final documents to appear. You can even enter text that you want to have in all documents based on this template.

You can create AutoText and AutoCorrect entries for boilerplate text (your company info, etc.) that doesn't specifically belong in any template. Save the changes to the template and then close it. To create a new document based on the template, open the Templates or New dialog box, select the template and click OK.

To create a template from an existing document, choose File -> Save As, select Document Template in the "Save as type" drop-down list, specify the name and click the Save button. Templates and documents look pretty much the same except for the file extension.
File gigantic?

Ever had your file be too big to send by email-even after you've deleted everything but a paragraph? That's enough to make you crazy. The author goes into a long-drawn-out explanation of why this happens-get the book if you want to read it. Otherwise, just turn off the culprit (fast saving). Choose Tools -> Options, click the Save tab and uncheck the "Allow fast saves" box.

Got a bunch of documents open and want to save them all? Shift-click the File menu and click Save All. Then, to close them shift-click File and click Close All. Easier yet (as you may already have discovered from having to shut down because Word just hangs there), just close Word and it saves and closes all your documents for you.

Home document security

Ever notice in Windows Explorer that someone else originated one of your documents? Maybe you asked your friend to help you draft something. If you want to be sure the other person's name doesn't appear when you move your cursor over that document in Explorer, remove the personal data (metadata) from the document.

Choose File -> Properties and manually delete what you want. In Word 2003/XP, choose Tools -> Options, click the Security tab and check the "Remove personal information from file properties on save" box. Then, save the document to preserve your changes.
HTML malfunctions

Writing HTML pages in Word? First piece of advice, don't-if you can help it. Word's HTML code is so wordy and clunky that your page will take longer to load and, heaven help you if you want to make changes outside Word. You'll be trying to change a font and end up with some of the strangest behaviors.

If you must use Word for HTML, save as "Web Page, Filtered" for pages you want to put on your web site. That cuts out a small amount of the messy code, but not much.
Potpourri of pleasantries

Want to stop those ridiculous "Shall we report this error to Microsoft" prompts? Who crammed all that useless code in there anyway? Just turn it off. You'll find out how on p. 30.

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm pasting from the web the formatting is way off, even if I should accidentally remember to use Paste Special. The author tells us how to fix this-sort of. Choosing Edit -> Paste Special and selecting the "Unformatted text" option should give you plain text. If not, paste the text into Notepad first, then copy it and paste it into Word.

Ever get something someone copied from an email and it's full of spaces or >> signs at the beginning of each paragraph with a first-line indent? I knew this, but it's a good tip to share with you in case you don't.

Use Find and Replace. In a later fix he tells you all the symbols to indicate formatting in this dialog box. Replace ^p (paragraph mark) and four spaces with ^p and a distinctive string - for example, ^pfirstlineindent. Then replace firstlineindent with nothing but the paragraph formatting that you need: delete the contents of the "Replace with" box, choose Paragraph in the Format drop-down list, specify the indentation level, click OK and click Replace All. (Alternatively, once you've deleted the whitespace, you can use a style to apply a first-line indent to all of the paragraphs.
Learn how to reformat WordPerfect documents on pp. 32, 78.

Here's a big question for most of us I bet: How do I correct automatic numbering in numbered lists? You know you're not going to be happy with the answer when a guy starts his response with "Bad news" and it's four pages long (pp. 80 to 84).

Do you ever get aggravated that when you're selecting text with the mouse, it keeps grabbing more than you want? The author says this is Word's smart-selection feature.

Choose Tools -> Options, click the Edit tab and see whether "When selecting, automatically select entire word" and "Use smart paragraph selection" boxes are checked. If so, try unchecking them and see if you prefer the resulting selection behavior.
Do you have to count your words sometimes? I like this one: Instead of using Tools -> Word Count each time, do this: Display the Word Count toolbar; go to View -> Toolbars or right-click any displayed toolbar and click the Word Count item. To force a recount, press Alt + C or click the Recount button.

Sometimes have to type web or email addresses and don't want the auto-hyperlink? Read all about it on p. 94.

I've never been good at using Compare and Merge Documents-like when someone else has made changes and you want to see where they are. Here's a cool tip for comparing multiple versions:

Open the original version and choose Tools -> Compare and Merge Documents. In the Compare and Merge Documents dialog box, select the first of the other versions of the document, click the drop-down arrow on the Merge button, and choose "Merge into Current Document." Word merges the documents and marks the changes with revision marks. If the results look okay, repeat the procedure with the next version, etc.
Hate how Word's columns act when you need to change the width of one of them? Try clicking Shift as you drag it. This makes Word keep the columns to the right the same, but it does mean that your table's overall width will change.

How do I convert a long list of names or other data that are separated with regular old spaces instead of tabs? He says it's easy.

Choose Edit -> Replace and replace ^w (whitespace) with ^t (a tab). Select the list, choose Table -> Convert -> Text to Table, make sure the Tabs option is selected and that the "Number of columns" box shows the right number of columns, and click the OK button to perform the conversion.
All told, I'd say get this book if you experience periodic aggravations with Word. Don't try to go through the whole thing. The index is pretty good, so just keep it next to your computer.

When it comes to word processing programs Word is so predominant in the marketplace as to be ubiquitous. Unfortunately just because it is everywhere doesn't mean that there are not a lot of problems with it. Learning how to deal with all those annoying problems is the purpose of this book. The author covers installation problems, dealing with multiple versions, moving Word to another computer, dealing with long startup times, when it runs slowly, when it takes a long time to close, modifying the toolbar, saving all open documents at once, keeping separate versions of the same document, dealing with crashes and document corruption, transferring your auto-correct entries to another computer, the myriad problems of working with styles and layouts, printing problems (and there are many of these), mail merge, and even dealing with problems specific to the Mac OS.

Written in a question and answer format it contains all the most commonly asked questions about how to get Word to work the way you want. I've worked with Word for years and still found a couple of tips in this book that I really appreciated. If you use Word for anything other than an expanded notepad you will want a copy of Word Annoyances.

This book is a guide to making Word work your way. Users are advised on how to get rid of Word's greatest annoyances, such creating hyperlinks the user doesn't want, and how to turn off automatic paragraph numbering, among others. It provides solutions to common and unusual problems in editing, formatting, printing, faxing, and scanning. There are hundreds of customizations, fixes, workarounds, and instructions which show you how to make Word work your way. You can save a lot of time by using the advice in this book.

Because I spend most of my time programming and not writing reports and such in Word, I just figure that certain quirks of Word existed because I was too dumb to know better. While that may still be the case, I now have a way to make my Word time more productive and less annoying... Word Annoyances by Guy Hart-Davis. This is a *really* good book for anyone who uses Word (although Microsoft may tend to disagree)...

Contents: Installation, Repair, and Configuration; Creating and Saving Documents; Text Entry and Editing; Formatting and Layout; Forms, Revising, Proofing, and Finalizing; Printing, Faxing, and Scanning; Tables, Columns, and Text Boxes; Automate Annoyances Away with Macros; OLE, Mail Merge, and Office Applications; Mac Word Annoyances; Index

If you've never had the pleasure of reading an Annoyances book before, here's how it works. The author gathers up a large number of questions and "annoyances" from regular users of the product. Then in an irreverent question and answer format, he (or she) proceeds to show solutions and workarounds to allow the reader to bypass those irritations. Since this book deals with Word, you'll learn all sorts of interesting stuff on how to "fix" auto-formatting, how to change your default template, and dozens of other gems that will quickly make this one of your favorite Office books (much to Microsoft's chagrin). I'm sure they'd like you to believe that their software doesn't have any annoying features, and that everything is very helpful and well-implemented. Not! Even things that I didn't give a second thought to before now stand out as things I don't have to live with.

Obviously, not every tip in this book will apply to your needs or situations. You'll either never use a particular feature, or you've already figured out how to fix the behavior. But there are far more instances where you'll say "so *that's* how you get rid of that!". So get a copy of this book, sit down in front of your computer, open up Word, and start reading. The "Eureka!" moments will start coming fast and furious...

Pretty much what I was looking for. Relatively thin book packed with 'to the point' info, with mostly unambigious explanation. Have not found any printing mistakes yet.
Money's worth.

I knew a little about XML before reading this book, but nothing in-depth. I've been a software developer for years however, so I didn't want a basics book, but something that covered the subject quickly and in depth. After reading the other reviews I bought this book and was not disappointed. I was particularly interested in XML Schema and XSLT, and this book does an excellent job with both. I'm not sure you can find a more thorough reference outside the standards documents themselves. Datatypes, restrictions, defining complex types--I use this book for XML Schema like I use K&R for C programming. Note that this book has almost no coverage of subjects outside the W3C standards, such as the different types of validating tools and parsers or other XML schema languages such as RELAXNG from Oasis. You will have to go elsewhere for a fuller understanding of the entire 'XML Universe'. The only real gripe I have with this book is its constant use of Microsoft in the examples, which grates on this long-time Linux user. Of course, its from Microsoft Press, so what can you expect. Fortunately XML itself is non-OS specific, so nothing in this book is really Microsoft-centric. All in all, a great reference.

If you are a knowledgable IT professional and need to either learn XML or increase your knowledge quickly, this book is for you. Complete, fast-paced, no dead wood, and designed with the busy IT professional in mind. It reminds me of the Wrox "Handbook" series.

It's 370 pages but half-size, so equivalent to a normal-size 185-page book. Best book purchase I've made all year. Weird for an MSPress book to be so good :-)

Take the hint, MS Press... make all of your books like this!

I seldom award five stars but this book deserves it. If you can only buy one XML reference book, buy this one; if you have XML books that you're not satisfied with, buy this one: The XML Pocket Consultant is *the* XML "sleeper" title.

In my mind, I've retitled the XML Pocket Consultant "The XML Comprehensive Quick Reference." The book presents every aspect of XML and related technologies in a clear, crisp, understandable style. The book's excellent content is augmented by a professionally crafted visual style (page layout, whitespace, typeface, headings, list construction, examples) that facilitates information access and transfer; I mention this because too many books of this type look like they were designed and produced using consumer-level desktop publishing software.

I'm not normally this enthusiastic about a book, but The XML Pocket Consultant is truly a treasure: It's the single most useful, helpful, 5.5" x 8" x 1.2" compendium of XML information I've so far found.

"XML Pocket Consultant" is the best XML book on the market. It is really worth every penny. This book is packed with useful information. My biggest disappointment is that I had such a hard time find the book. For anyone wanting to learn XML, XSL, XPath this is the book I recommend.

I have lived in difference places as a student and working adult across three continents and I was lucky enough that I could also live in NYC for a few years. The longer I live in busy cities and traveled the largest mega-centers on this planet the more I got into the sustainable, holistic view of life and needless to say the ultimate appreciation of environmental awareness.

I am not an Internet geek or professional, but understand the impact of the Net, at least I had thought so far. 8W8 - Global Space Tribes has made me feel part of something bigger, something global, and something total- and given me a certain sense of connection. In the past I surfed more like I read. Now I surf like I create and innovate. Hirt's story is developing comprehensively and comes from so many angles that it is hard to believe it does not get lost on its journey. The answer to this phenomena is 8W8, the world modeling engine envisioned and programmed by the fabulous members of the Internet think tank The Golden Sky. Understanding marketing a little from my business administration course - so far so good what the segmentation and fragmentation of the digital age is concerned, but embedding this in subjectively defined formulas allowing to quantify whatever I want to visualize has blown my mind away. I surf and I do. I model and I see. I see and I act. I act and I create. Thing is after having read and in fact enjoyed 8W8 - Global Space Tribes I do many things in a more thought through way and more powerfu. Everyone participating in the world of the Global Space tribes is part of this great evolution of moving the action up to where we connect and build. I have hooked up, baby! I want to create green awareness. Yes, we can.

Fantastic. Highly recommended.

from the i-tribe generation.

It needed me a little while to figure out where this book actually fits in right from the beginning, but some how I was curious to get a copy as the promise was tempting. I liked it a lot, especially that in theory a very abstract topic has been embedded in a story that actually could be true. I have been to quite some think tanks myself and obviously traveled. You always come across interesting characters and Hirt's Golden Sky reflects those very nicely. The background of the individuals hardly leaves any diversity missing. Whether they are from business, finance, medicine or a musician, from the US, Germany or Brazil, male or female, gay, parents, singles, entrepreneurs or non-profit, Hirt packed it all in. He had to I reckon ... Thus the Golden Sky could develop this world modeling engine 8W8 that I wonder nobody before has considered doing or at least not to my knowledge. The location the event is happening, EA-RA, seems to be the best I could imagine. What a place and I would have loved to be a guest there, too, not only to enjoy Madam Chee's cooking and creatively designed menus. Frankly, it needed me some thinking to arrive from chicken soup to the volumized world of 8W8 - Global Space Tribes, but now I have arrived at the books destiny of a totally fragmented world, broken down to the personal DNA's and elements of the world, all connected, then visualized for each unique participant and beholder. This is much better than any conventional business, Internet or globalization book. It is a comprehensive read and good fun. What else do you want?

Awesome. Love it! Well, this was quite an interesting read. I am not sure if I had ever read a book before that takes so many aspects of current hot topics into account by at the same time bringing it all together. I have to admit I had to think quite a bit when reading it, but the more I got into the concept of the world modeling engine 8W8 and how the Golden Sky internet think-tank developed it, the more I got excited about seeing the invisible state of the world and subsequent scenarios. Living in New York City myself I appreciate the diversity of the characters involved. Actually, I will read this book on the plane again. Wanna see what OK Fellow can see!

As an entrepreneur in the field of information technology I was absolutely stunned and excited after reading this novel written by Ralf Hirt: with his very clear picture of what's next and the impact of web business and each online users participation 8W8 - Global Space Tribes goes much beyond the "World is Flat" idea. Therefore I would rate this book as the eligible successor, which also is the unique crystal ball for all those who want to visualize today and the near future.
I wish I could play around with the Golden Sky's 8W8 web application combining Hirt's ideas with a HUUGE user & data network on the backend as well as my own views and opinions...

Wow! For someone like me who could never get into technical articles and books about the Internet, Ralf Hirt's 8W8 Global Space Tribes is as refreshing as a cool breeze in Death Valley.

I found myself thinking I was one of the characters in the novel waking up in EA-RA and sitting down for breakfast wondering what new insights digital or otherwise waited to be revealed to me that day. It made me think what different ideas I might have come up with if I had been sitting down at the table with the Golden Skyers.

I read 8W8 on a flight from New York City to LA. I was doing the Okay Fellow trip in reverse. It was almost spooky as when I began looking down and trying to put myself in his position. I began wondering what it was that I was seeing. All of a sudden, I realized that I had always had a nagging feeling that what I had been seeing wasn't really what it appeared to be. By the time we circled in from the ocean into LAX, I had stopped thinking LA as a basin and, instead, I was seeing it as a huge mountain with a large base rising higher than Everest. I remember thinking it was a good thing that the pilot was back in Web 2, because we might have crashed right into that mountain.

Before 8W8, I had never understood the future of the Internet so clearly and what it meant to me personally or the world in particular.

R. Arnold