Software Books

PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

Texts, tables and charts that make my CPA's and Attorney's wonder who did my business plan!

Tim Berry has purchased three of my business plans for publishing in his Business Plan Pro software system and this book comes with that plan.

If you buy the software at Staples or Best Buy, you'll find this excellent book inside. It is amazing at helping you develop a concise plan!

I needed to write a business plan for a service organization. Since it was back in 1988 when I wrote my last one, I bought six books on the subject. One was absolutely useless, two were written by people who had obviously never operated a company, which suggests to be careful when buying books on the subject. One was ok, one reasonably good, and Berry's was the best of all of them, though not perfect. At least it caused me to think like an investor who reads the plan before giving his money to people who he doesn't know from Adam.

This book was pretty good. It is currently in its 5th edition, and acts as a marketing tool for the author's software called Business Plans Pro. In fact, this book comes free with the software if you purchase it. Personally, I am not a fan of business plan software because I think it allows the user to think of a business plan as artwork rather than a research paper assignment. But that's just me.

As business plan books go, this is a good one. It is well outlined, well written, and informative. It includes the following six parts:

1. Fundamentals
2. Tell Your Story
3. Gathering Information
4. Forecasting
5. Financial Analysis
6. Strategy and Tactics

It also includes two sample business plans, a workbook for helping to prepare a business plan, and a glossary of business plan terms. I especially liked the price since I found it as a free download off the Internet last week. 3.2 MB in size, but the price was right.

Anyway, I had a few problems with the book. Business plans are supposed to be handbooks that tell entrepreneurs how to turn their business models on paper into business models functioning in the real world. And a business model is a profit model that is a system that allows the business owner to extract cash from her customers while creating a profit that she can live on. Anybody in business knows that if they don't have customers, then they don't have a business. And anybody who stays in business knows that they have to have a sound marketing plan that finds prospects for their business that can be converted into customers. This book is lacking because it does not cover how to research a marketing plan or to write one. For me, this was a BIG problem.

Funny thing is that at Figure 12-1 in the book there is a sample Marketing Expense Budget. Why did the author include this exhibit without explaining somewhere in the book how to write a marketing plan. Since the author included this exhibit it seems clear to me the author knows a marketing plan is necessary and required. At Chapter 17 there is about a page devoted to "promotion strategies." But this was just too little and too late to keep me happy.

The author also asserts at various places in the book that a business plan is not the most important requirement for starting a business. He says customers are. I strongly disagree. What comes first: the business plan or the customer? I assert the plan does! Without the plan there never will be a customer. But overall, I liked the book, and it's better than just OK. 4 stars!

This was a very easy and clear read. The best book on business planning that I have ever read. It's refreshing to know that you don't need a MBA to read and write a clear business plan. Great examples and figures throughout.

This is the most pragmatic, easy to understand, and easy to follow book for creating a business plan I have found yet. "Hurdle" is designed for those that want to benefit from what a business plan can offer their business. The chapter "About Business Numbers" is the best I have read to understand the numbers behind a business and how they relate to the business plan. A quick read, a great resource, and a sound business investment. After reading "Hurdle", I wouldn't plan without it.

The only C# book that I have two of...
One at home...
One at work...

You will probably need a more basic book if you are a beginer.
But I would make this my second book.

If you are coming over from C++, then make this
your first book on C#

This book is one of the worlds best kept secrets on
learning C#. I'm lucky that I took a chance on it.

Not only are the visuals great, but the selection of topics are great also.

Explains more or less basic features but does it in such a way as to stick in your head (Like Head First series claim, but this is done in a way that I prefer).

Even know I am a seasoned programmer, I still highly recommend this to novice and above for reference. Apress is starting to become my favorite programming publisher....

Wow, I just read half of this book. I never wrote a book review before. I don't know what say. I was so suprised. It is just so GOOD!!! I have read several other highly rated C# books before. But none of these book can give me so clear explanation like this book does. It solved many of my misunderstandings of a lot of concepts by giving simple examples with visual figures.

Probably my favorite programming book that I've read to date. I read it completely in two nights, it's just incredibly engaging (as nerdy as that sounds). I just like the way this author explains things. It's like you're sitting with a friend of yours that just tells you what you need to know in a very clear no-nonsense way. This is the very best book to learn C#. It is especially helpful for people coming from a Java or C++ background.

I purchased this book about a few weeks ago for roughly $40 inlcuding postage. A few days later the price dropped to $12 and some stores are selling the book at around $8.... l0l

Suppose you knew nothing of automobiles and wanted to know how they worked. A book using this author's approach would first tell you about every kind of screw in the automobile, it's exact size, material, thread count per inch, and type. Chapter 2 would tell you about the nuts into which the screws would be placed. Even for an experienced programmer, this book will tell you all about the trees, but very little about the forest. Why three stars:
because it's an excellent reference text about the language, clear and thorough.

This is the C# book that I always keep next to me. If I am unsure about some type of class, delegates, interfaces, etc. I open up this book and get right up to speed. While concise, Dan leaves nothing out in terms of details required for effective C# programming.

The LINQ coverage is outstanding! It is so good that I hope Dan does an entire book on the subject. His mastery of informative graphics would be an ideal format for help to save us T-SQL hacks from having to stand on our heads to get at LINQ.

I highly recommend this book.

You will not read a better book on C#.

The first edition (2005) was great, this one is even better.

If you only get two books on C# then this should be one of them.

But, if you only buy one book... :) then get this one.

Sorry this review is short on content, but the other reviewer will bring you up to speed. (just the ones with 5 stars)

The 2008 version vs 2005 version

It includes a new chapter on asynchronous programming using delegates.
It includes a new chapter on the new LINQ features.

One small down side in the 2005 version (not sure about the 2008 version)

The author states that fields should begin with upper case letters and local variable begin with lower case. In 2005 chapter on Methods, the author makes the mistake of using upper case for local variables...

This may have been corrected in 2008 version.

I now have 4 books on C# and this is by far the best (at least for me). The material is well organized with consice, well thought out explanations. In addition, the figures add a great deal of to clarify the text. To me, this book was written to inform.

As I usually make numerous notes this book fits my needs very well with an ample amount of white space.

Thanks to Daniel Solis.

If you are like me, typically when I read a programming book or article, I feel compelled to download the code, and modify it slightly in order for the content to really "sink in". Remarkably, while reading this book, I rarely felt that to be necessary, as his code examples often fully "illustrated" the topic. The result was that I was able to read this book quickly, 2-3 chapters per sitting.

I feel coverage of the main C# topics was excellent, as well as the order they were presented. His chapters on delegates, interfaces, and LINQ were especially good, with very little wasted time delving into esoteric areas that might be interesting, but not very useful. The only negative feedback I would offer is that occasionally topics were addressed to a general programming newbie audience, but I just skimmed those.

In summary, my kudos to author Dan Solis, it's a terrific book!

There are many books about the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and how to put it in place, but this one is SPECIAL. Fundamentally, It is:
- Concise the main body is under 150 pages, including diagrams and tables)
- To the point (it wastes no time delving in the details of RUP concepts for which there already are many good references)
- Practical (It deals with the realities of championing and managing RUP adoption in a real commercial environment, NOT what you might do in an academic setting)
- Comprehensive (It addresses the strategic, financial, and political aspects of the task, not merely the technical aspects)

It also provides a critical benefit over other comparable books, namely a strategy to deal with a problem that has plagued RUP throughout its existense: Its size and complexity.
Although there is consensus in the software industry that you cannot turn a novice organization into a mature RUP outfit in one fell swoop, very little is said on how to scale and evolve expectations over time, from conducting successful pilots, to disseminating the method across the entire organization, on to growing the organization through graduated maturity levels of adoption. This books fills that gap.

Two "caveat" worth mentioning:
1- This book assumes that you are an experienced RUP practioner and consequently says very little in the way of RUP concepts
2- This book is (mercifully) short which is absolutely necessary to NOT put the reader to sleep. As a result, while it provides a clear and concrete picture of the adoption process, it does not "dot all the i's" nor "cross all the t's". In other words, after you read this book, you will have a clear idea of the road ahead, but it will take ample effort to get yourself to the point where you can walk it ... blindfolded.

Implementing process in a large organization is a huge challenge not just technically but socially. Joshua Barnes gets this, "people are slow to change and react to change in different ways". His book should be required reading for anyone working to improve process efficiency and effectiveness.

The number one reason process adoption projects fail is because there isn't visible support from upper management. Barnes's book focuses on ROI at every step and wages the key arguements to gain the support from both the top and the roots. His guidance also outlines a model to support the change so that process improvement lasts and continues, instead of people reverting back to old practices.

As this book states, leading a RUP implementation without the right subject matter expertise significantly limits your odds of success. I am currently working with Joshua on a large scale RUP/Rational Tool implementation and experienced life before and after having the right knowledge on-board. Joshua has guided multiple large scale implementations and has brought his accumulated base of implementation knowledge and lessons learned to bear. Joshua's book contains much of what he has learned and is an excellent handbook if you are planning to or are currently running a RUP / Rational Tool implementation of your very own.

There are many books out there on USING the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and the tools. However, guidance on IMPLEMENTING a methodology across an enterprise and how to achieve ROI with tools has not been readily available. Over the years I have seen organizations filled with RUP gurus and tools experts still fail in their Rational rollout, and unfortunately they often retreat to their previous chaotic process or lack thereof. As well, organizations struggle to make their ROI and capability & maturity improvements quantifiable.

This book provides tools, complete with real examples, to create a business case for RUP and productivity tools, shows how to increase capability through a structured mentoring program, and most importantly, how to assess your results to ensure your implementation is on track.

I, like Joshua, teach courses on implementing RUP and the tools. This book is clearly now THE reference text for my students.

This book is a must have for anyone implementing the RUP. It hits on a lot of key pieces of the puzzle that go far beyond the configuration of process material and process instancing.

One chapter I found invaluable is the chapter on mentoring. In my personal experiencing training alone has never been enough when trying to adopt the RUP. This chapter finally put into words for me what I have been trying to communicate to a lot of companies. I now have a place to refer them when I am trying to make my point.

Another chapter was the one on tooling. This is overlooked a lot. Making sure you have the tooling to support your process in an absolute must and this book brings that to light.

The book also comes with downloadable tools that make the practices in the book a reality. They add the value of making this a real world book, verses an academic view of process implementation.

This book was definitely worth getting.

This is the best max/Viz book I have used. I've been learning Max/viz on my own for about 4 months now and after getting this book the program has been completely demystified. Max has a really complex interface that scares people away and does not lend to trial and error and that is exactly where this book excels at. The step by step tutorials are helpful even though I'm using Viz4.
This is the best book for anyone serious about Max/Viz because it simplifies the modeling aspects a lot and even helps 3d novices to understand the gist of 3d modelling. Unlike a lot of Max books it dedicates a sizeable amount of time to modelling through tutorials. Most Max books I've come across treat modelling as a step child and dive into animation and materials. How do you animate without modelling?
Anyways I recomend this book to anyone learning Max/Viz it will prepare you for more advanced levels.

Over the course of the last year I have been teaching myself 3d studio viz. When this book finally shipped I immediately ordered one, and am I glad I did. I find every chapter gives me some tips for modelling in this powerful program that I never would have thought of on my own. Every chapter is well written but be advised that you should have an understanding of viz before working through this book. If your just starting with the software, do the tutorials that ship with the software before moving on to this book. The tutorials are quite good at reinforcing the concepts but assume that you have some viz experience under your belt. A great book - period!

Forget any of the other books on Max or Viz. This one is the BEST for Architects & Designers. I learned more from this book than I did in an entire semester at school. I used it on Viz 4 -and other than a few differences, mainly the sub-object button, the instructions are the same.

Great, Great, Great book. Just the right material for the intermediate to the advanced, with great tips and tricks. I found the format of the book easy to follow and the lessons very intuitive.
I cannot wait for the VIZ 4 book!!

I learned more in the first chapter of this book than I did by following ALL of the tutorials included with Viz. A great self-teaching guide.

I start learning 3DS4 using this book and I found it very easy to understand. Anybody who want to learn 3DS should buy it.

This book is outstanding to learn and to enhance one's knowledge of 3DS4. It is fun to read, and is really quite a page-turner! It starts with the basics and moves logically to advanced topics, all while using easy-to-follow tutorials. The CDROM comes with some nice textures that are good for making your own scenes. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE learning 3ds4!

This book is outstanding to learn and to enhance one's knowledge of 3DS4. It is fun to read, and is really quite a page-turner! It is structured so that it holds your attention - i.e. it doesn't linger for 50 pages on one topic and mention another in passing.

It starts with the basics and moves logically to advanced topics, all while using easy-to-follow tutorials. The CDROM comes with some nice textures that are good for making your own scenes.

Plus, in an appendix, it reviews most of the popular IPAS plugins for 3D Studio R4. This reference is useful to determine what software to spend your money on.

I would recommend this book to EVERYONE learning 3ds4!

This is the best book of 3D Studio r4, in a couple of weeks you can learn almost everithing, starting with modeling, texturing, animating and scripting.

It is an excellent companion to everyone that wants to learns the powers of 3D Studio. Contains many things that help you to understand easy and quick. There is also a very good CDROM companion to this book that has many stuff to look such as materials, images or even some extra demo programs. I am completely satisfied of this book so I higly reccomend it

This is one of the most helpful computer books I have ever read. I not only learned from the numerous examples, I was inspired by their creativity to create content of which I'm proud, and to go from making a me-too product to something people will talk about.

It is truly amazing what the unpublicized, interactive capabilities of QuickTime allow you to make.

I would warn anyone buying this book, use LiveStage Pro on a Mac as nature intended it; the Windows version is quite buggy and more than a little clunky.

By reading this book you may probably notice, that you are wrong and you will be surprised how much there is you can still learn about the subject.
The book covers every aspect regarding interactive content creation with QuickTime
It is a rich source of in-depth information and there is a wealth of ready to use functions. In combination with the many tutorials and samples it is valuable and useful for all who author interactive QT or intend to do.
For experienced users it is a real reference book even if your authoring environment differs from the one (LiveStage Pro) used throughout the book as many aspects and programming technics are transferable.

I just started using Live Stage Pro to author quicktimes 2 months ago and found the software's manual to be helpful but light on insight. In a nutshell 'Interactive Quicktime' is a crucial book to get if you're learning LSP (although the author goes into other methods of working with quicktime too). What can I say? It helps you understand what's going on within the world of the quicktime architecture and walks you through tons of projects to help you get it. I wasn't getting it with the LSP manual. As the author states it would be helpful to know a little bit of applescript or some other programming language but I'm picking it up slowly but surly and I've never written a word of code in my life. It's well worth the price.

This really is an excellent book. The examples that Matthew uses to teach in each chapter are useful far beyond just wired QuickTime. I keep it next to my desk for use in my other development environments as well.

For example there is a chapter on scripted motion which talks about linear interpolation, easing in and out, motion along mathematical functions, circular motion, paths and spline interpolation. I incorporated a few of these animation algorithms into my desktop applications and they work/look great.

Highly recommended.

If you think that QuickTime is just a media player for showing video and listening to audio, this book will make you think again. Delving into the depths of the QuickTime architecture Matthew shows the reader the huge breadth of interactivity that is possible and encourages the reader to think how techniques can be applied in different ways. Each chapter ends with an 'Explorations' section asking the reader to think about various topics that have been looked at, and how they can be applied.

The book is broken up into six main sections covering topics such as sprites- communicating with them, moving them, interaction, modelling physics etc. Other sections include the structure of QT, adding interactivity to existing movies, user interfaces, multimedia and communicating with the world.

Each section is subdivided into chapters looking at a specific area (39 chapters in all), and usually going through several small projects. ALL of these projects are included on the CD, often in both beginning and final forms so that you can go through all the steps or just look at the final version if you are more advanced. Because the book is structured with more complex issues handled later on, even a relative newcomer can work through the book, while the experienced QT content producer can go directly to the sections of particular interest.

There is a 42 day trial version of LiveStage Pro on the Cd as most of the projects are done using it, along with demos of several other programs and examples of the best QT work by other people.

In the introduction Matthew mentions that he often looks at the contents and index of a reference book first, as these tell you a lot about a book. Nine pages of Contents, twenty pages of Index, a Glossary and Appendix S! Even including a list of every file on the CD and many http links.

As Matthew explains how things are done rather than simply showing you the program-specific scripts a lot of the book can be applied to other multimedia environments such as Flash, Director and Runtime Revolution. I regard this book as required reading for all people working to create highly interactive media, whether they use QT or not.

In summary this book will revolutionise how you think of and use QuickTime. By showing what is possible rather than what is commonly used Matthew expands the interactive medium in a way that pushes the boundaries.

Highly recommended, and I found that the author quickly replies to any questions that you ask him by email.

I read it during my undergraduate, it was the course book for the thoery of automata course. More recently when I tried the popular "Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation" by Hopcroft et al. for the purpose of revising the concepts, I realized how great this book is. It is definitely a better book than Hopcroft et al's, with in-depth explanations of all topics, lots of examples and exercises and in a writing style very friendly for the novice readers. Very good work!

I must say this is one of the best books I have ever read. The auther is humorous and insightful. He manages to take very abstract concepts and explain them in clear concrete terms and metaphors.

This an excellent book. Basically, the whole point of it is to mathematically define what a computer is and prove that it works. The author does this by defining and manipulating mathematical alphabets and languages without resorting to any kind of advanced math. Starting from nothing, the whole thing leads up to Turing Machines. More specifically, according to the Preface, the goals of the book are:

"(1) to introduce a student of Computer Science to the need for and the working of mathematical proof; (2) to develop facility with the concepts, notations, and techniques of the theories of Automata, Formal Languages, and Turing machines; and (3) to provide historical perspective on the creation of the computer with a profound understanding of some of its capabilities and limitations."

The author did a wonderful job of it. Plus, unlike almost all other computer/math books I've read, this book is almost enjoyable to read. Again, as stated in the Preface:

"This book is written for students with no presumed background of any kind. Every mathematical concept used is introduced from scratch. Extensive examples and illustrations spell out everything in detail to avoid any possibility of confusion."

Astonishingly, those are all true statements. At a guess, I'd say that almost anyone interested in computers could get through this book without undue stress. To make it more meaningful, I'd suggest (only suggest) prerequisites of having programmed a computer and knowing some discrete math. From that point of view, it's odd that as of last year, this book was used in Florida State University's (FSU's) COT 4420: "Theory of Computation" course, which, obviously, is a 4000 level course requiring various prerequisites that put it out of the reach of all but senior (or graduate) level students.

Now, with all that glowing out of the way, there are a couple of small problems with the book. The first is simply that the exercises don't have any solutions. For the self-studyer, that's a bad thing. In a school teaching environment, it's probably acceptable, though. The second problem is that after getting through the book, I simply have to ask: "So what? WHY should I learn this?" Again, in the Preface, the author states:

"Leaving aside the obvious worth of knowledge for its own sake, the terminology, notations, and techniques of Computer Theory are necessary in the teaching of courses on computer design, Artificial Intelligence, the analysis of algorithms, and so forth. Of all the programming skills undergraduate students learn, two of the most important are the abilities to recognize and manipulate context-free grammars and to understand the power of the recursive interaction of parts of a procedure. Very little can be accomplished if each advanced course has to begin at the level of defining rules of production and derivations."

But, in my experience, I have to say that except for one reference in one other book I've read, I've never seen any of this stuff used. Even more, I've never known anyone who even knew of anyone who used (or even knew of) any of it. EVERYTHING has been done at a much higher level of abstraction than alphabets, languages, and various levels of algorithms and machines up to Turing Machines. I'm not saying that the material in this book isn't used SOMEWHERE. But, I'd honestly have liked to have seen actual, specific, concrete cases: they'd be fascinating.

So, factoring those two nits in, I rate this book at 4 stars out of 5. If those two things don't bother you, then you could easily consider this a 5 star book.

The book has one important attribute: it's clear, undoubtedly. Having a minimum of prerequisites, I think there's no way to not understand what Prof. Cohen says through its pages. It makes the job of learning this part of theory easier than any other text.
But ... but I can't totally agree with Cohen's crusade against formalism. I agree that the first target of a book should be to clearly transmit the intended knowledge, and Cohen perfectly succeeds in this. But formalism too has its importance, thereafter. A compact and clear formalism helps to communicate efficiently, and moreover unambiguously. Like in mathematics, the first, important thing is to understand. Yet, there's no way for you to efficiently work with math without using any kind of formalism, should it be more or less "standard".
That's it: a very powerful book for a "profound" understanding of the subject; a bit more of natural formalism would make it a "complete" understanding also, and the book a five stars one.

This is a great book. I read the first edition many years ago, and it too was great. Everything is explained in order, and explained well - it is very accessable, even to the casual reader interested in the topics presented. It was through this book that I was able to actually write software that demonstrated Kleene's Theorem, (RE=NFA=DFA) converting between Regular Expressions, NFA's and DFA's.

Unlike many textbooks, reading this one is actually FUN. By the time I was done, I felt that I understood everything that was presented. That's how good this text is.

// CHRIS (Darien, Connecticut)

This book is excellent. I first read this book in graduate school in 1976, and I continue to find Weinberg's ideas useful. It was outstanding then, and it has held up with time.

Weinberg distills the essence from von Bertalanffy's classic and manages to present it in a very accessible fashion. The book has been out of print for quite a while so it is great to see a new edition. The message and information contained in here, although originally published in 1975, is now more relevant than ever.

Weinberg covers many aspects of systems theory beginning with the main stumbling block with the present scientific paradigm: the idea that the universe is mechanistic. His treatment is much more general than Robert Rosen's in "Life Itself" but still conveys why the mechanistic notion is flawed.

He then outlines the general systems theory approach before leading into the idea that a system is simply a way of looking at the world. He then outlines the principle of indifference. This leads straight into two sections outlining various aspects of making observations. Finally he discusses behaviour and then some general systems questions.

Throughout the book he uses many examples from disparate fields in conjunction with questions for further research. It is great to see someone who doesn't preach systems but actually uses the ideas.

Definitely a must-read as we decided how to solve the myriad of issues before us.

Weinberg's book will not teach you how to be a systems thinker. It will, however, provide a stimulating discussion and thoughtful examination of an alternative approach to problem analysis and solution. The book is not so much about how the systems approach works or how it can be applied to complex problems as it is an invitation to his readers to explore their perceptions of what they think they know versus what they really do know. Throughout the book, Weinberg follows the strategy of leading the reader through a series of logical discussions designed to bring them face to face with their biases and misconceptions about systems vs. reductionist thinking. In doing so, Weinberg exposes the shortcomings of the reductionist approach to problem solving by demonstrating to his readers that the real solutions to some familiar and apparently simple problems are very complex.

Through his examples, Weinberg shows that by viewing a system holistically within its environment, we may be able to discern patterns of behavior/actions and recognize interactions, interrelationships, and interdependencies among the components that will be missed in a reductionist approach. From that view, we can better understand the system and, perhaps, better predict how it will evolve over time. The success of his approach is demonstrated by the fact that people are still reading and quoting his book 25+ years after it was written.

One facet of this book which I found beneficial may be a drawback for some readers. Weinberg wrote from the viewpoint of a computer programmer and a scientist. A person not versed in either field might have difficulty understanding his examples.

I was searching for an alternative to the out-of-print book 'Quality Software Management, vol.1: Systems Thinking', written by the same Author.
Having read few Sofware Management series books from the same Author, which I rate at the very top of my list, I was biased on very high expectations. Surprisingly, I have found it being quite verbose and in the end, I couldn't get too much inspiration out of it.

In computing, a timeless classic is anything that is worth reading for any reason other than to obtain a historical context after five years. If that still holds true after twenty five years, then it is truly an extraordinary piece of work. That label applies to this book. It is not about computing per se, but about how humans think about things and how "facts" are relative to time, our personal experience and environmental context.
Human thinking is a complex operation and that is the point of this book. The problems and examples presented are not those in computing, but problems in how we think about the world and how that world can be different from person to person. In many ways, Weinberg anticipates the development of the science of chaos, where small changes lead to disproportionate large changes. His example of the "small" change of a single character is a classic. A man was considering the purchase of a piece of real estate, but when told the cost was fourteen million dollars, sent the response by telegram, "No, price too high." However, somehow a character was dropped, so the agent received the message, "No price too high", purchased the property and so a classic error was invented.
Weinberg uses science and mathematics as the genesis point for most of his examples. The laws of thermodynamics, chance and simulations in state spaces are used to demonstrate the points. As someone with a wide background in science, I found his examples of how scientific thought gives us an anchor but yet alters over time excellent learning material. Thought problems are included at the end of each chapter and they cover many different areas. Some involve mathematics, others science and many could be the point of a vigorous philosophical debate. Together they form the best collection of thought experiments and points of contention that I have ever seen gathered together in one location.
This is a book that is a true classic, not in computing but in the broad area of scholarship. It is partly about the philosophy and mechanisms of science; partly about designing things so they work but mostly it is about how humans view the world and create things that match that view. This book will still be worth reading for a long time to come and it is on my list of top ten computing books of the year.

I finally got a chance to use this book. I hadn't had time to really sit and play with it. My friend called and needed me to come over and help set up Ipods for all three children. I grabbed the book thinking it may help. And yes it did. I would have been lost without it. It made things so simple and if I had a question it had the answer. I was so excited I came home and used the book to organize my ipods better. A must have for any ipod owner.

It seems to be a fair book. I didn't like the fact that it was in black and white only. I also thought it was a little outdated.

From my hands-on-perusal at the book seller's, I would say that ALL the iPod books are worth buying, but I chose Miller's IPODPEDIA over the others for the following reasons: 1) It is never out of date: Scanning the opening pages in the bookstore, I learned that Miller has a website for his book which he updates in sync with new iPod models and developments, so I put my purchase on hold for that moment with the intention of visiting Miller's website and then making a decision to purchase from the on-shelf possibilities when I next visited the store. I went to ipodpediatheblog.blogspot.com per Miller's instructions. One finds there an ongoing dated history of his evaluations/commentary/tips, not to mention the links to other sites on which he is a significant iPod presence. 2) He shows that the iPod's simplicity is real for the let's-get-going-user, but he also shows that there is a depth to the menus which might not be realized by this user. He supplies a useful chart of the of the menus, model by model. 3) Unlike the other iPod authors, he shows that commercial DVD's can be converted to iPod format, and then he directs the user to the resources. No other authors that I saw on the shelf deal with this possibility.
4) Like the other iPod authors he describes accessories of all kinds, but he gives an opinion about the quality or usability of many of these accessories as well--most useful stuff. 5) Miller lets us know in the opening pages that his book is "Safari Enabled" for those in need of an electronic reference resource. 6) Miller accesses the iPod from a ubiquitous Windows world, though he makes all the necessary concessions to Mac users. Mac or Windows OS? It makes no difference in the usability of this book. Nutshell opinion: The iPodpedia is a most helpful book for beginner AND beyond.

iPodpedia was a Christmas gift I bought for my brother who purchased his iPod in 2006. I bought myself an iPod 80GB Classic and my six-year-old son a iPod Shuffle for Christmas this year and was confident that my brother would share his iPod knowledge with me. Needless to say, the iPodpedia has become the CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.

My brother has been reading it like a book and shares all the great tips and tidbits he has found in the well-written book by Michael Miller. I'll receive phone calls from brother so excited, "Hey, did you know that your iPod can do this?"

I'm not certain, but I may have to buy another copy just for myself. What if I can't reach my brother one day and I have a question?

I purchased this book for my Dad because he is always asking me questions about his Ipod. I learned more by reading three pages from the chapter labeled secrets then all of the lookups I have done on my own. I was so impressed with the book that I purchased one for myself. If you own an Ipod or know someone that does, you must purchase this book.