Professional Books

David Fogel has done a painstaking job of examining the historical record of Evolutionary Computation (EC) and recording both early and seminal papers in field. As a lecturer on EC, I have found the book to be an important, intriguing and insightful supplement to the course.

I think the book's strengths are twofold. First, that the important ideas in EC "popped up" in many earlier guises. I find it fascinating to discover concepts like "schema theory" and "bloated programs" addressed in at least a primitive form in papers going back to the 1950's. EC may be a "new science" but it clearly has deep roots. Second (and a more general point), that ideas themselves are not all that is required to do science. Timing and other factors play a role in how ideas get pushed forward and recognized by other researchers. It is a point that would be well taken by young researchers in any field.

There are some things that could be improved. One could quibble about the selection of papers, though I think Dr. Fogel's selections are well justified. For readability's sake I think the formatting of some of the papers could have been redone. Furthermore some papers might have been better presented in an abridged format. Overall, however, I think the book's minor flaws are far outweighed by its contribution to the field. Serious students in EC should definitely look at this book.

The collection of papers included in this book not only serves to explore the origins of evolutionary computation, but also shows some contributions that could had been turning points in the field but that somehow never received enough attention. The comments of David Fogel preceding each chapter are refreshing and show a deep and extensive knowledge of the field. His meticulous work of selecting, editing and commenting this valuable collection of papers certainly deserves my highest admiration. I have decided to use some of the papers contained in this book for my Graduate courses and seminars on evolutionary computation because I think that these early attempts (either successful or not) to simulate evolution in a computer must be studied by any serious EC researcher.

This is not your ordinary volume of collection of papers, this is a treasure chest for all those who truly want to understand the "evolution" of the ideas behind contemporary Evolutionary computation. David Fogel's thorough knowledge of the field and his passion for>tracking down the origins of the key ideas are evident in his introductions to each group of papers. Each time I have opened the book I have made delightful and often quite unexpected discoveries for myself. I wish to thank David Fogel for this outstanding work.

Evolutionary computation techniques (i.e., techniques based on the metaphor of natural evolution) constitute one of the most fascinating areas of computer science. Despite a long history of research spanning over several decades, evolutionary techniques are still of increasing interest because of their applicability to many real-world problems in science and engineering. However, many recent discoveries have their roots in the past (this is probably true in any discipline of science), and perforce, it is important to "look back" at some of the early developments in this field. Apart from the interesting ideas that emerged many years ago (e.g., artificial life, co-evolution, evolving computer programs, etc), a number of papers in this volume contain latent ideas that have not been fully exploited.

David Fogel accomplished a great feat by searching, reading, and selecting a collection of papers that constitute "the fossil record of evolutionary computation." This volume contains almost 30 important research articles that establish the foundations of evolutionary computation, including seminal articles written by Ingo Rechenberg, Lawrence Fogel, John Holland, Hans Bremermann, Nils Barricelli, Alex Fraser, Michael Conrad, and John Koza. All the articles were grouped carefully into meaningful units, each prefaced by an introduction written by David Fogel.

Researchers will find this volume to be an extremely interesting guide to the background of concepts of evolutionary computation. It is appropriate for anyone who is in search for such answers as: where did these techniques come from? where are they going? and what is their potential? But, above all, the book provides a unique experience of addressing the most fascinating question: "how is an idea born"? For this reason alone, this book is a must for any researcher in this or any other related field.

A rare piece of scholarship by one of the leading scientists in the field. Evolutionary Computation has only recently matured to the point of being a separate discipline. The Fossil Record is a remarkable compilation of foundational research. Fogel does an excellent job of placing each work in its historical context. In many cases, he was fortunate enough to interview these pioneers of computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematical biology, engineering, cybernetics, and evolutionary theory. As such, he provides unique insights into the motivations, methodologies, and philosophies of some of the most original thinkers in science.

Russell W. Anderson, Staff Scientist, HNC Software, and Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation

This book is hilarious! A must read if you've spent time in a gray fuzz covered, neon lite cubicle in corporate American. you'll love this book. If you've ever received mass emailings containing executive directives that make you talk to your computer screen in colorful ways, you'll love this book. If you've ever heard a company executive tell you that the company is doing fine, despite the headlines, you'll love this book.
If the first names of the CEOs of your former employers are Joe, or Bernie, and have recently been Indicted by the Justice Department, you should read this book. As Jimmy Buffet once said, "If we don't laugh, we'll all go insane!" A truly sarcastic and humorous work of art.

J.J., poor guy, has experienced my luck in the business world! Mr. Talbott's book is hilarious because it's so true! About time someone tells it like it is in the "real" world.

WAY TO GO!! This is a wonderful humorous example of the REAL Corporate America!! It is about time we take a look at the structure which is leading to the downfall of many corporations! Mr. Talbott has very successfully and humorously accomplished that task. This is a must read for anyone working in or affected by the Corporate world. Is there anyone who has not been affected by the situations he so adequately describes??

Read and enjoy. Get ready to laugh. Get ready to act on and advocate for change in corporate America!! Nomatter what your situation, I believe you will find many things in the book applicable to you.

Thanks Mr. Talbott for your honesty and realness in addressing this issue!! Please write some more!!

A valuable book for anyone working in a corporate job, a university job, a government job, a military job, or doing business with them. (That's everyone, isn't it?) Whether you are in a cubicle, a wood-paneled suite or a home office, it's time to lighten up. Fred Talbott's scenarios and one-liners cut like a razor because he finds humor as he reveals basic truths about the way we work.

If you are a public speaker, steal from this book. If you are a consultant, quote from this book. If you are a working stiff like me, read this book and laugh and remember what Mama says, "Misery loves company."

Whether you are in the corporate structure or at a mom-and-pop shop you can learn from and relate to this book.

Mr. Talbott utilizes a swift and humorous pen to teach and entertain page after page. Unfortunately or fortunately we have all been through a variety of what Talbott depicts, now we have the solace to sit back and have a laugh about it!

Take the bullets out of the chamber, iron your shirt and don't forget your briefcase and this book on your way to your nine to five! Thanks Mr. Talbott!

I think that this is the definitive kit plane reference for those contemplating building the same.

The book is well written in an easy to understand style and provides a great insight into what's involved. It covers all aspects of construction and also includes a lot of honest, upfront details about the real costs involved.

I also purchased a copy of "Choosing your Homebuilt" and while this provides much of the same information it does so in a much more superficial manner compared to this book. The only advantage of Ken Armstrong's title is the flight reviews, which although useful are somewhat dated with many of the listed manufacturer's no longer in business...

Therefore if your budget allows purchase both, but if I had to choose just one it would have to be a copy of the "Kit Airplane Construction"

This is a great book for anyone considering building their own airplane, it goes into great detail about every facet of building your own plane, and excellent book!

An amazing amount of information for the homebuilder. Very well written, entertaining and up to date.

This is another great addition to my library. Very informative, I really like the case studies.

The book helped me most in the following areas:

1) What is involved in kitplane construction - risks and benifits, even the benifits of purchasing a used certified aeroplane.
2) Showed me how to think in terms of aviation building with safety as a priority.
3) Covers info from the kit purchase stage to the test flight.
4) Emphasized that it is helpful to understand all forms of construction (metal, wood) no matter what kind of aeroplane you are building. The book covers composite, metal, metal monocoque, wood construction.

This is a must buy for people who are wondering what it takes to build a kitplane and are undecided about whether they should build one.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers merged in June 1943 in an effort to keep the Steelers (who only had seven players under contract) alive during World War II.

The team was sometimes referred to as The Steagles. That name, however, was never official. The NFL referred to them as the Phil-Pitt entry.

Author Matt Algeo describes the Steagles as "thrown together by necessity and chance, they were a motley bunch, the unwanted remnants of two mediocre teams, with a host of ailments: ulcers, perforated ear drums and trick knees."

Fifteen of the 24 players who appeared in five or more games for the Steagles were military rejects. Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said, "The game slid backwards 10 years in 1943."

Algeo does an excellent job of chronicling the team's challenges (co-coaches that didn't get along, every player being required to work a full-time job in the defense industry and a number of injuries) as well as what the times were like. He also offers an interesting look at the early days of professional football.

Surprisingly, the Steagles had a decent season, and an outside chance to win the Eastern Division late in the season.

Any football fan should find this book worth their time.

After hearing a review of this book on a morning talk show, I ran to Amazon and was amazed to find it. My children in Pittsburgh and Steeler fans and us in Philadelphia and Eagle fans, this book made for a fun holiday gift. I never knew the story before. It was a hit!

The players and the coaches of this era are your next door neighbors. They hold "real" jobs. Go to work on the bus. Balance their lives with their game. And with a grace and humility greatly missing in today's professional athlete, makes one yearn for a different time. Throw in the early history of the NFL and life on the home front during the Second World War, combines to make this a very enjoyable read.

Great book if you're a football fan or history buff. I originally bought this book because I am a fan of the Eagles and Steelers, however I think I would have liked it even if i wasn't! It taught me a lot about the early days of football and especially how the season unfolded during the troubling time of War.

The year is 1943 and the NFL is at a crossroads. With WWII raging, teams are losing players, coaches and owners to the various military branches. One of the 10 teams had suspended operations and there are questions if the league should follow that lead.

The remaining league members elect to conduct a 10-game season with a twist, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles will merge for the year.

That is where Matthew Algeo picks up the story with the world at war and the attempt to maintain athletic entertainment on the homefront. The "Steagles" had a roster of players who washed-out of the military, former stars who had little to nothing left for the gridiron and those waiting for their call-ups.

And unlike some players on other clubs who had pro football listed as their main occupation - which granted them an exemption of working in a war-related industry during the season - every Steagle worked full-time during the day and practiced at night.

Algeo artfully utilizes the history of the time, comments from players & coaches and game stats for the season that nearly found the hybrid club with two homes on top of the league standings. A forgotten piece of early NFL lore, it took 60 years for the story to be grandly presented to fans, as a ceremony honoring the team was held in the Steelers' Heinz Field.

It is a must read for football fans or those interested in the homefront during WW II.

As other reviewers have said, this book has prayers & reflections on various topics, targeted specifically for Christian leadership. This book would be a terrific gift for anyone in a leadership role, in or out of a church. It is beautifully made, with a padded cover, and gold tone trim on the front and back cover. It is printed on good quality paper. Consider this for a gift for your Pastor or church leader.

Dr. Kriegbaum is obviously sharing from personal experience. I have not come across any work that so clearly reflects an understanding of leadership in Christian institutions. He has a grasp of the big picture that only the president or CEO can have, and he understands the demands from the various publics who press the leader for time, attention, decisions, etc.

After reading this book several times, I purchased several copies, for major public and private leaders. This little book offers thoughts, comfort and vision. It also creates space to think about how we conduct our work and interact with our peers. I have read it a dozen times, now using it as a daily reference, enjoying it on the subway, on my airline trips and often, when I am alone, just needing to reflect. Recently I have sent this to two US Secretaries and to my pastor. Last year I gve a copy to all of my Board members, many of whom have called to tell me of their appreciation, months later. I would urge anyone seeking a visionary, comforting gift for a special person to consider this treasurer.

When the going gets tough, I reach for this book. It's always near me. Richard has captured the concerns of every leader in a way that is simple yet power filled. Any time I get lost in my own failings or slip into a state of dispare over the way I handled a situation, I know where to go to find solice and comfort. Leadership Prayers helps to put me in touch with what God has in mind for me before I set out on my own. I hear rumors that Richard is working on another book. I'll be watching for it.

This remarkable little book offers prayers near to the heart of Christian leaders. As a pastor, I have marvelled at how well my thoughts, concerns, burdens, fears, and frustrations are shared by the author. He directs the prayers to the Father with clarity and wrestling of heart.

If you are a pastor, head of a Christian organization, or involved in shepherding or leadership, these prayers may put into words the cries of your heart. Superb.

We as a society must change our own thoughts. Each change we make in ourselves will make the world a better place. I found the book easy to read and inspiring. It should be required reading for all.

This story is inspirational as an illustration of what is possible when a seed of goodness meets a little water, a lot of courage, constant hard work and the luck that occurs naturally when you open the way with a Yes! to life attitude. Recommended reading for anyone who is an idealist, a broken hearted idealist, or a realist who would like to be part of creating abundant life, beauty and hope in a crappy, crazy world. This book is an oasis.

Bill Strickland illustrates how he succeeded.

Imagine.

Don't fantasize, dream.

I don't remember how I found out about Bill Strickland's book but I think it was a recommendation by one of my favorite bloggers.

Well, let me tell you - this guy truly turned the tables around and gave new meaning to achieving the impossible.

The book made me laugh, smile and cry at unexpected times. Bill is a legend in his own right and I highly recommend his book. It's a joy to read and in fact, I liked it so much I read it twice in one week.

A strong buy recommendation.

If you have found yourself far enough down a path of curiosity to be reading a review of this book, waste no more time, and buy it or borrow it now. Bill Strickland is an artist extraordinaire, and his medium is life. Yes, Frank Ross, a high school ceramics teacher, turned a desperate street kid into an inspired and aspiring student by introducing him to pottery, which gave him direction and a dream. But the unrelenting pursuit of his passions, and the commitment and creative energy he has used to fuel that dream have woven a moving story of such power, emotion, and soaring success as to place him in the rarified air of any of the great artists of our time.

He shows how focusing on a life based on responsibility and passion can bring real purpose and help "understand what genuine success really means". And if this guy is anything, he is successful. Wow. The list of accolades he has compiled is stunning. How about honorary doctorates from ten separate universities? When you read the story of the creation and history of his Manchester Bidwell Corp., you start to see why. Youth and adults with little to hope for, denied their dreams, often unemployed and financially desperate are finding hope here, growing award-winning orchids in the inner-city, discovering possibilities in a world-class arts center and learning the soul of jazz through the Grammy Award winning MCG jazz program, to mention just a few of his accomplishments. Bill's recipe for a gourmet life is on display daily in the classrooms of Pittsburgh's Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and in the centers he is starting to replicate around the country and the world. He is showing people how to build meaningful lives, and it works.

This is anything but your garden-variety "however-many-steps-to-success" book which litter library shelves in countless business and self-help sections. Nor does Strickland ever assume the posture of spiritual teacher here, instead steadfastly remaining the most down-to-earth soul, humbly questioning how it is that he would end up being honored in the same venue as the Dalai Lama, for instance. Still, without him ever mentioning it, Spirit flows throughout this book, and the scope of truth and revelation contained within is considerable.

I wept several times while reading Bill's story. I could barely put it down. I haven't reviewed a book since high school, but I had to write something about this one. Get a copy, put on some jazz, sit back and let Bill show you how "the simplest experiences can add richness to our lives and open the door to outrageous possibilities". You owe it yourself (and your world).

This truly excellent book fills a large void in the software engineering and IT world - tying the business case to software. It is of paramount importance to demonstrate a quantitative, bottom-line impact when embarking on a software development or evolution project. Too few engineers and managers consider the full business context when making decisions. Many hard lessons in my 20 years of experience could have been avoided if I had the insights and techniques that this book provides.

I expect Mr. Reifer's book to be a classic in the field. It is chockfull of practical methods with worked-out examples of making the software business case. Not only is it rigorous in it's quantitative approach, but the author's broad and seasoned perspective helps practitioners steer through the minefield of people, politics and organizations. I seriously believe we would have more successful software projects if all technical people took on such a balanced view.

Don Reifer's book provides information not found in existing books on software engineering, process improvement, and project management. His primary audience is technical people who must sell a project to business people. In particular, he provides concrete, practical advice for selling a process improvement program. For example, Chapter 4 stresses the importance of focusing on cost avoidance instead of cost reduction to justify improvements. In Chapter 7 he suggests briefing middle managers individually to obtain their support. Based on my experience, this is sound advice because middle managers are often the most difficult people to convince in an organization. Giving personal attention to each manager pays big dividends later. He also suggests taking advantage of state tax laws to partially offset the costs of training employees. This is a win-win strategy for both the firm and the state. Training gives employees new skills and improves retention. This, in turn, helps the firm obtain more business and so generate more income for the local economy and more tax revenues for the state. He explains the difference between project and capital funds, and how to exploit this difference to obtain the resources you need. The book has many useful checklists. For example, one identifies the types and sources of information needed to prepare a business case. Another identifies the critical items to check when deciding to acquire a business.

His book will also be of interest to marketing people who are preparing sales presentations for complicated technical products. For example, these individuals could prepare business cases to compare possible alternatives. Even experienced managers unfamiliar with software products and process improvement will find the case studies useful.

Don Reifer illustrates the concepts presented in Part 1 with actual case studies in Part 2. These are based on his 30+ years of experience in the software field. The case study in Chapter 7 begins with what amounts to an engineering view of the problem and then the author provides comments indicating how a manager would like to see the information presented. This case study really shows the contrast between the technical and management ways of thinking. The case study in Chapter 8 shows how to assess the value of a company whose primary assets are intellectual property and knowledge capital.

Overall, the book is concise and well written. I was able to quickly absorb the concepts and techniques without spending a lot of time. It is a valuable addition to my reference shelf.

Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers covers an area too few software engineers have any exposure to: financial modeling and business analysis, as it relates to the IT domain. Reifer's concise (300 page) book provides a broad overview of how the IT area appears from the business side, including critical material on how to frame technical proposals in business terms.

Amongst the many nuggets to be found in this book are:

· useful tips on where money can be found
· good insights into the politics of proposals and budgeting
· getting middle management buy-in
· countering executive challenges
· successful management of cross-project initiative dynamics
· software capitalization/depreciation
· Discussion of reuse from a cost avoidance perspective.

This book is not only good in terms of its material, it is also an eminently readable book in terms of style. Reifer elaborates his argument through the clever use of case studies that provide human interest and momentum to otherwise dry material. These case studies include:

· A defense contracting firm implementing software process improvement
· A public utility replacing an outdated mainframe-based transactional system with modern client-server technology
· An industrial controls firm suffering from moribund products
· A firm seeking to Internet-enable its internal systems

Reifert places strong emphasis on "making your numbers believable." He argues that this believability must address these nontechnical considerations:
· Cash flow
· Cost basis
· Cost/benefit
· Estimate fidelity
· Present value
· Profit and loss
· Risks
· Source of funds
· Tax implications

He does an admirable job in placing these concepts in context, and providing a clear overview of each.
The utility case study demonstrates the importance of understanding the overall financial dynamics affecting one's enterprise. For example, the differences between capital and expense budgets can be key in determining whether to purchase or lease equipment. As Reifert elaborates in the utility scenario, "Because this has been a profitable year, an increase in expenses [i.e. leasing as opposed to purchase capital expenditures] could have a profound positive tax consequence." The book has many examples of this type of valuable, integrated business insight.

Reifer has much sound general IT management advice mixed in with his financial message. A recurring theme through many of the discussions is the need for an executive sponsor, to provide political cover and tactical advice in forwarding the business case.

He also urges the reader to frame benefits in terms of cost avoidance rather than cost reduction-promising cost reductions often lead to the question, "OK, then who are we going to let go?" Not a good way to win friends.

I found his observations on the subject of central process quality assurance groups interesting:

"Reinventing staff organizations such as process and quality assurance groups is a good idea. Engineers assigned to such staff groups get stale once they've put in more than three years of service. Being in an audit and support role, they forget how hard it is to develop and deliver quality products under extreme deadline pressures." (p 137). The book displays a continual awareness of the need to balance these contending issues of cost, schedule, and quality.

The case study based on the industrial controls firm has an explicit architectural theme. This is an especially compelling discussion; software engineers are well aware how critical architectural decisions are, and how often they are compromised in the rush to write code. The discussion demonstrates how to make the case for architecture and include it in an overall work breakdown structure. Reifert is exceptionally creative in his case study creation, taking the opportunity to demonstrate hidden agendas, the pitfalls of contractor estimates, and developing a good working relationship with high-level consultants.

The book provides a solid summary of software estimation. There are whole books written on this subject, so the chapter is necessarily at a high level (although it does dive into some detail on the COCOMO II model in particular). However, it provides a valuable discussion of aspects of high-level IT budgeting beyond tactical project estimation, presenting numerous examples of cost breakdowns covering all phases of the systems development lifecycle, from architecture to maintenance.

The final case study moves into even more adventurous ground, discussing a company seeking to Internet-enable its internal systems via takeover (hostile if necessary) of a specialist firm. The ensuing narrative outlines the due diligence such a move requires, and the various tactical and strategic issues it may raise. A brief discussion of international intercultural relationships is excellent.

The book has only one minor flaw: it was obviously written during the dot-com bubble. There are frequent references to industry dynamics such as a venture-funded firm's survival depending on extreme time-to-market pressures, and perhaps an overemphasis on faddish Web technology.

This book is easily on my Top 10 software engineering book list. It provides a lucid, crisp overview of business issues that are all too mysterious to the average software engineer. Given the potential that well-architected, business-responsive software has to increase productivity, this volume is a service to both the software engineers and the enterprises that employ them.

This book is the aggregation of Mr. Reifer's extensive experience in software management and economics of reuse. His earlier books, "Practical Software Reuse" (ISBN 0471578533), and "Software Management" (ISBN 0769511007) evidence his experience, and probably account for the realistic approach he takes in this book.

Despite his technical background he takes a business-focused approach early in this book by explaining the difference between business and technical cases. Too many technical managers confuse the two, and this plus the other material in Chapter 1 explaining the fundamentals of business cases will set you on the right course.

Chapter 2 is the essence of this book, with advice on relating goals to metrics (using the Goal/Question/Metric technique), and the development and alignment of business cases to development life cycles. This is followed by two excellent chapters covering principles, rules, and analysis tools, and strategies. Much of this material is standard fare, but Mr. Reifer's clear explanations are better than most books that cover this material.

The second part of the book employs case studies that lead you through the development of a business case using principles, concepts and techniques given in the first part of the book. These reinforce part one of the book, as well as provide clear examples of business cases that work, and the process with which to develop them - including challenges, how assumptions were derived, and other nuances of which you should be aware.

The final part of the book is a single chapter on overcoming major barriers, and the sage advice is well worth heeding.

Overall, this is one of the best books on business case development because it is business-oriented, has an approach that is financially and tactically sound, and is written for technical-oriented managers in their own language.

This is not a book for software developers or managers who work in a small shop where there is focused development, little formal bureaucracy and a great deal of camaraderie. It is written for the person with responsibility in a large organization who has an idea for a major new project and needs to get it approved. Essentially, it tells you how to survive and thrive in a large organization that builds software.
The advice is fairly simple but quite accurate. Use numbers in your presentation that can be justified and are consistent with any previous numbers that relate to the project. Have solid data concerning the expected return-on-investment (ROI) from the project as well as any additional costs that may not be outwardly obvious. Quite accurately, the author is emphatic about the principles of present and future value. So much so that appendix B is just a set of basic compound interest tables. This is the most important advice that anyone in a large organization with a business case to plead can ever receive.
A lesser, but still critical point is that you must have a manager to champion your proposal through the managerial hierarchy. That champion must also know the expected ROI from the project very well, as upper echelons will consider a lack of knowledge on the part of the champion to reflect a lack of interest. Another point to reckon with is that if you receive the budgetary increase, it most likely means that someone else in your organization had theirs cut. Nasty, but also the way things are.
Finally, the author takes you through a case study as to when you should acquire a company rather than build a new internal division from scratch. His analysis of what to examine and consider significant is a solid strategy for determining which is the better option.
This is a book that really has two audiences, those who are lower level managers in large organizations with an idea for a new project and those who are starting a company and need to convince the people with the money to open their wallets. For them, it is priceless, but for all others it is difficult to see where they will find it of value.

This book is by far more than just a comprehensive collection of facts and figures. The author, having a no fear approach to technology, never looses sight of the business aspects. His understanding of mobility manifests itself not only in the awareness of tools, but rather in his holistic approach to make mobile technology work for you and your enterprise without having to reengineer your business processes.
Hence, anyone who feels the urge to implement mobile solutions in their business should first consult this book... or just spend a few thousand on consultancy. Your choice.

If you want to increase the effectiveness of your workforce, this is a must read book. The concepts are clearly laid out and it is written in an easy to understand language, explaining all the mobility buzzwords in laymans terms.

After reading this book I feel confident about talking to the vendors and consultants with all the latest solutions. A worthwhile investment for any manager with responsibility for field based sales people or service engineers.

Though the author uses mobilizing an enterprise in his title, he really means applying wireless technology to an already mobile enterprise. Many of the issues presented applies to standardizing mobile accessibility across the enterprise. The book starts off with an excellent analogy for untested technology - Magic, unknown, uncertain, untested, and unproven. This leverages his book for a thematic value throughout to make for an interesting development of current day technology.

To be fair, I did not read the entire book, only sections that I found interesting. However, the portions I did read, chpts 1-4, 10-12 were fascinating and on target in many respects.

The author lays out the framework for an elegant model categorizing technology providers and the corporate structure. As corporations begin aligning themselves into the categories mentioned, I was wondering where hybrid companies that have created versatile new concepts, especially outside of the US, would fit in his model.

Companies such as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that aren't quite NOs, but have some of the skills and capabilities of WAGs or SIs since their main competency is in enabling the mobilization and reselling it and just renting space from NOs would fit.

Chapter 11 was extremely informative, but I am still perplexed by "wireless technology skills" and the author's definition of this, specifically in his SWOT analyses. Saying that an enterprise application vendor doesn't have these skills is unclear, especially as many of these enterprise app vendors are WAG vendors or Platform vendors. Companies such as Oracle or IBM are perfect examples where they do not suffer the same weaknesses. Does this present a major competitive advantage in the market?

A second point with respect to this very notion is that, in general, "wireless technology skills" can be easily emulated, learned, and implemented as many small companies are crowding the space and popping up regularly. This suggests that the real commoditization will be in the value of wireless technology skills rather than other segments rather than network operations (although there is always the possibility of both being commoditized)

The author suggests that there may be a convergence of enterprise app vendors and WAG vendors, the former gobbling up the latter. I think this is already in progress and will no doubt become a reality unless the smaller WAG vendors either become enterprise app vendors or can find specific niches where enterprise app vendors are unwilling to enter.

The book as a whole provided a business perspective to what seems to be a technical issue. It was clear in many respects, and filled with useful information to better understand what it means to manage a mobile system. Although there was some bias in selecting companies for case discussion, these are considered the norm in any competitive industry. The terse, crispness of the book with a solid, social element provides for good reading and highly informative review of the wireless industry today and tommorrow.

Pat Brans has done a masterful job of taking a complex subject such as mobility and wireless and boiling it down to its most important components. Besides his ability to explain wireless technology in simplistic terms, Brans delivers a compelling guide for business executives grappling with difficult decisions regarding why/when/how should I deploy mobility and what can our company expect to gain from a revenue generation/cost savings/customer satisfaction perpspective? Finally, the best part of this book is the abundant use of practical, real-world examples (such as the business process diagrams in Chapter 10 involving pharmaceutical sales reps) to help the reader clearly understand the benefits of mobility and wireless technology as applied to a business challenge.

Mr. Brans does a superb job of presenting much of what is going on in the wireless world today.

To be fair, I did not read the entire book, only sections that I found interesting. However, the portions I did read, chpts 1-4, 10-12 were fascinating and on target in many respects.

As corporations begin aligning themselves into the categories mentioned, I was wondering where hybrid companies that have created versatile new concepts, especially outside of the US, would fit in the model. Where would companies such as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that aren't quite NOs but have some of the capabilities of (Wireless Application Gateway providers) WAGs or (System Integrators) SIs in enabling mobilization and reselling it -just renting space from NOs- fit in the author's model? There seemed to be a few missing gaps, but covered the US market fairly thoroughly.

Chapter 11 was extremely informative, but I am still perplexed by "wireless technology skills" and the author's definition of this, specifically in his SWOT analyses. Saying that an enterprise application vendor doesn't have wireless skills is unclear, especially as many of these enterprise app vendors are also WAG vendors or Platform vendors. Companies such as Oracle or IBM are perfect examples where they do not suffer the same weaknesses. Does this present a major competitive advantage in the market?

A second point with respect to this very notion is that, in general, "wireless technology skills" can be easily emulated, learned, and implemented as many small companies are crowding the space and popping up regularly. This suggests that the real commoditization will be in the value of wireless technology skills rather than other segments as the author suggests.

The book was exceptional in most other respects, containing detailed facts on the wireless markets, their evolution, and even an excellent resource base to acquire further knowledge. Even with the biased focus on a few select companies, the book covers the market's underlying agenda.

The author presented information with a terse crispness but added a social element in terms of context and example to make it readable. A great primer if you are an executive, a CIO, or someone making a decision to commit resources in mobile technology. Comparable to Wireless Crash Course by Bedell in quality, with more of a business perspective.

I found this book very well written, and a different approach to a poorly documented topic in the IT world. The book is properly, very thorough, and best I can tell somewhat dated as it discusses a lot of Token Ring, Novell IPX, Netbios, Netbeui, Win95, 98, NT4 topics. It covered many items I had long forgotten about, but are still relevant and important. What I would love to see, is an updated version of this book, that drops IPX, Token Ring, and all the outdated topics, and concentrates almost exclusively on IP. I would greatly appreciate a concentration on real packet captures and decoding longer streams. Ideally, the book would either come with a cd, or a web site link to captures. Reading about Network Analysis is one thing, but what is most helpful for some of us, is a hands on, following along with the book, to try it first hand.
Regardless, the book is first rate. It's isn't a Laura Chappell style book if that is what you are hoping for. It is more of a, here's what you learned years ago, and now, why it matters. When I first learned the OSI 7 layer model etc, I had no clue how it applied in the real world, now that I do, this book helps bring a deeper understanding to it.
Great job!

Impressive! Mr. Haugdahl's explanation of the various OSI layers is killer enough. Got too deep on certain topics; but then again, you wouldn't want someone preaching complete network analysis to skimp on details now, would you? Great reads on the use of NA's Sniffer and MS' Network Monitor tools, as well as full illustrated details on the DOs and DON'Ts of network design. Awesome book!!!

I am an ex-Air Force officer with 2+ years of hands-on intrusion detection experience, and I rate books on how well they deliver technical content to front-line operators. Scott's book is absolutely first-rate, written in a clear, friendly style that keeps the reader's attention. Backing up the technical content, the book offers plenty of history and answers to the "why?" questions asked when learning network protocols. For example, why do various Ethernet frame formats exist (Ethernet/DIX/Ethernet II vs. IEEE 802.3 w/LLC Header vs. IEEE 802.3 w/LLC SNAP extension)? Short answer -- blame IBM! Long answer -- read pages 82-86.

The logically arranged material makes Scott's book a powerful learning tool. After introducing protocol analysis in chapter 1, he devotes a full chapter to each of the seven layers of the OSI model. (No, he doesn't skip the session and presentation layers!) By taking a layered approach, Scott compares same-layer protocols and makes each understandable in context (i.e., DNS vs. NetBIOS vs. Netware SAP, all at layer 5 -- somewhat controversially; DNS at layer 5?) Chapter 9 finishes with advice on measuring latency and throughput. I learned something new about protocols at each layer, even after reading many authoritative TCP/IP volumes. For example, Scott's explanation of NetBIOS as a session protocol and Server Message Block (SMB) as an application protocol finally made it clear how these standards interact on Windows networks. The text is backed up by numerous screen captures of protocol decodes, adding to the learning value.

....The few typos or mistakenly omitted material do not detract from the book's overall message. If you've read Richard Stevens, Eric Hall, etc., and you think you've run out of resources for understanding network traffic, give Scott's book a try. You'll be informed and pleasantly surprised!

I just finished a course by the Author..... He really knowshis stuff! The book is a must have for any analyst! It walks you allthe way up the protocol stack and gives you real world examples. Thebook is also loaded with tips and problem solving ideas. END

I've read numerous texts on Analysis and Troubleshooting Networks and this was the best. Taking years of experience and training and creating an outline for use in the field is what the Author's done. Having studied everything from the 802.3 standard itself to analysis handbooks by vendors and other authors, I found this to be concise and direct in application and use in the field. Being the Lead Analyst in a company with over 150 nations globally, this text will be valuable to our teams and is being disseminated as a field handbook for troubleshooting. It's a thorough review of protocols from physical through application layers over the majority of topologies extant in today's corporate infrastructures. My Thanks to the Author and those responsible for it's publication.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone working with OpenGL's new Shading Language. I would, however, say that probably the most difficult part of working with GLSL is getting it working in the first place. Especially on Linux, this is somewhat confusing - some cards support GL 2.0, some don't, but still support the GLSL if using the ARB function calls. I would also make sure to point out to new users that GLEW is close to essential when working with the GLSL - you can download it from sourceforge. It might be worth mentioning in future versions of the book, along with ARB functions which are the same as the GLSL standard functions shown in the book.

Twenty years ago, I used to program graphics on an Evans and Sutherland PS340. It was then one of the top of the line graphics computers (costing $100k). It could labouriously do shading, but only Phong and Gouraud. Nowadays, many PCs have this ability, and much faster. But a problem still persists, where often the shading methods are restricted to what is implemented on the graphics chips.

In contrast, you have the approach in this definitive book on OpenGL Shading Language. This lets you implement in your code, shading routines of your own devising. To be sure, given the same shading method, one done in this language, and one in the hardware, then the latter will have better performance. But it turns out that today's computers are fast enough, and have enough RAM, that the difference in response might not be appreciable.

The book describes an extensive set of built-in convenience functions that come with the language. And the language's API is explained in detail. The author rightly recommends that you come at it with some experience in the standard OpenGL.

Since the language is still quite new, you are more or less on your own, when looking at development tools. This dearth is expected to be remedied in a few years. But right now, you'll have to rely on your wits. Along with a chapter that gives general principles of how you should develop your own shader. What may be even more use, however, is the second half of the book. Devoted to case studies of many shaders. Understanding these may be more beneficial than any IDE.

Oh, as you might expect from a graphics book, there is a lovely set of colour plates in the middle of the book, showing what custom shaders can do. Treat it as inspiration if you wish.

The recent trend in graphics hardware has been to replace fixed functionality with programmability in areas that have grown exceedingly complex (e.g., vertex processing and fragment processing). The OpenGL Shading Language has been designed to allow application programmers to express the processing that occurs at those programmable points of the OpenGL pipeline. Independently compilable units that are written in this language are called shaders. A program is a set of shaders that are compiled and linked together. The OpenGL Shading Language is based on ANSI C and many of the features have been retained except when they conflict with performance or ease of implementation. This shading language is without a doubt the most important addition to OpenGL since its inception, and this book provides an excellent guide to programming with it. The author was one of the primary contributors to the development of the language, and he provides a well-written and insightful explanation of the language and its use.
The book begins with a review of OpenGL basics, followed by an introduction to shaders and how they fit into the pipeline. It then covers the language itself, including data types, operators, interaction with the OpenGL state machine and fixed function pipeline, built-in functions, and more. It also introduces and explains the OpenGL APIs needed to use shaders.
The last half of the book focuses on shader development, including general process and workflow, and coverage of many specific techniques, such as procedural textures and GPU-based animation. It even includes a section on implementing the fixed function pipeline using shaders. The book ends with a handy comparison of OpenGL Shading Language with other shading languages, such as Cg, HLSL, and Renderman and a couple of appendices providing a language grammar and API reference.
I particularly liked chapters 6 through 8, which take you from a simple shading example -"brick"- through the specific steps of shader development that you would need to master regardless of the API you are using. Also the chapters on procedural textures and noise and the accompanying code examples helped clear up some matters that were murky when I read "Texturing & Modeling: A Procedural Approach" by Ebert et al. In summary, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in implementing software shading, both from the standpoint of OpenGL and from the standpoint of the design process itself. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents for the second edition, so I do that here:
Chapter 1. REVIEW OF OPENGL BASICS
OpenGL History; OpenGL Evolution; Execution Mode; The Frame Buffer; State; Processing Pipeline; Drawing Geometry; Drawing Images; Coordinate Transforms; Texturing;

Chapter 2. BASICS
Introduction to the OpenGL Shading Language; Why Write Shaders?; OpenGL Programmable Processors; Language Overview; System Overview; Key Benefits;

Chapter 3. LANGUAGE DEFINITION
Example Shader Pair; Data Types; Initializers and Constructors; Type Conversions; Qualifiers and Interface to a Shader; Flow Control; Operations; Preprocessor; Preprocessor Expressions; Error Handling;

Chapter 4. THE OPENGL PROGRAMMABLE PIPELINE
The Vertex Processor; The Fragment Processor; Built-in Uniform Variables; Built-in Constants; Interaction with OpenGL Fixed Functionality;

Chapter 5. BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS
Angle and Trigonometry Functions; Exponential Functions; Common Functions; Geometric Functions; Matrix Functions; Vector Relational Functions; Texture Access Functions; Fragment Processing Functions; Noise Functions;

Chapter 6. SIMPLE SHADING EXAMPLE
Brick Shader Overview; Vertex Shader; Fragment Shader; Observations;

Chapter 7 OPENGL SHADING LANGUAGE API
Obtaining Version Information; Creating Shader Objects; Compiling Shader Objects; Linking and Using Shaders; Cleaning Up; Query Functions; Specifying Vertex Attributes; Specifying Uniform Variables; Samplers; Multiple Render Targets; Development Aids; Implementation-Dependent API Values; Application Code for Brick Shaders;

Chapter 8. SHADER DEVELOPMENT
General Principles; Performance Considerations; Shader Debugging; Shader Development Tools; Scene Graphs;

Chapter 9. EMULATING OPENGL FIXED FUNCTIONALITY
Transformation; Light Sources; Material Properties and Lighting; Two-Sided Lighting; No Lighting; Fog; Texture Coordinate Generation; User Clipping; Texture Application;

Chapter 10. STORED TEXTURE SHADERS
Access to Texture Maps from a Shader; Simple Texturing Example; Multitexturing Example; Cube Mapping Example; Another Environment Mapping Example; Glyph Bombing;

Chapter 11. PROCEDURAL TEXTURE SHADERS
Regular Patterns; Toy Ball; Lattice; Bump Mapping;

Chapter 12. LIGHTING
Hemisphere Lighting; Image-Based Lighting; Lighting with Spherical Harmonics; The *erLight Shader;

Chapter 13. SHADOWS
Ambient Occlusion; Shadow Maps; Deferred Shading for Volume Shadows;

Chapter 14. SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS
Refraction; Diffraction; BRDF Models; Polynomial Texture Mapping with BRDF Data;

Chapter 15. NOISE
Noise Defined; Noise Textures; Trade-offs; A Simple Noise Shader; Turbulence; Granite; Wood;

Chapter 16. ANIMATION
On/Off; Threshold; Translation; Morphing; Other Blending Effects; Vertex Noise; Particle Systems; Wobble;

Chapter 17. ANTIALIASING PROCEDURAL TEXTURES
Sources of Aliasing; Avoiding Aliasing; Increasing Resolution; Antialiased Stripe Example; Frequency Clamping;

Chapter 18. NON-PHOTOREALISTIC SHADERS
Hatching Example; Technical Illustration Example; Mandelbrot Example;

Chapter 19. SHADERS FOR IMAGING
Geometric Image Transforms; Mathematical Mappings; Lookup Table Operations; Color Space Conversions; Image Interpolation and Extrapolation; Blend Modes;

Chapter 20. REALWORLDZ
Features; RealWorldz Internals; Implementation; Atmospheric Effects; Ocean; Clouds;

Chapter 21. LANGUAGE COMPARISON
Chronology of Shading Languages; RenderMan; OpenGL Shader (ISL); HLSL; Cg;
Appendix A. Language Grammar
Appendix B. API Function Reference

I'm not a fan of the 'group of papers' style of book. But this book pulls it off nicely. The text is consistenly good throughout. And the illustrations and formulas are high quality and presented nicely.

I would have liked full color throughout, but I accept that it would have been cost prohibitive on a book of this heft. Speaking of heft, yeah, this is a doorstop of a book. I think some of the text could have been edited down and the formatting tightened up to reduce bulk.

The OpenGL Shading Language is without doubt the most important addition to OpenGL since its inception, and this book provides an excellent guide to programming with it. As one of the primary contributors to the development of the language, Rost provides a clear and well-written explanation of the language and how to use it.

The book begins with a review of OpenGL basics, followed by an introduction to shaders and how they fit into the pipeline. It then covers the language itself, including data types, operators, interaction with the OpenGL state machine and fixed function pipeline, built-in functions, and more. It also introduces and explains the OpenGL APIs needed to use shaders.

The last half of the book focuses on shader development, including general process and workflow, and coverage of many specific techniques, such as procedural textures and GPU-based animation. It even includes a section on implementing the fixed function pipeline using shaders.

The book ends with a handy comparison of GLSL with other shading languages, such as Cg and HLSL, and a couple of appendices providing a language grammar and API reference.

If you're doing shader development with OpenGL, you'll definitely want this book on your desk. My only complaint about it is that it was written before GLSL was officially promoted to the core. When that happened, a number of important things were changed that aren't reflected in the book. However, determining the differences isn't difficult, so don't let that deter you from picking this up.