eBoot Camp: Proven Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business Review

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(More customer reviews)I have developed several hundred websites over the last decade, optimized them for Google, and have literally made millions for my clients. So while most web marketing books may not present me with new techniques, I have still given five-star reviews to those that I think others would find useful.
Not only is this book a weak primer with plenty of page filler, but Perlman's suggestions can actually hurt your marketing results. Chapter 4 is dedicated to your keywords meta tag, yet Perlman doesn't realize nor does he mention that Google's algorithms have completely ignored the keywords tag for years. When discussing title tags, he makes no mention of easy mistakes that will get websites penalized or even blacklisted from Google. Perlman encourages reciprocal link exchanges with other webmasters (with no mention of anchor text), but never explains that some links can be worthless, and others can get you banned from Google.
The only effective marketing angles that Perlman barely scratches the surface on are writing articles, press releases, and blogging. I can point out several books for the same amount of money that contain ten times as much useful information for newbies and designers alike, such as Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, and Web Copy That Sells.
I bought this book (Amazon verified) because there were almost 50 glowing reviews. What I failed to notice was that 90% of the reviewers have written only one review. Most of them refer to the author by his first name, and suggest that they've been to his seminars. The testimonials in his book are from other authors, and not a single one of them are web developers or online marketing experts. Perlman himself seems to have no background in web design or internet marketing (there's zero mention of either on his sites or in his book).
Countless other web marketing books will help you more in the long run, and will actually tell you how not to get banned from Google. I'm not even upset that I bought it, I'm upset that so many people new to web marketing will buy it, and do a major disservice to promoting their business.

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In this Web 2.0 era, small business owners are at a severe disadvantage because they have minimal, if any, knowledge, about Internet marketing. They also lack the budget to hire a top-notch web marketer. As a result, the thrust of their Internet marketing program is usually a poorly performing website that attracts few visitors. e Boot Camp is the solution to the entrepreneur's Internet marketing problem. This do-it-yourself book provides the know-how that's needed to win business in cyberspace while eliminating the need for a large marketing budget. In just an hour or two a week, the small business owner will gain control of his or her Internet marketing campaign, using the step-by-step method Perlman presents. Specifically, readers will learn the keys to improving their search-engine ranking (the critical driver of traffic to a Website), how to create and manage blogs and e-newsletters and, finally, the secrets to a successful, sales-driven website.

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Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets and Solutions, Sixth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Hardly a week goes by that CNN does not report a high-profile Web site being defiled or an e-commerce site being penetrated. While most people know why these incidents occurred, Hacking Exposed explains how they occurred and, more important, how to prevent them from occurring.
The cover of Hacking Exposed announces that "Network security is Y2K without the deadline." That alarmist statement, however, is the only hype in the book. The work is packed with real-world examples and links to tools needed to assess the security of any type of client/server and Web system. As they detail the myriad vulnerabilities in different types of systems, the authors provide countermeasures for each of them.
Well organized, the book progresses in an orderly fashion. It methodically goes through the process of exploiting a target to penetrate a system--from identification and enumeration to actual penetration. The authors provide detailed instructions and explanations for many security features and flaws in Unix, Linux, Windows, NetWare, routers, firewalls, and more. Topics covered include state-of-the-art computer and network penetration, as viewed by both the attacker and the defender; remote system identification; vulnerability identification; war dialers; firewall circumvention; and denial-of-service attacks. An appendix explores the security characteristics of Windows 2000.
Some may argue that books such as this one only serve to motivate and educate hackers. The truth is that hackers are already aware of the book's contents. This book is designed for system administrators and managers who need to know their systems' risks and vulnerabilities and how to address them. When they are done with this book, system administrators and managers will be familiar with such critical topics as back channels, port redirection, banner grabbing, and buffer overflows. Hacking Exposed is a must-read for anyone who wants to know what is really happening on their network....

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Local Online Advertising For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)local online advertising for dummies is a great read cover to cover...the fact i like the most about the book is that it touches upon every aspect of local business marketing from creating a website, to PPC, SEO and more...The book authored by Yodle, in my review fairs a "Good read"....for me the chapters that talk about "social networking" and "PR" were the most helpful, as those are relatively new marketing channels I am trying to better use to attain business goals... In my review, Yodle and this book are "highly recommended".


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Kick your local online advertising into high gear with this friendly, timely guide!
Add the newest means of advertising your business into your marketing mix by developing an online advertising strategy. This get-down-to-business guide will show you how. Written by executives from Yodle, a New York-based firm specializing in online advertising, this book reveals the best and brightest ways to get the word out, from creating a Web presence that draws visitors, to using SEO, to jumping boldly into social media advertising.
Online advertising market is estimated to grow to $10-$19 billion by 2011, and you'll want your business to be part of this huge shift
Explores how to research your audience, set goals, and build a plan
Provides steps and tips on creating an effective Web presence and landing pages-then covers how to drive visitors to your site with search engine optimization, AdWords, e-mail blasts, and social media marketing
Examines blogs, chat rooms, video, and other ways to win customers

Don't miss the free offer from Yodle that comes with this practical guide!

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Business Ethics: Case Studies and Selected Readings (South-Western Legal Studies in Business Academic) Review

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(More customer reviews)One benefit of this book is that it contains articles, commentary, and discussion questions all in one text. It also covers a wide variety of issues, which is good since business ethics is a vast subject. On the negative side, I don't think the organization of the sections is the most effective way to approach the topic. The sections are organized based on a 1991 survey of CEOs in which the participants ranked their most important types of ethical dilemmas. As a result, there isn't the logical flow or progression of ideas from chapter to chapter that one might expect from a philosophy book. Unfortunately, the pragmatic interests of CEOs are not the same as the educational needs of students who are new to business ethics. There is also no discussion of ethical theories and no direct interaction between the articles. On the whole, this book may be beneficial if used in conjunction with a survey of ethical theories and ethical decision-making, but taken by itself it makes for a rather uneven introduction to business ethics.

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Packed with real-life examples of business decisions gone awry, the 7th Edition of BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDIES AND SELECTED READINGS explores the complex issues of business ethics from the leaders' perspectives. This best-selling text offers a rare collection of readings which examines the business decision-making processes of many types of leaders, while revealing some of the common factors that push them over ethical lines they might not otherwise cross. A combination of short and long cases, readings, hypothetical situations, and current ethical dilemmas, BUSINESS ETHICS: CASE STUDIES AND SELECTED READINGS provides a stimulating and thorough basis for evaluating business ethics, and encourages stronger values in future business leaders.

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Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this book for a college course literature circle assignment. What I like about this book is the many websites and internet resource links that provide examples of Web 2.0 technology and tools to begin storytelling in the classroom. The chapters are logically presented making learning digital storytelling easy even for novices like myself. I created a very basic Windows Movie Maker video using still pictures in a matter of minutes. For the educator who wishes to dabble in digital storytelling, this book is an excellent resource and tutorial guide.

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Storytelling is an age-old art form. With Web 2.0 and the tools already available on most computers, students can use text, music, sound effects, videos, and more to create a multimedia presentation that links them to the world beyond the classroom. Storytelling has the potential to unleash creativity, engage, and motivate. Applicable across the curriculum, digital storytelling teaches students to work collaboratively and use new technologies, skills they will be required to have in the workforce of the future.
This book offers an overview of digital storytelling as well as its variations, including e-portfolios, digital photo essays, and scrapblogs. The many recommendations, overviews, and explanations of digital storytelling tools, along with lists of additional digital storytelling resources, will help educators to apply this exciting technology in their classrooms. Educators will also discover the ways digital storytelling can be used for their own professional development. Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators provides detailed directions to preparation, production, and presentation, and rounds out with a discussion on creating rubrics and evaluating student work. Readers will come away with an understanding of digital stories and the tools needed to create them.
Features:
* Assessment rubrics for each stage of digital storytelling * Aligns digital storytelling to the NETS for Students * Each chapter includes a list of resources and links
Topics include:
-Web 2.0-multimedia-presentations-professional development-e-portfolios-web 2.0 tools
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the trusted source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy and leadership for innovation. ISTE is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), and ISTE's annual conference (formerly known as the National Educational Computing Conference, or NECC), ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. We support our members with information, networking opportunities, and guidance as they face the challenge of transforming education.
Some of the areas in which we publish are: -Web. 2.0 in the classroom-RSS, podcasts, and more-National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) -Professional development for educators and administrators-Integrating technology into the classroom and curriculum-Safe practices for the Internet and technology-Educational technology for parents

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Beginning OpenOffice 3: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional) Review

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(More customer reviews)Beginning OpenOffice 3 walks the reader through using the most common features of OpenOffice, arguably one of the most powerful and complete office suite available. And best of all, it is free! Many companies and individuals are discovering it for the first time as they deal with the need to exchange files with others who are using the newest version of Microsoft Office. Given the choice of upgrading all their systems to the newest version or simply downloading OpenOffice 3, many are examining it as a viable option. OpenOffice 3 can open and edit files created with the newest version of Word and save them in a format the Microsoft Office can open and use.
This brings us to the purpose of this book. How do you find out how to use the features to achieve the results you want? One of the best things about this book is the approach the author uses. The entire book is project oriented so you learn by creating projects and solving problems in a real world scenario. The book covers all the different software components - word processing, spreadsheet, database, illustration, and presentation software. The author does an excellent job of focusing on and detailing the most common needs of a typical office. You can literally start from no knowledge of office suite software at all and learn how to become a proficient user in relatively short order.
The chapter on the word processing module starts from the very basics of opening a file or creating a new one. From there the author leads the reader through formatting, creating and using templates, paragraph styles and other common needs. Then he moves the reader through creating a newsletter, inserting graphics, word wrap, changing styles in a page and other advanced topics. This section ends with understanding how to automatically create footnotes, endnotes, table of contents and style sheets.
The section on the spreadsheet module covers creating a spreadsheet, adding formulas, linking formulas to other cells, and multiple other common tasks. In addition it covers creating charts and graphs and making them easy to understand. The chapters on the presentation and illustration programs are much shorter but the programs are much less complex by design. Presentation software needs to be able to create a slide show, change slides on a predetermined time scale, and add bulleted points and other basic actions needed to provide a solid presentation. The illustration module also is designed to create or edit items for inclusion in newsletters or other publishing needs. It is basically somewhat more powerful than paint but much less than Adobe or similar illustration packages.
The database module is covered well with enough detail to learn how to use it but not so much as to get the reader lost in multiple foreign key linking and the like. The author does a very good job of explaining the use of multiple tables and linking them for efficient database creation. He also covers the creation of input forms, queries, and reports and other functional requirements of database management.
Once you have a basic understanding of the different modules the second section of the book involves putting them all together to share content by building a web page with a database, ability to input information over the web and create queries and reports via the web browser.
The writing is concise while still being detailed enough to provide highly functional information. Using it I was able to create a complete web based database for the processing of financial information for grant requests for a local foundation. Granted I already had an extensive understanding of most of these areas but it was quick and easy to build it based on information supplied in the book.
Beginning OpenOffice 3 is highly recommended to anyone interested in learning how to use this powerful office suite.

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Downloaded over 90 million times, Open Office is a free open-source alternative to Microsoft Office and iLife that runs natively on Windows, Mac OS X and most Linux distributions. The software includes a word processor, spreadsheet application, database, presentation software, and graphics. While there are similarities to other closed-source office applications, there are always questions that arise from using new software, and this book will contain the solutions for new and current users of Open Office 3.Microsoft's forthcoming Office suite release, currently titled MS Office 2008, has been delayed yet again, so there's a real opportunity to introduce Open Office to an audience that is ready to ditch their alliance to Microsoft.

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Programming Embedded Systems: With C and GNU Development Tools, 2nd Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Presents a good introduction to embedded system programming; no complaints there. However, their choice of development kit is poor. The Arcom (now EuroTech) kit is $600, rather than the $300 stated in the book. And it took almost 3 weeks for them to respond to a quote request. Fortunately, there are kits available from other vendors (BiPom, Olimex, etc.) which can be substituted for less than $300. However, the impracticality of using the Arcom kit robs the book of its purpose of being a hands-on, guided tutorial.

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If you have programming experience and a familiarity with C--the dominant language in embedded systems--Programming Embedded Systems, Second Edition is exactly what you need to get started with embedded software. This software is ubiquitous, hidden away inside our watches, DVD players, mobile phones, anti-lock brakes, and even a few toasters. The military uses embedded software to guide missiles, detect enemy aircraft, and pilot UAVs. Communication satellites, deep-space probes, and many medical instruments would have been nearly impossible to create without embedded software.

The first edition of Programming Embedded Systems taught the subject to tens of thousands of people around the world and is now considered the bible of embedded programming. This second edition has been updated to cover all the latest hardware designs and development methodologies.

The techniques and code examples presented here are directly applicable to real-world embedded software projects of all sorts. Examples use the free GNU software programming tools, the eCos and Linux operating systems, and a low-cost hardware platform specially developed for this book. If you obtain these tools along with Programming Embedded Systems, Second Edition, you'll have a full environment for exploring embedded systems in depth. But even if you work with different hardware and software, the principles covered in this book apply.

Whether you are new to embedded systems or have done embedded work before, you'll benefit from the topics in this book, which include:

How building and loading programs differ from desktop or server computers
Basic debugging techniques--a critical skill when working with minimally endowed embedded systems
Handling different types of memory
Interrupts, and the monitoring and control of on-chip and external peripherals
Determining whether you have real-time requirements, and whether your operating system and application can meet those requirements
Task synchronization with real-time operating systems and embedded Linux
Optimizing embedded software for size, speed, and power consumption
Working examples for eCos and embedded Linux

So whether you're writing your first embedded program, designing the latest generation of hand-held whatchamacalits, or managing the people who do, this book is for you. Programming Embedded Systems will help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to achieve proficiency with embedded software.

Praise for the first edition:
"This lively and readable book is the perfect introduction for those venturing into embedded systems software development for the first time. It provides in one place all the important topics necessary to orient programmers to the embedded development process. --Lindsey Vereen, Editor-in-Chief, Embedded Systems Programming

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Google Sketchup for Interior Design & Space Planning: Acquiring Intermediate Skills (Volume 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is perfect to learn how to stay organized with Google Sketchup. It approaches how to work not only with groups and components but also how to dominate the powerful Outliner tool. Layers are used in a whole new perspective. All the exercises are focused on how to reach the interior space in a simple way.

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Much has been written for using Google SketchUp in the building shell and its relationship to the environment or the site. Less help has been provided to interior designers who work every day with materials, textures, lights and colors. Students need to know the available tools and how they can apply them in specific cases to this particular discipline. Fundamental concepts, ideas on how to create objects and interior spaces, tips and practical exercises are what this book offers. Rather than endless lines of explanatory text this hands-on book is a compendium of practical exercises that lead students to learn SketchUp from the perspective of the interior designer.This book focuses on the fundamentals for the interior design field and promotes independent study. A series of four books offer separate courses progressing in complexity. At the end of every course you will find practical exercises that will broaden your experience in the acquired knowledge. These resources enable students to think about how the knowledge can be applied to any situation. At the end of the four courses you will be able to express your ideas to others in a more efficient and attractive way. "Training Course 2. Acquiring Intermediate Skills" may be applied to any discipline, but all exercises are designed especially for interior designers, stage designers and space planning focusing on the tools required to use Sketchup in those fields. One of the strengths of SketchUp is the way it allows users to maintain the geometry of a model under control. Having a disorganized model can be a real headache and can even cause the computer to operate very slowly. There are four indispensable tools if you wish to reach a good end: Groups, Components, Outliner and Layers.Learn how to stay organized in SketchUp by using these tools. Learn how to control your model through the Outliner and access to the 3D Warehouse.

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The Next Wave of Technologies: Opportunities in Chaos Review

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(More customer reviews)The next wave of Technologies is a very rich, and up to date, source of information. Chances are the reader has already heard, read and possibly work with some of these technologies. And of course we can always search for information on the internet. But this book bundles it all together in a consistent and comprehensive way. It also provides information that one can use as a starting point to investigate further. This book will also serve as an excellent reference book.
Next to describing and explaining the technologies, the reader gets an insight on:
- when and how these technologies and concepts, evolved to there current status
- benefits, costs, risks, limitations, and challenges
- who are (current) players (form vendor- as well as user and customer side)
- role and strategies of vendors/suppliers, and customer/user expectations
- impact on organizations
- best practices, key factors, models and frameworks
- development, management and deployment
- references to specific research done, literature, articles, whitepapers etc. (can serve as point for further study)
Phil Simon has done a great job in bringing together 15 other authors and there knowledge and expertise to form this excellent bundle of information. Each author writes a chapter on his/her specific area of expertise. One of the things I like of books written by different authors, is that each chapter has a bit different writing style, which to me makes it more interesting to read. Every chapter is written with a bit different style, while still maintaining an overall general structure. Nicely done!
Each chapter ends with a summary and a `next steps' section. The `next steps' section is intended to help the reader think about steps he/she can take when considering using, or is already using, the specific technology in their organization.
The book is structured in 4 parts:
Part1 - Introduction, Background and Definitions
Part2 - Architecture, Software Development, and Frameworks
Part3 - Data, Information, and Knowledge
Part4 - Management and Deployment
Part5 - Conclusion
the chapters are:
Part-1
Ch1 - The changing Landscape of Business and Technologies
Ch2 - How the Game has changed
Ch3 - The role of IT in an Enterprise 2.0 World
Part-2
Ch4 - Cloud Computing
Ch5 - Opens Source: The War that both Sides Won
Ch6 - Software as a Service
Ch7 - Service Oriented Architecture
Ch8 - Managing Mobile Business
Ch9 - Social Networking
Part-3
Ch10 - Enterprise Searc and Retrieval
Ch11 - Enterprise 2.0 Business Inteligence
Ch12 - Master Data Management
Ch13 - Procurement in Chaos
Part-4
Ch14 - Agile Software Development
Ch15 - Enterprise Risk Management
Ch16 - Implementing Open Source Software
Ch17 - Global Engineering
Ch18 - Enterprise 2.0 IT Project Failure
Ch19 - Readying the troops for Battle
Ch20 - Sustainability and Green IT
Part-5
Ch21 - Finding Opportunity in Chaos
That's it for my review. I hope it gives an insight of what to expect from the book.
Thansk fo reading the review.
*********

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Your all-inclusive guide to all the latest technologies
Providing you with a better understanding of the latest technologies, including Cloud Computing, Software as a Service, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Open Source, Mobile Computing, Social Networking, and Business Intelligence, The Next Wave of Technologies: Opportunities from Chaos helps you know which questions to ask when considering if a specific technology is right for your organization.
Demystifies powerful but largely misunderstood technologies
Explains how each technology works
Provides key guidance on determining if a particular technology is right for your organization
Contains contributions from experts on Cloud Computing, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software as a Service (SaaS), Open Source, Mobile Technologies, Enterprise Risk Management, Social Media, Business Intelligence, and more

More of a management text than a technical guide, the book is designed to help your organization better understand these exciting new technologies and their potential impact. The Next Wave of Technologies: Opportunities from Chaos will help you determine if your organization is ready for a specific technology, how to prepare for its successful adoption, how to measure success, and the key risks and red flags to recognize.

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How to Break Web Software: Functional and Security Testing of Web Applications and Web Services. Book & CD Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently finished reading How to Break Web Software: Functional and Security Testing of Web Applications and Web Services by Mike Andrews and James A. Whittaker. I, like many of you, develop web software for a living. I've always taken security seriously and occasionally sneered when I ran across examples of common mistakes. Having said that, this book was an eye opener for me.
The book covers common exploits such as bypassing input validation, SQL injection, and denial of service. There were also several types of attacks I hadn't really considered before. I won't list them here because someone would undoubtedly say, "I can't believe he didn't know about that one!" The authors cover 24 different types of attacks in all. The book also includes coverage of web privacy issues and security related to web services.
Finally, as icing on the cake, a CD is included that contains many tools that will find permanent spots in your arsenal. There are tools to do things like scan web servers for common exploits, mirror sites for local analysis, and check SSL cipher strengths. My favorites are the local proxies that will allow you to view and modify posts as they travel from the client and the server. I always knew I could do this, but didn't know how easy it is. The CD also contains the source code of an example site that includes many flaws for you to practice.
This book is written for software professionals to help them put the hackers out of business. So, it necessarily includes hacker techniques. If you develop or test web software, you should read this book before the hackers do. :-)

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Since its early days as an information exchange tool limited to academe, researchers, and the military, the web has grown into a commerce engine that is now omnipresent in all facets of our lifes. More websites are created daily and more applications are developed to allow users to learn, research, and purchase online. As a result, web development is often rushed, which increases the risk of attacks from hackers. Furthermore, the need for secure applications has to be balanced with the need for usability, performance, and reliability. In this book, Whittaker and Andrews demonstrate how rigorous web testing can help prevent and prepare for such attacks. They point out that methodical testing must include identifying threats and attack vectors to establish and then implement the appropriate testing techniques, manual or automated.

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Microsoft SharePoint 2007 For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is great for the SharePoint administrator. Unfortunately, I'm the user creating and populating the sites rather than installing the server. There are a few sections for the user at my level, but I'd anticipated a Dummies book wouldn't be for the techies. I also wish it had more screen shots to demonstrate things, but I suppose it would wind up becoming a 1000 page book then. It's fine for what it is, and I did pick up some tips, so it wasn't a complete waste for me. I found SharePoint 2007 User's Guide: Learning Microsoft's Collaboration and Productivity Platform to be a bit more practical for my needs. I still haven't found THE training resource I need to help others utilize SharePoint the way it was intended.

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Microsoft SharePoint now has a 10 percent share of the portal market, and the new release, which features enhanced integration with Office 2007, is sure to give SharePoint a boost
Offers clear instructions and soup-to-nuts coverage of this complex product, focusing instead on practical solutions to real-world SharePoint challenges
Features tips, tricks, and techniques for administrators who need to install and configure a SharePoint portal as well as ordinary users who need to populate and maintain the portal and use it for collaborative projects
Topics covered include setting up a SharePoint portal, matching SharePoint to business needs, managing portal content, branding, collaborating on SharePoint sites, using a portal to improve employee relations and marketing, putting expense reports and other interactive forms on a portal, and monitoring and backing up SharePoint

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BIG BIM little bim - Second Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Can't say what I expected when I bought this book. It's all over the map and I'm expecting PBS to pick this guy up as an architectural self-help guru.
I have never seen so many numbers thrown around as the "4Site" system that is best used with the 80/20 principle that then moves on to the Power of Sixteen Concept that can then be better handled with the 400% Rule (page 136). I am seriously paraphrasing here, but it can be daunting trying to keep with the threads.
Having cleared my system of that I will say that there are a number of things that can be taken away from this book (failing fast is my favorite). It is on the extreme end of the "architecture-is-a-business" end of things, but as is so often pointed out in this book, it is what is so often left out of an architects' equation. And an omission that, if not tended to, will push architects further to the fringe of the construction industry.
Mr. Jernigan, I have no doubt, knows what he is talking about--it's just such a difficult read.

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Finith Jernigan has rewritten his award-winning book to include the big changes happening every day in the world of BIG BIM. The second edition of "BIG BIM little bim" has expanded coverage of the practical applications of BIM for the entire construction industry. The phenomenon of the worldwide BIMStorm is highlighted in this new edition. The book gives user-friendly approaches that architects, engineers, owners, builders, facility managers, educators and students can understand and apply today. Internationally recognized as a leader in BIM, Jernigan shows how to leverage resources, compete in a worldwide market, and become more efficient and productive in the planning, design, construction and operation of facilities.

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Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is perfect for people who want to understand more about information technology and don't want to read something long or technical to learn it. The authors do a superb job taking the reader through how major technologies function (computers, the internet, cell phones, etc.), how they are shaping our lives, and what impacts they have on our laws and society. Amazing stories are woven throughout it, making it readable and fun for techies and non-techies alike. At the end of the book, you'll have a new understanding of the things we take for granted - and what possibilities and threats they pose. You'll also be light years ahead of most other people - who themselves will need to come up to speed in the coming years. A great read!

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"If you want to understand the future before it happens, you'll love this book. If you want to change the future before it happens to you, this book is required reading."–Reed Hundt, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission "There is no simpler or clearer statement of the radical change that digital technologies will bring, nor any book that better prepares one for thinking about the next steps."–Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School and Author of Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace"Blown to Bits will blow you away. In highly accessible and always fun prose, it explores all the nooks and crannies of the digital universe, exploring not only how this exploding space works but also what it means."–Debora Spar, President of Barnard College, Author of Ruling the Waves and The Baby Business"This is a wonderful book–probably the best since Hal Varian and Carl Schultz wrote Digital Rules. The authors are engineers, not economists. The result is a long, friendly talk with the genie, out of the lamp, and willing to help you avoid making the traditional mistake with that all-important third wish."–David Warsh, Author of Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations"Blown to Bits is one of the clearest expositions I've seen of the social and political issues arising from the Internet. Its remarkably clear explanations of how the Net actually works lets the hot air out of some seemingly endless debates. You've made explaining this stuff look easy. Congratulations!"–David Weinberger, Coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto and Author of Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder."Blown to Bits is a timely, important, and very readable take on how information is produced and consumed today, and more important, on the approaching sea change in the way that we as a society deal with the consequences."–Craig Silverstein, Director of Technology, Google, Inc."This book gives an overview of the kinds of issues confronting society as we become increasingly dependent on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Every informed citizen should read this book and then form their own opinion on these and related issues. And after reading this book you will rethink how (and even whether) you use the Web to form your opinions…"–James S. Miller, Senior Director for Technology Policy and Strategy, Microsoft Corporation"Most writing about the digital world comes from techies writing about technical matter for other techies or from pundits whose turn of phrase greatly exceeds their technical knowledge. In Blown to Bits, experts in computer science address authoritatively the practical issues in which we all have keen interest."–Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Author of Multiple Intelligences and Changing Minds"Regardless of your experience with computers, Blown to Bits provides a uniquely entertaining and informative perspective from the computing industry's greatest minds.A fascinating, insightful and entertaining book that helps you understand computers and their impact on the world in a whole new way. This is a rare book that explains the impact of the digital explosion in a way that everyone can understand and, at the same time, challenges experts to think in new ways."–Anne Margulies, Assistant Secretary for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts"Blown to Bits is fun and fundamental. What a pleasure to see real teachers offering such excellent framework for students in a digital age to explore and understand their digital environment, code and law, starting with the insight of Claude Shannon. I look forward to you teaching in an open online school."–Professor Charles Nesson, Harvard Law School, Founder, Berkman Center for Internet and Society"To many of us, computers and the Internet are magic. We make stuff, send stuff, receive stuff, and buy stuff. It's all pointing, clicking, copying, and pasting. But it's all mysterious. This book explains in clear and comprehensive terms how all this gear on my desk works and why we should pay close attention to these revolutionary changes in our lives. It's a brilliant and necessary work for consumers, citizens, and students of all ages."–Siva Vaidhyanathan, cultural historian and media scholar at the University of Virginia and author of Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity"The world has turned into the proverbial elephant and we the blind men. The old and the young among us risk being controlled by, rather than in control of, events and technologies. Blown to Bits is a remarkable and essential Rosetta Stone for beginning to figure out how all of the pieces of the new world we have just begun to enter–law, technology, culture, information–are going to fit together. Will life explode with new possibilities, or contract under pressure of new horrors? The precipice is both exhilarating and frightening. Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry Lewis, together, have ably managed to describe the elephant. Readers of this compact book describing the beginning stages of a vast human adventure will be one jump ahead, for they will have a framework on which to hang new pieces that will continue to appear with remarkable speed. To say that this is a 'must read' sounds trite, but, this time, it's absolutely true."–Harvey Silverglate, criminal defense and civil liberties lawyer and writerEvery day, billions of photographs, news stories, songs, X-rays, TV shows, phone calls, and emails are being scattered around the world as sequences of zeroes and ones: bits. We can't escape this explosion of digital information and few of us want to–the benefits are too seductive. The technology has enabled unprecedented innovation, collaboration, entertainment, and democratic participation.But the same engineering marvels are shattering centuries-old assumptions about privacy, identity, free expression, and personal control as more and more details of our lives are captured as digital data.Can you control who sees all that personal information about you? Can email be truly confidential, when nothing seems to be private? Shouldn't the Internet be censored the way radio and TV are? Is it really a federal crime to download music? When you use Google or Yahoo! to search for something, how do they decide which sites to show you? Do you still have free speech in the digital world? Do you have a voice in shaping government or corporate policies about any of this?Blown to Bits offers provocative answers to these questions and tells intriguing real-life stories. This book is a wake-up call to the human consequences of the digital explosion.Preface xiiiChapter 1: Digital Explosion: Why Is It Happening, and What Is at Stake? 1Chapter 2: Naked in the Sunlight: Privacy Lost, Privacy Abandoned 19Chapter 3: Ghosts in the Machine: Secrets and Surprises of Electronic Documents 73Chapter 4: Needles in the Haystack: Google and Other Brokers in the Bits Bazaar 109Chapter 5: Secret Bits: How Codes Became Unbreakable 161Chapter 6: Balance Toppled: Who Owns the Bits? 195Chapter 7: You Can't Say That on the Internet: Guarding the Frontiers of Digital Expression 229Chapter 8: Bits in the Air: Old Metaphors, New Technologies, and Free Speech 259Conclusion: After the Explosion 295Appendix: The Internet as System and Spirit 301Endnotes 317Index 347

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The Accidental Library Marketer Review

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(More customer reviews)I do research about "Library Marketing". This book shows well the concepts and practical ideas of "Library Marketing". I think every librarian, researcher, and professor in Library Science needs to read this book. As the author says, the class of "Library Marketing" is needed at Library and Information School. This book can be read easily. The author writes like narration with simple and easy expressions. Library is a treasure from ansient world. It keeps growing. And librarians can know how to make the libraries better, central in community, core in any organization with this book.

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The Accidental Library Marketer fills a need for library professionals and paraprofessionals who find themselves in an awkward position: They need to promote their libraries and servicesin the age of the internet, but they venever been taught how to do it effectively.This results-oriented A-to-Z guide by Kathy Dempsey longtime editor of the Marketing Library Services newsletter reveals the missing link between the everyday promotion librarians actually do and the real marketing that sguaranteed to assure funding, excite users, and build stronger communityrelationships. Combining real-life examples, expert advice, and checklists in a reader-friendly style, this is the complete how-to resource for successful library marketing and promotion.

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Small Business Management: Entrepreneurship and Beyond Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is expensive - is making the book sellers and publishers rich. This is another example of schools very frequently requiring new versions of a book, with just a few changes, to make it seem as if you MUST purchase the newest version, while an older, dicounted version would suit you just as well.
My shool did not have any used books for sale. The school was charging @$200.00 plus, I paid @$150.00 here, and the last version sold here for @ $25.00! If you are considering purchasing this book, look for an older version.
The book does have valuable information for people who are starting a new business.

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Small Business Management provides a balanced introduction to both entrepreneurship and small business management with a focus on achieving and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage as a small organization. Current issues including global opportunities, service, quality and technology are highlighted throughout the text. The streamlined format allows instructors to cover the entire text of 18 chapters within a standard semester timeline without sacrificing important topics. The Fifth Edition features a special focus on the impact of the financial crisis on small business management.The online Business Plan Guide and templates provide some of the most extensive information available on business planning.

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Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications Review

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(More customer reviews)Digital Strategies is exceptional. It's a really smart and focused integration of strategy and communications... and how Web 2.0 has driven changes and new opportunities. Great examples, and key strategic insights. Highly recommended especially for those who like learning about the discipline of strategy or in the communication field.

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The explosion of blogs, social networkingsites, wikis, video sharing sites, and otherpowerful digital communications platformsmay be the biggest game-changer to impactbusiness since mechanized manufacturing. In today's Web 2.0 world, company stakeholders--including employees, customers,and investors--are empowered in waysunimaginable just a few years ago, andtraditional corporate hierarchies areyesterday's news.

Rather than attempt to turn back the clockand reassert strict, top-down control overstakeholder relationships, the smartestcompanies worldwide are responding withbold new digital communications strategiesbased on transparency, authenticity, andinclusion, instead of secrecy, artificiality,and exclusion.

International corporate communicationsguru Paul A. Argenti provides a lively, up-to-the-minute review of the Web 2.0 landscapeand analyzes the increasingly central rolecorporate communications plays in virtuallyevery organizational function. Argenti andcoauthor Courtney Barnes advise corporateleaders on how to deploy proven strategiesfor using new and emerging digitalplatforms to
Manage brand identity andcompany reputation
Build a culture of engagementand transparency
Turn stakeholders into"company evangelists"
Manage internal communications acrosstime zones and language barriers
Recruit and retain the best talent
Develop compelling messages based oncustomer and investor needs and desires

Argenti and Barnes provide case studiesillustrating digital communications bestpractices at HP, Southwest Airlines, Sony,Dell, IBM, Starbucks, HBO, FedEx, GE, andother major players.

This groundbreaking book will teach youhow to gain real, manageable control overyour organization's communications intoday's virtual world.

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Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota's PDCA Management System Review

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(More customer reviews)I finally got my copy of this book in the mail last week. I guess it is sold out and hard to obtain at any site. I'm glad to finally have mine. Given some of the comments above I'm guessing there was either a delay at the publishers or they simply did not anticipate all the demand. I did finally get mine however...
Regardless I am please to note that this book is an excellent summary of A3 Thinking. I've had some exposure to the topic in the past and always been left wanting more. This finally gets at a lot of questions I had about the concept. If you have ever wanted to learn what an A3 report is and more importantly the thought process behind one then this is the best place to start that I know of. The print is a little small and the text is 164 pages I think the 184 page figure comes from including the other pages in the foreword, acknowledgements, and introduction sections etc. However there is no shortage of good information inside. I zipped through it over the weekend and got some great insights right away.
The contents of the book include the following eight chapters. Each is roughly about 20 pages in length.
1.A Basis for Managerial Effectiveness
2.A3 Thinking - the Seven Elements
3.The Problem Solving A3 Report
4.The Proposal A3 Report
5.The Status A3 Report
6.Notes on Form and Style
7.Supporting Structures
8.Conclusion
I thought the second chapter on the seven elements A3 Thinking was particularly insightful and appreciated the advice on the different types of examples as well. The book is both a good "what is" summary of the topic and contains some very practical advice about "how to" write different types. Equally importantly for me at least it included some insight on how to critique A3's as well. I give the work five stars as it fills a void in the lean literature in a very readable manner.


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Winner of a 2009 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize. Notably flexible and brief, the A3 report has proven to be a key tool In Toyota's successful move toward organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and improvement, especially within its engineering and R&D organizations. The power of the A3 report, however, derives not from the report itself, but rather from the development of the culture and mindset required for the implementation of the A3 system. In other words, A3 reports are not just an end product but are evidence of a powerful set of dynamics that is referred to as A3 Thinking. In Understanding A3 Thinking, the authors first show that the A3 report is an effective tool when it is implemented in conjunction with a PDCA-based management philosophy. Toyota views A3 Reports as just one piece in their PDCA management approach. Second, the authors show that the process leading to the development and management of A3 reports is at least as important as the reports themselves, because of the deep learning and professional development that occurs in the process. And finally, the authors provide a number of examples as well as some very practical advice on how to write and review A3 reports.

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