Pandora's Box: Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age Review

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(More customer reviews)It is a good book and it is highly recommended for anyone that is able to read whether he/she has contact with the computer or now. The social issues raised are all encompassing.

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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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Undercover User Experience Design (Voices That Matter) Review

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(More customer reviews)In the past few years, I have read many UX books, and most of them were either extremely boring or very badly written, so I approached this one with a lot of cynicism. Luckily, it is neither boring nor badly written: it actually has a very good pace, talks about most aspects of User Experience just in the right length, and maintains a tone throughout that relaxes you and makes you feel that you're actually doing something that you enjoy.
The authors maintain the position that some UX work in design is better than none, and show ways how research, design and production can be influenced by User Experience work (performed by you, the reader) without big budgets or a sense of perfectionism.
Having worked in various companies large and small for UX teams both successfully and unsuccessfully, I found that the relaxed approach by the authors resonated with me. It's a bit like books by Steve Krug, but less descriptive in what needs to be done. "Undercover User Experience Design" rather gives you a range of possibilities to tackle problems along the way, and it's up to the user which one to pick. The book quite masterfully describes the techniques with just the right amount of detail: if you're okay with a bit of uncertainty, you can probably do the exercises straight away, but if you're a bit anxious because you've never done it before, the book gives you plenty of leads to follow up on.
I rarely recommend a book for both beginners in UX and seasoned professionals, but I felt that it spoke very well to both parties: beginners get a 5-star introduction into what can be done, a bit of how-to as well, while professionals can use it as a quick-reference guide in case they hit a snag somewhere in their projects.
Oh, and it's under 200 pages, which makes it much more likely for you to actually read ;-)

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Once you catch the user experience bug, the world changes. Doors open the wrong way, websites don't work, and companies don't seem to care. And while anyone can learn the UX remedies usability testing, personas, prototyping and so on unless your organization 'gets it', putting them into practice is trickier. Undercover User Experience is a pragmatic guide from the front lines, giving frank advice on making UX work in real companies with real problems. Readers will learn how to fit research, ideation, prototyping and testing into their daily workflow, and how to design good user experiences under the all-too-common constraints of time, budget and culture.

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Facebook and Twitter For Seniors For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) Review

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(More customer reviews)I consider myself to be well versed in Facebook and Twitter and the etiquette for both. What I am not capable of is explaining it to my parents. I got this book today, and it's the perfect tool to introduce seniors to the social web (sorry mom).
The chapters are well laid out, with great examples of lingo that I (as a heavy social media user) take for granted.
If your mom doesn't know a DM from a status update, just buy her this book. It's really terrific. Also, Marsha mentions that as we age we are less mobile. This could be very liberating for someone who can't get out as much as they'd like to.


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A fun and easy social media guide for the over-55 set
People over 55 were the fastest-growing user group on Facebook in the first half of 2009, and they're flocking to Twitter at a faster rate than their under-20 grandchildren. From basic information about establishing an Internet connection to rediscovering old friends, sharing messages and photos, and keeping in touch instantly with Twitter, this book by online expert Marsha Collier helps seniors jump right into social media.
Seniors are recognizing the communication possibilities of Facebook and Twitter and are signing up in record numbers
This plain-English guide explains how to get online, set up a Facebook profile, locate friends, post public and private messages, share photos, create events, follow local businesses and friends on Twitter, create a blog, play games, and more
Marsha Collier explains every step with the same friendly, comfortable style that has made her eBay For Dummies books bestsellers

Facebook & Twitter For Seniors For Dummies supplies everything seniors need to function confidently on these two social media platforms.

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Social Networking Spaces (Beginning) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a must for the majority of us who want to be involved in social media, but didn't grow up with peer groups to help us out. The book is written in an engaging, informal style that allows learning without needing to memorize each and every word. Each chapter has a brief intro that tells you specifically what you can hope to gain by going through that chapter. Each ends with a summary Q&A related to the chapter and author's conclusion (brief, usually only 2-4 paragraphs)
For the most part, the chapters/topics are self contained; you can read them in any order or you can go sequentially. Personally, I chose the one topic at a time route, using my learning interests in the field as a guide. At this point, I have read and reread a few of the chapters, and browsed the remaining ones that I have not yet "grown into".
Prior to starting the book, I had signed up for a Twitter account, but not done much of anything with it. However, since I was intrigued by the way some people/organizations were using this service, I decided to start in the Twitter chapters (6 and 7). This book was a major help in getting me started: through it, I learned how to post a profile picture and the basics of Twitter etiquette and how to link to other services I might want to work with, including my existing blog. I also learned about short URLs, a piece of knowledge that in and of itself may be worth the price of this book.
After reading the Twitter chapters, I went back and read through the forwards and Chapter 1. The actionable possibilities put forth in the first chapter are truly mind opening, but you almost need to dabble with some of the media in the rest of the book before it really strikes you. Suggestion: skim through Chapter 1, and come back to it after any time you have done some toe dipping in one of the later sections.
The two chapters on Blogging would be very helpful to the novice, particularly one who had little experience with any type of page set up experience. They take you through step by step how to set up a working blog on Google. At the time I read these chapters, I had started a blog on Wordpress and had already worked through some of the kinks of blog set up. However, some of the suggestions for further development in the Q&A and conclusions helped me to improve my blog.
The LinkedIn chapters were the next I gravitated to, and although I had had a LinkedIn account for several years (which I had perpetuated half heartedly), I learned several things about using LinkedIn and available features that have since helped me make my page more robust and join additional groups.
The Meetup Chapter was also a good refresher for this social media program that also has a real face to face component. Again, I had been a member of Meetup for 4-5 years, had actually been a member of several Meetup groups, yet still found that there were a few tricks about the site I had not previously taken advantage of.
The big test was Facebook. I had contemplated setting up my own Facebook page for awhile, but for a number of reasons, had put this action on hold. While undertaking an Emerging media class, the time now seemed right. Chapter 3 is a great examination of the "nuts and bolts" of Facebook for one who has never attempted this media before. I recommend it thoroughly for all newbies. (In fact, I just went back and viewed it again a few minutes ago, and found another option for messaging that I had not known existed.)
To take a slight detour here, I think that the above hits on one of the highly useful aspects of "Social Networking Spaces", namely that you won't absorb everything you read before you try, but you can always go back and check.
But back to Facebook....there are 3 other chapters on Facebook, and they are particularly useful to those who want to use this resource as more than a place to interact with your friends. If you want to tell your story (or someone else's) or find out if your business can benefit by using Facebook, these chapters are a must view.

I'm not yet ready for Flickr or Youtube (except as a viewer) or Ning or Virtual Worlds or some of the other topics covered by the author, but I'm sure that when I am ready, this book will be a great starting point.


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Facebook and Twitter are extremely popular tools for both personal communications and business use, and LinkedIn is fast becoming a requirement for business networking. This book not only explains how to use each of these tools, it also shows you how to integrate them and stay safe and secure while using them. It also addresses how to use these tools to communicate internationally, and it covers additional types of social networking via blogs and games.

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Google Analytics, 3rd Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Google Analytics is one of the best finds for those of us who find ourselves technically-challenged in a technically-heavy world.
This book covers every possible aspect of Google Analytics. I found the language simple, without talking down to anyone. By the time I had completed it, all my questions were fully answered.
I highly recommend Google Analytics to anyone who wants a down-to-earth explanation of the ins and outs of Google Analytics.

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Get the most out of the free Google Analytics service—and get more customers
Google Analytics allows you to discover vital information about how end users interact with their Web sites by collecting vital data and providing tools to analyze it, with the intention of improving the end-user experience and, ultimately converting users into customers. This indispensible guide delves into the latest updates to the newest version of Google Analytics—3.0—and explains the concepts behind this amazing free tool.
You'll discover what information to track, how to choose the right goals and filters, techniques for reading Google Analytics reports and graphs, and, most importantly, how to compile this data and use it to improve your Web site and attract more potential customers.
Takes an in-depth look at Google Analytics 3.0 and walks you through the possibilities it offers
Explains how to read Google Analytics reports and graphs so that you can compile this data and use it to improve your Web site and attract more users
Shares techniques for converting end users into customers
Features tips and suggestions for getting the information you need from Google Analytics reports and then converting that information into actionable tasks you can use

With Google Analytics, Third Edition, you&'ll be well on your way to retrieving the information you need to convert visitors to your site into customers!
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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Web 2.0 Fundamentals for Developers: With AJAX, Development Tools, and Mobile Platforms Review

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(More customer reviews)This book describe lots of important aspects of Web 2.0 and helps in dealing with Product-owner/developers. Now I can
ask the right kind of questions to product managers and developers to find out why they chose the products and tools they're using on a project, and why they eliminated other alternatives, and be in a better position to understand their responses.
This book is prepared in a very meticulous fashion. The writing is strong and focused, and the authors make it clear when they are presenting an overview of a specific topic versus an in-depth discussion. The code samples were helpful to understand usage of the tool(s).
This is definitely a very ambitious book because it covers so many aspects of Web 2.0, and the authors did an impressive job of providing breadth and a lot of depth for many topics. This book gives depth where it's really needed and focus on breadth where it's appropriate.
I really liked the approach used for the two mobile chapters: the first mobile chapter gives an overview of four major platforms. The second mobile chapter discusses other alternatives to give you an understanding of what type of coding is needed to develop apps for each of those platforms.
This book gave a great jump start in Web 2.0!

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Designed for a broad spectrum of people with technically diverse backgrounds, this book covers the most recent developments in Web 2.0 programming topics and applications, including up-to-date material on cloud computing, Google AppEngine, Social Networks, Comet, HTML5, semantic technology, and a chapter on the future of the Web. Web 2.0 Fundamentals: With AJAX, Development Tools, and Mobile Platforms prepares readers for more advanced technical topics in Web 2.0. The accompanying CD-ROM and companion website provide code samples from the book and appendices with an extensive set of links for supplemental material and links for the Twitter and Facebook pages.

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Programming Amazon Web Services: S3, EC2, SQS, FPS, and SimpleDB Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a good overview of the suite of services that comprise Amazon Web Services (AWS), I'd have given it a 3.5 star rating if I could. It talks about all of them, but it spends the bulk of its time, very reasonably, discussing S3 (the persistent storage system) and EC2 (the compute cloud - basically Amazon's Rackspace in the clouds) - each getting about 100 pages devoted to it.
As others have noted it is out of date - but any book would have the same problem due to the moving target that AWS is. The biggest news is that EC2 is going to be getting persistent storage, which I believe will change the game completely when it is rolled out to the public. Instead of needing some elaborate connection with S3, now instances will behave much more like a typical physical machine with real disk drive. The book, on the other hand, provides almost no real advice on how to deal with the problem of non-persistence of EC2's current storage mechanism. This is a signifcant problem that everyone will have to deal with and glossing over it is a failing of the book.
This is also a Ruby book, which I found fairly annoying. Nowhere in the description does it suggest that it is done in Ruby. And while Ruby certainly is trendy these days, the actual number of Ruby developers is small - it gets undue weight in computer texts. At the end of the day, though, it generally provides the actual request strings and XML requests and responses for non-ruby folk to come to their own conclusions.
This is a worthwhile book to get if you're interested in quickly getting a good and broad idea on how to work with AWS. It will give a good foundation to get more out of the documentation and forums found on Amazon's AWS site itself.


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Building on the success of its storefront and fulfillment services, Amazon now allows businesses to "rent" computing power, data storage and bandwidth on its vast network platform. This book demonstrates how developers working with small- to mid-sized companies can take advantage of Amazon Web Services (AWS) such as the Simple Storage Service (S3), Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Simple Queue Service (SQS), Flexible Payments Service (FPS), and SimpleDB to build web-scale business applications.With AWS, Amazon offers a new paradigm for IT infrastructure: use what you need, as you need it, and pay as you go. Programming Amazon Web Services explains how you can access Amazon's open APIs to store and run applications, rather than spend precious time and resources building your own. With this book, you'll learn all the technical details you need to: Store and retrieve any amount of data using application servers, unlimited data storage, and bandwidth with the Amazon S3 serviceBuy computing time using Amazon EC2's interface to requisition machines, load them with an application environment, manage access permissions, and run your image using as many or few systems as neededUse Amazon's web-scale messaging infrastructure to store messages as they travel between computers with Amazon SQSLeverage the Amazon FPS service to structure payment instructions and allow the movement of money between any two entities, humans or computersCreate and store multiple data sets, query your data easily, and return the results using Amazon SimpleDB.Scale up or down at a moment's notice, using these services to employ as much time and space as you needWhether you're starting a new online business, need to ramp up existing services, or require an offsite backup for your home, Programming Amazon Web Services gives you the background and the practical knowledge you need to start using AWS. Other books explain how to build web services. This book teaches businesses how to take make use of existing services from an established technology leader.--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services (Expert's Voice in Web Development) Review

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(More customer reviews)Kudos to the author and publisher for this release.
This book is a tour de force of the subject of Mashups.
I was looking for a good book on this subject so that I could introduce it to students as part of an extra-curricular technology program in NYC and this book is perfect.
In a sentence, Mashups are created by taking data from one or more sources and making something new and useful from them.
In my opinion, the subject is very important because there is a vast amount of data that is available now. Today the challenge is not just finding data but putting to use. This book shows you how to do that.
The author's writing style is excellent, mixing theory and applications. The book is filled with hands on examples as well as references for research in each of the areas.
I believe that this book can be read by anyone interested in the subject, regardless of their technical background. For those that want to create Mashups without programming, this book shows you how. For those that want to delve into programming, everything that you need is covered including AJAX, PHP, various data formats and how to parse them, various Javascript libraries and more.
The book is laid out in four parts:
1. Remixing Information Without Programming
As the title suggests, the chapters in this section require no previous programming experience. The author walks through some specific examples, introduces terminology and analyzes how sites like Flickr and del.icio.us work so that you can get the most out of them. Tools such as Yahoo! Pipes (a browser-based visual application for Mashups and Remixing) are explored. Following along with the discussion the reader can put together a Mashup or Remix by simply understanding the concepts and using tools, but not having to delve into coding.
2. Remixing a Single Web Application Using Its API
For the person who wants to code, this part of the book jumps right in discussing the Flickr API, PHP usage, XML processing and more. From there the discussion moves to other APIs and using AJAX/Javascript widgets.
3. Making Mashups
This section starts by delving into the ProgrammableWeb website. Showing how to find what resources are available, studying existing Mashups via which APIs they use and how to go about creating new ones. From there XMLHttpRequest and Javascript libraries such as YUI are covered and a step-by-step example is given using the previously discussed techniques. Lastly, the author addresses issues around implementing Mashups on your site including standards, accessibility and your own API. I was glad to see these topics covered as sometimes in the haste of getting something online, they can be overlooked.
4. Exploring Other Mashup Topics
This final section of the book covers a large range of interesting topics such as Map-based Mashups, Social Bookmarking, Calendars, Online Storage, Desktop and Office Suites, Embeddable Data Formats and Searches.
As you can see, there's a lot of information covered in this book. In my opinion, everything that one could want on the subject and written in such a way that you want to keep reading, exploring and creating your own Mashups.
I highly recommend this book - so far, it has been my favorite read of 2008!

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Mashups are hugely popular right now, a very important topic within the general area of Web 2.0, involving technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, Ajax, APIs, libraries, and server-side languages (such as PHP and ASP.NET.) This book aims to be the definitive tome on Mashup development, to stand in the middle of all the other, more API specific books coming out on Google Maps, Flickr, etc.The book shows you how to create real world Mashups using all the most poplar APIs, such as Google Maps, Flickr, Amazon Web Services, and delicious, and includes examples in multiple different server-side languages, such as PHP, Java, and .NET. It will have a large target audience, but still deliver an effective and engaging learning experience, regardless of the specific technologies the reader prefers to use.

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GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a great introduction to web mapping for someone new to the subject, either a new developer or a manager. If you already have some GIS skills, this is still a good book, except it is becoming dated. The author is committed to open source tools, and that is the focus of the book.
The first few chapters cover the following:
-Vectors
-Projections
-Rasters
All things that would be useful for someone new and can be skipped by someone with a GIS background.
The rest of the book covers the following general concepts:
-The Open Geospatial Consortium and their web service specifications
-Geospatial databases
The author then gets into specifics on the following:
-Geoserver
-Mapbuilder (no longer an active project)
-Openlayers
He gives some information on Google Maps, Mapserver, and other products, but no real detail.

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There is a hidden revolution going on: geography is moving from niche to the mainstream. News reports routinely include maps and satellite images. More and more pieces of equipment cell phones, cars, computers now contain Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Many of the major database vendors have made geographic data types standard in their flagship products.

GIS for Web Developers introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in simple terms and demonstrates hands-on uses. With this book, you'll explore popular websites like maps.google.com, see the technologies they use, and learn how to create your own. Written with the usual Pragmatic Bookshelf humor and real-world experience, GIS for Web Developers makes geographic programming concepts accessible to the common developer.

This book will demystify GIS and show you how to make GIS work for you. You'll learn the buzzwords and explore ways to geographically-enable your own applications. GIS is not a fundamentally difficult domain, but there is a barrier to entry because of the industry jargon. This book will show you how to "walk the walk" and "talk the talk" of a geographer.

You'll learn how to find the vast amounts of free geographic data that's out there and how to bring it all together. Although this data is free, it's scattered across the web on a variety of different sites, in a variety of incompatible formats. You'll see how to convert it among several popular formats including plain text, ESRI Shapefiles, and Geography Markup Language (GML).

With this book in hand, you'll become a real geographic programmer using the Java programming language.You'll find plenty of working code examples in Java using some of the many GIS-oriented applications and APIs.You'll be able to:
Find free sources of GIS data on the web Browse GIS data using open source desktop viewers Manipulate GIS data programmatically Store and retrieve data using geographically-enabled databases Explore free web toolkits like Google Maps Publish and consume web services using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) interfaces

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Web Services: Principles and Technology Review

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(More customer reviews)This book stands out from the vast array of contemporary SOA and Web services literature in many ways:
1) It presents business context and technical requirements for Web services design on an adequate level of detail.
2) It provides important historical insight without putting the reader to sleep.
3) It covers relevant related work such as e-business, EAI, and networking as needed, unlike most other Web services books.
4) It separates abstract concepts such as messaging from implementation technology such as JMS appropriately, but shows the connections when needed.
5) It builds up a non-trivial example that demonstrates how the various specifications fit together, many unique illustrations help to digest.
6) It has non-trivial exercises that will deepen your understanding.
7) The author's has a hype-free, vendor-neutral writing style and is very experienced in his field.
It always is a good sign if as a reader I want more... so I would also have been interested in the author's view on the ongoing WS-*/SOAP vs. REST debate, and about adoption of the presented concepts and technologies in the industry (tools and project usage); for example, UDDI does not seem to have much traction these days. Maybe something for the Website accompanying the book, which will also have additional material for students and lecturers?
As a practicing IT architect, I have helped many companies to transform their existing applications into Web services-based SOAs. As a book author, I have captured my own experience with the technology in writing. As a researcher, I now investigate many of the architecture design issues the author points out. Still, I find this book to be very educational and informative; I highly recommend it for practitioners, students, and researchers that want to understand the big picture as well as technical rationale and details behind the various concepts and technologies. Those of you that believe some WSDL-to-Java wizards or RESTful POX/HTTP calls are all that is required for successful enterprise development and integration, please do have a look as well - you will begin to appreciate that there is more to the picture!

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The first textbook to focus on Web Services – the wave of the future for Web-based distributed computing.

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Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book mostly to serve as a reference and to help me avoid trolling the Internet in search of these resources. The writing is casual and "fluffy." The content is sparse and fragmented. It does little more than state the obvious for the applications it reviews. Sometimes the book covers one application in detail and almost ignores its comparable competitors. Most surprisingly, it never mentions several popular, key resources. The only real convenience the book provides is the names and URLs for the many obscure vendors with Internet-based applications. This book might be worthwhile at perhaps half the price.

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Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate On-LineComputing as you know it has changed. No longer are you tied to using expensive programs stored on your computer. No longer will you be able to only access your data from one computer. No longer will you be tied to doing work only from your work computer or playing only from your personal computer.Enter cloud computing–an exciting new way to work with programs and data, collaborate with friends and family, share ideas with coworkers and friends, and most of all, be more productive! The "cloud" consists of thousands of computers and servers, all linked and accessible to you via the Internet. With cloud computing, everything you do is now web-based instead of being desktop-based; you can access all your programs and documents from any computer that's connected to the Internet. Whether you want to share photographs with your family, coordinate volunteers for a community organization, or manage a multi-faceted project in a large organization, cloud computing can help you do it more easily than ever before. Trust us. If you need to collaborate, cloud computing is the way to do it. •Learn what cloud computing is, how it works, who should use it, and why it's the wave of the future. • Explore the practical benefits of cloud computing, from saving money on expensive programs to accessing your documents ANYWHERE. • See just how easy it is to manage work and personal schedules, share documents with coworkers and friends, edit digital photos, and much more! • Learn how to use web-based applications to collaborate on reports and presentations, share online calendars and to-do lists, manage largeprojects, and edit and store digital photographs.Michael Miller is known for his casual, easy-to-read writing style and his ability to explain a wide variety of complex topics to an everyday audience. Mr. Miller has written more than 80 nonfiction books over the past two decades, with more than a million copies in print. His books for Que include Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics, Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, and Is It Safe?: Protecting Your Computer, Your Business, and Yourself Online. His website is located at www.molehillgroup.com.Covers the most popular cloud-based applications, including the following: • Adobe Photoshop Express • Apple MobileMe • Glide OS • Google Docs • Microsoft Office Live Workspace • Zoho OfficeCATEGORY: Web ApplicationsCOVERS: Cloud ComputingUSER LEVEL: Beginner-Intermediate

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Web Development with TIBCO General Interface: Building AJAX Clients for Enterprise SOA Review

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(More customer reviews)The book provides very little in the way of examples on how to implement the TIBCO GI classes and components outside the standard methods covered in samples from the TIBCO web site. For example, the section on matrix functions has virtually no in-depth examples or information on how to use the libraries to do basic operations like working with the current matrix record. The author frequently says that the API documentation is very good, but the API lacks any examples on how to actually use the libraries and the book adds almost nothing to that lacking.
The samples are so similar to those available from the web site that they are of little use. The references to the code examples in the book are often listed as "see the sample". The book often provides no information on where in the samples to look, so finding where the author is referencing a particular function in the sample code is painful at best.
If the author spent more time covering what the API and standard docs do not provide, the book could be useful, but without that it is almost a collection of scattered thoughts and not a cohesive reference tool.
TIBCO GI is an excellent product and deserves a solid reference, but this book does little to fill that need. Hopefully, a second edition will be of more use and not a waste of money.

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Web Development with TIBCO General InterfaceBuilding AJAX Clients for Enterprise SOAAnil GurnaniUse TIBCO General Interface to build web applications with state-of-the-art performance and usabilityTIBCO General Interface provides powerful tools and a framework to craft AJAX-based web applications that rival desktop applications in performance and usability. This is the only book that offers developers thorough guidance for using TIBCO's award-winning open source tools to build interactive, high-performance GUIs and integrate them with leading server-side technologies. Experienced TIBCO General Interface developer Anil Gurnani focuses on applying General Interface in real-world production applications and presents numerous working examples that can easily be adapted for your existing sites and applications. You'll first walk through the fundamental concepts and techniques needed to build powerful General Interface clients. Next, you'll dive into specific back-end technologies, mastering them through start-to-finish case study projects. Finally, drawing on his own experience building enterprise-class General Interface applications for the financial services industry, Gurnani illuminates advanced topics ranging from charting and collaboration to application optimization. Coverage includesIntegrating XML and XSL with TIBCO General Interface's XML Mapping utilityExtending General Interface widgets with object-oriented JavaScriptIntegrating with web services, databases, portals, and messaging systems: start-to-finish case study sample applicationsIntegrating General Interface applications into service-oriented enterprises using Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Using OpenAJAX Hub (TIBCO PageBus) to simplify collaboration among GUI components Anil Gurnani's book greatly augments the available information for developers learning and using TIBCO's General Interface. …With this book, you will quickly be building General Interface applications, faster and easier than ever before.—Michael Peachey, co-founder of General Interface and Director of User Experience, TIBCO SoftwareAnil Gurnani has written extensively on technical topics for many prestigious magazines. He is an adjunct at SCPS, New York University, where he teaches advanced courses focused on web and enterprise technologies including Core Java, JEE, and .NET. He is also an expert at managing large, global, multifunctional teams to architect and build complex distributed systems with a portfolio of front-end applications and back-end services.About the CD-ROM The accompanying CD-ROM contains all source code files for working examples. Updated code and additional resources are available on a companion website.Web Development/Ajax

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Ajax in Practice Review

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(More customer reviews)The back cover says that "Ajax in Practice" is a "second generation" book. The book covers a mix of problem/solution descriptions for common problems, Ajax tips and advanced JavaScript techniques. The cookbook style is useful if you are trying to implement a specific Ajax effect. The book touches on a number of libraries/toolkits where appropriate. It also covers integrating with existing Ajax libraries.
The book assumes you know basic JavaScript, CSS and HTML. If you are new to Ajax, I recommend reading a "first generation" book like "Ajax in Action" first. This book is a lot easier to follow if you have some exposure to Ajax. In particular, the problem/solution style involves learning by reading a lot of code. This is overwhelming on the first shot. I had to pull out my copy of "Ajax in Action" to follow parts of it. While some of the examples are long, they don't include unnecessary code.
I liked that the book has a common flow to it. Even though there are seven authors/contributors, the style is the same and it makes sense. I learned a lot about specific uses of Ajax along with examples/techniques of good Ajax code. This should definitely be the second Ajax book you read!

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Ajax in Practice provides example-rich coverage of Ajax packed with ready-to-use code and practical recipes for common and not-so-common tasks. Ajax developers now face the move from Ajax-as-theory to Ajax-in-practice. Ajax in Practice guides web developers through the transition from learning about Ajax to successfully applying Ajax-driven techniques in real-world development scenarios.

Ajax gives web developers the potential to create rich user-centered internet applications. But Ajax also adds a new level of complexity and sophistication to those applications. Ajax in Practice tackles Ajax head-on, providing countless hands-on techniques and tons of reusable code to address the specific issues developers face when building Ajax-driven solutions.

After a brief overview of Ajax, this book takes the reader through dozens of working examples, all presented in an easy-to-use cookbook format. Readers will learn how to implement drag-and-drop interfaces and will discover how to create effective nagigation strategies for their applications. Unlike a traditional cookbook, though, Ajax in Practice provides a thorough discussion of each technique presented and shows how the individual components can be connected to create powerful solutions. A fun "mash-up" chapter concludes the book. Throughout Ajax in Practice, the examples chosen are interesting, entertaining, and practical.

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Using WordPress Review

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(More customer reviews)WordPress has established itself as the blogging software of choice for millions of people looking to put their thoughts online. Using WordPress is a solid intro to get you up and running with a blog of your own.
The book walks you through all the big and not-so-big steps of make a WordPress blog; from install and updates, to using themes, plug-ins and widgets, to handling audio and video files, to keeping your blog secure.
Almost all of the content in this book is geared toward the install on your own site "wordpress.org" version of WordPress, but it does try to cater to the "wordpress.com" the stripped-down version hosted by WordPress itself. If you have a wordpress.com blog and are looking to upgrade to your own site down the line, this book'll show you how.
The big selling point of this book is the online content. With a quick signup and a simple authentication to prove you actually own the book, you're rewarded with a complete online version of the book (with color photos) as well as video walkthroughs of the various steps you'll be taking in the blog miking process. The only topic that's missing the multimedia treatment is converting a static HTML site over to WordPress, which would've been good to see.
There are also audio sidebars with additional thoughts on each chapter's topic. They may useful if you're curious for more info, but the fact that there's no visuals makes it a bit hard to follow what they're saying. Some topics like using the WordPress image editor are done in an audio sidebar with no visuals to guide you.
My other complaint about the companion site is that there's no easy way to access just the multimedia stuff. You basically have to scan through to the page you want. A list broken up by chapter would've really been nice.
As a whole, Using WordPress is a great beginner/intermediate book to get you on your way to running a fully functioning blog.


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Get comfortable with WordPress fast, with this media-rich, customized, hands-on learning experience!


Covers the upcoming release of a major upgrade to WordPress, WordPress 3.0
Tightly integrated with online video, screencast tutorials, podcasts, and more: the total learning experience for new WordPress users
Companion website provides supplemental media including video, screencasts tutorials, podcasts, and much more.
WordPress has grown into the #1 blogging tool in its category: several million bloggers have downloaded this powerful open source software, and millions more are using WordPress.com's hosted services. Thirty-two of Technorati's Top 100 blogs now use WordPress. Using WordPress is a customized, media-rich learning experience designed to help new users master WordPress quickly, and get the most out of it, fast! It starts with a concise, friendly, straight-to-the-point guide to WordPress. This exceptional book is fully integrated with an unprecedented collection of online learning resources: online video, screencasts, podcasts, and additional web content, all designed to reinforce key concepts and help users achieve real mastery. The book and online content work together to teach everything mainstream WordPress users need to know. This practical, approachable coverage guides readers through getting started fast; and will cover the upcoming release of WordPress 3.0. This major upgrade will include built-in image editor and the ability to host multiple blogs from one WordPress install.

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Job-Hunting Online: A Guide to Job Listings, Message Boards, Research Sites, the UnderWeb, Counseling, Networking, Self-Assessment Tools, Niche Sites ... Your Parachute: Guide to Job-Hunting Online) Review

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(More customer reviews)Easily the best book about job hunting using the Internet I have found, and one of the better all around books on job-hunting, period. Unlike many other books on the subject, it is not just a list of websites, soon to be outdated. Though hundreds of websites are listed, that isn't the book's focus; instead, the authors talk about different job hunting approaches, the effectiveness of these various methods, and how the Internet can be used to increase the chances of finding a job, regardless of the approach used. In most cases, this can be a real eye-opener.
Anyone who has tried to find a job using the Net has no doubt found that it is not as simple as just posting a resume on Monster. Instead, the book tells you which job-hunting methods work best (and which ones don't), and goes on to teach you how the Internet can be used in any kind of job hunt, whether you spend most of your job-hunting time in front of a computer or not.
The authors place a heavy accent on learning how to use the Internet as a research tool; they go beyond simple search engine use, and even delve into finding the information that search engines themselves can't find. They explain why the job boards are so ineffective (evidently, only about 4% of job-hunters find employment through the job boards), and the best ways to use networking in your job hunt.
Written in an easy and often humorous style, I found the book to be extremely helpful and informative. Highly recommended.


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The Internet can be an invaluable tool in any job hunt-but only when you know how to use it. Cowritten by career guru Richard Nelson Bolles and his son, nontraditional career expert Mark Emery Bolles, JOB-HUNTING ONLINE helps job seekers navigate the overwhelming amount of information available on the Internet to find the most useful sites and avoid common pitfalls. Filled with hundreds of annotated website recommendations and newly reorganized to follow the action steps of a successful job hunt, this time-saving desktop guide is essential to an effective online job search. This up-to-the-minute revision of the WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? companion helps job searchers integrate the Internet into an efficient job-hunting strategy. Updated with information on all the current hot topics, from researching to networking, career testing to job sites. The companion website, www.jobhuntersbible.com, features clickable links to key sites. ReviewsMarvin Walberg's syndicated "Getting Hired" column 4/30/08: called it "a great book" and "a powerful tool that will help you find and use the incredible resources that the internet has to offer. I plan to keep my copy by my computer and urge you to do the same. It's a small price to pay for an enormous investment in your future."—Scripps Howard News Service

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Java Soa Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is intended for experienced Java developers and architects who need to know the details of SOA development with the Java programming language and associated technologies. It is not a very good big picture book on SOA. For that I recommend Service Oriented Architecture with Java: Using SOA and web services to build powerful Java applications, which was published in 2008, so it is still current in its approach.
To get the most out of this book the author assumes specifically that you are familiar with Java SE 5 or 6, servlets, JSP Enterprise Edition containers such as Glassfish, Enterprise JavaBeans, as well as JDBC, JNDI, EARs and WARs, and XML. In short, the author assumes that you have been involved in enterprise development using the Java technologies and APIs mentioned. If you have used web services but not recently, this book does help you get your feet back in the water. It is those that are complete novices that will get truly lost.
Parts of the book address strategy, design, and patterns, but largely it is a book that stays at a low level. A really good book on SOA design patterns is SOA Design Patterns (The Prentice Hall Service-Oriented Computing Series from Thomas Erl). The author also talks about SOA and Ruby, Python, and .NET. However, it is not necessary to have a background in these languages since Java is specifically the language and environment that the author addresses.
Currently, the table of contents is not included in the product description, so I include that next:
Part 1: SOA Fundamentals
Chapter 1. Introduction to SOA
Chapter 2. XML Schema and the SOA Data Model
Chapter 3. Working with XML and Java
Part 2: Web Services
Chapter 4. Getting Started
Chapter 5. Web Services with SAAJ
Chapter 6. Creating Web Service Applications with JAX-WS
Chapter 7. Providing SOAP-Based Web Services
Chapter 8. RESTful Web Services
Part 3: Business Processes
Chapter 9. Service Orchestrations with BPEL
Chapter 10. Advanced Orchestrations with BPEL
Chapter 11. SOA Governance
Part 4: Interoperability and Quality of Service
Chapter 12. Web Service Interoperability
Chapter 13. Quality of Service
Chapter 14. Enterprise Service Bus
I would say that between this book and the other two that I mentioned, you should have a pretty good starting point on SOA/Java reading material.

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Java SOA Cookbook offers practical solutions and advice to programmers charged with implementing a service-oriented architecture (SOA) in their organization. Instead of providing another conceptual, high-level view of SOA, this cookbook shows you how to make SOA work. It's full of Java and XML code you can insert directly into your applications and recipes you can apply right away. The book focuses primarily on the use of free and open source Java Web Services technologies -- including Java SE 6 and Java EE 5 tools -- but you'll find tips for using commercially available tools as well.Java SOA Cookbook will help you:



Construct XML vocabularies and data models appropriate to SOA applications
Build real-world web services using the latest Java standards, including JAX-WS 2.1 and JAX-RS 1.0 for RESTful web services
Integrate applications from popular service providers using SOAP, POX, and Atom
Create service orchestrations with complete coverage of the WS-BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) 2.0 standard
Improve the reliability of SOAP-based services with specifications such as WS-Reliable Messaging
Deal with governance, interoperability, and quality-of-service issues

The recipes in Java SOA Cookbook will equip you with the knowledge you need to approach SOA as an integration challenge, not an obstacle.

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