The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering Review

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(More customer reviews)There really are very few software engineering books written in 1975 that are worth reading today. Brooks remains powerful stuff because large system projects are still often disastrous. We are not often bothered by the flowcharts that Brooks dislikes, but the disorganized projects, endless meetings, problems of scaling, unhelpful documentation and inflexible systems are certainly still with us.
I was struck recently by the parallels with Kent Beck's Extreme Programming: Brooks had in his way foreseen much of what this recent movement has been urging.
Brooks' classic book underlies much systems engineering thinking, and his example along with the frightening story of OS/360, enlivened with Brooks' inimitable anecdotes and illustrations, remains essential reading.

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Business Data Communications and Networking, 6th Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I was required to purchase this book at LSU for a class. It contains great information, but like many books chosen by professors it is sorely over-priced for information that can be learned from much cheaper reference books. Lose two stars for ripping off poor students.

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LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first thing I want to say about reading this book is : I passed! Certification books serve four purposes: first, they serve as a way to prepare for computerized certification exams. Second, they provide a 'training plan' for learning the objectives in the certification. Third, can a book explain system administration concepts while limiting a reader's exposure to difficult, elusive topics until later? Fourth, can a book like this still be useful post-certification?
Part One (covering the 101 test) contained generous amounts of examples for text-processing commands and a really top notch discussion of permissions, ownership, booting and documentation. Helpfully, 'need to know' boxes are scattered throughout the book to indicate how important a topic is on the test. Frequently, the author will point out that although he explained a certain topic in depth, it won't be covered in depth on the test. I really appreciated that, although I found that the actual test covered certain topics (such as X Windows) in much more depth than Dean leads us to believe. One thing, by the way, to remember, is that often the book gives only the 5 or 6 most popular switches for each command. If you learned about these commands only from this book, you might be overlooking some important switches. I found this especially to be true when Dean discussed user management. I consider usermod 'g and usermod 'G to be really important commands, but this book didn't even mention them. On the other hand, Dean gave an explanation of regular expressions which was quite adequate for the purposes of this book. Although omitting some switches proved exasperating at times, the simplified view of the commands can be helpful for linux newbies.
Part Two (covering 102 test) covered a lot more ground: Apache, sendmail, nfs, dns, tcp-ip; heck, books have been written on each of those topics. The book covered well these topics in particular: compiling a kernel, troubleshooting tcp-ip and using rpm's. I found his discussion of Debian package management to be hard to follow, although that may be because I've never used it before in real life (but watch out! The test covers this in depth!). The book's discussion of network services (nfs, sendmail, apache, samba) was shallow at best, but I doubt anyone would rely on such a book for maintaining a web server, for example. But it provided some of the basics at least. The section on X Window was succinct and helpful. Also, some of the information presented is outdated, at least on Red Hat's latest distribution. Red Hat, for example, no longer uses inetd for startup, and some of the directory paths have since changed. These are minor quibbles, and one of the challenge of passing a certification like this is asking yourself: should I be learning things for the exam that are no longer accurate or relevant in current distributions? Certifications test the knowledge available at the time of test creation, when in reality new applications are being added and processes streamlined every day.
The book contains lots of sample multiple choice items, review questions and exercises. The multiple choice items didn't really add much to the book, but I frequently referred to the review questions. (Remember, the LPI exam has fill-in-the-blanks questions). Don't overlook the excellent 'highlighter's index' at the back of the book.
Two minor quibbles. First, the cover is not very strong and is bent, torn and curled over. The other is that the LPI exam objectives are not located at the front or back of the book. Rather, the table of objectives for 101 are in the front, and objectives for 102 are in the middle. I referred to this table constantly to see the amount of weight LPI was giving to a particular topic. Also, because the table of contents follow the LPI learning objectives (probably a smart thing), it is often difficult to find documentation about a certain command. For that I might recommend Linux in a Nutshell , 3rd Edition, which serves as a comprehensive index of commands and system utilities. It is excellent. Also, General Linux I Exam Prep (Exam: 101) by Dee Ann LeBlanc (published in 2000), is an extremely helpful book (and available for significantly reduced price used). Although it was one of the first to market and didn't address the LPI objectives explicitly, the exercises and presentation of material are every bit as good as Dean's book. Keep in mind also that LPI Linux Certification is not sufficient in and of itself. You will probably end up referring to other books such as Matt Welsh's Running Linux, Olaf Kirch's Linux Network Administrator's Guide or the unbelievably good Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition .

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Network+ All-in-One Lab Manual Review

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(More customer reviews)Every so often certification exams are updated to meet the challenge of new and emerging technologies. Network+ is certainly no exception to this rule. Having taken the newest exam is it apparent that more than just reading the books you must also practice the concepts and this lab manual will help in that endeavor.

As a prefect companion to the All-In-One Network+ exam guide book, you have over 50 hands-on labs to help make the understanding of the exam objectives easier and more comprehensible.

Each lab has the exam objectives listed and are setup in a step by step format, along with the materials you'll need in order to complete the labs. Once completed there is a lesson wrap up to go over the major points in a review fashion.

Overall this book does meet all the newest exam objectives and would make a great self study tool or for use in a classroom training environment.

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Get hands-on practice for the Network+ exam with this lab manual, designed to complement the Network+ All-in-One Exam Guide. Inside, you'll find more than 50 hands-on exercises, step-by-step instructions, helpful photographs and illustrations, and study questions that reinforce key concepts.

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Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: Guidelines for Effective Information Security Management Review

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(More customer reviews)If you want to find out the relation between Policies, Procedures and Standards buy this book. Although the flow of text is somewhat discontinuous but the author clearly explains the underlying concepts. The examples are very illustrative and have a real world feel. The author has been on the frontlines (clearly evident throughout the text) and this distinguishes the book from rest in the pack. Very few books talk about ISO 17799 and BS7799 in detail. This book goes beyond just reproducing the standard and explains the positioning of such guidelines. The tables and checklists found in the appendices alone are worth many times the cost of the book.

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By definition, information security exists to protect your organization's valuable information resources. But too often information security efforts are viewed as thwarting business objectives. An effective information security program preserves your information assets and helps you meet business objectives. Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: Guidelines for Effective Information Security Management provides the tools you need to select, develop, and apply a security program that will be seen not as a nuisance but as a means to meeting your organization's goals.Divided into three major sections, the book covers: writing policies, writing procedures, and writing standards. Each section begins with a definition of terminology and concepts and a presentation of document structures. You can apply each section separately as needed, or you can use the entire text as a whole to form a comprehensive set of documents. The book contains checklists, sample policies, procedures, standards, guidelines, and a synopsis of British Standard 7799 and ISO 17799.Peltier provides you with the tools you need to develop policies, procedures, and standards. He demonstrates the importance of a clear, concise, and well-written security program. His examination of recommended industry best practices illustrates how they can be customized to fit any organization's needs. Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: Guidelines for Effective Information Security Management helps you create and implement information security procedures that will improve every aspect of your enterprise's activities.

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Information Security Policies and Procedures: A Practitioner's Reference, Second Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a useful book for me to reference, especially when I deal with challenges in security policy framework review. The most impressive pages include the tier 1-2-3 framework, proper wordings in policy, policy sample studies and analysis, complete checklist and questionnaire.
After reading this book or on-and-off reference, I always remember four major elements in a policy:
1.Topic
2.Scope
3.Responsibility
4.Compliance
In addition, I have shared this book with an IT supervisor, he always go for this book for the team reference. I do feel happy to recommend it. Moreover, it readily happens to me I could apply the hints and tips from this book to the revised policy. Meanwhile, compared with the company's policy, it is undoubted organized and logical.
Be honest, in reality, many people still always mix up policy, standard and procedures as well as guidelines and produce a "Spaghetti-like" document to deal with auditor and compliance once a year only, you could say, many companies treat it as a last-minute homework.


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Information Security Policies and Procedures: A Practitioner's Reference, Second Edition illustrates how policies and procedures support the efficient running of an organization. This book is divided into two parts, an overview of security policies and procedures, and an information security reference guide. This volume points out how security documents and standards are key elements in the business process that should never be undertaken to satisfy a perceived audit or security requirement. Instead, policies, standards, and procedures should exist only to support business objectives or mission requirements; they are elements that aid in the execution of management policies.
The book emphasizes how information security must be integrated into all aspects of the business process. It examines the 12 enterprise-wide (Tier 1) policies, and maps information security requirements to each. The text also discusses the need for top-specific (Tier 2) policies and application-specific (Tier 3) policies and details how they map with standards and procedures.
It may be tempting to download some organization's policies from the Internet, but Peltier cautions against that approach. Instead, he investigates how best to use examples of policies, standards, and procedures toward the achievement of goals. He analyzes the influx of national and international standards, and outlines how to effectively use them to meet the needs of your business.

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CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-004 Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought Todd Lammle's book and found it to be instrumental to me for passing the test. I compared his test questions against other test questions and found other tests to be using outdated questions. Some of his questions could have come directly from the Net + test, they were that close.
I found his lesson layout to be helpful, teaching you the various basics you need to know. Then building off of them to take you to the next level. There is some critical things you need to memorize and Todd tells you what you need to remember. You might not know why at the time, but you'll be glad you took the time to memorize the lists, by the next chapter or two.
I found for me, the best study technique was to sit with the book and a stack of index cards. I would make flash cards as I read each chapter. I did every exercise and worked every practice test. I would start each day retaking the previous chapter's test, to help me remember what I learned the day before. Then, I would read the next chapter, while making flash cards. Then I would do the labs and take the post chapter test. Anything I missed, I would go back and study that relevant section until I realized what I got wrong and why.
My only beef with the book is that some of the test questions got the answers wrong, they should have been better proofed. But then again, being able to tell what the correct answer was and knowing what's a wrong answer, is a testament to how good the training is.
After 3 weeks of study, I took the Net + exam. I finished the exam in less than 30 minutes, and did not even go back and review any questions. I passed the exam with 875 points out of a possible 900. I'd say that shows how good the training actually is.

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Bestselling author Todd Lammle thoroughly covers this first revision of the CompTIA Network+ exam since 2005. Using his one-of-a-kind conversational style, Todd gives you clear and concise information on crucial networking topics through practical examples and insights drawn from his real-world experience. This Study Guide thoroughly covers all exam objectives for the CompTIA Network+ exam (N10-004), including key topics such as network technologies, media and topologies, devices, management, tools, and security. Along with the book you get a CD-ROM featuring a custom test engine with chapter review questions, two practice exams, flashcards, and the book as a searchable PDF.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

For Instructors: Teaching supplements are available for this title.

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Machine Learning: An Algorithmic Perspective (Chapman & Hall/Crc Machine Learning & Pattern Recognition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an good book on machine learning for students at the advanced
undergraduate or Masters level, or for self study, particularly if
some of the background math (eigenvectors, probability theory, etc)
is not already second nature.
Although I am now familiar with much of the math in this area and consider
myself to have intermediate knowledge of machine learning, I can still recall
my first attempts to learn some mathematical topics. At that time my approach
was to implement the ideas as computer programs and plot the results. This
book takes exactly that approach, with each topic being presented both
mathematically and in Python code using the new Numpy and Scipy libraries.
Numpy resembles Matlab and is sufficiently high level that the book code
examples read like pseudocode.
(Another thing I recall when I was first learning was the mistaken
belief that books are free from mistakes. I've since learned to
expect that every first edition is going to have some, and doubly so
for books with math and code examples. However the fact that many of the examples
in this book produce plots is reassuring.)
As mentioned I have only intermediate knowledge of machine learning, and
have no experience with some techniques. I learned regression trees
and ensemble learning from this book -- and then implemented an ensemble
tree classifier that has been quite successful at our company.
Some other strong books are the two Bishop books (Neural Networks for Pattern
Recognition; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning),
Friedman/Hastie/Tibshirani (Elements of Statistical Learning) and
Duda/Hart/Stork (Pattern Classification). Of these, I think the first Bishop
book is the only other text suitable for a beginner, but it doesn't have the
explanation-by-programming approach and is also now a bit dated (Marsland
includes modern topics such as manifold learning, ensemble learning, and a bit
of graphical models). Friedman et al. is a good collection of algorithms,
including ones that are not presented in Marsland; it is a bit dry however.
The new Bishop is probably the deepest and best current text, but it is
probably most suited for PhD students. Duda et al would be a good book at a
Masters level though its coverage of modern techniques is more limited. Of
course these are just my impressions. Machine learning is a broad subject and
anyone using these algorithms will eventually want to refer to several of these books.
For example, the first Bishop covers the normalized flavor of radial basis
functions (a favorite technique for me), and each of the mentioned books has
their own strengths.

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Java(tm) in Practice: Design Styles and Idioms for Effective Java Review

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(More customer reviews)Overall, this book does a decent job of explaining good design techniques to the programmer who is already familiar with Java. There are plenty of code examples, along with UML diagrams to help explain the designs that are presented. There's even an appendix on UML for those unfamiliar with the modeling language.
There are some flaws in this book, however. The book is not updated for Java 2, and is therefore rapidly becoming obsolete. Additionally, a significant number of typos and inconsistent use of terms clouds the already difficult subject matter. Especially bad is the discussion of the Cloneable interface, in which the authors state that different compilers treat Cloneable classes differently, but do not explain what the correct behavior is according to the Java Language Specification or how to work around these compiler problems.
There is some good material in the book, but in my opinion not enough of it and too many problems in the presentation, to justify the cover price.

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Network Management: Principles and Practice Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book with great hope. I have spent the past 12 odd years of my career working on various networking protocols. But, I had never worked on network management systems. I figured I could use a good book about network management. Looking at the TOC and the author's info (the author teaches at GaTech), I figured I wouldn't go wrong if I read this book.
The author definitely covers a lot of ground. The emphasis is squarely on SNMP based systems. The author also has some decent discussion about EMS/NMS, event-correlation, commercial and open-source management systems, etc.
So, why am I giving it 2*-s? I didn't like the book because it is very hard to read. The sentences are very difficult to read and understand. You have to make a big effort to figure out what the author is saying and even then, it's not easy. I am hoping the author and the editors simplify the language of the book and update some of the content in the next edition. So, my suggestion would be: wait till the next edition if you can, else, be ready to put in a lot of time into reading this book.


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Network Management: Principles and Practice provides a balance of theoretical backgrounds and practical aspects of network management. Unlike other books that talk only about specific network technologies, Mani Subramanian lays the foundation for network management by presenting the background, the technologies, and the tools that all network managers simply must know. He does this by breaking the book down into three parts:*Part I provides a background on networking and network technologies such as hubs, routers, bridges, and switches. *Part II addresses network management architectures and protocols before moving on to discuss SNMP management, broadband management, and TMN. *Part III focuses on tools to monitor network parameters, network management applications, and solutions to manage networks and systems. Throughout the book, the author intertwines real-world examples based upon his experience in managing, engineering, and operating networks. 0201357429B04062001

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