Designing Web Usability Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I agree with other reviewers, Jakob does present his ideas as Rules You Must Follow, rather than observations or suggestions. On a few things, he offers no data to back up his assertion, and on a couple things I know he's factually incorrect. I also agree that there are a lot of typos in this book, but only if you're observant.
However, what he does present is just great. I like the writing style. I like the example images. For example, when he says to design for "any" screen size, and then shows you 3 screenshots of Web sites that lock themselves into a certain size, that certainly illuminates how stupid some designers can be.
One other point. Jakob is writing for usability, about how people get information. He pays no attention to marketing issues, such as branding, creating product interest, giving the customer a memorable experience, entertainment, etc. It is fine that he concentrates on other areas, but know before you buy the book that you will have to make up you own mind in those areas (at least). For instance, site reports from the Web site I work on show that any time I throw a DHTML "whiz-bang" widget onto the site, the area it is promoting gets a doubling to a quadrupling of traffic. That flies in the face of his "don't use whiz-bang features" philosophy. But I've learned that his data and my data don't always agree. So take Jakob with a grain of salt.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Designing Web Usability

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about Designing Web Usability

Read More...

Real Web Project Management: Case Studies and Best Practices from the Trenches Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've read a couple of other books on the subject, and though they were all excellent judged on their own merits, Shelford and Remillard's book stands out in at least three ways:
First, the emphasis placed on the practical aspects of web project management is invaluable. They just don't talk about what should be done, but also show how to do it. For instance, one knows that in order to be an effective project manager, s/he has to get along with all the players on the team. That's common sense, but what really helps is tips on how it should be done, as the authors do. In the quality assurance section, the importance of bug tracking is mentioned. Then they go on to talk about how to track the different bugs, the tools to use, information to keep etc.
Second, as someone before me has already mentioned, the case-studies in the book are really helpful. They give insight into how web projects are handled in the real world, ie corporations and smaller companies. If you're going to be working as a web PM, it certainly helps to know about the experiences others have had. In one example, the situation of an indepedent consultant is described - he has to deal with three or four different, non-complying, business units within the same company to simply obtain a copy of the the marketing email distribution list needed for the project. If you find yourself having to deal with problematic clients, you'll have a head start on how to handle the situation. We as readers can benefit from years of acumen developed and distilled by other project managers by simply reading the case-studies.
Thirdly, the templates and other documents provided in the CD are a good starting point for your own projects. You can put them to use immediately with minor modifications. Samples for various mock projects are provided, so you know what kind of information to collect.
All in all, a good book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Real Web Project Management: Case Studies and Best Practices from the Trenches

Get 30% OFF

Click here for more information about Real Web Project Management: Case Studies and Best Practices from the Trenches

Read More...

GWT in Practice Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am surprised to hear so much lofty praise for this book. It is mediocre at best, and the editing is quite horrible. Here the advice I would give the authors and in particular the editors:
- I hate having to flip from one chapter to the previous one in order to find a particular snippet being referenced. If you are starting a project, all the source for that needs to be close to each other. I dislike being told 'Go find table 1.1, (with no page number given) and use the code from there.
- The code examples given clearly have NEVER been through the compiler. There are missing methods in examples, and silly typos that are quite unacceptable since it leads me to question the effort put into creating the book. (see page 52, listing 2.12 for example, - Private is NOT the same as private. setInitDisplay is never defined. )
- My preference - and probably for a number of other people - is to use the well defined hello world approach, rather than a discourse on how configuration is to be set up. Eclipse should be introduced earlier. I'm sure others would disagree, but getting a HelloWorld going gets my blood flowing
- The section on design patterns is a TOTAL waste. Please dont introduce examples that focus on MVC, not GWT. I am not reading GWT to understand how MVC works. Make simpler examples that gets rid of this fluff, and focusses on GWT.
- How exactly does showing what StringBuffer looks like in pretty & obfuscated mode help the user? It looks like an attempt to pad the size of the book
Manning books are always a hit and miss. THis is a clear miss. Really, the editors need to pull up their socks and get things out right, not get it out quick.

Click Here to see more reviews about: GWT in Practice

Get 39% OFF

Click here for more information about GWT in Practice

Read More...

Web Protocols and Practice: HTTP/1.1, Networking Protocols, Caching, and Traffic Measurement Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)You've built a B2C or B2B web service. You get great response time from your office, but there are times when your customers across the country report poor performance.
This book with help you understand the entire path between browser and web server and how Internet latency and intermediaries like Proxy servers add to transaction delay. This is the only source that I've seen that a) Defines HTTP 1.1 and b) describes the relationship between HTTP and the TCP/IP protocol stack, making recommendations on how to tune the stack to reduce the effect of latency.
You'll learn that many of TCP's flow control mechanisms were designed for FTP, Telnet and Rlogin and some default settings are not optimized, or even appropriate for HTTP.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Web Protocols and Practice: HTTP/1.1, Networking Protocols, Caching, and Traffic Measurement

Just as TCP/IP is a central protocol for the Internet, HTTP is a central protocol for the web. They are both critical for web networking. Web Protocols and Practice is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide to the Web's technical underpinnings. Authored by legendary AT&T Labs researcher Bala Krishnamurthy and renowned Web networking expert Jennifer Rexford, this book offers exceptionally thorough coverage of core Web protocols-including the most detailed discussion of HTTP /1.1 and its relationship to TCP/IP networking ever presented. The authors begin with a broad overview of the evolution of the Web, including its naming infrastructure, HTML document language, and HTTP message exchange protocol. Next, they introduce the inner workings of clients, proxies, and servers, as well as scripts, handlers, search engines, cookies, and authentication. The heart of the book is a detailed discussion of the core Web protocols DNS, TCP/IP, and HTTP. An essential resource for all networking and Internet professionals, and for all developers building Internet applications.

Get 29% OFF

Click here for more information about Web Protocols and Practice: HTTP/1.1, Networking Protocols, Caching, and Traffic Measurement

Read More...