Norman RichardsI want my two dollarsManning vs. O'Reilly- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Eric Burke asks "Is Manning the new O'Reilly" It's an interesting question that was starting to be asked a lot right before the tech book market busted a few years. Had the tech book market not died, it's quite possible Manning would have eclipsed O'Reilly, but they haven't. Still, Manning sits there quietly pushing out one good book after another, and their reputation among developers continues to increase. I really like both publishers. I've written one book for Manning and one for...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/Manning_vs._O_Reilly.html Review: Effective XML- (Found July 8, 2008 ) I didn't notice Effective XML when it first came out, but we were lucky enough to get a review copy for the Austin XML group. I had just enough time to read the first chapter or two before I had to pass it along to the actual reviewer. But I liked the book enough to buy it, and then I put it in my book queue and forgot about it. I'm really mad I didn't get back to it faster because the book is excellent. Effective XML is a collection of about 50 tips for working with XML. Although XML...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/effective_xml.html Java Reflection in Action- (Found July 8, 2008 ) My copy of Java Reflection in Action finally arrived. I'm really happy to see the book in print, for several reasons. First, it was my first time to tech review a book. I've been a reviewer for a dozen or so titles in the last year or two, but this was my first time to do a tech review. It was a lot of fun. I even learned a few things in the process, like the highly embarrassing lack of knowledge about class literals for primitive and array types. I'm also happy to see the book out...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/Java_Reflection_in_.html Free virus books- (Found July 8, 2008 ) When I was at UT , we were fortunate enough to have a campus book store with a world class technical book selection. (this was in the days before the University Co-Op sold out the students to Barnes and Nobles) I lined my shelves with odd technical books, especially books about security and cryptography. Two of my most treasured books were The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses and it's sequel The Giant Black Book of Computer Viruses. Both books explained in great detail some of the...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/Free_virus_books.html XDoclet in Action - in action- (Found July 8, 2008 ) I was looking around at Amazon today and noticed that they have a new test feature where customers can upload their "in action" shots of products. It's sort of like the Think Geek action shots. To test it out, I uploaded a picture of the first copy of XDoclet in Action I saw on the shelves. (yeah, I've posted it before) It's actually kind of neat to see how it works, but I'd like a few more pictures. So, I'll make a challenge. If you have a copy of the book, then take a dumb picture...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/XDoclet_in_Action_-.html JBoss: A Developer's Notebook- (Found July 8, 2008 ) I've been fairly silent for the last few months. That's because I've been working on an O'Reilly book for the last 4 months: JBoss: A Developer's Notebook. Sam and I finished the book last month and are expecting to have it in print by the end of June. I think the Developer's Notebook series is really interesting. The books are small, focused and cheap. I've been very vocal that small books are better than big books, but so far I've managed to produce two 600 page monster books. That's..http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/JBoss__A_Developer_.html JavaOne bestsellers- (Found July 8, 2008 ) One of the more interesting aspects of the conference for me has been the bookstore. I've been waiting to see the first copies of the JBoss Notebook on the shelves. It's an ego thing, for sure, but it was sure nice to see the book finally for sale. I've had high hopes for the book, but I hadn't expected it to be one of the top books at the conference. The bookstore publishes a best seller lists and my two JBoss books were solidly in the top 10, at least after the first couple days. With..http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/JavaOne_bestsellers.html JBoss book giveaway at JavaRanch- (Found July 8, 2008 ) It's time for another JavaRanch book promotion. Sam and I will be in the JBoss forum all week answering questions. At the end of the week, JavaRanch will send copies of the book to a few participants. If you have any questions about the book, or if you want to chat about JBoss in general, we'll be there. I've been doing a lot of EJB3 work recently, and I'm particularly interested in talking about what JBoss is doing there. I'm actually in LA this week teaching a JBoss class, so I'll...http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/JBoss_book_giveaway.html JBoss notebook price error at Amazon- (Found July 8, 2008 ) I've been trying not to be too blatant about promoting my books here, but I noticed that Amazon has the wrong price for JBoss: A Developer's Notebook. The cover price is $29.95, but they have it listed as $20.95, which yields an Amazon price of $14.25. That's significantly cheaper than you will find it anywhere else. If you've been on the fence about picking up a copy, now is your chance to get one cheap.http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/JBoss_notebook_pric.html My imaginary Java developer friends- (Found July 8, 2008 ) I've noticed an annoying trend in technical books I've been reading lately. More and more books are taking the approach of inventing fictional developers and companies as examples. Joe, Mary and Bob are all developers at FooBaricus Inc working on GenericApp. Joe wanted to do X, but Mary suggested Y. The team ultimately decided on Z. It's like a geek soap opera. Tune in for next week's exciting episode of "As the code compiles". I find that style to be extremely annoying. I don't care.http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/books/as_the_code_compiles.html |