Slashdot: Book ReviewsNews for nerds, stuff that mattersTerminal Chaos- June 25, 2008 Ben Rothke writes "While Terminal Chaos should be shelved in the current events or business section of a bookstore, it could also be placed in the modern crime section. After reading it, one gets the impression that the state of air traffic today could only come due to criminal neglect or mischief. If one looks at pictures of airline flights from the 1960s, you will see well-dressed passengers enjoying their flight. In 2008, barely a day goes by without an incident of air rage, from irate...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/319855705/article.pl The Principles of Project Management- June 23, 2008 zedguy writes "Ask someone what 'project management' is and you're liable to get a few blank stares — it's one of those fields people have heard of, but probably have problems pinning down a definition. So that is what the first section of the book does: provides a definition that can be summed up as applying tools and skills to complete a project. That then leads to what exactly is a "project": a set of tasks with a time-frame and goal of somehow adding value. So yes, the introduction...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/318287338/article.pl Foundations of Mac OS X Leopard Security- June 20, 2008 jsuda writes "At least a half-dozen times in the book 'Foundations of Mac OS X Leopard Security' the authors state that there is a misconception that the Macintosh computer is immune from security problems. That allegation may explain why there are very few books published (and nearly none in recent years) about security for the Mac. This book is meant to change all that. The authors acknowledge that the Mac OS X software has had little of the security problem experience of Windows (and other...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/316413689/article.pl Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing- June 18, 2008 Aeonite writes "Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing is the followup to Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, and the second book written by members of the Game Writers' Special Interest Group of the 14,000 member strong IGDA. The book covers much of the same terrain as its predecessor, but offers a tighter focus on some specific points, covering more technical (as in technique) details rather than broader narrative theory; if the first book was a Google Map, this one would...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/314770314/article.pl Hackerteen Volume 1: Internet Blackout- June 16, 2008 stoolpigeon writes "Hackerteen Volume 1: Internet Blackout is an interesting new project, a graphic novel being published by O'Reilly. What makes it interesting is not just that this is a rather new direction for O'Reilly but that this is, to my knowledge, a rather unique publication in that it seeks to educate teenage youth about an array of issues ranging from privacy, free software, security and the impact of politics on personal freedom as it relates to the use of technology. Making topics..http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/313185400/article.pl Building an Effective Information Security Policy Architecture- June 13, 2008 Ben Rothke writes "Security policies are like fiber, that is, the kind you eat. Everyone agrees that fiber is good for you, but no one really wants to eat it. So too with information security policies. They are sorely needed, but most users don't go out of their way to comply with them. And in many firms, they are not even trained in what they have to do. But failure to have adequate information security policies can lead to myriad risks for an organization." Keep reading for the rest of Ben's..http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/311322600/article.pl Joomla! A User's Guide- June 11, 2008 Michael J. Ross writes "Of all the content management systems (CMSs) from which a Web developer can choose for creating a new Web site, Joomla is generally considered to be one of the top choices -- partly because an experienced developer can create an attractive site faster with Joomla than with the majority of other CMSs. However, Joomla's online documentation leaves much to be desired, as is true for most if not all CMSs. Intermediate and especially new developers need a clear and...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/309817182/article.pl Running Xen- June 9, 2008 David Martinjak writes "Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization was published by Prentice Hall, and authored by Jeanna N. Matthews, Eli M. Dow, Todd Deshane, Wenjin Hu, Jeremy Bongio, Patrick F. Wilbur, and Brendan Johnson. The book, which will be referred to as simply Running Xen, was a great resource on Xen and virtualization from the administration side. A wide range of topics was covered from installing Xen all the way up to managing virtual resources, including migrating.http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/308251759/article.pl Visual Communication in Digital Design- June 4, 2008 stoolpigeon writes "I remember the first time I saw a program I had written after the interface had been revamped by a designer. I had been pretty happy with what I had made. It worked very well and met the client's requirements. It was extremely functional and I thought it didn't look bad either. But when I saw the new interface, not functionally different, just so much better looking, I was really blown away. My application had gone from useful to cool. (That might be a slight exaggeration,...http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotBookReviews/~3/304735435/article.pl |