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Newton's Telecom Dictionary: 22nd Edition (Newton's Telecom Dictionary) (Newton's Telecom Dictionary)

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Excellent reference book!!!!!!!
Its ok
Everything but the "Kitchen Sink"
The BOOK for Telecommunications
What if Daniel Webster had an irrepressible sense of humor?

Newton's Telecom Dictionary: 22nd Edition (Newton's Telecom Dictionary) (Newton's Telecom Dictionary)
Harry Newton
Manufacturer: Flatiron Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Essential Guide to Telecommunications, The (4th Edition) (Essential Guide Series)
Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition: The Complete Global Source (2nd Edition)
Telecom For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))
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Telecommunications: A Beginner's Guide

ASIN: 1578203198

Book Description

Even though the boom years of the 1990s are over, the telecom industry is rebounding and morphing yet again — there are now more cell phones in the world than landlines and half of American households will soon have broadband. Newton’s Telecom Dictionary helps technology and business professionals stay on top of the ever-changing network, telecom, and IT industry. Industry guru Harry Newton explains technical concepts in nontechnical language that anyone in business can understand, making this an essential reference tool for anyone involved with telecom and IT systems and services. Manageable, jargon-free chapters help readers get a handle on the myriad new telecom services, equipment, and terms and acronyms that are sprouting just as quickly as ever. This new edition features expanded coverage of important areas such as satellite services, wireless broadband, search optimization, and more. A great tool for readers looking to find their way in the vast telecom industry, Newton’s Telecom Dictionary provides the support that readers need.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent reference book!!!!!!!.......2007-03-09

If you are in the telecom or IT industry or just want to familiarize yourself with terminology and practices relating to both, YOU MUST OWN THIS BOOK! A lot of the definitions are understandably technical but Harry Newton manages to be very informative AND amusing with his casual, down-to-earth writing style.

Its ok.......2006-12-14

Used it for a class, but some of the definitions in this book were out of this world. Made for a good laugh. If you have it, look up flasher...

Everything but the "Kitchen Sink".......2006-11-10

I needed a reference for Telecommunications that I could reference and fall back on while preparing for a Civil Service test to keep my job. Invaluable would be the word I would use. You may never need to use more then 2% of this book but what you need is almost garanteed to be in it if it has to do with Telecom.
Just an everyday Telecomm Info Systems Tech. DL

The BOOK for Telecommunications.......2006-10-07

This should be a mandatory book for anyone working in the telecommunications industry. Not only is it comprehensive, but the explanations are direct, easily understood and sometimes humorous. Anyone who uses "oxymoron" in an explanation gets my vote.

What if Daniel Webster had an irrepressible sense of humor?.......2006-08-26

I have been buying regularly updated editions of Newton's Telecom Dictionary for fifteen years now and will continue to do so as long as Harry keeps 'em coming.

I'll admit that once in a while an obscure TLA or FLA (4 and 5 Letter Acronyms) will sneak beneath Harry's radar but it doesn't happen very often. Especially when he is so willing to research tips sent to him by his loyal readers!

I have found this dictionary to be indispensible in my job as a telco engineer. Harry does a great job of defining telco terms and acronyms in plain English and not by using other complex terms and acronyms. This is much more significant than it sounds at first. It is simply impossible for any professional to know every last obscure acronym and term used in this expansive and ever-growing industry over the past 100 years. Harry will help to make sure that you never have to ask anyone else what in the heck their TLA's mean. You will be the Alpha-geek. All others will bow in your presence. Life will be good.

Newton's Telecom Dictionary has one more unique trait. Harry's wry sense of humor has threaded itself into many of the definitions. This is one of those rare tomes that you can sit down with and randomly read for enjoyment. Whenever there is an interesting and/or humorous story behind a telco term, Harry inevitably includes it with the definition. This dictionary can be fun to read! This is especially nice if someone walks into your work space and catches you reading your dictionary. They will never suspect you of goofing off!

-Christopher Erickson
Intrepid Engineer of the Far North

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Unlocking Medical Terminology
Bruce Wingerd
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130488402

Encyclopedia of Computers and Computer History

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Encyclopedia of Computers and Computer History
Raul Rojas
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1579582354

Book Description

The Encyclopedia of Computers and Computer History provides a complete A-to-Z reference guide to computers, their development, and their usage in today's world. Beginning with "Abacus," this two-volume set provides over 900 pages of facts, definitions, biographies, histories, and explanations of a remarkable variety of computer-related subjects.

The Encyclopedia's 600 entries--many of which represent the first reference treatment of their subjects--address the diverse topics that form the backbone of the information revolution. Entries include essays on major corporations, computing machines, software, networking, computing concepts, research, laboratories, and pioneering individuals in computing history. In addition to these essays, each entry is also followed by a helpful list of further reading on that subject.

Contributors to the Encyclopedia represent a wide cross-section of accomplished scholars in the fields of computer science and scientific history. Their informative, accessible essays enable readers to learn about computer history in a non-intimidating way.

An invaluable addition to any library collection, the Encyclopedia of Computers and Computer History is an indispensable resource for undergraduates, graduate students, and anybody with an interest in, or question about, computers.

The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms (IEEE 100), Seventh Edition

Average customer rating:

Authoritative is the "one word review"

The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms (IEEE 100), Seventh Edition
Sp&&&&
Manufacturer: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0738126012
Release Date: 2000-12-01

Product Description

IEEE standards establish an authoritative common language that defines quality and sets technical criteria. By guaranteeing consistency and conformity through an open, consensus setting, IEEE standards add value to products, facilitate trade, help drive markets, and ensure safety. Thats why leading companies and organizations from around the globe and across industry sectors use them. A critical component of this common language is the vast collection of terms and definitions standardized in IEEE standards. In the past decade alone, hundreds of terms have entered the multi-sector technology lexicon under the IEEE umbrella, describing tools, techniques, and best practices. In the newly updated Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms, professional experts and students alike will gain an in-depth understanding and appreciation for the breadth of coverage of IEEE standards terms and definitionsnot found in any other single source.

Customer Reviews:

Authoritative is the "one word review".......2006-11-07

I have used many of the IEEE Standard (IEEE 100) dictionaries in my consulting. Authoritative is the best word to describe these dictionaries.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (Definitive Guides)

Average customer rating:

Great book ofr those using the SQL Plus command line or GUI tool
the glories of the command line
great guide
Great for a beginner
A NICE SEQUEL TO "ORACLE PL/SQL"

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (Definitive Guides)
Jonathan Gennick
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 4th Edition
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TOAD Handbook

ASIN: 0596007469

Book Description

Despite its wide availability and usage, few developers and DBAs have mastered the true power of Oracle SQL*Plus. This bestselling book--now updated for Oracle 10g--is the only in-depth guide to this interactive query tool for writing SQL scripts. It's an essential resource for any Oracle user. The new second edition of Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide clearly describes how to perform, step-by-step, all of the tasks that Oracle developers and DBAs want to perform with SQL*Plus--and maybe some you didn't realize you could perform. With Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, you'll expertly:

write and execute script files
generate ad hoc reports
extract data from the database
query the data dictionary tables
customize an SQL*Plus environment
and much more

It also includes a handy quick reference to all of its syntax options and an often-requested chapter on SQL itself, along with a clear, concise, and complete introduction. This book is truly the definitive guide to SQL*Plus. It's an indispensable resource for those who are new to SQL*Plus, a task-oriented learning tool for those who are already using it, and an immediately useful quick reference for every user. If you want to leverage the full power and flexibility of this popular Oracle tool, you'll need this book.

Customer Reviews:

Great book ofr those using the SQL Plus command line or GUI tool.......2006-09-20

Oracle SQL Plus: The Defnitive Guide
Jonthan Gennick
1-56592-578-5

This book is great for those using the SQL Plus tool. I use SQL Plus for Oracle 8 and 9. This book covers up to 8i but I have not had any trouble using the commands in 9i. I have not tried the commands listed on 10g yet. The book is easy to use since the topics are split into reasonable chapters and the font is large enough to read with the book beside the keyboard. I also like the chapters that list commonly used items in tables. One example would be the chapter listing the user_ and all_ views. The chapter covering the SET command is one I use frequently. This book is fairly specific to the usage of SQL Plus itself and does not delve too deeply into the inner workings of the Oracle database, but it does have examples in SQL query language and PL/SQL stored procedures. If one is looking for a book on SQL itself, I recommend another title. If one needs a book on SQL Plus, get this one.

the glories of the command line.......2005-01-19

The glories of the command line. SQLPlus [I am not going to write that irritating asterix] is an acknowledgment of the reality that for many large computer programs and operating systems, a command line utility is vital. The book explains this for the specific instance of hooking to Oracle's database. It is meant as a definitive reference. Showing every command, often accompanied by example code.

For an Oracle DBA, a good acquaintance with SQLPlus is probably mandatory. From the book, you can see how to quickly interrogate the database and get results in various useful paginated formats. Plus, and vitally, you can see how to build script files that can be run, where these files encode your experience in amassing customised sequences of commands specific to your needs. Exactly analogous to batch files in most operating systems, and just as useful.

Along those lines, SQLPlus is conceptually not that hard. When using Oracle, it is often far more important, and harder, to design optimal tables for a given problem.

great guide.......2005-01-15

I have found this book to be a really great guide that is easy to follow. The author provides a gentle, but thorough introduction to topics like creating reports, writing scripts, customization etc. He offers methodologies and alternatives beyond the syntax that you can find in the manual. For example, he presents and evaluates six ways one can achieve some kind of if-then-else flow control in SQL*Plus.

[...]

Great for a beginner.......2004-12-15

Well written, plenty of examples, very easy to read and follow. As someone who is new to SQL*Plus, I appreciated that. Once I got things installed and running, it was easy to get right into iSQL*Plus (running SQL commands through a browser interface) - really cool. The chapter on Create HTML Reports was very nice as well.

I found this book very helpful.

A NICE SEQUEL TO "ORACLE PL/SQL".......2003-01-12

Jonathan Gennick and co did a good job here. This "Oracle SQL Plus: The Definitive Guide" would be appreciated by most users, although that advanced SQL users who thirst for a unique guidance, having understood the elementary basics of SQL are its primary target. The medium-sized book boasts of updated and revised information whose accuracy are indisputable. Its methodology is as well, dynamic. The pattern of this book is such that tries to turn difficult issues into entertaining ones. It is worth its asking price.

Dictionary of Information Science and Technology

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Dictionary of Information Science and Technology

Manufacturer: IGI Global
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1599043858
Release Date: 2006-12-06

Product Description

The Dictionary of Information Science and Technology is the premier, comprehensive reference source compiled of the latest terms and definitions related to all aspects of the information science and technology field. This complete and timely collection of approximately 10,000 terms and acronyms provides researchers, practitioners, educators, and students with the most accurate and up-to-date knowledge of keywords in the ever-expanding world of information science and technology. Terms and definitions included in this important reference publication were contributed by over 2,500 noted researchers from over 40 countries. There is no single definition in existence for each element of the vocabulary, so individual researchers have formed distinctive descriptions of the terminology, providing a much more meaningful and broader understanding of each term. The Dictionary of Information Science and Technology is a valuable, essential reference publication for libraries and individuals worldwide.

Concise Encyclopedia of Computer Science

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Concise Encyclopedia of Computer Science

Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Computer Science Handbook, Second Edition
The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: 0470090952

Book Description

The Concise Encyclopedia of Computer Science has been adapted from the full Fourth Edition to meet the needs of students, teachers and professional computer users in science and industry. As an ideal desktop reference, it contains shorter versions of 600f the articles found in the Fourth Edition, putting computer knowledge at your fingertips.

Organised to work for you, it has several features that make it an invaluable and accessible reference. These include:

Cross references to closely related articles to ensure that you don’t miss relevant information
Appendices covering abbreviations and acronyms, notation and units, and a timeline of significant milestones in computing have been included to ensure that you get the most from the book.
A comprehensive index containing article titles, names of persons cited, references to sub-categories and important words in general usage, guarantees that you can easily find the information you need.

Classification of articles around the following nine main themes allows you to follow a self study regime in a particular area:

Hardware
Computer Systems
Information and Data
Software
Mathematics of Computing
Theory of Computation
Methodologies
Applications
Computing Milieux.

Book Description

Learn to create presentation-quality reports using this practical introductory guide--even if you're a novice. You'll find all the information you need to get up and running with this data analysis tool and learn how to format data, generate reports, create Web-based reports, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Crystal Reports: A Beginner's Guide Review.......2006-03-03

I am coming from a VBA background learning about this new software. This book is a great resource tool for making such a transition. Mr. McAmis stepped me through the learning process in a clear and concise manner. The information was learned in progressive manner, in that, the further through the book I read, the more complex issues were handled. At the end each chapter the author challenged me with key questions to help me remember the most important issues.

Not What I Wanted or Expected.......2004-05-27

I'm afraid I have to agree with the review from "A reader from Cupertino, CA" - I, too, am on Chapter 4 and am frustrated beyond belief because my reports look very little like the examples in the book so far. In the case of the second tutorial in chapter 4, again the other reviewer is correct - it's not even the same report!

I bought "A Beginner's Guide to JavaScript" by the same company and was thrilled with it. It was clear, concise and had a "mini-project" at the end of each chapter for the reader to complete to ensure mastery of the concept being taught. I was expecting the same thing with this book, and am sorely disappointed. The explaination of each topic is general at best, incorrect at worst, the tutorials are simplistic and don't include half the information being covered in each chapter, if indeed a tutorial exists at all.

I need to get up to speed on Crystal Reports in a fairly short period of time, and be able to generate some fairly sophisticated reports. This book is becoming a hindrance to that goal.

It's ok.......2004-01-16

It is a beginners book as the title says, but there is a pittfal, the author should consider for future books.
Not every chapter has a step-by-step tutrial. The user have to download the samples and use them to be able to follow the author, which defeats the purpose of learning by doing.
Chapters 4 & 5 make are mutually exlusive, since chp 5 requires reports from chp 4, that was not a step-by-step tutorial.
Either make it a step-by-step or don't. Just be consistent.

This book [is bad].......2003-08-21

This book needs some serious editing
Right now I'm on Chapter 4 and so far this book is terrible in regards to the Projects. The project instructions don't correspond with the results intended and shown. For example, the instructions say open the Customer by Country report, but then it says 'your report should look like this' and shows you an entirely different report! And sometimes the report you worked on doesn't even work for the task you're trying to learn. The author must have had his friends write the other customer reviews. Don't buy this book! It's just unfortunate though that there aren't many choices.

Excellent Coverage and Design.......2003-06-27

Crystal Reports: A Beginner's Guide covers everything and more that I wanted to learn about Crystal Reports. The information is easy to digest and there are regular 1-Minute checks along the way. Hands-on experience, in the form of Projects, are dispersed through each chapter (the completed projects can be downloaded from the web). Answers to the Mastery Checks, at the end of every chapter, are given in the Appendix.

Book Description

Mac users everywhere--even those who know nothing about programming--are discovering the value of the latest version of AppleScript, Apple's vastly improved scripting language for Mac OS X Tiger. And with this new edition of the top-selling AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, anyone, regardless of your level of experience, can learn to use AppleScript to make your Mac time more efficient and more enjoyable by automating repetitive tasks, customizing applications, and even controlling complex workflows.

Fully revised and updated--and with more and better examples than ever--AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition explores AppleScript 1.10 from the ground up. You will learn how AppleScript works and how to use it in a variety of contexts: in everyday scripts to process automation, in CGI scripts for developing applications in Cocoa, or in combination with other scripting languages like Perl and Ruby.

AppleScript has shipped with every Mac since System 7 in 1991, and its ease of use and English-friendly dialect are highly appealing to most Mac fans. Novices, developers, and everyone in between who wants to know how, where, and why to use AppleScript will find AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition to be the most complete source on the subject available. It's as perfect for beginners who want to write their first script as it is for experienced users who need a definitive reference close at hand.

AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition begins with a relevant and useful AppleScript overview and then gets quickly to the language itself; when you have a good handle on that, you get to see AppleScript in action, and learn how to put it into action for you. An entirely new chapter shows developers how to make your Mac applications scriptable, and how to give them that Mac OS X look and feel with AppleScript Studio. Thorough appendixes deliver additional tools and resources you won't find anywhere else. Reviewed and approved by Apple, this indispensable guide carries the ADC (Apple Developer Connection) logo.

Customer Reviews:

A book to be read again and again -- or not at all!.......2007-05-09

No, don't start with "AppleScript: The Definitive Guide." Although I was highly motivated, diligent, and intelligent (if I may say so), Neuburg's exigent, articulate, and idiosyncratic "guide" defeated me, and I had to buy and work all the exercises in another book (Kochan's "Beginning Applescript") to obtain the background needed to appreciate this one.
The highly praised chapter in the first edition about conquering FrameMaker has been moved to an Appendix in the 2nd Edition, but since Neuberg sends the reader there on page 75, it is still useful and timely. It would have been more useful had he chosen a scriptable application that is on every Macintosh, or one, at least, that is shipped with Tiger, so that readers could follow his adventure rather than simply read about it. The worst that would have happened is that a newer modification of the application might have come out, in which case, as with FrameMaker, the reader could read about, but not experience, the process.
'Introductory' books in the liberal arts ("The Discarded Image" by C.S. Lewis comes to mind) are larded with quotations in Greek, Latin, French, and German, not to mention others. In exactly the same spirit, Neuburg shifts shamelessly from AppleScript to Perl, especially, but also to Unix, Objective-C, Python, and JavaScript, not to mention others. If you can't follow such examples -- he tells you that is all right -- you get the point that AppleScript is compatible with these and more, and he has the chutzpah to mention his own JavaScript book if that is your deficiency.
The effectiveness of good programming books diminishes as you move away from the computer. Programming is learnt at the keyboard, not in the lecture hall. That said, this book has an astonishing amount to offer to someone perusing it in an easy chair and mulling things over, rather than trying a succession of incorrect guesses at the keyboard. Kochan's book taught me, quickly and easily, how to move a Finder window around the screen, but when I decided that the window I wanted to move was the one holding the AppleScript program, Kochan left me without a clue. The "Oh, yeah" that finally got it moving occurred to me over a sausage biscuit in a fast food place with Neuburg's book in front of me. He didn't tell me what to do, but his dictionary exposition got me to where I could figure it out for myself.
As other reviewers have pointed out, Neuburg's emphases are upon the obscure, the contradictory, and the difficult. To explain these, he has not bothered with the obvious, the consistent, and the easy. They do not interest him, and he pays us the high (too high) compliment of implying that the obvious, the easy, and the consistent need not be explained at all.
If you wish to learn AppleScript and must learn it on your own, begin with a book (Kochan's, for example) that will make you reasonably competent in a hurry (three months, in my case). Then, when you have discovered that AppleScript is not as easy as you thought, you are ready for Neuburg to confirm your worst suspicions about its intricacies, devastate your casual assumptions about obvious solutions, and give you pride in beginning to learn AppleScript.
If you buy this book, you must read it several times, or you will not learn much of what it has to say.

Excellent book, but even better with Amazon or O'Reilly "search".......2007-04-08

Matt Neuburg's AppleScript book is an excellent overview of AppleScript. Alas, it is limited, as all such books are, by AppleScript's peculiar nature.

The problem is that AppleScript is primarily useful when it interacts with scriptable Applications; this means that many important commands one may think of as belonging to AppleScript belong to Applications instead [2]. If you working to extend an existing script, and decide to research a command in the excellent book index Matt built himself [1], you'll often be frustrated. The command, you see, belongs to the Application, not to AppleScript.

On the other hand, there's a good chance Matt used in the command in one or more examples. In the absence of a companion book entitled "AppleScript for Applications" [3] you'd like to find those examples. Alas, that's where you want a full text search engine.

The good news is, there are two. The even better news is that O'Reilly could make their engine much more visible and useful, with advantages for everyone.

Consider the case of the 'Duplicate' command, which is supported by iTunes (among others) and the Finder (in slightly different ways, no doubt). When I tried Amazon's "search within the book" I discovered several illuminating references. Similarly, O'Reilly allows one to search within the book as a promotion for its Safari eBook library.

The Safari search works well, but they don't want to give away too much for free. You can only read a snippet of information in the search results. A snippet that doesn't, currently, include the page or section number. If you click further you get to the 'buy safari' screen, but you also get to see the section number. Now, you can return to the book and read the information.

O'Reilly could make all of us (and themselves) happy by keeping Safari just as closed as it is today, but merely adding a section reference to the search results they freely expose already.

Here's the win-win for O'Reilly, Matt, Amazon and us:

1. Include the section reference in the initial search results screen.
2. Promote the search facility in every published O'Reilly book and explain how to use it on the O'Reilly book page.
3. If need be, request readers register to obtain this service. O'Reilly doesn't do spam, but they can suggest email subscriptions, RSS feeds, etc during the registration process.

Let us count the wins:

1. Matt's book is suddenly a better book. Readers get more value from it. They use it more. They like it and O'Reilly more.

2. O'Reilly gets ongoing visits from its customers.

3. O'Reilly gets free, regular, promotion of Safari services.

4. Amazon sells more books.

5. O'Reilly does not reduce the value of Safari, they enhance it by introducing users to it without giving it away.

It's a win-win for everyone. I just hope someone at O'Reilly can see the profit in it for them.

john

[1] In my real life I'm a knowledge representation/informatics geek. I have a lot of respect for the unrecognized intellectual labor that goes into producing a truly excellent index. In this case Matt did the work himself!

[2] Many applications may use the same string to refer to somewhat similar functions with slightly different syntax and semantics. This "ontologic dilemma" is a kind of uncontrolled overloading, and it makes AppleScript very challenging to use.

[3] If Matt decides to sell an "AppleScript for Applications" as a Tidbits eBook I'll pay for mine in advance!

Not helpful to a beginner.......2007-02-19

It seems like key pieces of information have been left out of this book, which is very atypical for any of the Definitive Guide series from O'Reilly, and of O'Reilly books in general. I picked up this book because it was the most recently published on the topic, and I'm still confused even after reading it. The first three chapters were on very basic subjects such as why you would want to use Applescript in general, where you would want to use it, and basic concepts. Next, part two is all about the syntax of Applescript, piece by piece. This is all very nice, and it probably is complete and correct, but it is like handing someone a maintenance manual on a washing machine who has never seen one before. Now that I know how to fix a broken one, what do I do with the actual machine itself? Part 3, "Applescript in Action", at first looked promising, but actually it just tells you how to fine tune your applications and shows some advanced features without ever really showing you specific problems that Applescript could solve and then solving them using the language. This is probably a good reference for someone who already is an experienced Applescript programmer, but I didn't find it helpful. I've ordered "Beginning Applescript" by Kochan to try to get some more remedial help on the subject. Hopefully, between these two books I can really learn Applescript, rather than just dabbling in it, which is what I've been doing for some time.

A great book for intermediate or advanced users..........2007-02-13

I'm frankly surprised by some of the reviews which suggest this is a great beginner's book... I really don't think so. It covers a lot of conceptual material which isn't going to help you figure out how to write a basic applescript function. In my opinion, this is a book for moderately experienced scripters who would like to know the inner workings of Applescript, and the critical little items that can cause a script to fail. It provides excellent insight into script objects, recursion, polymorphism, parenting, variable scope, closure, objects, targets/nested targets, references, dereferencing, raw appleevents, and other advanced topics. If you need a book to teach basic programming, I'd recomment Hanaan Rosenthal's book instead. Buy this one after you've finished that one.

Great for top-to-bottom understanding.......2007-02-09

Matt Neuburg has written a great text. It's easy to read and understand, and it's great a for a thorough understanding of the language. The first section of the book doesn't discuss code very much; moreso the practical application for the language in a real-world environment. The second section delves right into code, giving practical examples and helpful tips. After reading the first two chapters of the second section, I was writing simple programs to control applications. Great book for a beginning AppleScript programmer; even better book for a person completely new to programming.

Average customer rating:

Amazing
The best Internet activity available for ESL/EFL students

Dave Sperling's Internet Activity Book
Dave Sperling
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 013010325X

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2006-08-31

Nice book and really funny to work with my students in my applied technology class.

The best Internet activity available for ESL/EFL students.......1999-10-30

"Dave Sperling's Internet Activity Workbook" is a valuable and welcomed resource for teachers and students alike.

Coordinated with the workbook is a companion web site that gives current links to web sites which help the student to complete the thirty theme-based activities. The workbook and its web site can be used as an Internet supplement to ESL texts and classes. The teacher would also be able to provide additional links on a class or personal home page. The workbook and web site also can be used by students to improve English language skills independently.

The workbook opens with a brief message to the teacher. Then, with a message to the students, Sperling introduces details of searching the web, sending and receiving e-mail, using 'smileys', following 'netiquette' and understanding other Internet issues. To familiarize the students with the methods, Unit 2 of the companion Web site is used to demonstrate how to use the program.

To use the program, the student goes to the main page of the web site, pulls down the scrolling menu, finds the desired unit and clicks the image that says "Begin". From there, the CGI script directs the student to a frameset with navigation buttons and a listing of the objectives of the unit. Clicking the link at the bottom of this page displays the page for the unit. This page displays the four links for the four activities of the unit.

Unit one is entitled First Meeting. In the first activity, the student is helped to locate a key pal (an Internet pen pal) to communicate with by e-mail. The workbook provides three questions for students to ask their key pals and a space for writing the answers. Activities two, three and four ask students to find information. Follow up activities in this unit require students to write five new vocabulary words as well as provide an opportunity to post thoughts on the bulletin board of the companion web site.

A Unit from the Book

Let's look at Unit 2 in the book. The theme is amusement parks.

Top of page: Famous quote by Walt Disney

Activity 1: Three questions are printed for students to ask their key pals. There is space to write two additional original questions and to record answers of the key pal. It is suggested that students share the responses from their key pals as part of a group discussion.

Activity 2: Students search for web sites of amusement parks located in their country, choose four and write the names of the sites, the URLs, features of the parks, good and bad points of the parks and finally to rate them. This is followed by a writing activity where students write a review for one of these web sites.

Activity 3: Students search the web to find the major attractions of Disneyland and to write information about them. An example is provided. This information provides the basis for the group discussion which follows.

Activity 4: Students search the web for information about amusement parks in various countries, writing name and address and some of the attractions of a park in four countries. Once again an example is given and a group discussion follows.

The Follow Up closes the lesson with a space to write five new words with definitions. On the web site there is a clickable link labeled "New Vocabulary" which sends the student to an on-line dictionary site to find definitions. The student is also asked to post his thoughts about amusement parks on the companion web site's bulletin board. The last thing on the page is a question, the answer to which gives the student a clue to solving the URL. By choosing this book, you should consider yourself an ESL/EFL Internet pioneer!

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