I have bought a lot of books about futures trading and after reading them I usually feel like I have wasted my money. That's why this book was such a delightful surprise. In addition to providing useful and understandable information about electronic trading, the author, Mr. Silverman, can really write. It was really interesting to learn about life on the trading floor and how it compares to trading electronically. His anecdotes about his 20 year career in the futures markets really brought to life the pressures and rewards of being a professional trader. I especially appreciated his insight into e-mini trading. For the first time, I understood the shenaningans that the traders on the floor and on the screen pull to provide themselves with an edge over the retail trader. The great thing about electronic trading, as Silverman argues, is that it allows someone like me who cannot trade on the floor of an exchange to compete on a level playing field. By opening a window into the secretive world of the successful trader, Silverman shows that the differences between the professional and non-professional trader are relatively small when trading electronically. His advice has already helped me improve my p/l. As they say about the movies, if you buy only one book about futures this year it should be this one. I highly recommend it.

Contains information I was not able to find anywhere else. In my opinion, Sylvia did a very thorough research on this subject. I found the information to be very complete. The only exception is one grocery store in Georgetown that offers senior discounts of 5% on Wednesdays. This was offset by at least 12-15 discounts that were new to me. The book is very well organized. It provides listings by type of discount and location (city or town). It exceeded my expectation!

I'm working in Silicon Valley for a company that deals regularly with the Japanese. Personally, I have lived and worked in Japan, so I am not completely new to the complex culture. Recently, I've been searching for a current book that addresses specifically problems that can arise and solutions to those problems in negotiations between Americans and Japanese. This book does just that.

The first portion of the book compares Japan and the US in cultural terms. Newcomers to Japan will find this section very useful. I enjoyed the section, as it allowed me to review material that I had learned through reading other books on Japan and through personal experiences. The second section, the Business of Face-to-Face Negotiation, was the reason I bought the book. It provides a detailed analysis of negotiating with the Japanese - who to send, what character traits are effective in dealing with Japanese, timing, process, etc. In addition, all of the information is supported by anecdotes of the authors, who all have long, impressive careers in working with Japan.

Overall, it think the book is excellent and would recommend it to anyone who negotiates with the Japanese - whether that person is a newcomer to the Japanese culture or a Japanophile.

Dot-Com Decision, by Robert F. Wilson, is a great collection of advice on how to start and manage a career in the high-tech sector. The collected tips and advice include good ideas on identifying prospective employers, developing your resume, and evaluating the company, the compensation, and the culture. Particularly valuable is the advice on evaluating the company and its future viability--a key task in these uncertain days that will help untold thousands find steady employment in growing companies instead of having to conduct a new job search every six months.

The tips on evaluating the company culture are also very good, and will help candidates evaluate whether prosective employers are a good match for their personalities and work skills.

The information on stock options and other compensation issues is invaluable for newcomers or for industry veterans who want to negotiate a better package on their next foray into the job market.

As someone already working in the high-tech field, I can honestly say that I wish I had this book when I was conducting my job search!

This paperback is just great! Umar gives a very practical yet thorough discussion of component-based architectures. The material is especially useful for IT managers and students in IS/IT. I really like Umar's style of defining terms and establishing a framework for discussion before discussing a topic. I wish other authors would do something similar. He uses the same style in all modules of this handbook. Every time I thought that the discussion was getting dry and an example could be useful here, guess what, an example appeared. The numerous diagrams and sidebars significantly add to the learning experience.

Even while discussing intricate topics, author's sense of humor shows (the discussion of good versus bad architectures is an example). The topics are well chosen and covered. The first chapter defines and explains different types of solution architectures, especially component-based architectures. The second chapter takes a closer look at business components and component-based architectures. I was really surprised, and delighted, to see a complete chapter on enterprise data architectures in the modern Web-XML environments. I rarely see this type of discussion in architecture books. It also shows the strength of the author in this area. The architecture implementation chapter is extremely valuable for developers because it shows several implementation examples with sample codes. The last chapter gives state of the practice, market, and art and rounds off this paperback very well. The chapters are long but they go through each topic completely -- several breakpoints divide the long chapters into digestable sections.

Highly commendable work.

What is the Internet? How does it work? Why is it so important? These questions can be very confusing to someone without a computer science or IT background. After reading this Networks module, I feel I finally have a very good understanding of the power of the IP networks. I highly recommend this module to anyone with an iota of curiosity about the Internet.

Although it's not breezy reading, even as a business school student I had little trouble with the technical explanations. Dr. Umar uses real-world examples. In fact, the information is so practical that now I know the actual meaning behind terms such as Ethernet, LAN's, WAN's, MAN's, NIC, RJ45, cable modems, DSL, T1, T3, optical fiber, ATM Frame relay, etc. The module also covers Voice Over IP and the inevitable convergence of voice and data - no wonder phone companies are running scared. In addition, wireless technologies, cellular phones and 3G are also addressed.

I was mostly interested in distributed networks but the module also covered IBM's SNA and token ring networks reflecting Dr. Umar's experience with Big Blue's "big iron" mainframes. Nonetheless, it was still valuable information.

This paperback gives an excellent overview of the technical as well as strategic issues in e-business and distributed systems. It sets the stage for all other modules of the handbook (applications, architectures, integration, networks, middleware, platforms, and management)through several real life case studies and examples. The preface very nicely shows several course examples where the modules can be used and points to the instructor material that is available from the author site. The first chapter starts with a discussion of strategic issues in e-business and shows how the latest distributed computing technologies enable these strategies. The discussion of Real-Time enterprises is well placed in the discussion. The second chapter contains many case studies and examples to highlight the practical issues.

The same practical style, helped with numerous diagrams and examples continues in all modules. The modules are quite inexpensive and rich with well written content. GREAT WORK.

Dayle Smith's The E-Business Book: A Step-By-Step Guide To E-Commerce And Beyond is the ideal "how to" introduction to setting up and conducting an effective, efficient and profitable business on the Internet. Organized into twelve methodical steps, The E-Business Book shows how to analyze the successes and failures of companies in your particular industry; how to investigate the competition (including what information to seek and how to find it); how to develop a solid, comprehensive business plan and then testing it to work out any unforseen problems; how to navigate the constantly evolving legal and security issues respecting Internet transactions; exploring new marketing opportunities that Internet alliances can afford; and building in flexibility and readiness to stay on the cutting edge of Internet innovations and developments. If you are planning an Internet-based venture, or expanding your already existing Internet business activities, then give Dayle Smith's The E-Business Book a very careful, very profitable reading!

Confused over jargons and buzzwords such as CRM, MRO, B2B, B2E, e-Procurement? Loss in conversations about doing business over the Internet? Need a jump-start in understanding what e-Business and e-Commerce is all about? Then look no further. "E-Business Essentials" by Frank J Derfler may be the book you are looking for.

This book is probably the first of its kind that stresses on the importance of relationships in e-Business - relationships between your company and its customers, suppliers and employees. These relationships are the cornerstone to the three major building blocks of e-Business, Business to Consumer, Business to Business and Business to Employees. Each of these building blocks is discussed in details in its own section, substantiated with interesting real world case studies.

This book does not attempt to be a 'how-to' manual. There are little or no technical design or architecture diagrams and definitely no code examples. Its main emphasis is on the 'whys' and the 'whats' of e-Business. Buzzwords and important concepts are conspicuously marked and defined in the margins of pages that discuss them.

Although written primarily for those with little or no exposure to the subject, it is by no means a 'Dummies' book. While it is written in layman's language and a style that is easy to understand, there are enough details to challenge the intellect. It will definitely lay a good foundation in the understanding of the fundamentals. Even those who have been in e-Business for a while will find this book refreshing and well organized.

This book is a tour de force through hits and misses of using Internet technologies in manufacturing. It includes a concise survey of various technologies and standards, as well as a survey of various business models that can profit from them. Not just theory, the book includes discussion of what has happened to the business-to-business portals that sprang up and quickly withered. As is fitting from two authors who are practicing marketing consultants, the book also includes a wealth of practical tips for those who need to find new paths in this difficult manufacturing environment. Included is a chapter on security--certainly a hot topic these days.