I wanted to like this book. But I was taken aback by the author's attitude toward email campaigns - he says you'll never get anywhere if you don't use opt-out marketing to build a list. People will complain, but you can find an ISP that ignores their complaints. I was also surprised to find him radically misinformed about search engine traffic. Most people who have a web site in a specialized niche find search engines bring them lots and lots of beautifully targeted visitors, but he says that only sites with megabudgets get search engine traffic. His discussion of meta tags is out of date as well. He has some good ideas, but I hope people don't take him as an authority.

Steve O'Keefe's first book, Publicity on the Internet, changed the way people in public relations and marketing, particularly those in the publishing industry, publicized and promoted books, companies, products, services and other endeavors on the World Wide Web. For the first time, someone had outlined -- in great detail and with remarkable candor -- what we had to do to take advantage of the Internet's innumerable opportunities for getting "talked about" in cyberspace and, by extension, in our offices, living rooms and places of play. In his new book, Complete Guide to Internet Publicity -- a complete overhaul of his earlier work -- Steve goes several steps further and makes the art of Internet publicity almost a no-brainer for professionals and non-professionals alike. With a host of specific case examples, he tells us how to harness the power of online news rooms, discussion groups, newsletters, chat tours, online seminars, contests and what he calls "syndication" (a great concept unto itself) to develop positive publicity far beyond what most of us could achieve or afford with traditional public relations or direct mail marketing, as important and impressive as these approaches can be in certain circumstances. But the book is far more than a collection of tactics. Most important, it is salted with expert advice and counsel on how to use the Internet wisely. Steve is a practitioner of what he describes, but he is also a teacher who cares about the values of his readers. He wants us to succeed credibly and accountably with our publicity initiatives, not at all costs. Philosophically, he reverses the old maxim, "the end justifies the means." Like Camus, he thinks "the means justify the end." Still and all, the book is a wonderfully practical primer that helps us to concentrate on creativity and substance in generating the kind of publicity that we only dreamed of a few years back. The book is also well-organized, well-written and well-edited, three qualities that make it not only easy to read, but easy to grasp and easy to translate into action. If there is a "best" book on Internet publicity, this has to be the choice hands down.

When O'Keefe's first book on Internet publicity came out I wrote a long review. Now I'm older and lazier, but thank goodness he isn't. O'Keefe didn't just revise his original book (one of THE best Internet 'how to' books of all time), he's completely
re-written it from scratch. If you need to know the 'nuts and bolts' of how to DO Internet publicity today, you won't find a more useful, up-to-date guide anywhere. In fact, this book is a standard for all 'how to' books. Clear, throrough, detailed,
'battle-tested' and truly useful. Five stars isn't enough.

I wanted to write up a quick review for you. The book has some excellent content, and covers all the important areas of running your own business and understanding all the legal issues involved. The sample contracts and agreements are detailed and provide an in-depth explanation for each section. For myself, it is being used to set up web site and be able to sell my software over the Internet. It isn't specifically geared towards people like myself, but it is one of the few books out there that deals with the very important area of Internet legal issues.

My only negative comments are the lack of exciting writing, yes I know this is a legal book, and the lack of an enclosed CD-ROM. It would have been easy to enclose one with electronic versions of all the sample forms, or at least include one at the authors online site. Since there are so many forms included, this is the least I would expect. As for the writing style, it can be a little dry at times, and for me, covered international issues more than necessary. Otherwise a worthwhile addition to your shelf, to be read through quickly and then used as a reference.

Having worked in this area for a while it was a pleasure to finally read a book that can fill in so many of the holes. This guide covers all the legal area of the internet. The examples are especially helpful -- and interesting. The complicate legal areas are explained in reasonable language. There are very good sections on trademark and domain names, and on the legal problem with setting up your own web site.

You had better also read The Internet Legal Guide by Dennis M. Powers... an attorney who has done a first class job of providing "everything you need to know when doing business online." He's not bragging either. This book will teach you how to protect yourself from unwanted e-business or legal problems, avoid cyberlaw pitfalls, and get the most from your Net operations. Doing business on the Internet is a brave new world in many respects and this book will guide you through the legal aspects.

It is quite a strange book: very interesting, depicting a complete, sometimes accurate, path between UML and XML languages, and trying to show the whole and complex environment that required the development of a language like XML. The fact that both UML and XML syntaxes are not explained in detail should not induce to consider this issue as an introductory one: a thorough comprehension of all quoted subjects presumes a good knowledge of a structured (possibly object oriented) programming language and some reference to an XML syntax textbook and a UML guide. You do not learn by this book either designing UML or writing XML code, but it represents a survey about the subject that can be interesting both for skilled people and beginners.

David Carlson has produced a book that discusses how to integrate two important technologies: UML and XML. More than that, the book serves as a primer to both. Even if you already know UML or XML, you'll probably learn something new about each. References are supplied for those who want to learn more. For me, I also found that the book planted seeds for new ideas.

The material is presented in a practical way, around a simple business application. This makes the technologies more concrete and easier to understand. Fortunately, the reader is not overwhelmed by endless code listings - though there are enough nuts and bolts to make the concepts understandable.

Key concepts such as vocabularies, schemas, and portals are explained well. The book also touches on related technologies, such as RSS, XSLT, SOAP and UUDI. All in the context of a practical use case. I found the examples useful even if I design community based portals and not e-Business applications.

Hopefully the book will lay down the foundation for standards in schema development.

David Carlson's book on "Modeling XML Applications with UML" is an excellent contribution to the business of building distributed e-Business applications. My only complaint with the book is the title which emphasizes the subject of UML over the subtitle of "Practical e-Business Applications." Mr. Carlson painstakingly builds up the requisite knowledge one must possess around XML, DTD, XML Schema, other XML schemas, XSL, XSLT, XPath, XPointer, XLink, XMI, and UML in a lucid, cogent manner; both defining each piece of the puzzle and providing an excellent overview of how they all fit together. What has emerged is an excellent overview of the W3C and OMG efforts to recommend standards that serve the building of eBusiness applications. The examples that he provides are particularly useful as he draws from industry and open source efforts to define XML vocabularly such as Rich Site Summary and Jetspeed's Portal Site Markup Language (and he practices what he preaches, one look at his XMLModeling.com web site will testify to this). Of particulary value is the soup-to-nuts example that Dave cooked up, called Catalog Markup Language (CatML), in order to take the reader to just the right and intended level of understanding. These examples and the corresponding discussion is a non-gratuitous, yet complete, resource for anyone trying to get bootstrapped into all of the moving parts around building applications that cross organizational/corporate boundaries.

Dave leaves no stone unturned in pulling the whole story together in his description of portals, vortals and related technology that sets these valuable BtoB capabilities in motion; his prescience in describing the roles of various channels such as wireless devices is much appreciated, and for including a discussion on Web Services, which will be the next big architectural holy grail, makes for an excellent resource that paints a broad picture with just the right amount of depth on each subject.

The title tells us the main objective, which is the role of UML modeling in working with XML, but I would suggest that the story built up in an effort to reach this objective is much more valuable than the objective itself. Thanks professor, nice job.

An original book (yes there are with e-something) about dedicated "click and mortar" companies approach to the web.

It comes with a full set of tools (tests, frameworks, ...) that are very useful to practicionners

Most of the facts at the detailled level are relevant and informative the only pitfaall is that most analysis are initiated not truly deepens.

De Kare-Silver wrote "E-Shock" to help retailers and manufacturers understand the online marketplace evolution. Full of case studies and examples, he provides practical guidelines, tools, checklists, and strategies for decision-makers.

This book gives you the information to make informed choices, formulate heads-up sales strategies, and create savvy 21st century marketing plans.

This book stood out when I first saw it at an American Management Association book store. The author focuses on the successful pioneers of the E-commerce revolution, and he helps us anticipate the future. A number of practical e-commerce business strategies are also offered for aspiring Web-preneurs. You can't ask for much more!

I believe this book is a good technical study in the bits and bytes of how payment systems work, yet lacks the real-world applications, value propositions, and financial information on why some payment systems work, and many others are complete failures in the real world. Technology is only one segment of the payment arena.

this book has gathered information about payment system as good as possible.I hope every one that like E_banking technology see this book!

For those who are seeking the alternative topologies in Electronic Payment systems this book is a very good starting point with some very good references as well. Gives a good insight on the mechanisms as well. One downside is that too much emphasis is put on maths for security related subject compared to the general aim and tone of the book.

very pleasant to read about life without AC, in today's
moderated July.

All the tools, all the industry, all the fortunes
won and lost -- Tudor runs up a huge "coffee debt"
investing in coffee futures, which takes him years
to pay off -- a wonderful carpe diem for any
frustrated (or not so frustrated) entrepreneur.

Part biography, part business history, author Gavin Weightman's "The Frozen Water Trade," is an interesting and readable account of a uniquely American business that is all but forgotten today. In this modern era of refigeration, it seems impossible to imagine the world of a century ago in which everything was cooled by harvested freshwater ice, or indeed a world of two centuries ago when NOTHING was refrigerated. Were it not for the entreprenurial genius of a man named Fredric Tudor, Weightman's man protagonist, we all might be drinking warm drinks to this very day becuase the very idea of cold beverages might never have caught on.

Tudor's classic story is that of a vsionary who had difficulty convincing his contemporaries of the wisdom of his ideas, and who risked everything he had to make that vision a reality. He eventually succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, and in the process changed the habits of first America and then of the world. Starting in 1806, Tudor hatched upon a scheme to deliver New England ice to the tropics for sale. He was beset by all kinds of difficulties: bureaucratic red tape, unreliable underlings, shipwrecks, disease, debtors prison, embargoes and even a war or two. By midcentury, however, his trade in ice had become New England's leading export and had become a commodity no American could do without.

All of this Weightman dutifully recounts in the narrative history style that has become so popular these days. It was appeal most to those who enjoy business success stoires. The one drawback of the book is that Tudor as a character is relatively colorless. He was a driven businessman who had few other interests. Because he is forgotten today, the accounts of his personal life don't carry much interest. Nevertheless, the story of the forgotten industry he pioneered has been well preserved by this enjoyable book.

Weightman presents the story of refrigeration from the first ice houses to the development of the home refrigerator. The proponent behind this business was Frederic Tudor of Boston. Although the wealthy of Europe had had small ice houses for the storage of ice harvested from lakes and pond, those structures were small and relatively costly. Tradition required that the ice house be below grade or at least have one wall below grade.

In about 1805, Tudor decided that a profitable business could be created by harvesting ice from lakes and rivers in New England and shipping it to tropical climates for sale. He began in the West Indies, expanded to Havana, and eventually Southern US and India. Along the way he developed inexpensive ice house designs, techniques to pack the ice for shipment at sea, and marketing techniques to educate customers on uses like cooled beverages and ice cream. One of his associates, one Nathaniel Wythe, developed a horse-drawn ice plow that automatically marked off the width of the blocks. This made ice harvesting much more efficient and facilitated uniform blocks that made it easy to store the ice efficiently.

It spite of the accuracy of Tudor's vision, the path to success was not an easy one. Ships were lost or delayed. Ice houses were not ready. His early ventures were only marginally successful. He was frequently in debtors prison or fearful of being caught by his creditors. Tudor succeeded only by sheer determination in the face of opposition.

Techniques were also developed to thicken the ice. Once ice was thick enough to support weight, holes were bored to allow water from below to cover its surface. This made it possible to freeze ice up to 12 inches thick.

The ice business fit nicely in Boston. Many business men there participated in international trading. Ships brought trade goods to Boston, but finding goods to fill the holds for the return voyages was difficult. Often rocks were loaded as ballast. Ice was an ideal cargo, once the packing techniques were perfected. The ice had to be insulated on all sides and water from melting had to be pumped out.

The manpower required also fit well in New England. Ice was harvested by day laborers in the middle of winter. At that time, farm and construction workers were unoccupied. Ice harvesting provided extra income during otherwise idle periods. Smaller crews worked throughout the year to transport ice to ships and help in loading them.

Once Tudor developed the techniques, they were widely copied. Others brought ice to Northern cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Often the ice was harvested from nearby lakes or rivers. Services that delivered ice to your door began about 1840. The first ice boxes for keeping food began to appear at the same time. Periodically a warm winter would produce an ice famine. In those cases, ice was typically harvested in Maine and shipped in. The same situation prevailed in Armour's shipment of meat in refrigerated railcars from Chicago to New York, New Orleans and California. Ice harvested locally was stored in huge ice houses next to the tracks.

The technology to manufacture ice by refrigeration using ammonia as refrigerant began to appear in patent literature around the Civil War. The initial machines were expensive to operate (usually powered by steam engines), unreliable and had inadequate capacity compared to the need, which continued to grow, especially in the South. Natural ice continued in use for many years. Only after turn of the century did concerns about pollution in rivers cause the acceptance of manufactured ice on a large scale. However, some harvesting continued as late as 1950.

Technology for electric home refrigerators using toxic sulfur dioxide as refrigerant was invented by Marcel Audiffren in France in 1895. General Electric offered a refined model after World War I when small electric motors began to be made in quantity. In 1926, 2000 units were sold.

Missing is the story of the development of non-toxic, non-flammable Freon for use as refrigerant in Dupont laboratories in about 1930. Missing is the story of rental lockers in locker plants that allowed personal storage of frozen foods long before such storage became available in the home in deep freezes and in freezer compartments in refrigerators (beginning about 1950). Missing is the story of air conditioning, all additional stories in the development of refrigeration technology. Excellent index. No references.

The Honorable Company is an interesting, but flawed book.

I found the subject interesting, because it showed the evolution of a commercial enterprise into economic imperialism. The book also includes helpful maps.

However, I find fault in the presentation because it did not include a better analysis of the effects of the trade patterns and technology on the Company's business over time. Instead, the book was written more in the "name dropper" school of history. Almost as many questions arise from reading the book as were answered.

For example, vast sums were being made on voyages. What did a pound sterling buy? Were the amounts quoted in the book of current value or then value? What were the characteristics of the frigates and Indiamen plying the eastern trade routes? Charts showing tonnage overtime and sailing's would have been appreciated.

This book unsuccessfully attempts to many views of the Company at once. Unfortunately, it does it by listing hundreds of names. The policies of Clive and Hastings get almost as many words as an often widowed factor's daughter. I might recommend this book as a supplement to readers interested in economic history, but not as a primary source.

To condense the history of the East India Company into one book is no mean feat. To manage to do so in such an entertaining package is a remarkable achievement. The narrative reads like an adventure story and grips the reader from the opening pages. The author vividly captures the atmosphere of the various locations and brings the characters of the "Honourable Company" and its merchant warriors to life. I read this book on holiday on the west coast of France. The sun was shining, the beach beckoned and the surf was up. Sometimes even they had to wait.

This book beautifully reveals the nucleus of all that is present day England, and illustrates the basis of the English Empire and the export of that philosophy to the USA. In short, this book exposes the foundations of modern day Anglo-Saxon economic imperialism. This is where it ALL started. From here you can go on to the books by Peter C Newman about the Hudson Bay Company, and more close to home, and equally fascinating, a whole series of books about the Great Game and Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk. From there..."Empires of the Monsoon" is great reading as is Younghusband and Rice's Burton. From here you have a great series of books to read - but start with Keay's masterpiece. You'll say - why havent I heard of this before. . . . .

At a time when the global economy is changing so rapidly, a book like this is extremely helpful in synthesizing information about the emerging face of e-commerce. Economists, CEOs, and small business owners will all find this book very useful and informative. Instant Advantage.com presents a very straightforward summary of what it takes to succeed in this new marketplace, and its accounts of the real-world experiences of successful businesses are very instructive. Anyone with even the slightest interest in e-business would consider this a must-read.

As a technical writer and editor, I wade through many many technical documents each week. In InstantAdvantage, I found the pertinent facts about e-Commerce easy to locate, easy to understand, and easy to apply. I highly recommend this book to any individual or company wishing to implement a smooth e-Commerce business application.

Review by Dan Wise, Bandera, Texas

Instant Advantage.com Strategies for the Online Economy

By Steve Kirchoff and Stephen Mendonca

Finally, a book for business decision-makers about e-commerce that avoids the hype and hysteria of so many of the current books covering the same ground. Instant Advantage.com is a provocative book with the basic tenet that the world economy has changed forever with the introduction, assimilation and immediate exploitation of the Internet for business. To survive in today's new economy, a company must not only adapt, it must reinvent and align itself with the forces that are driving the global marketplace.

There are, thankfully, no get-rich-quick promises or doomsday prophecies in the book. Instead, Kirchoff and Mendonca present a reasoned and rational thesis that Instant Advantage may be achieved by those who understand the new rules of engagement, who can embrace change as opportunity, whose enterprises are customer-centric, and who create value by optimizing the supply chain and by building new alliances. They note the huge risks involved in reinventing the enterprise-risks that are superseded only by the risks of not reinventing the enterprise.

The authors describe the firestorm that swept international markets in April, 2,000, which consumed $2.1 trillion in NASDAQ stock values, left corporate managements shaken and investors not knowing where to turn. The book proves once again that, no matter what the touchstone is--in this case, the digital economy--companies that ignore the axioms of sound business practices do so at their own peril. New rules of engagement are required by the online economy, but they don't replace the classic concepts of successful business: product, price, promotion and place--or channel synergy--as well as customer service and fulfillment.

What is required for survival in the new economy is an appropriate balance between established business practices and the implementation of today's Information Technology. The central theme of Instant Advantage.com is that the successful integration of IT and business will create the real business winners of tomorrow.

Although rich in business theory and market savvy, this is fundamentally a practical how-to book for the corporate executive who wants to compete effectively in the new digital economy. Put simply, InstantAdvantage.com: Strategies for the Online Economy, lays out key concepts of how to plan for success in a digital economy, where the winners are those who are capable of constantly creating Instant Advantage for customers, themselves and their partners in times of tumult and rapid change.

300 pages - not encyclopedic - but a rich, thorogh introduction to Linux system programming and how to go about it using Kylix. Well worth the money.

This one contains so many useful Linux tidbits and "How to get things done" sections, it is always the Kylix reference I pick up first.

I'm a long-time Delphi programmer and relatively recent migrant to Linux. This book absolutely fills the gaps for me in the numerous places where I'm asking "Now, how the heck do I go about doing THIS on Linux?".

It's not about Kylix (although the samples and solutions are in ObjectPascal, of course) so much as about accessing the nuts and bolts of Linux through HLL calls to the OS, MMS and filesystem. Although it is primarily relevant to ObjectPascal it will be a great resource for developers using other HLLs on Linux too. It really fills in the bits that are missing from Linux books, programming books, FAQ forums and so on if your history has been with DOS and Windows and, especially, if you want to cross-plat your Delphi components.

I needed this book a year ago and I'm overjoyed to have it, now that I'm using Kylix 2.