I am a self-confessed rank beginner in the world of investing in general and online investing in particular.

This book starts you off with the REAL basics - ie assuming no knowledge of connecting to the internet (admittedly tedious for most these days...) and then guides you by the hand through various websites where enourmous amounts of information are found...

I don't imagine it is the almanac of investing for a moment...but it doesn't promise to be either. More of a roadmap - showing what's out and about to use as you get more proficient at investing.

I would like to see what an actual trader thinks of it...but seems to be a refreshingly unpretentious place to start for the utterly confused...if not completely idiotic.

-h@wkspy

I just got this book from a friend. It's the first clear, concise and comprehensive guide to online investing I've read. Also, visit the Investorama web site - what a great pair of investing tools!!!

This book is very easy to read and understand. It would allow anyone the opportunity to start investing online with a feeling of confidence. It is a must for all do-it-yourself investors.

I bought this book not too long ago and it has really helped my business web site. The tips it gave me were well thought-out and were incredibly helpful. All the info in this book incresed the quality of our web site and our customer interaction so much that we are getting more customers than we ever have. If you have a website involving customers, then I recommend you get this book as soon as possible as it is the most worthwhile book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Great stuff!

This book deserves two or three reads. There are some real gems to be discovered. The easy-to-read writing style might disguise some really unique thinking and concepts. The author presents the concept of "theming" (where customer scenarios create "doing threads" around which navigation, metahor, utility and dialogue are wrapped) for example as a whole new way to approach Web design. The author also shows how a company can do research to identify what customers need to do on their Web site and why - and how that gets communicated to the Web designer and incorporated into a "theming" approach throught the development and testing process. The author also presents new project management and business process design techniques. Not to mention the no-nonsense way the author establishes the fact that Web sites are currently falling way short of customer expectations (without berating the point and giving tangible examples). I was also intrigued by the fact that this book was written a few months before the .com crash - much of what was foretold has come about - the point in the last chapter about "the quick and the valued" and the need for companies to establish real customer value instead of thrashing the latest fad was well made. This book should be read by everyone involved in eBusiness, across the spectrum, for a reality check, and for some fresh thinking.

I get the feeling that this book may immediately appear as most suited to Web designers. Actually, this book is about A LOT MORE than Web design. In fact, Dalgleish covers the full gamut of the process for both businesses and their suppliers (including Web designers). The reader is lead through the process from beginning to end - and e-commerce managers who are on the line for the delivery of results, need to know everything about what is coming, and the pitfalls to avoid. And what's unique about the book is that the end-to-end process is customer-driven, from the very questions businesses need to ask themselves when writing their strategy right through to the Way a Web designer translates the business' service offering into tangible navigation design, for example. Dalgleish makes it clear that the book was written for the whole community seeking to create Web experiences for customers; a community that needs to integrate its efforts to really deliver to the customer for competitive advantage to business and better lives for people - and that includes e-commerce managers like me. A must read.

If you are in business and IT, read this book. Go elsewhere to learn how to program XML. Read this to learn WHY you need to understand XML, its applications, its potential -- make a wise, informed business decision (and if you don't use it, be prepared to explain why not).

This book is a well-written non-technical introduction to the advantages of XML for managers and any staff not in a technical area. It explains how you can use this knowledge to make intelligent decisions about applying XML to effectively leverage the benefits of this new technology in your business.

If you need to explain XML to management read this book or if you are management read this book. Solid information with just the right slant to make the impact of XML understandable for the non technical person. The snippets of humor interspersed between the chapters kept a grin on this reader's face as the material was absorbed!

This book is an ideal introduction to the broad landscape of security methods and technologies for non-technical users. It is also an excellent resource for IT professionals who need to quickly get up-to-speed on web security.

My background is mostly "big iron", consisting of 24 years of mainframe and mid-range experience and a little more than a year in distributed computing (UNIX/Linux, network, etc.). In the good old days security consisted of RACF, ACLs, and some common sense rules about physical and logical access controls. Not so today, and until I read this book I had a nagging feeling that there was a large gap in my professional knowledge. Moreover, as a home user who spent a lot of time on the web I would get frustrated by messages issued by my browser about certificates. This book came to my rescue on all counts.

The first two sections, The Web Security Landscape and User Safety, were illuminating. If a non-technical user only read these parts of the book he or she would come away with a good understanding of the risks faced on the web, and how to mitigate or eliminate them. The one complaint I have about these two sections is the material is woefully out of date. I subtracted a star from my rating for this reason.

The next three sections of the book is a wide survey of security technologies that cover digital certificates, cryptography, web server security. These provided me with a basic understanding of technologies that I need to know as an IT professional working in distributed environments. When comparing what I needed to know about security in the mainframe world to what I need to know as an IT consultant I could not help thinking, "We're not in Kansas anymore!" The material was clear and easy to understand and built my personal self-confidence. This part of the book will not make you an expert by any means, but you will come away with a good grasp of the elements of web security and a very basic understanding of how everything works and fits together.

Commerce and Society is the title of the book's last section and contains thought-provoking information on topics such as digital payments, censorship technology and the such. I especially liked the two chapters that addressed civil and criminal legal issues. Despite the fact that this book is out of date with respect to specific products it is a great introduction to web security. Unlike other O'Reilly books that are deeply technical, this one can be easily understood by home and business users as well as IT professionals. I personally gained a lot from the book and highly recommend it.

I spent quite a bit of time going through this book. It's not a bad book. Very comprehensive and thorough, and generally a pretty well balanced point of view. It acknowledges security is a trade off, and looks at many different options.

I have 2 main problems with it. Firstly, it's simply getting a little old. While 85% of it is still relevant, I'd like to see a second edition. They spend too much time talking about Netscape 3 problems for my liking.

Second is the reason it lost a star. The guys who wrote this obviously know their stuff, but in some ways know it a little too well. The result of this is when they go to explain a subject (public key infrastructure for example) they have a tendency to jump straight into the details, implementation issues, problems, etc, without ever giving you a big picture of it first - or only very briefly if they do. If you understand the basic principles of all security concepts, then this is great, but if like me, you bought this book to learn about fundamentals, I found myself on several occassions doing research on the web to understand the big picture before going back to the book.

But for a good overview for people who are at least semi-technical, it's not bad.

This book, together with Virtual Private Networks, 2ND Edition, (ISBN: 1-56592-529-7) O'Reilly & Associates, Copyright 1998, form the basis for the course MIS4245 - Net Security and Legal Issues - at Northeastern University (University College, evening division) here in Boston.

Since I am currently teaching this course for the very first time I have found it to be well-targeted for the Business Administration undergraduate level students. The prose is pleasant and often entertaining, with the technical information provided with just the right balance of detail and concept, reinforced with recent related anectdotal examples.

While it could stand some some "updating" - (technology is moving at blinding speed in this area) - the authors' basic messages of why security is important, typical techniques employed by the "bad guys", and the emphasis on protection and prevention versus reaction and recovery all strike true, loud and clear.

In my regular day job, as someone involved in the field of Software Quality Assurance for web-based applications, I ordered everyone on my staff a copy for their personal use. At the Amazon price, it is a bargain!

The most shameful part of public relations writing is the tendency to sacrifice quality for quantity ... to write something far too long about a very simple key message. (Ask any editor who has been approached by a feature-story-bearing Account Executive). Alas, in this respect Don Middleberg hasn't progressed beyond the low-tech hacks of yesteryear.

I had high hopes for this book, which by all rights should have been the defining text of this era. What I found was a moderate amount of useful information totally obscured by repetitive slush. Some variation of "Companies today need to rethink their strategies to compete in the new economy" appeared on nearly every page. I wish Don had summarized the results of his research in a pamphlet.

Adding insult to injury, the text seemed time and time again to have been doctored at the last minute to cope with the dot-com crash. These PR strategies are not for the Wired World we are now entering, but for the short-lived Net Bubble.

Don Middleberg adapts key public relations strategies to the new media landscape, transformed by the Internet and wireless communications. He emphasizes the need for response speed and short-term - as well as long-term - planning, since this new environment changes so quickly as to render the future unpredictable. He outlines techniques for getting buzz, which is now a critical element in effective branding. However, this book cannot help but be affected by the dot-com downfall: Many of its examples refer to now defunct companies, or to those who are in deep trouble (and may well be deceased by the time you read this review). Still, if you overlook the problems that come from writing during the Internet reality-warp, we [...] recommend this executive guide for its solid PR strategies, which although geared for a high-tech world, are firmly rooted in traditional method.

The whole world of advertising, marketing, public relations is in a chaotic state. Old rules just don't apply. Lines, hard cut in the corporate and consumer landscape are blurring and for the first time in a century we find ourselves scrambling to define who we are and what we do.

I run a firm that provides tactical creative services to the corporate world. Don Middleberg's book makes one thing clear: This is a new millenium for any communications business. Any company that hopes to be heard above the din needs to understand the concepts illustrated in this book.

"Winning PR in the Wired World" sounds a bell... a wake up call.
Agile, smart, awake and aware companies can ride the wave or be left behind. Get this book.

They ask you to create a Web Site in one way, and then after a while they say, if you haven't created your site this way, you might not get this result. Page 206 will ask you to create a Web Site under the Default Web Site. But on page 546, they say "For the purposes of this example, I will be using the Interknowlogy site that we have created earlier in this book......Also, this example assumes the site is am isnatnce of the Web Server and not just a virtual directory under Default Web Site". Author spends too much time for the Installation, but the installation instructions from Microsoft site is updated. The title should for this book should be "Teach Yourself Site Server in 3 Days"

This title is a little short on content, especially considering approximately 170 pages is dedicated to Site Server installation under different conditions. The author's technique is basically to walk you through the various Site Server wizards, pausing to explain what is really going on behind the scenes. For these reasons, I was tempted to rate it just 3 stars. However, I reminded myself that this is a "beginning" guide with no pretense of claiming to be a comprehensive guide to the various Site Server features. Also, while the installation chapter chews up a lot of space, I found it to be very valuable. For example, during the Commerce Edition installation, a nasty "failure to register DLL" message appears. The author assures you that this is okay as it will be fixed later. I may have spent hours on MSDN researching this issue for fear of having an incomplete installation. I recommend this book for developers looking for an installation guide and/or a fast read describing what Site Server is all about.

I read some other Site Server books before this one, including some in the Professional Series. I have been lightly involved with Site Server for quite some time but never in an extended use of the product.

I wanted to get an heads up on the Version 3 and this book contains it all for administrators. The Installation is the most complete I've ever found (containing 170 pages!) and it goes into all possibilities (i.e.: with/without SQL, NT 4, Win2k, SQL 6.5, SQL 7.0, etc.). Just the TOC for this one is in 4 pages!!! The book is worth it just for this chapter.

Then, the book goes to some extent into Pipelines, Commerce, Search, Personalization, and all the Site Server's components.

Once you will be through this book and need more information, I would strongly recommand the Site Server 3.0 Personalization And Membership, and the Professional Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition; both from Wrox Press.

In a world of mushrooming computer Buzz words, Sullivan's attempt to give lucid fundamental picture and use of EDI, XML in E-commerce is quite useful for a beginner who wants to make a career in this field.

I found this book to be very helpful as an introduction to the often times, confusing subject of EDI. Mr. Sullivan has done a good job of simplifying EDI and helping the executive who is trying to determine whether EDI is worth implementing and the requirements of doing so. I recommend this book as an excellent starting point into the world of electronic commerce.

EDI is a difficult subject to write about. Mr Sullivan has taken a much miss-understood technology and presented its uses, strenghts, weaknesses, and future trends in a very enjoyable style. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to gain an understanding of EDI and the various ways to deploy the technology.

I refute any negative claims about the content of this book. The strategies outlined in the book are viable and very profitable approaches. I know, I have adapted a couple of them to my own use. I am in the minority as a profitable futures day trader because as every trader knows, most traders lose. I also lost money in my first year trading futures. There is a steep learning curve in trading. Here is my message to any newcomers to futures trading. NEVER GIVE UP! This book is a wonderful place to begin your own futures research. For day trading, I have found the very unique support and resistance methods found in the book effective in the S+P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Euro. Get some charts. Apply the methods, oscillators and indicators for yourself. You will see how effective they are. Then begin your own research using Jake's ideas as a springboard. Yes, you can make a living trading futures. There is a whole lot of very expensive bull out there about futures trading. If you do not want to take my word for it, consider this. Larry Williams recommends reading all of Jake Bernstein's work. So do I.

This book is all you need to become a futures trader. It provides you with a realist picture of what to expect, 9 great trading systems (which I have used to great success), and forsight into where trading will be heading.

I reacommend this book to the novice or professional as both will be able to gain something from 'Strategies for the Electronic Futures Trader'.

Jake Bernstein's, Strategies For The Electronic Futures Trader, is an outstanding description of 9 proven trading systems. Each system is explained in depth and in easy to understand terms. Most importantly, Jake provides the results of these proven systems. The timeliest chapter in the entire book is the chapter on how to capitalize on market volatility. Could it be any timelier? If your considering trading futures or you trade now, this book belongs in your library and the strategies should be programmed on your computer.

As an Electronic Commerce Consultant from Bombay, India, I found this book very useful to promote businesses of my clients on the Internet.

The book is a good one stop resource for tactics and trends in Internet Marketing. The third chapter itself ("Generating Leads..") is worth the investment in the entire book.

I strongly recommend the book to readers from countries like India, where Internet is slowly gaining ground and people are looking for ways to utilise this beautiful medium to promote their businesses.

This book starts with a very good refresher course in B2B direct marketing. Barry Silverstein then covers seven different B2B Internet direct marketing strategies for increasing profits in a luxury of details. The companion site is a good complement to the book for that purpose. Barry Silverstein is very good at generating ideas that both beginners and experienced marketers could use for building marketing programs. The author gives some ROI applications to illustrate his point. Unfortunately, Barry Silverstein does not give screenshots of good and bad direct marketing applications. To paraphrase Jakob Nielsen at the beginning of his last book, "Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity", the reason to give those screenshots is not to criticize or praise specific sites, companies, designers or marketers. The screenshots are used to illustrate direct marketing techniques because it is difficult to understand abstract theory without concrete examples. Unlike Arthur Hughes in his last book, "Strategic Database Marketing", Barry Silverstein seems to limit his description of case studies to success stories. One of the main goals of a reference book is to help other marketers avoid making the same mistakes again and again. Despite those shortcomings, Business-to-Business Internet Marketing is currently the leading authority on the subject.

The book was great to help me understand how to increase the effectiveness of internet marketing techniques, and the companion site was a hands-on resource! I was able to surf sites on topics ranging from Internet Advertising Networks and Placement to Web Portals and Search Engines. The companion site showed me best in class examples, as well as lead me to sites that will help me execute better Internet marketing programs. I recommend the companion site as a true portal to the best sites on the Web for Internet marketing professionals!

If you don't know about internet stock "gurus" like Tokyo Joe and Amr "Tony" Elgindy, this is not a bad place to learn (and take warning).

These two colorful hustlers with a knack for self-promotion and disregard for ethics are the most interesting aspect of the book. But there is far too much space devoted to fluff that was barely interesting at the time (Big Dog's single-digit IQ, Janice Shell's recipes...) and is not worth preserving in print.

And there's no mention of any of the good guys, people with integrity who share investment insights online - yes, they are hard to find, but they do exist! I've been a member of Silicon Investor since 1996, I watched most of what is described in this book as it happened, plus a whole lot more. I got a true investment education from what I read there, but none of my "teachers" is mentioned in this book.

And where are the little guys who lose money by buying when Tokyo Mex and Big Dog are selling? I'd like to hear their stories.

There is a moral to the story, Emshwiller does make it clear how the internet is a boon to the sleazy side of the capital markets, and how the SEC is strangely unwilling to devote more than token resources to clean up the dirt. But I doubt many people will hurl this book down in outrage and call their congressman.

John Emshwiller's book Scam Dogs and Mo Mo Mamas is fine effort to introduce the reader to the little known world of internet pumping and dumping, and insider stock manipulation using cyber space as a tool to get it done. But with this book that's as far as it goes. Mr. Emshwiller missed a key part of the story when it comes to the myth that has been built around alleged cyber snoop, and consumer advocate Janice Shell. Mr. Emshwiller never does seem to get the story right about the "Two Ricks," and who Janice Shell and Rick Marchese really are. He seems to take Ms. Shell's word for who she really is, and does little or no real research into the allegations Ms. Shell is really Janice Evans living in Milan, Italy under the alias of Janice Shell without the knowledge of the Italian Government. There is much more to be found on the subject of Janice Shell and her friends, and the reader is encouraged to use this book as only starting point.

John Emshwiller is an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal who specializes in writing about fraud. In this book, he focuses on some of the most famous characters who are known on the Internet bulletin boards of the Web site, Silicon Investor. These include Tokyo Joe (hyper), Big Dog (hyper), Anthony@Pacific (short), GA Bard (hyper), Janice Shell (amateur investigator), Jeffrey S. Mitchell (amateur investigator and no relation to me that I know of), SI Jill (bulletin board cop), and Pluvia (short). If you have always wanted to know more about these people because you read their postings, this book will tell you details that will intrigue you. As you can imagine, few people are what they seem on the Internet. Almost everyone in this account has something to hide, but as their fame grows access to the dirty details does too. As the book was being finished, the SEC filed suit against Tokyo Joe in what will probably be just the beginning of many such suits to stop scalping and failing to disclose payments from companies to hype stocks.

These individuals started as people who wanted to have some fun, run a few stocks to make some money, and gain a little fame. The rapid growth of Internet investing has turned them into influential commentators who can make enormous sums offering their services and investing. This is their story, as shared with and uncovered by Mr. Emshwiller.

If you already follow some of these people, you already know what a Scam Dog and a Mo-Mo Mama are. Since this is a book about Internet bulletin boards, I will assume that you may not know. The definition of a Scam Dog in the book is "a stock that combines the qualities of a 'scam' and a 'dog,' being at worst a fraud and at best overvalued and headed for a fall." You will meet a lot of them in this book. A Mo-Mo Mama is "a stock that is quickly rising due to excitement among traders, sometimes triggered by news, Internet chatter, disinformation, and sometimes by the need to be excited about something."

There is always a four-way battle going on with these investor bulletin boards. The hypers are trying to get people to buy (usually after buying themselves), the shorts are trying to get people to sell (usually after selling themselves), the amateur investigators are trying to debunk one side or the other, and the company is trying to either hype itself or correct misimpressions. One of the strengths of this book is that it contains a lot of e-mails that were posted. These are crude (in many senses of that word) signs of the battle. These Internet celebrities get death threats, hate mail, and insults by the ton. Why do they start doing it? "For one thing, the Internet offers anybody who wants it -- be he burrito maker, bard, or boob -- a shot at something at least as addictive as making money: the chance to be somebody in the eyes of somebody else." That seems to be the bottom line of this ego-driven book. People apparently cheat in describing themselves, their investment results, and how they behave relative to investors. The combined temptations of money and fame easily overcome them. In many cases, these are people who would not stand up to too much scrutiny in public, as this book reveals.

"Be very careful!" over the Internet is the simple lesson of this book. The person you are dealing with is likely to be out to pick your pocket.

If you enjoy long strings of insults, you'll find lots of funny reading here. If you don't, then skip those sections and go on with the story.

Then after you read this entertaining guide to what not to do, ask yourself where else you need to be careful on the Internet.

Good luck!