Computer Book Reviews
Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing by Chris Pirillo.
Top Floor, September 1999.Trade Paperback, 334 pages.
ISBN: 0966103254
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
This reference provides in-depth instruction and helpful
advice on how to get into the business of email publishing,
one of the hottest and most effective business communication
tools on the Web. Although there are lots of email newsletters
already in production, it is never too late to start your own.
The book's author, Chris Pirillo, is the publisher of Lockergnome,
an extremely popular email newsletter covering Microsoft Windows
topics. Pirillo guides readers through the basics of starting a
newsletter, including what should be in it, how to deliver it, how to
get people to subscribe and how to make money with your newsletter.
Some of the topics covered in the book are types of
email newsletters, email publishing basics, spamming, subscription
management, software, text newsletters, HTML newsletters, discussion
groups, high-powered list services and guerrilla promotions.
Pirillo gives the reader the ins and outs of each subject, practical
advice and anecdotes from his own experiences as a publisher. The
book also includes a section with advice from other email newsletter
publishing experts: John Funk, founder of InfoBeat,
Geoffrey Kleinman, editor of The Kleinman
Report and Randy Cassingham, author of This is True.
A comprehensive resource section is also provided including
contact information and website addresses for mailing-list
service providers, mailing-list software, electronic
publishing resources, electronic publications and email
programs.
Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing is a wonderful introduction and complete reference guide to email publishing with valuable specialty advice which is impossible to find anywhere else in this comprehensive format. Anyone looking to publish an email newsletter, or improve and promote an existing one, should own a copy of this book.
The No B.S. Guide to Red Hat Linux 6 by Bob Rankin
No Starch Press, November 1999.Trade Paperback, 422 pages.
ISBN: 1886411301
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
The No B.S. Guide to Red Hat Linux 6 is a concise,
user-friendly guide to getting up and running with the
most recent version of Red Hat Linux. The book
provides instruction enhanced with screen shots and
examples that beginners will find easy to follow.
Coverage in the book includes installing Red Hat
Linux, getting started, using and configuring GNOME,
connecting to the Internet, shells, files, Linux commands,
text editors, Linux programming, managing email, accessing
DOS, running Windows programs, updating Linux and lists
of Linux resources. The book also comes with a CD-ROM
of the publisher's edition of Red Hat Linux with over
over 600 software packages. An appendix in the book
provides detailed
description of each one of the games, applications and
utilities found on the CD-ROM.
Author Bob Rankin, a programmer, freelance writer and
computer author, has crafted a practical no-nonsense guide
to getting started with Linux that is full of valuable tips,
suggestions and examples. An excellent start-up tool
for computer users new to Linux.
Pure Javascript by R. Allen Wyke, Jason D. Gilliam and Charlton Ting.
Sams, June 1999.Trade Paperback, 1448 pages.
ISBN: 0672315475
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
JavaScript is becoming more and more of a valuable programming
tool as people upgrade to the more recent browser versions which
allow the latest versions of JavaScript to run. JavaScript can be used
for form validation, dynamic effects, calculations and numerous other
functions without having to access the server.
Pure JavaScript focuses on using sample code as the main method, of teaching,
which is a method readily used by experienced programmers to quickly
develop their programming skills in a language.
The first part of the book is an introduction to JavaScript
which provides coverage of data types, variables, operators,
conditionals, objects, browsers and form processing.
The core of the book (over 1,000 pages) provides listings of all
JavaScript objects with each property, method and event explained
in detail under its associated object.
Descriptions, examples and tips are included along with
the JavaScript objects and syntax.
The book also includes a handy reference which lists the
browser-supported JavaScript syntax for Internet Explorer,
Netscape and Opera.
Pure JavaScript is laden with sample code and advice. JavaScript programmers will find their coding tasks much less complicated with this comprehensive reference. Recommend for those with some JavaScript programming experience.
Return to the December 1999 issue of The IWJ.
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