2/08/2010

Review of Windows XP Headaches: How to Fix Common (and Not So Common) Problems in a Hurry (Paperback)

No big secrets here, but it sure makes it easier to do things with XP than the program help files.

Product Description
Windows XP Headaches is the ultimate resource for fast and effective troubleshooting. From taskbar troubles to aggravating security issues this solutions-packed guide helps you identify the symptom and quickly diagnose and treat the problem--and even helps to alleviate migraine-causing problems like system crashes, installation issues, and boot failures.

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Review of The Eye for Innovation: Recognizing Possibilities and Managing the Creative Enterprise (Hardcover)

Excellent book if you lived in the 70's and 80's. Slow and boring. A blast from the past. The coverjacket design describes the book to a T: A plain white bread book...

Product Description
Innovation is synonymous with problem solving, and the basic elements of innovation apply to any business, says Robert M. Price in this essential guide for managers of organizations large or small. Distilling a set of practical principles from his forty years of experience as a pioneer in the computer industry, the author shows that innovation can be learned and practiced by everyone, that it can offer solutions to everyday problems as well as high-profile ones, and that it provides opportunities to solve business problems while meeting a variety of human needs.

Former CEO of Control Data, Price weaves the history of this uniquely innovative company with fresh thinking about innovation itself-what it means to the people in an organization, the products, and the processes. He avoids simplistic prescriptions and clearly explains seven fundamental principles of innovation beginning with "innovators are made, not born." He illustrates these principles with fascinating real-life examples. His book offers both the practical tools and the inspiration to everyone with an interest in effective management practice and in building organizations that creatively and continuously respond to ever-changing social and market needs.



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Review of Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School (Paperback)

The Austrian School is the most consistently free enterprise school of economic thought.Its most outstanding representative was Ludwig von Mises and its leading thinker in recent memory was Murray Rothbard.Both von Mises and Rothbard wrote substantial treatises on economics.However, there haven't been many introductory works.(Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson focuses more on government intervention than prices, the evenly rotating economy and capital theory.)

Gene Callahan has remedied that situation with this excellent introductory work.Written in the style of Rothbard, Callahan provides a primer on methodology, economic theory, and a critique of government intervention. The examples are always vivid and at times humorous.

After finishing this book, the reader should tackle Rothbard's Man, Economy and State.Then he should try von Mises's Human Action.Human Action isn't easy, but it will present the reader with the acedmic and theoretical rigor of the Austrian school's greatest exponent.For an introductory work that is more basic that Callahan's, David Gordon's An Introduction to Economic Reasoning is excellent.

Product Description
At last, a fun and fascinating guide to the main ideas of the Austrian School of economics, written in sparkling prose especially for the non-economist. Gene Callahan shows that good economics isn't about government planning or statistical models. It's about human beings and the choices they make in the real world.

This may be the most important book of its kind since Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. Though written for the beginner, it has been justly praised by scholars too, including Israel Kirzner, Walter Block, and Peter Boettke.

Israel M. Kirzner (New York University): "Even a cursory examination of this book is sufficient to impress the reader that we have here a remarkably well-written exposition for the layman of the highlights of Austrian Economics."

Peter J. Boettke (George Mason University): "Written in a jargon-less and engaging style, Callahan's work provides the most comprehensive introduction to modern Austrian economics currently available to the intelligent layman."

Walter Block (Loyola University, New Orleans): "I don't toss around compliments like this lightly, but the passion, eloquence and sheer witty writing style of this author is also reminiscent of Rothbard. I plan to use it in all of my future intro courses."

About the Author
Gene Callahan is a software-technology professional in Connecticut, an adjunct scholar of the Mises Institute, and a commentator on economics issues in venues such as Marketplace and The Free Market. This is his first book.

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Review of Eyes Right: Winning The Project Management Challenge (Paperback)

George has presented an easy to read and comprehend guide to different types of organizational behavior that impact the successful delivery of projects.

Product Description
Project management as seen through the eyes of a highly experienced project leader whose expertise was earned the hard way. Learn what to do and when to do it to deliver a successful project.

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Review of Recovering Informal Learning: Wisdom, Judgement and Community (Lifelong Learning Book Series) (Paperback)

The title of Paul Hager and John Halliday's book immediately raises a question: "Recovering informal learning from what?" The answer is provided in their Introduction: "Our central thesis is that currently the balance within both policies and practices of lifelong learning has shifted too far towards formal learning. That imbalance should be corrected...In summary, we argue that too much is spent on the provision of formal learning opportunities and not enough on the provision of opportunities for informal learning...For us, formal learning is that which takes place as intended within formally constituted educational institutions such as schools, universities, training centres and so on. Typically it follows a prescribed framework whether or not actual attendance at the institution as necessary...Informal learning covers all of the other situations in which people learn including those occasions when in the course of living they learn without sometimes intending to learn. It also includes those situations within formal educational institutions when some things are learnt which are not directly intended by those employed by the institution."

This composite excerpt raises another question; "What about corporate training and development programs?" According to Bersin & Associates' just-published 2008 Corporate Learning Factbook®, based on data collected by an August 2007 survey conducted in partnership with Training Magazine, "The U.S. corporate learning market grew slightly from 2006 to 2007, increasing from $55.8B to $58.5. Spending on products and services grew from $15.8B in 2006 to $16.38B in 2007." As for E-learning, it has grown dramatically. The use of self-study e-learning now accounts for 20% of student hours, up from last year's figure of 15%. This growth is driven largely by an increase in online training among small organizations (100-999 employees), which are acquiring the skills and technology to make online training a reality...The younger generation of learners is driving changes in learning strategies. This year's study shows a sharp increase in new web-based and collaborative learning resources, such as podcasts, communities of practice, blogs, and wikis."

In The Training Measurement Book, Josh Bersin explains that the material in his book is based on the results of surveys that he and his associates conducted among more than 600 C-level executives in 2005-2007. One of the most important revelations is that more than 90% identified performance measurement as being either most important or next most important on their list of what to improve. In 2007, they conducted research among more than 700 HR and learning executives indicating that only 4% rated their learning programs were "fully aligned" with talent needs, and, only 15% rated them "well-aligned." Clearly, as both Cross and Berrsin assert, there is substantial room for improvement in formal corporate training and development programs.

Consider these comments by Jay Cross: "Workers learn more in the coffee room than in the classroom. They discover how to do their jobs through informal learning: asking the person in the next cubicle, trial and error, calling the help desk, working with people in the know, and joining the conversation. This is natural learning - learning from others when you feel the need to do so." So far, no pyrotechnics. Cross continues: "Training programs, workshops, and schools get the lion's share of the corporate budget for developing talent, despite the fact that...," and then, "this formal learning has almost no impact on job performance. And informal learning, the major source of knowledge transfer and innovation, is left to chance."

In their book, Hager and Halliday view learning in more general terms than do advocates of allocating more resources to informal learning in the workplace. They critique and reject several common assumptions about current principles of learning "that have been shown to narrow the scope of our conceptions of learning, thus causing outcomes that are harmful to society and its ongoing development." Also, as indicated previously, they argue that learning is something that is much richer than our common conceptual attempts to capture it would suggest. There are dimensions of learning that elude our present formulas and common misunderstandings. Practices of all kinds involve learning, some aspects of which are tacit." They reject the notion of lifelong longing as "growing formalisation of learning across the lifespan," proposing instead what they characterize as "a fresh understanding of learning," one that offers a better balance of the formal and informal, "will lead to much more viable and attractive notions of lifelong learning." The "better balance of the formal and the informal" to which Hager and Halliday refer has a context that includes but is by no means limited to the workplace. "The view that learning is acquisition of products, and its associated metaphors, leads us toward a panopticon society. As liberal humanists, we do not want such a society."

My Five Star rating indicates how well I think Hager and Halliday present and develop their argument that, for too long, theories and practices of learning have been dominated by the requirements of formal learning. (Their book is Volume 7 of the Lifelong Learning Series published by Springer.) Questions can and should be raised about the value of formal education (i.e. provided by schools, colleges, and universities) to the learning-living relationship in one's life just as Cross, Bersin, and others have questioned the value of formal corporate training and development programs to one's job performance, when indeed substantial evidence suggests that workers learn more from on-the-job training and frequent interaction with associates, especially with a supervisor.

I agree with all four of them that imbalances must be corrected, not only between formal and informal learning but also between one's career and one's personal life. That said, the challenge remains to achieve and then sustain proper balances to varying degree in relationships with one's teachers, other elders, family members, business associates, and other sources of information, expertise, and (yes) wisdom.

Product Description
For too long, theories and practices of learning have been dominated by the requirements of formal learning. Quite simply this book seeks to persuade readers through philosophical argument and empirically grounded examples that the balance should be shifted back towards the informal. These arguments and examples are taken from informal learning in very diverse situations, such as in leisure activities, as a preparation for and as part of work, and as a means of surviving undesirable circumstances like dead-end jobs and incarceration.Informal learning can be fruitfully thought of as developing the capacity to make context sensitive judgments during ongoing practical involvements of a variety of kinds. Such involvements are necessarily indeterminate and opportunistic. Hence there is a major challenge to policy makers in shifting the balance towards informal learning without destroying the very things that are desirable about informal learning and indeed learning in general. The book has implications therefore for formal learning too and the way that teaching might proceed within formally constituted educational institutions such as schools and colleges.

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2/07/2010

Review of Sales Proposals Kit for Dummies (Paperback)

Sales Proposals Kit for Dummies is not only effective, it is an excellent read.So many books on sales techniques are so dry and virtually unreadable, but Mr. Kantin's witty style and real world examples of proposal design have had an impact on the quality of my proposals and my philosophy of sales in general.I found the proposal RATER particularly useful, as it pinpointed the areas that I needed too focus on in my proposals.My only regret is that Mr. Kantin did not write this book three

years ago. It would have saved me a lot of pain and rejection.Since I've read the book, only a few weeks ago, I'm three for three.This book is a must read for anybody who writes more than the occasional proposal.

Product Description
Sales Proposals Kit For Dummies is a unique and valuable reference that helps sales professionals create winning sales proposals that close the deal -- in simple, step-by-step terms and with real-life examples.

This friendly kit explains in clear language and simple steps how to integrate the sales and proposal processes. It provides a proven structure and guidelines for writing winning proposals. And it includes a tool for evaluating proposal quality from the buyer's viewpoint. Plus, you'll find examples of proposals in several different sectors.

From the Back Cover
"Will increase your chances of winning the 'big one.'" Bob Heckman, CEO, Navigate Consulting "Full of tips, tricks, and tools every sales pro must have!" Bill Byron Concevitch, Sr. VP, Mentergy, Inc.

Includes step-by-step instructions to help you write winning sales proposals!

Salespeople - listen up! Want a surefire way to write winning sales proposals that'll wake 'em up, seal the deal, and keep 'em comin' back for more? Let expert Bob Kantin share his savvy advice on everything from getting into your buyer's head to actually presenting a fabulous proposal. You'll come out a winner every time! all this on the CD-ROM Valuable forms and materials, including: A great tool to rate your proposal A proposal model Sample product proposals Sample service proposals A customer questionnaire System requirements: PC running Windows 95 or later, Windows NT 4 or later; Power Macintosh running System 7.6 or later. See the About the CD Appendix for details and complete system requirements.

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Review of Microsoft VBScript Professional Projects (Paperback)

There just are not that many really good VBScript books out there. And there are even fewer well written VBScript books that target power users, system admins and advanced readers. Well, this book is one of them. It provides a quick review of VBScript (for those that need a primer or a quick overview) and then procedes to demonstrate how to use VBScript to tackle several different projects. This approach provides a great balance between theory and practical hands-on application.

Product Description
Microsoft's VBScript, a simplified version of VisualBasic, is a powerful, easy-to-learn tool that can add interaction toWeb pages. VBScript Professional Projects distinguishes itself fromthe competition by being the only book to offer a project-basedapproach for higher-end users and to provide coverage of VBScript'sapplicability to both Web and WSH scripting. It is the ideal guide forVBA and Visual Basic programmers who wish to expand their programmingcapabilities using a scripting language.

About the Author
Jerry Lee Ford, Jr. is an author, educator, and IT professional with over 13 years experience in information technology.He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and has also earned Microsoft's MCP & MCP+Internet certification.He holds a master's degree in Business Administration and has been a part-time IT instructor for five years.Jerry is the author of nine books, including "Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting and WSH Administrator's Guide" (ISBN: 1931841268).He lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and sons.

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