It looks very informative, however it has a lot of errors. Most of the examples do not work. The book has a CD providing an online registration and discussion form. I completed the registration, but there is nothing on the website.

Every book has his own target reader. It is impossible to have a universal 5-star book for every-level reader.

I had been looking for a book which can let me learn VB seriously as the starter for a while. Further, I already bought 2 books about VB and, but felt not good. However, this book is the book I was really looking for. Here is the features I feel good.

1. Very concise--The lines are the stuff I want to read and I can understand, no showing up, no joking, no academic garbage.

2. Very good balance between the explaining and code demonstration. This will make reading very effecient and effective.

3. With good exercise which is simple and not tricky and make you feel that you did learn something and you can do something.

I must say again, this maybe the garbage book for experienced VB developer, but it is the excellent to me!!

I've never programmed before, this book has taught me everything I needed to know and have made a few rather large programs now.

The examples are good (there is heaps of work to do!) and logical.

The book is big! - The online stuff I haven't worried about really.. It's just tests online - I dont know if you get a certificate or something at the end, but if you did it would be cool.

If you know nothing about VB6, this book is for you!

I thought (and still think) that it is a good idea to write such books. Well written standard specifications (in terms of readability and immediate applicability) are rare, too often they are too dry or "academic" for immediate use in all-day programming practice (best example is the MIME specification, which stretches across several complex RFCs, which constantly reference to each other).

This is where "companion" books like this come in, providing the reader with guideance, with information about real life situations and examples. They point out pitfalls, emphasize parts of the specs that are "more important" than others, or are (or can be) implemented differently in reality.

Alas, in my opinion the book falls short of achieving this goal. It barely does more than picking (sometimes random) parts of the specs and retelling them in the author's own words.

I have yet to find a book about email that doesn't confuse its reader with acronyms. It seems there is an internal competition between authors of these books to squeeze MTA, MUA, MDA and MRA in one sentence as often as possible.

Another example of the author confusing the reader is that the text keeps mentioning gateways to other (proprietary, non-internet) mail systems, and that/how messages must be converted between these different mail systems. While it's OK to mention this *once* in the introduction, this is clearly not the focus of this book, as it is geared towards folks who write software that handles INTERNET MAIL messages, and not gateway implementors (at least this is how I interpret the book's title).

Also, quite often there is bad coverage of the real world. For example, two chapters are devoted to understanding and implementing MIME, including a lenghtly explanation of "interesting" message types like message/external-body and message/partial (both of which I knew of, but have never ever encountered in my work that includes a fair amount of mail
programming). On the other hand, the "multipart/alternative" type (which is very common in today's email world - ever got a message from Amazon.com?) is barely mentioned at the very end of the MIME discussion.

All in all, it's a good idea from O'Reilly to have such a book, but the execution definitely needs polishing.

Bought this book to learn more about how email works so I could fight all the spam I am receiving. I did learn a lot about headers and how email works in general, but it didn't answer all my questions. Still, if you're looking for a general overview on email, this is a good book for the money.

This book is an excellent introduction to e-mail programming and protocols. It is as easy to read as any novel, explains everything neatly and concisely, and provides excellent examples.

This covers what a mail server does and how it works, but really concentrates on mail client-server interaction. It goes into SMTP, ESMTP, MIME, POP3, IMAP, and vCard format. The examples are clear and concise, and it includes actual code in Perl and Java. This provides the reader with excellent, platform independent ways to do what they need to do.

The writing style is excellent. One of the most fluid technical books I've ever read. In fact, all I needed was one Sunday to read the book from front to back.

The code provided is superb. It's easy to use, easy to understand, and aides in the learning process. For me, the code is invaluable. It has personally saved me countless hours of work.

Finally, this book doesn't delve in tremendous detail. It tells the reader how to program for e-mail, but doesn't go into the RFC's as much as many people would like it to. I think, however, that this is a real strength. Many technical books bog the reader down with irrelevant information. This books avoids this, but still gives the user information on how to retrieve any additional information if needed.

Though there are not many e-mail programming books out there, this is by far the best one. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

As has already been noted, one of the biggest and most glaring problems with this guide is when it instructs you to equip a Revolver that you don't have. Specifically, when you reach the Coastal Ruins, the guide instructs you to "quickly equip the Revolver with LaserSight." The thing is, you don't have one because the revolver isn't available until much later in the game, when you reach the City of the Dead. (Where the guide states that you can "pick up a Revolver, if you don't have it already." Of course, you wouldn't have it already because it's not possible to get it before then.) The trick, actually, is to equip either the Crossbow to fire at the targets, follow the strategy another reviewer stated of using the grenade launcher followed by the shotgun, or load a super grenade into the grenade launcher and then one blow can take out all nine targets.

If this was the only problem, then perhaps the guide would still be worthwhile. This guide, however, also completely misses out on many cool secrets. This is absolutely insane, as the spine states "ALL SECRETS REVEALED." Yet it misses two very easy secrets at the beginning of the Valley of the Kings, making this a blatant lie!

Edit--- okay, so now I realize that the book actually does reveal all secrets- *in a separate section in the book of the book that isn't mentioned anywhere in the course of the normal text!* How, I ask, is that helpful? (Which means, of course, that they stuck in some time after they were originally finished writing the guide, just so they could claim on the cover, "All Secrets Revealed." Sorry, doesn't wash.)

Add in descriptions that often confusing (despite provided photos) and you have a guide that, while it may get you through the game, is definitely not worth of the title of "Prima's Official Strategy Guide." Don't buy this strategy guide. Instead, just locate one of the many walkthroughs available online. Not only are you more likely to get complete information because site readers can e-mail in if the guide-writer misses something, but you can also check against other walkthroughs to make sure you're not missing anything. The only problems I see with this is if you must have something to hold in your hands (you could print one, if you don't mind using up printer ink, or you have a hookup where you can print stuff for free), or if you don't have Internet access (in which case you wouldn't be reading this.)

This book is a "must have" to get through this game. I would have given up on the game long ago without it! The problem is when you get to Alexandria, you need the revolver and the book doesn't tell how to get it. I haven't found it but I found an alternative way to shoot the targets: Put wide shot ammo in your shotgun and the equip yourself with the grenade launcher. Slide down the ramp to the target area and jump up and fire the grenade launcher. This will get all lower targets. Immediately grab your shotgun and jump to shoot the remaining three targets. With luck, you will get all targets and receive the token for the trouble.

THIS GAME IS FILLED WITH CHALLENGING LEVELS AND PUZZLES. BATTLE NEW AND OLD ENEMIES. BUT OVERCOME IT ALL WITH PRIMAS TOMB RAIDER THE LAST REVELATION STRATEGY GUIDE. IN DEPTH STRATEGY GUIDE FROM THE FIRST TO LAST LEVEL TO AN ANCIENT BAD GUY. CONQUER ALL THE PUZZLES DEFEAT ALL THE ENEMYS AND MAKE IT BACK TO ENGLAND FOR TEA WITH HELP FROM PRIMAS STRATEGY GUIDE.

Research on David Lane reveals that he will attack any religion that comes close to the teachings of his beloved Charan Singh. Lane wrote this one 25 years ago as a college term paper, just after becoming a devotee of Singh. Naturally, since he believes his way to be the only way, anything coming close *must* be stolen from his precious master. His attacks on Eckankar are mild compared to his attacks on the various Indian branches of Sant Mat. This book does a grave disservice to anyone interested in seeking spiritual truth.

This book contains some enigmatic information about Eckankar and Paul Twitchell, the founder of this modern day religion.

Being that he is a Professor at a small California college, this book is generally considered to be a credible scholarly work.

In actuality it is his term paper written twenty years ago, as a twenty year old student.

On 12/28/2000 in postings to the alt.religion.eckankar newsgroup David Lane has finally admitted the truth about this paper.

Writing about his "own biases" he said:

"I agree that there are some slants and some interpretations of mine that cannot be so universally duplicated and those can become arguable points of contention.

First, THE MAKING was written NOT as a sociological treatise but as a 'critical expose'.

Second, I wrote the paper when I was an undergraduate in religious studies.

Third, I am NOT a member of ANY sociological association.

Fourth, I NEVER claimed that the MAKING was a sociological treatise.

I wrote the paper AS AN EXPOSE!"

By intention this book may be shocking to those that do not see that the conclusions he draws and assumptions he makes are just the beginning of his twenty year campaign to defame all religious teachings.

From Catholicism to small innocuous teachings like Eckankar, Professor Lane believes that all religious experience has no reality beyond the neural synaptic firings within the brain.

So this is not a serious work of research but a paper intended to provoke negative opinion about Eckankar. At that it is a compelling success.

I am a former student of Doctor Lane, and I consider the time I spent in his classroom as the most influencial experiece of my short life. I recently reread this piece, and I can honestly say it is testiment to my affirmation that he is a reveloutionary scholar in religious studies, and has pumped life into a dying field. Be warned, you will question your faith when studing his material, but what is faith when it is untested?

Which is fair enough. I mean, to get these three classic movie bad guys together, you need to bend a few rules. A damn good idea, but in this case, extremely poorly executed. They should have just left it alone. One star for the monsters, one star for the cover.

Well I can't deny it...i absolutely love the Alien, Predator and Terminator. So when I heard of the crossover that pit all 3 against each other, I was thrilled...until I bought it and read it, that is.

This is probably the most convoluted and bizarre story yet in the Aliens vs. Predator universe. It hardly consists of any of the 3 fighting each other at all...at least not to the extent of which the cover and blurb on the back would have one assume. The story tells of John Connor and the resistance defeating Skynet, only to have Skynet reawakened years later by Terminators that have gone into deep cover, posing as scientists. To assure victory, samples of Alien DNA have been used to construct a new generation of Terminator, which the Predators see as a great threat of war.

If it sounds ridiculous...it is. The story is bizarre and goes in all different directions. And worse yet...it spins off of Alien: Resurrection. That alone makes me not like this comic, aside from the bizarre story and sub-par artwork. The story even has Ripley 'become' a Predator. So...she's human, she's Alien, and now she's Predator. The book just gets worse and worse as you go on.

I suppose if you are a fan of any or all of the characters, like I am, it should pique your interest. But the sloppy and senseless story combined with the elements that made Resurrection such a bad movie, not to mention the lack of attention paid to detail both in artwork and in story, just make this comic unreadable. This is a crossover that had so much potential, and it could have been in so many different, better ways...but it turned out to be nothing more than an attempt to throw 3 popular franchises into one book as a cash-graber. Buy this if you are a collector and want it for your collection, but don't bother reading it. Otherwise just stay away from it completely.

AvPvT is a very interesting plot, but the it gets one star off because the Aliens are only featured in three pages at the most, and they weren't drawn as well as the predators or terminators. How do each of the three races fit in the story? The Terminators are using Alien anatomy to perfect their combat effeciency, and the Predators have come in to stop that. The story follows Ripley, after Alien Resurrection. She is forced to follow Call and her friends to infiltrate a military compound to stop the Alien research that is going on there. The mission goes wrong when they encounter a Terminator/Alien hybrid and a band of predators that kill most of the team and cause havoc, and you figure it all out from there. The story was rushed for a book of this length, and a lot of events happen waaay too quickly, and some events take too long. For instance, one part where the team witnesses a terminator/alien hybrid fight a predator takes 12 pages, while an event where two terminator/alien hybrids single handedly attack and destroy 2 military bases, and wipe out an entire fleet of ships takes 10 pages!!!! AvPvT gets a point off for that. However, it gets 3 points for art and creativity. The art is about as close as you'll get to an anime styled AvP comic, it was all well drawn with a lot of effort and very original. The idea of how the story continues off Alien Resurrection is very original, the way the plot uses the three sides is original as well, though the aliens deserved more credit. Its a unique book. If you want an AvP book with unique art and story, this is it. But if you want something with more bite, with more of a realistic yet cinematic feel, consider getting Stronghold.

The publishers of computer books ought to realize that people buy the books to be able to learn a program without having to suffer through technical gobbledygook. This book is written very badly. It is poorly organized. The book's five authors, I get the impression, weren't speaking to one another when they wrote it. The same material is covered in some chapters.

I found it extremely difficult to get anything out of this book, because the material is expalined so badly. I do not recommend it.

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm a competent user of Linux, Windows, and the computer in general. I bought this book expecting it to teach me how to take the *basic* knowledge of FrontPage that I had gleaned from playing with the buttons and learning what they do by trial-and-error and expand upon it, not just explain how to use wizards. Guess which one I got. The so-called "Guide to Running a Linux Server" consisted of an explanation of the fact that ports of the giant security holes that Microsoft calls Server Extentions exist for almost all platforms. I was shocked! The first few chapters in the "Core FrontPage Techniques" section involved inserting tables and pictures! What?! There was then a useful chapter on positioning with CSS2, but then the book jumped right back into using themes! Themes! The topics that followed were primarily discussions of using the wizards, which is simply absurd. Microsoft's wizards make everything simple enough for even the most benightedly unintelligent person to understand. Nearly every topic that followed involved either a wizard or a Server Extension, and I'd rather not use anything like that. I am selling this book now, purchasing one on Dreamweaver, and moving on to real Web development.

what I learned in this book. I don't know where the other reviewers of this book are coming from but as a professional designer there was no better book on the market for me. The entire team I work with has a copy of this book. I have two of the previous editions as well. They are all great.

In my opinion, this is the best book out there whether you are starting off with this program or have used the program before. This book, like the other Stanek texts, is filled with great information, page after page, so that no matter what you are looking for on FrontPage you can find answers. If you are already a high tech person or already have used the program with some success, this is definitely a good choice. If you are a beginner that learns fast, I think this is a good choice too. This book is a must have for any FrontPage user.

I really like the approach and the presentation. The teaching style is casual and if you follow the chapters you will get a FP site up and running quickly. My advice is to buy this book.

this book is my text and have using for all of my grading examination. this is directed to especiality of laryngology and in compare with other books in otolaryngology have lesser about otology(see chpt.160:otosclerosis). I find many mistake on it!! overall I like this book & I read it every day& I know and remember all on the book!! because i read it more than 5th in my course.

I was disappoited on buying the CD-ROM version of this text. I found it incomplete (ie NO mention on Otoplasty despite being advertised by the authers as the MOST comprehensive text in this field !, and I found it innacurate with plenty of mistakes.
It is otherwise a versatile instrument for reference and revision

There is no access to the authors for feedback comments etc.

I am an ENT man from Taiwan. This book is an important guide for the board examination. I like this book.

I believe that Mark Twain, the most discpicable writer of the modern era, has made a mockery of literature. This book incorporates both poor language skills and a prejudice towards slaves and young men. I believe that this book, along with every other Mark Twain book, should be burned. if Mark Twain was still alive, I would like to burn him as well.

Until I read TS Eliot's critique of Huckleberry Finn, I didn't understand the book. The point that Tom Sawyer is the actor/director and Huck the audience, wallflower, altruist--is a simple fact I simply overlooked.

Eliot's reading of the book's final line makes a thoroughly entertaining read deeply melancholy. And if what Hemmingway says about Twain is true, namely, that Huck Finn appears in one way or another in every work of American Literature thereafter, it sheds light on the melancholy and loneliness that is American literature in the modern age.

In my opinion, heinous criminal acts must be severely punished. Crimes such as culpable homicide, rape and child molestation deserve the harshest punishment. It is vitally important that the punishment fits the crime. It follows then that crimes of gruesome nature deserve capital punishment whereas misdemeanour should result in mild punishment.
Irrefutably, the primary purpose of a given sentence is to deter people from committing criminal acts. Therefore, it is crucial that prisons act as a deterrant; otherwise the judicial system is purposeless and superfluous. Paradoxically, prisons in Sweden do not deter prospective malefactors; instead they encourage some individuals to commit crimes. This is because prisons in Sweden have frequently been likened to hotels and this is not an exaggeration. This is a fact of life. To my mind, it is preposterous to assume that these modern and sophisticated prisons manage to deter people from committing criminal acts.
A criminal has to fear incarceration, otherwise there is no point in maintaining the judicial system. Capital punishment is considered to be inhumane and ineffective. What we need to ask ourselves instead is are felons humane. Do they repent their atrocious acts? Admittedly, some felons deserve clemency due to mental disorders that may have impaired their ability to know right from wrong. Nevertheless, they should be sentenced to life without parole.
As is well known, many convicted criminals commit additional crimes upon release. Thus, given the fact that a great number of felons relapse into criminality indicates that there are serious flaws in our judicial system. There is no simple solution to this problem. However, there is no doubt that legislators need to be held accountable for making ineffective laws. Most importantly, prisons have to act as a deterrant. Vehement felons who have been convicted of odious deeds should either be imprisoned for life or sentenced to death. Abolitionists would argue that people do not commit abhorrent crimes unless they are deranged. This is true in some cases but we must not generalize. Admittedly, some dangerous malefactors had been subjected to maltreatment in childhood which later led to development of severe mental disorder in adolescence. Nonetheless, traumatic childhood does not justify psychopathy, it merely explains it. In sum, this book provides weak arguments against capital punishment.

This book is a must read for anybody who purports to have arrived at a conclusion regarding the merits of state execution. It is not an academic examination of the pros and cons of the death penalty in America. Rather, it is a description of state execution arranged in a collection of essays written by people intimately involved in the process. The essays describe the process of state execution from the vantage points of capital defense attorneys, relatives of the victims of capital crimes, and even state executioners. It even includes the transcript of an actual execution that occurred in Georgia in 1984.

I give this book five stars primarily because I do not believe a person should arrive at a firm conclusion with respect to the death penalty on abstact pragmatic or moral/ethical academic arguments alone. One must first understand the process, the nuts and bolts, of state execution and how it affects those most directly and closely involved in either fighting against it or carrying it out. We are, after all, talking life and death. This book serves that purpose marvelously. Nor does it hurt that it is a thoroughly fascinating read.

Happy reading.

I have been designing Web sites for years, and was a Network Engineer for years before that. This book is well written and talks about great examples, but it doesn't work. I know Flash. I know a bit about Flash Action Scripting, but I have not been able to get one single script to work correctly. You shouldn't have to read a second book just to get the one you bought to work right. Like someone else said, even the finished examples don't work right, so you can't look at that code to see what's wrong.
I expect much more than that from any book, and I would return this book if I still could. I spent too much time thinking I was doing something wrong to be able to return it now, though.
In summary, buy another book. You will probably be happier.

like so many books of this ilk, Flash MX Magic prommises to show you how to create dazzling Flash effects.

It does, but a lot of them are style over substance - if you're looking for inspiration then maybe this book is what you need, but don't expect it to teach you useful techniques.

If you've mastered the basics of Flash MX and are looking for more, then Flash MX Magic really delivers. Rather than providing tiny chunks of Flash functionality, the book gives you 15 full Flash projects to demonstrate the features of Flash MX. Yep...actual projects you can tinker with, break apart, break entirely, fix again, and eventually create something brand new!

The book comes with a CD containing all the FLAs and files you need for each chapter project and the chapters themselves are very easy to read with plenty of illustrations. It's always great to see how other Flash developers handle code, and the authors of this book are really among the best in the business.

You'll certainly want a good foundation in Flash ActionScript before diving into this book, but it's definitely one to put on your list. Also, the illustrations make it much more accessible for users who tend to shy away from books that only have lines and lines of code. And let's face it, you can never have too many books on Flash or samples of ActionScript code!