TechTV's Guide to Home Networking, Broadband and Wireless

Rating:
Summary: A very helpful and very easy read!
Review: I recently got high speed DSL Internet access and also purchased a second computer. I wanted to set up a home network so that I could share my Internet connection with my kids. I visited a number of Internet sites that provided free information about how to set up a home network. However, I only ended up frustrated. One site said to do one thing one way and another side said to do it a different way. So finally I broke down and bought this book.

As a rule, I don't buy computer books. But I have to say that this one did not disappoint me. I was able to read it within a couple days. I had my two computers talking to one another and sharing my Internet connection within a day after that. This book rocks!

Rating:
Summary: Cant give it more stars
Review: I would like to give this book 4 stars or maybe even 5. I love tech tv and watch regularly, however note that the book isnt written by any of the familair staff like chris prillo, Leo Laporte, Patrick or any of the other well know gurus of tech. Hopwever because of it's association with tech tv you may expect a certain level of quality... does it deliver? Well, yes AND no.

Pros: The book is well written and is pretty comprehensive. It includes a TCP/IP primer which is great and a lot of good information and a well formated comprehensive exploration of netowrking as it applies to the home user. It keeps it simple enough that you wont be inundated with techno-dribble that will hurt your head, yet it tries to explore things as comprehensively as possible, not leaving out crucial details and making sure to put in advanced information for the curious as well as those who may need such info for trouble shooting. So the book is both practical and educational in nature. It's simple enough and practical enough to qualify as a how-to book, but it includes enough detail, and is well written enough to qualify as a great book for knowledge seekers, true geeks, advanced users, and those who like to know it all.

Cons: Regretfully, I cant give this more than 3 stars. I thought about a 4 star rating, but it went against my conscience. Why? Misprints, mistakes, typos, and other problems. Let me take this moment to warn you now:

WARNING: Facts in this book are sometimes questionable and it contains many misprints and typos. Verify all specific information elsewhere before relying on what it tells you.

Let me elaborate. Im almost through chapter 1 (not very far into the book), and have already run across a number of erroneous information, facts that are wrong, and typos! Let me give an example. Table 2.1 on page 40 has a list of IEEE Networking standards. It lists fast ethernet (100mbps-100BaseT) as being 802.u. WRONG! The correct answer is 802.3u... they left out the 3! This may seem minor, but when you are in a networking class and almost use this misinformation in class, you look dumb. And this isnt an isolated incident, there are a number of other typos, misprints and some paragraphs where a sentence coompletely contradict the preceding sentence - making for very akward situations.

What all this adds up to is it forces you to question any individual fact in the book for it's validity. For instance they claim 802.11b functions on a 2.45GHz frequency, and I have only ever heard of it as being 2.4GHz even. At first I thought they were being specific whereas other sources and the rest of the industry just rounded off (I was like "oh, so it's actually two point four FIVE GHz to be exact?!"). But after these little errors and misprints I am more inclined to believe this is simply a mistake on the part of the author. Subsequently, I now have little faith in the information provided by the book... and it's too bad.

You may still want to buy this book. It's a very good book, just make sure you check the facts before memorizing them. And if you just want a how-to book or a primer into the networking world at home, then this is still a pretty good choice. But dont use this as a refrence material or for a class, and dont rely 100% on the validity of specifics of the information inside. Because of the errors, 3 stars is the most I can give in good conscience. Come on Que Publishing and TechTv, do a better job editing and double checking your facts!! We expect more form you!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book for Novice
Review: Working in an administrative capacity for a computing infrastructure projects and services group at a national laboratory I have learned just enough from the helpful staff to be dangerous. Struggled though setting up my home network earlier in 2003 with their help (I wanted to learn and do it myself) but there were glitches in the system that I knew could work better. My wireless network connection to my laptop was fair at best.

Bought this book on a Friday evening with the hopes that I could learn enough to redo my network over the weekend. I gained so much understanding from this book and would rate it as one of the best investments I have ever made. Home networking is the only way to go if you have more than one computer and have a broadband connection. If you are still using dial-up this book would not be of use; however, if you are planning to change to broadband I would strongly encourage you to get this book first.

It is a little outdated as the 802.11g routers are available now, but the author includes enough explaination about the new Wi-Fi routers that you will realize that is the router you should start with if you do not have one already. Also, I will agree with the other review, there are many typos in this book and one in particular that needs to be corrected to explain why an IP address belongs to a Class B range of network.

Aside from those *minor* flaws, by Sunday my home network was more secure than it had ever been, printers were shared on all workstations without a printer port needed on the access point, specific file folders are shared among the members of my family, and administrative rights have been changed to secure the computers of those inexperienced members in my family. To me the most impressive thing about this book is that I can go back to work, in the computer guru environment I work in, with a much broader understanding of networking and wireless.