Rating: 
Summary: What a Trek!
Review: I just have to say that I found the detailed descriptions of the computers of great interest. I mean, that a lot of these ideas came about before the advent of the sophisticated technology that we have today just fascinates me --- and to be able to read about how other creative types used their imagination to capture the interest of techi-gurus and average-joe/jane-types alike--WOW!! Gresh and Weinberg did a fine job of examining and explaining the computers of Star Trek. Thanks for such a good read and inspiration!
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN STAR TREK OR COMPUTERS
Review: I picked up this book because I'm a computer major in college and have been a Star Trek fan for years. I wasn't disappointed as the authors have put together a very funny and very entertaining book about how computers are portrayed on all the different shows. They compare the computers on the different versions of the Enterprise (and Deep Space Nine and Voyager) to the computers we use today. They examine Data and the holodeck and the Borg also. Reading the book makes it clear that we are much further towards developing computers like those shown in Star Trek than anyone involved with the show could imagine. Computers they use three hundred years from now will be available in twenty-thirty years. The book is filled with interesting examples taken from the different shows and the authors know how to keep the reader entertained. I found this book not only fascinating but very funny as well. This is the best non-fiction book on Star Trek I've ever read, and I've read them all.
Rating:
Summary: goes great with pizza!
Review: I stayed up late last night reading this book and eating pizza instead of doing my C++ programming homework! I am now screwed on the assignment, but it was so worth it! This is the best book I have read since the manual to Flash programming! (Just kidding:) Seriously, I loved the book and thought it was very well written and informative.
Rating:
Summary: goes great with pizza!
Review: I stayed up late last night reading this book and eating pizza instead of doing my C++ programming homework! I am now screwed on the assignment, but it was so worth it! This is the best book I have read since the manual to Flash programming! (Just kidding:) Seriously, I loved the book and thought it was very well written and informative.
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Summary: not just for Trekkers
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The preponderance of Star Trek fans that will read this book might lead one to believe that without a somewhat extensive knowledge of the show's inner workings, it would not be a worthwhile read. On the other hand, while knowledge of the show may preclude understanding some of the book's humor and would certainly add to the enjoyment of the book, non-"Trekkers" like me are still able to admire this book as a fascinating exploration of a not-too-distant future of our own highly-computerized society. It is obvious that Ms. Gresh has an extremely personal and comprehensive knowledge of computers and electronic workings in general, and it shines between the Data jokes and the recounted Holodeck mishaps. Good work!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointingly boring
Review: I'll admit that I've read all the other science books on "Star Trek," from "The Physics of Star Trek" to "Is Data Human." So I looked forward to this entry as well.Unfortunately, I found "The Computers of Star Trek" to be disappointingly boring. One problem that I had, but that you may or may not, is that computer architecture just is not very interesting. Thus, learning that parts of the Enterprise's computer system are useless is just not the same as learning, for example, that it would take more energy than exists in the universe to warp space enough to make the Enterprise transverse the distances described in the shows.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointingly boring
Review: I'll admit that I've read all the other science books on "Star Trek," from "The Physics of Star Trek" to "Is Data Human." So I looked forward to this entry as well. Unfortunately, I found "The Computers of Star Trek" to be disappointingly boring. One problem that I had, but that you may or may not, is that computer architecture just is not very interesting. Thus, learning that parts of the Enterprise's computer system are useless is just not the same as learning, for example, that it would take more energy than exists in the universe to warp space enough to make the Enterprise transverse the distances described in the shows.
Rating: 
Summary: Unworthy of a Class A-7 rating in computers
Review: If you can identify a Class A-7 rating, a standard Star Trek computer shibboleth, you probably won't care for this ultimately shallow book. It rarely drifts from the monotonous conclusion that likely everything we see on Trek will be dated in three hundred years. How unimaginative. (Krauss took a similar challenge and handled it well with style, science, and wit.) And sorry, it's not about being nitpicky - I wholeheartedly join the editorial criticism of another poster - painful misspellings abound ("Shelly" wrote Frankenstein? The "Gorm" attacked Cestus III? Come on!), no bibliography exists, and no cohesion holds the work together. Don't get me wrong, this subject matter deserves to be seriously addressed, and it's a shame the authors squandered their enviable chance with such a sloppy, half-baked effort. In my opinion therefore, this dunsel serves no useful purpose but to fleece the serious computer reader/Trekker from their time and money. Save these for better unless you've too much of both.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: If you know anything about computer engineering, kindling is a good use for this book. This book covers the possibilties of the uses for the computers, not the explanitions of how they work (get the TNG Technical Manual for that). The authors know a great amount about computer science, but each and every time they venture beyond this they look like idiots. They neglect
computer engineering concerns of space, power, and other practical matters. They also neglect civil liberties issues. They suggest that putting chips in the heads of the crew would be a great way to communicate with the computer. Although this may be faster, it also allow the computer to track you. Their analysis of the Enterprise-D computer as a 1960's model mainframe is fairly correct, but they start to use this as a basic assumption in every analysis afterward even when it isn't warranted. They also neglect the possibly of a more complicated client-server archetecture. If you go to the holodeck, just because you can access your personal programs, doesn't mean
that they are stored on the main computer.
Rating:
Summary: Too much computer science, not enough Star Trek
Review: The authors had to decide what the balance would be between computer science content and Star Trek content. Unfortunately, they erred on the side of too many overlong explanations of computer science, which the reader must wade through to get to those too-sparse nuggets of insight about Star Trek. For example, the Borg get only six pages, and the Holodeck gets eight pages (including several pages of programming code!). The writers are at their best when explaining how each Star Trek series is a commentary on the era in which it was written. For instance, there are several episodes where Kirk rants that computers can never replace people - a very 1960s sentiment - whereas in the more recent series, the Borg represent our fears that technology will lead to loss of individuality. More analysis along these lines would have improved the book, rather making it a primer on programming. Perhaps it's impossible to ever make sense of computers in Star Trek, since so much of it is technological nonsense (e.g., food replicators). Nevertheless, there was a missed opportunity here to speculate more deeply on the role of information technology in the world of Star Trek as compared to its role in current society.
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