Book details of 'SCOTT MUELLER LIBRARY - COMPUTER DICTIONARY'

Title	SCOTT MUELLER LIBRARY - COMPUTER DICTIONARY
Author(s)	Mitchell Shnier, Mitchell Shnier
ISBN	0789716704
Language	English
Publisher	MacMillan Publishing Company

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Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
Such a simple name for such an all-encompassing project. The jacket refines the field somewhat, promising data communications, PC hardware, and Internet terminology, but that is still a major task. The entries in this work are rather fewer than one would expect of a dictionary, and longer. In style it is more closely akin to an encyclopedia. As with any such tome there will be quibbles about what should or should not be included, but I can pretty much guarantee that any reader will be disappointed at the lack of entries. The length of articles does mean that other material is included, but neither the structure of the book nor the index will make it particularly easy to find. There are errors. The location for Microsoft Internet Explorer's cookie storage is incorrect, as are some related specifications. The definition of hacker is certainly incomplete, and a rather ironic reversal of how many would see the situation. IPNG (sic) points to IPNG for a definition. (Fortunately, IPV6 [sic] happens to be on the same page.) The final adjustment in the Gregorian calendar is wrong. Spoofing gives the technical description, but not the (more common) Internet usages. Usenet refers only to newsgroups, and not the original network. The virus entry is pretty awful. Sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek comments are not always visible as such to the uninitiated: entries such as "Airplane Magazine Syndrome" are identifiable, but interjections in the middle of more serious listings may simply bemuse. The quality of information is generally high but some entries, particularly those that have been updated, may be confusing as added material attempts to correct errors while making absolutely minimal changes to the original text. A feature of Shnier's work is the inclusion of a very large number of entries for computer companies. Commercial entities seem to get preferential treatment: there is an entry for Sun's WABI system, but not the Linux WINE project that does essentially the same thing. In some places the material is quite up to date, such as in the inclusion of listings for AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) and USB (Universal Serial Bus). Knowledgeable readers, though, will note important recent developments missing from many entries, and the lack of other items such as the fairly major V.90 protocol standard. Despite a change of title and publisher, this is basically an update of Shnier's earlier "Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms" (see reviews). In fact, the reference to an online version of the book still points to http://www.ora.com/reference/dictionary. (Does O'Reilly know about this?) Despite these failings, this work is one of only two that makes a serious attempt to keep up to date. While this text has its flaws it stands a far better chance of being of use than do the many others of its ilk that are merely laughable. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
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