What is the meaning of all that jargon?

Whatis.com’s Encyclopedia of Technology Terms Publisher:Techmedia, 2003 Price: Rs 570

In the early years of Express Computer, I used to make the crossword for the magazine, as a hobby. It was a really enjoyable exercise; I’d created my own li’l dBase file of tech terms cobbled together from all over, and partly automated the process of filling in the grid, through a set of macros. In those pre-VSNL, pre-ERNET days, adding to the word lists was always a problem. There was just one ‘Dictionary of Computing’ I could lay my hands on, and that mostly alluded to the mainframe EDP era.

Then with the Internet came online tech dictionaries like Foldoc, Webopedia, Netlingo and Whatis. The first one I found was the delightfully irreverent Jargon File (JF) which styled itself as “a comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humour.” But the one I referred to most often was Whatis.com because of its wide range and ease-of-use.

So when the print version of Whatis.com’s Encyclopedia of Technology Terms came to me for review, I was back in familiar territory. This portly tome is in fact a text dump of the definitions’ section from the website (following acquisition by TechTarget, Whatis.com has assumed larger proportions than a mere online tech glossary).

Originally created by former IBM technical writer Lowell Thing, the Whatis definitions have evolved into encyclopaedic entries while maintaining the plain-English style, and make for interesting reading that goes beyond
reference.

In the early years, several of the definitions were contributed by others, and the influence of the JF is quite evident—there are several references to JF volunteer editor Eric Raymond. But Whatis stops short of the reckless brazenness of the Jargon File.
So for example, both let you know that Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits doubles every year-and-a-half, but only JF lets you know that Gates’s Law states that “The speed of software halves every 18 months!”
While there is a smattering of diagrams in the Whatis encyclopaedia, I’d have been happier with more pictures. For instance, it would’ve been nice to see what Grace Hopper, Herman Hollerith and vacuum tubes looked like.
Another conspicuous omission is the absence of a companion CD, which could have provided pop-up definitions in word processing and other applications. That said, this is still an excellent reference book that should grace the library shelves of every educational institution and IT company in the country.

— Val Souza

No more Plug-and-Pray

The Complete PC Upgrade & Maintenance Guide (2003 Edition) Author: Mark Minasi Publisher: BPB Publications Price: Rs 570

In the age we live in, words like ‘crash’ and ‘hang’ no longer have a ghastly connotation alone, thanks to computers (or Windows, as many users would point out). Sure, the manufacturer says ‘Plug-and-Play,’ but after some of my experiences, I think they mean, ‘Plug in, and we start playing around with you,’ or simply, ‘Plug-and-Pray!’

That’s why I hoped to find some answers to my PC woes in Mark Minasi’s ‘The Complete PC Upgrade & Maintenance Guide.’ Not that you should pick up this tome only if you’re facing a problem. You could use this book if you’re simply curious about how PCs and the zillion components inside one work.

You could also use this book to guide you as you upgrade your computer’s memory or add a CD-Writer, because, in spite of what your computer technician tells you, you don’t need to have the ability to build geostationary satellites in order to install a new drive.

But chances are it’ll be PC problems that’ll drive you to reading this 1,200-page tome. Because, as some stats quoted prove—on an average seven out of 10 PCs suffer a breakdown of some kind. And what’s worse is that is the average user doesn’t realise that computer technicians deal with computer problems the same way doctors deal with disease—it’s usually a guess-based approach.

So, if you want to get a grip on things yourself, or at least understand what your technician is up to, it might be a good idea to read this book. Minasi’s writing style makes for easy reading. What helps is his obvious experience and expertise in the field. And since experience and expertise in computers means a history of learning through mistakes, it’s interesting and fun to read about the mistakes that Minasi and other techies have made in their journey to fixing and understanding PCs. The book is also liberally sprinkled with other anecdotes from Minasi’s
experience.

The meat of the book lies in its comprehensive coverage on everything about PCs. From telling you all you need to know about every little piece of PC and peripheral hardware and technology, and the crazy acronyms that are so pervasive, to learning how to assemble/disassemble PCs; the tools you should use; preventive maintenance; finding out how to troubleshoot PC problems; installing new components; hardware management via software solutions; upgrading your PC, to building the ultimate new PC—this book has it all, and some more.

Two CDs accompany the book—one contains videos that are practical demonstrations of what’s explained in the book, and the other contains some bonus chapters and utilities.

However, the videos seem a bit dated, especially on the processor front. Minasi keeps talking about Pentium IIs and IIIs, when we’re in the P4 age. But considering the speed at which Intel releases new processors (chances are there’ll be a new one between the time I write this review and when you see it in print), we can forgive Minasi for that.

You may like to use this book as a reference manual for troubleshooting, and thus read only relevant chapters. In that case, make sure you read the introduction and the warnings carefully before you attempt anything.

While it’s a heady feeling to open up a PC and solve some problem yourself (especially if you’ve never done so before), if you do something wrong you could wreck your PC, or worse, fry yourself—thanks to an electric shock—even if the PC’s switched off.

The bottom line is: You may not be able to replace your friendly neighbourhood computer technician, but you can certainly understand what he does, and even start attempting some techie stuff yourself by using this book.

— Ivor Soans

Curbing the virus menace

Viruses Revealed: UNDERSTAND AND COUNTER MALICIOUS SOFTWARE Authors: David Harley, Robert Shade, and Urs E Gattikar Publisher: Wiley Dreamtech India Price: Rs 399

“Hi there! Some questions.” You may have come across similar or other queer-sounding subject lines in your mailbox, carrying infected mail attachments. And you may have even squirmed in your seat a number of times, terrified at the thought that unknowingly you could have let a virus into your computer.

There are millions of viruses floating around and crashing thousands of PCs everyday. There may be several reasons for them to proliferate. But two main factors are that many software vendors have paid no heed to security issues, and also more often than not individuals like you and me do not bother about computer hygiene (not until much of the damage has already been done).

In the foreword to the book, Viruses Revealed, Eugene H Spafford makes a few potent suggestions:

• Stop accepting e-mail attachments in formats that carry malware.
• Be more precise with our virus warnings. (So, a virus threat named ‘Microsoft virus’ would be much more helpful than just ‘computer virus’).
• Stop using the same three or four applications for all computing requirements.

Viruses Revealed, authored by David Harley, Robert Slade and Urs E Gattiker works at educating readers about “virus mechanisms to understand what the threat is, and, more importantly, how commercial anti virus software protects it.” The book starts with the problem of viruses and malware and goes on to explain anti-virus and anti-malware applications. The authors have also provided case studies on some specific virus/malware incidents and finally take a look at the social aspects of this problem.

The book is aimed at systems and network administrators, security analysts and specialist anti-virus engineers, other support engineers, power users, management, the computing press and students of computer science.

— Deepika Janardhan