Modeling

I enjoyed this book because I felt it provided me with some insight I wouldn't have otherwise. I think that the model who wrote it definitely was trying to impart some knowledge and protection to the beginner, via her own experiences. I particularly appreciated the listing of agencies.

I felt the book (although only 65 pages in all) did have some really great tips and info packed into those 65 pages. Although not a thick book, it's a good beneficial read - and at a very fair price compared to some other modeling books:) I hope this review helps some of you.

I found The Truth on Modeling by Erin Pinckney to be an amazing and honest resourse for young hopefuls to gain insight into getting started. It is so difficult for beginners to know where to begin and Ms Pinckney tells it like it is. The so called "glamor" of the industry overshadows the fundamentals needed to get started and this author seems to have her hand right on the pulse. I recommend the book for any parent who has a child interested in a modeling career.

The great thing about this book is that you don't have to sift through the makeup and photography and skincare sections(like some other modeling books)to get to the real information. This book is ALL info and no fluff. My mom bought it for me and I am glad that she did! I continue to refer to it as I try to enter the modeling industry, it's got some really good information.

I particularly like the fact that the model/author is not a "supermodel" and gives a unique and realistic perspective. A good book...read it:)

First, let me say that I found the content of this book to be, on the overall, wonderful and fairly well explained. Concepts are presented well and, unlike many other books on Stochastic Modeling, sigma algebra is avoided (this is a definant plus for making it into an undergrad or low-level grad textbook).

That having been said, this book has some of the worst organization I have ever seen in a textbook. Every chapter is divided into sections and at the end of each section there are questions which are separated into "Exercises" and "Problems"; this in-and-of itself is not as much of a problem as that everything is numbered the same way.

Therefore problem 5 in section 4 chapter 3 is numbered the same way (4.5) as exercise 5 in the same section and chapter is numbered the same way as exercise/problem 5 in the same section of any other chapter in the book. The only real difference between "Exercises" and "Problems" is that exercises tend to be answered in the back of the book.

There are also other organizational difficulties in the text itself--such as that it is never entirely clear where the examples are in the text: there are several things which are labeled as examples (and are), however, over half of the examples in some chapters seem to be simply thrown into the text without any special indicator that they are examples of what is being discussed.

While the content in this book is good, the organization is so wretched that I have to knock it down two stars.

Good points: A couple of good review chapters on basic probability theory (good for reference), lots of worked examples and exercises classified by level of difficulty, from the pissy-easy to the very challenging.

Bad points: The notation is strange at times. Very often, the treatment of limits is neither rigorous nor intuitively helpful, and a few things are repeated over and over (the axioms of a Poisson process, for example). In my view, a good paragraph of text is better than two pages (good or bad), and clarity and conciseness do not seem to be the authors' fortes. I'm sure this book would be in pretty good shape if it just lost some weight.

I was very surprised by not being able to find the law of large numbers written in a precise mathematical formula anywhere in the book, especially when its importance is stated in the introduction.

The material is not very nicely organized. This is the "chapter 3, section 4, subsection 2, subsubsection 6" type of book.

Having pointed out its defects, I have to say that I found this book to be a good and interesting introduction to stochastic processes. It's also one of the most "introductory" I've seen (the reader who complains about the level should know that, in most universities, an upper-division probability course is a prerequisite for a stochastic processes course).

Feedback for Academic Press: the format is not very attractive; even with all the waffle, that book could be half as thick. (Take example from Ross's "Stochastic Processes" or Rudin's "Principles of Mathematical Analysis.")

The book shows through examples the very vast collection of stochastic models without going too deep in the technical details. I consider the book a good introduction for undergraduate students with a calculus and probability course. Most adequately for engineers than mathematicians.

While Mr. Lucchesi is obviously a very talented sculpter of the human physique,I found this book to be somewhat simplistic in it's approach. Going through its pages was similar to watching the how-to-paint shows on PBS,a few little tricks here and there to get a quick effect,but no real exploration as to what makes a sculpture a real work of art or a true portrait. For someone who already posseses an understanding of anatomy,who knows the foundation of modeling the head,this book describes not much more than forming a maniken. There is no discussion of the relationships between parts of the face or how those relations change with different emotions. I can only recommend this book to beginners with no previous modeling experience.

For a begiinning sculptor, Lucchesi leaves a lot of steps out, the gaps are difficult to overcome for a beginning scuptor. I also found that it was difficult to apply the techniques when trying to create an actuazl likeness.....much of Lucchesi's work appears to be very similar in shape and form.

I am interested primarily in learning figure sculpture, so I bought this as a companion to the volumes "Modeling the Figure in Clay" and "Terracotta." I must say I was not disappointed. The book is a walkthrough of a single sculpture, but it is not developed in the anatomical style taught in "Modeling the Figure in Clay." Students of portraiture may prefer a more detailed treatment of facial anatomy. However, the work shown in the book has the grace and "flow" which is so difficult for beginners to master -- and which is tough to learn without viewing the piece as an integrated whole.

I don't think I would go as far as to say this was the definitive work on PPP, however, it did do a good job in explaining PPP and the world in which it lives. Being a beginner, I was looking for more instruction on how to install and manage PPP on my Linux box. It barely fit that need. If you want a good reference book, then by all means, buy it. But if you are going for a deep tutorial, then look elsewhere.

This is a very good book for beginners wanting to understand the technology behind the title PPP. It provides a step by step approach to the world of PPP, introducing the reader even to the OSI 7 layer model in two pages. I liked reading this book, and I liked the comparison between the implementations of PPP on different platforms (Linux, SUN, Windows 95/98/NT). But I do not think it is a complete reference book, therefore administrators should be aware.

When most people think of PPP, they just think of antiquated modem connections, but PPP is capable of much more. PPP can also be used as T1 lines and other such high speed connections.

This book is definitely intended for the network admins who are running (or hope to run) some sort of PPP-related service. The book explains how PPP connections work, from PPP packet header information to network and routing setups as well as debugging them. The information is very detailed and comprehensive, and well-written.

A user who just wants to setup a modem connection from home will probably find this book is not for them though. The topics covered focus more on using the PPP protocol in a network setting, rather than just a home computer. However, the chapter on setting up a dial-out modem does show a home-user how to setup a modem connection on several operating systems, and answers questions that even modem "veterans" like me have. :)

In closing, this book is well-suited for network admins, but regular users should find a book more suited for home use. However, I think this book has something for everyone interested in PPP.

I came to this book after having seen it referenced in a number of more general books with chapters on cellular automata. The book describes numerous experiments in varying levels of detail that are suitable for running on cellular automata. The example experiments are both abstract ('Life' or 'Parity' rules) and concrete (simulation of physical systems). Little attention is paid to simulating either social or biological processes. There is a lot here but the level of detail is poor. Many explanations of the simulations assume considerable knowledge of the physical systems being simulated or the weaknesses of other approaches that may used. The greatest weakness of this book is that it relies on a specific hardware implementation of a CA machine. All examples require this machine (a PC card) to be installed in your PC in order to run. This card appears to no longer be available (no supplier details are given in the book). The use of Forth (a language using reverse polish notation) to describe rules and the reliance on specific hardware makes the rules discussed difficult to implement on a software CA. The rules presented in the second half of the book are so tied to the hardware implementation of the unavailable PC card as to be impossible to translate directly into English-like rules. This is a definite dud.

Acquired this book many years ago (early 199x). It was inspiring to read about efforts to produce dedicated hardware for cellular automata. Recently Stephen Wolfram's a new kind of science made me read this older book again. Then it was interesting to write a cellular automata program in C++ and afterwards in a mixed Python/C version. The rules to use were taken from this particular book. The general hardware nowadays has enough power to even program in a higher level language and still show adequate performance. In short: the book is inspiring and the presented rules can be used to investigate cellular automata.

This is a terrific book that takes a step-by-step approach to cellular automata, especially for modelling. Within the first two chapters I had already found several interesting ideas for improving my own general-purpose automata program.

The part of the book that is most dated is the discussion of a specific hardware card and software designed for IBM PCs and ATs, and a specific dialect of Forth that can be used to program automata that will run on this card. Obviously this is no longer the mainstream approach to programming automata - even massively parallel systems programming has moved away from Forth. For me, I think of it as pseudo-code instead of a program example, and the book is still very very useful.

So on the whole, I would say this is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any automata enthusiast.

This book is the result of two workshop whose goals were to open up the dialog between researchers in visualization and data mining, two key areas involved in data exploration. Publication was delayed for many reasons and MK agreed to publish the workshop proceedings.

It was difficult to do provide a historical record (thus all the workshop papers) and at the same time elegant content for future readers. A balance was struck - additional tutorials provided, some organization, and edited papers. The result should be viewed in that context: a collection of papers, some of which are tutorial, some idealized positions, some seminal in nature, and some provocative. These are the works of creative and insighful individuals and I am pleased to see them disseminated.

As one of the authors of one of the papers, I have mixed feelings about this collection. I think there is some fine work included in the volume, which was the output of a series of workhops looking at the interesection of data mining and data visualization. But I think the publisher (which was changed from Springer to MK after a lengthy delay) and the editors made some mistakes in how the collection was put together. First of all, the book includes the abstracts that workshop participants submitted to gain access to the workhop. As another reviewer indicates, these abstracts are typically very short and often contain content that is included in the longer pieces. The abstracts should have been left out, or at least put into an appendix with an explanation. In addition, there should have been a more significant section providing an overview of the field and a discussion of the opportunities available to the combination of mining and visualization.

That being said, I think the book is a good addition to the field (ignoring the abstract chapters) and describes some interesting ideas by the leaders in the field. I don't think there is any book out there that tackles this subject matter adequately and hopefully this book will help push the state of the art a bit further.

Actually, I found the non-sanitized and sometimes redundant nature of the coverage to be refreshingly honest.

This is a book about a new field circling while getting a sense of direction. We very seldom get such an honest look into just how this sort of process happens. Instead, we get the bottom line version where everything obviously inevitably followed from what came before to the predestined conclusion -- in 20-20 hindsight.

5 Stars for this one

I found the contents of this book to be a very disturbing rehash of previously published and almost completely unackowledged material. It also is simplistic and does not provide realistic examples.
All that is new here is some cute cartoons and some medieval names for elements that prior authors have described in more details and with real world examples.
I recomend you do not buy this book and encourage such idea theft but rather read the original materials.

In his previous two books, Roger made the distinction between implementation technology (objects) and distribution technology (his definition of components). Briefly, Sessions says components are different from and should not be confused with objects. The distinction is important because of transactions. Components need to take advantage of COMWare (COM+) transaction management in order to be scalable. In this book he introduces interoperability technology (fortresses) as the next higher level above components.

Roger says interoperability and security are now the two biggest problems in the industry. His Fortress model is designed to solve the problem of disparate systems doing business together securely. It is appropriate for large-scale enterprise systems - "hundreds of programmers in autonomous groups".

The book presents a modeling language based on a new architectural philosophy. He sets out sound principles for designing systems, clearly explains pitfalls and complexities that abound, and breaks the problem into easily remembered, easily understood chunks. It is based on the "autonomous fiefdom" model developed by Pat Helland of Microsoft...

The Fortress Model

A Software Fortress is a collection of parts that work together as an integrated whole. The formal definition is: "... a conglomerate of software systems serving a common purpose and typically owned by a cohesive group of individuals. These software systems work together in a tight trust relationship to provide consistent and meaningful functionality to a hostile outside world." A Software Fortress is an entire system that contains components and can span several computers. An Enterprise will have different types of fortresses working as allies.

Every Fortress has a Wall to prevent communications from entering except through a Drawbridge. Every message coming in the Drawbridge is compared against a Treaty by a Guard who rejects it or approves it and forwards appropriate requests to Workers. Workers access the Data Strongbox to complete the requests. An Envoy takes the completed work and prepares it (according to a Treaty) for communication to another fortress.

Fortresses are all about trust boundaries, both technical and organizational. No fortress trusts any other fortress, but all the parts within a fortress trust each other. Since everything outside the fortress is potentially hostile, the Guard is a key player, and Treaties define legitimate communications. The Guard reforms every communication: nothing from the outside is ever passed directly to workers inside.

While all fortresses share many features (above), Sessions has identified unique characteristics of 6 different types of Fortresses. The Fortress types are: Presentation, Web Service, Legacy, Business Application, Service, and Treaty Management. You'll have to read the book for more information.

He concludes the book with chapters on design reviews, a case study, and "the part of tens" just like the "for dummies" books. The design review contains 8 pertinent questions to be asked and answered for overall project management, 7 for enterprise architects, and 9 for fortress architects. The case study is made-up, but it illustrates the steps of design, use of tools, and trade-offs that are made. The "tens" summarize by reiterating the basics of fortresses, the reasons to adopt fortress architecture and fortress design rules. The most interesting "tens" are the 10 most controversial ideas in Software Fortresses, and 10 criticisms of the software industry.

He wraps up by stating "This model has the potential to move us as far beyond three-tier/N-tier architectures as three-tier/N-tier architectures moved us beyond client-server systems."

Analysis

It all sounds great, and I have a lot of respect for Roger because of his deep knowledge of this problem space, but at this stage, the book is just hand waving. He doesn't reference actual success stories using his architecture. Because it is new, unproven concept not invented by IBM or Microsoft, there are no tools that implement his architecture.

I know Sessions writes for people seeking a conceptual understanding of issues, not for coders. Roger is very good at explaining the concepts - I know of no one better. Nonetheless, I would be happier if he had designed and coded an enterprise with working fortresses - as an example along the Rocky Lhotka line ISBN 1-861002-07-6 (alternate, alternate).

Roger concedes that the model hasn't been proven, but the problem remains: what is being done now doesn't work, and he says there is no other solution on offer. After a little exploration, I think Model Driven Architecture (MDA) from the OMB...may be his competition. MDA provides:
·Portability
·Cross-platform Interoperability
·Platform Independence
Domain Specificity
·Productivity
MDA makes portability and platform independence goals, which Roger says is a waste of time. MDA doesn't have security as a goal, which is one of Roger's key points. MDA is an industry standard, where Software Fortresses is just one guy's idea.

Conclusion

No matter how good an idea, I don't think Software Fortresses is going very far unless it gets adopted as a standard. Roger gets in his own way here. He is brilliant, but he doesn't seem to play well with others. His books have minimal "additional resources" appendices and no footnotes to other authors work. His acknowledgements to other authors are sketchy. When asked, he could make no recommendation on a book on programming Objects Vs Components, and referred me to his newsletter article....

Learn about the Software Fortress architecture and use what you can.

Deftly written by enterprise software architectures expert Roger Sessions, Software Fortresses: Modeling Enterprise Architectures is an indispensable instructional and reference guide for advanced software engineers to the software fortress model of forging large enterprise systems. In this model, enterprise architecture is viewed as self-contained, mutually suspicious fortresses that interact through carefully crafted treaty relationships. Straightforward text, charts, questions and answers, and a great deal more, enhance the value and utility of Software Fortresses, making it a solid "must-read" for anyone looking to study and assimilate this particular methodology.

I will also add that I emailed BOTH Ron Gilster AND the dummies press asking if any erratta was posted, and as of today, 2 months later, I have received NO REPLY from either party. This is most unfortunate considering that the book is well written, catchy, and makes a very dry subject a lot more interesting. So shame on the technical editors.

Best used as a starter or final prep but needs somthing more heavyweight for the exam.

Ron Gilster and Mike Glencross have come up with an easy to read book with a little humor spread throughout with that Dummies aplomb. I found myself reading quickly through this book. This is not as meaty as some of the other Server+ books, but it does touch on all the exam objectives. My suggestion would be to use this book in conjunction with one of the other thicker books such as the Server+ Bible for more in-depth look for certain topics. The RAID and SCSI chapters were good and I also enjoyed the chapter review questions. However, the included CD with the Dummies book has many identical questions as the Server+ Bible CD and this may be due to them being published by the Hungry Minds.

Hi. The book is very basic.

It has 200 pages, but many gray images(photocopied) and many spaces (maybe for notes); the explanations are very simple. I think that the help in program is better than the book.

This is a book good for teaching the fundamentals of Solid Edge V.7. I would suggest this book to anyone new to solids modeling.

I am presently enrolled in Industrial Design, and we have started using Solid Edge software. I found this book to be so basic and user friendly. It was exactly what I needed.

I buy this book about 3 years ago (2000).
My aim was to get a better understanding on statistical dsp.
I got the lecture on advanced dsp on my master degree. I must confess that for me this is not an easy subject to master. Therefore a clear and well explained book on this subject is a very important for me.
But I was dissapointed when I got this book!
Yes, it is broad of coverage, but the content is not focuss.
The connection between previous and next parts of discussion and chapters mostly does not show a clear link.
Yes, it is full of facts, but I need more than bulk of facts: THE WAY OF THINKING, why we do and why we don't do.
It didn't help me to master the subject.
For the reader who want an easy to read and clear in explaination as well as good reasoning and examples, I would suggest to go for another book such as Steven M Kay (Volume 1, Estimation Theory). For me this is a lot better investment of time and money!.
Thank you for reading my review.

I am trying to study from this book and, because there are some mistakes, I am interested where I could find the errata. I tried at McGraw-Hill without success. Any idea?

Thank you.

This book gives a brief overview of fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing and Stochastic methods, before graduating to the core topics, namely Signal Modeling and Parameter EstimationNon-parametric estimation, Optimal filter design and structurs, RLS, LMS and Adaptive Filters.

Though high on content, the topical organization of the book leaves a lot of room for improvement. A logical sequence of topics to be studied by an advanced level DSP student is recommended as follows - 5. Linear Signal Models, 9. Signal Modeling and Parametric Spectral Estimation, 6. Optimum Linear Filters, 7. Algorithms and Structures for Optimum Linear Filters, 10. Adaptive Filters, 8. Least Squares Filtering and Prediction, 11. Array Processing. You may have to keep skipping advanced topics towards the end of a chapter, only to come back later after having gone through related background material in other chapters. In this respect, this volume is indeed inconvenient.

However, the authors have more than made up for all its faults with the depth of content, and also the breadth. Assuming that this book is meant for an advanced reader, it is very much self contained, from the ground up, barring a few minor low-level details, which the authors have assumed prior knowledge of.

Chapters 11 and 12 essentially deal with very specialized applications for Radar Engineers and people dealing with esoteric math involving Signal Processing techniques - the case in point are the topics on Blind Deconvolution and Unsupervised Adaptive Filtering.

The authors have also provided some rudimentary background information on Holor algebra (matrix and vector algebra esp.)

I would recommend the reader to keep a more basic text on Mathematical methods for Signal Processing as a cross reference while using this book. A case in point is Mathematical Methods and Algorithms for Signal Processing, by Todd K. Moon and Wynn C. Sterling.