Books: A User's Report
Elizabeth Zinkann
This column contains a book review that doesn't involve
administration, programming, or design. However, it is an enjoyable
book, guaranteed to be on many Christmas wish lists, and written by
the Webmaster at Xerox PARC. I also reviewed a beginning UNIX book,
an extraordinary software testing guide, and included mini-reviews
on a Macintosh hardware book and a UNIX shell programming book.
Specifically, the books are: Do Fish Drink Water? Puzzling and
Improbable Questions and Answers by Bill McLain (William Morrow
and Company, Inc. ); UNIX by Experimentation by Timothy S.
Ramteke (Prentice Hall); Testing Computer Software, Second
Edition by Cem Kaner, Jack Falk, and Hung Quoc Nguyen (John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.); the Macworld Mac Upgrade and Repair Bible
by Todd Stauffer (IDG Books); and UNIX Shells by Example,
Second Edition by Ellie Quigley (Prentice Hall).
Do Fish Drink Water?
Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers
by Bill McLain
William Morrow and Company, Inc.
ISBN 0-688-16512-5
304 Pages
$22.00
http://www.williammorrow.com/
Every systems administrator expects some questions from users.
The queries usually range from the simple "When will the
system be up?" to the more complex "How does
sendmail work?" Most of them are predictable and computer
related. Webmasters typically receive more general questions,
comments, and feedback concerning links, Web site appearance, and
company specific inquiries. When Bill McLain, Webmaster at Xerox
PARC, began answering his email, he discovered questions covering
an unexpectedly diverse range of topics and interests.
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