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The Code Book remains a book good enough for another review, this time by the book-devouring stern. It's particularly interesting given the recent story that the code challenge it includes has been cracked. For another point of view, check out Jon Katz's review from a few months ago, nearly as enthusiastic. This book has already cost me several cups of coffee at BookPeople;), too!

The Code Book author Simon Singh pages 450 publisher Anchor Books rating 10/10 reviewer stern ISBN 0-385-49532-3 summary Engrossing history of code-making and code-breaking, with equal parts drama, biography, and tutorial.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Simon Singh's masterful The Code Book becomes clear at the end, when he provides seven coded messages. He starts with a simple substitution cypher and ends with what appears to be a form of public key encyrption. After only 350 pages, he has made codebreaking so exciting, so worthy an endeaver, and has explained the mechanics of the process so well, that you can't help but pick up a pencil and set to work.

When compared to other mass-market books on cryptography, Singh goes into much more detail on the contruction of cyphers, and the mathematics behind them. This makes the power and momentum of his writing a bit of a surprise. However, his thrill at the cracking of each code, and his understanding of the world-altering effects of each one, infect the reader.

The book contains everything you would expect -- Vigniere cyphers, the cracking of Enigma, a brief history of public key encryption. It also includes the Beale Treasure (crack a code, and there may still be millions in gold left to find), the Zimmerman telegram (which, when decoded by the British in 1917, drove the United States to declare war on Germany), and other stories of varying levels of familiarity. Most unusual, Singh includes the story of the decoding of Linear B and Egyptian Hieroglyphics. In other books, these chapters might seem very much out of place, as neither language was developed as a tool to keep things secret, and they are therefore distinctly out of place when next to commercial and military cyphers. That said, Singh's book is more about the thrill of decypherment and the intellect of code-breakers. Since the skills necessary to decode these languages closely resemble those of code-breakers, and since the triumph of victory is very much the same, they fit here.

What's Bad?

Codes and cyphers of importance in Britain and the United States dominate the book. There is almost no discussion of codes or codebreaking elsewhere. Perhaps Singh will address them in a later book. Also, for some, very sophisticated readers, much of the math will be overly simplistic. For some, very slow readers, later chapters will be difficult to follow. However, most people will find this book to be a treasure -- worth reading, and worth sharing with others.

What's Good?

From the perspective of the early 21st century, the weaknesses of old codes are obvious. As Singh walks us through the Cipher of Mary Queen of Scots, substitution codes and cyphers of increasing sophistication, the Vigniere cipher, we cover thousands of years worth of the science of secret writing. Today, computers bring us such tremendously powerful tools for cracking these codes, that you want to put a hand over your eyes and shake your head in embarassment for the governments, businesses, and hobbyists who should have known better. When Singh shows us the first Arabic document on the use of frequency analysis to crack substitution cyphers, I felt a pride similar to that I feel when I contemplate powered flight. As Singh's story progresses, it becomes clear that the advance of code-making, just like the advance in agriculture or the advance of transportation, carries within it the evolution of global civilizations. It includes technology, politics, trade, and the the demand for civil liberties (or privacy, which often amounts to the same thing).

Singh considers future technologies as well, especially quantum computing and its implications for modern, prime-number based encryption systems. He ends with quantum cryptography, perhaps the next paradigm in secrecy. If Singh is right, there is no principal in physics as we now understand it which will allow an untrusted party to decode messages encrypted with quantum cryptography.

He has also put up $15,000 for whoever can read the secret messages at the back of the book. The first few are easy, but they quickly get difficult. If the last few are what I think they are, a distributed computing network will be needed to crack them. Anybody volunteering to organize it?

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp. You can purchase this book at ThinkGeek.

Reader stern contributed this review of Sizing Up a Start-Up: Decoding the New Frontier of Career Opportunities, and it could just save you a few seconds worth of the exorbitant IPO salary you hope starts flowing soon. Or thought of another way, it could save you several days worth if you're working on campus through the student employment office.

Sizing Up a Startup author Daniel Rippy, Matt Kursh pages 275 publisher Perseus Books rating (2,7)/10 reviewer stern ISBN 073820353X summary How to tell if that dotcom is a dog; may be interesting and useful to the completely uninitiated -- otherwise, skim at the bookstore (hence the 2/7 rating, for experts and novices respectively.).

Michael Wolff founded Wolff New Media; it cratered; he wrote Burn Rate. Jerry Kaplan founded Go Corp.; it cratered; he wrote Startup. Adam Osborne founded Osborne Computer Company; it cratered; he wrote Hypergrowth. You know the old story: "If you can, do. If you crater, write a book."

You can understand their motivation. The book gives you the chance to make a few bucks off a failed venture, occupies some time while your emotions cool, and gives you a chance to blame the failure on somebody else. I have to guess that some rudimentary form of this effect drove Daniel Rippy to write Sizing Up a Start-Up. He tells us only a little about his own professional background, except that he was a product manager for a "software start-up" in Seattle that burned through $25 million in investor cash and "had little to show for it."

Rippy's employer seems to have fallen apart with less drama than the almost tectonic failures engineered by Osborne, Kaplan and friends, and his book is somewhat more modest as well. He attempts to explain the rudiments of evaluating startups for others who might want to work in one but who lack the ability to identify a good one. He also provides basic advice on stock options, startup lifestyles, and other topics of interest to anybody contemplating joining an early-stage company.

Though Rippy's advice applies to any young company, he concentrates on technology start-ups, especially software and dotcom. As such, he talks a lot more about identifying a good venture capitalist (which a nice dotcom will have), as opposed to measuring positive net margins (which no dotcom has). High tech startups also provide most of his examples and quotes. Rippy quotes executives of a number of technology companies on topics ranging from sizing up a management team to evaluating your own tolerance for risk.

Most of his advice is quite general. He explains that earlier stage companies are riskier, and that you'll probably work long hours. In a few places, he becomes quite specific, for example, analyzing the strengths of different venture capitalists. He missed a trick, I think, in failing to discuss some of the specific data most valuable to people who have adopted a start-up lifestyle. Where's the table of startup filled neighborhoods in New York City, San Francisco, and Austin, cross referenced by nearby all-night restaurants and gyms?

What's Good?

The best things in this book are also the most basic and practical. If you don't know how to value a stock option, you should figure it out before starting at a dotcom. If your potential employer hasn't actually shipped a product yet, you should probably remember to ask how many months of cash they have in the bank. Of course, these topics are more obvious to most people now than they were in the giddy days before April's collapse in NASDAQ.

The quotes from other people were generally insightful, though Rippy's stable of experts is smaller than it looks at first. He returns to the same people over and over again for more quotes.

What's Silly?

Rippy presents a spreadsheet for calculating your "tolerance for career risk". It's a bit like a spreadsheet designed to determine, in strict mathematical terms, precisely how much prettier you think Boston is than Springfield. The question is fuzzy; the inputs are fuzzy; the output is fuzzy; don't pretend it's physics.

Worst Bad?

His half-baked theories of organizational evolution and some of the space-filling material. Rippy spends chapters on the difference between "organizational infancy" and "adolescence," etc. The filler is quite obvious, and sometimes laughable. To bulk out what is essentially a brief comendium of common sense, he includes lines like "Your base salary must be at some acceptable level because you need to cover your living expenses on a day-to-day basis." (Really!?!? Oh no!)

Is it for you?

Are you thinking about maybe joining a startup? Do you know the difference between qualified and nonqualified stock options? If not, buy the book.

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp. You can purchase this book at FatBrain.

Stern reviewed one of the most gimme books of the year: O'Reilly's User Friendly. The whole gang is gathered together in a dead tree version, which means you can finally take UF where ever you want to be. User Friendly author J.D. "Illiad" Frazer pages 126 publisher O'Reilly & Associates, 1999 rating 9/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 1565926730 summary "Launch marketing drones!". Linux comics come of age

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp.
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

In the 1950s, Charles Schultz taught the world that cartoon art doesn't matter, characters do. So who are the characters of User Friendly, the greatest open-source-savvy comic strip?

Pitr and Mark: the technicians at Columbia Internet Greg: the Columbia Internet tech support guy Miranda: patronized sysadmin and tech support woman Stef: the marketing guy with slow reflexes and a cute tush Dust Puppy: a fuzzy thing which programs well and plays a mean game of quake Crud Puppy: his evil twin Erwin: the AI

Together, they have the sorts of adventures you would expect: supporting stupid clients, fighting evil corporate acquisitions, and thwarting Windows NT installations. The also cross into adventures you might not expect, including SWAT attacks on Microsoft headquarters. The collection wisely ends with User Friendly's legendary satire of the original Star Wars movie.

The naive might compare User Friendly to Dilbert, since they're both set in technology industry offices, but it's really more like Doonesbury. Illiad relies on big talking coke cans the same way Gary Trudeau brings in "Mr. Butts," the big talking cigarette. Where Trudeau has cameo appearances by Donald Trump, Richard Stallman and Eric S. Raymond pop into User Friendly. Most importantly, both cartoons are always topical. Readers of User Friendly do well to keep up with their technology and share certain technical opinions if they want to get the jokes. Among these opinions, that

• Microsoft sucks, and
• Linux is good

The cartoon assumes certain other shared beliefs as well,

• Marketing people are not particularly bright
• People who smile too much should not be trusted
• Quake is good
• Programmers work best when eating junk food and drinking caffeinated beverages

Anybody reading this review at Slashdot is probably well equipped to enjoy User Friendly. In fact, most people reading this review have probably already enjoyed the cartoon, since it is available for free over the web.

What's Bad?

Illiad from time to time pulls out a very old joke, such as the customer who can't find his power switch. The graphics are crude, but frankly that's part of the strip's charm.

What's Good?

The strip is very, very funny, especially when Illiad allows himself to daydream and the storylines become more bizarre. Follow Erwin the AI, as he suffers the successive indignities of being ported to Windows NT, then over to an iMac and a Palm III. Picture Pitr furtively buying "Evil Geniuses for Dummies." The Star Wars satire is brilliant. However strange the story grows (a fuzzball in a hockey mask attacking the marketing staff with a knife?) it never becomes unmoored, and by reading it, you will always feel like a member of the open source club.

So What's In It For Me?

Unless you have a flat panel display in every room and the bathroom, there's probably space in your life for a User Friendly collection. Leave it on the coffee table to impress your guests and to signal your membership in the Open-Source-erati. Leave it in the bathroom and you'll never lack for toilet paper.

Purchase this book at fatbrain.

Stern reviewed one of the most gimme books of the year: O'Reilly's User Friendly. The whole gang is gathered together in a dead tree version, which means you can finally take UF where ever you want to be. User Friendly author J.D. "Illiad" Frazer pages 126 publisher O'Reilly & Associates, 1999 rating 9/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 1565926730 summary "Launch marketing drones!". Linux comics come of age

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp.
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

In the 1950s, Charles Schultz taught the world that cartoon art doesn't matter, characters do. So who are the characters of User Friendly, the greatest open-source-savvy comic strip?

Pitr and Mark: the technicians at Columbia Internet Greg: the Columbia Internet tech support guy Miranda: patronized sysadmin and tech support woman Stef: the marketing guy with slow reflexes and a cute tush Dust Puppy: a fuzzy thing which programs well and plays a mean game of quake Crud Puppy: his evil twin Erwin: the AI

Together, they have the sorts of adventures you would expect: supporting stupid clients, fighting evil corporate acquisitions, and thwarting Windows NT installations. The also cross into adventures you might not expect, including SWAT attacks on Microsoft headquarters. The collection wisely ends with User Friendly's legendary satire of the original Star Wars movie.

The naive might compare User Friendly to Dilbert, since they're both set in technology industry offices, but it's really more like Doonesbury. Illiad relies on big talking coke cans the same way Gary Trudeau brings in "Mr. Butts," the big talking cigarette. Where Trudeau has cameo appearances by Donald Trump, Richard Stallman and Eric S. Raymond pop into User Friendly. Most importantly, both cartoons are always topical. Readers of User Friendly do well to keep up with their technology and share certain technical opinions if they want to get the jokes. Among these opinions, that

• Microsoft sucks, and
• Linux is good

The cartoon assumes certain other shared beliefs as well,

• Marketing people are not particularly bright
• People who smile too much should not be trusted
• Quake is good
• Programmers work best when eating junk food and drinking caffeinated beverages

Anybody reading this review at Slashdot is probably well equipped to enjoy User Friendly. In fact, most people reading this review have probably already enjoyed the cartoon, since it is available for free over the web.

What's Bad?

Illiad from time to time pulls out a very old joke, such as the customer who can't find his power switch. The graphics are crude, but frankly that's part of the strip's charm.

What's Good?

The strip is very, very funny, especially when Illiad allows himself to daydream and the storylines become more bizarre. Follow Erwin the AI, as he suffers the successive indignities of being ported to Windows NT, then over to an iMac and a Palm III. Picture Pitr furtively buying "Evil Geniuses for Dummies." The Star Wars satire is brilliant. However strange the story grows (a fuzzball in a hockey mask attacking the marketing staff with a knife?) it never becomes unmoored, and by reading it, you will always feel like a member of the open source club.

So What's In It For Me?

Unless you have a flat panel display in every room and the bathroom, there's probably space in your life for a User Friendly collection. Leave it on the coffee table to impress your guests and to signal your membership in the Open-Source-erati. Leave it in the bathroom and you'll never lack for toilet paper.

Purchase this book at fatbrain.

Stern reviewed one of the most gimme books of the year: O'Reilly's User Friendly. The whole gang is gathered together in a dead tree version, which means you can finally take UF where ever you want to be. User Friendly author J.D. "Illiad" Frazer pages 126 publisher O'Reilly & Associates, 1999 rating 9/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 1565926730 summary "Launch marketing drones!". Linux comics come of age

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp.
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

In the 1950s, Charles Schultz taught the world that cartoon art doesn't matter, characters do. So who are the characters of User Friendly, the greatest open-source-savvy comic strip?

Pitr and Mark: the technicians at Columbia Internet Greg: the Columbia Internet tech support guy Miranda: patronized sysadmin and tech support woman Stef: the marketing guy with slow reflexes and a cute tush Dust Puppy: a fuzzy thing which programs well and plays a mean game of quake Crud Puppy: his evil twin Erwin: the AI

Together, they have the sorts of adventures you would expect: supporting stupid clients, fighting evil corporate acquisitions, and thwarting Windows NT installations. The also cross into adventures you might not expect, including SWAT attacks on Microsoft headquarters. The collection wisely ends with User Friendly's legendary satire of the original Star Wars movie.

The naive might compare User Friendly to Dilbert, since they're both set in technology industry offices, but it's really more like Doonesbury. Illiad relies on big talking coke cans the same way Gary Trudeau brings in "Mr. Butts," the big talking cigarette. Where Trudeau has cameo appearances by Donald Trump, Richard Stallman and Eric S. Raymond pop into User Friendly. Most importantly, both cartoons are always topical. Readers of User Friendly do well to keep up with their technology and share certain technical opinions if they want to get the jokes. Among these opinions, that

• Microsoft sucks, and
• Linux is good

The cartoon assumes certain other shared beliefs as well,

• Marketing people are not particularly bright
• People who smile too much should not be trusted
• Quake is good
• Programmers work best when eating junk food and drinking caffeinated beverages

Anybody reading this review at Slashdot is probably well equipped to enjoy User Friendly. In fact, most people reading this review have probably already enjoyed the cartoon, since it is available for free over the web.

What's Bad?

Illiad from time to time pulls out a very old joke, such as the customer who can't find his power switch. The graphics are crude, but frankly that's part of the strip's charm.

What's Good?

The strip is very, very funny, especially when Illiad allows himself to daydream and the storylines become more bizarre. Follow Erwin the AI, as he suffers the successive indignities of being ported to Windows NT, then over to an iMac and a Palm III. Picture Pitr furtively buying "Evil Geniuses for Dummies." The Star Wars satire is brilliant. However strange the story grows (a fuzzball in a hockey mask attacking the marketing staff with a knife?) it never becomes unmoored, and by reading it, you will always feel like a member of the open source club.

So What's In It For Me?

Unless you have a flat panel display in every room and the bathroom, there's probably space in your life for a User Friendly collection. Leave it on the coffee table to impress your guests and to signal your membership in the Open-Source-erati. Leave it in the bathroom and you'll never lack for toilet paper.

Purchase this book at fatbrain.

Stern reviewed one of the most gimme books of the year: O'Reilly's User Friendly. The whole gang is gathered together in a dead tree version, which means you can finally take UF where ever you want to be. User Friendly author J.D. "Illiad" Frazer pages 126 publisher O'Reilly & Associates, 1999 rating 9/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 1565926730 summary "Launch marketing drones!". Linux comics come of age

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp.
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

In the 1950s, Charles Schultz taught the world that cartoon art doesn't matter, characters do. So who are the characters of User Friendly, the greatest open-source-savvy comic strip?

Pitr and Mark: the technicians at Columbia Internet Greg: the Columbia Internet tech support guy Miranda: patronized sysadmin and tech support woman Stef: the marketing guy with slow reflexes and a cute tush Dust Puppy: a fuzzy thing which programs well and plays a mean game of quake Crud Puppy: his evil twin Erwin: the AI

Together, they have the sorts of adventures you would expect: supporting stupid clients, fighting evil corporate acquisitions, and thwarting Windows NT installations. The also cross into adventures you might not expect, including SWAT attacks on Microsoft headquarters. The collection wisely ends with User Friendly's legendary satire of the original Star Wars movie.

The naive might compare User Friendly to Dilbert, since they're both set in technology industry offices, but it's really more like Doonesbury. Illiad relies on big talking coke cans the same way Gary Trudeau brings in "Mr. Butts," the big talking cigarette. Where Trudeau has cameo appearances by Donald Trump, Richard Stallman and Eric S. Raymond pop into User Friendly. Most importantly, both cartoons are always topical. Readers of User Friendly do well to keep up with their technology and share certain technical opinions if they want to get the jokes. Among these opinions, that

• Microsoft sucks, and
• Linux is good

The cartoon assumes certain other shared beliefs as well,

• Marketing people are not particularly bright
• People who smile too much should not be trusted
• Quake is good
• Programmers work best when eating junk food and drinking caffeinated beverages

Anybody reading this review at Slashdot is probably well equipped to enjoy User Friendly. In fact, most people reading this review have probably already enjoyed the cartoon, since it is available for free over the web.

What's Bad?

Illiad from time to time pulls out a very old joke, such as the customer who can't find his power switch. The graphics are crude, but frankly that's part of the strip's charm.

What's Good?

The strip is very, very funny, especially when Illiad allows himself to daydream and the storylines become more bizarre. Follow Erwin the AI, as he suffers the successive indignities of being ported to Windows NT, then over to an iMac and a Palm III. Picture Pitr furtively buying "Evil Geniuses for Dummies." The Star Wars satire is brilliant. However strange the story grows (a fuzzball in a hockey mask attacking the marketing staff with a knife?) it never becomes unmoored, and by reading it, you will always feel like a member of the open source club.

So What's In It For Me?

Unless you have a flat panel display in every room and the bathroom, there's probably space in your life for a User Friendly collection. Leave it on the coffee table to impress your guests and to signal your membership in the Open-Source-erati. Leave it in the bathroom and you'll never lack for toilet paper.

Purchase this book at fatbrain.

Stern has returned to us with a review of Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson's book e-Business: Roadmap for Success. The book purports to help map the way your business can be succesful using technology. Read more to find out if they actually can explain it. e-Business: Roadmap for Success author Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson pages 378 publisher Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999 rating 6/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 0201604809 summary Make your big company nimble with technology.

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp..
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

"e-Business" is one of those terms, like "campaign finance reform", that seems to have a different meaning every time you hear it. For some, Amazon.com is the archetype e-Business, representing a new breed on online commerce. Others would point to Yahoo, which ships nothing but bits. Kalakota and Robinson do not address either of these crowds; their challenge is the transformation of large existing organizations with the introduction of superior technology in decision-making, sales, procurement, and other aspects of their businesses.

Both authors are consultants to large companies looking to improve their use of technology. In this book, Kalakota and Robinson's technique is to define the terms of art in each area, explain the advantages to installing a modern computerized solution, mention some of the leading providers, and provide examples of firms which have successfully implemented such a system. They close each chapter with a "memo to the CEO" which summarizes the material discussed and might serve as a template for documents to be created by the reader.

The presumed audience for the book seems to be lower- or middle- management at large organizations, people who have (or want to have) responsibility for technology plans, and who need to catch up with the whirlwind of acronyms which populate the pages of Infoworld. This book is for those who have heard the acronym ERP, aren't sure what it means, but suspect that their jobs depend on it. It would do equally well for readers responsible for technology at a companies with legacy systems, who want to justify increases in their budgets by arguing that the competition has adopted superior software and practices.

These practises include the obvious chapters on the use of customer relationship management software to acquire new customers and increase the value of existing customers, the use supply chain management software to coordinate the delivery of the money and factors necessary to make products. They also discuss less obvious, but perhaps even more important issues. For example, they cover the Cluetrain-like need to build products and services in response to customer demand. They discuss e-Business employee retention policy, and suggest that employees should get paid more if they perform better. That's not a bad idea at any business.

The use of case studies generally strengthens the book. One of their most powerful techniques is to contrast successful companies with unsuccessful ones, and to draw out the differences between them. Why is it that you can order a minutely customized computer online, but can't do the same with a Xerox copier? However, some of the examples do seem trite (another puffy biography of Michael Dell adds little to my life).

What's Bad?

Given the book's corporate focus and the credentials of its authors, it was surprisingly sloppy in its details. I found several errors or typos (SAP's R/1 released in 1993? Please) and some mixed metaphors (such as the reference to the "Lemmings in the Pied Piper story").

The book is not for people who want to do something new or innovative. It drives the reader to adopt the solutions which others in the industry have already adopted, both in practices and often in particular products. To a typical Slashdot reader, who probably identifies with the underdog, this may grow bothersome. The authors definitely espouse a "me too" strategy.

The "Memo to the CEO" section at the end of each chapter grew tiresome. It was a cute idea but they overused it.

Alexander Pope once said "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Many people will read a book and think this makes them into experts. God help anybody whose boss reads this thing and decides to run with it. It does not reach anywhere near the depth necessary to allow you to oversee the implementation of the systems it discusses.

What's Good?

To the credit of its authors, "e-Business: Roadmap for Success" provides a balanced view, talks about failed implementations as well as successes, and does not try to sell technology as a "magic bullet."

Ultimately, I have to judge any book of this type on the basis of whether or not I learn anything from it. In this case, I did. It's a somewhat voyeuristic understanding, since "e-Business" teaches of practices at companies both different from and larger than my own. However, if my company should grow by a couple orders of magnitude, having read this book will leave me better prepared to implement systems for continued success.

So What's In It For Me?

A useful review of the best e-Business techniques employed at the end of the century by large companies. The right reader can use this book to design proposals that might lead to improved efficiency, quality, and customer relations.

You can accquire this book at Amazon.

Table of Contents

1. From e-Commerce to e-Business
2. e-Business Trend Spotting
3. Think e-Business Design, not Just Technology
4. Constructing the e-Business Architecture
5. Customer Relationship Management: Integrating Processes to Build Relationships
6. Selling Chain Management: Transforming Sales into Interactive Order Acquisition
7. Enterprise Resource Planning: The e-Business Backbone
8. Supply-Chain Management: Interenterprise Fusion
9. E-Procurement: The Next Wave of Cost Reduction
10. Knowledge-Tone Applications: The Next Generation of Decision Support Systems
11. Developing the e-Business Design
12. Translating the e-Busines Strategy into Action

Stern has returned to us with a review of Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson's book e-Business: Roadmap for Success. The book purports to help map the way your business can be succesful using technology. Read more to find out if they actually can explain it. e-Business: Roadmap for Success author Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson pages 378 publisher Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999 rating 6/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 0201604809 summary Make your big company nimble with technology.

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp..
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

"e-Business" is one of those terms, like "campaign finance reform", that seems to have a different meaning every time you hear it. For some, Amazon.com is the archetype e-Business, representing a new breed on online commerce. Others would point to Yahoo, which ships nothing but bits. Kalakota and Robinson do not address either of these crowds; their challenge is the transformation of large existing organizations with the introduction of superior technology in decision-making, sales, procurement, and other aspects of their businesses.

Both authors are consultants to large companies looking to improve their use of technology. In this book, Kalakota and Robinson's technique is to define the terms of art in each area, explain the advantages to installing a modern computerized solution, mention some of the leading providers, and provide examples of firms which have successfully implemented such a system. They close each chapter with a "memo to the CEO" which summarizes the material discussed and might serve as a template for documents to be created by the reader.

The presumed audience for the book seems to be lower- or middle- management at large organizations, people who have (or want to have) responsibility for technology plans, and who need to catch up with the whirlwind of acronyms which populate the pages of Infoworld. This book is for those who have heard the acronym ERP, aren't sure what it means, but suspect that their jobs depend on it. It would do equally well for readers responsible for technology at a companies with legacy systems, who want to justify increases in their budgets by arguing that the competition has adopted superior software and practices.

These practises include the obvious chapters on the use of customer relationship management software to acquire new customers and increase the value of existing customers, the use supply chain management software to coordinate the delivery of the money and factors necessary to make products. They also discuss less obvious, but perhaps even more important issues. For example, they cover the Cluetrain-like need to build products and services in response to customer demand. They discuss e-Business employee retention policy, and suggest that employees should get paid more if they perform better. That's not a bad idea at any business.

The use of case studies generally strengthens the book. One of their most powerful techniques is to contrast successful companies with unsuccessful ones, and to draw out the differences between them. Why is it that you can order a minutely customized computer online, but can't do the same with a Xerox copier? However, some of the examples do seem trite (another puffy biography of Michael Dell adds little to my life).

What's Bad?

Given the book's corporate focus and the credentials of its authors, it was surprisingly sloppy in its details. I found several errors or typos (SAP's R/1 released in 1993? Please) and some mixed metaphors (such as the reference to the "Lemmings in the Pied Piper story").

The book is not for people who want to do something new or innovative. It drives the reader to adopt the solutions which others in the industry have already adopted, both in practices and often in particular products. To a typical Slashdot reader, who probably identifies with the underdog, this may grow bothersome. The authors definitely espouse a "me too" strategy.

The "Memo to the CEO" section at the end of each chapter grew tiresome. It was a cute idea but they overused it.

Alexander Pope once said "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Many people will read a book and think this makes them into experts. God help anybody whose boss reads this thing and decides to run with it. It does not reach anywhere near the depth necessary to allow you to oversee the implementation of the systems it discusses.

What's Good?

To the credit of its authors, "e-Business: Roadmap for Success" provides a balanced view, talks about failed implementations as well as successes, and does not try to sell technology as a "magic bullet."

Ultimately, I have to judge any book of this type on the basis of whether or not I learn anything from it. In this case, I did. It's a somewhat voyeuristic understanding, since "e-Business" teaches of practices at companies both different from and larger than my own. However, if my company should grow by a couple orders of magnitude, having read this book will leave me better prepared to implement systems for continued success.

So What's In It For Me?

A useful review of the best e-Business techniques employed at the end of the century by large companies. The right reader can use this book to design proposals that might lead to improved efficiency, quality, and customer relations.

You can accquire this book at Amazon.

Table of Contents

1. From e-Commerce to e-Business
2. e-Business Trend Spotting
3. Think e-Business Design, not Just Technology
4. Constructing the e-Business Architecture
5. Customer Relationship Management: Integrating Processes to Build Relationships
6. Selling Chain Management: Transforming Sales into Interactive Order Acquisition
7. Enterprise Resource Planning: The e-Business Backbone
8. Supply-Chain Management: Interenterprise Fusion
9. E-Procurement: The Next Wave of Cost Reduction
10. Knowledge-Tone Applications: The Next Generation of Decision Support Systems
11. Developing the e-Business Design
12. Translating the e-Busines Strategy into Action

Stern has returned to us with a review of Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson's book e-Business: Roadmap for Success. The book purports to help map the way your business can be succesful using technology. Read more to find out if they actually can explain it. e-Business: Roadmap for Success author Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson pages 378 publisher Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999 rating 6/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 0201604809 summary Make your big company nimble with technology.

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp..
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

"e-Business" is one of those terms, like "campaign finance reform", that seems to have a different meaning every time you hear it. For some, Amazon.com is the archetype e-Business, representing a new breed on online commerce. Others would point to Yahoo, which ships nothing but bits. Kalakota and Robinson do not address either of these crowds; their challenge is the transformation of large existing organizations with the introduction of superior technology in decision-making, sales, procurement, and other aspects of their businesses.

Both authors are consultants to large companies looking to improve their use of technology. In this book, Kalakota and Robinson's technique is to define the terms of art in each area, explain the advantages to installing a modern computerized solution, mention some of the leading providers, and provide examples of firms which have successfully implemented such a system. They close each chapter with a "memo to the CEO" which summarizes the material discussed and might serve as a template for documents to be created by the reader.

The presumed audience for the book seems to be lower- or middle- management at large organizations, people who have (or want to have) responsibility for technology plans, and who need to catch up with the whirlwind of acronyms which populate the pages of Infoworld. This book is for those who have heard the acronym ERP, aren't sure what it means, but suspect that their jobs depend on it. It would do equally well for readers responsible for technology at a companies with legacy systems, who want to justify increases in their budgets by arguing that the competition has adopted superior software and practices.

These practises include the obvious chapters on the use of customer relationship management software to acquire new customers and increase the value of existing customers, the use supply chain management software to coordinate the delivery of the money and factors necessary to make products. They also discuss less obvious, but perhaps even more important issues. For example, they cover the Cluetrain-like need to build products and services in response to customer demand. They discuss e-Business employee retention policy, and suggest that employees should get paid more if they perform better. That's not a bad idea at any business.

The use of case studies generally strengthens the book. One of their most powerful techniques is to contrast successful companies with unsuccessful ones, and to draw out the differences between them. Why is it that you can order a minutely customized computer online, but can't do the same with a Xerox copier? However, some of the examples do seem trite (another puffy biography of Michael Dell adds little to my life).

What's Bad?

Given the book's corporate focus and the credentials of its authors, it was surprisingly sloppy in its details. I found several errors or typos (SAP's R/1 released in 1993? Please) and some mixed metaphors (such as the reference to the "Lemmings in the Pied Piper story").

The book is not for people who want to do something new or innovative. It drives the reader to adopt the solutions which others in the industry have already adopted, both in practices and often in particular products. To a typical Slashdot reader, who probably identifies with the underdog, this may grow bothersome. The authors definitely espouse a "me too" strategy.

The "Memo to the CEO" section at the end of each chapter grew tiresome. It was a cute idea but they overused it.

Alexander Pope once said "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Many people will read a book and think this makes them into experts. God help anybody whose boss reads this thing and decides to run with it. It does not reach anywhere near the depth necessary to allow you to oversee the implementation of the systems it discusses.

What's Good?

To the credit of its authors, "e-Business: Roadmap for Success" provides a balanced view, talks about failed implementations as well as successes, and does not try to sell technology as a "magic bullet."

Ultimately, I have to judge any book of this type on the basis of whether or not I learn anything from it. In this case, I did. It's a somewhat voyeuristic understanding, since "e-Business" teaches of practices at companies both different from and larger than my own. However, if my company should grow by a couple orders of magnitude, having read this book will leave me better prepared to implement systems for continued success.

So What's In It For Me?

A useful review of the best e-Business techniques employed at the end of the century by large companies. The right reader can use this book to design proposals that might lead to improved efficiency, quality, and customer relations.

You can accquire this book at Amazon.

Table of Contents

1. From e-Commerce to e-Business
2. e-Business Trend Spotting
3. Think e-Business Design, not Just Technology
4. Constructing the e-Business Architecture
5. Customer Relationship Management: Integrating Processes to Build Relationships
6. Selling Chain Management: Transforming Sales into Interactive Order Acquisition
7. Enterprise Resource Planning: The e-Business Backbone
8. Supply-Chain Management: Interenterprise Fusion
9. E-Procurement: The Next Wave of Cost Reduction
10. Knowledge-Tone Applications: The Next Generation of Decision Support Systems
11. Developing the e-Business Design
12. Translating the e-Busines Strategy into Action

Stern has returned to us with a review of Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson's book e-Business: Roadmap for Success. The book purports to help map the way your business can be succesful using technology. Read more to find out if they actually can explain it. e-Business: Roadmap for Success author Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson pages 378 publisher Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999 rating 6/10 reviewer Stern ISBN 0201604809 summary Make your big company nimble with technology.

Stern is the president of Information Markets Corp..
Register; answer questions; get paid.

The Scenario

"e-Business" is one of those terms, like "campaign finance reform", that seems to have a different meaning every time you hear it. For some, Amazon.com is the archetype e-Business, representing a new breed on online commerce. Others would point to Yahoo, which ships nothing but bits. Kalakota and Robinson do not address either of these crowds; their challenge is the transformation of large existing organizations with the introduction of superior technology in decision-making, sales, procurement, and other aspects of their businesses.

Both authors are consultants to large companies looking to improve their use of technology. In this book, Kalakota and Robinson's technique is to define the terms of art in each area, explain the advantages to installing a modern computerized solution, mention some of the leading providers, and provide examples of firms which have successfully implemented such a system. They close each chapter with a "memo to the CEO" which summarizes the material discussed and might serve as a template for documents to be created by the reader.

The presumed audience for the book seems to be lower- or middle- management at large organizations, people who have (or want to have) responsibility for technology plans, and who need to catch up with the whirlwind of acronyms which populate the pages of Infoworld. This book is for those who have heard the acronym ERP, aren't sure what it means, but suspect that their jobs depend on it. It would do equally well for readers responsible for technology at a companies with legacy systems, who want to justify increases in their budgets by arguing that the competition has adopted superior software and practices.

These practises include the obvious chapters on the use of customer relationship management software to acquire new customers and increase the value of existing customers, the use supply chain management software to coordinate the delivery of the money and factors necessary to make products. They also discuss less obvious, but perhaps even more important issues. For example, they cover the Cluetrain-like need to build products and services in response to customer demand. They discuss e-Business employee retention policy, and suggest that employees should get paid more if they perform better. That's not a bad idea at any business.

The use of case studies generally strengthens the book. One of their most powerful techniques is to contrast successful companies with unsuccessful ones, and to draw out the differences between them. Why is it that you can order a minutely customized computer online, but can't do the same with a Xerox copier? However, some of the examples do seem trite (another puffy biography of Michael Dell adds little to my life).

What's Bad?

Given the book's corporate focus and the credentials of its authors, it was surprisingly sloppy in its details. I found several errors or typos (SAP's R/1 released in 1993? Please) and some mixed metaphors (such as the reference to the "Lemmings in the Pied Piper story").

The book is not for people who want to do something new or innovative. It drives the reader to adopt the solutions which others in the industry have already adopted, both in practices and often in particular products. To a typical Slashdot reader, who probably identifies with the underdog, this may grow bothersome. The authors definitely espouse a "me too" strategy.

The "Memo to the CEO" section at the end of each chapter grew tiresome. It was a cute idea but they overused it.

Alexander Pope once said "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Many people will read a book and think this makes them into experts. God help anybody whose boss reads this thing and decides to run with it. It does not reach anywhere near the depth necessary to allow you to oversee the implementation of the systems it discusses.

What's Good?

To the credit of its authors, "e-Business: Roadmap for Success" provides a balanced view, talks about failed implementations as well as successes, and does not try to sell technology as a "magic bullet."

Ultimately, I have to judge any book of this type on the basis of whether or not I learn anything from it. In this case, I did. It's a somewhat voyeuristic understanding, since "e-Business" teaches of practices at companies both different from and larger than my own. However, if my company should grow by a couple orders of magnitude, having read this book will leave me better prepared to implement systems for continued success.

So What's In It For Me?

A useful review of the best e-Business techniques employed at the end of the century by large companies. The right reader can use this book to design proposals that might lead to improved efficiency, quality, and customer relations.

You can accquire this book at Amazon.

Table of Contents

1. From e-Commerce to e-Business
2. e-Business Trend Spotting
3. Think e-Business Design, not Just Technology
4. Constructing the e-Business Architecture
5. Customer Relationship Management: Integrating Processes to Build Relationships
6. Selling Chain Management: Transforming Sales into Interactive Order Acquisition
7. Enterprise Resource Planning: The e-Business Backbone
8. Supply-Chain Management: Interenterprise Fusion
9. E-Procurement: The Next Wave of Cost Reduction
10. Knowledge-Tone Applications: The Next Generation of Decision Support Systems
11. Developing the e-Business Design
12. Translating the e-Busines Strategy into Action

I've been playing with Infomarco, a cool site which lets you play around with infodollars to buy and sell information. Eventually, they will be using real money, but one of the cooler features is the ability to put answers under the GPL. Questions can be from computer-related to sports. However, my question is - Do you folks think this is the future? Is this the way we will do information exchange?