Your Old Wiring

Book Description

*Written by a master electrician this book shows homeowners and do-it-yourselfers how to go behind the walls of their old homes and correct messy, outdated wiring

*Packed with over 250 photos and illustrations, 10 common wiring projects (like installing ceiling fans) and before and after photographs

*The only house wiring book that shows how to identify and correct old electrical wiring, simply and safely

Customer Reviews:

Only for the patient reader.......2007-08-06

Wordy, wordy, wordy. Lots of info there, somewhere -- like Ronald Reagan's story of horse poop in Xmas stocking: look for the pony, if you like. I couldn't, and I seldom put down a promising book.

Negative stars to publisher McGraw-Hill, for failing to promote simple, declarative sentences, and to emphasize points through book design/layout.

Much better than the reviews say!.......2003-12-17

I expected the photos to be hard to discern, as it was stated by other reviewers. As a Master Electrician, I found that this is not the case. Apparently, the photos are not for amateurs, since it requires someone who has actually seen such wiring "in the flesh" to really understand them.

No other book deals with old wiring so well. The subject is too often neglected by the industry.

The author wisely recommends consulting an experienced electrician. Unfortunately, too many young ones do not understand old wiring and many old ones are up to date with the current electric code.

Excellent book.......2003-01-20

My thoughts reflect the previous reviews pretty much. This book has been excellent at helping me deal with my home's 1950's era wiring. The major drawback to the book is the photographs. There are many photographs that I imagine would be very helpful, except that they are in black and white and it is extremely difficult to tell what exactly the pictures contain. Other than that, excellent book.

An excellent book for remodelers.......2002-05-28

This book is a great resource for the non-professional who has to evaluate and/or repair old residential electrical systems. It is well-organized, thoroughly safety-oriented, and practical. The author, David E. Shapiro, is a master electrician with substantial experience. He not only translates the National Electrical Code into practical advice for the do-it-yourselfer, he isn't afraid to express his opinions and recommendations, which is rare in this kind of book. This kind of practical advice, based on long experience, is more valuable than the just-the-facts approach taken by so many DIY authors.

There are two problems with the book, however, and both are related to the graphics. Many of the photographs are blurry or otherwise unhelpful, and there are a number of places in the text where more phtotographs or illustrations would be quite helpful. I would have given this book five stars if the graphics were done as professionally as the text.

Finally, the book doesn't really deal with the "knob-and-tube" type wiring found in many older homes. The author is clear that many subjects are beyond the scope of this entry-level book, and knob-and-tube is one of the subjects that doesn't make it in.

This book is Perfect.......2002-03-08

I found this book incredibly helpful in dealing with a 1950's house with basically good wiring...Shapiro doesn't pull any punches and only tells you what you need to know to safely do basic electrical maintenance.

Average customer rating:

Your Old Wiring
David E. Shapiro
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7GMTI

Average customer rating:

Your Old Wiring Illustrated
David E. Shapiro
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OG2W6K

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

Average customer rating:

Injury and the New World of Work

Manufacturer: Univ of British Columbia Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Safety & Health | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0774807474

Book Description

Over the last fifty years the nature of work and work injury has changed dramatically. Since the 1980s, workers' compensation claims have grown steadily and insurance institutions are feeling the crunch. In Injury and the New World of Work, Terrence Sullivan emphasizes the precarious line between the expansion of needs-based justice and the preservation of work-based prosperity.

The contributors to the book represent the fields of public health, sociology, anthropology, epidemiology, nursing, psychiatry, management, economics, public policy, and labour studies. They explore four general challenges to the workplace and the compensation system: the dramatic rise in disability associated with the changing nature of work; methods of preventing injury and disability; the need for rehabilitation; and the difficulty of reconciling fairness for workers and economic sustainability in a competitive era.

Injury and the New World of Work examines a broad range of research solutions and policy options for dealing with the critical state of workers' compensation. The essays draw on recent case studies and original empirical work from Canada, situating the book within a comparative international frame of reference.

Average customer rating:
More for your workers' comp money: study identifies states with "good value" for workers, employers.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies ... World): An article from: Risk & Insurance
Joshua Clifton
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000W4R912
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Risk & Insurance, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2007. The length of the article is 488 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: More for your workers' comp money: study identifies states with "good value" for workers, employers.(UPFRONT: News, Updates and Other Emerging Strategies from Around the World)
Author: Joshua Clifton
Publication: Risk & Insurance (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 18 Issue: 10 Page: 8(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

A quick read, with a good deal of joy to bestow.......2004-04-07

This wonderful little book is a collection of authentic Irish blessings, toasts and curses, collected in Ireland, by an Irish author, for an Irish audience. I just wanted to make clear that this isn't fond American memories of the "auld sod," but is real life Irish culture. These little snippets of Irishness are a joy to read, and range from the sacred, through the noble, to the humorous, and out to the coarse (see the final section!). As a quick read, with a good deal of joy to bestow, this book has no peer. I highly recommend this book!

Book Description

The MICHAEL AARON PIANO COURSE Lesson books have been completely re-engraved, expanded (adding more definitions of musical terms and more musical pieces), updated (with modernized artwork), and re-edited (with less emphasis on fingerings and more on note-reading). Available from the MICHAEL AARON PIANO COURSE: Lessons, Performance, Technic, and Theory for each level: Primer, Grade One, Grade Two, Grade Three, Grade Four, and Grade Five. Also available are these supplementary books: Piano Album, Piano Technic (Book I), Piano Duet Book, Pieces to Play (Primer & Grade I), and Note Reader.

Customer Reviews:

A challenging and excellent piano course, with some flaws.......2003-03-27

I'm an adult piano student, who started learning with some basic knowledge already under my belt (How to read some notes, how to count time, what sharps and flats are). I found this book the perfect beginning point. Each song challenges me and teaches me new principles. After playing the songs in this book, I find the songs in other lesson books easy to play from sight. Students might also want to pick up an easier book to play for fun and relaxation, as every song in this book will challenge your abilities.

A few notes:
* I would not recommend this book to someone who is starting with no knowledge whatsoever. The Michael Aaron Primer might be more appropriate, though I haven't tried it.

* I would not recommend this book to someone trying to teach themselves. The book is intended for use with a teacher who can explain some of the techniques. (You should be learning from a teacher anyway. I don't recommend teaching yourself piano; you'll learn to do many things wrong.)

* Anyone using this book should also be using the Performance, Technic, and Theory books for your grade level.

Finally, I have deducted one star for the following reasons:
* Some of the fingerings they recommend are funky. My teacher has had to recommend better fingerings several times, with great results.

* The layout and graphics are very outdated, including a potentially offensive drawing to go with the song "Chopstick Revels".

Product Description

Tasting Havana is always an emotional moment, and this is undoubtedly why we prefer them to all other cigars. Always capricious, often imposing, sometimes disappointing, the Havana comes on stage with an attitude, and in this world of calibrated pleasures, can still surprise us. With aromas ranging through the floral or woody, roasted or animal, whether matte or lustrous, oily or dry, firm or soft, it appeals to all the senses. Indifferent to the haste of modern times, the Havana helped us to tame time, to become detached, and sometimes even to choose our friends better. It may sometimes be unrewarding or a little stingy, but we always forgive it because it is so good a companion.

Book Description

** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED **

This collection of irreverent and surprising essays about the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer includes pieces by leading science fiction and fantasy authors. Contributors include bestselling legend David Brin, critically acclaimed novelist Scott Westerfield, cult-favorite vampire author Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and award-winner Sarah Zettel. The show and its cast are the topics of such critical pieces as Lawrence Watt-Evans's “Matchmaking in Hellmouth” and Sherrilyn Kenyon's “The Search for Spike's Balls.” An informed introduction for those not well acquainted with the show, and a source of further research for Buffy buffs, this book raises interesting questions concerning a much-loved program and future cult classic.

Customer Reviews:

Other Books.......2007-09-03

A bunch of other writers talk about the most excellent Buffy. These pieces range from a comedy test from the The Forces of Evil, through some critical articles, and one or two fanlike rants.

An interesting article by Jacqueline Lichtenberg looks at the rise in the 1990s of the type of television show that eventually led to Buffy.

BtVS Studies.......2007-08-18

A great book for researchers, writers, with science fiction interest and serious Buffy studies academics. Would not be too dry for the average fan, essays are enjoyable, and very personal to the writers. Fun to see what they like and why.

Why "Buffy" rules!.......2007-03-30

Probably best suited for die hard fans of the show, this book collects essays from fans and pros analyzing, praising, panning, and deconstructing Joss Whedon's groundbreaking show. As you might expect, some of the essays degenerate into outright fanboy babbling, but some really resonate, especially Sherrilyn Kenyon's "In Search of Spike's Balls," and Nancy Holder's "Slayers of the Last Arc."

Bloody hell.......2007-01-10

This series of essays may be of interest to the most serious and cerebral Buffy fans. But Buffy was not a serious and cerebral exercise. It was the best of campy cheeky fun. The writers of these essays did not seem to get it.

Granted there were life lessons and moral issues. Indeed, "The Body" may be argueably the finest 60-minutes ever broadcast on American TV. However the "musical", "Thanksgiving", and "Xander's wedding" were meant to be a hoot.

Obviously, I was dissappointed by this book. If someone knows a more enlightened critique of Buffy, I would like to hear about it.

Finally Buffy gets some respect........2006-08-22

It was great to finally read a book about what "respected" people think about this incredibly great show. Each essay was different, of course, with each essayist going his/her own way to interpret, question, and praise the show. I particularly loved it because it focused more on plot and characters than it did on technical stuff. If you loved this show, then this is a book that you'll want on your shelf.

Book Description

Strategies and solutions for successful VoIP deployments

Justify your network investment

The step-by-step approach to VoIP deployment and management enables you to plan early and properly for successful VoIP integration with your existing systems, networks, and applications.
The detailed introduction offers a common grounding for members of both the telephony and data networking communities.
IT managers and project leaders are armed with details on building a business case for VoIP, including details of return-on-investment (ROI) analysis and justification.
A VoIP deployment is presented as a major IT project, enabling you to understand the steps involved and the required resources.
The comprehensive look at quality of service and tuning describes when and where to use them in a VoIP deployment. These are often the most complex topics in VoIP; you'll get smart recommendations on which techniques to use in various circumstances.
You learn how to plan for VoIP security, including prevention, detection, and reaction.

Voice over IP (VoIP) is the telephone system of the future. Problem is, VoIP is not yet widely deployed, so there are few skilled practitioners today. As you make your move to VoIP, how will you know how to make VoIP work and keep it working well? What changes will you need to make without disrupting your business? How can you show your return on this investment?

Many books contain technical details about VoIP, but few explain in plain language how to make it run successfully in an enterprise. Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project provides the detailed plans you need to be successful in your organization's deployment of VoIP. Through their years of work in the field, authors John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks bring a project-oriented approach to VoIP, with much-needed clarity on getting VoIP to work well.

Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project starts with simple concepts, each chapter building on the knowledge from the last. Although not a technical manual, you learn about the standards, such as H.323, G.711, and Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP), and the implications they have on your VoIP system. Most importantly, you'll gain expert advice and a systematic guide on how to make VoIP work for your organization.

This volume is in the Network Business Series offered by Cisco Press. Books in this series provide IT executives, decision makers, and networking professionals with pertinent information on today's most important technologies and business strategies.

158720092903152004

Customer Reviews:

Excellent IT Planning Guide.......2006-03-23

This book offers good strategies for implementing VoIP. It covers the feasibility studies required and pre and post evaluation of the network. Technical details are covered well but the most important aspects such as QoS, SLA's are explained in some sort of details, which is an important area when dealing with VoIP.

I used this book as one of my main reference in my final year project with UOL BSc in CIS.

I recommend this book not just for Engineers, Technicians, Managers and IT staff, but also for anyone wishing to learn about the basis of VoIP.

VoIP From a Business Perspective.......2005-01-28

John Walker and Jeffrey Hicks's "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" (ISBN: 1587200929, Cisco Press) is an installment in Cisco's Network Business Series line of books and covers the topic of voice over IP (VoIP) from a business strategy perspective. Although the book does cover some technical aspects of VoIP, its main purpose is to guide the reader in understanding the steps from beginning to end on how to develop a business case all the way to deploying a successful and secure VoIP deployment. The book covers eight major areas:

* VoIP Basics
* Building a Business Case for VoIP
* Planning for VoIP
* Do It Yourself or Outsource?
* Quality of Service & Tuning
* Ongoing VoIP Management
* Establishing VoIP SLAs
* VoIP Security

This book's primary audience is meant to be at the managerial and above levels, although it does have value for senior technical staff, albeit from a different angle. For the management level, the book's value is in how it covers enough technical detail to make the reader aware of the complexities of VoIP, yet at the same time it presents both a business rationalization and realistic implementation steps so as not to scare the reader away (from the technology). For the senior technical staff or technical manager, the details of the technology will seem rudimentary, but the business framework may be less familiar territory, and therefore more valuable. For the technical audience, it addresses the often asked question of, "Where's the business need for VoIP?"

The eight categories can really be summed up into three major headings: VoIP Technology Summary, Business Justification, and Deployment Considerations. The "VoIP Basics" or technology summary provides the necessary background information on the PSTN and legacy PBX's in order to present the context for understanding how VoIP is a change in voice technology. This section is brief, and Walker and Hicks end with a general overview of data technology and how you converge old voice technology into it, discussing signaling, transport protocols, codecs, and the hardware necessary to make everything work. In terms of the business case for VoIP, the authors present three major cost savings opportunities: toll cost savings, simple network savings, and productivity savings. These areas are commonly talked about and should not be a surprise to the reader; the value here is that the book enables the reader to talk intelligently about the cost savings areas to a business audience. From here, Walker and Hicks cover how to project the ROI, how to make sure you have the data to back up your projections, and what associated costs should be considered before starting the project (e.g., is it cheaper to outsource?). Lastly, the authors spend time discussing both the pre and post implementation requirements and implications of running VoIP, spending less time on the technical details and more time on the big picture of implementing such a technology: Considering the quality requirements (i.e., QoS), integrating VoIP into a network management structure, establishing SLAs with the customer, and securing the technology.

Overall, the book provides a good, but broad treatment of how to present a case for VoIP and then deploy it. The irony of the book is that the readers who can best utilize the information will probably be the ones that find the book a little boring. For example, experienced managers will take away the unique points of implementing VoIP and recognize how it can fit in a realistic way for their particular environment. On the flip side, the knowledgeable network technician will similarly be able to see the nuances of VoIP that the book presents and understand the implications for the existing network. To both audiences, the pre-existing experience and knowledge may cause them to find the book too basic, although the lessons learned will most likely be valuable to them. To the less experienced readers (technical or managerial), the book is a great starting point and will most likely engage them more, but without additional references or resources (e.g., basic project management skills, understanding business budgeting cycles, etc.), the information learned may be just enough to make them dangerous.

"Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" is a great resource for its intended audience of decision makers and project managers. It is not necessarily meant for the technical person doing the implementing, although the information is beneficial as it ties the technical to the practical.

Don't Start Without It!.......2004-06-24

I recently read the book titled "Taking Charge Of Your VoIP Project" by John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks. ISBN: 1587200929.
The title is a great reference for understanding VoIP technology and helps identify the many aspects that one must consider for a successful deployment of Voice over IP. Reading this book ahead of time will empower the reader with the lingo, technology and solutions to be effective when leading a team.
The book starts out by giving the reader an understanding of the basic technology concepts surrounding traditional voice networks, or Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) and then goes right into the basic technologies that allow Voice over IP (Data) to be a viable alternative to the traditional phone networks.
Chapter 2, Building a Business Case for VoIP, gives the reader good information to ponder over and helps identify purpose for building a case for a VoIP solution.
The next chapter, "Planning for VoIP" is one of the larger chapters and for good reason. After all, anyone in business knows that planning determines whether the project will go smoothly with little surprise or whether it's a disaster. In this chapter you'll learn about reliability, call quality assessment, and over all VoIP readiness assessment, among other things.
Another great chapter is Chapter 5, "Quality of Service and Tuning". Probably one of the biggest challenges that an organization will face. QoS is challenging due to the complexity of a true end-to-end QoS solution in an already complex data network. Accomplishing QoS requires in-depth knowledge of the existing data network. Furthermore, the communication to others on the team of what it's going to take to get the network "up to snuff" to support VoIP will be a task in and of it self. It makes ATM technology look quite attractive. The chapter has quite a bit of detail; however the authors don't drop the reader over the deep end of the technologies.
I would recommend this book to those that are anticipating implementing Voice over IP in their network, those that are in the process of piloting Voice over IP or even those that are in the midst of a VoIP implementation would benefit from this title.
The book is best suited for Project Managers, management, telecommunication and Data networking personnel. Really and truly, most anyone would benefit from reading this title. It covers such a broad range of information that having a well educated project team is going to ensure that the project goes smoothly and all things are considered. This book does an excellent job of presenting all of the issues that personnel involved in a Voice over IP project should be aware of to ensure success. It gives the reader a great appreciation for the complexities and helps a great deal with ironing out a good sound strategy.
This book has several figures, tables and diagrams. Like the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". This statement holds true in the title. Like I always say, pictures are good.
The book covers everything you'd think about and everything you wouldn't think about.
Coming from the data side of a VoIP solution, I thought I had enough figured out to make a VoIP project a success. This titled made me think about issues that I would have otherwise over looked. Especially issues relating to traditional telecommunications.
Don't start you project without this book. It may end up costing you more than this book in mistakes if you don't.

VoIP Simplified.......2004-04-14

Excellent book if you are looking for "in-depth" crash course in to VoIP. The amazing part was vendor neutral tone. Even though it came out of Cisco Press, it hardly preached any specific vendor. It was mostly focused on the fundamentals.

However the book lacks a decent index section. Hardly any important words are mentioned.

A Must Read for any IT Decision Maker.......2004-04-08

As one of the lead Network / IP Telephony engineers for my employer, GE IT Solutions, I was excited to learn that Cisco Press had published a book addressing the business and project management aspects of Voice Over IP (VOIP). I was glad that I picked up "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" by John Walker and Jeffrey Hicks (ISBN 1587200929) and I highly recommend the book to any IT decision maker, project manager, or lead engineer considering VoIP technologies.

The authors clearly indicate in their preface that the book is not a technical "how-to" manual for VoIP. Rather, the target audience is "chief information officers and information technology managers who choose to deploy VoIP in their organizations". The book opens with an overview of VoIP terminology and acronyms. For the most part, the discussion remains at a high level, although the details on IP packet headers probably could've been scaled back, given the target audience. Chapter 2 delves into the business drivers for moving to VoIP, such as convergence and ROI.

Chapter 3, Planning for VoIP, was a particularly helpful section in relation to my job functions. The chapter does a excellent job discussing the value and importance of planning and design for VoIP networks, a critical piece of any VoIP project that I feel customers (and even some vendors and implementers) often overlook. In fact, if it weren't a copyright violation, I'd probably copy the entire chapter and hand it out to any of my existing and potential VoIP customers. Better still, I'll by them a copy of this book.

Subsequent chapters of the book's focus continue to balance the business considerations with the technical aspects of VoIP. Topics of discussion include finding the right implementer, QoS tuning, ongoing VoIP Management, SLAs, and security considerations.

As mentioned earlier, I highly recommend the book to any IT decision maker, project manager, or lead engineer. I've encouraged many of my non-technical business colleagues at GE ITS to read "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project". In fact, one of our Six Sigma quality leaders engrossed herself in the book and gained an very comprehensive understanding of both the business and technical aspects of VoIP. Next thing I know, she'll be pursuing her CCIE!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books