Wicked Cool Java

[John A. Bailo]

Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java".

It's great!

It skips all the plodding step by step stuff and just talks about the
cutting edge cool things you can do with java.

http://www.wickedcooljava.com/

 

[TechBookReport]

Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java".

It's great!

It skips all the plodding step by step stuff and just talks about the
cutting edge cool things you can do with java.

http://www.wickedcooljava.com/

Reviewed: http://www.techbookreport.com/tbr0230.html

 

[Rhino]

Reviewed: http://www.techbookreport.com/tbr0230.html

I might be more inclined to take this review seriously if the name of the
reviewer was supplied and if the competency of the reviewer was stated. In
other words, the review doesn't indicate even the name of the reviewer, let
alone the Java skills he/she possesses.

Without that information, I have no reason to take this review any more
seriously than a review written by a beginner or hype from the publisher.
There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion,
demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. Why
not get some of them to review the books on your site? I'd be more inclined
to take a book review seriously if it was written by Oliver Wong or Chris
Uppal, for example, than I am by an anonymous review.

 

[John A. Bailo]

There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion,
demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. Why
not get some of them to review the books on your site?

I'm not sure if that's the right approach.

The neat thing about Wicked Cool Java (http://www.wickedcooljava.com) is
that it's an /advanced/ book for *beginners*.

It's for people like me who want a minimal amount of formalism, but yet
want to jump right into the really cool features of a product or language.

It's not "for dummies", and it's not "for pedagogues" either.

 

[jmcgill]

It's for people like me who want a minimal amount of formalism, but yet
want to jump right into the really cool features of a product or language.\

I'll be sure and flip through it next time I'm at the book store.

If the New England accent comes through too much beyond the title,
I'll laugh and move on.

Chapter 7 sounds interesting. How deep does it go?

 

[John A. Bailo]

Chapter 7 sounds interesting. How deep does it go?

It's hardcore in that it covers a lot of ground.

Music
Synthesized Sound
JMusic
Java Speech
RealTime APIs
Thread Syncs


This is more a book to kind of jar the brain and say "look, look at all
this stuff that java can do". Then, if one or the other thing really
catches your interest, it's up to you to drill down or use the website
to get more.

However, if this is your area of expertise, I would say, that you would
find it not that interesting -- BUT, you may read another chapter and
figure out how to mash up AI and Multimedia together!

 

[Rhino]

I'm not sure if that's the right approach.

The neat thing about Wicked Cool Java (http://www.wickedcooljava.com) is
that it's an /advanced/ book for *beginners*.

It's for people like me who want a minimal amount of formalism, but yet
want to jump right into the really cool features of a product or language.

It's not "for dummies", and it's not "for pedagogues" either.

You're missing my point. I'm delighted to hear that _you_ find the book
useful.

I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and saying
that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the reviewer,
nor did it identify the Java skills of the developer.

If the reviewer is anonymous because he/she is a Java newbie or because
he/she is an employee of the publisher, I'm inclined to dismiss the review
entirely. I think I've seen your name on this newsgroup before but not
enough for me to get a lasting impression of you so your recommendation
doesn't particularly wow me either - no offense!

I'd be a lot more impressed if the person reviewing it was someone I knew to
be unconnected with the publisher and thoroughly competent in Java. I
suggested some people on this newsgroup whose approval of the book would
make me a lot more likely to get this book than the word of an anonymous
reviewer.

Again, I'm not criticizing the book since I've never laid eyes on it and I
mean no disrespect to you either since I don't know you.

 

[steve]

It's hardcore in that it covers a lot of ground.

A chetah covers a lot of ground, but there's nothing "hard" about a chetah.

Music
Synthesized Sound
JMusic
Java Speech
RealTime APIs
Thread Syncs


This is more a book to kind of jar the brain and say "look, look at all
this stuff that java can do". Then, if one or the other thing really
catches your interest, it's up to you to drill down or use the website
to get more.

However, if this is your area of expertise, I would say, that you would
find it not that interesting -- BUT, you may read another chapter and
figure out how to mash up AI and Multimedia together!

so does it do THE real cool stuff like:

Serial communication RS232
USB implementation

or just the "gay" cool stuff like music, that you can implement in 5 lines of
java?

Steve

 

[John A. Bailo]

so does it do THE real cool stuff like:

Serial communication RS232
USB implementation

I don't see either of those in the index.

What do you mean by USB music?

One thing I've always wanted is do be able to pipe my Sandisk m200
player's music via a USB cable to a sound card and out the computer's
speakers.

Is that possible?

or just...stuff...that you can implement in 5 lines of code

Dude. Don't you know?

The coolest things are always implemented in 5 lines of code.

 

[John A. Bailo]

I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and saying
that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the reviewer,
nor did it identify the Java skills of the developer.

If the reviewer is anonymous because he/she is a Java newbie or because
he/she is an employee of the publisher, I'm inclined to dismiss the review
entirely. I think I've seen your name on this newsgroup before but not
enough for me to get a lasting impression of you so your recommendation
doesn't particularly wow me either - no offense!
[...]

Again, I'm not criticizing the book since I've never laid eyes on it and I
mean no disrespect to you either since I don't know you.

You seem hung up on /knowing/ people.

You should explore anonymity more.

 

[Rhino]

I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and
saying that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the
reviewer, nor did it identify the Java skills of the developer.

If the reviewer is anonymous because he/she is a Java newbie or because
he/she is an employee of the publisher, I'm inclined to dismiss the
review entirely. I think I've seen your name on this newsgroup before but
not enough for me to get a lasting impression of you so your
recommendation doesn't particularly wow me either - no offense!
[...]

Again, I'm not criticizing the book since I've never laid eyes on it and
I mean no disrespect to you either since I don't know you.

You seem hung up on /knowing/ people.

You should explore anonymity more.

So if I put up a web page asking for $100 and you had it to spare, you'd
just give it to me, without knowing anything about me, even my name?

Somehow I doubt it yet you expect me to give out $100 (or whatever "Wicked
Cool Java" costs) just because some anonymous someone said some nice things
about it. All I can say to that is "Don't hold your breath!"

 

[jmcgill]

Somehow I doubt it yet you expect me to give out $100 (or whatever "Wicked
Cool Java" costs) just because some anonymous someone said some nice things
about it. All I can say to that is "Don't hold your breath!"

If several people review a book and their opinions tend to corroborate
each other, I will tend to put the book on my list of things to consider
buying. In this case, the controversy about the *review* is enough to
prompt me to flip through it next time I'm at the bookstore.

The reviews have been sufficient to let me understand that I'm at a
level beyond the audience of the book. I don't care who wrote them.
They were useful to me.

I don't see where anyone asked you for $100.

 

[Thomas Weidenfeller]

so does it do THE real cool stuff like:

Serial communication RS232
USB implementation

It mostly demonstrates the usage of special-purpose third-party
free-software libraries. Some of these libraries do hard things, but non
of them solves everyday problems like USB access or fixes the RS232 problem.

/Thomas

 

[TechBookReport]

I might be more inclined to take this review seriously if the name of the
reviewer was supplied and if the competency of the reviewer was stated. In
other words, the review doesn't indicate even the name of the reviewer, let
alone the Java skills he/she possesses.

Without that information, I have no reason to take this review any more
seriously than a review written by a beginner or hype from the publisher.
There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion,
demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. Why
not get some of them to review the books on your site? I'd be more inclined
to take a book review seriously if it was written by Oliver Wong or Chris
Uppal, for example, than I am by an anonymous review.

Some of the reviews on the site are signed, it's up to the reviewer
whether they want to put their name to a review or not. However, even if
the reviews were signed how could you judge the competence (or
otherwise) of the reviewer if you've never heard or him or her?

Adding a note saying that the reviewer has x years of Java experience
doesn't add much either. There are people with x years of experience in
one niche area who won't have the knowledge or broader experience of
someone with fewer years. Besides, how could anyone verify the truth?

Just for the record, all of the reviewers on TechBookReport are active
developers. None of them work for publishers or are authors of the books
they are publishing. The point of the site is that the book reviews are
independent, which is more than can be said for some of the reviews on
Amazon, for example.

Like all sites, TechBookReport.com depends to a large extent on
reputation. That means that bad books are criticised, good books lauded
and so-so books described as such. If there's a review that you bitterly
disagree with then say so, casting doubt on the honesty of the site
isn't helpful.

Pan

 

[Rhino]

Some of the reviews on the site are signed, it's up to the reviewer
whether they want to put their name to a review or not. However, even if
the reviews were signed how could you judge the competence (or otherwise)
of the reviewer if you've never heard or him or her?

Obviously, I _can't_ judge the competence of someone I've never heard of.

However, if a name _is_ given, there is at least a chance I _have_ heard of
them. If no reviewer name is given, there is no chance whatever of judging
competence; in that case, the review could have been written by the
proverbial one million monkeys with one million typewriters for all I know.

Adding a note saying that the reviewer has x years of Java experience
doesn't add much either. There are people with x years of experience in
one niche area who won't have the knowledge or broader experience of
someone with fewer years. Besides, how could anyone verify the truth?

It may not add much but it adds _something_. If someone claims to have 5
years or 10 years experience, the review seems more credible than saying 5
minutes or 10 days experience.

I agree that depth vs. breadth is an issue, as is the verifiability of any
information given. Anyone can exaggerate their abilities and experience.

However, a name might be recognized, particularly if it was a name known
within the Java community, such as Bruce Echols. An unknown name could be
researched if the person reading the review had serious doubts about that
person's reliability.

Just for the record, all of the reviewers on TechBookReport are active
developers. None of them work for publishers or are authors of the books
they are publishing. The point of the site is that the book reviews are
independent, which is more than can be said for some of the reviews on
Amazon, for example.

That is good to know. Is that fact posted anywhere at the website? I didn't
see it in the Wicked Cool Java page.

Like all sites, TechBookReport.com depends to a large extent on
reputation. That means that bad books are criticised, good books lauded
and so-so books described as such.

And that's great. I have no problem with that.

If there's a review that you bitterly disagree with then say so, casting
doubt on the honesty of the site isn't helpful.

I was not disagreeing with the review of Wicked Cool Java. I have never read
that book and therefore have no opinions about it.

If you think I was casting doubt on the honesty of the site, you
misunderstood me.

I did not say anyone was being dishonest. I simply said that the reviewer
was not identified by name or skill level and that an anonymous review was
not something I found terribly persuasive. I am relieved to find that the
reviewer is, apparently, an active developer with no vested interest in
promoting (or trashing) the book, but I didn't know that until you mentioned
it just now.

Personally, I would be more likely to take the reviews at the site seriously
if all reviewers were identified and if some sort of information was
available about each reviewer's experience. That does not mean that your
current approach is dishonest, just that it isn't optimal for _my_ needs. I
was merely trying to give some personal feedback on what I deem a
less-than-ideal approach.

Obviously, it is up to you to decide whether I am just an individual with an
eccentric view about how a book review site should operate or someone whose
views might well be widespread across your target audience. If you decide
that I am just an eccentric, you will probably not change anything, unless
perhaps you perceive eccentrics as an important new audience. On the other
hand, if you decide I am the tip of the iceberg and represent a strong
undercurrent within the Java community, you may decide to do things
differently. That's your call.

In any case, I have shared my views with you and consider the matter at an
end.

 

[jmcgill]

You've written more about the "reviewer" controversy than the reviewers
wrote about the book.

 

[Luke Webber]

It mostly demonstrates the usage of special-purpose third-party
free-software libraries. Some of these libraries do hard things, but non
of them solves everyday problems like USB access or fixes the RS232
problem.

What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But
it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I
care to recall, and "cool" lasted maybe a week. These days especially,
there is nothing the least bit cool about it.

Luke

 

[jmcgill]

What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But
it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I
care to recall, and "cool" lasted maybe a week. These days especially,
there is nothing the least bit cool about it.

I wrote serial drivers twelve to fourteen years ago, and today, I
honestly cannot tell you how I did it. I'm totally serious, I was doing
things in C and x86 asm that I literally do not know how to do today.
Some of the systems I worked on were pretty cool, but definitely not the
code or the process of writing it. I don't remember anything about it,
and except when something reminds me (like this message thread), I
actually forget I had that job altogether.

 

[Thomas Weidenfeller]

What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms.

E.g. that JavaComm was not maintained for years.

E.g. that JavaComm for Windows was recently withdrawn by Sun.

E.g. that JavaComm never made it into the standard edition.

E.g. that JavaComm is difficult to deploy via WebStart.

E.g. that JavaComm does not provide access to more esoteric tty options.

These problems.

/Thomas

 

[TechBookReport]

Obviously, I _can't_ judge the competence of someone I've never heard of.

However, if a name _is_ given, there is at least a chance I _have_ heard of
them. If no reviewer name is given, there is no chance whatever of judging
competence; in that case, the review could have been written by the
proverbial one million monkeys with one million typewriters for all I know.

It may not add much but it adds _something_. If someone claims to have 5
years or 10 years experience, the review seems more credible than saying 5
minutes or 10 days experience.

I agree that depth vs. breadth is an issue, as is the verifiability of any
information given. Anyone can exaggerate their abilities and experience.

However, a name might be recognized, particularly if it was a name known
within the Java community, such as Bruce Echols. An unknown name could be
researched if the person reading the review had serious doubts about that
person's reliability.


That is good to know. Is that fact posted anywhere at the website? I didn't
see it in the Wicked Cool Java page.


And that's great. I have no problem with that.


I was not disagreeing with the review of Wicked Cool Java. I have never read
that book and therefore have no opinions about it.

If you think I was casting doubt on the honesty of the site, you
misunderstood me.

I did not say anyone was being dishonest. I simply said that the reviewer
was not identified by name or skill level and that an anonymous review was
not something I found terribly persuasive. I am relieved to find that the
reviewer is, apparently, an active developer with no vested interest in
promoting (or trashing) the book, but I didn't know that until you mentioned
it just now.

Personally, I would be more likely to take the reviews at the site seriously
if all reviewers were identified and if some sort of information was
available about each reviewer's experience. That does not mean that your
current approach is dishonest, just that it isn't optimal for _my_ needs. I
was merely trying to give some personal feedback on what I deem a
less-than-ideal approach.

Obviously, it is up to you to decide whether I am just an individual with an
eccentric view about how a book review site should operate or someone whose
views might well be widespread across your target audience. If you decide
that I am just an eccentric, you will probably not change anything, unless
perhaps you perceive eccentrics as an important new audience. On the other
hand, if you decide I am the tip of the iceberg and represent a strong
undercurrent within the Java community, you may decide to do things
differently. That's your call.

In any case, I have shared my views with you and consider the matter at an
end.

It's OK, no offence was taken. You made a fair comment and I responded
to it. End of story.


Pan