Thomas Hood

Guide your understanding through examples., Mar 15 2004

Yeah, Apache has thorough documentation at apache.org, and yeah, after 6 or 7 years I've learned a lot by reading through Apache's conf files. But this book does a few things extremely well to make configuration much easier, quicker, and better.

There's good examples - you expect that with a name like "cookbook". But each example is backed-up with excellent explanations and references. The particular problems I've wanted to solve haven't matched the book's examples, but they've been close enough to adapt the solutions to what I've needed.

I've also appreciated how much this book has helped me how to *think* in Apache. Its use of examples and explanations helps to paint a… Read more

Great characters, ok plot, BAD subtitles, Aug 20 2001

There is a problem with the subtitles - at least with the DVD version of this movie - which makes following the story very difficult. [I don't usually mind subtitles - in most subtitled movies, I've forgotten that I'm reading them and have no problem with them.)

The subtitles appear on the screen only during the *exact* time the words are being spoken, and not a second longer. This means that it's very hard to read two-line subtitles, and often hard to even read multi-word single-line subtitles.

I'm a quick reader, but there were dozens of times during this film where I'd be watching the characters and completely miss what the subtitle said. Or, I'd get frustrated and spend my time… Read more

More like a catalog than a handbook, Jun 12 2001

There's nothing in this book that's either complete or concrete. For example, the Apache web server comes standard with X, but this book spends only 6 pages with it; 2 of those pages explain how to use the GUI to turn the web server on or off. (The book is called "Web Server Handbook", right?)

When you're talking Unix and mail servers, the first thing that comes to mind is the freeware Sendmail program, which is available for OS X. Oops, "Sendmail" isn't even in the index of this book.

On the other hand, the book does devote 12 pages to "Choosing a Browser". 12 pages about choosing a web browser? This isn't something I couldn't figure out for… Read more