Customer Reviews

Home Networking Survival Guide

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I always relied on the young, smart people in the office to deal with the networking challenges. I've read Dave Strom's columns for years now and when this book was available, ordered it the first week. I just went through the book's step-by-step guidelines for installing network cards, creating shared folders, sharing printers, etc. and when I finished, it all worked!

Lots of books explain how to network your home. David Strom's "Home Networking Survival Guide" is better. Here's why: Strom doesn't look down on you like you are a "dummy" or an "idiot." Unlike some other books, the tone in which Strom writes is never condescending, never preachy. It's just you and Dave, sittin' on the patio in the back yard, sippin' lemonade, watchin' the clouds float by, and having a good ol' talk about sharing PCs and Macs, files, printers, and that all important Internet connection. Dave puts his arm around your shoulder, says "come with me," and he shows you the way. He won't make you feel stupid. You've become his partner, not his lab experiment.
The chapters are concept-based: home wiring (or wireless) choices, sharing files, sharing printers, sharing an Internet connection, using e-mail, intrusion security, and protecting your family--from their own actions.

Dave walks you through choosing and installing a solution, but he doesn't just dictate a list of steps to follow. He takes the time to explain why. Too many books just say 'do this' without educating the reader. What good is that?

In summary, this book is like that blue blanket you had as a kid. It makes you feel secure and empowers you to conquer, well, home networking in this case. Next time your cable company or phone carrier says you can't have several computers on your cable or DSL connection, you'll know better.

-Joel Shore, Reference Guide Inc.

Two weeks ago I ordered a DSL/Cable router to network our current two PCs at home, knowing I absolutely had to find some way of sharing the DSL connection to the internet. Last week, I successfully installed the router and started to enjoy the benefits of sharing the fast internet connection. But the network cables were simply strung from the router to the laptop computer temporarily set up in the next room. My challenge this week: to complete the network and enable each computer to see/use files on the other PC and/or to share the laser printer. Unfortunately, the installation guide for the router was useless. And the Dummy/Idiot guides seemed only slightly better.

Unlike some other reviewers, I don't know David Strom, but I feel he must know me, or at least he knows what it feels like to be well (over?) educated but very confused by the challenge of wiring together and configuring each PC to complete a basic home network.

Strom's approach was perfect: my first scan of the book lead me to three specific sections I needed to read to understand the basics and some of the pitfalls I was likely to encounter. I bought the book, finished intalling the network cable, then used Strom's book to troubleshoot problems on each computer.

Strom's Survival Guide fully covers several different methods for "wiring" (phoneline, ethernet cables, wireless, mixed PC/Mac environments); configuration/troubleshooting for various flavors of Windows + Mac OS; recommendations on the best equipment to use to share a DSL/cable modem connection to the internet; troubleshooting tips to fix 22+ Windows Network Problems; and more. There were answers to all my questions and helpful tips at every step along the way. Along the way it felt like I was in touch with a very understanding and very thorough help desk (unlike the "hurt" desk I am forced to rely on at the office).

I "should-a" bought this book before I started my most recent home networking attempt... Then, I "would-a" known what the heck I was doing and avoided the common pitfalls... and I "could-a" saved about $200 in wasted money and about 10 hours of wasted effort.

Strom's writing style is easy to follow and direct, probably because of his years as a magazine editor and columnist. It's also obvious that his wisdom is based on hands-on experience, not hopeful theory, baseless technology or empty promises from hardware manufacturers.

Definitely worth the time to buy and read.

I was not impressed with the book. I did pick up a few small tips, however, it seemed that the author was a windows ME user and that is what most all of the book was written around. Very very little mention of windows XP. Wish the author and/or publisher had been more upfront and named the book "A little knowledge of Home Networking for Windows ME"...I would have known a bit more what to expect.

I can't imagine why anyone would not like this book. In the back of the book is an appendix to fixing networking problems. I wrote this appendix and was so confident it would resolve every peer-to-peer networking issue, I include my e-mail address for readers to contact me directly if, after following the appendix trouble-shooting guide, they still can not resolve their problem.

I know of no other book that offers such a 'free' and helpful service. If the book didn't answer a question you were seeking, the opportunity is made available to the reader to email me directly with that question.

What's not to like?

I got this for Christmas. Had good info for creating a home network for three PCs. Felt that the explanations were good and within about two hours or so I had connected my three PCs.

I would recommend this book.

Thought this book would be perfect A-Z reference for my home-networking needs, but alas, coverage of key topics was disappointing. Details and comparisons of networking protocols was scant. A common file sharing error, which i frequently experience was not covered at all (Windows File Error: 1026). Also this book recommends Norton AntiVirus, one of the most disappointing and buggy AV applications i have tried.

I found "Sams Teach Yourself Windows Networking in 24 Hours" to be much more informative for my needs (at a lower price).

THis book is only for home peer-to-peer networks that use a router or gateway type hub. If you are a SOHO or plan on using a server to do DHCP, NDS, etc. this book is NOT for you.

David Strom's Home Networking book is a must have. If you read it you'll get a good tutorial on how things work. If you have things that don't work you can use it as a troubleshooting guide. It is very comprehensive -- includes both PC and the Mac and numerious networking vendors. I recommend the book for anyone who wants or needs to know more about how to share computers and printers and files in their home.