Configuring CDE: The Common Desktop Environment (Paperback)

~ Charles V. Fernandez (Author), Hewlett-Packard Professional Books (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now that Sun, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and SCO have all agreed to use HP VUE as their desktop, there is great interest in techniques for customizing HP VUE. This book explains how to shape HP VUE to meet the requirements of a particular work environment, and in doing so, turn the computer into a personal productivity tool. Covers front panel modifications, application integration, startup configuration, and performance tuning. For system managers and end users who want to shape their HP VUE environment.

From the Back Cover

Now that Sun, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and SCO have all agreed to use HP VUE as their desktop, there is great interest in techniques for customizing HP VUE. This book explains how to shape HP VUE to meet the requirements of a particular work environment, and in doing so, turn the computer into a personal productivity tool. Covers front panel modifications, application integration, startup configuration, and performance tuning. For system managers and end users who want to shape their HP VUE environment.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (June 24, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131027247
• ISBN-13: 978-0131027244
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Barely worth the shelf space, June 29, 2000

By	Cypherpunks (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is largely geared toward the WIMP (window, icon, mouse, pointer) tools for configuring CDE, as well as a somewhat useful section on actually extending the environment. However, for basic configuration, the almost exclusive focus on GUI tools (which frankly don't need explaining to a semi-competent admin) is a severe liability.

Coverage of configuration files, fundamental X philosophy, X resources, and releated issues is completely inadequate. I found the online man pages from HP-UX for VUE, and references such as the O'Reilly X Window users and administrator' references, to be far, far more useful in this context. Compounding this issue is the apparent unwillingness of vendors (I've worked with both Sun and HP boxes using VUE) to provide detailed man pages describing CDE, startup processes, and configuration.

The only praise I can give is that, for the topic of CDE, this is the best book I'm aware of. However, it's also the worst, as this is a class containing exactly one element.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple Language. Good Intro., August 29, 2000

By	Adam DeRidder "salty monkey" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was having trouble finding a simple intro to how to configure and work with CDE. I support workstations running it and don't have much experience with it. This book is not for CDE gurus / programmers. But, from what I have seen, it covers the basics in a quick, bright fashion. If that is what you want, get the book. I like it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as useful as I'd hoped., December 1, 1999

By	Brian Fritz (Renton, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The information in this book is quite useful but discusses a version of CDE used on (older?) HP equipment. Users of more recent versions of Solaris will find the information a useful starting point, but not a cookbook. Some topics, like fonts, are barely mentioned. However, I'm not aware of there being anything better available.