Newton's Telecom Dictionary: The Official Dictionary of Telecommunications Networking and Internet (Paperback)

by Harry Newton (Author), Ray Horak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Telecommunications--broadly defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary to include voice and data communications, including the Internet--is the defining technology of our age. As such, thousands of terms have entered the lexicon to describe tools and techniques used to move information from one geographic location to another. Still more terms have been coined for the business of buying and selling telecom services. While no dictionary of such a large and fluid collection of jargon could ever approach completeness, this book makes a decent stab at it. In any case, it's an informative and entertaining resource for reading and reference. Based on the theory that merely expanding an unfamiliar acronym can help you understand it, this book will teach readers a great deal.

Newton's Telecom Dictionary contains thousands of terms and phrases, each with a capsule definition. The terms include the names of technical specifications (such as "FRF11" and "Q.931"), technical jargon ("start bit" and "Type 1 CLEC"), equipment ("smart card"), and organizations ("Bellcore"). The dictionary has all this, plus more than a few entries that raise questions. For instance, did the term "Code Blue"--a technical feature of hospital phones that lets patients signal their distress to distant nurses by knocking phone receivers from their cradles--really derive from the fact that people turn blue when unable to breathe, as the book suggests? Whether it's really true or not, anecdotes like this drive the definition home and make for fun reading. --David Wall

Topics covered: The language of voice and data communications, including the public switched-telephone network and the Internet. Definitions include the relationships among standards documents, as well as technologies, products, tools, protocols, companies, people, and other aspects of telecommunications.

Review
. "An essential resource." -- PC Magazine
. "A page-turner that invites use." -- IEEE
. "A fixture on the desks of many who deal with the technical world." -- The New York Times
. "The one reference book we can't do without...comprehensive and reliable." --Telemanagement newsletter.
. "Pound-for-pound it is the best telecom book we have ever seen." -- Discount Long Distance Digest.
. "This bestselling dictionary isn't missing a thing. Harry Newton has done a masterful job." -- John Vacca --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1031 pages
• Publisher: CMP Books; 16 edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578200539
• ISBN-13: 978-1578200535
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #943,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Needs to be on the desk of every Telecom professional, May 31, 2000

By	"toddwylie" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

Learning telecommunications is difficult when you realize that this industry thrives on producing thousands of worthless acronyms. When I started out in this field, it felt like I was learning a foreign language--and I was. This book will prove invaluable to as you as you work your way through a hoarde of acronyms that most people using them can't fully explain when questioned.

Bruce from Dallas, raises a valid point, the definitions do not stand on their own to fully explain the concepts. If you are coming to Telecom for the first time, and that is what you are looking for I would recommend the "Desktop Encyclopedia of Telecommunications" by Nathan J. Muller. This book deals with fewer terms than Newton's but goes into greater detail. If that is still not enough try the "Voice and Data Communications Handbook". Newton's though is still valuable and has its place. It should be used to spell out acronyms. That is what its for and that is what its good at. I refer to it at least five times a day, and I buy every new edition. It is a valuable resource.

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best reference - terms for telephony, data, internet, etc., March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This is my third purchase of the dictionary and it is for home, not the office. I first purchased it about 14 years ago, as a reference book for telephony terms. As communications and data began to merge, I bought the 12th edition. The technology field has changed so much again, that I need to update my version of the dictionary. Harry Newton mentions that he adds about 100 new words a week. Over the years I have recommended this book to others, who have also found it helpful for learning what terms mean in technology. I know the book is an excellent source for telephony and it appears to be a very good source for internet and data terms. The dictionary includes some "humor" and is not hard reading. It tries to explain words for "non-techy" people, while still covering the subject and/or definitions well.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far more than a dictionary; an entire overview of a great industry., May 30, 2007

By	Harry Newton "Harry Newton, Author" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Newton's Telecom Dictionary (Paperback)

I'm the author of this dictionary. I'm biased. I need to clear things up. When Amazon first listed this dictionary for sale, it forgot to include all the enormously favorable reviews this dictionary has received in the past. The reason is that this 23rd edition has a different ISBN number to all other editions. Years ago Amazon asked me to do this so as not to confuse editions. But doing so meant that each edition starts off as though it's a new book, awaiting user feedback and user reviews. My point in writing this review is to tell you it's not a new book. It's the same book that's received all the accolades, except that it had another year of adding more definitions, cleaning up old definitions, updating standards and technology and all the good stuff my readers expect.

I'm very proud of this book. It represents over 25 years of my life. I'm also proud that so many telecom, networking and Internet companies give it to their new employees. "Welcome to this wonderful industry." they say, "There's a lot of jargon. Here's a good explanation of the most popular 23,500 business terms, technologies, standards and slang. Enjoy."