Telecom/1996-04-telecom-walnutcreek.iso/book.reviews/modem.reference-banks

Text File | 1995-01-01 | 5KB | 107 lines

Date: 30 Nov 93 12:19 -0600
From: Rob Slade <[e-mail]>
Subject: Book Review: "The Modem Reference" by Banks


BKMDMREF.RVW  931101

Prentice Hall, Inc./Brady
113 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ   07632
[phone]   FAX [phone]
11711 N. College Ave.
Carmel, IN   46032-9903
15 Columbus Circle
New York, NY   10023
800-428-5331
?@prenhall.com
"The Modem Reference", Banks, 1992, 156686027X, U$29.95/C$37.95/UK#27.93


The blurbs for this book are effusive, glowing, positive ... and all
written by authors rather than technical people.  Many refer to the
sheer volume of material here, which is certainly impressive.  Not all
correct, perhaps, but impressive.

The presentation is a bit less impressive.  The organization mentioned
in the introduction is quite good: five chapters on the basics, five
on basic data communication functions (which Banks refers as
"telecomputing"), five on online services and systems, and the
remaining chapters devoted to specialty and miscellaneous topics.
Unfortunately, that organization, while adhered to in the topics, is
not mentioned either in the table of contents or as a part of chapter
divisions.

In part one, chapter one is the usual promotion for the benefits of
online services.  It is, however, structured a bit better than most
and gives a reasonably good overview of the basic functions.  In fact,
it tends to undersell somewhat, since there is no discussion of the
various online components in a "pro and con" comparison with their
non-data communications counterparts.  Chapter two purports to be a
general overview of the basic components you need for computer
communications.  It is somewhat disorganized, and, with frequent
references to the real information to be found in other chapters,
could have been easily dispensed with.  Chapter three, entitled, "How
Telecomputing Works," begins to show some of the necessary technical
details -- and the limits to Banks' knowledge.  Someone probably
explained phase shift keying to him sometime -- obviously he didn't
fully understand.  No one bothered to tell him that the RS-232
standard has been RS-232D since before he wrote the first edition.

(Nor that it is now more properly known as EIA-232).  And, of course,
he confuses baud rates with "bits per second", equating them on page
79 (although correctly going into detail on pages 82-85).  Chapter
four, dealing with modems, is a similar mixture.  While all the bases
are covered (eventually) there are inconsistencies, anachronisms, and
no particular order.  The various points are trotted out one after the
other, with no attempt to weight the more important, or to guide the
user in the types of applications under which a certain function might
become important.  The same holds true for the discussion of
communications software in chapter five.

Part two deals generally with the basic functions of online systems.
Chapter six discuses signing on to a remote system.  Although the
statement is made that you should try a local BBS first to get used to
the idea, Banks' commercial service bias shows through in his advocacy
of "7E1" over "8N1".  Most public data networks (which Banks refers to
as "packet networks") use the seven data bits, even parity, one stop
bit parameter settings.  Nor does Banks offer any troubleshooting
assistance should you choose the wrong settings.  Chapter seven
discusses menus and commands for online systems.  I have always found
these chapters to be examples of Slade's Law of Computer Illiteracy:
there is no such thing as computer illiteracy, only illiteracy,
itself.  Most menus are self-explanatory.

On the other hand, Banks' listing of common command synonyms could be
very helpful.  Chapter eight discusses public, private and real time
communications.  The material tends to be repetitive and not really
say much of consequence.  Online etiquette is mentioned in a number of
places, but only boils down to "don't be rude" and "give references".
There is a whole book to be done on online socialization, and we keep
seeing these same trivialities.  Chapter nine deals with file
transfers and ten with "other activities".  (Mostly games.)

Part three discusses BBSes, online services, communications services
(which, oddly, contains a section on fax boards), database and
information services and a reprise of commercial online services under
the name "Full Service Consumer and Business Networks".  From chapter
sixteen on, we have a melange of topics such as benefits (the hardsell
this time), portable communications, Windows, security (very bad) and
the future.  Appendices include troubleshooting, various commercial
and BBS numbers, cabling and a files listing for the included disk.

Unfortunately, for all its flaws, this may be the "only game in town"
at this level.  However, I would venture to suggest Gianone's "Using
MS-DOS Kermit" and LeVitus and Ihnatko's "Dr. Macintosh's Guide to the
Online Universe" (BKUMSKMT.RVW and BKDMGTOU.RVW) in preference to it.


copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993   BKMDMREF.RVW  931101
Permission granted to distribute with unedited copies of the TELECOM
Digest and associated newsgroups/mailing lists.

DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters
Editor and/or reviewer [e-mail], [e-mail], Rob Slade at 1:153/733
DECUS Symposium '94, Vancouver, BC, Mar 1-3, 1994, contact: [e-mail]