Review dynamo chromatic again regales you with enough information to tweak your ears and possibly encourage serious browsing, at least if if you are lucky enough to deal with multi-platform networks involving such obscurities as Windows NT and TCP/IP. Just like an O'Reilly book to make things easy.

If information wants to be free, where does it go when it's out? A string of Os and 1s, no matter how carefully modulated, means nothing unless it is eventually channeled, observed and understood by a recipient -- a person. As a reminder that those bits are there so that people can actually benefit from them, Cliff Lampe contributed this review of The Social Life of Information. It may make you rethink everything from your own program designs to evaluating the quality of the information (and information systems) around you.

It may have taken a semi-obscure German professor, the profit motive of the world's CD-ROM drive producers, ingenious hackers and aesthetically gifted interface designers, but the simple fact is that MP3s are out there, and they're everywhere -- every major desktop OS comes with players for your easy listening. Chronic book review madman chromatic points you to a fount of knowledge for anyone who needs more than "click here to play."

The reason computers -- never mind programming -- are so obscure to most people is a learning curve which appears dangerously steep stands between the ordinary user (who knows how to use a mouse, and which button turns on the monitor) and writing even "Hello, World." Prolific reviewer chromatic reviews here Who's Afraid of C++?, a book intended to flatten that curve.

Managing software development is a job right up there with aircraft controller in the realm between fascinating and nerve-wracking. chromatic's latest review is of a book introducing one of the best known tools for managing the complexity inherent in such projects, Karl Fogel's Open Source Development with CVS.

Never content to rest on his laurels, chromatic has again supplied us with a no-nonsense, informative book review. This time it's of O'Reilly's Programming the Perl DBI, for those of you unwilling to let any TLA go unconquered. If you're building a Web site or learning MySQL (or any other database) and want to combine Perl skills with data storage, he's got a few words for you. [Updated 13 June 3:20GMT by timothy:] Heck, it's a double header! PotPieMan gives a different perspective on the same book, all below.

Quick - how many brand names or logos are visible on the outside of your clothing? Your computer equipment? Have you ever noticed a Red Hat bumper sticker? Warren A. Layton sent us an interesting review of No Logo which will have you examining your surroundings for just such signs. Depending on your bent, you may also be reminded of the character Francisco d'Anconia in Atlas Shrugged when he declares "The coats-of-arms of our day are to be found on billboards and in the ads of popular magazines."

Unstoppable reader Jason Bennett has penned another review, this time of Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe -- proof that it's good to venture beyond the O'Reilly section of the store, at least the few feet to the Current Science area.

From somehere just off the beaten path of SciFi, programming and encryption reviews, Kevin Whilden of Your Planet Earth submitted this review of Natural Capitalism, a book aimed at reconciling nature lovers with free market enthusiasts. The book's basic ideas may be old hat to many libertarians and other free-marketeers, but are phrased in way that seems aimed at a fairly conventional lay audience. How do you feel about the connections he draws between open source software and the eco-economy? What is the best economic atmosphere for a healthy environment, and is it also the best one for free software? How realistic is the Rocky Mountain Institute's analysis?

In the book world, new and good are not exclusively linked. Classic books may get short shrift, but that doesn't mean they're not worth sampling. Even -- or especially -- in the world of SciFi, for a book to be worth reading 25 years later is an impressive feat. In that spririt, Duncan Lawie brings you another retrospective book review, this time of Bob Shaw's Orbitsville.

In a powerful new book on the conflict in Kosovo, author Michael Ignatieff asks not only whether virtual war is moral, but whether it can work. Precision violence, he warns, is now at the disposal of a risk-averse culture, unwilling to sacrifice and determined to stay out of harm's way. A compelling and convincing look at more (in this case, tragic) unthinking use of technology. (Read More)

Following the success of last year's User Friendly , O'Reilly strikes back. This time, it's a collection of 1999's comics (3 January through 11 December). Slightly oversized, with three daily strips or one daily and one Sunday strip to a page, this happy little collection will spruce up your coffee table and bring a smile to your guests. (If you have a coffee table, that is.)

Greetings, all. I thought I'd let things settle down a little bit after my Cluetrain review, and try something slightly safer. :-) It never ceases to amaze me how, in an age where we use the phrase "that's so yesterday!" without flinching, the best lessons are those from "long ago." Book burning has been a hallmark of our century, although we certainly did not invent it. From the blatant actions of the Nazis to the self-censorship of the post-WWII age to today's filtering fights, the struggle to express ourselves has never ended. Come the middle of this century, at a time when the status quo was as strong as it has been in recent memory, a man with a story reminded us of something that Thomas Jefferson expressed two centuries before, that a little revolution now and then is a good thing. That revolution may generate some uncomfortable instability, but in the end we as a society are better for it.

Back from his stint in juvenile detention, it's hemos with a review of John F. Sundman's technothriller Acts of the Apostles. And you don't even have to buy it until you're hooked. (Read more to find out why.)

chromatic has brought us yet another pithy programming-book review, this time of Damien Conway's Object Oriented Perl. This sounds like a good book for those interested in not only an overview, but a book that pushes them into at least a few practical applications -- but not one too intimidating to learn from.

Maureen F. McHugh grew up in Ohio and has lived in both New York and China. She returned to her home state to write science fiction which has received a multitude of nominations and awards. Her fourth novel is due out shortly. China Mountain Zhang was McHugh's first novel and seems to epitomize the idea of writing about what you know. It is an expansion of two previously published short stories, one becoming the primary narrative and the other being used in counterpoint. Thanks to Duncan Lawie for reviewing this fine book.

Reviewer Greg Smith here dissects a book aimed at programmers who want to add Perl to their stable of languages, but also useful to the Perl connoisseur. If your interest in Perl is more than casual -- especially if you're seeking practical code examples more substantial then in more introductory texts -- The Perl Black Book may be for you. (Read more.)

chromatic returns with a book tuned for anyone whose answer to heterogeneous networks is SAMBA, and wants 500 pages of practical advice (and answers to common problems) distilled from the fountain of SAMBA knowlege.

How would you dip your feet in the water, learning enough to start dabbling with kernel development? Scott Maxwell might end up as the guide for a fresh batch of aspiring programmers, with his Linux Core Kernel Commentary. Starting with a lesson on the history and philosophy behind free software, you can learn enough to start contributing on your own.

Jakob Nielsen is no Web-designer-come-lately. He's a respected, thoughful researcher and educator. When he speaks, (smart) people listen. The first review below is one of more than five hundred by reviewer Danny Yee. Likely to interest Slashdotters are reviews in the categories popular science, science fiction, and computing. Our second reviewer is Cliff Lampe, who brings his own expertise in human-computer relationships to the table. Readers may also want to read the Slashdot interview with Nielsen.