BKTCHGNT.RVW 940908 "The Technology Gauntlet", Kilduff/Blewett, 1994, 0-201-63359-0, U$24.75 %A Margaret Kilduff %A Doug Blewett %C 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867-9984 %D 1994 %G 0-201-63359-0 %I Addison-Wesley Publishing Company %O U$24.75 %P 175 %T "The Technology Gauntlet" Heather Rignanesi, Marketing, x340, 73171.657@Compuserve.com Tiffany Moore, Publicity tiffanym@aw.com Barbara Warren, Marketing barbarw@aw.com 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 When you have discarded the quotes from Twain's "Connecticut Yankee", the weird architectural photography, the jargon, and the Venn diagrams, this is a book on how to plan and implement a computer system. There are, of course, a great many other books on the same topic. This is no worse, though no better, than most. As usual, the material is general rather than specific, and even rather vague at times. Specific stages, and questions, are outlined for project leaders to follow. If followed correctly, they *could* keep projects on track--but only if answered correctly. The book seems to be aimed primarily at non-technical people, but you would have to have a thorough understanding of current, emerging and realistic technologies in order to answer most of the questions without several iterations. The book is reasonably concise, without the clutter of verbiage that often surrounds such works. The brevity, though, comes at the cost of a terse and jargon-laden text. While not indecipherable, the material is quite dense and is not an easy read. The repeated concepts of "technocentrisms" and "technology transfer" appear, initially, to refer to training. This is supported by the subject classification. Please note that training gets only fleeting and minor mention in the book. For those facing ongoing responsibility for developmental projects, this book provides broad guidance for oversight. For those wanting to know whether to put the company books on computer or upgrade the phone system--ask a friend in a similar business. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKTCHGNT.RVW 940908 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" (Europe: ertel@springer.de)