April 2006,
Windows Administration at the Command Line, SybexThis page contains the six most recent books that I've written. Since this is my most recent published work, this page gives you the best idea of what I've been working on recently. If you don't see what you want, be sure to write. I'm always open to new book ideas and I want to know what you'd like to see from me in the future. Be sure to check out my current projects as well. I always encourage you to comment on my work at JMueller@mwt.net.
The Internet has significantly changed the way books get marketed. More people are buying books online because it's easier than going to the store. Not only is the selection greater, but you can get the opinions of other readers. That's where you come into play. If you like one of my books, support other readers by telling them about it. Online stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and Fatbrain offer you the opportunity to tell other people how you feel through reader reviews. Let your opinion be heard, tell others what you think!
April 2006,
Windows Administration at the Command Line, Sybex
Many people are unaware of the vast resources that Microsoft provides at the command line. This book can help anyone realize the potential of the command line to provide better access to system resources, monitor both local and remote machines, and automate a wealth of tasks. The goal of this book is to document every utility provided as part of Windows; even those that Microsoft doesn't document. Within this book you'll find:
This book also discusses a few other products that relate to Windows, but aren't included with the intial Windows release. One of the most important topics is how you can add the .NET Framework to your toolbox without buying Visual Studio. Few people realize that Microsoft provides an amazing array of tools and utilities with the .NET Framework. For example, you can create a .NET application using nothing more than Notepad. The utilities also help you manage the .NET environment. In some cases, you need to use these tools to add .NET support to other products such as SQL Server and IIS.
Two chapters in this book discuss the newest version of Windows, Vista. In one chapter you'll find a listing of the Vista utilities and an overview of Vista changes. This is beta information, so you'll need to view the material in that light. I plan to provide an updated version of the book with the release Vista information when the product becomes available. The second chapter contains an overview of Monad, the new command line prompt for Vista. You can obtain a copy of Monad for Windows XP and Windows 2003 systems as well. This book shows you how to create both scripts and Cmdlets for Monad. Again, I plan to update this information to match the released producted are part of a book update.
January 2006,
Mastering Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition, Sybex
Visual Web Developer Express is one of a number of new scaled down programming products that Microsoft introduced. This book discusses all of the requirements for using this product, provides detailed descriptions of all product features, and includes a wealth of code that demonstrates various Web site development scenarios. I've designed this book to meet the needs of several groups: small-to-medium sized businesses, experimenters, developers who simply want to see what ASP.NET 2.0 offers, and anyone who has never really worked with Visual Studio before. This book relies on a vast array of small examples to demonstrate ASP.NET 2.0 functionality. Here are the features you'll find inside:
The book includes sections of accessibility, database management, building controls and components, and designing downloadable application. In some sections, the book also discusses how to work with other products, such as Visual C# Express, so you knows how to combine Express products to create a comprehensive development suite.
December 2005,
Mastering Web Development with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, Sybex
Visual Studio 2005 includes an incredible array of new features for Web site development. In fact, Web site development is so different that many developers will be shocked to see just how easy their task has become. All of this new functionality is encapsulated within a new feature called Visual Web Developer (not to be confused with Visual Web Developer Express). Even though Microsoft hasn't marketed this new feature very much, it appears as part of the About dialog box, and you can also see it when you perform a custom installation. However, the most visible change is that you now use the File | New | Web Site command instead of the more familiar File | New | Project command found in earlier versions of the product to create a new Web site. Visual Web Developer is part of Visual Studio 2005 and you use it to create Web sites. Web Development with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 includes the following features:
This book concentrates on large-scale development. I designed the examples specifically for the enterprise envionrment. Consequently, you won't have to worry about fitting small examples designed for a small business to your enterprise application. These examples get right into the enterprise environment; they're ready for your particular enterprise needs. You'll build the ABC Incorporated Web site as the book progresses to discover how to use various Web development features to create a Web site in the enterprise environment. The sample Web site demonstrates all of the new features that Visual Studio provides a setting that mimics many large Web sites today.
In addition to building a large Web site, the book demonstrates how to perform large development team tasks including source code management. You'll find a section on debugging techniques and even learn how to overcome accessibility issues. The whole idea of these sections is to improve team productivity and reduce confusion that can result in application errors. What you get as a result is a team that functions better together and applications that meet delivery schedule requirements.
August 2005,
The Savvy Guide to Home Security, Sams
Your home is your castle and you want to feel safe while you're in it. Although The Savvy Guide to Home Security can't provide you with a personal guard to stand at the front and back doors, it does provide the next best thing, knowledge. This hardware-specific book discusses a number of home security requirements. For example, it not only discusses the requirement to monitor external and internal access points, but the need to address personal needs such as installing a call switch for those with special needs. The following list tells you about just a few of the critical topics that this book discusses.
One of the best features of this book is that you don't have to take my word for anything. Inside you'll find interviews of experts in all areas of home security; everything from an insurance agent who tells you how security systems will affect your insurance to a police officer who has seen it all when it comes to home security. In between you'll find experts who tell you about installation and what the crooks are actually thinking about. You'll even find an interview with a small business owner and the security goals that this business pursued.
January 2005,
Windows XP Power Optimization, Sybex
If your copy of Windows is starting slow and causing you more pain than you might think its worth, then this book has the answers you need. Microsoft Windows XP Power Optimization covers a wealth of optimization tips, tricks, and techniques; everything from cleaning needless files off the hard drive to tweaking the registry to obtain better performance. In fact, here is a list of just a few of the new things you'll learn by reading this book:
The book focuses on optimization goals, rather than including bland techniques that lack a usage basis. One of the book's goals is to ensure that you understand both the benefit and the tradeoff of using a particular technique. For example, making a system more secure might affect performance, reliability, stability, or usability. The emphasis is helping the you decide how best to optimize a system to meet specific needs and requirements, rather than take a one size fits all approach.
