Page 30 RAIN September/October 1985 BOOK REVIEWS The North American Online Directory, 1985,265 pp., $75 from: R.R. Bowker Company 205 East Forty-Second Street New York, NY 10017 There has been a rapid proliferation of directories to on-line services in the last couple of years (we recently compiled a bibliography of 35). This one is an industry directory, not just a directory to online services. In it, you'll find lists of database producers, on-line vendors, telecommunication networks, library networks and consortia, information collection and analysis centers, information brokers, consultants, associations, on-line user groups, reference books, and periodicals. An excellent resource for anyone interested in the growing on-line world. Buyers Guide To Modems and Communications Software, by Terry C. Silveria, et al, 1985,184 pp., $12.95 from: Tab Books Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214 By one count there are over 200 communication software packages just for IBM compatible machines. It is a rapidly changing field, and attempts to pin it down in a book could be considered futile. This book reviews 40 communications software packages—obviously not all, but still a good cross section. Modems, too, are coming out in increasingly different forms, and this book reviews about 80 of them. One might argue that the only way to be reasonably educated about rapidly growing fields like computer communications is through periodicals. but this Tab volume puts a sizable chunk of it in one book. The introductory chapters on communication principles and on-line systems, however, are weak. The best reason to buy this book is to be able to compare the qualities of a wide range of modems and software. Information Technology R&D: Critical Trends and Issues, published by Office of Technology Assessment, 1985,342 pp., $9.50 from: Government Printing Office North Capitol and H Streets, NW Washington, DC 20401 This report is a good place to begin to understand the increasing impact of information technology on our future economic growth. Though it is difficult to specify what research and development can be labeled as information technology development, using the definition elaborated on in this book, the size of our commitment is extensive. According to the report, the U.S. Government is spending nearly $1 billion annually on information technology research and development. The Department of Defense spends about 25 percent of its R&D budget on electronics and computer science. In the private sector, the information industry spends another $10.8 billion. The report focuses on research in computer architecture, fiber optic communications, software engineering, and artificial intelligence. It presents good overviews on research and development in different federal government branches such as the Defense Department, National Science Foundation, Health and Welfare, and Education. A very good section provides descriptions of the several private/public research ventures, including MIT's Microsystems Industrial Group, the Microelectronics and Information Sciences Center at the University of Minnesota, and the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation initiated by Control Data. One chapter provides brief overviews of foreign commitments to information technology research and development, and another describes the new makeup of AT&T and the Bell Labs after the divestiture. Overall, the strength of the report is in its summarization of specific R&D projects, providing one place to get a fairly current state-of-the-art report on major activities. A good book for futurists, information technologists, and even job seekers. How To Get Free Software, by Alfred Glossbrenner, 1984,436 pp., $14.95 from: St. Martin's Press 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 Glossbrenner is one of the best computer writers around. His other guides, such as "Personal Computer Communications," are easy to read, accurate, and exhaustive. This one is no exception. By the time you are done, you may wonder why you should ever buy software. You might also feel a compulsion to send away for an inexpensive disk of public domain software from a user's group. Glossbrenner explores many different types of free software, including software available through users groups, from community bulletin boards, through information utilities like the Source and CompuServe, and from clearinghouses that distribute public domain software. Dozens of specific packages are reviewed. Glossbrenner has also provided many useful tips about what to look for in obtaining and using free and public domain software. Very little of the software is literally free. Sometimes you can get the software but have to pay for the manual, or you can download the software from somewhere, but to be kept abreast of modifications in the software, you have to register with the designer. The easiest way to approach public domain software is like the everyday hacker—it's a fun game, you get a lot of free stuff, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But there is also high quality software that is free or very inexpensive. That may be hard to keep in mind when purchasing software in a business environment where expense is sometimes perceived as an indication of quality. So try it out, download some software. But first get this book by Glossbrenner.
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