Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

The most important acknowledgement goes to you—the reader—for purchasing this book. Thank you! Now allow me to introduce and acknowledge the many wonderful and talented people who played a role in making this book a reality.

From Microsoft, I first thank Andy Harjanto, Program Manager for Active Directory and ADSI, for taking the time to meet with me and for answering my many questions promptly, not to mention for writing the book's foreword! Also, Ajay Ramachandran, a Microsoft developer for ADSI, was very helpful in answering a number of questions. Special thanks to Andrew Clinick, Program Manager, Microsoft Programmability group, for reviewing and making a number of contributions to the Windows Script section in Chapter 10. Before starting this project, I had several conversations with Charles Elliot, Program Manager for Microsoft Exchange, on what makes a great computer book. I'm not sure whether I succeeded with this first effort, but at least I've kept my picture off the cover. I also want to acknowledge the influence of my former coworkers in the Microsoft Accessibility and Disabilities Group, including Greg Lowney, an excellent writer himself; Peter Kam-Ho Wong; Luanne LaLonde; and Gary Moulton. They have truly changed the world for a great number of people and continue to do so.

Many folks from around the world reviewed and contributed to this book in various ways. While there is not enough space to thank everyone, of particular note are Glenn Corbett, Greg Head, Kevin Stanush, Mark C. Smith, Gil Kirkpatrick, Neil Smith, Adam Bogan, and Tom Kiehl. Special thanks also to Andy Webb for his frontline experiences. My dear friends Gary Consolazio, John Beach, and Dave Dockery reviewed chapters and source code and offered many suggestions as well as inspiration. Help in nontechnical forms came from Karen Lee and Jennifer Nelson, without whom I would not have had the mental and physical stamina needed for this project.

Finally, and most importantly, I'd like to thank the many fine folks at Microsoft Press, including Ben Ryan and Barbara Moreland, who got this project started and who guided me in the initial steps. Jana Carter and Jennifer Brown provided administrative help, and Danielle Bird had just the right touch to save this project when it looked like it wasn't going to finish. Special thanks to Paula Gorelick, the principal page compositor, who is just as talented as her famous brother (musician Kenny G). She found countless ways to fit my verbose code comments, lengthy sidebars, and dense tables into readable form. Thanks also to Cheryl Penner, the book's skillful copy editor, and Michael Kloepfer, who produced the art.

Finally, while my name appears on the cover, I truly feel as though the book's two main editors did as much as I did to create this book. They went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that what you are holding in your hands is readable and accurate. Technical editor Robert Lyon did an outstanding job of cleaning up overly complex passages and vetting the source code. Robert contributed his programming talents as well to a number of the sample applications and often worked throughout the night and on weekends to make sure that what I say in this book is accurate. Of course, any errors that appear are my own. John Pierce, the book's project editor, took my words and made sense of them. He patiently waited while I blew through deadline after deadline and also crafted chapters and passages to make sure I stayed on topic. This book is as much theirs as it is mine. Thank you Robert and John.

Writing this type of book is a grueling task, and while I took on the project voluntarily, my soul mate and partner for life did not. She endured many nights and weekends without me, but every step of the way she offered support and encouragement, did little things like providing flowers for my office, and helped me stay upbeat during the hardest parts. Anthea, I love you; this book would not have happened without your support.

Charles Oppermann
April, 2001
Woodinville, Washington