Nancy,
>Cool. I think it's a great topic/issue, and I'm glad to have discussed it here. And gotten David's POV, as well.
FWIW, I tend to lean toward John's interpretation of Technical Editor, based on what I have observed with computer-related books. I would expect as Technical Editor to handle much of what you designated as peer review -- much like a beta test, which really is a form of peer review, but with editing responsibilities added.
I agree, this is an interesting discussion, at least for the three of us.