Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

The Shining (Signet) Review

The Shining (Signet)
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The Shining (Signet) ReviewTwenty-seven years after its publication, The Shining remains a visceral, gripping read that showcases Stephen King's unfathomable powers to hypnotize and terrify readers, a power King had in abundance in the early stages of his career. Coming on the heels of Carrie and 'Salem's Lot, The Shining truly established King as a modern master of horror and an unequaled purveyor of a literary mirror into pop culture. If you've only seen the original movie starring Jack Nicholson, you really owe it to yourself to read the novel; Stanley Kubrick made a fine and scary movie, but he did not capture the essence of King's story, and his dramatization followed a different path than what you find in the original vision brought to life through the words of King. The more recent miniseries was more faithful to the novel, but it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that a made-for-TV dramatization is limited in terms of what it can get away with in a number of important areas. Simply put, The Shining stands just behind Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House as one of the best "haunted house" novels ever written.
The plot should be quite familiar to one and all by this point. The Torrance family embarks on a months-long retreat into complete isolation when Jack Torrance signs on to be the winter custodian of the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Jack takes some personal demons with him to a hotel chock-full of malevolent, ghostly spirits; he is a recovering alcoholic who, in the last couple of years, lost his job and broke his little boy's arm in a state of drunken fury. He thinks the months alone with his wife and son will allow him to find peace - and to finally finish the play he has been working on. His long-suffering wife has some misgivings, but the only person really clued into the dreadful possibilities is his son Danny. Danny has "the shine," a gift which allows him to see and know things he cannot possibly know; it is a powerful gift which the Overlook (which really is an entity unto itself) jealously desires for itself.
As the days pass, the Overlook exerts more and more of an influence on Jack, exploiting his weaknesses, exacerbating his paranoia and persecution complex, and basically turning him into a murderous new tool at the hotel's disposal. Danny sees what is happening, although he cannot really understand much of it given his very young age. He can certainly understand the terror of the Overlook, however, as he sees images of the hotel's murderous past and very dark near future in a number of unsettling scenes interspersed throughout the novel. This is a harrowing tale of survival against incredible odds of a supernatural nature, and King brings every nuance of the story to vivid life, capturing perfectly the internalization and externalization of fear among exceedingly real, believable characters that the reader gets to know very well indeed. As has always been the case with Stephen King, it is his incomparable powers of characterization that make the supernatural elements of his story work so amazingly well. You can't help but be emotionally committed to these characters.
The Shining really isn't one of my all-time favorite Stephen King novels, but it is exceedingly well crafted and features some of the most harrowing scenes to be found in King's immense body of work. Even though I had read the novel before and was quite familiar with the story in both its literary and cinematic manifestations, I was completely caught up in the story as I re-read it - to the point that I found myself flipping the pages faster than I normally do for a novel completely new to me. When you talk about the seminal works of modern horror, you have to talk about The Shining - it's just that good a read.The Shining (Signet) OverviewTerrible events occur at an isolated hotel in the off season, when a small boy with psychic powers struggles to hold his own against the forces of evil that are driving his father insane. Reissue.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals Review

Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals
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Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals ReviewThis is the early transcendentals version of Stewart's calculus. The title of the book is quite appropriate, in that to learn calculus well, one must transcend the Stewart approach early and often. I found my self reading another text (Simmon's Calculus and Analytic Geometry) as an antidote to this dry, disjointed, lifeless tome.
Stewart takes an inconsistent (sometimes rigorous, sometimes intuitive) approach toward teaching the calculus. It seems as if he has attempted to be all things to all people. Though he may have attempted to present the subject in both an intuitive (to motivate the typical student) and rigorous (to satisfy the professor) manner, he failed to deliver on either.

The text is replete with pretty diagrams and some historical diversions, which read as canned, trivial snippets. In spite of this eye candy, the mathematical exposition is poor. Most proofs read as shorthand notes to one who already understands the subject. Is it analysis or basic calculus? Stewart seems to have a schizophrenic writing manner. On the one hand, he presents examples in "workbook" (i.e. Schaum's outline) form, so that if one wishes to solve a particular sort of problem, one might find it here. On the other hand, he does not seem able to meld problem solving with rigor in a coherent manner. So an abbreviated proof is done, with several relevant steps (relevant, that is, to the beginner) omitted. What function does this serve for a pre-analysis student? A proof that might take 10 steps is presented in 4. What is the point of this approach? Perhaps so as to ward off accusations that a particular subject was not touched upon.
The book is expensive and bloated. Though the "official" rendering of the page numbers is 781, there are approximately 130 other pages devoted to appendices (some as advertisements for other, i.e. ancillary, materials). Note, this text is intended for a 2 semester Calculus sequence. It seems inappropriate, perhaps fraudulent, that Stewart devoted 900+ expensive pages for his task, and yet failed to present the material in an interesting and efficient manner. Given his insistence upon this secondary material, I ask Stewart - did you ever intend for this book to be relatively self-contained for the serious first year scholar, or did you expect the professor or CD-ROM to fill in the gaps in your exposition? Some alternative texts: Simmons, Anton, Stein, Thomas/Finney.Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals OverviewSuccess in your calculus course starts here! James Stewart's CALCULUS: EARLY TRANSCENDENTALS texts are world-wide best-sellers for a reason: they are clear, accurate, and filled with relevant, real-world examples. With SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS: EARLY TRANSCENDENTALS, Seventh Edition, Stewart conveys not only the utility of calculus to help you develop technical competence, but also gives you an appreciation for the intrinsic beauty of the subject. His patient examples and built-in learning aids will help you build your mathematical confidence and achieve your goals in the course!

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Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified Review

Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified
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Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified ReviewI bought this book for two reasons:
1. I was tired of store bought patterns not keeping up with fashion trends.
2. I wanted to learn pattern making for a better fit.
This book goes into good detail without getting too technical and overwhelming. The book is organized into 3 parts with an additional section on Making Patterns from Existing Clothes.
An interesting fact about the author:
Cal Patch was a clothing designer for Urban Outfitters and Free People before creating her own label.
**I did a video review so others could get a better peak of "what's inside the book"**Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified Overview

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Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels Review

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
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Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels Review"Making Comics" is true to its title -- it's very well suited for folks eager to learn the craft of "making comics." I teach a Sequential Art class at California State University, Fullerton and I have made it a required reading book, because it so solidly articulates the elements of comic art from the perspective of the artist. McCloud has been teaching comics at workshops and guest speaking engagements across the country. His having been in the teacher's seat manifestly helps make his points all the more applicable and meaningful. For instance, McCloud uses examples from comics from around the world (Asian mangas, Eurocomics or BD, Western superheroes and alternative comics) that will resonate with modern audiences who perceive comics as more than the "mainstream" superhero comics. "Making Comics" casts the same clarity and passion that made "Understanding Comics" so compelling, and it is not as speculative as "Reinventing Comics." Readers of "Understanding Comics" may find that "Making Comics" covers a lot of the same ground, and that is inevitable (so if you are more into analyzing comics rather than making your own, "Understanding Comics" is for you). In a nutshell, Making Comics is a solid starting point for budding and eager comic artists!Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels Overview

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Google AdSense For Dummies Review

Google AdSense For Dummies
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Google AdSense For Dummies ReviewI just finished this Google AdSense book and was very impressed with the detailed easy to follow information. Great for beginners or seasoned AdSense users as it has many tips for all on how to get started, improve and maintain a great ethical AdSense account. I can see where those who try to defraud the AdSense privilege would leave a negative review. For those who are honest and want to learn the many facets of Adsense this book is a must and well written! Nothing replaces this great hard copy in hand that has clear chapter titles and categories that are easy to find! Many illustrations that take you through the steps to set up your AdSense account, preferences, and much more. Very pleased and will search for other titles by this author!!!
Google AdSense For Dummies Overview

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Microsoft Office 2010: Illustrated Fundamentals (Illustrated Series) Review

Microsoft Office 2010: Illustrated Fundamentals (Illustrated Series)
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Microsoft Office 2010: Illustrated Fundamentals (Illustrated Series) ReviewI got this book for more than 40 dollars less than what my bookstore was selling it for. The product condition is very good. I have been buying more books than any other product from amazon, and I am always happy with the products I get. The quality and price of the books amazon chooses to sell is part of the reason I keep coming back for more.
Microsoft Office 2010: Illustrated Fundamentals (Illustrated Series) Overview

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10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction & Accomplish Your Goals Review

10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction and Accomplish Your Goals
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10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction & Accomplish Your Goals ReviewI really like this book. It is pretty short, but it contains some very good ideas. I read it a few days ago, and picked up a few tips which I've been using. The brevity helps to avoid information overload, but there are plenty of citations throughout so that the reader can look into the research if they decide to.
The layout is great. It's easily readable from cover to cover in one day, but it is also very easy to jump straight to the relevant idea when you need it. I like the fact that there are exercises at the end of each chapter to help with synthesising the information.
My only complaint is that, in the descriptions of ADHD, hyperactivity is normally assumed, so for inattentive types it can be hard to relate to some of the examples. But the tips have been useful and they seem like they would be applicable for all types of ADHD.10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction & Accomplish Your Goals Overview
People think of ADD as a kid's problem. But kids grow up. Many adults also struggle with ADD. If you or someone you live with has ADD, you probably know that there are books on the market for this condition. But they are often too long. Or too complicated. Or too dry and clinical. You need straightforward tools for coping with real experiences. 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD offers exactly what you need.
Each chapter takes up an issue pertinent to adults with ADD: 'My mind wanders.' 'I'm always misplacing things.' 'I have trouble keeping friends.' 'I have a hard time getting started.' In no more than five to seven pages, the book outlines strategies for each problem that are simple to put into practice.
Get immediate and lasting rewards: Better concentration Sharper memory Richer relationships Improved money and time management Greater self-confidence
Visit her the author's web site at www.stephaniesarkis.com.

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Creative After Effects 5.0: animation, visual effects and motion graphics production for TV and video Review

Creative After Effects 5.0: animation, visual effects and motion graphics production for TV and video
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Creative After Effects 5.0: animation, visual effects and motion graphics production for TV and video ReviewAngie's instructional materials and projects will definitely help you learn how to begin using AE5's 3 major new features: 3D, Expressions, and Parenting. Tracking and keying get thorough treatments. She also offers some background in the history and craft of animation as well as advice on how to nurse a project through the creative mill from concept, storyboard, client pitch, and revisions.
The work is not without flaws but, compared to the other After Effects resources in print, this is a valuable book to have on your shelf, in my opinion. I enjoyed it very much.
I've got every AE resource in print, I think. Two or three of them were complete wastes of paper and you can probably find my opinions of them ...
For beginners, I always recommend Adobe's CIB for AE5. After slogging thru those projects either Angie's book or Creative Motion Graphics would beq worthy followup. For the advanced power user, there is no question that the Meyer's two books are THE standard reference pieces. For additional inspiration, another approach to effects design, and some lighthearted whimsy, Angie's book comes in a decent third place.
You can see an extensive review of Angie Taylor's After Effects 5.0 book that I have written at ...
david bogie, boise IDCreative After Effects 5.0: animation, visual effects and motion graphics production for TV and video OverviewIn this dynamic new text Angie Taylor provides a comprehensive guide to the fundamental workings of After Effects, explaining how to think creatively with the software, so that you can achieve the most unique and professional-looking results. Also included are lots of invaluable tips, tricks, ideas, animation rules, design and typography rules and details of other resources you will find useful.The free CD-ROM provides the necessary files to complete each tutorial in the book, as well as a plethora of free fonts, footage, plugins and demo software (including Adobe's After Effects 4.1 Tryout version). Readers are also encouraged to build their own, custom project, applying the techniques learned in each chapter, and completing the book with a totally unique piece of work. The associated website (www.angie.abel.co.uk/book.html) contains links to interesting related sites for up to date news, as well as inspirational work from other professional After Effects artists.If you are a designer already using After Effects and want to improve and reconfirm your working methods, brush up on your creative skills, and improve your graphic and animation techniques, or if you simply need to learn After Effects from scratch, then this is the book for you. FREE CROSS-PLATFORM CD-ROM INCLUDES:AFTER EFFECTS TEMPLATESEXTRAS FREE STUFF - FONTS - FOOTAGE - PLUGINSMOVIESSOFTWARE DEMOS (INCLUDES ADOBEÂ AFTER EFFECTSÂ 5.0 TRYOUT VERSION) TRAINING MATERIALS ÂUnique book and CD package shows you how to get the best out of After Effects 5.0ÂExclusive FREE password protected 5.5 tutorials covering various topics are available on the web when you purchase this bookÂCD is a comprehensive resource with all the tools needed to complete the exercises in the book

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The Best Damn Google Adsense Book B&W Edition: How To Make Dollars Instead Of Cents With Adsense Review

The Best Damn Google Adsense Book BandW Edition: How To Make Dollars Instead Of Cents With Adsense
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The Best Damn Google Adsense Book B&W Edition: How To Make Dollars Instead Of Cents With Adsense ReviewI wanted to try to make money with Google Adsense but didn't know where to start. Amazon suggested this book and it really did explain Google Adsense in very simple terms. You can follow the steps and use Adsense to make some extra cash. "Best Damn Goodle Adsense Book" might be a bit of a stretch, but it does help a newbie get started with Adsense.The Best Damn Google Adsense Book B&W Edition: How To Make Dollars Instead Of Cents With Adsense Overview

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Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers Review

Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers
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Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers ReviewThis is a very good introduction to Photoshop CS3 for the beginning digital photographer and a useful reference book for the more experienced Photoshop user.
The book is aimed at photographers and not graphic artists, unlike many other PS books. It follows a logical work flow progression, beginning with Adobe Bridge, which is an application included with PS CS3 that can be used to import pictures from a camera and to select and sort them. Next it moves to another part of Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), which allows for untargeted adjustments to the imported files. In Part II, it's on to manipulation in the main body of Photoshop, with emphasis on cropping, tonal adjustments and color correction. (Most of the tools mentioned here are also available in ACR in a similar form and although the bulk of instructions is contained here, it can be applied to ACR, although I wish the tie-in had been a little stronger.) This part then shows how to make local enhancements, sharpen a photo and print it. Part III talks about retouching and Part IV about advanced concepts like special effects and combining images. The first two parts will be sufficient for most photographers to learn how to turn out good prints.
The writing is clear, no-nonsense and almost pedantic but that's not so bad in a book of this type. Occasionally the authors will point out why certain adjustments are appropriate, but mostly the reasons will have to be inferred. For example, they suggest the artistic reasons for cropping, but when it comes to tonality, while they explain how to control it fully, the authors don't emphasize the importance of using the full range of light, or when one might not want to. Readers interested in learning more about the art should look at books like "Photoshop Artistry: For Photographers Using Photoshop CS2 and Beyond (Voices That Matter)" by Barry Hynes or "Outdoor Photographer Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2 (Outdoor Photographers)" by Rob Sheppard.
I was impressed by the fact that Smith and Cooper did not follow the almost politically correct line of saying format isn't so important, and unreservedly said that Raw is the best format for most shooting. The book includes a CD with images to work on. New users will find this tutorial approach extremely useful. Less useful were the videos on the disc which don't relate to specific chapters but seem more designed to sell related video instruction. Occasionally some small piece of information that I considered important, like setting the ACR preference for sharpening, was not included.
Unfortunately, the book does not cover the important changes to ACR made by version 4.1. Readers will have to find instruction about the update on-line at places like Jeff Schewe's piece at http://photoshopnews.com/2007/05/31/about-camera-raw-41/.
This seems an excellent book for new users to learn Photoshop CS3. (People familiar with Photoshop CS2 can save themselves a little time by reading Ben Willmore's "Adobe Photoshop CS3: Up to Speed".)
Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers OverviewLearn how to get the most out of all the newest features of Photoshop and improve your images with "Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers." Photoshop is the new darkroom, providing instant results and making professional-level tools accessible even to amateurs. This new edition of the book is filled with brand new content that will teach you how to use all of the tools in Photoshop CS4 that are specifically designed for the digital photographer, and which tools are best for each job. The book is organized to help guide you through a logical workflow so you can learn how to edit and enhance your photos in a more efficient manner. You'll find information on how to import and organize your images, how to use the new correction and enhancement tools, how to use the Raw Convertor, the advantages of the new Bridge asset management program, and more. Examples and images accompany each technique to ensure that you understand the material. Perfect for any digital photographer who wants to hone their Photoshop skills, "Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers" reveals the secrets to clearer, sharper, more professional-looking images.

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Game Engine Design and Implementation Review

Game Engine Design and Implementation
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Game Engine Design and Implementation ReviewI don't have any game engine experience and I got this book to help me out.
The first few chapters are great. They explain a lot about game engines; generally, how they work and why.
The author even shows you how to create your own c++ game engine from scratch. I love this.
He also makes a point that game engine design is a huge topic that cannot be covered in one book, however at times it seems like he is trying to, which hurts the content.
In the chapter about a DirectX 10 Render Manager, he spends over 100 pages talking about it and how to write a basic one. At the end he explains that the manager he just showed you is actually a piece of crap: camera doesn't move at all, no lighting, etc. The very next chapter (3D Scene Manager) he completely throws out directX and uses OGRE 3D.
I have no problem at all seeing a lot of different examples / ways of creating the different parts of the engine. But I'd also look to different books/resources for different examples. I was looking at this for consistency, which falls apart midway through.Game Engine Design and Implementation Overview

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Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual Review

Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual
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Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual ReviewORIGINAL REVIEW:
I can't tell you how many books I've trudged through to "learn" innumerable new applications only to find out that the book or the tutorial CD has errors. I never knew if I was making the mistake, or if the book was wrong. It was incredibly frustrating to spend $50 on a book, only to find that it was useless because you couldn't depend on anything in the book but the page numbers.
FINALLY someone takes the time -- and has enough respect for his audience -- to get it right. I own 3 Dreamweaver CS3 books and this is, by far, the best, most comprehensive and most error-free. In fact, I haven't found a single error yet -- and, believe me, I've looked.
The great thing about this book is that all of the tutorials are online. So there's no CD to lose or scratch. You can download the tutorials as many times as you want, no password needed.
There are just enough tutorials in this book to give me the information I need, but not so many that it becomes a rote "how-to" book. There's real information here combined with real-world applications in the form of tutorials. I'm actually in the middle of one right now and I'm so impressed with this book, I just had to stop and write a review for it!
If you want to learn Dreamweaver CS3 -- and learn it RIGHT THE FIRST TIME -- buy this book. Or steal it. Just get it.
REVISED: After making my way through this book in its entirety, I did discover some fairly significant errors. McFarland does post some of the corrections on his website, but he also moved the website and it's a little difficult to find. All-in-all this is still the best of the books that are out there, but its star got a little tarneished the farther into the book I got.Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual Overview

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Hacking the PSP: Cool Hacks, Mods, and Customizations for the SonyPlayStationPortable (ExtremeTech) Review

Hacking the PSP: Cool Hacks, Mods, and Customizations for the SonyPlayStationPortable (ExtremeTech)
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Hacking the PSP: Cool Hacks, Mods, and Customizations for the SonyPlayStationPortable (ExtremeTech) ReviewWith the complexity of today's gaming consoles, it's no surprise we need books like Hacking the PSP. The amount of things that can be done to this little handheld is astonishing, and there isn't another book out there on this console that covers this much. The flashy, foil cover isn't just for show. It's there to grab attention away from the other books on the same topic because they're nearly rendered useless.
Hacking the PSP is a 300+ page book that offers something for anyone who owns the console. The basics are here, from simple things like getting video onto the console to playing around with photos. The extensive coverage of the web browser is by far the most well written guide on this feature yet. The layout is simple, easy to follow, and the pictures clear enough in black & white to understand.
That's the type of thing covered in other books and the manual though. To make this stand out, Auri Rahimzadeh digs deep to offer some remarkable things to do. He goes above and beyond the call by including a chapter on basic C and C++ programming to get simple code up and running. It would have been expected to toss the code out there for the people who understand it, but Rahimzadeh takes the time to explain the origins of the code, how it works, and why you would want to do this in the first place.
Little tips strewn throughout the book offer tiny tidbits that are useful and possible without any hacking. All of those game save pictures on the memory stick can be changed to your liking, something not covered in Sony's manual. It's not the easiest process (and it's arguable that it's not even worth it), but it's here in plain English if you want to give it a shot.
The side bars, like the explanation of widescreen and various resolutions is informative, not just filler. Rahimzadeh tosses in some light commentary at times too. This breaks up the guide and offers something different than instruction.
Hacking the PSP covers things away from the internals of the system too. If you want to build a cheap car stand for your console, the deeply involving guide is more than enough to do so. It may not look pretty, but it seems functional. There is plenty of information on keeping your battery going, even going as far building an external battery pack if your addiction has gone way over the point of no return and you cry if the included battery dies.
The only complaint here isn't against the author, but time. There's zero coverage on newer firmware updates, and while the hundreds of links provided will guide you in the right direction, it's now history to be discussing the 2.0 firmware. The speed of PSP development is simply too fast to keep up with in a book like this.
It's the same problem with the other PSP-based books too. We'll never see a definitive guide until this console is dead and gone. Until that finally happens, we have Hacking the PSP, and aside from the web, it's all we need. O'Reily's PSP Hacks, while a solid book on its own, pales in comparison to how comprehensive this is.Hacking the PSP: Cool Hacks, Mods, and Customizations for the SonyPlayStationPortable (ExtremeTech) Overview

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Microsoft Word 2010: Complete (Shelly Cashman Series(r) Office 2010) Review

Microsoft Word 2010: Complete (Shelly Cashman Series(r) Office 2010)
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Microsoft Word 2010: Complete (Shelly Cashman Series(r) Office 2010) ReviewThis is a great book for anyone who wants a do-it-yourself, self taught course on Microsoft Word. Very clear explainations. This book is very current on the software 2010 version.Microsoft Word 2010: Complete (Shelly Cashman Series(r) Office 2010) Overview

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Introducing Revit Architecture 2009: BIM for Beginners Review

Introducing Revit Architecture 2009: BIM for Beginners
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Introducing Revit Architecture 2009: BIM for Beginners ReviewThis is a good start for beginners, there are a lot of examples that make this a good reference to start with. One thing that i did not like was the size of the text, it was small and the window shots were very hard to read, outside of that it is a good book.Introducing Revit Architecture 2009: BIM for Beginners Overview

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The Creative Digital Darkroom Review

The Creative Digital Darkroom
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The Creative Digital Darkroom ReviewIf you've bought a Katrin Eismann book before, you're no doubt looking at this one, too, since her books are so good. And what you've come to expect from her is indeed here - clear, concise information and step by step tutorials with plenty of diagrams showing what's being done. In its layout it's very similar to her Restoration and Retouching books, but denser, with a smaller font and more information, while remaining clear and balanced with a solid presentation. There's very few pages of wasted space.
As the title implies, the theme of the book is using traditional darkroom techniques in the digital world. In fact, part of the audience it's aimed at are experienced photographers who'd like to move to digital and carry over the skills they've learned. Focusing on this theme, the authors give us tools in global and local enhancements of tone and color, as well as sharpening/blurring and removing distractions, to bring out a photo's full potential.
It's all good and thorough, but be aware that in choosing to focus on that, the authors don't touch on many of the tools that are essential parts of Photoshop, including Photomerge, Liquify, Text, and Actions. It also doesn't cover Bridge or printing in depth, but there's actually a chapter on printing available as a PDF at the book's website: creativedigitaldarkroom.com.
It does cover Levels and Curves in more depth than any other book I've seen. It also covers Layer Masks, Shadow/Highlight, Perspective, Blending Modes, Lens Correction, Camera RAW (including the new Clarity tool), Split Toning, Sepia Toning (including Greg Gorman's technique), HDR, LAB, edge effects (using the Filter Gallery), Cross-Processing, and Sharpening, as well as including sections on creating a faded b/w photo and the like.
That said, I do have a few issues with the book. While the landscapes are like those you'd take yourself, many of the photos are a bit too abstract and arty for my tastes. Duggan uses Holgas, pinhole cameras, and a Lensbaby that blurs all the edges, and if you're not into such creative uses of cameras, these can get old once you've seen a few. Also, many are of moody old storefronts and gravestones, which adds a somber tone to the book.
Also, for those interested in working on portraits, there's very few of them here, and nothing about creating dynamic b/w portraits. The five or so portraits are used simply to demonstrate vignetting, sharpening, and the use of a warming filter.
Those points aside, this book delivers. Even when introducing the fundamentals of such tools as Levels and Curves, it goes right into detailed examples of how to use each. Some books merely list what each tool does, simply from lack of room, but by focusing on the essential tools, here you get exactly what you need - a brief overview containing all the important points followed by how you can best use them in your work.
Is a lot of it review? The majority of the tools outlined - the ones you use every day - are indeed covered much as they are in Eismann's Restoration and Retouching. The main difference is that Restoration covers mostly portraits, while this one focuses on landscapes and still lifes. Also, Restoration only covers up to CS2, while this one outlines all the latest tools in CS3, including a good deal on the very useful Black and White filter, as well as the new RAW 4.1 converter. It also gives a good overview of Lightroom, which I wasn't familiar with, but now has me looking that way.
If you already have Real World CS3 or a similar book, you already know more than most about Photoshop's technical aspects, and so you surely don't need a review. Still, this book's two chapters on setting up your Preferences, the different color spaces, and batch renaming are only fifty pages, so there's really not much to skip. And if you don't have Real World CS3, this book actually does cover all the basics you need in setting up your computer and workspace.
By the way, if you don't have CS3, most of the techniques here can be used with CS2 and CS. You won't have the use of the Highlight, Recovery, Clarity, B/W, and Curves tools in Camera RAW, and you won't have the B/W Filter with built-in settings like Infrared, but the authors do tell you how you can use the Channel Mixer, and Levels and Curves work much the same.
To sum up, you'll be pleased with this book if you don't go into it with any expectations that it be anything else. When I first saw it listed, I thought it'd build on where Restoration left off, going deep into creative interpretative techniques now that you have your photos optimized. Such techniques are indeed in the later part of the book, such as in using scanned paper for adding texture, but on the whole this book shows how to use the tools you're used to to get the most out of each photo's tone, color, and dramatic impact. In short, it's for experienced darkroom photographers as well as beginner and intermediate Photoshop users, instead of those who are already advanced in using Photoshop.
If you're a total beginner taking snapshots and are looking for a good overall coverage of all Photoshop has to offer, you might try Deke McClelland's Photoshop CS3 One-On-One or Martin Evening's Photoshop CS3 for Photographers. They're not as thorough as this book in each tool, but they cover more ground, give you a good tour, and set you up fine. From there, if you find your work focusing on family snapshots, portraits, and restoring old photos, go with Eismann's Restoration and Retouching, which covers a great deal more on repairing photos, such as using the floating Healing Patch and Pattern Maker. (You can download a full chapter from her digitalretouch.org site.) And if your interests lead you to fine art or landscape photography, this would be the book to learn from next.
Finally, if you already are a fine art or landscape photographer either new to Photoshop or without a solid grounding in the best use of all the fundamentals, or simply wish to brush up on your skills, this one is made for you.
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Windows® 7 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) Review

Windows® 7 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))
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Windows® 7 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) ReviewWindows 7 Step by step is what I bought for my sister. She's a novice PC user and wanted some help with using the newest Windows. Out of all the ones I read through at Borders this was the best for beginners and basics. If you are looking for a beginner book, probably a good choice but really will want to get a more advanced one to actually learn Windows 7. The more advanced one I like best is Windows 7: The Definitive Guide: The Essential Resource for Professionals and Power Users.Windows® 7 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) Overview

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Microeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (5th Edition) Review

Microeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (5th Edition)
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Microeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (5th Edition) ReviewThis book was very helpful this semester. It has great examples, every single page is in full color, and explains the concepts very clearly. I highly suggest buying the accompanying study guide as well, it's been beyond helpful in studying for my final.Microeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (5th Edition) Overview

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