Wednesday, January 7, 2009


Canon EOS 40D Digital Field Guide
  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley (April 7, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470260440
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470260449
Product Description
In the Canon EOS 40D, speed and reliability meet superior image quality and affordability. With this handy guide, youll learn how to work with color spaces and white balance, use Live View, set up the 40D for your shooting style, set and evaluate exposure, and more. Get helpful tips and advice on using and modifying Picture Styles, creating customized settings for the subjects you shoot most often, and working with natural light. Just picture the amazing photos youll take with your Canon EOS 40D!

From the Back Cover
Picture the images you'll capture with your 40D

In the Canon EOS 40D, speed and reliability meet superior image quality and affordability. And the more you know about your camera, the better your images will be. So don't wait another minute. Learn how to work with color spaces and white balance, use Live View, set up the 40D for your shooting style, set and evaluate exposure, and more. Get helpful tips and advice that you can use every time in this handy guide that goes wherever you take pictures.

  • Discover how to use and modify Picture Styles, and why you should

  • Create customized settings for the subjects you shoot most often

  • Explore Canon lenses

  • Work with natural light, onboard flash, and accessory Speedlites

  • Understand when and why to use RAW capture

  • Get insights for shooting action, events, weddings, stock shots, macro images, landscapes, and more

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A Short Course in Canon EOS 40D Photography

  • Publisher: ShortCourses.com; 1 edition (October 15, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1928873804
  • ISBN-13: 978-1928873808


Product Description
This book/eBook package is your guide to getting more interesting and creative photos with the 10.1 megapixel Canon EOS 40D. If you want to learn more about the concepts of photography, this book/ebook is for you. It discusses every camera setting on this high-quality camera in a clear, well-illustrated style, with many integrated tips and QuickSteps, but it also does much more. You'll see why and when you use specific settings, not just how to set them. You'll find that this guide helps you quickly master your camera so you ll be getting the kinds of photos you hope for.

The book is printed in black & white and has a well-liked spiral binding that lets the book lie flat or be folded back. The accompanying eBook on a CD disc is a printable and searchable full-color version of the same book in Adobe's popular PDF format. It can be read on a PC or Mac using the free Acrobat Reader or any current Web browser. This eBook also includes clickable links to 50 or so interactive animations that illustrate the core concepts of digital photography. These animations allow you to interact with such concepts as exposure compensation, lens focal lengths, histograms, and much, much more. (To use these animations you do need an Internet connection.)

Just some of the things you'll learn are how to take pictures in fully automatic point and shoot mode and how your camera captures digital images; how to play back and manage your images; how to use buttons, dials, and menus; control image size and quality; shoot continuously, use all of the camera's exposure modes and exposure controls to get photos that show the scene exactly as it is, or as you want to interpret it; use histograms for the best possible exposures; see how to control sharpness in your photographs; and how to use focus, depth-of-field, sharpness, softness, and blur creatively. Learn all about light and color and how to use them creatively. Understand how they change throughout the day and seasons, how they re affected by the weather, and how light s direction and quality affects highlights and shadows. See how to set white balance to capture colors the way you see them. Learn how to use lenses creatively when photographing scenery, interiors, people, and very small subjects. See how zoom and macro mode affects your images. See how to creatively use an external flash both indoors and out and in good light and bad and how to use studio lighting for product shots and portraits. Explore special techniques such as RAW image formats, fill and slow sync flash. See how to use live view, continuous photography, picture styles that control tone, sharpness and hue, shoot in black & white, enter a print order, and care for your camera, including cleaning the image sensor.

About the Author
For the past three decades Dennis Curtin has been an editor, author, and publisher in photography and computing. His latest books on digital cameras and digital photography have been widely praised for their quality and simplicity. They have been widely used in schools, by most of the armed services, many police departments, and even a number of camera companies to train specialists in photography. On the publishing side, Dennis was editor-in-chief of one of Time-Warner's educational divisions and also held similar positions in Prentice-Hall's technology and engineering program and Prentice-Hall International. In those roles, he has worked extensively with Ansel Adams and other leading photographers of our generation. In his roles as publisher, editor, and author Dennis has been fortunate to edit, publish or write many best-selling books in photography and computing.

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Monday, January 5, 2009


Head First Software Development (Brain-Friendly Guides)


Product Description
Even the best developers have seen well-intentioned software projects fail -- often because the customer kept changing requirements, and end users didn't know how to use the software you developed. Instead of surrendering to these common problems, let Head First Software Development guide you through the best practices of software development. Before you know it, those failed projects will be a thing of the past.

With its unique visually rich format, this book pulls together the hard lessons learned by expert software developers over the years. You'll gain essential information about each step of the software development lifecycle -- requirements, design, coding, testing, implementing, and maintenance -- and understand why and how different development processes work.

This book is for you if you are:
  • Tired of your customers assuming you're psychic. You'll learn not only how to get good requirements, but how to make sure you're always building the software that customers want (even when they're not sure themselves)
  • Wondering when the other 15 programmers you need to get your project done on time are going to show up. You'll learn how some very simple scheduling and prioritizing will revolutionize your success rate in developing software.
  • Confused about being rational, agile, or a tester. You'll learn not only about the various development methodologies out there, but how to choose a solution that's right for your project.
  • Confused because the way you ran your last project worked so well, but failed miserably this time around. You'll learn how to tackle each project individually, combine lessons you've learned on previous projects with cutting-edge development techniques, and end up with great software on every project.
Head First Software Development is here to help you learn in a way that your brain likes... and you'll have a blast along the way. Why pick up hundreds of boring books on the philosophy of this approach or the formal techniques required for that one? Stick with Head First Software Development, and your projects will succeed like never before. Go on, get started... you'll learn and have fun. We promise.

About the Author
Dan Pilone is a Senior Software Architect with Blueprint Technologies, Inc. He has designed and implemented systems for Hughes, ARINC, UPS, and the Naval Research Laboratory. He also teaches project management, software design, and software engineering at The Catholic University in Washington D.C. Dan has written several books on software development, including "UML 2.0 in a Nutshell" (0-596-00795-7) and "UML 2.0 Pocket Reference" (0-596-10208-9), both O'Reilly.

Russell Miles is a software engineer for General Dynamics UK where he works with Java and Distributed Systems, although his passion at the moment is Aspect Orientation and in particular AspectJ. To ensure that he has as little spare time as possible, Russ contributes to various open source projects while working on books for O'Reilly. He currently is studying at Oxford University in England for an MSc in Software Engineering.

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Head First Ajax
By Rebecca Riordan

  • Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • Number Of Pages: 527
  • Publication Date: 2008-09-02
  • ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0596515782
  • ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780596515782


Product Description:
Ajax is no longer an experimental approach to website development, but the key to building browser-based applications that form the cornerstone of Web 2.0. Head First Ajax gives you an up-to-date perspective that lets you see exactly what you can do -- and has been done -- with Ajax. With it, you get a highly practical, in-depth, and mature view of what is now a mature development approach.

Using the unique and highly effective visual format that has turned Head First titles into runaway bestsellers, this book offers a big picture overview to introduce Ajax, and then explores the use of individual Ajax components -- including the JavaScript event model, DOM, XML, JSON, and more -- as it progresses. You'll find plenty of sample applications that illustrate the concepts, along with exercises, quizzes, and other interactive features to help you retain what you've learned.

Head First Ajax covers:

  • The JavaScript event model
  • Making Ajax requests with XMLHTTPREQUEST objects
  • The asynchronous application model
  • The Document Object Model (DOM)
  • Manipulating the DOM in JavaScript
  • Controlling the browser with the Browser Object Model
  • XHTML Forms
  • POST Requests
  • XML Syntax and the XML DOM tree
  • XML Requests & Responses
  • JSON -- an alternative to XML
  • Ajax architecture & patterns
  • The Prototype Library
The book also discusses the server-side implications of building Ajax applications, and uses a "black box" approach to server-side components.

Head First Ajax is the ideal guide for experienced web developers comfortable with scripting -- particularly those who have completed the exercises in Head First JavaScript -- and for experienced programmers in Java, PHP, and C# who want to learn client-side programming.

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Head First JavaScript


Product Description
So you're ready to make the leap from writing HTML and CSS web pages to creating dynamic web applications. You want to take your web skills to the next level. And you're finally ready to add "programmer" to the resume. It sounds like you're ready to learn the Web's hottest programming language: JavaScript. Head First JavaScript is your ticket to going beyond copying and pasting the code from someone else's web site, and writing your own interactive web pages.

With Head First JavaScript, you learn:
  • The basics of programming, from variables to types to looping
  • How the web browser runs your code, and how you can talk to the browser with your code
  • Why you'll never have to worry about casting, overloading, or polymorphism when you're writing JavaScript code
  • How to use the Document Object Model to change your web pages without making your users click buttons
If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect -- a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head First JavaScript is no exception. It starts where HTML and CSS leave off, and takes you through your first program into more complex programming concepts -- like working directly with the web browser's object model and writing code that works on all modern browsers.

Don't be intimidated if you've never written a line of code before! In typical Head First style, Head First JavaScript doesn't skip steps, and we're not interested in having you cut and paste code. You'll learn JavaScript, understand it, and have a blast along the way. So get ready... dynamic and exciting web pages are just pages away.

About the Author
Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of books covering topics such as Java, Web scripting, game development, and mobile devices. Some of Michael's notable writing projects include JavaScript Bible, 6th Edition (Wiley, 2006),Teach Yourself HTML and CSS in 24 Hours, 7th Edition (Sams Publishing, 2005), Beginning Mobile Phone Game Programming (Sams Publishing, 2004) and Java Unleashed (Sams Publishing, 1997). Michael is the intructor of several Web-based courses, including DigitalThink's Introduction to Java 2 series, JavaBeans for Programmers series, and Win32 Programming series (www.digitalthink.com).

In addition to his primary profession as a writer and technical consultant, Michael is the founder of Stalefish Labs (www.stalefishlabs.com), an entertainment company specializing in games, toys, and interactive media. When not glued to his computer, skateboarding, playing hockey, or watching movies with his wife, Masheed, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond.

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Product Description
Media Reviews
  • "I have been doing project management for over 30 years and am considered a subject matter expert in the PMBOK(r) Guide -Third Edition primarily because I am the Project Manager who led the team that developed this edition. As a consultant I was hired to review and evaluate eight of the top selling PMP Exam Preparation books for their accuracy in following the PMBOK® Guide - Third Edition. I have developed and taught a PMP Exam Prep course for a leading R.E.P., and taught PMP Exam preparation classes for PMI Chapters. I can honestly say that Head First PMP is by far the best PMP Exam Preparation book of all I have reviewed in depth. It is the very best basic education and training book that I have read that presents the processes for managing a project, which makes it a great resource for a basic project management class for beginners as well as a tool for practitioners who want to pass the PMP exam. The graphical story format is unique, as project management books go, which makes it both fun and easy to read while driving home the basics that are necessary for preparing someone is just getting started and those who want to take the exam."
    --Dennis Bolles, PMP DLB Associates, LLC and co-author of The Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management

  • "This looks like too much fun to be a PMP study guide! Behind the quirky humor and nutty graphics lies an excellent explanation of the project management processes. Not only will this book make it easier to pass the exam, you'll learn a lot of good stuff to use on the job too."
    --Carol Steuer, PMP and PMBOK(r) Guide, 3rd Edition Leadership Team

  • "This is the best thing to happen to PMP since, well, ever. You'll laugh, learn, pass the exam, and become a better project manager all at the same time."
    -- Scott Berkun, author of The Art of Project Management and The Myths of Innovation

  • "Original, fresh, and fun... this is truly the perfect study companion for anyone aiming for PMP certification."
    --Teresa Simmermacher, PMP and Project Manager at Avanade

  • "I love this format! Head First PMP covers everything you need to know to pass your PMP exam. The sound-bite format combined with the whimsical images turns a dry subject into entertainment. The organization starts with the basics then drills into the details. The in-depth coverage of complex topics like Earned Value and Quality Control are presented in an easy to understand format with descriptions, pictures, and examples. This book will not only help you pass the PMP, it should be used as an daily reference for practicing project managers. I sure wish I had this when I was studying for the exam."
    --Mike Jenkins, PMP, MBA

  • "I think that under the fonts and formalized goofiness, the book has a good heart (intending to cover basic principles in an honest way rather than just to pass the test). Head First PMP attempts to educate potential project managers instead of being a mere "how to pass the PMP exam" book filled with test taking tips. This is truly something which sets it apart from the other PMP certification exam books."
    --Jack Dahlgren, Project Management Consultant

  • "Head First PMP is a great tool to help make sense of the Project Management Body of Knowledge for the everyday Project Manager."
    --Mark Poinelli, PMP


About the Book A PMP certification is more than just passing a test. It means that you have the knowledge to solve most common project problems, and proves that you know your stuff. Once you're certified, your projects are more likely to succeed because you have the skills and knowledge to make them successful. Not only that, it can mean a better job, more money, and greater respect from your peers. But studying for a difficult four-hour exam on project management isn't easy, even for experienced project managers. You want to remember everything that you're learning about project management, but your brain is working against you! Your brain craves novelty, and most PMP certification prep books are anything but novel. When you keep putting down a boring book instead of studying, it's because your brain doesn't think the information in it is worth learning. Your brain has more important stuff to think about, like how to keep you alive and out of danger-and it doesn't think that failing the PMP exam qualifies as life-threatening! So how do you trick your brain into thinking that your life does depend on learning everything you need to know to pass the PMP Exam? Head First PMP is the answer! Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science and learning theory, Head First PMP has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works-a multi-sensory experience that helps the material stick, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep. Head First PMP offers 100% coverage of The PMBOK® Guide principles and certification objectives in a way that's engaging, not tedious. This book helps you prepare for the PMP certification exam with a unique method that goes beyond answers to specific questions and makes you think about the big picture of project management. By putting project management concepts into context, you will be able to understand, remember, and apply them-not just on the exam, but also on the job. With Head First PMP, you get the best of both worlds: a thorough and effective preparation guide for the PMP certification exam with hundreds of practice questions and exam strategies, along with puzzles, games, problems, exercises and the unique Head First approach that makes learning easy and entertaining. When you're done with Head First PMP, you'll know your stuff, you'll pass the exam, and you'll be able to bring everything you've learned to your job.

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Review
This is a gimmicky book that actually works for once. It is an intelligent and well thought-out discussion of Java design patterns, and if you dont know what a design pattern is then this is an excellent way to find out. It is also an interested discussion of object-oriented design. I found that the authors often anticipated my reaction to their initial explanations and asked the questions that I would have asked had it been a lecture. - Mike James, VSJ, April 2005

Product Description
You're not alone.

At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on... something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun.

You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code.

You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead). You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design paddle pattern.

Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter.

With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep! We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts.

If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect - a visually-rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.

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Product Description
"Head First Object Oriented Analysis and Design is a refreshing look at subject of OOAD. What sets this book apart is its focus on learning. The authors have made the content of OOAD accessible, usable for the practitioner."
Ivar Jacobson, Ivar Jacobson Consulting

"I just finished reading HF OOA&D and I loved it! The thing I liked most about this book was its focus on why we do OOA&D-to write great software!"
Kyle Brown, Distinguished Engineer, IBM


"Hidden behind the funny pictures and crazy fonts is a serious, intelligent, extremely well-crafted presentation of OO Analysis and Design. As I read the book, I felt like I was looking over the shoulder of an expert designer who was explaining to me what issues were important at each step, and why."
Edward Sciore, Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, Boston College


Tired of reading Object Oriented Analysis and Design books that only makes sense after you're an expert? You've heard OOA&D can help you write great software every time-software that makes your boss happy, your customers satisfied and gives you more time to do what makes you happy.

But how?

Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design shows you how to analyze, design, and write serious object-oriented software: software that's easy to reuse, maintain, and extend; software that doesn't hurt your head; software that lets you add new features without breaking the old ones. Inside you will learn how to:
  • Use OO principles like encapsulation and delegation to build applications that are flexible
  • Apply the Open-Closed Principle (OCP) and the Single Responsibility Principle (SRP) to promote reuse of your code
  • Leverage the power of design patterns to solve your problems more efficiently
  • Use UML, use cases, and diagrams to ensure that all stakeholders are communicating clearly to help you deliver the right software that meets everyone's needs.
By exploiting how your brain works, Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design compresses the time it takes to learn and retain complex information. Expect to have fun, expect to learn, expect to be writing great software consistently by the time you're finished reading this!

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Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL -- A Learner's Guide



Review
"Outrageous! SQL is a computer language, right? Head First SQL is obviously written for human beings! What's up with that?!" -- Dan Tow, Author of SQL Tuning

"There are books you buy and books you keep on your desk... Head First SQL is at the top of my stack." -- Bill Sawyer, ATG Curriculum Manager, Oracle

"This is not SQL made easy; this is SQL made challenging, SQL made interesting, SQL made fun." -- Andrew Cumming, Author of SQL Hacks, Zoo Keeper at sqlzoo.net

Product Description
Is your data dragging you down? Are your tables all tangled up? Well we've got the tools to teach you just how to wrangle your databases into submission. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory SQL learning experience, Head First SQL has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Maybe you've written some simple SQL queries to interact with databases. But now you want more, you want to really dig into those databases and work with your data. Head First SQL will show you the fundamentals of SQL and how to really take advantage of it. We'll take you on a journey through the language, from basic INSERT statements and SELECT queries to hardcore database manipulation with indices, joins, and transactions. We all know "Data is Power" - but we'll show you how to have "Power over your Data". Expect to have fun, expect to learn, and expect to be querying, normalizing, and joining your data like a pro by the time you're finished reading!

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Head First C# (Brain-Friendly Guides)

Product Description
Do you want to learn C#? Programmers around the world have learned that C# lets them design great-looking programs and build them fast. With C#, you ve got a powerful programming language and a valuable tool at your fingertips. And with the Visual Studio IDE, you ll never have to spend hours writing obscure code just to get a button working. C#, Visual Studio and .NET take care of the grunt-work, and let you focus on the interesting parts of getting your programs written. Sound appealing?

Unlike other C# books, which just show you examples and expect you to just memorize them and move on, Head First C# gets you writing code from the beginning. You're given the tools you need, and then you're guided through fun and engaging programming projects. You'll build programs to play a card game, explore a house, and help lazy programmers manage their sick day excuses. But it's not all fun and games: you'll build business applications too, like a contact database and a program to help a party planner estimate her dinner parties. You'll build a dungeon role-playing game and a fully animated, colorful simulation of a beehive. And by the end of the book, you'll build a fast-paced, full-featured retro Invaders arcade game.

Make no mistake: by the time you're done with Head First C#, you'll be able to build full-scale, complex, and highly visual programs. And you'll have all of the C# tools you need to tackle almost any programming problem that comes your way.

Head First C# is built for your brain, using the revolutionary approach that was pioneered by the highly acclaimed and popular Head First series. You'll never get that bored, "eyes glazed over" feeling from Head First C#, because it guides you through one challenging project after another until, by the end of the book, you're a C# rock star!

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Core C# programming concepts
  • How to use the Visual Studio 2008 IDE to build, debug and run your programs
  • Important .NET 3.5 features, including generic collections, Windows forms, GDI+ graphics, streams, serialization and more
  • Using object oriented programming concepts to help you build well-designed programs
  • How to build robust applications with good error handling
  • The latest C# 3.0 features, including LINQ, object and collection initializers, automatic properties, extension methods and more


Throughout the book, you'll confront and conquer advanced C# concepts. Some of the most mysterious ideas are demystified and explained with clear examples: how Unicode works, events and delegates, references versus value types, the stack versus the heap, what's really going on with garbage collection, and more.

Thousands of readers have learned C# using this innovative book, including:
  • Beginning programmers who want to learn programming from the ground up
  • More advanced programmers who are proficient in another language (like Visual Basic, Java, SQL, FoxPro) and want to add C# to their toolbox
  • Programmers who understand basic C# syntax, but are still looking to get a handle on how objects work
  • Anyone who's tried to learn C#, but had to deal with books full of dull examples and nothing but boring console applications
  • Lots of people who just want to learn how to build cool games!


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