Recommended books about Windows OS

Is Windows giving you pause? Ready to make the leap to the Mac instead? There has never been a better time to switch from Windows to Mac, and this incomparable guide will help you make a smooth transition. New York Times columnist and Missing Manuals creator David Pogue gets you past three challenges: transferring your stuff, assembling Mac programs so you can do what you did with Windows, and learning your way around Mac OS X. Why is this such a good time to switch? Upgrading from one version of Windows to another used to be simple. But now there's Windows Vista, a veritable resource hog that forces you to relearn everything. Learning a Mac is not a piece of cake, but once you do, the rewards are oh-so-much better. No viruses, worms or spyware. No questionable firewalls, inefficient permissions, or other strange features. Just a beautiful machine with a thoroughly reliable system. And if you're still using Windows XP, we've got you covered, too. If you're ready to take on Mac OS X Leopard, the latest edition of this bestselling guide tells you everything you need to know: Transferring your stuff -- Moving photos, MP3s, and Microsoft Office documents is the easy part. This book gets you through the tricky things: extracting your email, address book, calendar, Web bookmarks, buddy list, desktop pictures, and MP3 files. Re-creating your software suite -- Big-name programs (Word, Photoshop, Firefox, Dreamweaver, and so on) are available in both Mac and Windows versions, but hundreds of other programs are available only for Windows. This guide identifies the Mac equivalents and explains how to move your data to them. Learning Leopard -- Once you've moved into the Mac, a final task awaits: Learning your way around. Fortunately, you're in good hands with the author of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, the #1 bestselling guide to the Macintosh. Moving from Windows to a Mac successfully and painlessly is the one thing Apple does not deliver. Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition is your ticket to a new computing experience.

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition (Missing Manual)

This manual does a much better job of pointing out the differences between Microsoft and Leopard but does little to help someone making the switch from one platform to the other. It's a good thing I paid for Apple support and not depended on being able to get a manual to help me implement the changes and processes I need to work on Apple.

Purchased this manual to make the transition from PC to Mac easier since NO written instructions come with computers anymore and wanted some insight as to different keystroke commands and translation of what Apple calls programs, files etc. in one source. All-in-all, the book did just what I expected, and as a bonus, it is a pretty good introduction to what comes with an iMac and how to get the most from it. I also had a couple of programs that could only run under Windows and book provided pros and cons of various options. Again, all info that is out on the Web someplace, but nice to have in hand. I think the index could be a little more comprehensive. I also don't mind the 'you just saved 5 bucks' ploy by including a web site URL instead of a CD in the back of the book. 4 out of 5 because the index is wanting and some topics could be explained in more depth than simply restating the obvious.

As a switcher, I really appreciate this book. It focuses on the needs and typical concerns of the PC to Mac switcher, both by way of basic Mac education as well as comparison, and packs in a tremendous amount of content.

I have to fault the book on its publishing flaws, however. While the approach and content hit the mark, it really does appear somewhat thrown together - not so much in layout or flow, but very much so in editing. Were the errors few they would be a nit. Unfortunately, there are enough to present a level of irritation, hence 4 stars instead of 5.

Still, currency is of the essence in computer technology titles. This book will require a refresh when Snow Leopard is out, for example. As best I can tell, the content is up-to-date for Leopard, and the book very nicely addresses the needs of the here and now in spite of its flaws.

Like an astronaut or a high wire circus artist, I leaped from my semi-secure base of PC where I lived for 26 years into Mac World. I always wanted to be snob . This book was as good as I can imagine lacking an inhouse patient, in-house tech person. The most horrible part of the move was and is the mail program which is hysterical, erratic and malicious...but that's not this good book's fault.

After using the Tiger version of Mac OS X (10.4) for a couple of months, I updated to the Leopard version (10.5) and obtained the Leopard edition of David Pogue's book from O'Reilly. Because of the new features in Leopard, this edition has expanded from 515 pages to 590 pages.

Although I expected to find a short section listing all of the new features introduced by Leopard, its absence is not a serious problem. These lists can be found on the Internet and then printed for reference.

This edition of the book follows the same chapter layout as the Tiger edition and includes all the very helpful features for anyone switching from a Windows-based PC to an iMac or MacBook. In addition to continually taking the PC-user's viewpoint in every section, there are chapters and sections especially designed to ease the transition. The most helpful for PC users are:

Chapter 1 - How the Mac is different

Chapters 5-7 - Transferring files, emails, contacts, etc. from your PC and also, Mac capabilities for replacing specific Windows programs

Appendix B - Where Did It Go? You'll find yourself referring to this useful appendix often to quickly find out how to do all the things that were second-nature on the PC, e.g., Ctl-Alt-Delete to `kill' stuck programs, shutdown, zipping/unzipping files, taskbar & system tray, favorites, and much more.

It you are switching from a PC to a Mac running Leopard, you'll love this book. But if you already have the Tiger edition and just want the Leopard content, then you will benefit more from purchasing the more comprehensive (almost 900 pages) Mac Leopard OS X: The Missing Manual, 2007, which is also by David Pogue.

Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is ideal for both standalone programs and scripting applications. With this hands-on book, you can master the fundamentals of the core Python language quickly and efficiently, whether you're new to programming or just new to Python. Once you finish, you will know enough about the language to use it in any application domain you choose. Learning Python is based on material from author Mark Lutz's popular training courses, which he's taught over the past decade. Each chapter is a self-contained lesson that helps you thoroughly understand a key component of Python before you continue. Along with plenty of annotated examples, illustrations, and chapter summaries, every chapter also contains Brain Builder, a unique section with practical exercises and review quizzes that let you practice new skills and test your understanding as you go. This book covers: Types and Operations -- Python's major built-in object types in depth: numbers, lists, dictionaries, and more Statements and Syntax -- the code you type to create and process objects in Python, along with Python's general syntax model Functions -- Python's basic procedural tool for structuring and reusing code Modules -- packages of statements, functions, and other tools organized into larger components Classes and OOP -- Python's optional object-oriented programming tool for structuring code for customization and reuse Exceptions and Tools -- exception handling model and statements, plus a look at development tools for writing larger programs. Learning Python gives you a deep and complete understanding of the language that will help you comprehend any application-level examples of Python that you later encounter. If you're ready to discover what Google and YouTube see in Python, this book is the best way to get started.

The authors of Learning Python show you enough essentials of the Python scripting language to enable you to begin solving problems right away, then reveal more powerful aspects of the language one at a time. This approach is sure to appeal to programmers and system administrators who have urgent problems and a preference for learning by semi-guided experimentation.

First off, Learning Python shows the relationships among Python scripts and their interpreter (in a mostly platform-neutral way). Then, the authors address the mechanics of the language itself, providing illustrations of how Python conceives of numbers, strings, and other objects as well as the operators you use to work with them. Dictionaries, lists, tuples, and other data structures specific to Python receive plenty of attention including complete examples.

Authors Mark Lutz and David Ascher build on that fundamental information in their discussions of functions and modules, which evolve into coverage of namespaces, classes, and the object-oriented aspects of Python programming. There's also information on creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Python applications with Tkinter.

In addition to its careful expository prose, Learning Python includes exercises that both test your Python skills and help reveal more elusive truths about the language.

I just spent a few days going through this book and learned a lot. I've been working with PHP for years, but never did much complicated code. I studied Java about 8 years ago also and learned a lot about OOP from that. But never did any programming in Java. So it was all concept, no experience.

My reason for reading this book was to start using Python with Django. I wanted to learn Python first so I would understand the framework better.

This book covers in excruciating detail many of the finer qualities of just about everything you can imagine being in the language. I'm sure it doesn't cover everything the language can do. But somehow it spends 600 plus pages going over details that I wouldn't expect to find even if I was reading a 300 page book called "What I was thinking when I wrote this particular function on July 3rd 1991"

If something can be explained by 2 lines of example code and a three sentence paragraph about what's going on, the author does that -after 2 pages of explanation of how this code you are about to see might be a little like C, but it's a little different too, and how what you are going to learn is really powerful, and how some students might notice that the code is similar in structure to the code that you will see on page 400 later in the book.

If you think my review is way too verbose, read the book.

I give it 3 stars because it was in fact clear and well communicated information. It was just often hard to keep reading past all the unnecessary words to get to the useful content.

As a newcomer to Python, I find this book educational but somewhat inadequate for getting one's feet wet with a new programming language. Essentially all the sample code in the book is in the form of very short snippets run from the command line. There is almost nothing in the way of a full-blown sample Python program showing the reader what it's all supposed to look like in the end.

Python's strengths as a programming language are ostensibly its readability and ease of use, but you get no sense of that reading this book. All you get is bits and pieces that you have to glue together somehow. It's neither a complete technical manual nor a good introductory book for the novice programmer. The book is useful, but I would hope that there are better titles out there.

I wanted to like this book. As a general rule, I give the benefit of a doubt to O'Reilly books, and rarely am I mistaken. But this was one of the rare exceptions. In my experience, there are two trains of thought when it comes to learning a programming language:
1) Start right in with a book, using it to familiarize yourself with the language while you use the language to start fleshing out stuff that you learn in the book -- let's call this the "synergistic" or maybe "complementary" approach: using the book complements the coding you try, which, in turn, lets you put stuff you're learning into a workable framework.
2) Read the whole book through, and then apply what you've learned.

Personally, I don't know anyone with a good enough memory to really be able to pull off #2. But, honestly, it's more about patience than memory: people get excited about a language, and want to start using it. Having to (pretty much) read a whole book before you can start digging in is a bit of an anti-climax. The problem is that that's what you have to do with _Learning Python_. For example, one of the fundamentals of almost all programming languages is how looping is accomplished. In _Learning Python_, looping isn't discussed in detail until you're almost *250* pages into the book. Instead, the very, very fundamentals of the language are gone over in excruciating detail. Honestly, if you'd never programmed before, this might actually be a helpful, good thing. If, on the other hand, you've had pretty much any other programming experience, the pace is slow and tedious. I found myself yearning to be *doing* something, and instead was just plodding along.

If you have had previous programming experience, and are relatively well-versed with how languages work, I have to recommend _Python Essential Reference_ by David M. Beazley. Just read its first chapter in the bookstore, and you'll find yourself becoming quickly enlightened.

Like my title suggests, if you have programming experience and you do not mind or have little trouble reading the Python documentation in a online fashion then its probably not absolutely necessary that you have to buy the book.

However, the author is very good in instilling the nature of Python programming and he's good at getting you to think about the concepts but this book is definitely not a cookbook. Last thing is that it doesn't concentrate on the GUI nor library usage etc as it's mission is simply to teach you about the core of Python

This book is great! Good writing, good exercises. Good for people who have some experience in programming. If you have never had any contact to other languages or logic, consider studying some introdutory topics before reading this book.

Thinking of making the switch from your PC to a Mac? Congratulations! You�fre in for a great, virus-free ride. And Switching to Mac For Dummies makes it smoother than you ever imagined. From buying the Mac that�fs right for you to transferring your files to breaking your old Windows habits and learning to do things the (much easier) Mac way, it makes the whole process practically effortless.

Whether you�fve been using Windows XP, Vista, or even Linux, you�fll find simple, straightforward ways to make your transition go smoothly. That will leave you plenty of time to get familiar with Mac�fs prodigious and dynamic OS X capabilities. You�fll also connect with iLife, Mac�fs amazing integrated software suite that lets you turn your computer into a powerful media center�|not just for listening and watching, but for creating music, video, and much more. Discover how to:

• Decide whether the switch to Mac is right for you
• Choose the Mac that will change your life
• Keep and reuse elements of your old setup
• Go online with your Mac
• Connect to your home network�|even that old PC
• Go media crazy with iTunes, iPhoto and more
• Take advantage of Mac�fs business capabilities

Complete with handy cheat sheet of common Mac short cuts and commands as well as a glossary of Mac world lingo, Switching to Mac For Dummies ensures that your switch will be the smartest thing you ever do.

This is a very nice book. Practical and objective. You have in your hands a very useful guide to the mysteries of the Mac world. Its chapters are very clear about how to change to a new world in computers without pain. This is one of the most interesting series edited to this date. Highly recommended.

This book is very helpful. I wish that this book came in the box with the I-Mac computer. After useing a PC for most my life switching to a MAC can be intimidating. But the book has been very useful.

I was a Microsoft PC user for over 15 years and I recently decided to buy an IMAC. With the new ITouch and new IPhone out, I wanted to combine that with a Mac Machine so that everything can work together easily.

This book gave me a great start to understanding a Mac. Even though I'm good with computers and most of the information I already knew just from playing around with a Mac, the book did give me useful shortcuts and great inside information.

Like other "Dummies" books, this was very easy to understand!

I started on an Apple-IIc back in 1987,
but had to switch to PC bc of work.
Have had to hassle with MS through
Windows 95, 97, Millennium, XP and then ugh,
the hell with Vista.
I LOVE MY MAC.
Even Windows XP runs better on my Mac
than it did on my Toshiba.
Anyway . . .
this book was great in helping me figure
things out on the Mac.
PS,
if you want to use XP on your Mac
I recommend downloading the trial version
of Parallels from their website.
The disk sent with my Mac was out of date
for the Leopard, but the downloaded version
of Parallels runs perfect.
The best of both worlds.
Awesome.

I switched from a desktop running Windows to a MacBook the day after Thanksgiving. Although I do have 3 software engineers in the family (2 at Google and 1 at Microsoft) they got my new toy all set up, transferred my files and promptly left me to return to their techie lives in Seattle. I could continually bombard them with questions via email and phone (they wouldn't mind.... really!) but I decided it would just be more practical to have a Dummies book on hand so I don't look quite so dimwitted when I need the answer to the same question a second or third or fourth time. Thus, I find myself reading "Switching To A Mac For Dummies". It really helps. The book is very clear and also quite entertaining. I've laughed out loud more than once. Oh yeah, and I'm learning stuff, too.

Visual QuickStart Guide�|the quick and easy way to learn!

Users of Adobe InDesign will be impressed with the power, ease of use, and integration found in the new InDesign CS3, Adobe's page-design component of Creative Suite 3. Users will also find more robust file-placing capabilities, new Find features, and great new text and transparency effects, among other exciting features. Adobe InDesign CS3 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide will highlight the important new features, as well as covering the ones readers have relied on in previous versions of InDesign. Using the task-based, visual approach that readers count on in the Visual QuickStart Guides, this volume introduces readers to all aspects of InDesign CS3. Users will learn how to create and automate documents, import and style text and objects, manage long documents, export files for a wide variety of purposes, and

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through InDesign and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations let you get up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.much more.

�|

This book is very helpful for the novice, and for those well-versed with the computer program.

I don't own the book but I've checked and read it at a nearby store. I sat down and read it for nearly an hour (because I'm serious about jumping in to learn InDesign) Well, what I can say is; If you are a beginner, then use the Adobe Classroom book. It have all the tutorial and hands on training using the file included. You NEED hands training, file example and step by step instruction and finally see it done. That's how you TRULY learn. Although there has been a negative review on Adobe InDesign CS3 Classroom book, but its a good start for total beginner. Don't be too ambitious when you're just starting out (like immediately attracted to a 5 star book telling you can produce professional layout plus easy enough to follow.)
So, for me; this book is not for beginners. If you have strong mind and can remember things just by reading, then you can get this book (or if you're a beginner who like that style of learning). This book is more like a reference book. (If you want to know I'm suit enough to make this comments, then go to http://adrs-tester.blogspot.com. Decide yourself whenever you want to accept my review or not after seeing the example website. Well, sorry Blogger, I crash you to test my working environment on a free platform... :-)

Having bought this book as a requirement for my Page Layout class, I was surprised to see that I actually used the book. Like the QuickStart book for Quark, it offers invaluable information clearly, and is laid out in a streamlined and clean fashion. I have used InDesign CS2 in the past, but CS3 had new tools and shortcuts. This book defines InDesign CS3 effortlessly which is wonderful for students. I have come back time and again to this book when I get stuck. Whether you're a beginner to Adobe InDesign, an intermediate user, or professional you will definitely find a use for this book.

I've used InDesign from the first iteration six or seven years ago ... I am reasonibly glib in all its nuances, until I got CS3.

This version adds a LOT of new methods and techniques which aren't too intuitive. But ... Sandee Cohen came to the rescue with this new, comprehensive manual, with a lot of test, methods and various explantions of techniques. As usual, you did good Sandee. Thanks for holding my hand while I scratched my head.

This book is very in depth and the author is clearly knowledgeable, so for that I give it high marks. However, as someone who was completely new to InDesign (and all Adobe programs), I was hoping for a guide that was easy to follow and that gave me some sort of path to take to become comfortable with the program. This guide claims to be "the quick, easy way" to learn but there is no step-by-step instruction and the pages are cluttered with information. I was hoping for a "classroom approach," and this guide reads more like a reference manual with no cohesion between instructions. It's got all the answers, but the presentation is clearly geared toward more experienced users. Anyone approaching Adobe products for the first time should look elsewhere. I am going to try CS3 for dummies and hope for better results.

Visual QuickStart Guide�|the quick and easy way to learn!

Now revised and updated, this book uses simple step-by-step instructions, loads of screen shots, and an array of time-saving tips and tricks, serving both as the quickest route to Illustrator CS3 mastery for new users, and a handy reference for more experienced designers. This edition of the Visual QuickStart Guide covers Illustrator CS3's newest features, including new tools in Live Color, enhancements to essential drawing tools and controls, improvements to the powerful Control panel, the new Eraser tool and Crop Area tool, and much more. A full-color section of inspiring Illustrator artwork and highly readable text create a winning combination for Illustrator users of every level.

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through Illustrator and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations let you get up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.

I am taking a series of courses on the Adobe CS3 design programs. These books are the required texts.

I am extremely pleased with the content and support they provide for me to learn the programs.

They are a mix between "techbook" and "textbook" - they are NOT as dry as other technical manuals, yet cover "just enough" material to help out in a tight spot.

There may be other books that other reviewers prefer, however I wish to point out that they are titled "QUICK START" guides, not "every single thing you need to know about this piece of software" guide.

If you are trying to learn the software on your own, might I suggest the Adobe Press "Classroom in a Book" series. Also the Adobe Press "Real World" book series gives insights into the software that these quick start guides do not. If you are learning with a teacher, these books fit the bill.

I am learning illustrator for the first time and found this book to extremely helpful. If you are struggling with illustrator, you need to buy this book!!

This manual provides someone just getting started using Illustrator with clear explanations for each menu option, tool, and function, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use them. All the other manuals inevitably assume that the reader is familiar with earlier versions of Illustrator and take too much for granted. The tool-by-tool organization and step-by-step instructions of this manual are refreshingly clear and specific, and tell the reader exactly how to use this powerful software.

I buy books to use for the online and classroom classes that I teach. I have used a number of the Visual Quickstart Guide books because my students love them and they really cover the material well. I purchased this book for versions CS, CS2 and CS3 and as I started to develop the class I realized that there were no example files with the book. Usually the author tells you where you can download the examples from. Since many of their examples start from content that is already created, it makes it very hard for a student who like to use hands-on to follow along in the book to do so. I tried contacting the publisher to see if there was any way to get the files but I have yet to receive a reponse.

It's a good reference, but I don't recommend it as an aid to learning the application.

With Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia, millions of Photoshop users may be installing Flash for the first time and Flash CS3 Professional for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide is there to show them what to do. From basic first steps, such as exploring the drawing tools, including Flash CS3's new Pen tool, to frame-by-frame animation, motion tweening, and shape tweening, this book serves as the beginner's guide to Flash. But it doesn�ft stop there: sections on interactivity, sound, and video have been fully updated to demonstrate best practices in ActionScript 3.0, as well as the latest in Flash's video technology.

This is a great guide that will give you step by step instructions on how to use Adobe Flash CS3 professional. You'll learn how to make Flash animations to add great multimedia to your websites or just games for local use.

This book has taught me sooo much already! If you want to learn how to use flash, this is the book for you!

I love the Visual QuickStart Guides. This book has easy to follow lessons which are great for beginners. Professional refers to the more robust version of Flash not the skill level of the reader. I have combined this book with some video tutorials which is ideal for learning actionscript fast.

Programming/scripting is not natural for me! It is hard work. This is the third book on AS 3.0 I've tried. The other books did not work for me. I need a book that will tell me what to do in a very elementary manner. I can then put it in context. For example:

1. This is how you script interactivity in a button (code)
2. This is what it is doing
3. This is what the various segments of code mean
etc.

This is the way I learned HTML. I looked up the code to do a given item. Over time if morphed into a thorough understanding of what HTML is and how to do it. This book enables me to do something similar. It takes basic AS 3.0, shows you how to do it then gives the information so you can put it in context. I'm relieved and grateful to find a book that allows me to construct the learning in a way that best fits me. THANK YOU!

A major upgrade to the previous editions and a must for any serious web design professional.

Will help anyone use SPSS to successfully analyze data, interpret results, and describe findings. This complete introductory guide to SPSS has been thoroughly updated for the software's latest versions�| for Windows and�|Macintosh. It has also been revised throughout for greater accessibility, simplicity, and ease of use. The book provides step-by-step walkthroughs of every basic SPSS and statistical technique, along with tips, examples, exercises, and extensive pedagogical support designed to promote rapid learning. Coverage includes: mastering the SPSS interface; creating and working with data files; defining and creating variables; working with data, charts, and output; univariate descriptive statistics; univariate and multivariate analyses; correlation, regression, and discriminate analysis; scaling and nonparametric procedures; and more. For everyone who wants to master the latest versions of SPSS. SPSS is used in a wide range of markets, including psychology and other areas of scientific research; marketing and surveys; financial services and insurance; education; government; telecommunications; and beyond.

The software that accompanies this book is obsolete (14.0). You will have to pay an additional $100 to obtain the updated software (16.0).

This book is a great help in understanding and simplifying the SPSS program. Exercises are reasonable and allow practical application of steps discussed in the short chapter pages.

Using SPSS is a good manual to navigate you through using SPSS. It is idiot-proof to follow if you just do what it says. Time-consuming to read the whole thing but good for picking out specific functions to learn. Would recommend this book. Includes a CD with data sets to use while following along with the reading.

Receive book in excellant condition. I am using it in class now. Thanks.

This book basically goes through what the options are under file, edit, view, etc. The help menu in the program would suffice for this. It also does not go through enough examples of when you would use the options.

With so many books out there on Mac OS X Leopard, what makes this one better and different is its focus. While other Leopard books can regularly be 500-plus pages, this book cuts through all the technical jargon and gives you exactly what you want: the most important, most requested, and just plain coolest things about Leopard that will change the way you work on your Mac. With Leopard's newest features, this book will show you how to customize your workspace with Spaces, search and view your files fast with Quick Look, restore any file on your system with Time Machine, and much more. Each page covers just one topic, complete with full-color photos and screenshots, making it easy to find what you're looking for fast.

First, let me say I am a big fan of Scott Kelby's books and have several of them, however, this book was a little too basic for me. This is a good book for new users, but if you have been using a Mac even for a short time, get something more in depth.

excellent book. step by step instructions w/great graphics.

i recommend the author for his knowledge of the product, ability to explain things simply & straightforward while still making it funny & enjoyable.

I'm a new MacBook user and not especially sophisticated, just email, pictures, internet and some word processing. After years of frustration with PCs I find the Mac a revelation--stable, intuitive and packed with innovative features.

I bought a few books to speed my transition and this is the best one. Each glossy page succinctly describes a separate task or a list of related tips (except for the rather lame chapter introductions). It's great fun to browse and I learned many things about the OS I wouldn't have otherwise picked up, at least not as quickly.

This comprehensive but pithy guide is for the beginner/intermediate user and highly recommended.

I'm a new Mac user. Over the past 6 months, I've read most of the OS X books currently on the market. (I'm a geek that way ;-)

In my opinion, for a new mac user, this books is the best one. Scott writes simply, plainly and uses easy-to-understand terms. (Plus, his pictures are fun to look at!).

If you want to go waaaay under the hood of OS X, then get this book:Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual. If you just want to get up and running quickly, then buy Scott's book.

Thanks, Scott! Keep those great books coming!

Regards,

Tim Warneka, author

Black Belt Leader, Peaceful Leader: An Introduction to Catholic Servant Leadership

Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today

Healing Katrina: Volunteering in Post-Hurricane Mississippi

The Way of Leading People: Unlocking Your Integral Leadership Skills with the Tao Te Ching

I recently ordered my first Apple - a MacBook Pro and ordered the OS X Leopard book at the same time. This guide is just what the new Mac user needs. The format of one task to one page makes it a great flip open "quick-start" guide. The book isn't expensive, it's easy to read and navigate, and it's just fun. If you are brand new to the Mac, I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Be more productive and make your life easier. That's what "LDAP System Administration" is all about.

System administrators often spend a great deal of time managing configuration information located on many different machines: usernames, passwords, printer configurations, email client configurations, and network filesystem configurations, to name a few. LDAPv3 provides tools for centralizing all of the configuration information and placing it under your control. Rather than maintaining several administrative databases (NIS, Active Directory, Samba, and NFS configuration files), you can make changes in only one place and have all your systems immediately "see" the updated information.

Practically platform independent, this book uses the widely available, open source OpenLDAP 2 directory server as a premise for examples, showing you how to use it to help you manage your configuration information effectively and securely. OpenLDAP 2 ships with most Linux(R) distributions and Mac OS(R) X, and can be easily downloaded for most Unix-based systems. After introducing the workings of a directory service and the LDAP protocol, all aspects of building and installing OpenLDAP, plus key ancillary packages like SASL and OpenSSL, this book discusses:

Configuration and access control

Distributed directories; replication and referral

Using OpenLDAP to replace NIS

Using OpenLDAP to manage email configurations

Using LDAP for abstraction with FTP and HTTP servers, Samba, and Radius

Interoperating with different LDAP servers, including Active Directory

Programming using Net:: LDAP

If you want to be a master of your domain, "LDAP System Administration" will help you get upand running quickly regardless of which LDAP version you use. After reading this book, even with no previous LDAP experience, you'll be able to integrate a directory server into essential network services such as mail, DNS, HTTP, and SMB/CIFS.

Although it spends a lot of time talking about OpenLDAP, the version is covers is outdated. I would also have hoped to find more information about how to choose which schema's. The email section does not mention the different attempts at standardizing a schema.

I am giving this 3 stars because it does a fair job of explaining basic LDAP structure. It does a fairly good job on administration of just LDAP but LDAP is usually used as a base upon which other applications rely upon.

If you are trying to integrate something with LDAP, as I was, then this is not the book for that. Also, this book is a little dated as it does not cover openLDAP 2.4. SLURPD is no longer used for replication in the latest openLDAP 2.4 releases...

The author does make an attempt at application integration but does an extremely poor job of it. For example, on the topic of Replacing NIS there is absolutely no mention of NSCD (Name Server Caching Daemon) which is included on every major Linux distribution. If you are integrating Samba with openLDAP, then it's crucial that you understand how NSCD works as it can cause Samba to break yet all the Linux tool-sets continue working.

If you have this book, then on page 113, the author talks about optimizing nss_ldap searches which is good. But later in the book on page 168 on the topic of Samba integration, there is no mention of the fact that you may, and most likely, need to revisit the contents of page 113 again. Samba and associated tools, by default, create a Computers container to hold computer accounts. If you implemented the searches as described on page-113 alone, you find you can not join workstations to a samba domain unless you also include a line that reads:

nss_base_passwd ou=computers,dc=plainjoe,dc=org?one

I sense that some attention to detail is lost considering the 2nd half of the book is on application integration and things like I just explained are left out. I suppose one could argue that you should have learned this after reading page 113 but it would have saved me some time if it was mentioned...

I would recommend this book as a companion to other openLDAP books that do a better job of covering application integration. I give this 3 stars because the Active Directory coverage and reference seems pretty good and the coverage of .conf file settings seems good.

I'm happy with this book. It's a little out of date and the details are getting a bit, shall we say, "off". However, it is a much better set of documentation that rummaging through the RFCs and paltry OpenLDAP README content :)

This book is written a while ago and it definitely needs update. It frequently refers to RFCs and states "blah blah is not yet accepted as standard" but probably it is accepted as one by now.

The organization of this book is a little chaotic. When I read it from the chapter 1, introduction, it was still not clear what I was getting into. After reading it all, I still think the introduction was not very helpful. I don't think reading this book from cover to cover all through would help a lot.

Nonetheless, after reading through this book with actual practice (installing OpenLDAP and running the examples as the book illustrated), I got good grasp of the concepts of LDAP and understanding how it works.

I like its practical examples and connection to other applications.

In conclusion, I feel I spent my money well on this book.

Another great O'reilly book. O'reilly, IMHO are the best technical books.

Adobe Flash CS3 is the leading software for Web designers creating dynamic Web sites. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Advanced for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide offers the most efficient way for smart, creative, busy professionals to learn Flash. Updated to include the important new features in Flash CS3, this book covers the latest ActionScript standards that make Flash CS3 so powerful, and details the expanded support for rich media. This handy guide combines a visual approach with straightforward, step-by-step instructions and screenshots, concise explanations of animation techniques, and task-based learning. Taking the highly accessible instructional format of the popularVisual QuickStart Guides to a more advanced level, the book guides readers through all the intricacies and new features of this top-selling Web multimedia application.

When actionscript 3.0 (Flash CS3) came onto the scene, it caused great consternation among interactive designers who were used to working directly in the Flash IDE and coding AS 2.0 on the timeline. Almost all the new books/threads on the topic, including Moock's 'Essential 3.0', showed a bias in demonstrating AS 3.0 in the context of OOP and Flex. Granted, that is where the true power/purpose of AS 3.0 lies. BUT, this also created the sentiment in the non-developer camp that AS 3.0 is severely verbose and not as flexible and fun as AS2. This is simply not the case as AS 3.0 was created to embrace BOTH designers and developers.

I think Adobe was so preoccupied with wooing the developer crowd that it failed to reassure existing beginner/intermediate 2.0 users that 3.0 works just as well on the timeline and that you CAN still make a banner ad, personal portfolio site, microsite without building/executing your codes as Classes or authoring them in Flex/Components.

Having said that, if you are hardcore OOP developer and need to build an enterprise level web app using AS3, this book is NOT for you. In fact, you have no business using the Flash IDE or coding on the timeline.

Russell Chun takes nothing for granted and starts by giving a quick overview of the program's tools. Then you'll be taken through a series of exercises that is very easy to follow. By the end of the book, you will have learned enough to build a decent interactive web page. You will also have the foundation to move onto OOP.

I have owned a number of Russell Chun's books since MX2004 and will vouch for its effectiveness. Its generously illustrated, concise, clearly written examples will help beginners and intermediate 2.0 users EASE into 3.0.

Get this book and you'll see that AS 3.0 can be just as fun.

I suppose this book may be fine for anyone wanting to learn a broad overview of AS3 ("Flash" is a misnomoer; Flash is ActionScript). But for anybody like myself trying to build a website with specific components, the book is worthless. This is because the author, instead of showing the steps to create a complete component (dropdown menus that LINK; scrolling thumbnails that LINK), shows you instead how to build shells that do nothing, and says, "we'll discuss the rest in a later chapter." Then doesn't, at least not in a way directly applicable to the previous instructions. Why not just show us how to create something that actually works, all in a single lesson? Forgive me if that's too much to ask.

Constantly refer to this book as a reference while coding. This book provides short, but well explainded "How To" on esssential Actionscript 3 coding topics. I own several Actionscript 3 books, but this is the one I refer to again and again.

The Visual QuickPro Guide Flash CS3 Professional Advanced, the follow-up to the Flash 8 book*, is a great tool for anyone trying to make the transition from ActionScript 2 (Flash 8) to ActionScript 3 (Flash CS3). I am Flash 8 Certified, and as I make the push to re-certify for ActionScript 3, this is the book I am studying. It is more concise and compact than the Flash Bible, yet still contains the information needed to build great Flash apps and to pass the expert exam. It covers all the big differences between AS3 and AS2 in a clear, concise manner. But newbies shouldn't be put off by the title: beginner topics like 'what is a Movie Clip' and how to do timeline animation are also covered. The only complaint is the lack of a companion CD-ROM containing tutorial files. But even without a CD, this is still a fantastic resource for the Flash aficionado, professional or student. (*Anyone buying this book might also consider the Visual QuickPro guide for Flash 8, which is also excellent--and still relevant. The Flash 8 book deals with ActionScript 2, which is widely used for developing mobile / cell phone apps.)

This is a very good book. This line of book is great for learning Flash. It's important that you get the previous book first because this one gets Advanced in a hurry. Overall, I really like it.