Software Books


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Software Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Software
Shaping Web Usability: Interaction Design in Context
Published in Paperback by Addison-Wesley Professional (2002-02-02)
Author: Albert N. Badre
List price: $39.99
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Average review score:

A must-buy for Web designers ...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-04
What use is a Web site if no one uses it? Too many Web design books and development tools provide cut-and-paste solutions to design problems without providing the developer with an understanding of fundamental principles.

This is where Dr. Badre's book enters the scene - in a big way. "Shaping Web Usability" does just what it promises, providing clear, cogent instruction in designing sites for people in all their needs and diversity. It promotes a robust methodology for Web design that can adapt to user requirements without sacrificing logic or cohesion. Badre's process also helps one communicate methodology and design issues to others. This book gave me the grounding I needed to explain to clients exactly why I had made a particular design decision and how it would benefit the site users.

If you are concerned about your site being used once it is published (and who isn't?), take a look at this book. It can't make your Web site for you, but it can help you identify and satisfy an online audience better than any other book on the shelves.

Not just the same old HF maxims
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-15
Dr. Badre has written an interesting work which thoughtfully examines two important concepts: genre and cultural context. In addition to plenty of solid HCI theory and empirical data, Dr. Badre provides clear examples of how close attention to the genre of one's site and the cultural context in which it is most likely to be viewed will provide a more useful and pleasurable experience for the user. With these simple and powerful concepts, Dr. Badre provides some excellent guidance to new and experienced website designers.

A must read book
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-16
This book is unlike many other web usability books. It goes well beyond the cookie-cutter guidelines for fast web usability, and gets the reader thinking deeply about contexts of web usability. It focuses on the real important issues and concepts. However, it is not an abstract or theoretical book. The author illustrates the concepts and explanations with numerous real examples from the web. This book is a must read for web designers, information architects, and web usability engineers.

More about users than about web pages!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-15
This is a serious work on Web Usability that attempts to define in detail the user context and to construct a user-centred methodology based on that context.

There are so many books on web usability these days and most of them are about web pages first and people second. Doctor Badre's approach, though, is firmly grounded on the human side of HCI and some of the material in this book is outstanding.

The chapter on "Older Adults" is a great example. Badre is fastidious enough to consider the different cognitive needs of people in this group and to consider the implications of those needs for the designer. Elsewhere he considers personality variations, the role of affect (or emotion), and many other individual differences.

In contrast, however, Badre has a strong leaning toward standards and predictability, which seems to contradict his comments elsewhere. Having identified the myriad reasons the web audience is uniquely diverse he nevertheless finds traditional HCI evaluation techniques attractive, and sometimes fails to bite the bullet.

For example, Badre insists that "Testing conditions ... should approximate the actual situation in which ...visitors are likely to find themselves." Yet he does not display any distrust of laboratory testing, questionnaires and all the artificialities of user testing that would suggest a more ethnographic approach.

The material on the test methodology is therefore somewhat weaker, but does not detract in any way from the main part of the book, where Dr Badre's experience in Human Factors allows him to illustrate with considerable skill the way design features can be adjusted to meet the cognitive abilities of real human users. In this arena, Dr. Badre is a leading authority, and it is for this, the main body of the work, that I would strongly recommend this book to web and usability professionals alike.

Required reading for people serious about Web design
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-06
Clear and rigorous, Dr. Badre's book is an essential resource for the serious Web practitioner. Going beyond the usual lists of do's and don'ts, he gives the reader a strong grounding in the field of usability and how its principles apply to the Web. Web designers and implementors who read Shaping Web Usability will not only know what to do, but why -- so they can respond successfully to new and complex design challenges.

Software
Sharing Digital Photos: The Future of Memories
Published in Paperback by Microsoft Press (2003-10-08)
Author: Dane M. Howard
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Average review score:

Loved this book!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-30
The author of this book has shown us so much about how to use the taking and sharing of digital photos to express yourself that I feel really grateful to him for having written it. The ideas in the book are wonderfully creative, and it's a beautiful book to boot. I intend to give this book as a gift to my daughter for her birthday to accompany the new digital camera her dad and I bought her.

Every picture tells a story
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-20
I was able to get an advance copy of Dane's book and am so glad that I did. There are so many books out there on digital photography, mostly how-to's that are basic. What Dane does in this book is attack the issue from a completley different point of view - how to use the images to tell a story.

I especially appreciate his very tactical advice on how to start the process - what picture to use first, how to setup a sequence that conveys a mood and character to the story line.

I really liked how he used real examples (his daughter) which helped take this practical book out of the theoretical and into the real world of dealing with images.

My girlfriends father relies on me for technical support for his camera (which we got him for Christmas). So for Fathers Day we bought him his own copy of Dane's book - and a copy of Microsoft's Digital Image Suite software.

He is loving both!

mark sylvester

Fantastic Book Will Leave Lasting Mark on the World of Photo
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-07
This is a really amazing book that goes beyond the technical aspects of digital photography (those books are a dime a dozen) and explores the issues of organizing, archiving, and ultimately telling stories with your digital photographs.

I believe this book will have a lasting impact on the world of photography because it helps the reader capture better pictures, streamline the tedious parts of digital photography, and how to tell effective digital stories with photos. Stories and memories, isn't that's why we take photos anyway?

It's also a beautifully designed book that I'll keep just for the design even after I've absorbed all the content.

Bellissimo libro
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-03
I just book the Italian version of this book which has just been published here.

This simple and lovely book is not about how to use my new sophisticated digital camera (I will have to study the manual) but has encouraged me to free my amateur photographer mind from concepts carved there like "don't shoot until you are pretty sure the scene is good enough and that film is not wasted". It didn't teach me either how to download the photos to my Mac but certainly has broaden my world and taught me creative ways of sharing my good memories with my Spanish family.

The photos are really nice and support very well all the concepts. The language is clear and so are the explanations even if I doubt I will use the Microsoft products mentioned in the book. I am sure I will be able to "replicate" them with my Mac. To cut a long story short: as the proverb says "it hasn't give me the fish but has given me the knowledge to catch fish by myself".

Sharing memories, not just pictures.
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-06
This book is about capturing experiences, not just photos. It is an excellent read for any beginner (or digital camera buff) interested in learning not just how to take digital images, but how to take and create photos that tell a story. I was originally looking for a book to help me expand the way I use my digital camera when I came across "Sharing Digital Photos". What an unexpected surprise. As soon as I went through it, I knew it was a great find and was amazed at the breadth of possibilities that exist.

Dane covers a multitude of options available for the digital photographer, and covers various methods, programs, and techniques for sharing, managing, and tweaking images. The clarity and simplicity with which the book delivers this information is refreshing. He delivers clear descriptions of the mythology and uses personal family experiences as examples. These personal stories form the heart of the book and make the concepts easy to understand. Each chapter continuously serves up an honest and straightforward delivery that helps create a solid perspective on the different techniques.

Access to website links allow you to experience the solutions and further demonstrate the possibilities. He uses "easy to follow" language, plenty of photo examples, and well laid out graphics in various combinations to effectively communicate the essential message in each lesson while encouraging you to dive in along the way. This book has changed my paradigm concerning digital images where they no longer sit idly in my hard disk! Happy story telling...

I feel the addition of a CD with examples and demos of the software programs would have made the experience even more enjoyable.

Software
Silicon Dreams: Information, Man, and Machine
Published in Paperback by St. Martin's Press (1991-03)
Author: Robert W. Lucky
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Average review score:

Fascinating and challenging popular science
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-28
Though in places a bit heavy-going for a non-specialist readership, SDIMM is a first-rate introduction to the information sciences. As an overview of state-of-the-art technology, SDIMM may be dated, but the problems it describes are timeless -- and fascinating. Anyone interested in how information is measured, moved, and translated to the media of minds/brains and computers, would do well to read this exceptional book. Here's hoping RL makes future contributions to the popular science literature.

A memorable book -- too bad it's out of print
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-19
This is a popular computer book about data compression and data representation. It was first published way back in 1989 and now eleven years later it's not in the slightest bit out of date. How many popular computer books can you say that about?

a fascinating discourse on many aspects of information
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-01
Althought this book has been written 20 years ago, it is still very
fresh today. The bandwidth with which we communicate, and
our capacity for storing information have increased in the intervening
years, however the fundamental questions that are addressed here
have not changed much. In the first couple chapters, the author starts
with a very precise definition of what information and capacity mean.
This part is merely 50 pages in length, but makes this book worth
owning on its own - I wish somebody gave it to me when I was
learning about information theory.

The remainder of the book is devided into chapters dealing
with different aspects of information: text, speech and pictures,
including problems associated with their storage, processing
and intrepretation. The presentation is insightful, informative,
and, given that it is addressed to an audience of non-mathematicians,
surprisingly precise. Each chapter ends with a ligh-hearted essay,
some of which I found to be deceptively deep and insightful.

Wonderful book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-17
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I'd strongly recommend this book for anybody interested in how things have evolved in computing. Great insight into stuff we take for granted like compression algorithms, error correction.

A fascinating and captivating book!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-30
I read this book over and over and love it every time. It covers topics that I teach from the standard texts, but it covers them in a way that makes it all make so much more sense to my students. This truly is an amazing book!

Software
Sister for Sale
Published in Paperback by ZonderKidz (2004-02-01)
Author: Michelle Medlock Adams
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Average review score:

Great Book for a Brother!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-27
This is a really great book! I bought this book for my son when he was having a hard time loving his sister. It went over really well and he loves this book!

Wonderful Book :o)
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-16
Great fun for me to share with my grandchildren as well as my own sister and brother. For Christmas I put old pictures of my brother, sister and I in a book for each of them. I then responded to the thoughts on each page with little quips of my own, remembering our own childhood memories. I put a brother or sister poem on the back inside cover and because we were all lucky enough to share the Christmas holiday with each other, I put one in each of their stockings for Christmas morning. What a special memory for all of us about being sisters and brothers growing up and what a special way to teach my grandchildren about the value of having a sibling. Humor is a grand way to get a message across!

A Definite Read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-11-27
This book is a fun way to be able to address the issue of sibling rivalry. Michelle writes in a way that makes it enjoyable to read with your children. You will definitely laugh when you read how a big brother comes up with a creative way to get rid of his pesky little sister. This would make a great gift for an older sibling when a new baby arrives!

'Sister for Sale' Hits Home!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-18
Michelle Adams made me laugh. Then she made me laugh again and again as I moved quickly through this delightful story about a loving brother and his "bothersome" little sister.

With four brothers, I've been there. Most likely so has everyone else who grew up in a house with one or more siblings. That's what makes "Sister for Sale" such a special little tale. It's true, it's real, and it's funny.

Michelle writes in a simple, rhythmic fashion that helps you glide through this story and never miss a beat. The facial expressions in the illustrations are priceless!

I loved this little book. So did my wife, and 13-year-old son.

Sister for sale. How about a brother for free?

Sister for Sale
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-17
I give Sister for Sale a 5 star rating. I really enjoyed reading the book even tho it was a children's book. I would recomend this book to any parent for their child. I read it as soon as I recieved it. It is written so any child may understand it.
Louise Meadows

Software
Software Engineering for Internet Applications
Published in Paperback by The MIT Press (2006-03-06)
Authors: Eve Andersson, Philip Greenspun, and Andrew Grumet
List price: $35.00
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Average review score:

Practical advice for web applications design in the real world
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-21
This is a terrific book on what it takes to make web applications really work (both for users and for the businesses that create them). Managers of web design projects should read this book for its eminently practical advice on documentation, workflow, and pitfalls to avoid. Highly recommended.

Useful textbook for web application makers.
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-14
If you're new to building web applications and want a balanced perspective on the engineering challenges involved -- from understanding user needs to data modelling to scaling gracefully -- this book is a great place to start. It's mostly language-agnostic, so it'll be a good starting point for a few years but won't update you on the latest technology. Nevertheless, I know very few web developers who wouldn't learn something important from a careful reading of this book.

Where this book really shines is as a bridge from the world of college Computer Science to the world of actually building applications people use. This transition encompasses understanding your users, making flexibile designs, considering security, aesthetics, and a host of other issues one does not actually learn in a normal college CS curriculum. Thanks to its project focus, this book (and the course curriculum it implies) seeds an awareness of these many issues that can later be developed through experience. Other "software engineering" books over-emphasize theories, but this one will actually press you to get stuff built.

Excellent book teaching nontrivial material.
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-06
It's not easy to build a really good online community website. There are a lot of things to think about, and many of them have little or nothing to do with technical programming skills.

Buy this book, read it, step through it, and learn from some of the best teachers on the subject. And then when you've learned what they have to say here, take your new-found skills and build your own online community site. Using the methods in this book, your web sites can be more useful, successful, and profitable.

Just when I needed the update,
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-09
To Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing, I learn of this new chapter in Mr. Greenspun's (et al) effort to encourage the Web to be all it can be. This volume is plainly a text book, designed as a practicum, and with its completion my understanding of how to achieve what's possible now and conjure the future of the Web will be greatly furthered. I'm finding it inspirational in the process of designing; expand your dream's horizons!

Specific examples, great ideas
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-18
This book is helpful for programmers as well as people who work more generally with technology. I'm using very specific, technical information from the "Adding Mobile Users to Your Community" chapter for a web application I'm building, while using concepts from the chapter on discussion forums for a research project on how discussion tools are used at my university. If you build web applications, or work with people who do, I highly recommend this book.

Software
The Software Project Manager's Handbook: Principles that Work at Work
Published in Paperback by Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Pr (1998-06-27)
Author: Dwayne Phillips
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Average review score:

The best book on the subject of software project management
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-28
This book is the best book on software project management available for three reasons: (1) it talks to the basics of what makes a successful project and manager, (2) it describes what does not work in a software project, and (3) it walks through practical steps that can be used on real software projects to solve real process problems through the complete life cycle. The book is well written, concise and does not subscribe to any fad methodology or proscribe any silver bullet solutions (smart work and attention to detail are the only effective methods). In fact, the author spends much time debunking industrial myths. There is a good section on cookbook solutions and an example project included as a learning tool. I use this book on the job and highly recommend it.

An easy-to-read guide to project management.
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-24
Unlike most text books, it is a very easy to read book allowing one to read it from cover to cover. The book is an excellent source for novice project managers who need a guide to the many aspects that come with the job. Personally I refer to it often for suggestions on which documents I should produce or what actions to take while managing a project.

A good reference, but not sufficient on its own
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2003-02-25
This book covers Software Project Management broadly with a lot of good information for both the new project manager as well as the old hand. The material is presented as a comprehensive overview rather than a detailed instruction. By itself the book does not go deeply enough into any of the areas to provide a novice with enough useful information so it's a good book to use in conjunction with books providing more detail.

Despite its lack of detail, the book presents many important points - the importance of the human equation, analysis/organization tools such as Tony Buzan's MindMap, having a Management Information Center, and using standards without having a programmer's revolt. There is only passing mention of key issues such as scope creep, the tendency of management to try to throw more personnel at a project in trouble, needing to build testing into the initial design process, and the pro's and con's of the various development methods (waterfall, spiral, etc.). A number of references are quoted, including many IEEE documents (IEEE is the publisher) plus books by Gerald Weinberg, Capers Jones, Tom Demarco, and other recognized gurus - which make good adjuncts to this handbook.

Phillips perpetuates one of my pet peeves, the issue of including the top ten risks in the risk assessment document. What if there are only 7 risks which seem to be significant? What if there are 12? Granted, it would be unwieldy to track & evaluate dozens of risks routinely, but it doesn't make sense to suggest that exactly 10 be tracked.

The discussions of Configuration Management are quite lengthy and in a bit more detail than other topics covered.

Although the book is fairly short at 500 pages and is easy reading, there is a substantial amount of information covered. The 5 star rating is for the breadth of information covered, with the caveat that other references would be needed by those unfamiliar with the concepts presented.

It does work at work.
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-11
Don't confuse the ease of reading this excellent book with the depth and power of the information within it. Being involved in software project management myself, I related to the ideas the author expressed and feel I have learned much from reading the book. Other project managers in my company are now reading this book and share similar opinions.

The book contains good explanations of various techniques for formalising projects. It also contains a number of case study experiences which are very apt.

I recommend this book to project managers of all levels and to managers of software companies.

Well written and insightful
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-24
This is a well written book for the people interested in succeeding with software project management. The author spells out the key pit falls to software development and offers realistic solutions. There are many up to date helpful graphics and tables throughout the book. This is easy reading and keeps the reader interseted.

Software
Software Engineering Project Management, 2nd Edition
Published in Paperback by Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Pr (2000-05-10)
Author:
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Average review score:

All In One
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-19
You may find the articles in this book one by one from the net, but it's always good to have a all-in-one product.

Excellent collection!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-06-21
For anybody involved in teaching classes on Project Management, this book is an excellent reference. Broad focus, enjoyable and informative reading...

Excellent collection of articles, but needs an index
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-04
This book is a collection of numerous classic articles on software project management. It is well organized and it is clear that a great deal of effort was put into identifying the best articles to include in this collection. The reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is for what it doesn't have -- an index! Without an index you will have a difficult time finding specific information without scanning many pages of text.

A general description of issues a project manager must face.
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1998-03-26
This book provides a broad but detailed look at the functions and activities necessary for the proper management of a software development project. It is what you would expect from IEEE, an academic perspective on the process---both from a quantitative development and quality management orientation. Some of the contributors are, of course, priceless (particularly Alan M. Davis' "Trial By Firing: Saga of a Rookie Manager") in relating their own experiences as project managers in this strange business we're in.

Excellent collection!
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-28
This collection was so good that I went back and ordered the other two collections (Software Engineering and Software Requirements Engineering). For anybody who teaches Software Engineering or Project Management classes (or anybody wanting a broad knowledge of the subjects), these books are invaluable.

Software
The Software Vulnerability Guide
Published in Paperback by Laxmi Publications (2007-12-01)
Authors: Herbert H. Thompson and Scott G. Chase
List price:

Average review score:

Excellant intorduction for a new comer in this domain
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-01
This book has quite good coverage of topics and simple to follow.
References and follow-up/conclusion were useful.



Very concise and helpful
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-15
I've maybe three or four books on the subject of software security and this is the best so far. Very concise and well organized and covers just about every facet of software vulnerabilities that I've ever heard of. Very helpful too because at the end of each chapter it gives detailed advice on how to avoid the vulnerability that they dicussed. Also, the CD comes with some nice tools and source code. I definately learned a lot from this book and highly recommend it to both web application and desktop application developers.

Excellent resource for software developers
Helpful Votes: 17 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-30
Every month, hundreds of security vulnerabilities and warnings are announced. Although they cover a wide set of products and programs, the underlying reason for them is generally the same: insecurely written software. When software is written in insecure code (which includes most software programs written today), serious security flaws are inevitable.

The Software Vulnerability Guide was written to help software developers acquire the methods necessary to write secure code and find existing problems in current software. After making a persuasive case for secure code in part one, the book progresses into the areas that are crucial to writing secure software.

Part two of the book covers system-level attacks and details important topics such as passwords, scripts and macros, and dynamic linking and loading (DLL). Part three plunges into attacks on the software, exploring heady concepts such as buffer overflows, format-string vulnerabilities, and integer overflow vulnerabilities. Most of these attacks have been known for decades but are only receiving wide-scale attention now.

Further chapters delve into securing data and Web servers. For each of the vulnerabilities mentioned, the authors describe how they occur and how to prevent them.

An enclosed CD-ROM contains software examples described in the text, plus various open-source security software testing tools, including Ethereal, Nessus, and Nmap. Any business serious about writing secure software should ensure that all of its code writers receive a copy of this book

A guide which includes a CD-ROM with source code and many tools described within
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-03
Herbert H. Thompson and Scott G. Chase's Software Vulnerability Guide comes from a security director and a security architect, drawing upon their combined expertise to consider techniques developers need to use to produce secure code in modern software. Developers and testers receive both tools and assessments of tools designed to help recognize and prevent common vulnerabilties in source code. Commentary and code examples pack a guide which includes a CD-ROM with source code and many tools described within.

Microsoft MVP 2005 - Visual C# gives this a big thumbs up!
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-21
If you consider yourself a solid developer but know you probably don't give the security of your software/databases as much attention as you should, then you need to get your hands on The Software Vulnerability Guide.

Unlike a lot of other security books, this one isn't full of a bunch of vagure generalities. It gives you solid details on some of the most common (and perhaps some less common) holes that exist in the software you just released. The information contained in each useful chapter is easily digestable by beginners.

Buy the book and spare yourself the embarrassment from some twenty something who stole some script off the web and deleted all the data in your intranet application.
[...]

Software
Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Using Digital Media for Effective Communication (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series)
Published in Paperback by Que (2006-09-22)
Author: Tom Bunzel
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Average review score:

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Great Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
This is a great book. It showed me new tips to do in Power Point that enhances your look of your presentation. I learned a lot of valuable information I will use in the future. The book was easy to follow and the CD has all of the templates discussed in the book that you can use or copy. I would highly recommend this book to someone who wants to improve their PowerPoint skills.

Moving from ordinary to unique...
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-04
I do just enough presentations to know that I need to concentrate on improving my delivery and contents. I was excited to get a copy of Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Using Digital Media for Effective Communication by Tom Bunzel. This is more than the typical "here's how PowerPoint works" book...

Contents: Planning an Effective Presentation; Implementing Professional Design Principles; Creating Dynamic Visuals; Secrets of Animation and Navigation; Using Video and Audio Effectively; Powerful Presentation Tools; The Latest Technologies - Beyond PowerPoint to the Future; Delivering a Killer Presentation; Index

Most books that talk about PowerPoint are tutorials on how to create one for your presentation. But realistically, nearly anyone can create a PowerPoint presentation with little effort. Whether it's effective or not is a vastly different story. Bunzel approaches the subject from the point of view of the presentation itself... what keeps an audience interested, what types of displays work to reinforce the message, etc. Once you understand what makes for a good presentation, it's much easier to decide what you should and shouldn't do in PowerPoint. Bunzel draws upon the experience of professional presenters, many who make their living using tools like PowerPoint to communicate to others. There are also a number of additional resources and recommendations for software you can add on to your presentation to make it stand out from others (photos, videos, software add-ons, etc).

For me, I was surprised to see how much animation can add to a presentation. I've always avoided the cheesy fade-ins and animations that come with PowerPoint, as I was under the impression that they were more distracting than helpful. But after reading this book, I realize that I've been limiting the possibilities. This is one of those books that could make the difference between boring your audience or firing them up, between being a one-time speaker to being a repeat invitee...

Great PowerPoint and Presentation Resource
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-23
This book is a comprehensive resource for professionals who plan and deliver presentations. It begins with the basics and progresses to the use of more advanced presentation tools. This book also offers practical advice and step-by-step instructions (with numerous graphics and screen shots), which makes it easy for readers to immediately implement the techniques outlined. I especially liked having additional resources listed at the end of each chapter.

Using PowerPoint to Really Communicate
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-06
Everyone in the business world (and probably in government, education, and all the others as well) uses powerpoint. But that is not to say that it is used effectively. PowerPoint presentations can be just about as boring, trivial, and useless as presentations made in any other way.

This book is about how to make effective and hard hitting presentations. It is not a book on the mechanics of using PowerPoint, it is a book on using PowerPoint to communicate effectively. It teaches you to go beyond the normal bullets to tell a story that breaks through the barriers to reach the audience at all levels.

To be sure, the book does include a lot of information on doing more sophisticated things than normal with PowerPoint including using third-party add ons to extend its capabilities.

Recommended to anyone who makes presentations.

Nuts & Bolts paired with Great Coaching & Guidance
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-25
Tom Bunzel has been an indispensable presentation coach to me for years. In person and in his books he has an uncanny way to bring out the best in people. This book puts in one place Tom's knack for making technical stuff easy while keeping readers focused on the subtle arts of using PowerPoint to make effective presentations. This is the perfect book for new or seasoned presenters to take their communications to a whole new place.

Software
Special Edition Using Corel WordPerfect 9
Published in Paperback by Que (1999-06)
Authors: Laura Acklen and Read Gilgen
List price: $34.99
New price: $108.92
Used price: $0.67

Average review score:

Excellent, comprehensive, user-friendly guide to WP9
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-03
This book is written in a very understandable way for new WordPerfect users, yet has enough depth to provide quite a bit of "meat" for those having substantial experience with the program. Enough detail is provided so that users can learn how to turn out handsome and professional yet complex documents for desktop publishing, business, or personal use.

I particularly like the tear-out guide in the front, which includes great project-oriented information for those conducting a job search: using the provided templates, keeping contact information, and looking for a job on the Internet. (However, I suspect that anyone who learns to use WordPerfect as expertly as possible from using this book will not be out of a job-hunting for long!)

Once again, Laura & Read have pulled off a very easy-to-read yet comprehensive guide covering all of the program's basic features and quite a bit of advanced functionality too!

I recommended this book as a good reference to keep handy at your desk.

Valuable insights from true power users!
Helpful Votes: 22 out of 25 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-16
I don't normally buy computer books these days because many are lame. When a client asked me to use WordPerfect for a project, however, I thought a book would help me get reacquainted with the software.

But this book has done much more than that. The authors have provided an extremely well-written volume, filled with valuable insights. Instead of taking the standard "let's run down the menus" approach, they have given us a book filled with practical examples, excellent tips, and just plain good writing. I quickly picked up a handful of tricks that made my work easier and impressed my client!

The authors deserve praise for this excellent work, and computer book publishers everywhere should take notice. Hey guys, it IS possible to publish good stuff!!!

Sure Beats Using the Help Screens!
Helpful Votes: 35 out of 37 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-01
Two features make this book worth its sticker price: (1) it contains answers to your questions, and (2) it teaches you questions that you should have been asking. For example, I was having trouble using the WordPerfect CD to get Clip Art into my document. By reading parts of Chapter 12, "Adding Graphics to Documents", I quickly figured out what I needed to know. In the process, I also learned the details of how I could acquire additional Clip Art from the Corel Web site. Thus, Using Corel WordPerfect 9 taught me information about Clip Art that I hadn't thought to ask. Speaking of graphics and other glitzy things you can put in your documents, you also might want to check out the section on Organizational Charts ("org charts"). In case you didn't know (as was the case for me) WordPerfect can draw a variety of useful charts and boxes, connected in just about any manner you wish. How? Check out Chapter 16, "Inserting Charts". You'll find step-by-step instructions that quickly teach you how you can construct what you need.

Frankly, I've never used a book before to help me with a software package. I always figured that the Help Screens and/or the manual were more than enough. This book might convince me to change my mind.

Excellent for intermediate to advanced word processor users
Helpful Votes: 38 out of 39 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-30
This one's a keeper. The authors are WordPerfect trainers with long experience, and it's obvious.

If you've never used a computer before, this is not the book for you. However, if you've used another word processor or an older version of WordPerfect, this is the right book. Enough introductory material for folks new to WordPerfect to get started, but far more information for those wishing to improve their skill level from intermediate to advanced word processor operators.

As someone who's long considered himself a WordPerfect expert, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself repeatedly learning new techniques for using the world's most powerful word processor, WordPerfect. Over and over again, the authors offer procedures that accomplish the same result, but involve fewer steps to realize them than those I developed myself.

The book consistently offers step-by-step procedures with screen shots, so there is no mistaking what needs to be done to accomplish a desired result. Each chapter also ends with a troubleshooting guide, addressing the most common troublespots for the subject matter of the chapter.

The index and table of contents are thorough and well organized, making the book a valuable desktop tool for learning as you go, quickly checking to get detailed procedures, or to see if the authors have a more efficient way of using the program. The authors also provide links to the best of the many WordPerfect resources on the Web.

The book does not cover use of the suite's other major components such as the QuattroPro spreadsheet and Presentations, nor of add-on packages in the profession-specific WordPerfect editions, but does cover use of the CorelCentral personal information manager. The book also does not cover macro writing using Visual Basic for Applications, which is new to WordPerfect and still not adequately implemented as of Service Pack 2. It does, however, cover macro writing with PerfectScript, the traditional WordPerfect scripting language.

If you just want to learn to install WordPerfect and write a few letters, you might look elsewhere for a tutorial. But if your goals include becoming an expert in WordPerfect 9, the anchor component of the integrated WordPerfect Office 2000 suite, this book will help you achieve that goal.

You probably will not read this book in bed; it's best kept beside your computer where you can try out the techniques.

Paul E. Merrell, Links Administrator, WordPerfect Universe,

Fun,Informative,and packed with practical tips & projects
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-20
I love the book. I have worked in "office" services for 15 years and I have to say that my coworkers and associates are in for a treat. I love the projects and tips. I think the thing that most impresses me is I really do hear a recognizable voice. Someone who knows their stuff well enough to see some fun in doing it.

This book is one that I would take to the office (or maybe not - then people would think that I was the genius) and recommend to others.

I enjoyed the book and found it very informative.

BTW - what is that (flyleaf?). The color pages at the begining of the book and can you make more featuring other office functions i.e. Order, Invoicing, and Accts Rec and tie it all together as you did with the Job Search? I loved that!


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