Software Books

I really enjoyed this book. It was straight forward, to the point and provided some great best practices as solutions to some common security problems. A major problem with security is management. Too often the people making the important decisions do not understand the information that they are given.

As the authors point out, Managers and technical staff speak different languages and that is the key problem here. Managers that read this book will gain a clear understanding of the problems that the IT staff faces, and IT people that read this book will understand the management side and will know how to speak to non-technical staff.

This book is a perfect introduction to security and related business concerns.

This is a really good introduction to security for non-technical and IT personnel. It covers a lot of subject matter including disaster planning, and writing a security policy. This book is an excellent resource for managers who need a clue. It is written better, more organized and more helpful than "Secrets and Lies" and other similar books. I recommend this book for anyone that needs a good overview of security. You may not be a CISSP after you finish it but you will understand what a CISSP is saying.

This book is a great overview of security and policy development. This is not a technical book, it does not teach you the specifics of any particular OS, or how to configure software. It does ask key questions, and gets you thinking about security programs and business practices. The policy template is an added bonus. I gave this book to my manager to help convince her that we needed to look at security differently and budget for it.

This book is a great starter book on information security! I was wading though my copy grumbling "I know this, this, this...", when it occurred to me that I am not the intended audience.

For some time, one of my friends was asking me for a good book on security for somebody who knows absolutely nothing about it. I gave him "Access Denied" - and now he is hooked. Several weeks has passed by and he is already asking for "Hacking Exposed"...

"Access Denied" covers a wide range of security-related topics. The book is well written, logically organized and have everything to appeal to the beginners in the security field, those curious about modern (if not cutting edge) security topics and those migrating to security from other IT fields.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA, GCIH is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company. His areas of infosec expertise include intrusion detection, UNIX security, forensics, honeypots, etc. In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org

This book is a great introduction to security concepts and procedures. I've used it as a resource for college papers and I have used the templates to start a security policy. I recommend it to anyone that needs a well written primer on security.

I have been using Lightroom since it first came out. I've used it effectively but always knew there was more I could get out of the software. This book just brought it to life! I'm a professional photographer and I love taking pictures, not reading text books; so I've always left it up to my wife to read them and then explain to me how to do what I need done. This book, however, is easy to find subjects of interest, and then follow the clearly written instructions. I found the book's design of using Notes, Tips and Cross References particularly helpful. It's the only Photoshop/Lightroom book I use.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom & Photoshop Workflow Bible by Mark Fitzgerald is an indispensable text for today's digital photographer. I have been working with Photoshop for over a decade and Lightroom for the past 2 years. As I have transitioned between film and digital photography, going all digital 3 years ago, my post production needs have changed dramatically. The right software added to knowledge of workflow management coupled with post production skill is key to success. Lightroom is an incredible program that has allowed me to fully leverage the power of digital photography while Photoshop remains the premier program for serious digital image post production.

I have found Lightroom to be essential for managing workflow and Mark's book essential for understanding Lightroom. With the complexity that comes with modern software, an instructor like Mark is a rare find. I find his teaching style intuitive and his technical explanations digestible, being distilled down to the important necessities. There are some places where I would like to find more information (like addressing the limitations of watermarking and slideshow output in LR), but usually I find I am looking for features that are not yet fully fleshes out in Lightroom. LR 2.0 is a major improvement on the first version of Lightroom and I look forward to future upgrades of this relatively new software.

Photoshop is a beast. What can be done with Photoshop is nothing less than incredible. I have been self taught on Photoshop through the years and subsequently missed learning many of its key elements. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom & Photoshop Workflow Bible by Mark Fitzgerald has gratefully filled in many of the holes in my knowledge that are essential to harnessing the power of Photoshop. Here, Mark's style was indispensable as he took me through the steps that are most important to me as a Professional Photographer.

With the power and flexibility of both of these programs can come confusion at times. There are different ways to accomplish the same result so which way is best? A streamlined workflow is essential to being successful with your digital photography. The real value of Mark's book for me comes from increased productivity and more joy in the process. Having settings and preferences customized, presets and metadata at my fingertips, knowledge of the process and best practices in my workflow has allowed my photography to reach new heights. I have always enjoyed the process but the software can be frustrating at times. Mark has erased any frustration from my process and for that I am grateful.

I can not recommend this book enough. The volume of images with digital photography can be crushing for both amateur and professional photographers. Being able to quickly manage your images and then knowing how to retrieve the ones you want is essential. Mark will get you to the point where shooting is fun again, your images look fantastic, and the workflow is second hand nature, freeing you up to concentrate on those aspects that bring you the most joy.

I have been a commercial advertising photographer for thirty-five years. I started shooting digital in 1995. One of the things I learned early on is that if you don't have your digital asset management under control you can lose your shirt on the back end. In this book, author Mark Fitzgerald lays out a comprehensive road map using the powerful combination of Lightroom and Photoshop to manage my images. Quality and speed (in that order) are the two primary goals when it comes to processing my images. Mark has shown me how to use these two powerful tools to add a creative touch of custom processing to my files quickly and with the knowledge that I am archiving them in a reasonable way. This has become my workflow bible and its home is right next to my computer where I refer to it often.

I agree with all the previous reviews... this book is great!

Mark Fitzgerald covers everything! He literally goes over every aspect of the workflow from start to finish (Lightroom to Photoshop). In addition, he adds "tips and notes" throughout to highlight key points. I feel like Mark gives us all the tools in an easy to find/ learn/ chronological Bible.

I want to keep my response simple and concise, like Mark keeps his books.

Also, I highly recommend Mark's other book... Photoshop CS3 Restoration and Retouching.

I am a professional photographer that has used Photoshop from the beginning and Lightroom from the first Beta version, and I thought that I had a pretty good understanding of my workflow. I picked up Mark Fitzgerald book and started working through the chapters. Mark has a wonderful way of teaching and I was able to streamline the work that I was doing and learn new techniques that made keeping track of my images so much easier. This book is a must for anyone, beginner or pro, that wants to work smart.

I've been developping applications and amateur games for a few years using C++... I bought this book along with the Director Bible... And guess what? I made a shoot'em up game in a couple of days - with the help of my brother (graphic designer - thanks for your beautiful sprites, dud! ;) )... Director + Lingo are the best way for quick games... and this book just show me how!!!
Thanks!

Gary has done the Lingo community an amazing service. With code and logic examples that illustrate nearly every variety of game you can create to be played on a computer, this book is an incredible resource.

The examples in this book made it possible to deliver a game-rich CD project with an incredibly tight timeline.

Thanks Gary!

I have a programming background and am learning Director to make professional CD products. Gary has taught me how to do this with his Using Director 8.5 book and this Advanced Lingo for Games book. He writes very well, doesn't treat you like an idiot, and is very practical. Well done Gary and I recommend this book to all people who really want to make interactive games using Director.

I am a Lingo programmer for 4 years and this book helped me advance to the next level in Lingo Programming. Using this book helped me to understand writing my own 'behaviors' and took my understanding of 'lists' to a higher level. I owe alot of my success to this book.

Rich
Multimedia Programmer
Motorola

I've been writing Lingo for some time now, and I probably own upwards of 15 books on the subject. Of all of those books, the two that I find the most helpful every step of the way are undoubtedly Gary's most recent 2 books (this one and "Director 8.5 Special Edition"). Lots of Lingo authors know Director inside and out, but what sets Gary's books on the subject apart is his colorful writing style and an uncanny ability to break down ultra-complex scripts into palatable bite-sized chunks that even a newbie will understand. Highly recommended!

As many of us know, Product Management is probably one of the most challenging responsibilities one could have in an organization. This book is a well written strategy guide for those looking to build a winning plan to cross the "shark infested" turbulent waters of competition in the new age. The writer's frank-talking style is a breath of fresh air and citing real world examples gives this book an edge that many of us can relate to.

This book is a must read for any executive. Whether you are plotting a new strategy, turning around a company or driving a start up, the old rules simply don't apply. The author makes numerous salient points that should be internalized. His witty and sarcastic writting style, make this a interesting and necessary read for anyone driven to make a difference in their organization.

Sales VP's and Chief Sales Officers must confront today's reality that the pressure is on them to not only close deals, but create them as well. "Asymmetric Marketing" is a must-read, must-carry handbook for senior-level sales executitives who find themselves locked in mortal combat with indifferent market targets that have already chosen sides with software Superpowers. In fact, any sales guy or gal who is preparing for an interview for the top sales job at a company that's readying a disruptive product marketing launch should read this book first and politely refuse the Kool-Aid.

As the Chief Technology Officer of an emerging category software startup, I believe there is a lot of value in this book. In today's markets, a wise startup carefully aligns with the overall technology and business agenda of the software superpowers as a necessary component of innovation strategy. This is especially important if your business is attempting to succeed in the enterprise with a Software-as-a-Service or hybrid platform model. I would recommend this book to my colleagues in the speech technology space, or for that matter, any Web 2.0 provider---Especially Chapter 3 where Bentzel discusses product strategy in the age of the software superpowers.

Roberto Pieraccini, CTO, SpeechCycle [...]

If you are in the venture capital business or if you are a Business Executive responsible for spending other people's money, this book is a must-read. The book updates the prevailing theories on product strategies and points out - correctly - that we live in a time when a few big companies dominate the tech landscape. If your new product and strategy does not take this into account you are doomed before you start. Mr. Bentzel's book provides practical advice about how to build a successful strategy and how to avoid having your small company crushed.

The Audio Dictionary has a reserved spot on my desk. I have had it only a few weeks and already it looks as if I have had it for five years. I find myself constantly refering to it for specification writing, white papers and design/bid documents. Gary and Glen have really outdone themselves in creating this masterful work.

This book is an excellent source for words used in the sound arts and audio recording industry that you need to know to go into the business. Trying to find accurate and consistent definitions is very hard but this book puts the definitions all in one place in a clear and understandable way.

Great item to have if your going to be working in the field of music.

When I first got into audio engineering there was no way of understanding some of the more technical concepts I was expected to know. This book makes it really easy to understand a lot of the terms, I still always keep this book handy when I'm reading an AES journal article, just to help me out if there is something I don't understand.

The Audio Dictionary is a great book for anyone who's looking for a concise, clear explanation of any audio-related term. It's not (and does not pretend to be) a complete treaty like the Handbook for Sound Engineers, but offers a quick and reliable solution for those questions for which you don't have an answer from the top of your head and don't want to spend 2 hours reading the complete scientific explanation.

I consider it a must-have for any Audio Engineer who takes his profession seriously and have at least one copy in the library of each school we operate in Spain.

If you want to receive a doctorate degree and you have the time, this is a great resource book to have as a reference. It is very detailed with examples learning the ropes with 2/3D AutoCad. The font could be larger for easier reading but that would significantly increase the number of pages.

great reference book for the beginner or the one who usually use AutoCAD for living. This is a must have book because you could get almost every command /answer in it!

This is the third version of this book I've gotten and none have ever let me down!

My professional occupation have been in construction as a bricklayer, but now I need to re-educate me on the cause of health. Aiming to be an cad-operater I want to learn Autocad as well as possible. I enrolled in school, but found the books there a little short on the subject. So I got this book from Amazon in hope of pick up a little faster, and I sure did.
This book has all you need to know about Autocad, with the latest tools laid out in nice detail. I recomend it from my whole heart.

I'm an experienced CAD user and use it Often. It is a great reference bood I keep close for immediate use. It is easily to follow and look up many different subjects. I am also using too train a new CAD employee. Work great for both.!!

This really is one of the best books written about Autocad and how to use it in a real work environment. It's aimed a bit more at the "power user", someone who is familiar with the basics and needs to get more out of it. I've had a hard time finding a book like this. When I read the chapters on basic lisp routines and batch scripting I was saying: "Yes! Finally a book which is not for dummies." But the way the chapters are set up it is also very easy for a beginner to pick and chose their way around learning Autocad. There are valuable lessons here for any level. Highly recommended, along with Autocad: Professional Tips and Techniques.

If you are at a point with Autocad where you know the keyboard commands and short-cuts and the new hurdles to tackle with improving your autocad skills ARE work-flow and efficiency. . . THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR YOU! I try to make sure a learn a few new tricks from this book every week and it has already improved my skills. The last 1/3 of the book is LISP stuff and while I am not at that point yet, it looks extensive and concise at a skimming. If you are comfortable with editing your cui file and understand the difference between color and style dependent plotting this book is right up your alley.

This book is by far the best AutoCAD book ever written. It is full of practical everyday shortcuts and general information that the average everyday user needs to know. Your productivity will increase by just reading the first chapter. This book is written is plain easy to understand english. A very easy read!!!! I loved it.

I've been using AutoCAD for many years and have seen many books rehash the same old stuff.
This book addresses Autocad from a user standpoint, written by someone who not only completely understands AutoCAD but also knows how it's used in the real world.
A "must-have" for all AutoCAD users.

This is the first CAD book that I have bought in years (using AutoCAD since release 2.5), this book is a must have for anyone using AutoCAD. This is not a command reference guide, it truly shows you how to use the software through best practices, customization, automation and programming. It is a comprehensive book filled with tips, tricks, pitfalls, and examples. Mr. Abbott has brought together enough productivity tips for the user that the book will pay for itself through increased productivity.

I purchased this CD-ROM many years ago, when it first came out, from the Metropolitan Opera House store. At that time it cost $100. I can't tell you how much I have loved and used this CD-ROM over the years. It's an amazing piece of programming - and everything works like a finely tuned clock. I teach the Ring to beginners and advanced opera lovers from time to time and use this to pull down the lietmotifs and learn more about The Ring. Every time I use it I learn something new. It is indeed a course on The Ring in its finest form. I recommend it to anyone who wants to delve deeper in Wagner's Ring to find out what all the fuss is about. A real treasure!

I am very grateful for those who helped create this CD-ROM.

It is an indispensible asset for any musicologist, music student, music teacher, music lover...heck, Wagner Lover!

This forms an extremely vital part of my Wagner discography, it's an important reference I always have on hand when wanting to study the epic Ring Cycle.

Thanks for choosing the Solti version and I guess those of us that were impressed by this are looking forward to further Wagner/Solti CD-ROM's hopefully dedicated to keeping Solti's Wagner legacy alive!

This is an incredible product! For those that like to follow the manuscript, the music and the translation of the libretto, this is excellent. I would love to see more of these. I will buy.

I agree with all the other glowing reviews of the Ring Disc! In 2003, I had the opportunity to perform excerpts from the Ring (I'm an orchestral violinist) but did not know a thing about the opera cycle except for maybe Ride of the Valkyries. Fortunately, my violin teacher owned the Ring Disc which she lent me, and with it I basically gave myself a crash course on the Ring in the space of a week. I really felt that its features helped me begin to understand, in a relatively short period of time, one of classical music's most daunting masterpieces. I now love the Ring and can't wait to attend my first Ring cycle!

As everyone else has already stated, this disc is absolutely amazing. Just getting the entire Solti Ring at this price makes it a bargain. But add in all the essays, the pointing out of the leitmotiffs, the libretto, the running commentary, and all the other features, and this is the kind of deal that you would be crazy to pass up. This disc is, probably, the best and most efficient way to learn everything you need to know about the Ring. Also, if you're worried about compatability, don't be. I have Windows XP, and the disc runs perfectly with no installation or technical hassles. Just put it in and start the experience. If you are at all interested in Wagner's Ring cycle, this disc is perfect!

Where the K&R book is terrible for learning C, this book makes it a snap.
It provides an organized and complete tutorial for the novice C programmer as well as a useful reference for the more experienced C user.

As some one who took an unguided path into C programming, I can really appreciate how much of a difference this book would have made if I came across it earlier.

This book elegantly lays down the structure and parts of the C language. It presents the reasons behind various features of the language.

This is the book that will teach you to think about programming in an intuitive way.

I have read the second edition and recently bought this third edition that has ANSI standard C in the main body of the work, rather than K&R C. I am using it to brush up on C that I have not used in a while. It is still a great book.

I have read the other reviews from December 1997 through February 2004. I do not have much to add to what has already been said, other than what the others write is true. I wish all technical books were this well written.

The perfect balance of complete, useful information on ANSI C. All technical information (data types, operators, declarations, pointers, arrays) is there. It it all explained in sufficient, readable but not wordy detail. It is remarkable in its efficiency.

It's all in there - the preprocessor, railroad diagrams showing the syntax of each statement, code snippets where they useful. Data structures, starting with the bit datatype, then defining and explaining more advanced concepts of unions, structures, and the user-defined types using _typedef_. Then full examples tieing it together with linked lists, then doubly linked lists.

A brief section on software engineering concepts showing the importance of design and test, and finally a complete working C interpreter.

What really sets it apart though is its complete reference of the most-used standard library functions - formatted and file I/O, string and memory manipulation functions. Effective use of the proven library functions is one of the marks of the software professional, and the outer framework of most useful real-life programs is getting data in and out.

The book begins with a very high-level overview of programs to establish its context, but this is NOT a how-to-program book. If you already understand the fundamental concepts (arithmetic and logical operations, looping) and you need a comprehensive book on how to use C, this is the one. There are lots of books in the "this is a reference, not a tutorial" class (e.g. K&R) and lots of wordy tutorials that never get to the difficult parts (like 'how do I pass a pointer to a multidimensional array.'). This is one book that is sufficiently organized to be a reference, with enough clear explanation that you'll learn how and why things work.

I've had my 2nd edition of this book since it was new in 1991 and recently purchased a copy of the reviewed edition for a friend. It's still excellent, with improved coverage of new features and extensions, and removal of the obsolete adjective "new" when referencing the ANSI standard that's been ratified for a good long while now.

There is no mention of C++ - this is a C book. Good ol' ANSI C is still the language of choice for many if not most embedded projects, even new design. I believe a solid foundation in C will serve any C++ programmer well - under the 'object' layer of C++ lie member functions that actually do the work, and those functions look a lot like C...

Like most good technical books, this one's not cheap, but it's a quality Springer-Verlag binding on acid-free paper that will last a career if not a lifetime. And considering the depth, breadth, and clarity of the content, it is a bargain.

A must-have.

15 years ago I came across this book accidentally in a second hand shop primarily selling Springer books.
I already had K&R because it was best known, but was not really satisfied with it as a transitioner from Fortran.
This book had all I needed, especially on pointers (see all other reviews).
I always enjoyed reading it. It's not about becoming a C obsfucation contest winner,
but about C as a tool for software engineers.
Combined with Harbison & Steele's "A C Reference Manual" and Hanson's "C Interfaces and Implementations",
which are my other most referenced C books, you will have a solid basic library to rely on as a C programmer.

It is really a very good book from IBM about DB2-SPL. In our company we bougth a lot of DB2 book, but this is the very best.

from basics to tricks

Has been extremely helpful. Good information

If you are a developer or DBA who is new to DB2, I would highly recommend this book to you. Both administration and development topics are covered, helpful best practices and tips are included, and illustrative examples are used.

The fundamental DB2 concepts and the different DB2 tools such as the Control Center are introduced in a very straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. This allows DB2-newbies to get fully up to speed on DB2 terminology and functionality, while serving as a gentle refresher for those who might have prior DB2 experience. The book achieves a good balance of topic selection and level of detail. More advance topics that are covered are explained in a manner that most novices would comprehend and in enough detail to be useful.

The prime focus of the book is on leveraging the ease-of-use and autonomic capabilities of DB2. If you are a developer not wanting to memorize database and/or SQL command syntax, you will particularly appreciate this book. The book shows how most common administrative tasks can be very easily performed using the GUI tools and Wizards provided with DB2. Ease of application development is demonstrated in both Java and Microsoft .net environments. An easy and intuitive introduction to DB2 SQLPL is also provided.

Overall, I think that if you are new to DB2, or need to learn the essential concepts/features needed to develop and/or administer DB2 quickly, you will be very pleased with this book. It is a perfect starting point for introducing the most important concepts, features, and tools. As you gain more experience and familiarity with the product, a more advanced book can be obtained.

I didn't know anything about writing DB2 stored procedures until I bought this book. After reading it I have written several procedures to aid in data migration. It is well laid out and has all the necessary information. The best part is that you don't feel like you are reading a technical book.

The book describes IBM's Procedural Language, which runs on their db2 servers. It is not a general purpose language, like C or Java. Rather, it is tied directly to db2 and IBM's implementation of SQL. But within this context, the book explains the expressive power of PL. It shows at length how you can write stored procedures, triggers and functions in PL. The level of detail and the cited examples should reassure you of PL's capability.

But why even write business logic code at the database layer? There have been other books on n-tier application design, which call for the locating of business logic in a middle tier and not at the database. The authors' rejoinder is that while that makes for an elegant design, practical experience shows that often, crucial logic needs to be at the database. This reduces networks traffic and can heavily improve perforance. Hence the need for PL, or something like it.

Be wary of the book's claim that PL lets you write "portable application logic". It is portable only between instances of db2 running under linux, unix, Microsoft Windows or IBM's operating systems. When you write embedded logic in PL, you are also embedding yourself or your company into db2. Which may indeed be fine by you. But just so you know.