Multimedia Books

Thank you very much for sending me the book. It has turned out to be very helpful. The develiery time was also quick and the qulaity of the book was very good.

"A work of meticulous detail, bounded by academic discipline, that still manages to scream off the page and impart a burning passion for its subject. ... A prose style that stays thankfully close to good storytelling. ... mark[s] Kurt Lancaster's arrival as a welcome presence ... Will surprise the most inventive thinker." -Neil Nixon, Fortean Times

From a pulley to a sailboat to a CD player, this book answers the ageless question, "How does it work" I have earned the reputation for being a genius who knows a bit about everything, and I owe it all (almost) to this book. Prove to your child that his Dad is the smartest man in the world by knowing what keeps an airplane in the sky.

EOA's Weather Workstation Version 5.0 for Windows/Macintosh is an Educational CD-ROM for grades 6-12. Its textbook format consists of 8 chapters or lessons. The first 7 lessons are a variety of basic meteorology topics like: the hydrologic cycle, clouds, global and regional weather, climates, storms and forecasting; while the 8th chapter supports environmental awareness and encourages students to consider careers in science.

Some of the advantages of this program are the immediate examples and re-enforcement of all the topics. The authors take advantage of the technology of a CD-ROM and supply the reader with brilliant pictures, videos or charts on each page of complimentary text. By clicking on highlighted words and phrases within the paragraphs, a student can immediately find the definitions or interesting facts of the words instead of wasting time by looking it up in a glossary. Also within the text are questions that are answered at the click of a mouse button. This acts much like the questions a lecturing instructor may suddenly give to a class in order to keep the students thinking about the subject.

Another important advantage of the CD's text is the use of interactive exercises and charts. This program provides numerous little games that re-enforce the lessons or give interesting information relating to the text. For example there are games in which the player must quickly find shelter from a sudden lightening storm and a tornado. There are other games in which the player must determine the appropriate altitude for certain types of clouds and other things in the atmosphere like airplanes, auroras, space shuttles and satellites. The interactive charts and diagrams provide a way for the student to examine the material at his or her own pace. As the student clicks along, the chart or diagram is drawn and interesting facts about each step of the drawing is given. In this way, the formation of hail is described and state weather statistics are learned as well as the symbols on the weather chart. These interactive games are a clever way to teach and help students memorize information.

The appendices that are linked to related lessons usually provide more complex information for the curious and the more advanced students. By assigning or not assigning these sections an instructor can modify the amount and type of information to the class level. These appendices give detail to the chapters as well as provide more videos, questions, pictures, charts and interactive exercises. Most of the appendices relate to the basic lessons but, there are a few that act as additional lessons and discuss in detail topics like El Nino, ozone and how to use the internet for more information on weather.

Besides the text and appendices, the CD-ROM provides additional software and information for student projects. One project it suggests is the Backyard Weatherstation. This section gives complete instructions on how students may inexpensively set up their own complete weather center, and teaches them how to make observations and record them.

The user-friendly interface provided by the Weather WorkStation, allows all students to experience immediate success. It is the next best thing to being outside and having the weather change on demand for teachers. However past all the flash and sizzle, lies the real meat of the software, the text. At an astounding 300,000 words per CD, the amount of info within the set of millimeter high platters boggles the mind. Even more amazing is how accurate, detailed, and beautifully written the chapters are. The way the text is composed an eight-year-old, with modest vocabulary and reading skills could understand it and an expert would not grow bored.

Overall, the product successfully conveys its lessons, stimulates an interest in the course and encourages young scientists.

Loretta A. Leist, research staff member, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Miami, FL 33149-1098. Review also available in the Journal of College Science Teaching, December 2000/January 2001, Volume XXX, Number 4

This is one of the most comprehensive books on web design that I have had the pleasure to read. I recommend this book as a college text for web design. I have read a few other books that colleges use for web design/development but this one outshines them. Also the books construction is high quality. From beginner to intermediate designers/developers this book has a lot to offer. Very highly recommended. Note: I am very surprised
not to see any reviews of this book, but it did take some searching on amazon.com to find it. I know that for $55 and no amazon discount, this book is not cheap. But I believe that it is well worth it.

I really like what this publisher does. This was one of the first ebooks ever released -- and yat it has way more effects than the ebooks coming out nowadays. The sound track is incredible. The story is fast-paced and held me through every minute. However, the platform/layout is not as easy as what's available now. But the publisher knows this. I emailed them at whitebones@windstormcreative.com and mentioned that I liked the books but they should think about laying it out using 2001 tech. They said they planned too... and if anyone sends them the inside flap of this first edition CD they'll send you a copy of the new format for FREE. That's what I call customer service. Overall, a great story made better with a ton of anime-like artwork and a stand-alone A+ rock soundtrack.

Easy to understand, clear & simple are exactly the correct words to describe this book. The numbering system of steps is easy. The very good illustrations are a plus.

I am a relatively new users to Windows 98 after upgrading earlier in the year from Win 95.

I hadn't really discovered many of the new features that Win 98 had to offer and this book really showed me what could be done, and more importantly how it could be done.

The contents of the book in well stepped out and is written in plain English which makes it easier to read and enjoyable. I had a great time finding out so many new things about Win 98.

If you are interested in this book, one word of advice is that Amazon.com has got the wrong picture of the books cover. You are looking for a much more colorful cover.

Thanks Mr Vujic and others.

This book helped me decide whether I really needed a MCE computer (versus a normal XP). The key was on the first page of chapter 9, quote "the TV functionality that Media Center provides is its most compelling feature".

I tried in vain to figure out how would the integrated TV tuner (NTSC) work with our TV system (Pal N). In short, I got no answers either from the forums nor "the green button" fan's website. Conversors were expensive and nobody would guarantee they would work down here.

Conclusion: I bought a DVD recorder locally, and an XP computer that is still the standard OS most people have (unlike MCE, that barely exists here).
The book is extremely user friendly, very clear, but doesn't shy away from hard topics. Part IV specially is crammed with knowledge on networks. No wonder the authors made a separate book on the subject!
The comparison of wireless LAN systems on chapter 16 comes in handy.

The explanation of "sampling" on page 34 is, again, almost "too clear" :).
Finally I understood what 24 bit and 96kHz mean! And WHY bigger numbers are, in this case, better. The comparison with the CD's sampling rate is another example of their ability to teach.

In short, the hardware recommendations may be a bit dated, their enthusiasm over this OS may sound a bit over the top after Vista, but I think this was a honest effort to explain what this OS was all about at the time it was the newest kid on the block. This book is the closest thing to actually using this OS. For their detailed walkthroughs alone, it deserves its 5 stars.

PS: The appendix on how to connect your MCE PC to different home entertainment systems is comprehensive thanks to its drawings. And the index is clearly organized in big topics, which renders it useful.

Bought this book for my 3 yr old son and he really likes it. Lots of activities to do very good sounds.