Software Books

The book came very quickly and was described well in the ad. I was very pleased with the timeliness of the delivery

I received this order on time and in excellent condition. I will do business with again.

"The African American Odyssey" just got better with the release of the 3rd edition. Updated accounts, in-depth coverage, a broadened focus (the American West, and beyond America), and the wonderfully helpful enclosed CD which allows for additional research, all make this a comprehensive volume for any and all students of African American history.

The blending of the famous and the unknown, men and women, North and South, slave and free, provides for a tapestry that weaves together both the terror and the triumph of the African American experience which enabled them to move beyond the suffering to a place of healing hope. The faith-basis for so much of the African American triumph could have been covered more comprehensively, though it is more than hinted at in the original sources covered.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction .

An effective book, which the young new generation of African Americans can really gain their sense of knowledge from.

"The African American Odyssey" just got better with the release of the 3rd edition. Updated accounts, in-depth coverage, a broadened focus (the American West, and beyond America), and the wonderfully helpful enclosed CD which allows for additional research, all make this a comprehensive volume for any and all students of African American history.

The blending of the famous and the unknown, men and women, North and South, slave and free, provides for a tapestry that weaves together both the terror and the triumph of the African American experience which enabled them to move beyond the suffering to a place of healing hope. The faith-basis for so much of the African American triumph could have been covered more comprehensively, though it is more than hinted at in the original sources covered.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

Kyle Preston brought joy to numerous kids' lives during the Christmas season. He loved the job of Santa but he definitely wasn't prepared for a precocious little girl to ask him for a daddy and a present for her mother in the form of a husband to help around the house. Yet luck had it's way when Kristen's mom forgot to turn off the headlights before going Christmas shopping. And who better to come to the rescue? Why Santa, of course. Kristen's mom, Lauren Alexander, was a single parent who had survived years on her own caring for the two of them without the help of her parents. Although she wanted contact, it was out of the question. So when a man decided he wanted to make them a part of his life, Lauren did the only thing acceptable. She pushed him away. Would she see reason when her parents enter the picture? Or will their relationship be totally destroyed? Christmas is a special time of year. One of renewing old friendships and finding some new. Ms. Mondello has created a moving tale destined to brighten the Christmas spirit in everyone who reads All I Want For Christmas Is You.

This book is a warm and tender Christmas story. The lives and struggles of Lauren and Kyle touched my heart and had me cheering for them. A must read for anyone who is looking for a good holiday story.

All I Want for Christmas Is You is a gem of a book. Kristen wants a daddy for christmas and she's picked Kyle. While Kyle struggles to convince Lauren that he is the answer to her hearts dreams, he must also come to terms with ghosts of his own. Lauren can't give into to anything less than true love, it wouldn't be fair to her daughter or her heart. Can Kristen's Santa Claus come through with the daddy she wants, the man her mother wants and the family Kyle wants? From the moment Kristen sits on Santa's lap until she gets her Christmas wish, theis book is one page after another of emotion, love, and good clean fun. Lisa Mondello has made her debut a sparkling one. All I Wnat For Christmas Is You is not to be missed, no matter what time of year it is.

Lisa Mondello has written a warm and wonderful story that's full of Christmas charm. Rich characters and a great romance make this perfect reading for those blustery winter days. Excellent!

When she waddled across the stage to receive her diploma, Lauren Alexander's family was mortified by her pregnancy. Arranging for an adoption, her family hopes Lauren can attend college and survive the family scandal. However, the young mother could not bring herself to sign those adoption papers, leaving town with only her savings and her daughter cradled in her arms. Now Kristen is six, and Lauren struggles to provide all the things her daughter needs. Unfortunately, there's not much left for things like Christmas.

Kyle Preston remembers standing in court at the age of twelve when his father gave him to the state. Foster homes didn't seem to want the boy as much as the check, until his adoptive parents gave him the love he needed. Now Kyle is an affluent real estate developer playing Santa Claus in his own mall. When little Kristen gives her a letter, his heart can't help being touched. Rather than doll houses or easy-bake ovens, little Kristen only wants a daddy to help her momma. With Christmas three weeks away, Kyle finds himself sidestepping the promise.

But Christmas is the time of magic, touching hearts and bringing them together. Perhaps a dead battery can be a blessing if two hearts can be led to find one another. And author Lisa Mondello certainly knows how to bring magic together with love. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS proves a charming novel whether the time be Christmas or summer. With warm characters, a enduring child, and house full of wonderful secondary characters, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS comes highly recommended.

If you are planning a trip to northern Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, etc.) and want to do some hiking, you must check out this book! It is a goldmine of information on hikes in the Tuscan Alps -- all carefully described and ranked by difficulty, scenic beauty, elevation gain and duration, etc.-- as well as recommendations for places to eat and sleep at the end of your tiring day. I will update this review after putting the book to the test in May 2000.

I just returned from a trip to the Apuan Alps, where I put this book to the test, and it was quite useful. The hikes are very well described and are very accurate in terms of the terrain and the time and distance. I also agree with their rankings of the various hikes in terms of difficulty and the overall experience. However, this book should be used as a "starting point" coupled with detailed road maps and trail maps, as the directions to the trailheads (and on the trails themselves) can be a bit vague at points. Still, it was an excellent tool that made for a great hiking experience.

The level of detail in this guidebook is astonishing. I have walked and climbed this area for 23 years but still found new ideas. I can confirm the accuracy of the descriptions from my experience of many of the routes followed in whole or in part. In this area it is essential to use detailed maps to supplement the route description if only to find starting and finishing points. The maps recommended within this guide are not wholly adequate for the purpose, and maps of the series "Edizioni Multigraphic, 1:25 000" are really indispensable.

This book, which I received as a present in anticipation of a trek to Italy, is fantastic. It is very interesting and well written with lots of good information. I agree with the above reviews; I especially love the menu recommendations for various spots and the guide to Italian behavoir. My one complaint is that it does not have much information for extended (multi-day) hikes, and while it has useful information on trains, the book as a whole is geared towards those traveling by car. All in all a delightful book, that is a fun read even if you aren't actually going hiking.

This guide gives detailed information about 31 hikes in Italy's Liguria region and the Apuane Alps of Tuscany. As an example of its useful detail, it rates the difficulty of each hike as Easy (up to 8 km, up to 500 m elevation gain) Moderate (up to 10 km, up to 800 m elevation gain) Strenuous (up to 14 km, up to 1200 m elevation gain) and Very Strenuous (over 14 km, over 1200 m elevation gain).

Five of the hikes are more strenuous than the climb from Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to Grand Canyon Village, at the South Rim. And there are just two easy hikes.

It contains a huge amount of interesting information and the CD-ROM that comes with it is just fascinating. This is a great book for learning about Microprocesser architecture.

Being an ASIC designer, I bought this book to improve my understanding of the architecture and techniques used in high performance design. Looking at the book alone, I have a mixed feeling: the chapters that are dedicated inner workings of a processor completely satisfied my expectations. They include an in-depth description of all the main blocks that make a high-end processor or memory system work: register renaming, instruction decoding and scheduling, cache operation etc. This is really very excellent material! On the other hand, I consider the chapters dedicated to the system perspective to be of much lower quality and not in line with the title of the book. In a bit more than 100 pages, the author describes almost all other aspects of a modern PC, including Total-Cost-of-Ownership, Windows Qualification, Ethernet principles, Internet connectivity and even VESA Local Bus standard. Obviously, it is impossible to discuss such a wide range of topics in such a limited space. This flaw is compensated by a fantastic CD-ROM that contains an overwhelming library with a selection of research papers, articles from magazines, interviews and even a VHDL and Verilog simulator! Conclusion: I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the secrets of a modern microprocessor. The removal of chapters about system aspects would have resulted in a 5 star rating.

I work in Retail computer Sales, and I have been searching for a book that allowed me to not just sell the computers but also to give me the technical edge above other competitors. Well this is the book that does it. Warning however, do not buy it if you are not a Engineer or have a craving interest in computer Science. I happend to have the craving interest in computer science. The CD Rom that comes with it is facinating. It's like haveing a PhD in CS 24/7. So far he (the Author) has been my best in-direct computer Science professor.

This book is indeed an anatomy of high-performance processor design. In classic computer architecture books like Hennesey and Patterson's, it covers topics like out-of-order execution and speculative execution mechanisms, but only in abstract and algorithmic levels. This book uses an actual K6 microarchitecture as a foundation and explains these difficult concepts in RTL with pseudo code illustration. This can really help someone with purely ASIC background (knowledge of HDL) to fully understand the implementation of a RISC core with out-of-order and speculative execution capabilities

This is a very well made book and CD-ROM. The book is both clear and detailed. The title can be read to narrowly though. In addition to going through the K6 3D microprocessor, the book has a wealth of information on related issues. Among other things, I found it very interesting to read the perspectives provided by six of the IEEE/ACM Eckert-Mauchly award winners on significant past and present books/papers/lectures/events. The book has many pointers to the CD-ROM, and let me tell you, the CD-ROM is dynamite. It includes the hypertext version of the book, technical presentations, audio and video clips of the people behind the K6 3D, three demo simulators, and many technical research papers. The CD-ROM has provided me with many hours of browsing. I browse and check things using the CD-ROM, but I try to understand them with the book in front of me. The good integration between book and CD-ROM makes this natural. By the way, I even found the classic 1946 Princeton paper "Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument" by Burks, Goldstine, and von Neumann on the CD-ROM. It still makes for great reading.

This book has been very helpful to me in my personal study of statistics. It is practical, with everyday applications, as well as explanations behind the formulae. Be sure to buy one with the CDROM. It is essential to solving the problems suggested in the book.

I really just had to take the class to finish my masters. The book explains the theories behind the formulas. Having an instructor was very help to understand it all.

I have a large library of math texts from many years in school and I have never read one that was so much fun. This book is really interesting and practical. Finally a statistics book that does more than scare the wit out of somebody. I would highly recommend that more professors choose this book for their students.

Incredibly useful book, easy to use. Contains all the Excel information you will even need in a basic statistics class.

I have used this book in my classroom for the last 3 years and found it very illustrative and simple for students to comprehend statistics. It covers theory with practical examples and therefore keeps it 'real' for students. I have used other books in the past, but students found them theoretical and 'brain show-offs' by authors who really did not care for student comprehensions unless they were math majors. This book is far different and even beginner students can easily relate to the hundreds of practical examples that the author provides.

The Excel examples are easy to follow and my science students usually pick up many practical models from these examples. The regression covered at the beginning level in Chapter 3 is fully covered in multiple regressions in Chapters 17 &18 in a way that makes it easy to teach...

Of the 40-60 stats books I have in my office, this is by far my favorite....

Dr. Bjarne Berg
Assistant Professor Lenoir-Rhyne College
School of Math and Computer Science

How often have you presented--or been presented with--an extensive table of raw data only to hear the question "what does it all mean and how can we leverage it?"

There is a wealth of useful data hidden within our own raw data. This book presents the statistical methods required to transform these data into useful information, in the form of mathematical equations (e.g. Cost Estimating Relationships).

It is simply one of the most important texts for Decision Support and Knowledge Discovery you can find. This book is an excellent value and is an absolute must-have for Program Managers, Project Managers, and Parametricians.

The book provides a solid approach towards dealing with software development project data. It is also written in an easy to understand style although the subject itself is far from easy.
This should provide software development managers with a well founded handle to get more grip on development efforts.

This book has a powerful format that blends practical "how to" and common sense with the power and rigor of statistical analysis. I will use this book as a "primer" when implementing software metrics in the corporate arena. This book is a "must have" for anyone implementing a corporate software measurement program. I also wish I had this book in my graduate offerings for Software Development and Design. Existing software curriculums can be sadly lacking the foundations and fundamentals for software measurement and statistics. This book literally makes statistics easy, sensible, and straight forward even for the complexities of software development and technology.

If you're working in SQA or managing software development projects this book is an excellent introductory text to statistical analysis. Although I found "Measuring the Software Process" by William Florac and Anita Carleton to me a more in-depth book that book assumes that you've established a metrics program and that you already have a working knowledge of statistics.

What I like about this book is that it's a tutorial on the statistical skills and knowledge that you'll need, and it combines this learning goal with the basics of software metrics and how they can be employed to measure productivity, estimate projects, and manage costs and organizational quality. The core approach is data analysis, and the main tools that the book employs are multi-variate techniques, regression analysis and correlation and sensitivity tests. The author has a talent for clearly explaining a dry subject, and while it will take a good deal of effort to master the material because of its nature, the excellent writing and illustrations will make it easy to quickly grasp statistical fundamentals and put them to use.

The lessons are taught within the framework of four case studies that are realistic and apply to the real world. The case study topics are: productivity analysis, analysis of time to market factors, development cost analysis, and maintenance cost drivers. These cover the full range of both internal development and product-line software engineering. I especially like the inclusion of maintenance costs as a topic of study because this area contributes significantly to total costs of ownership, but is often overlooked.

As of the date of this review there are two primary books that address measurement from a statistical perspective: this one and Florac's and Carleton's "Measuring the Software Process". Deciding which is better is a matter of assessing your needs. The key strengths of this book is the tutorial nature and the wide range of case studies that are used to reinforce the learning. The key strengths of "Measuring the Software Process" is that it goes much deeper into analysis and also includes statistical process controls and other techniques that are present in highly mature development organizations. Regardless of which book you choose (or if you choose both), the information and knowledge to be gained is the foundation of SQA and best practices in project management.

Being a researcher in software metrics, I am really pleased to see a book that is suited for software managers with the correct level of detail in statistics. I particularly enjoyed reading the 4 chapters with case studies. Its a must have for anyone in the field of software metrics and measurement.

This book contains a detailed explanation of AutoCAD 2004 commands and how to use them in solving drafting and design problems. Every AutoCAD command and customizing technique is thoroughly explained with examples and illustrations that make it easy to understand their function and application. At the end of each topic, there are examples that illustrate the function of the command and how it can be used in the drawing. When you are done reading this book, you will be able to use AutoCAD commands to make a drawing, create text, make and insert symbols, dimension a drawing, create 3D objects and solid models, write script files, define linetypes and hatch patterns, write your own menus, define new commands, write programs in the AutoLISP and Visual LISP programming languages, customize the status line using DIESEL, and edit the Program Parameter file.
Some of the features of this textbook are:
· Step-by-step instructions for creating text, making and inserting symbols, and dimensioning drawings promote efficient use of the software while strengthening your problem-solving skills.
· Customizing and advanced techniques (such as creating templates, script files, and slide shows) use to enhance productivity are thoroughly explained with examples and illustrations.
· Dual emphasis on conceptual learning and hands-on practice fosters a thorough understanding of the power of AutoCAD 2004 for engineers, architects, and drafters.

We adopted this text for drafting class in our school. All I want to say is that it is a wonderful book. The drafting examples and exercises in this book starting from Chapter 1 through Chapter 17 are simply wonderful, exactly what students need to get "hands on" experience on real drawings.

I have not read the other chapters of this book, but they also surely look wonderful.

I recommend this book to any faculty member that wants to teach a drafting class.

Reminder for the faculty!!!! Make sure you do not forget to ask for teaching support material for this book from the publisher. The teaching support material that comes with this book is simply out of this world.

I am using this text for teaching AutoCAD this semester and so was going through the book during this break. This is an excellent resource for learning AutoCAD 2004 and I am sure it would be a great help in teaching the AutoCAD class. The layout of this book is perfect and is exactly what people need. All the new features of AutoCAD 2004 are explained in detail and are made really simple in this book. I am particularly impressed with the way Sham has explained the modified version of Mtext command and inserting blocks and hatches using the new "palette window". Sham has also explained in detail the various methods of adding new blocks to the palette window. Before I finish, I would also like to mention that the 3D modeling in this book is wonderful!!! One of the best I have seen in AutoCAD books. I am sure the explanation of 3D modeling in this book is one of the best launching pads for the students who want to take classes in advanced solid modeling programs.

My recommendation, looking of AutoCAD books, go ahead and buy this book!!! You would love this book and the exercises in it.

Without taking much space here, I simply wanna say that the 3d in this book is worth all the money! I have used a few other books in the past, but the examples of 3d in this teach a lot new techniques of working. It taught me that AutoCAD is much more than just 2d drafting. I am extremely happy I bought this book :-)

This book is easy to learn AutoCAD. All the commands of AutoCAD are explained with lots of graphic and text. The flow of topics covering AutoCAD is in a good sequence. I use this book to teach students in my class. The exercises and examples are well stated and explained. Above all this, I have the liberty to contact the author for the technical support if I have any technical difficulties using AutoCAD because the Author provides free technical support. This book is recommended to all students willing to learn AutoCAD.

I got this book to refresh myself and the Dummies book for a quick reference.
I highly reccommend that.
This book walks you through step by step the entire process and well over 90% of the entire program.
The examples are very easy and the text is spot on accurate.
The only complaint I have is that I wish that the information that we hagve to enter was all in bold text.
Some is and some isn't, but this is a minor complaint compared to quality of the training you get from the material.

This book is clear, concise, and well-written. It covers everything I've needed to know about AutoCAD, and probably everything I'll ever want to know. Explanation of the more difficult concepts is thorough and complete, and the exercises are very helpful, keyed as they are to practice drawings on the included CD-ROM. A great reference...structured by topic, so it's easy to find what you need.

If you are using AutoCAD 2005 or LT 2005 as a beginner who needs step by step instruction or a seasoned AutoCAD user who can use a good reference manual - this book is well worth owning. It is a very thorough and clearly written book. No new or old AutoCAD feature is left unturned.

I've been a long time CAD user experienced in almost everything but "AutoCad". Always seemed to find a way around using this industry standard (eg: .dxf or other file translator to bring into your CAD app). Well, after alot of digging my heels into the ground to avoid AutoCad, due to it's unfamiliar CAD interface and menu nomenclature, I decided to give this book a try. WOW, what an eye opener for me! Absolutely the best. Spend the time to do all of the excercises in this book and you'll no longer dread the unfamiliar GUI (graphical user interface) of ACAD. In a matter of approx. 40 hours of study, I feel relatively comfortable using ACAD, along with our other CAD programs. Do yourself a favor and get this book if you have any interest in learning ACAD, you won't regret it. Ellen Finkelstein and crew did an absolutely fabulous job!

The Finkelstein Bible series -as reference books for AutoCAD- stand head and shoulder above the others, the depth, the accuracy and the conscientious effort is unmatched. If a supplement book for exercises at the same technical level is published, we will definitely have an undisputed knock out.

I bought this book back in 1998, and I have to say the lessons were very straight forward, and I was able to learn autocad in one week enough to land a new job.. it's got my thumbs way up!

I recieved AutoCad 14, the program, 4 days ago and this book 2 days ago, and I am already feeling like I can do something with the program. I felt lost and bewildered when I opened the program on my own, but the step-by-step tutorials along with the examples on the CD-ROM are teaching me everything I believe I will ever need to know. I'm glad I decided not to put hundreds of dollars into a CAD course when this book is as wonderful as it is.

Thanks to Ms. Finkelstein. I have got lots of joy from AutoCAD through your book. This book itself is an art, a practical art. It's rarely to find a software learning book as this.

Our engineering company upgraded to AutoCAD Release 14 in April 1998 & I found the AutoCAD 14 Bible clear, concise & to the point when we redeveloped & recustomized our CAD System. We didn't have to spend as much time calling CAD consultants when we could find the information we needed at the flip of a page. Bravo!

I've had to learn CAD programs before by reading a text book, and a lot of the text books just don't do the job very well. This book has been great!

I needed to change from different software to AutoCAD, but I think new users would be fine using this book if they did the exercises and practiced.

It took me a couple of hours to review the books in the book store--I am glad I chose this one.

I have tried many different bagpipe software also being as registered owner of BagPipe Writer Gold. The sound created in writing this new software is awesome. Never before have I heard a tune sound like the real deal as is produced by this software. No need to go and buy a Sound Blaster card that is required by most of the other Bagpipe software I know it is the real deal as one of my dogs started to howl as soon as I played Scotland The Brave using this software. She howled all the way thru playing the tune just as she does if I am playing the real bagpipes( poor old gal) I highly recommend if anyone wants the real deal and the real sound. Purchase this software and get rid of all the others This is the one all bagpipers have been looking for!"

I love all their products! I just got this software and the sound is amazing! Way to go! I think I'll make my own cds!

The sound created by this new software is awesome. Never before have I heard a tune sound like the real deal as is produced by this software.

This is a great product! It should fill a need longfelt in the bagpipe community!

I have been piping for 15 years now and wanted to find composition software to use to produce my own music. I was overwhelmed at how realistic the sound quality was that this software produces! It is truly heads above all other software packages! Additionally as an instructor the ability to produce sheet music for my students with the correct finger positions in invaluable! I love it!