Software Books

I love this book. It's a robust mix of exercises and software how-to, unique among all the FCP books I've read. I'm very glad to have it in my library.

I wrote this to Wolsky, might as well share it with the world:
Hi, guys. I met you at the fcpug last Weds and bought a (signed!) copy of your book. I haven't started to do the tutorial yet but I can't put the book down. It's so clear and easy to understand, and I'm already implementing the stuff I've picked up just from reading, "Now, did he say.... option X? Oh, wow, it works." It's the best book I've seen and I tend to look at everything in hopes that where one person confuses me another will set me straight. Anyway, this is a fan letter. And the writing is extraordinarily fine, literate and grammatical. Thank you.

The author is candid in his discussion about editing with Final Cut Pro. The most valuable information to me was his numerious comparisons between FCP and other editing software. For example, he points out those areas where other programs might be stronger in certain areas than FCP and specifies those programs. I read the book cover to cover and continually refer back to it as a guide and inspiratoin when editing.

Reading many, if not most, software instruction books, is akin to being clubbed by a thousand hammers...overload, overload. They are constructed as reference books, but one has to fight through tons on incidental material to figure out how to use the program.

Tom Wolsky's Final Cut Pro 2 book is, instead, a precise tool, which gets you cutting in no time. Wolsky's credits list him as an editor and a teacher, and his book make it clear he is outstanding in both regards.

At first glance you might think that this book is the same as the other FCP click-step books for the manual-adverse. You'd be wrong. Tom has crafted an excellent instructional work that richly supplements, rather than reiterates, Apple's enormous, exhaustive FCP 2 manual. Certainly he has featured many pages of clear dance-step instruction throughout the book. But, more noteworthy, Tom also incorporates a great deal of contextual insight into why certain features might be useful to the reader and draws upon his professional experience to give readers insights into the professional post-production process.

This book quickly became the mainstay of my FCP editing library. The only feature that would improve upon it is a spiral binding enabling it to lie flat while open!

This book walks the reader through the finite element (FE) method step by step. It is a very good introductory book and focuses on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. I do wish that there was a hardback version.

This is how all books should be. Many terms other authors skip over are explained clearly. A must have, atleast for beginners.

Gives a very good introduction to "Finite Element Method" for those who have very little or no knowledge of it. It is an excellent reference and I wish the author decides to reprint it ,however, including the FORTRAN source code in a CD ROM.

This is the best introductory book I have read in Finite Element Analysis, it goes step by step in an easy to learn way.

This book is very good and refreshingly different from the other ones, but only if 1)you are interested in electromagnetic and other applications of FEA and 2)Are comfortable with variational formulations.

I was going to avoid reviewing this book because I'm too close to the authors and my copy was free so I thought I would be too biased, but the book merits a stellar review...bias aside.

Generator concepts are in bite size chunks and easy to follow, yet not so easy that they bore the reader. The book follows a natural progression in complexity and will be usefull to developers of all experience levels stepping up to the Generator plate.

The level at which the author's stand in the developer community gives them the opportunity to bestow their knowledge in "we know it all" manner, but instead they maintain a humbleness that says "hey, we're just developers like you who've had a lot more time on our hands."

Chock full of all the essentials, and the non-essentials, this book is a must have for the Generator developer (or the developer wanna-be) and looks to have a long shelf life.

Chris, Phil, Mike-nice work!

Finally someone to really take the shrink wrap off two of the best tools in the business. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the eccentric behind flashenabled.com would be able to show all of us common men how to take the next step with Flash and Generator. Awesome.

I was going to avoid reviewing this book because I'm too close to the authors and my copy was free so I thought I would be too biased, but the book merits a stellar review...bias aside.

Generator concepts are in bite size chunks and easy to follow, yet not so easy that they bore the reader. The book follows a natural progression in complexity and will be usefull to developers of all experience levels stepping up to the Generator plate.

The level at which the author's stand in the developer community gives them the opportunity to bestow their knowledge in "we know it all" manner, but instead they maintain a humbleness that says "hey, we're just developers like you who've had a lot more time on our hands."

Chock full of all the essentials, and the non-essentials, this book is a must have for the Generator developer (or the developer wanna-be) and looks to have a long shelf life.

Chris, Phil, Mike-nice work!

Want to learn Generator? This is it, bar none!
As a Generator and Flash trainer I always look for good material to add to class for future reading, this book will not only top the list but will be integrated into all future classes. Having used Generator since 1.0 I thought I knew many of the tricks but this book showed me a few that I have never seen before and will use immediately.
If nothing else know that the authors are top of their game and that the material for this book matches their excellence.

This book is a must-have resource for anyone interested in working with Generator. Mike, Phillip, and Chris not only know their stuff, but they did a great job at sharing their knowledge in a way that even a novice can understand. They are able to share their real-world experience, and make using Generator just a little (maybe even a lot?) more palatable for the average Flash user.

Four years into the Christian life (1958) I was given this book. How did I like it? Thus far, in July of 2008, I have bought and sold or given away over 1100 of them. There is nothing else like it. It permeates every aspect of life. Children, grands and greats learn how to live and raise children who do not rebel, having no law to rebel against. We evangelize using the principles of grace. We grow older with no stress, all thanks to what Chafer has written and what God has provided.

This book was a life-changing read for me. Chafer's exposition of grace displays probably the clearest exposition of a classic presentation of dispensationalism and its position on the difference between law and grace. It presents lines of discontinuity in the drastic way it is needed in today's church. Law is not Grace - Grace is not Law, to confuse the two is tragic. Beyond anything, Chafer makes sure we understand how foolish and dangerous it is to infuse and confuse law with grace and confuse the two. Luther clearly saw this great discontinuity in the bible between law/grace (more so than the Reformed churches), truly bringing freedom to the person dead in sin. This is not to imply that Luther was dispensational, clearly not so, its just that both sides see a clear contrast in the law/grace economies.

I could comment on all the distinctives Chafer applies from this system of discontinuity such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Sabbath, the Christian Life, etc. but I'll leave that to your reading. What is clear is that Chafer sees a drastic, drastic difference in these economies, sometimes I think a little too discontinuous. This is not to say Dr. Chafer is wrong, just that he seems to emphasize the differences to the extent that it misses the continuity between the dispensations and the progress of history and God's revelation. I think this is a bit problematic even though I am a dispensationalist and love Dr. Chafer's works very deeply. This has already been revised in expression and corrected in dispensational teaching (see Ryrie's 'Dispensationalism', Renald Shower's 'There Really is a Difference') for quite some time, but it is still important to know that it has been corrected.

I think its very important to understand this since Christians from other views (primarily Covenant teachings) have given solid, solid critiques of the 'classical' understandings of Dispensationalism (as taught by Scofield, Chafer, Brookes, A.C. Gaebelein, etc.) and Dispensationalists have listened (please see the great dissertation by Todd Mangum titled 'The Dispensational-Covenantal Rift, 1936-1944'). Poythress is a high suggestion, also Hoekema's 'The Bible and the Future', and Hans K. LaRondelle's 'The Israel of God in Prophecy'. Please steer clear of foolish and error filled critiques such as John Gerstner's book, 'Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth' and many others. Though I am still a dispensationalist, these (former) works are important to help us to understand that both 'extremes' lead to an imbalanced perspective. When I say 'imbalanced' I mean that the Classic Disp. position tends to be almost dualistic in its thought of earthly/heavenly which is problematic and I do thank others for those kind of critiques. However, the other side (such a Covenant teachings, etc.) when very consistent upon emphasizing that everything is a spiritual shadow, type, etc. seems to err on the side of a metaphysical problem in the Christian faith. Clearly we don't want that either.

Also, one last slight critique; Chafer holds to a view of Christian filling of the Spirit that is an either/or on/off teaching. I think the view errs slightly because you are not filled with the Spirit simply by confessed sin and repentance in the life of the believer. I believe the filling of the Spirit has to do more with a walking of obedience than an instantaneous experience of spiritual filling/spiritual life. Though this is minor, it has been critiqued by others and I feel they are correct in their critiques of Chafer on these points.

However, with all that being said, Chafer's work should be read by every Christian because it is so clear and thorough on the teaching of grace as the thread through which the history/progress of revelation is seen. It truly brings the bible together for a Christian who has applied themselves to the study of the scriptures. It sheds so much light on the scriptural truths of justification, assurance, growth in grace (progressive sanctification), and our expectation of the return of Christ. Truly a monumental work by Dr. Chafer that is vital for the growth in grace of every Christian. Highly recommended.

This book reminded me of Einstein's "Theory of Relativity." It starts with a quick summary of simple absolutes about the concept of the grace of God, and then blows your mind with their implications.

After reading it, I wonder how those who think they are still under The Law, or those who think you can lose your salvation, define grace. I doubt they've thought through the implications of their beliefs or tried to reconcile them with the concept of grace, supposedly the foundation upon which God deals with us.

I can't recommend the book highly enough. For those unused to reading early 20th Century proper English, it's worth the investment of time and effort.

Helping the Christian to understand the great gift of grace that has come through the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the best book ever written on God's Grace.
If you want to have a thorough understanding of God's
Grace, than this is a must read for you!

I learned alot from this book and I have been programing foxpro from the dark ages in 1991! These guys know their stuff. If you program foxpro for money you need this book.

Granor and Roche do an excellent job of explaining the treasures and pitfalls of VFP3. I found this book after I had been banging my head against a particular problem for several days, and was able to find the answer immediately, where no other book I had checked gave the answer. They document both how VFP3 works, and how it _should_ work. Most of the book still applies to VFP5, and presumably it will still be good under Tahoe.

Even though this isn't out yet for V5.0, it's still worth the freight. In-depth discussions of each command, property, event, method, etc. It's saved me hours of aggrevation, and I even curl up with it in my spare time!

FoxPro is both wonderfully powerful and maddeningly quirky, as is well documented in this excellent volume. Having used FoxPro to develop and support commercial software products for many years, I have a large library of FoxPro books, and this one is by far the best. It is exhaustive in its coverage of concepts, features, bugs, and documentation errors, and includes many excellent examples. If you are serious about FoxPro, buy it.

Although the book was intended for VFP 3.0, it is an excellent introduction to FoxPro Object Oriented Programming. It is intended as a short introduction and command reference and it does that well.

An enchanting story! Many readers will see themselves in the story as the characters juggle their personal and professional lives. The mystery will keep you guessing right up to the end and you won't be able to put it down!

of a woman who lost her faith in God, but rediscovered it along with a love strong enough to weather any storm. Braci and Kyle are strong people who will protect those they love. We see a family that will stick by one another no questions asked, and a young woman who finds a family she needs. This tale with its warmth and tender storyline and down to earth characters make for a wonderful read.

Not only did the Lacey family love and support one another, they also never looked down on people who were less fortunate than themselves. I enjoyed this story very much!

about taking a good look at yourself and facing the truth. The twists and turns are both surprising and intriguing as the truth about the Lacey brothers is uncovered. In her debut book, Robin Bayne has done a wonderful job creating very real characters with hopes and dreams and flaws that we all can identify with, despite social differences. After all, truth and faith have no social boundary. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a sweet romance filled with family values.

his brothers child is a charming story of romance , ambition, and trust. braci falls in love with kyle, who comes from a wealthy family. a family with a secret.

I just bought a camera phone 3 weeks ago, and this book has saved me! Well, not literally. But it has been a big help. It's a pretty hefty 300+ pages with easy to follow steps. And it's geared to non-techies like myself.

Now I know how to work the camera, but I still take $#!++% photos!

at last I have a book that I can give to my technology-impared friends and family! thanks for getting me off the hook, john frederick moore!

This is a book made for the person (like me) who's basically intimidated by technology, afraid that any attempt to utilize this or that fancy feature will spell nothing but frustration and futility in the end. It doesn't have to be that way. I was given a camera phone as a present, and until I found this book, it stayed in its box. I was that intimidated. (Let's just say my experience with user manuals hasn't been good.) The first thing that struck me about this book was the clean writing. Moore has a knack for making complicated things seem really simple. This book is comprehensive and straightforward and has lots of helpful visuals to add further clarity. I can now begin taking advantage of my phone's features without fear. It's terrific.

As someone whose technological literacy is only slightly better than a mushroom, I was hesitant to use and intimidated by my new cell phone camera. Despite the salesperson's assuarnce that "anyone can use it," I knew I'd be the addled exception. Thank God for this book! Not only is it well-written and interesting, but it's for people like me - who need lots of extra help. Because of this book, I'm happy to say, I now love using my cell phone camera and have become quite the master at it - even giving my friends advice and "tutorials." I take great photos with my cell and have captured and shared lots of great memories I would have otherwise missed. Thanks for the great, helpful read!

Disclaimer on the star rating: I don't have a camera phone, but my mom does. And my mom called, a lot, to ask how to use this, that, etc. So I bought her this book, and my time spent on those calls have been cut to almost nothing!

Clear direction, illustrations and well written instruction mean that even my mom can master her phone. Of course now I spend even more time downloading the pictures of my neices and nephews she captures on her phone, but it is time well spent! And seeing the results my mom is getting....well, a picture phone might be in my future as well.

I've bought a copy of the translation of this book to Hebrew, which covers Hebrew contents in HTML pages, and it's my favourite and recommended HTML book.

Actually, I have two copies - one is always loaned to a family member or co-worker who wants to study HTML quickly and easily, and I'm surprised this book is out of print without a newer edition (e.g. HTML 4.0) coming out.

This small book covers everything about HTML in a concise manner. For someone who knows the very basics of HTML, every chapter is stand alone - no need to read half a book to get a specific topic.

The coverage is very good. e.g. many CGI manuals assume the reader knows the HTML side of forms and continue straight to code, even though most people want to learn both subjects together (how much can you do with a form that has no script begind it ?) - this book covers the HTML side of forms clearly, complementing those manuals.

Though a few of the chapters that dont deal directly with HTML (e.g. finding a home to your pages) are a bit weak, those dont make the core of the book.

I hope a new edition of this book comes out covering HTML 4.0 and fixing the weak chapters (e.g. giving URLs to sites such as geocities and giving a short hands-on manual on uploading pages).

If you use HTML or any related technology (JavaScript, CGI, etc), I recommend you put your hands on a copy of this book and stick to it.

I hope this book is reprinted. It is the single source book of code that I keep on my desk. I have recommended it everyone who asks and I am sorry to see it is gone!!

This book is probably the best and easiest-to-use HTML books out there. It's a little out of date now, since browsers have been updated, but I still use it and recommend it for quick reference.

I also use this book as a text, even though it is a bit dated compared to Castro's Visual Quickstart Guide (which I also use). The layout of the book is the reason it remains of value, and will so for years. For someone learning the basics of HTML, each two-page spread covers an HTML tag. The lefthand page describes the tag and dissects it, describing all attributes and values they can take. The right side shows an example of the code and how it looks in a browser. There is no clearer way to explain HTML for beginners than this. One caveat, though ... the appendix with the numeric codes for special and reserved characters is seriously flawed. If there is an edition for HTML4.x, the editor of that book had best make sure the errors in that table are corrected.

I've really enjoyed this book very much. This book provides a disection of each tag and a picture of the source code and the outcome. As a reference it's helpful, because it provides a clear and consise format. Plus, it'a a great size to carry around. Can't wait for the next edition!

You should not try reading this book from start to finish - that may be a little too much. As a reference, it is the best HTTP book I was able to find. Clear and concise information compiled from multiple sources.

I,as a university student with great interest to HTTP,borrow this book from school library. This book gives me basic and clear concept about http operations between client and server and stuff behind the scene. a list of explanation of http message and header is heleful too. later, the author writes very detail about proxy server,caching server and how the webserver are build for serious commercial use.
I am able to finish 2/3 of this book in 3 days. it's so interesting and keeps me reading on.

This is definitely a book to get you start with all kind of term for HTTP and a grasp for HTTP/Webserver concept.

for ppl with solid backgroud on HTTP, i would recommend the "HTTP: The Definitive Guide".

If you work in web development you can't miss this book. Two words: complete and clear. Buy IT!

Get this book. It reads a whole lot better than the spec. The language is so straightforward that your grandmother might enjoy reading it too. It comes with a dictionary of exception codes too, so you'll never be left scratching your head if a few important message packets begin to burp on their way to Paris via Kuala Lumpur.

An excellent book for learning HTTP and much more about how web servers work at the protocol level. What you can learn in a few hours from this book is amazing because it is organized so well, the author is a gifted teacher with an excellent roadmap of what he wants to present, and the hierarchy of overview and detail is so well designed. The book covers the context in which the HTTP protocol resides, the details of HTTP itself, and then branches into important usages of HTTP for creating secure, reliable and scalable web sites.

Must have for reference. Great shop manual. I hope author keeps writing good Illustrator manuals. Well done.

For some reason, books on Adobe Illustrator are always terrible: they either pander to new users, recycle out-of-date content, or rehash the same boring techniques as every other book. Steve Kurth's Illustrator 10 Shop Manual puts the competition to shame, digging deeper in a single page than the other hacks do in a whole chapter.

Kurth has actually documented EVERY LAST feature in the program, down to the tiniest checkmark in each dialog box. He understands how I need to use the software, and offers the most specific and helpful advice I've ever seen.

A perfect example: a designer in my company needed to convert all the shapes of an expanded gradient from CMYK values to a single spot ink. If you think you know the answer, guess again -- it's not as easy as it sounds, and I've used Illustrator professionally for 8 years. The Shop Manual gave me an answer in less than five minutes.

And that's the key -- notice how I said "it gave me the answer," and not "I found the answer." No book could ever predict the above scenario and give clear-cut steps to the reader -- and that's why the others fail. Because it covers so much so well, the Shop Manual actually LEADS you to the connections you need, using Kurth's experience and a surprisingly intelligent layout.

I bought two copies: one for work, and one for home.

There's not much to say: I picked it up off the shelf, everything I needed to know is in there and it's easy to use. Simple praise, but rare praise indeed for today's often obtuse computer manuals.

This book is very good. I read it and learned a lot about the program. No nonsense. Later, I ask him questoin from his web site and he knew the answer right away. I look forward to other books by the author

I find these shop manual books amongst the most useful in my bookshelf. For an experinced user most often all that you need is to quickly look up the features and settings of a particuliar tool or dialog box.
This is a complete reference manual to the whole package, forgotten how to do something it will be in here somewhere. There is also a useful how-to section at the back covering common techniques.
These books make a designers life soo much easier.