Computers and Internet Books

I LOVE THIS BOOK. David Powers did a great job on this book. I've been looking for a book to teach me dreamweaver cs3, css, and php and this book delivers. It killed three birds with one stone. The book is wonderfully written, easy to understand, easy to follow, contains no php errors. This book has saved me countless hours of headaches and frustration. This is a sixth book I bought on php and it actually works. Only bad thing about this book is you wished there was more, a part 2. Once you start this book you can't sit it down. Everything goes so smooth. David Powers has me hooked I hope he writes a book for cs4 when it come out.

Covers exactly what the title suggests, and does does effectively.

Utilising Dreamweaver's inbuilt PHP functions can speed up the production time of a new website.

This book has saved my butt so many times now! I've only had it a couple months now but every question I've came up with on Dreamweaver, PHP, MySQL, Spry, Ajax or CSS, I have been able to easily find and work trough in this book. This is THE BIBLE for any Dreamweaver CS3 user out there! I would recommend it to everyone!

I have had some experience in using Dreamweaver since version 8, and I wanted to 'marry' my meager PHP+MySQL experience in using Dreamweaver CS3 beyond what I was currently doing; creating static XHTML+CSS websites.

This book has exceeded my expectations and then some! With it, I am now able to easily create dynamic websites, all within the GUI comfort of Dw CS3. (Ok, some ad hoc hand coding may be needed.) I didn't really want to learn more about PHP programming, MySQL queries, Ajax, etc. I just wanted to know how to use tools available in Dw CS3 to manipulate web technologies, and this book delivers. Real-world examples in the book helps drive this knowledge further.

A mild caveat; this book really is an intermediate-level book. It would be helpful if you were already familiar with the technologies used in creating dynamic websites. i.e., having passing knowledge of PHP, MySQL, XHTML+CSS, Javascript, and Dw CS3. That said, the book does include a PHP and MySQL primer.

Some minor snits;
This book covered the installation of a LAMP stack on a local machine. (Either Windows or Mac) I would have liked to see a chapter on installing a LAMP server (Ubuntu is great!) on a laptop or a computer running in a home network. After some fair amount of trial and error, I was able to have a testing server on another machine, freeing up my main machine for Dw CS3 and other tasks.

It would be nice if the book could have followed up with more examples of extending Dw CS3. The book did show one example of how to add in a customized server behavior, and I wanted to see more of that. Less hand-coding, and more GUI coolness via these extensions would help making working in Dw CS3 a more enjoyable experience.

This is a purchase that I regret. :-( I was quite disappointed by the misleading title. The book contains decent coverage of Dreamweaver for beginners. The book is not quite a tutorial but it is definitely not a comprehensive reference.

The book covers how to do basics in Spry. Spry is the AJAX framework bundled in Dreamweaver. There is no depth in the writing on Spry, and the coverage of RESTful and AJAX is minimal. The same can be said for the treatment of PHP. The coverage of PHP is superficial. There's no practical guidance on how to use PHP in Dreamweaver application development.

Two is harsh, because this is an average book and it probably merits a 3 but for the misleading title. However, I can't bring myself to mark it as a 2 because the author saw a way to sell copies. Returning to Dreamweaver after missing a couple releases, I found "Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual" to be a more complete book, and while it also covers Spry and a bit of PHP it makes no pretensions about its focus.

I'd been meaning to buy this book for over a year and was not disappointed. It is very well written, easy to understand and goes quite into depth regarding OS X.

I enjoyed the writing style of the author, well presented information with bits of humor to keep it interesting. I enjoyed reading the history of OS X and learning how all the parts were brought together to create the most enjoyable computing experience I have ever had. The technical information and programming examples are extremely helpful in better understanding how things work under the elegant aqua interface.

It's enormous! And every page has information useful to someone who develops on the Mac. This book is the ultimate tome of reference for the serious Mac developer. It's also a significant contender as a tome of reference for IT support for the Mac. Finally, it is the best reference for someone with a Windows background who's wondering if Mac OS might be superior technically (leaving aside user interface). (it is.)

All the gory details of how a Mac OS is put together from Mach to Cocoa are covered and then some. The author is a hard-core expert who put a lot into this book. Well worth the price!

This well written books contains everything you need to know about the internals of Max OS X. This book is enormous and really goes deep into the internal of the OS.
This reading gave me the satisfaction of understanding the inner working of Mac OS X which now make my work as a software engineer much easier because I know what is going on.
The book is well balanced in that it cover all the different aspects of the operating system without getting into unecessary details.
One small complaint is that the chapter describing the hardware architecture focus on PowerPC systems. I would of course have rather have a detail explanation of the Intel platform. Maybe in a second edition.

This is analogous to the Windows Resource Kits for OS X, only better. The many examples, most using some sort of code to make their point, combined with the depth of topics covered, makes this the one book really serious OS X coders and admins need to have.

Like it's cousin, the MS ResKit, it's dry, concise, and may scare off some folks. And like the ResKit, it's just as essential as a learning tool and reference book rolled into one.

I've seen many reviews that talk about this book as a book for programmers. I don't believe that for one second. I've heard many references to the old days when all admins were programmers and heard tell of greybeard hackers who are equally proficient at both coding and admin work. This book does a similar job of blending the lines between the two tasks, illustrating concepts and giving examples using C and scripting as well as using human readable english. As a non-coding UNIX and OS X aficionado, I look forward to broadening my knowledge of both programming and unix administration as it applies to OS X via this awe-inspiring book.

This book is so great - I bought this a long time ago, back when I was first learning HTML. I can't tell you what a great resource it was for me. I learned so much, so fast from this book. It really is a simple, straightforward guide to HTML and it actually teaches you a lot about what you are doing so that you can learn and apply these concepts to your own projects. It's a guide that beginners should definitely turn to, but is great for people who aren't just beginners as well because it has tons of cool stuff that you can learn even if you do know a bit about HTML. Plus it would be a great reference guide while building a website for yourself or for someone else. And another great highlight of this book is that its not skimpy or condescending like some of those 'for dummies' books.

Started recently with showing interest in the HTML language. It became clear that in the huge amount of books covering this subject, I was keen on getting something simple, easy to understand and a very handy reference guide. I belive that with this book, it cannot be made any simpler!! Even for non IT minded persons.

The book covers all, from starting a web page, building CCS, what and how JavaScript is working (did not had a clue what it was) up to special features that can make your web-site just that more interesting.
Even now, as a reference guide, it is just what I needed.

The visually part of it - if somebody is not known with the "Teach yourself visually" series - is so clear, the results are showing.
Later I have bought the Dreamweaver MX 2004 from the same series. Even though Dreamweaver is pretty clear in itself, I still come back to this book for some handy tips and how to do.

Worthwile? I do think so!

Great for beginners to intermediate users. Clear instructions, great color graphics, simple but fundamental instructions, powerful in its simplicity. Mouth-wateringly good! Grab this.

Following the advice of the others on this page I duly purchased this book. I can now safely say it will be my LAST time following the general concensus! What is WITH you people?
A photographer/grafik designer by trade, specialising in print-based media I have never done web-based work (other than actually designing pages and buttons in Illustrator - and then having someone else doing the converting, assembly etc.) so I decided to buy a book and have a go. To get straight to the point this book is a piece of crap for the following reasons. 1) (despite professing otherwise) It is totally incoherent, and follows a very illogical progression pattern. 2) The grafiks are so sadly outdated and amateur-ish I cringed every time I opened the book. 3) It fails to empower the reader to move freely and thus visualise their own ideas. 4) It is VERY incomprehensive. 5) It is very hard to navigate, has no real index, no thumb tags etc.
It is like a 'Big Mac' - it looks yummy and filling and when you take a bite it SEEMS to fill you up, but soon you are hungry for more REAL FOOD. My advice? Go for a less disturbingly 'visual' format that provides you with the building blocks to build your own house.

Although I consider myself fairly computer savvy, I know absolutely nothing about webpage development. Until now. With this book, I was able to create professional looking webpages in literally, minutes. This is my first and only book I've purchased about creating webpages. I can't say that other books aren't as useful, but I can say, that this step-by-step approach, is fool-proof. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in creating webpages, with little or no prior knowledge of webpage development.

I think most of the information is pretty straightforward for those who have modeled objects and component packages. Anyone familiar with test driven design and other extreme programming practices probably have come to most of the same conclusions that this book shows examples of.

While it is very thorough, it is not very concise.

In the end i gave it 5 stars because it's the ONLY book that i've ever seen that gives this type of information in ANY format. I applaud the author for taking such a hard topic and putting it in writing. Sometimes I have to have examples like this to show to other developers when they 'cry' about not being able to unit test.

If your job is working with Legacy Code, then you need to pick up this book. If you follow his line of reasoning, you can pick up solid habits to systematically revitalize legacy code. The main emphasis of the book is applying unit testing to legacy code for in the authors opinion, legacy code is simply "code without unit tests." You may or may not agree with this statement, but the techniques he presents to find "seams" as he calls them in the code to allow you to break dependencies are vital to working with legacy code even if you choose not to apply unit testing to your projects. Some developers may attack the simplicity of the examples presented, saying they don't represent real-world examples, but if you "read" the text accompanying them you learn the techniques to tackle legacy code issues. Although I noted many publishing glitches - places where sentences to entire paragraphs are repeated from one page to another, the content is solid.

[...]

This is a must-read for software developers, I think. It's up there with Code Complete as a must-have, and I think does a better job than Refactoring by Fowler of explaining Refactoring. I started using some of the techniques in this book immediately and found that coding was higher quality and more enjoyable. It also helps to understand that the author's definition of "legacy code" is "code without tests".

I am an entry level software developer who has only been in the industry for a little over a year. While I was in college, I was always provided with very clean code bases to work with or analyze. I was in for a huge surprise when I entered the real world. The code I deal with every day at work is an extremely ugly mess. We have no automated tests. We are basically operating at CMMI level 0. There are no clear coding conventions of any kind. People just kind of band-aid things on top of other band-aids just to make the new changes work. We are basically in emergency mode every day because of all of the ugly side effects of global variables and functions. I was presented this book one day by my company news website. So I grabbed a copy and gave it a chance.

I was very satisfied with this book. I was expecting to start reading this and it would be like one of those GoF (Gang of Four) or Martin Fowler books that already assume that your code is already written fairly well in the first place. The reality is, like others have said here, is that most companies you will work for will just not have the prettiest code base in the world. The book's content is fabulous and I can see this being one of the key books on my desk every day. I absolutely love how pragmatic Michael Feathers is. I like how he continuously explains the concept that sometimes the code might look uglier or awkward in order to get it under test. I always thought the design pattern books were just a bit over the top. Michael is not like that. He provides examples you probably run into everyday and provides succinct steps for getting it under test.

The only gripe that I have with this book is the overwhelming amount of publishing errors throughout the book. Sometimes, a word is skipped in a sentence or the wrong word is obviously used. There was one point in the book I recall where it seemed like it was missing the ending of a sentence or something. I think if Michael ever wants another edition of this book then he ought to hire someone new that will catch all of these little glitches and correct them. They were a bit annoying at times. Also, like someone else said, it would've been nice to see some examples of really old code in COBOL or FORTRAN even.

Otherwise, it is easy to read this book and you'll get through it fairly quickly. There have been some technical books I have read where I just couldn't read it all the way through because of how utterly boring it was. Michael keeps you entertained with some rather interesting concepts and stories. I also like the way he formatted the book in general. I like how many of the chapters in the book are titled by some problem like "These API Calls Are Killing Me!" However, the last chapter called "Refactoring" was a bit vague and odd to me especially since all it discussed was his infamous "Extract Method" refactoring.

I really wish all of the developers on this team would read this book. They really need to. We need to stop this game of changing and guessing whether it worked. You just cannot do that with software unless it is very small. Any software engineer should have this book on their desk.

This book is decent but it doesn't break much new ground. The author has the Fowler-esque affectation of naming very simple things to create a shared and clear vocabulary (ie making a change and seeing what it breaks when you compile is now the LeaningOnTheCompiler pattern) which feels a little overdone in places.

There was some good material here, but generally the best parts were where he would tie an example into a well known design principal which would be explained in a sidebar (SRP, etc). Of course, that kind of stuff could be found elsewhere in a more concise format.

The book is nice in that it makes you think through the samples, I just wish there were more moments after doing that where I went "oh hey, cool" (there were a couple, don't get me wrong) instead of "yeah, thats pretty much how we do it now".

The others have said it all. This is truly a five star book, full of useful content. By now you should be in no doubt - buy it!

I just read this book on 04/2001, and considering that this book was published on 99 it feels a bit old, but although it treats Flash on its version 3, is gives you an amazing background information, also the optimization section for animated gifs is amazing. I just wish i read this book on 99' I would be Hillman Curtis 2, i would've save me lots of learning. Great for Flash foundations. This for sure was the THE HIT back on 99'.

J.Scott Hamlin is on the cutting edge of Web graphics design and his book Effective Web Animation offers a new look and fresh approach to incorporating animated imagery. According to Hamlin serious Web graphics design goes far beyond the simple GIF animations of poorer quality and performance that just about anyone can create. Image size, color quality, interactivity, accompanying audio, and faster delivery over the Internet are factors that have led to new Web animation technologies. Are we ready to face them?

Hamlin lays a foundation for Web animation on the professional level for serious minded Web designers who must face new graphic design consideration demands. Hamlin offers detailed instruction involving the use of JavaScript, Photoshop, and Macromedia Flash and the results are phenomenal. This book contains many well-planned and beautifully designed graphic images and the tips and advanced techniques necessary to create comparable results. The accompanying CD features sample code, animations, demoware, and tutorials for further instruction opportunities.

Web animation is making a comeback and Web graphics design has become serious business. Hamlin's contribution in the form of this book is essential for those designers who want to graduate to a higher level of Web design mastery and income. Clients are wising up to the many Web technologies available to them and are becoming more discerning about how they spend their advertising dollars. Don't be left behind. Consider animating your Web creations today. This is must reading!

Having already worked for a number of years with the Internet I was hoping this book would provide me with such information as "Advanced Techniques for the Web" (as the books sub-title states). What I found though was the book is a fantastic resource for anyone who is a complete beginner right up to intermediate web developer.

I was expecting detailed information on java scripting and Flash scripting however found that the book goes not much further than, for example, the handbooks and tutorials of Flash 4 and Dreamweaver 2.

If you are an experienced web designer/developer with a solid grounding in the internet and are looking for more than basic java scripting and flash scripting, this book may prove to be too basic. With this all said, this is a valuable book and many colleagues who newer to the web are gaining much benefit from information in this book.

5 stars for beginner - intermediate skill level

3 stars for advanced skill level

This is one great book! Picking it up and setting down in my usual lazy chair to read I quickly got a feel for how easy this book was to read. With beautiful pictures and easy to follow examples I quickly found it to be one of my favorite graphics books. This book covers almost everything you need to know about web animation, and best of all, it grows with you! As your skills get better the book explains more. From Gif89 animations to all out power house Flash animations that will make your site to die for! I loved every bit!

The book, Danger.Com @2// Firestorm, was an exciting novel. Children solving terrorist attacks on none white nationalities because the child was on a chat line. The author, Jordan Cray mad this book very exciting and was able to expand the imagination for the youthful children of the world.

My mom got me this book about 2 years ago and I thought it looked really stupid. One night not to long ago I was so bored and just wanted to read something so I got the book out and started to read it. I couldn't put it down! I read it in 2 nights and now I love the series. Anyone who likes computers would love this series. Just read the book and you'll see what I mean!

Well, I read this book when I was in 4th grade, that was like 4 years ago! But, this book was so cool, It took me one night to read it! I read it all nite, even at the dinner table....Any kid or adult that likes the internet, mysteries, and suspense should definetly go by this book!! Also, Pantera is the coolest band ever...To all kids. go buy the CD called "Reinventing the steel" plus, I am 14, not 12....I had to put 12 cause that is the oldest age on the form

I think the book is very exciting and dramatic. It's very dramatic sometimes, then it could be really funny. It is mind boggling and it makes you think and it doesn't give you any clues or hints. It will make you think it is a certain person, then you'll find out it isn't that person. It is a great book to read. I have bought the whole series because of the way the author details everything. So, I hope you like it as I have in the 3 books I have read.

This book was cool and I really enjoyed it. IF you like suspense you should read this book. Poor x-posse was outsmarted by a surfer dude HA HA HA

"Letting Go of the Words" is a book that I recommend to all of my new web content authors. It's easy to understand language and visual examples really make this book a great read. I really appreciated the attention to accessibility and usability as well as they are becoming fundamental to good web design.

I've worked with a web developer for 2 years, and have stayed on the editorial side. However, now I have more input into the site design, and I'm finding great assistance from Ginny Redish. She's done her homework to help the reader delve into the minds of their site visitors, and thinks outside the normal constraints.

It offers technical assistance without being a coding manual, and for the creative person who is not a coder or developer, this is a terrific tool!

It's not for the programmer who knows the how-to side, but it's for the content and creative person trying to attract the right attention and reach the right people.

This book should be considered required reading for anyone designing and developing sites.

Most of the websites online do not follow the practices outlined in this book and would be better off if they did.

The book is filled with clear examples and shows bad content and then the ways to improve it.

Great book!

From the moment I started reading this well-constructed, excellently researched book, I couldn't put it down and wanted to know more. The pages are reader-friendly, and lots of good examples make all the author's advice come to life on the page. "Letting Go of the Words" clarifies so many gray areas of writing for the web. I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever has to write anything that will appear on the web, and also to designers who are responsble for setting up websites. Once you read this book, you won't be able to look at any website in the same way again.

This book is an absolute must read for anyone who develops websites. Ginny Redish provides great examples of web pages and how the visitor is affected by the arrangement of the content. I love the way she presents a website user and allows you to "think" like a visitor.

Patrick pours years of community management experience and firsthand real-world examples into what could be called the manual for online community managers or owners.

I especially like how he outlines best practices while also giving personal advice just as he would if he were talking to you face-to-face. His candid, personal writing style makes you feel like you're reading advice from a friend more than a typical management book.

Managing Online Forums also has numerous examples of forms, guidelines, notifications and more and they are all downloadable from the book's website.

If you run or are thinking of running an online community, you owe it to yourself to buy Patrick's book.

I thought I'd been doing community work long enough that I wouldn't find much new in this book. I was flat wrong. While some of the more technical discussion wasn't relevant to my needs, the rest of the book is a treasure trove of ideas and tips for effectively managing communities.

If you're just starting your own community or are brining on new staff members, get this book, read, absorb.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R358T2YX60AECK Great book if you're wanting to start an online forum. It has everything you need to know from an expert who's done it multiple times. Highly recommend it.

"Managing Online Forums" is the complete How-To guide when it comes to running your online community.

Whilst the book does go into some of the more technical aspects, "Managing Online Forums" mainly shows you how to deal with your members so that you can successfully create a great place for discussion. It's obvious that Patrick knows his stuff when it comes to online forums and he shares his own personal experiences whilst explaining the Do's & Don'ts of community management.

Patrick's conversational tone makes this book easy to read from cover to cover but at the same time the subheadings and layout make it excellent for quick reference. The whole way through there are examples of guidelines and templates taken directly from Patrick's own communities which you can easily build upon to make your own.

If you are considering starting your own forum, or indeed if you already have, "Managing Online Forums" is a must read in order to learn how to get to grips with your community and what to do to ensure your community thrives.

Managing Online Forums is a great resource for both those starting out in the world of online forum management and seasoned veterans looking to improve and grow their online communities. The effectiveness of this book as a resource is founded upon three main strengths. The first of these is the author's experience and knowledge of the subject based upon years of administrating online forums. He knows what works and what doesn't. By tapping the author's knowledge, a forum manager can avoid wasting time and effort going in directions that are, ultimately, unfruitful. Instead, he can focus on only those things that are proven effective. Second, the book is organized in a logical sequence. It begins with suggestions on choosing a domain name and progresses through ideas on keeping an established forum interesting. Third, the book is effortless to read, avoiding technical jargon except when necessary. This effortlessness can transform into absorption, at times.

Ultimately, if you are interested in starting and running your own online community, Managing Online Forums is a great place to start. However, its usefulness does not end once a forum is up and running. As your community grows you will once again be able to reference the knowledge that exists in this book to further develop your community.

What a great resource. For a small biz like myself, it gives simple, concrete "growth" advice and direction. It should be in new print...not relegated to the used marketplace. With so much fodder out there, this stands way above the pack!

I keep referring to Parker's book over and over again. Even someone who has been marketing via the Net for several years will find this text a cogent, insightful and organized source of help. I can't imagine my Web-based efforts without its guidance.

Most books published this long ago look incredibly dated by now. This one isn't. Everything in it still rings true, and it's a shame more websites don't heed this man's advice.

I've been marketing and selling on the internet since 1995. There is one specific idea in this book that IF you actually use it, you will almost certainly triple your business. (No kidding) I definitely wish I would have had this book 5 years ago. However, I have it now and the fundamentals are superb. Parker takes you through the strategies that bring people to your web site and develop a web site that gets people to come back again and again.

I absolutely love this book and strongly suggest you pick it up. ...Isn't it worth it to gain some powerful, usable and workable strategies that will make you 1000 times the investment?! It's a no-brainer!

Kevin Hogan...

I bought the book because I saw a lot of great reviews about it on amazon.com. But after reading the book, it's really disappointing because the book is just very shallow about web marketing... It's also very repetitive and all it says is very general, it doesn't really cover much on strategic web marketing. A lot of the articles on the many web marketing sites or newsletters out there are much more helpful than that book. It doesn't tell much except for mentioning repeatedly how good content, customers registration and email newsletters are important for relationship marketing... It doesn't provide any resource at all for the readers to create good content, to build a customer email database or to launch an effective promotion or marketing campaign, i don't recommend this book at all.

Unlike most of the books on Amazon I found Geno's to be an extremely efficient read. Most of the books on this subject are filled with "fluffs" and long run on's of success stories. It was very refreshing to finally read a book by someone who approaches Online Marketing and Management from more of a "This is the exact science" standpoint while still keeping the book enjoyable and not dense at all.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Affiliate Marketing or for the Affiliate who is curious as to how Affiliate Managers think and act.

Great work
-Cyrus Massoumi

"A Practical guide to Affiliate Marketing" is exactly what the title says. It is a great resource and reference for everybody who is interested in affiliate marketing. It gives answers to almost all questions every merchant wants to ask before launching affiliate program. The book is easy to read and easy to follow. There are many real life examples and valuable tips both for merchants and affiliate managers. The author Evgenii "Geno" Prussakov is one of the most respected and successful affiliate managers in affiliate marketing world. I think the book definitely deserves 5 star rating.

The day I agreed to take on the Affiliate Program Manager position at the company I worked for, I realized that I had some learning to do. I quickly found a bunch of different resources online that pointed me to this book.

It is a quick read. Took me three evenings without dedicating too much time to it. I feel I was able to soak in a ton. Geno's book really motivated me to immerse myself in the biz. I think it will do the same for you.

I humbly believe in the adage that says "You don't know what you don't know". This was definitely true about Affiliate Marketing. There's so much jargon and tech-speak to wade through when trying to learn about this industry. Then I read Mr. Prussakov's book and was amazed at how clearly and simply it outlined what I needed to know to get a handle on the power of affiliate marketing. It was a real eye-opener, and allowed me to pursue techniques that have made a real difference in my business. I highly recommend the book as a basic resource for anyone looking to understand affiliate marketing.

It isn't often that a book so clearly and concisely delivers so completely on its chosen subject. But such is the case with "A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing".

Upon recently launching our affiliate program I began researching the topic so that at least I might avoid making some "newbie" mistakes. I met Geno through a popular affiliate forum and he was kind enough to send me a copy of his book. Once I began reading, I knew that this book was exactly what I needed. The book, in plain and simple english, covers all of the pitfalls, opportunities, and provides sound advice, obviously based on Geno's years of experience. It does so in a format that makes it a great point of reference long after you read through it and a must have for any affilliate manager, merchant, or anyone who wants to understand the affiliate marketplace.

I highly recommend this book to any executive considering the idea of launching an affiliate program or anyone currently managing a program who would like to see their results improve.

Tom Livia
President
PC Universe, Inc.