Software Books

If I could only put one multimedia learning book on my bookshelf, this would be it. The "General Principles" section provides one of the best overviews I've read of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Constructivist approaches to learning (although I do think they misrepresent the Instructional Systems Design process and treat it as a purely Behavioralist approach). This section also presents an excellent overview of the learning process. The book moves on to discuss methodologies and learning sequences at an unparalleled level, including a brilliant discussion of simulations and educational games. The book closes with an overview of an approach to Design and Development that's worth reading, but far less valuable than the previous sections. Of all my design books, this one has the most dog-eared pages and underlined text; the chapter-level bibliographies alone are worth the book's price! Anyone looking to delve deep into multimedia design for learning should have this book on his or her shelf.

This is an excellent text in terms of coverage and pacing. If you are interested in human-computer interaction, this is a 'must have' text. What astonished me about this book is that it covered more issues in HCI than many dedicated user interface design books. The text admirably blends practical considerations with theoretical concerns and trends. It strongly focuses on motivational issues surrounding users of learning packages(an area largely ignored in the bulk of standard HCI texts). Don't pass over this book.

I just find it very well put together.. It takes you through the various facets of designing a course/presentation that will actually be used and useful.

Had to buy it for a class; execellent resource for it's target audience. Make sure you're a memeber of that target audience (instructional technologists) before you buy :)

The first clue as to the value of a book is the number of editions. Generally, the true standards in a field will continue to live and be revised. This book is the standard for multimedia design and production. The foundations and theory that are explored in the beginning are as valuable as the detail in the production process that is explained. The most significant aspect of this book has to be the detail concerning methods, especially instructional simulations. Simply a must have for anyone in the field of multimedia who is looking to develop products that go beyond the traditional page turner.

The book arrived in a good amount of time. The condition of the book was good. I will order from this vendor again. The book itself is useful for learning Excel.

This book is the same anywhere you go but it was the cheapest and when comes to school books, if can get deal then you should. I had no problems with delivery it was an easy process and got it in no time.

This item was in perfect condition.. just as described. I am very satisfied with this item and with how the seller conducted this transaction.

Good product. Just as it was described. I ordered this for my daughter for a college class that she is taking.

Thsi book is great!, I'm taking an Excel class this semester at college and needed the book. Great price and easy to understand for new and old users of Excel.

This book covers in depth everything you need to know about the current Nortel router products. If you are seriously interested in learning about the router technology in general or Nortel router products in detail, this is the best book I have seen. Mr. Mahalingam has organized the material so well, both beginners and experienced readers can benefit from it. The technology is explained in an easy to understand manner, but still covers all the details.

I found the flow of chapters sequential. Best book to buy, worth the investment. You will find yourself pulling the book off the shelf over and over again. Kudos to Mr. Mahalingam for a job so well done!!

Anything and everything you've ever wanted to know about the Nortel Networks router platform; this is the kind of reference which can only come from long experience - the author Ragho displays an in-depth knowledge of not only routing and routing protocols in general, but also of the Nortel router itself, its operating system, and its hardware. If you work with the Nortel routers (formerly Bay Network routers), this book is a must have!

I currently work at a large solutions provider, managing networks for clients that have installed Nortel equipment. This book has already assisted us with troubleshooting and design enhancement of some client networks. It is a compilation of knowledge that takes years to acquire. The author clearly has a comprehensive understanding of the product line and the technology. I learn something new each time I open the book. It's like having a hotline to Nortel's brightest engineers.

This book is an excellent resource for those that have to maintain Nortel routers. Most of the Nortel router certification requirements are covered in this book. Ragho did an excellent job of providing in-depth information in an easy to understand format. Congratulations, Ragho, for a job well done!

This book proved to be a great resource to develop monitoring and performance management procedures for our Accelar 1200 switches. Although software tools exist to manage performance, a Network Engineer needs to understand how to use these tools - this book is a great roadmap for that.

This book is written in a clear language, easy to understand. I found chapter 3 (Software Development Based on Reusable Technology) very helpful with its client-server example. Excellent work!

The book is a comprehensive guide to understanding software engineering and especially recommended for beginners as well as intermediates in the field of software development. Provides varied dimensions of software engineering and combining the best of theoretical and practical aspect of software development. The book forms a very good resource for understanding software engineering terminology without being intimidated by technical jargon. The code accompanying the book is concentrating on JAVA2 and subsumes concepts of any Object-Oriented Programming language. The contents of the textbook deal with understanding the complete software development life cycle model and its different phases from inception to termination.
It is an absolute must for a clear understanding of good software engineering practices.

This book was my class textbook in a second year software engineering class. Personally, I found that it covers quite well the basic, and some of the more complex, aspects of software engineering. A sample of the numerous software engineering topics covered include software patterns, requirements gathering, software testing and project management. The book also serves as an excellent introduction to certain of the more important aspects of the current version of the Unified Modelling Language (UML). The book also reviews some concepts of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Although it uses Java 2 as its example language, the concepts explained in the book can be applied to another programming language such as C++. Finally, the book is written in such a manner that it can be of use to the novice software engineer (or software engineering student) as well as an experienced developper looking to enhance his or her knowledge. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to people wishing to increase their knowledge of software development.

I used this textbook as an introduction to Software Engineering, and for the first time in my University career, I didn't find my textbook lacking or incomplete.
This book covers it all: the basics of Software Engineering, a review on Object-orientation, the software life cycle, detailed modelling in UML, architecture and design, patterns, and testing.
The material is easy-to-read, in-depth, well organized, and comprehensive. Too often, you find a book that bogs you down in its wordiness and jargon, but this isn't one of them.
This book was written by professors in the Software Engineering field who know, from years of experience, what a student needs to know in order to learn and understand the process of software engineering.
This is not a book that will sit on your shelf: I used it all the time during my first software course and still take it as my reference for all my other software courses.
I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a lot about software.

This is an excellent introductory textbook for CS courses on software engineering. It features OO, UML, iterative processes, a good treatment of software frameworks and design patterns, constructive sample projects, and complete set of slides and full-length lecture RealOne video for free downloading. It is a thin book, but it contains more updated information than many classical ones. Most importantly, the authors have the confidence to air their opinions with justification, instead of compiling and citing a lot of inconsistent historical definitions or events.

This is inarguably the best book on straight ODBC API. Very lucid in its presentation and full of practical examples, every page is packed with all the essential information. This is really a serious book for the serious ODBC programmers and every tool and technique to get the job done can be found in this book. My only wish is that the authors would update this book from ODBC v2.0 to v3.0, perhaps also include a few chapters on OLEDB.

Buy it, this book contains many recommendations how to write programs using ODBC. Great book even for an experienced professional.

I had a situation come up where I needed to access an Oracle 7 stored procedure that returned output parameters and no results set. The Microsoft Visual C++ CRecordset classes don't handle that situation very well. The only solution was to drop down into ODBC API calls. I struggled until I found this book. It takes a lot of the mystery out of an extremely complex API. It pretty much rides around in my backpack everywhere I go now!

This hardback text is one of the best database API books that I have in my collection. It is well laid-out and it has examples.

This book is laid out in the order statements are used, with the necessary create and destroy statements together. It starts with connecting to the database, moves to statement execution, and rounds out with retrieving your results. There are of course necessary chapters on creating tables and dealing with transactions.

Each ODBC API call is accompanied with a list of appropriate parameters, return values, and errors.

ODBC Database API's are used in layers:

To Setup: Allocate Environment, Allocate Connection, Connect, ...

To Shutdown, reverse everything: ... Disconnect, Deallocate Connection, Deallocate Environment.

With the ODBC API you are given a whole lot of notes? But how do you combine those notes to write a symphony? This is the only book on the market which really shows you how. It consists of a detailed ODBC reference and highly useful sample code that shows how to take the API calls and make an application out of them.

The calls are grouped in logical sequences, each call is thoroughly described, and then an example of a program that uses that call (and other calls) is given.

The writing is extremely clear. The presentation is excellent. The book is extremely well organized.

It does not assume any prior knowledge of ODBC though it assumes you know how to program C.

C is the only language used in the book. The use of ODBC in other languages such as Visual Basic is not discussed.

Though this book is old; I cannot recommend it too highly. I've used it before and I'll use it again.

Simply put, this excellent book is a MUST HAVE for ProShow users of all skill levels. The author also hosts the "ProShow Expert Forum" where users can share tips, get help, and discuss techniques covered in the book. Worth every penny!

I've been using ProShow Gold for about 3 years now. I would NOT recommend this guide for anyone just starting out.

The text and CD have not been sufficiently screened for errors. In Chapter 3 there is an instances where a .jpg should have transparent sections but the white spaces are opaque instead. When layers are blocked from displaying due to this, discovering and correcting the error is not for a beginner. In Chapter 4, adding sound, the ProShow file (wasp gold01.psh) is supposed to load with an included sound track but doesn't. You have to know how to add a sound track to proceed with a lesson telling you how to add a sound track.

If you are already an experienced ProShow user the guide is quite helpful in expanding your knowledge and providing clever examples. Just be prepared to do some guide debugging along the way.



The ProShow program itself is great.

While there certainly are helpful tips for novices, there are a lot of frustrating errors--far more than one would expect from a legitimate publisher. I found a couple things referenced in the book (like the so-called flash effect) that don't exist in the software. There were several instructions that missed critical steps, which would confuse a new Proshow user, and the CD files don't match the book in several instances. The most annoying thing to me though, was the huge copyright labels that covered all of the sample photos. The author seems to be pitching his favorite commercial photographer. Why not just use public domain photos, or even his own? Very unprofessional and distracting. For more REAL reviews, see the comments on proshowenthusiasts before you buy.

Where was this book when I was struggling to learn ProShow on my own? James Kearney has graced us with a clearly written tutorial that takes the guesswork out of putting together a simple or sophisticated slide show. What I found most helpful was the way he walks us through a workflow that instructs us to consider our various options at the most efficient point in the process. The book spells out each operation with descriptions and illustrations that accurately describe the process in specific detail. Mr. Kearney's thorough knowledge of ProShow has enabled him to write a must-have book for anyone interested in getting the most out of the program, or anyone who wants to utilize the program most efficiently.

It's rare in the technical "how-to" genre to find a book as well done as this one. It truly is awesome.

Photodex ProShow has long been one of the staples for those who produce or wanted to produce high-class slide shows. Over the years, the product, along with everything else it seems, tended more and more toward becoming a multimedia platform. A few years back, this trend reached fruition in the immensely powerful ProShow Producer.

The problem was that both programs had more power than was adequately explained in the supplied help files. Don't get me wrong: Photodex provided great help files (as well as great support). It's just that programs, particularly ProShow Producer are capable of so much.

At last to the rescue comes James Karney with this masterpiece of a "how-to" book.

Every aspect of using ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer is explained through text and examples on the supplied CD. Karney explains his goal on the first page of the introduction: ProShow is "easy to use", but hard to master. "The novice can create a slide show in a minutes, but crafting a real multimedia production requires learning how to use special effects, keyframes, and output formats." Karney covers all these subjects and far more in 13 chapters and 340 pages.

As someone in the industry who must read dozens of technical books of the "how-to" variety, I know that most of the titles are just adequate and many are awful. It is truly refreshing to encounter someone like Karney who not only truly mastered his subject instead of just recycling the help file, but can also write. This is his 24th book.

Karney begins with the basics and then builds step-by-step into more elaborate productions using more and more of ProShow's features. One of the features, keyframing, is extremely versatile and Karney cleverly comes back to it repeatedly as he shows how increasingly sophisticated use of keyframing enables you to create more sophisticated productions.

If you own PhoShow Gold or Producer, you need this book to get the most out of either program. If you don't own them, but need a dependable, incredibly powerful multimedia creation engine, then you need to check ProShow out - trial copies are included on the book's CD and are, of course, downloadable from the publisher's site. Either way, you definitely need this book to learn how to get everything you can out of ProShow.

Simply put, this book is a gem and beautifully complements a powerful program.

Jerry

For those of us coming from an MS world, it helps with any new software to have assistance to overcome the learning curve. OOoSwitch jumpstarts the "trial and error" learning curve methodology by showing the differences and similarities between MS Office and OpenOffice.org.

The PDF feature in OOo would be reason enough to endure the learning curve, but OOoSwitch makes the transition fairly painless. By pointing out tasks I've already mastered in MS Office, I'm becoming reasonbly proficent in OOo.

Good book for experienced MS Office users and noncomputer types.

Yes it does answer questions for those that are switching from MS Office. More to the point, in doing so fulfills the need for a very good "how to" for OOo.
Even though it's becoming a bit dated, there is much still relevant to todays Open Office program. We can sit around waiting for the software author's (Solveig Haugland) publisher (Prentice Hall) to see the necessity for the long anticipated OpenOffice.org 2.x Resource Kit. In the mean time this book as well as some of the other published books on the subject actually can help and do so well. The price is ridiculous even though Amazon has the best price. You might try one of the second-hand sellers with good reputations on Amazon Marketplace. READ DESCRIPTIONS, READ FEEDBACK. My free advice / open source contribution. Even with shipping you'll save.
John Row
in1ear

I've been a unapologetic Microsoft Word fanatic since 1991. But OpenOffice 2.x got good fast, and with its adoption of the universal and ISO-certified OASIS OpenDocument Format (ODF), suddenly it has the upper hand against Word 2007 -- in format, usability (yes, I said it), and power, having the ability to create documents twice the size of Word 2007. But "OOoSwitch: 501 Things You Want to Know..." demonstrates how OpenOffice can match Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and make switching a breeze. The price is steep, but surprisingly, it's worth every penny to this former Word fanboy.

Few of us have time to read a guide book cover-to-cover, so it's nice to find one that's well-organized. This one is! OpenOffice.org is a new product/project that's still ironing out problems and making improvements. If you can't find what you need within this book, it also gives the website for the reader/user to ask questions and even invites their input.

If you know how to do a task in Word, then you can quickly look up how to do it in Write. The language is simple and easy to use. My Mother liked it so much, that she took my copy.

If you've come from the Oracle mainstream like me, you're probably not even aware of the breadth of open source apps and tools that can be used with the database. You may have had an inkling from the porting of Oracle to Linux, and Oracle's adoption of Apache and modules such as mod_perl, but that's only the surface.

When I first spied "Oracle and Open Source" by Andy Duncan and Sean Hull, I was so intrigued that I had to buy it. I couldn't believe that there was enough out there to write a book on. How wrong I was.

The two authors have done an excellent job of collecting information on:

* Programming environments, tools, languages (Python, Perl, Tcl, Tk)
* Database maintenance tools - including Orac, Oddis (Tk);
* Web-based monitoring tools for Oracle (such as Karma, Oracletool) and the network too (Big Brother)
* Plus Open Source Java apps (even the Java isn't open source itself), Gnome/GTK+ and more.

The book's aim is to introduce you to the rich range of technologies rather than being the definitive reference. It provides enough to get the tools installed and to set you on your way. And once you're up and running, the authors list the web pages and books that will take you to the next level. I never knew so much was available, but with the groundswell of support from the Open Source community as evidenced on the Internet and in this excellent book, I'm learning fast.

I find the content exciting and very educational. I am a developer in the corporate enviroenment and mainly use mainstreem software. But this book opens a new world of knowledge and experties. The URL's are up to date and you can learn and explore what ever you like in the book extensively. It is useful stuff and can bring new skills to your CV.

Found this book very useful and a real eye opener for those who like myself believed that all your Oracle goodies coming from Oracle Corp. A set of Open Source tools and applications described in this book is amazing. In particular, DB Prism/Cocoon is something that I jumped in right away. Whether you are DBA, developer or just a plain user of Oracle databases, you will find something that will benefit you/your business. Money well spent.

Oracle for quite some time now has embraced Open Source technology and as a result there are a number of Open Source tools that can be used with Oracle databases. This book takes a look at all of them. Starting off with a brief "history" of how Oracle and Open Source software have combined to build a number of Oracle applications, how Tcl, Perl, and Python have played a part and how to install them, building web-based Oracle apps, how Java, GNOME, and GTK+ also are involved with Oracle software, even a brief mention of how Linux & Oracle work together.

There is a wealth of good open source programs around for use with Oracle and this book gives a detailed explanation of how to install and use all of them to your advantage.

Hardly, and after taking a look at this book you will agree.

This book is perfect for anyone that wants to investigate the use of Open Source tools with their Oracle databases.

Finding out what is available, what is useful, what is available, where to get it and how to install it can take a great deal of time.

There is a lot of useful Open Source software available for use with your Oracle database, and though I am a proponent of Open Source software, I will readily admit that it is not all good.

I've given up in exasperation with more than one Open Source tool that would not compile, promised more than it delivered, or simply did not work.

There is though a large collection of Open Source tools that do work, and work well.

What Andy Duncan and Sean Hull have done is compiled an encyclopedia of Open Source tools that do work, and work with the Oracle database.

This book is much more than just a list of Open Source software. Sean and Andy tell you where to find each application, how to install and configure it, and how to use it.

Need to know the different connection methods for Oracle and JDBC? You'll find it here.

How about using Oracle, Apache and JServ? It's in this book.

I thought myself fairly well versed in what Open Source tools were available for Oracle, that is prior to seeing this book.

Some excellent Oracle specific tools are here that I was not aware of previously. In fairness to me though, I know of at least one not in the book. :)

Oracle & Open Source is a well thought out and well executed guide that belongs on the desk of every Oracle DBA, Architect and developer that wants to get a jump start on using Open Source software with Oracle.

Clear, focused, full of tips and techniques this book guides you generating forms and reports (even complex ones). It has adequate examples and enough discussion to assist you in choosing which technique fits best.

Relevant for versions 2 and 6. Specifically covers generation. So you may wish to check Oracle Designer Handbook if need help using the tool in other aspects rather than generation.

I'm 3/4 through the book and still impress with the quality of the contents. The authors did an outstanding job in explaining the many intricacies of Designer as well as down-to-earth examples. I wish there was a book like this 2 years ago when I started doing Des2k works. This is a definite Bible for anyone doing Des2k work. Kudos to the Authors.

I've been using Designer for four years and still found good information on poorly documented properties, such as the meaning of the layout styles for reports item groups. GOOD tips, EASY TO READ. The best Designer book for generation BY FAR, and I've read all the others.

Aithough i haven't read through the full content so far it seems informative especially generation of forms.Key concepts have been well explained.As a Oracle consultant and having worked in many Oracle based companies like BellAtlantic,USXchange etc and having used designer 2000 for database generation for the past 8 months , i would recommend this book to all oracle designers /developer/Consulatnts and other IT professionals

Regards

This is one of the best organized and most clearly written technical books that I have ever read. The authors clearly put a lot of effort into making a quality book. This is refreshing to find with so many IT books that are obviously written in a rush to "scoop" other authors.

Be sure that you know what you are buying. This book spends the first few chapters laying the groundwork and describing the application generation process in general. Then they get into the details of generating Oracle applications using designer with the goal being 100% generation. If CASE methods for application generation using Oracle Designer is not what you are looking for then keep looking, that is exactly and and only what you will find in this book.

Phantasmagoria is a great game,I definely say get this one,it might be alittle older,but since its release four years ago,I havent found a better game yet!

I borrowed this game a year ago when it was extremely popular, and ever since when I've wanted to buy it, I can never find it. This game frightens me and it explores the topic of evil very deeply. Although this is extremely gory, you cannot deny the fabulous graphics, great story and great gameplay. One of Sierra's best games. Don't play it in the dark and make sure to explore everything. Everytime that you play it, you discover more frightening things inside the scary house. This game would make a spectacular motion picture and it should probably become one. If so, it would be one of the scariest films in movie history. I love it. If you see it, buy it. You'll worship its significance.

Phantasmagoria will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way through. Sierra Studios has spoiled me with their interesting games and exceptional graphics. I've been playing Sierra games for about 20 years. I have some of their first games. I like Phantasmagoria because it's so life-like, you'll feel as if you're in the game. Buy it, you'll be glad you did.

This is the best game i've ever played. The characters, the story, the manson, the music..... it's just perfect. I wish the music would come on an audio CD, 'cause it is so beautyful, and yet so... frightening, my bestfriend gets the creeps just by the music. The actors are great, I don't understand why some people say they're not and well.... It is just a perfect game. BUY IT TODAY!

Phantagmagoria, what can I possibly say about phantasmagoria....perfect, that's what this game is. Phants. has all the feel of a good B-grade horror movie, a haunted house, demonic posession, evil magician, sex, violence, gore....the list goes on and on. Visually, the game is stunning, (especially for 1995!) it is very long and involving, not too challenging, but not too easy either. This game single-handedly began a series of other horror games: (very similar graphically) Harvester, Gabriel Knight2, Phantasmagoria 2, ect., ect. Phantasmagoria is a great game EVERY PLAYER OF PC GAMES MUST PLAY PHANTASMAGORIA!