Software Books

Perhaps it's just in my nature, or simply just the way I was brought up (I'm always looking for a bargain)... but I didn't learn anything new from reading this book.

Having said that, Cheap Web Tricks! Build and Promote a Successful Web Site Without Spending a Dime is a book that covers a lot of ground making it a good point of reference for anyone wanting a site starting out from scratch. In fact, the first part of the book takes you through the process of getting a site online without dealing with all the unnecessary details that inevitably get in the way.

Needless to say, this was not what I was expecting when I first opened the book. I guess I was just blind to fact that the word "build" was in the title but I was hoping for a lot more pages on the promotion side of things, so that I could pick up a few new ideas on the way.

One nice surprise was the section on making money from your site as it wasn't something I was expecting. Not only does it give you an overview of the various different ways you can make money from a web site, but also realistic with describing the results you can expect.

This has to be the reason why I'd still recommend it for the complete beginner. Of course, the book simply isn't big enough to go into all the details, nor does it claim to, but it goes a long way to giving an overview of what's involved in owning a web site. For many beginners, this is exactly what they need to know before starting out!

I thought I was a web genius until I read this book. It is absolutely amazing. The author Anne, even responded to a question I had within the hour by email. If you want to build a succesfull website you have to get this book.

Never thought it could happen, but with the help of Cheap Web Tricks this formerly computer illiterate senior has created a dynamite website. And am actually getting inquiries already about the talents I apparently convinced the folk I can offer. Now I just want to get that money rolling in!

This one is worth every penny. If you are looking to see how the whole website experience goes together from planning the site, building the site, promoting the site and tracking the site then look no further. Martinez tells you how to do this and for free, in most cases.

As a webmaster myself I can say that "FREE" when used in webspeak translates to either limited or restricted or both but nothing comes closer than pointing you in the right direction than Cheap Web Tricks.

Some parts of the book may not be as in-depth as you would want but at least you don't have to go slogging through 10 or 20 different sources either. 5 stars for Martinez. Well done!

An amazingly thorough examination of just about everything you need to know about websites. I feared the book would be boring and a rehash of things I knew; that was not the case. The information builds nicely and there are many great tips. Even if you don't utilize the "cheap" techniques(which are excellent I might add) there is a lot of useful information. Hats off to this author!

"Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel" is an valuable resource for business intelligence and data mining practitioners in all industries. Having said that, I would like to offer some solid practical advice to potential readers that might not be fluent in statistics or data mining.

First, the reader should have a solid understanding of SQL. If the extent of your SQL interaction comes through a program on the level of Access, then you can still benefit from this book, but you will have to apply yourself more than others. Keep in mind, that proprietary releases of SQL might cause problems in directly translating the author's examples.

Second, if your statistics knowledge is a little rusty, have a secondary resource on-hand. Sometimes the definitions or explanations of the statistical concepts may not be as intuitive for some readers as they are for others.

With those caveats in mind, the reader need only to keep his or her patience and work through the concepts of the first 4-5 chapters. These chapters tend toward simple exposition of the concepts. For those with little patience, it may seem as if it is just a laundry list of concepts with little effort to tie those concepts into practical uses. Thinking like this is a great way to miss the enormous benefits of the book!

For me, the "Ah Ha!" moment came in Chapter 6 and 7. The concepts I had worked on in the previous chapters suddenly came together with customer tenure onward, when the techniques use will call to mind everything learned in the previous chapters.

In short, spend plenty of time in the first few chapters - the extra effort to master those concepts will only enhance the benefits of later chapters.

Lastly, there are a few odd differences between the text and the files downloadable from the web site. Whenever I hit a snag based on the text, opening the accompanying Excel files and seeing the formulas, queries or table/graph structures resolved all issues for me.

This is a text that will always have a place on my shelves.

If you work, like me, on data warehousing, data mining, analytical CRM or similar projects, this book will save you a lot of time, and provide you with a lot of inspiration.
Statistical concepts are clearly explained, and examples with very smart SQL queries and Excel sheets are shown.
For instance, no other book will explain you so clearly Survival Analysis, and how to practically implement it (I mean, with working code!).
As a previous reviewer wrote, why should you believe me? I'm one of the authors of another Wiley book, "MDX Solutions", and I earn my living by consulting with DaisyLabs, a Business Intelligence company.
Keep Gordon's book on SQL, and my book on MDX, on your desk, and no data analysis project will scare you anymore!

Having seen a multitude of books offering either statistical analysis techniques or suggestions around data mining tools, it is refreshing to see someone approach the subject using simple, readily available tools and a practical, business oriented approach to the topic. The apparently mundane subject of customer retention coupled with buying patterns and market basket analysis is laid out in an effective and sequential manner. The SQL examples take some getting used to but, once understood, offer a series of easily implemented and highly effective methods to illustrate the concepts shown in the book. As a reference guide and an illustration that one needs to know the questions to be asked of the data before investing in the latest drag and drop business intelligence tools, this book is unparalleled. The author has not stinted on providing a wealth of examples and explanation. If this tome is a reflection of how Mr Linoff and his team approach their real world consulting activities, they must be a formidable team indeed.

For anyone who has wrestled with a means to understand their customer buying patterns and product affinity patterns in their historical sales data, this book cannot be beaten

Utilizing data to drive results is critical to the success of any organization. Many know this to be true, but don't know how to go about it. "Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel" by Gordon Linoff successfully shows the way using a holistic approach of "data - analysis - presentation". Its success is based on a number attributes including....

1. Wide Audience: Different groups of people are addressed. Management and leadership will see what is possible with great examples (e.g. "Three Scenarios" on pg 333). "Doers" (e.g. analysts) get a clear view of the big picture along with the ever so important how-to aspects (which is often not included in other texts).

2. Popular Tools: As the title states, this book utilizes Microsoft Excel and SQL. Not only are these tools often readily available, but many people are familiar with at least one of these, if not both. This familiarity enables the reader to focus more on learning useful approaches than the tools themselves.

3. Methods: A host of useful methods are covered from Survival Analysis to the more traditional like RFM. All, especially those related to statistics, are explained well - simple but not so simple as to be inaccurate or incomplete.

In my opinion, "Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel" is invaluable to those who want to get the most out of their organization's data.

Wow - if you need a book that: 1. describes basic data analysis and statistical concepts in an easy to understand but thorough way. 2. uses real world business examples that you run into every day. 3. gives you the recipes of how to implement them in your business with real world computer tools like SQL and Excel. 4. and is written by a proven authority in the field (4 books and two decades of consulting). Then this is your book.

But why should you believe me? Just a little on my background. I wrote two books on databases and data analysis for McGraw-Hill: "Building Data Mining Applications for CRM" and "Data Warehousing, Data Mining and OLAP" and have led teams that have built data mining engines for super computers that later became Oracle's data mining engine, as well as implementing sophisticated data mining applictions (CART) in SQL and integrated between a relational and OALP database. Though I don't get to do a lot of 'data mining' in my current business I would definitely find this book very useful if I did.

Anyway, I thought this book was tremendously thorough in providing common sense explanations on everything from the Null Hypothesis to the Monty Hall Paradox (very cool). Buy this book if you want a single reference that will allow you to quickly solve real world business problems in a rational and doable way.

Have actually improved performance results by implementing many of the techniques found in the Field Guide (tips have helped me in a number of places and ways). An easy read. Practical, applicable and actionable.

Comments from using the electronic version of the book at books24x7.com.

I read the entire book for use on a capstone project I'm working on. This book hammered home many of the exact concepts I believed were present, but couldn't prove. I work in IT for a multi-billion / year company. Many of the issues Tom describes are the exact issues we've either gone through or are currently struggling with.

Key concepts for me:
1) IT cannot be responsible for data quality, but they are definately involved.
2) Data quality is a multi-facted management issue.
3) Quality has to be defined by the each organization. (i.e. what's good enough for company A may be substandard for company B.)

I also noticed the website address listed in the book is obsolete and has been replaced with this:
http://books.elsevier.com/companions/1555582516/?country=United+States

This is an excellent everyday guide to data quality. Easy to read and filled with tips and techniques for starting and improving a data quality program. The field guide format makes it a great reference book.

Good practical advice for improving data quality. Covers the most common data quality problems. Well written. Some other sources to look at online:


http://www.dmreview.com
http://www.datalever.com

I like this book quite a bit because although it's not a huge doorstop of a tome in terms of length, it's quite complete and thorough. Some data quality books cover management aspects, some the technical aspects, and some take other angles. This book takes a look at all of the different angles on data quality and sums them up into a very nice package.

One of the things I liked about it is the section on social aspects of data quality, since so many technical people I work with have a great idea but aren't able to implement it for lack of understanding of the social aspects of working on data quality projects. Another is a part where Redman goes through the process of how data quality is tracked over time, to see if things are improving, and the way that he draws a distinction between records that are "perfect", and records that are "usable", which points out some differences that are important. There is even a very relevant section on data quality problems in the US elections of 2000.

The nice thing about this field guide is that it should have everything an organization needs to do some serious data quality work (including even middle management roles and responsibilities). I think it's a very solid book that would be a great addition to data manager's and other tech manager's libraries.

The Delphi 2 Developers Guide is the authoritative source I consult for advanced programming topics in Delphi. This book is aptly marketed as an expert level book. It goes well beyond the scope of the "This is Delphi" books typically found on store shelves. An underrated feature of this book is its comprehensive appendices of error codes. I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about Delphi programming

When many computer books today are just a rehash of the documentation, this book stands out as a real problem solver.
Although this book is not geared towards the beginner, if you are serious about developing applications in Delphi, this book should be on your shelf. In depth explainations and real world examples make this book well worth the price. Specifically helpful chapters include explainations of Windows Messaging, the Win32 API, multi-threaded applications, OLE, and more. There are also some very good chapters on porting your applications to Delphi 2 (32-bit) and differences between 16-bit and 32-bit applications.
As a Delphi developer, I keep this book handy at all times, and I am looking forward to the Delphi 3 version

Xavier and Steve do an excellent job of delving into the more advanced aspects of Delphi 2 and Win32 development, without wasting a lot of time on the 'newbie' stuff. Highly recommended!

If you want to do some serious work with Delphi, this book is for you. I covers virtually everything you must know about Delphi. Thanks to the authors.

THIS BOOK is art of perfection. No more to say. THANKS to the authors

This is a superb book-- I found it useful for both instruction as a reference on the syntax and form of doing things in Matlab with images and also as an in-depth text on the subject of image processing. Illustrated with easily followed examples and explicit description of the math involved in image processing operations, it provides a handy edge of explanation beyond what is available in the Matlab help files. This book is almost always signed out with a lineup at our university library, and is useful across many disciplines.

Great text for learning image processing and using it with MATLAB. Hopefully the instructor also uses its mathematical insight as well.

I bought this book for two reasons (a) I needed an overview of IP and (b) I wanted to examine different pattern analysis algorithms with a practical twist. On both counts, as an non-IP researcher, I was very satisfied. The book is very well laid out, so well in fact that it would put to shame many of its rivals. It served my needs. I can't comment on whether it will meet the needs of a broader community. I would certainly recommend it based on my experience.

This book has been really helpful to write my own tools for image analysis, such as leaf area index estimations from digital images and microscopy imaging analysis.

I think that for people involved in image processing and analyisis, this book is a must.

This book educates the reader in image processing and MATLAB. While I am experienced in both, I found the book to be an extrememly useful reference book for projects involving image compression and image representation. The book offered practical descriptions and useful code for computing the fast wavelet transform. It was especially useful in describing how the edges should treated. This is a big issue that other textbooks gloss over. I had never seen it described in a textbook, and it was described so well.

The color image processing chapter is excellent, and the image processing chapter is pretty good. Lots of explanation and code.

While the book stands alone, it can also be seen as a useful companion book to the more theoretical "Digital Imaging Processing" by Gonzalez and Woods (2nd edition). This is a different book even though it has close to the same name.

Published in 2004, this book is a bit dated. A few of the software publishers mentioned have been merged, acquired or gone out of business and all the products still published have had multiple new editions released. None of this, however, reduces the utility of this fine introduction to digital scrapbooking.

The authors begin with the absolute basics and move onward from there, which for the beginner to scrapbooking, much less digital scrapbooking, is an excellent route to take.

They begin with a (pretty dated) review of digital photography and move on to the essentials of image editing. Layouts are next followed by using photographs creatively, which is where the book starts getting really interesting. From here they move onto adding and manipulating text elements, how to use filters, plug-ins and effects and more on image processing. More advanced topics include making your own elements to use in your creations, such as backgrounds, buttons, ribbons and fibers.

Overall, this is an excellent and very well done introduction to digital scrapbooking. It may be a bit on the older side (four years!) but is still an excellent way to get into the craft.

Jerry

This is it, the one book you need to learn digital scrapbooking. Sally gives you clear concise step-by-step instructions that will take you from the basics of digital scrapbooking to more advanced techniques.

Chapter by chapter you will build your skills. Then have fun with the CD full of digital scrapbooking supplies. Paint Shop Pro is a great digital scrapbooking program and Sally is definitely a GREAT Paint Shop Pro teacher!!

(Sally's other books are great as well.)

I purchased this book before I committed to a particular software and it was so helpful. I used it to practice with free trial copies of various softwares to help me decide which one I wanted to go with. The examples are great. The text is easy to follow and thorough. I am very satisfied with this book and learned everything I needed to get started and even do some advanced techniques!

I bought this book for a start in digital scrapbooking. It is great for teaching some of the basics, but I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 and the latest it includes is 2.0. Quite a few of the operations have changed when trying to do such things at adding shadows and combining layers. Needless to say I had to buy another book for 4.0. This has some great ideas however and some good information on filters.

If you are thinking of making the move to digital scrapbooking you will do well to read this book by Sally Beacham and Lori J. Davis. Assuming that you have not committed to one image editor, the authors use five popular image editors in the examples throughout the book. They demonstrate the similarities and differences between Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Digital Image Pro, Serif Photo Plus and Ulead Photo Impact. But this book is not about imaging software. It is about digital scrapbooking.

The authors begin by discussing the pros and cons of digital scrapbooking and what you will need to get started. Besides showing how to make completely digital scrapbook pages, the authors also show many ways to integrate digital scrapbooking with traditional scrapbooking.

Next, they cover scanning photos into the computer and what can be done to correct and enhance your photos once they are in digital form. They discuss image corrections such as cropping, alignment, noise reduction, red eye removal and color correction.

The authors discuss two popular styles for scrapbook pages. The first style, faux-paper, emulates the textured paper, fibers, tags and other embellishments of traditional scrapbook pages. The second type, graphic design, has a more commercial look which emphasizes enhancement of photos and elaborate word art. They discuss how to use pre-designed layouts and how to design your own pages digitally.

Next, they begin to build a digital layout. They discuss color and how it should relate to and enhance your photos. Once you have chosen a color and texture for the background of your layout, you add your photos.

Text techniques and word art are a natural extension of digital scrapbooking. The authors discuss the importance of fonts and the digital effects that can be applied to the titles and journaling on your scrapbook pages.

There is a large section on plug-in filters and how they greatly expand the creativity of your image editing software. The special effects from these filters can be applied to your photos, digital background papers and embellishments.

The authors discuss how to save your digital page in the various formats for printing, burning to CD, emailing or posting on the web.

The accompanying CD contains several tutorials, clipart, over 100 fonts, trial versions of popular plug-in filters, sample layouts and page kits.

Lori J. Davis is a technical writer and author of many books on Paint Shop Pro. Sally Bracham is an author and teacher of Paint Shop Pro and related subjects.

I used Dragon to first-draft Writing Nonfiction: Turning Thoughts Into Books. I was so impressed with the system, I included a chapter on using speech recognition to dictate a how-to book. Then I found Dan Newman's book. I recognized a number of things I had learned and found a whole lot more. Newman made the Dragon even more fun.

If you write a lot and are not an accurate, rapid typist, get speech recognition software. If you are fast and correct, keep on keyboarding. Dragon is good but you will have to make corrections. If you already make mistakes, it does not matter if you talk or type.

Dan Newman takes you step-by-step through using Dragon Naturally Speaking. (For coverage, click on Table of Contents in the left-hand column of this page.) He even includes trouble-shooting tips and resources.

Dan Newman is a great writer, gifted computer expert and a dedicated teacher.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has to write a lot. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

Why didn't someone write this book years ago? Dan Newman distills the complexities into concise explanations of perfect clarity. Dragonites need this book. All the problems I've been struggling with for years were solved in a few hours of reading. Talk about clear, easy organization. Thank you, Dan Newman!

This book not only covers Dragon NaturallySpeaking software but also offers several tips and examples on efficient speech recognition. The material is presented in such interesting fashion that makes this book fun to read. If you own Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, this book is a must to have.

Dave Newman's book is essential for any speech recognition user regardless of the amount of experience they may have. He teaches you techniques that help you improve your accuracy and speed. He also gives you pointers on how to optimize your software and hardware for maximum accuracy and speed. Dave provides a complete step by step guide on all the features of Dragon 4.0 with greater detail. He includes the new features such as surfing the web by voice. This book is a must have for making your speech recognition program usable in terms of reducing frustration and improving the overall performance of your software with his instructions which Dragon doesn't cover in their manual.

This is a really helpful book. I would prefer to read and Dan Newman's book than all the technical stuff in the Dragon manual, because it is so much more user-friendly. I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking since it came out in 1995. There is so much to know, and so much you can forget!! By reading this book, I am remembering some very useful tips, and learning some new ones. I would recommend this book to anyone using NaturallySpeaking.

The book covers in detail changes in the 2.6 kernel for driver developers including the various class es out there. It is an easy read and gives some good examples.

This book combined with Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition, must be available in the library of all the emebedded system developers, based on Libux.
This book, give more information than linux device drivers, another iformations for the new developers, that are starting developing emebedded systems based on Linux.
So buy it.

Without a doubt, this is the best driver book I've ever purchased. In the first few chapters the author walks you through boot, interrupts, builds, installs etc so that you can make the most of his outstanding knowledge of drivers and driver design which fills 3/4 of the book. Even if you don't want to design or build your own driver, the first few chapters alone are worth the cost of the book and the knowledge he imparts about drivers is priceless. If you are a Linux Kernel analyst, you can do no better than purchase this. And as to his writing style.. I've read plenty of dry, boring Linux technical books but this one even has a most outstanding writing style. It was enjoyable to read. I cannot praise this book enough. If you're a newbie Linux Kernel Techie or someone who thinks they already know everything... you cannot go wrong. Buy it, read it and you will learn more about drivers than from any other book, and you'll learn a whole lot more besides.

This detailed guide to writing Linux device drivers is a solid acquisition for collections strong in advanced Linux programming: it's for audiences with a working knowledge of operating systems and C - but not necessarily device driver writing - and brings together all the basic concepts and methods needed to address common programming scenarios. Many driver are discussed in no other book, making Essential Linux Device Drivers a 'must have' for any collection serious about Linux programming applications.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I've been frustrated by many other Linux kernel and device driver books. The authors often make assumptions about the readers knowledge and gloss over areas that can be quite confusing.

To some extent, that's unavoidable: the Linux kernel is monstrous and very complex, and the hardware that drivers control can also be dark and mysterious territory.

I really appreciated this books approach. It's not that everything is explained in complete detail; that would be impossible. However, the author obviously tries very hard to give an overview, an orientation that will hopefully set your mind in the right direction, before diving into details. Throughout the book he adds "go look at this" suggestions that can help you understand whatever he's dealing with at this point.

I think Chapter 2, which is a high level fly-by of the kernel in general, is an absolute masterpiece. That starts by pulling typical kernel boot messages and explaining what they mean and what's going on in code to produce them. It then goes on to discuss kernel locks, briefly looks at procfs and memory allocation, and closes (as each chapter does) with pointers to where to look in the source for the subjects discussed.

Chapters 3 and 4 flesh out basic concepts more, and then after that the book goes into details, picking both real world and fanciful examples of hardware and giving sample device drivers. Simple devices are presented first, while later chapters get into more complicated hardware, but in each case the same general format is followed: overview of the how and why, sample driver(s), how to most easily debug, and pointers to real kernel sources.

Very well done. I have no complaints - oh, a few minor typos, maybe, but nothing serious.

This would be the only textbook on physical diagnosis you would need EXCEPT the attendings are still using other texts. Listen for those carotid bruits and document those Homan's as students/residents but don't delude YOURSELF that they mean anything.

I hesitated to buy this book because of the title - "evidence-based" is often not so much an assurance of reliability as of nonreadability. However, of the twenty or so books on physical diagnosis I have perused this is by far the best - no single book will improve your clinical examination with more speed or pleasure.

Many good physical exam books exist, but this is the only one that really tells you what PE finding mean. It includes great tables that lists findings of particular diseases and gives the sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios. Other books will tell you that sign X is associated with disease Y, but no others tell you that if you see X that there is a high probability that the patient has Y, and a low probability if the patient doesn't have Z. The tables are even referenced to articles.

I am sure I wouldn't be wrong if I say there is no other book
to match the standards set by this book on "Physical Diagnosis"
A substantial amount of material has not even been mentioned
in other books. I must concede, I prepare all my teaching
clinics from this book.
This book is indeed a goldmine. I am looking forward to the
next edition.
Dr. Wiqar Shaikh
Hon. Asstt. Professor of Medicine
Grant Medical College, Bombay, India

this book is combination of ancient artistic physical signs with recently popular scientific evidence based medicine , great work that writer provide detail and clear evidence , all physicians must review their bed side skills with the evidnce ,their trend should be taught in every medical school .5 stars .

This book is unusually well written and presented. I find myself reading up on areas that I hadn't even intended to learn about. In fact, I'm having a problem staying focused; it's like discovering a treasure trove of wonderful detail. I am especially impressed with the coverage of IL.

Without exception, the presentation of this book is flawless; Simon has an extraordinary writing skill and technique. It's like getting advice from a wise man. You get the right level of detail that's not academic and impracticle, but rather exactly pertinant for immediate use.

I've purchased a lot of books over the years - well over 100 - and this is easily one of the very best books I'm come across, which is why I felt compelled to come here and praise it.

With .NET 2.0 so close, is it worth buying and reading a .NET 1.x book? The answer, in this case anyway, is definitely yes. .NET 2.0 builds on 1.x, making the majority of the material in this book relevant for years to come, and as most professional programmers will end up maintaining systems that, for one reason or another, can't be migrated to 2.0, having in-depth 1.x knowledge (which this book provides in bucket loads) is a great investment.

Even for those that think they know everything about .NET, this book will still educate. I've been a .NET and C# MVP since 2002, and I still found this book a worthwhile read.

If you have read Richter and Lowey and are looking for the next evolution in your learning THIS IS THE BOOK. As the CEO of a .NET consultancy all staff are required to read three books. This is the final book.

Right now the market is in a sad state. Only 1-2 in 100 can pass, as my company's interiew process (most do not know the difference in a value and reference type) is very, very hard

This is one of those magic books that is easy to read and will make you 'team Leader materiakl'.

Either lead, or 'get uut of t ey;.

Damon Carr CEO
agilefactor.com

The first two chapters (about 100 pages) on IL are worth the price of the book. I'd recommend for those who really want to get a picture of what is going on under the hood in .NET. Some of the later chapters are a little lite like the one on cryptography and windows forms, however, the coverage on topics like assemblies is fantastic.

A pretty intense book. Robinson aims to take you beyond the elementary books on .NET and its affiliated languages of C# and VB. Those often focus on simple syntax level explanations.

Here, he goes far deeper. Like drilling into the Intermediate Language. The basis for .NET compilers, that convert source code in various languages like those above into this form. Like Java bytecode. (Alas, though, no cute CAFEBABE here!) So you can program at this virtual assembler level if you have to. Maybe you need to optimise some bottleneck in your code?

Garbage collection is also studied. Related to this is how to improve memory performance, including showing how to use a profiler effectively. Nontrivial subjects. Some of which, like the chapter on cryptography, really only hint at far greater complexity.

Most .NET programmers may not need to go to the levels of this book. But for those who do, it is good that it exists.