General Books

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income

Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $12.80

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Home Computing -> Internet -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Business & Culture -> Web Marketing
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Business & Culture -> Blogging & Blogs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Blog Your Brain 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a great step by step guide about what it takes to make money in blogging. It's a slow process and this is reinforced throughout the text. No secret formulas but great instructions on how to succeed. It takes work folks - sad but true.
Well written and an easy read. Recommended for internet marketers, writers and bloggers and anyone thinkning about starting a blog. Read this first.

Well Written - Provides A Good Foundation 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Motivational, enjoyable and easy to read. This book provides a wide range of useful information for someone getting into blogging for the first time or for someone who has basic experience blogging and is now ready to take it to the next level.

The sections on starting up your blog and creating quality content were very helpful and well written. Excellent guidance on structuring blog posts and other content.

One area that seemed rather short on concrete detail was blog traffic and the impact of relative levels of traffic on the success of the blog, especially with regards to monetization.

Some advertising systems require at minimum of 10,000 pageviews per day, some dramatically more, before allowing you to run their ads on your blog. Even Google's AdSense program is not without its challenges. Level setting on blog traffic for blog newbies with some real world examples would have been helpful.

Overall, the authors did an excellent job and I would strongly recommend ProBlogger as a starting point to anyone new to blogging or looking to monetize an existing blog.

Editorial Review:

Problogger.net is where bloggers worldwide go for advice and information on enhancing their blogs presence. Whether youre just starting out or have been blogging for years, these two professional bloggers show you how to turn your passion for blogging into extra revenue. This practical guide to creating and marketing a blog with the potential for generating a six-figure income shows you how to choose subject matter that works for you, handle technical issues, and evaluate your blogs success so that you can use your blog to generate income indirectly.

The Web Designer's Idea Book: The Ultimate Guide To Themes, Trends & Styles In Website Design

Patrick Mcneil

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: How Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $16.50

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Web Development -> Web Design -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Exactly what it says on the tin! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book does just one thing, it showcases beautifully made websites and the author does this extremely well. The Web Designer's Idea Book is a must have for any web designer/graphic designer out there to have real world examples of good design on hand.

Current Websites for Today's Industry 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is a great resource for inspiration if you're in a creative rut. The best part about it is that it's a collection of modern websites that apply to today's design standards, not some ancient collection of Web 1.0 artifacts. And there are plenty of examples within it.

Editorial Review:

Inspiring Web Design at a Glance

The Web Designer’s Idea Book includes more than 700 websites arranged thematically, so you can find inspiration for layout, color, style and more. Author Patrick McNeil has cataloged more than 20,000 sites on his website, and showcased in this book are the very best examples.

Sites are organized by color, design style, type, theme, element and structure. It’s easy to use and reference again and again, whether you’re talking with a co-worker or discussing website design options with a client. As a handy desk reference for design layout, color and style, this book is a must-have for starting new projects.

Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions

Tim Ash

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sybex Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $16.01

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Home Computing -> Internet -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Broad but extremely thin -- beginners only 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

If you know absolutely nothing about marketing or web commerce, this may be the book for you. It touches on a great many important subjects, and provides a useful -- if brief -- introduction to each.

If, on the other hand, you have ANY experience at all with basic marketing principles and the concepts and techniques behind optimizing your web site to maximize customer response, you will find this book quite tedious.

Simply put, nothing in this book gets more than surface treatment. Hundreds of very valuable concepts are introduced but none is ever fleshed out in a useful fashion. Practical examples are almost non-existent. Case studies are not used. Techniques are described in the broadest terms so that they may apply to any of a million different contexts or scenarios. This approach renders the book nearly useless to anyone who has even a little bit of knowledge in this area.

After reading a few chapters, I was simply bored out of my mind. I switched to scanning sections and dropping in periodically to see if the level of detail increased, but it did not. I do not consider myself an expert by any means, but there was nothing here that I found enlightening or even useful. It's all too bland and general.

I started the web site for my small business about five years ago, and constantly seek out new sources of insight into how I can improve it. The information in this book was just too generalized to be of any use.

If you are new to web marketing, use this as a primer, but you will soon be itching for a more practical resource. A shorter but infinitely more helpful (and entertaining) primer might be something like Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition. From there, you will need individual books on things like analytics, keywords, SEO, pricing, copywriting, etc.

In that vein, I thought I was buying a book about optimizing my landing pages (a very big and complex subject all its own). This book touches on that, but not in a way that I found particularly detailed or useful. A better title for this book might be, "Introduction to Marketing (Web Edition)".

Editorial Review:

How much money are you losing because of poor landing page design? In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, you’ll learn all the skills necessary to dramatically improve your bottom line, including identifying mission critical parts of your website and their true economic value, defining important visitor classes and key conversion tasks,   gaining insight on customer decision-making, uncovering problems with your page and deciding which elements to test, developing an action plan, and avoiding common pitfalls. Includes a companion website and a detailed review of the Google Website Optimizer tool.

Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data

Stephen Few

Amazon Price: $23.09 List Price: $34.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $19.44

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Skills -> Running Meetings & Presentations
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Databases -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Databases -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Dashboards have become popular in recent years as uniquely powerful tools for communicating important information at a glance. Although dashboards are potentially powerful, this potential is rarely realized. The greatest display technology in the world won't solve this if you fail to use effective visual design. And if a dashboard fails to tell you precisely what you need to know in an instant, you'll never use it, even if it's filled with cute gauges, meters, and traffic lights. Don't let your investment in dashboard technology go to waste.

This book will teach you the visual design skills you need to create dashboards that communicate clearly, rapidly, and compellingly. "Information Dashboard Design" will explain how to:

Avoid the thirteen mistakes common to dashboard design

Provide viewers with the information they need quickly and clearly

Apply what we now know about visual perception to the visual presentation of information

Minimize distractions, cliches, and unnecessary embellishments that create confusion

Organize business information to support meaning and usability

Create an aesthetically pleasing viewing experience

Maintain consistency of design to provide accurate interpretation

Optimize the power of dashboard technology by pairing it with visual effectiveness

Stephen Few has over 20 years of experience as an IT innovator, consultant, and educator. As Principal of the consultancy Perceptual Edge, Stephen focuses on data visualization for analyzing and communicating quantitative business information. He provides consulting and training services, speaks frequently at conferences, and teaches in the MBA program at the University ofCalifornia in Berkeley. He is also the author of "Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten," Visit his website at www.perceptualedge.com.

iMovie '08 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

David Pogue

Amazon Price: $26.39 List Price: $39.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pogue Press Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $17.98

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> iMovie + iDVD
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> Web Publishing
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> Audio & Video Editing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether you consider yourself a pro or a hobbyist, you have to admit that Apple's iMovie 08 and iDVD 08 are amazing right out of the box. Unfortunately, the box doesn't include much of a user's guide, so learning about these applications is another matter. iMovie 08 & iDVD: The Missing Manual gets you up to speed on all of the themes, motion graphics, titles, effects -- everything that lets you turn raw digital footage into highly creative video projects. You get crystal-clear and jargon-free explanations of all the iMovie 08 and iDVD 08 features, including the new video library, how to view transitions, titles, and sound in real time as you add them, and ways to publish your creations directly to YouTube. Renowned author David Pogue -- tech columnist for the New York Times -- uses an objective lens to scrutinize every step of process, including how to: Work on multiple iMovie projects at once and drag & drop clips among them Output your creation to a blog, its own web page, or as a video podcast with iWeb Use "Magic iMovie" to import your video and make a movie for you Integrate with other iLife programs to use songs, photos, and an original sound track And a whole lot more From choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto DVDs, posting it online, or creating versions for iPod and iPhone, iMovie 08 & iDVD: The Missing Manual zooms right in on the details in a concise and understandable manner. The book also provides a firm grounding in basic film technique so that the quality of your video won't rely entirely on magic.

Introducing Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, 2nd Edition

Laurence Moroney

Amazon Price: $23.09 List Price: $34.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Microsoft Press Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $15.00

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Software -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Get a jump on the next release of Silverlight with early insights from a Technical Evangelist on the Microsoft Silverlight team. This guide describes how you can simplify the development and deployment of rich interactive applications (RIAs) by using Silverlight 2 tools with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and the Microsoft .NET Framework. RIAs are Web applications with the features and functionality of full desktop applications. Processing tasks are performed on the client, but data is stored on the server. With Silverlight, RIAs install quickly via a small, on-demand plug-in. This book demonstrates how you can easily use existing skills and tools to deliver next-generation user interfaces and media experiences. You ll discover how to begin building different types of Silverlight-based solutions, generate Silverlight applications dynamically on the server, create an XAML service, and more. The book also features a companion Web site with code samples in Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic .

Key Book Benefits:

* Delivers practical, grounded advice from a member of the Silverlight team, including an insider's view of the evolution of this Web presentation technology
* Describes how Silverlight 2 will simplify development and deployment of RIAs with the .NET Framework and Visual Studio 2008
* Provides context about the relationships among Silverlight and the various .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 technologies
* Places RIAs in context for both Web and Windows-based developers
* Features a companion Web site with code samples in Visual C# and Visual Basic

Apple Pro Training Series: Logic Pro 8 and Logic Express 8 (Apple Pro Training)

David Nahmani

Amazon Price: $34.64 List Price: $54.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $32.56

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> Logic Pro & Logic Express
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This brand-new Apple-certified guide, reconceived for Logic's new interface, uses all-new projects and media files to show you how to record, produce, and polish your musical creations with Apple's professional audio software. Veteran audio producer David Nahmani uses step-by-step, project-based instruction and straightforward explanations to teach everything from basic music creation to advanced production techniques.Using the book's DVD files and either Logic Pro 8 or Logic Express 8, you'll begin making music in the first lesson. From there, you'll learn to record audio and MIDI, edit sequences, master mixing techniques, and use Logic's software synthesizers, sampler, and digital signal processors to put the perfect aural polish on your audio creations. A special troubleshooting section helps you set up and optimize your studio and Logic system effectively. Whether you're looking to use your computer as a digital recording studio, create musical compositions and cutting-edge surround-sound mixes, or transfer that song in your head into living music, this comprehensive book/DVD combo will show you how.

Core Animation for Mac OS X and the iPhone: Creating Compelling Dynamic User Interfaces (Pragmatic Programmers)

Bill Dudney

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pragmatic Bookshelf Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $19.95

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Computer Science -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Operating Systems -> MacOS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Operating Systems -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Rich content for begginers 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is a good choice for people who has knowledge of Objective-C, but has no knowledge of CoreAnimation. This is because this book explains the samples it has inside of it but explains it assuming you know Objective-C.
The sample codes are very clear and the way the author wrote the book makes it very easy to understand.
There is a thing I don't like it very much. There are many of the Figures and Graphs that are too way big!. I wish I could have instead of such a big figures maybe a more detailed information, or just saving some pages would be OK. I don't think they did a good use of the space. But the content is OK.
Another thing is ... Even tough CoreAnimation API is not mac OS X or iPhone OS exclusive I was expecting more iPhone samples (As the title might suggest). Yeah, the principle is the same but I was just a little bit disappointed when realizing "only 12 pages out of 182" are exclusive dedicated to iPhone - CoreAudio programming.

Editorial Review:

Mac OS X Leopard introduces a fantastic new technology that makes writing applications with animated and cinematic user interfaces much easier. We'll explore this new technology by starting with the familiar concepts you already know from the pre-Leopard development kits.

Then we'll see how they apply to the new frameworks and APIs. We'll build on your existing knowledge of Cocoa and bring you efficiently up to speed on what Core Animation is all about.

With this book in hand, you can add Core Animation to your Cocoa applications, and make stunning user interfaces that your user's will be showing off to their friends.

Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 6 (Apple Pro Training)

Diana Weynand

Amazon Price: $37.65 List Price: $54.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $34.24

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> Final Cut
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> Audio & Video Editing
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Digital Music -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very useful book especially for beginners. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn FC Pro 6. Without incurring a lot of money and time at a training facility one can learn the essentials of NLE at one's own pace.

Editorial Review:

Cut a scene from the USA Network television series Monk, create a promo for Seaworld’s Belief documentary, and master filters and effects as you edit a segment of BBC Motion Gallery's Living Colour documentary. Completely revised for Final Cut Pro 6 and featuring all-new footage, this best-selling, Apple-certified guide provides a strong foundation in all aspects of video editing. Renowned author Diana Weynand starts with basic video editing techniques and takes you all the way through Final Cut Pro’s powerful advanced features. Each chapter presents a complete lesson in an aspect of video editing and finishing, using actual broadcast footage. After marking and editing clips to create a rough cut, you’ll learn how to trim and refine the cut before moving on to complex tasks such as mixing sound, adding titles, creating transitions and motion effects, applying filters, real-time color correcting, and working with multi-format and multi-camera footage.

About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design

Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 72 new & used starting at $18.36

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Computer Science -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Trite and tedious 1 out of 5 stars.
24 of 39 people found this review helpful.

At every chapter in this book I thought, "Well this book's been worthless so far, but I think it gets better in the next chapter." I thought that until the last (26th) chapter, which was actually half-decent. I've never been so disappointed in a book. Any designer with the slightest bit of experience will learn nothing from this book. Nearly every piece of advice is trite ("Design principle: Use noneditable controls for output-only text"). There's very little depth or thinking beyond the completely obvious. You will learn more from any other book (on any topic) than from this book. If you've already bought it, you should skip to the chapters with non-zero value. I recommend chapter 5 (personas), chapter 16 (undo), chapter 17 (save), and chapter 26 (misc). The section on perpetual intermediates is good too.

I finished the book 10 minutes ago after a very tedious three months. I can finally put it on the shelf and never look at it again.

Editorial Review:

This completely updated volume presents the effective and practical tools you need to design great desktop applications, Web 2.0 sites, and mobile devices. You’ll learn the principles of good product behavior and gain an understanding of Cooper’s Goal-Directed Design method, which involves everything from conducting user research to defining your product using personas and scenarios. Ultimately, you’ll acquire the knowledge to design the best possible digital products and services.