Computers & Internet Books

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

Bryan Peterson

Amazon Price: $17.13 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Amphoto Books Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $11.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 559 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One of the best photo books to learn photography 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have read some books and I think this is one of the best to learn photography concepts. It give all the basic information you need to understand each basic concept of photography.

I bought a DSLR and several books (the bad of buy several books is that a lot of them repeat the same introductory concepts) but I recommend this like the first book to read :) easy to understand and with good quality contents.

Editorial Review:

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Amazon Price: $17.84 List Price: $28.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Amazon Marketplace: 113 new & used starting at $10.97

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 443 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Bestselling author Nassim Nicholas Taleb continues his exploration of randomness in his fascinating new book, The Black Swan, in which he examines the influence of highly improbable and unpredictable events that have massive impact. Engaging and enlightening, The Black Swan is a book that may change the way you think about the world, a book that Chris Anderson calls, "a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature." See Anderson's entire guest review below.

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Guest Reviewer: Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and the author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More.

Four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon warned that our minds are wired to deceive us. "Beware the fallacies into which undisciplined thinkers most easily fall--they are the real distorting prisms of human nature." Chief among them: "Assuming more order than exists in chaotic nature." Now consider the typical stock market report: "Today investors bid shares down out of concern over Iranian oil production." Sigh. We're still doing it.

Our brains are wired for narrative, not statistical uncertainty. And so we tell ourselves simple stories to explain complex thing we don't--and, most importantly, can't--know. The truth is that we have no idea why stock markets go up or down on any given day, and whatever reason we give is sure to be grossly simplified, if not flat out wrong.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb first made this argument in Fooled by Randomness, an engaging look at the history and reasons for our predilection for self-deception when it comes to statistics. Now, in The Black Swan: the Impact of the Highly Improbable, he focuses on that most dismal of sciences, predicting the future. Forecasting is not just at the heart of Wall Street, but it’s something each of us does every time we make an insurance payment or strap on a seat belt.

The problem, Nassim explains, is that we place too much weight on the odds that past events will repeat (diligently trying to follow the path of the "millionaire next door," when unrepeatable chance is a better explanation). Instead, the really important events are rare and unpredictable. He calls them Black Swans, which is a reference to a 17th century philosophical thought experiment. In Europe all anyone had ever seen were white swans; indeed, "all swans are white" had long been used as the standard example of a scientific truth. So what was the chance of seeing a black one? Impossible to calculate, or at least they were until 1697, when explorers found Cygnus atratus in Australia.

Nassim argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalizable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but it's practically useless. September 11th is one such example, and stock market crashes are another. Or, as he puts it, "History does not crawl, it jumps." Our assumptions grow out of the bell-curve predictability of what he calls "Mediocristan," while our world is really shaped by the wild powerlaw swings of "Extremistan."

In full disclosure, I'm a long admirer of Taleb's work and a few of my comments on drafts found their way into the book. I, too, look at the world through the powerlaw lens, and I too find that it reveals how many of our assumptions are wrong. But Taleb takes this to a new level with a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature. --Chris Anderson

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The Digital Photography Book

Scott Kelby

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pearson Education - Model: 0-321-47404-X Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $12.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 610 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this book, author Scott Kelby tackles the most important side of of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today s top digital pros use (and it s easier than you d think). This isn t a book of theory - full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic tricks of the trade to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button. Another thing that makes this book different is that each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you ll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. So if you re tired of taking shots that look OK, and if youre tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, Why don t my shots look like that? then this is the book for you.

Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK

Dave Mark, Jeff LaMarche

Amazon Price: $26.39 List Price: $39.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Apress - Model: 9781430216261 Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $20.49

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Features:

• Apress Beginning iPhone Development: Exporing the iPhone SDK
• Are you a programmer looking for a new challenge? Does the thought of building your very own iPhone app make your heart race and your pulse quicken? If so, then Beginning iPhone Development is just the book for you.

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Computer Science -> Software Engineering -> Information Systems
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 134 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Are you a programmer looking for a new challenge? Does the thought of building your very own iPhone app make your heart race and your pulse quicken? If so, then Beginning iPhone Development is just the book for you.

Assuming only a minimal working knowledge of Objective-C, and written in a friendly, easy-to-follow style, Beginning iPhone Development offers a complete soup-to-nuts course in iPhone and iPod touch programming.

The book starts with the basics, walking you through the process of downloading and installing Apple's free iPhone SDK, then stepping you though the creation of your first simple iPhone application. You'll move on from there, mastering all the iPhone interface elements that you've come to know and love, such as buttons, switches, pickers, toolbars, sliders, etc.

You'll master a variety of design patterns, from the simplest single view to complex hierarchical drill-downs. You'll master the art of table-building and learn how to save your data using the iPhone file system. You'll also learn how to save and retrieve your data using SQLite, iPhone's built-in database management system.

You'll learn how to draw using Quartz 2D and OpenGL ES. You'll add MultiTouch Gestural Support (pinches and swipes) to your applications, and work with the Camera, Photo Library, and Accelerometer. You'll master application preferences, learn how to localize your apps into other languages, and so much more.

Apple's iPhone SDK, this book, and your imagination are all you'll need to start building your very own best-selling iPhone applications.

The Sims 3: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)

Catherine Browne

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Prima Games Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $11.53

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Really disappointed 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a review for:The Sims 3: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)

I've used the Prima guides for many games and more specifically the other Sims games and this is the first time I've really felt compelled to write a review. I am very disappointed with this book. There are some interesting facts/tricks you can glean from reading it however not enough to warrant the following complaints. It's like they got a different version of the game when they wrote it- there are many, many inaccuracies and outright mistakes in it. Examples include "cheat" codes that do not work, job titles that are listed which do not exist/correspond with the ones actually in the game, same with social interactions and building items. There are just too many errors to list. Not only is it badly researched and full of mistakes its also extremely difficult to use. There is no index and the table of contents is vague at best. If you want to look something up you have to resort to thumbing through the book and reading through a lot of pages until you find the tidbit you are looking for. A lot of the book is padding and fluff as well... do you really need 10 pages of chart listing all the buy objects and another 10 full of build objects when you can reference them much more easily by looking at them in the game? I really do feel cheated by the gross inaccuracies, padded content, and disorganized format of this "guide" and I'd advise anyone who wants to buy to reconsider.

Editorial Review:

Poster: Pullout map poster identifying all shops, parks, services, and hidden collectable locations.
Personalities: Learn the in's and out's of Sim personalities with detailed trait breakdowns and mood templates.
Design: Our new design section will supply tips and tricks from the pro's to build the most elaborate homes and yards.
Customization: Learn how to update your décor with tutorials to help you customize your own chairs, walls, and floors.
Wishes: Detailed walkthroughs and tutorials will help you learn how to achieve your short term and long term wishes.

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)

Garr Reynolds

Amazon Price: $23.09 List Price: $34.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: New Riders Press Amazon Marketplace: 78 new & used starting at $19.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 128 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Quick Read, Great Information, Well Worth Buying! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I do a alot of public speaking and teaching. I use PowerPoint and Keynote quite a bit. I feel I have a pretty good hanlde on design. It is also fair to say, that after reading "Presentation Zen", i realized I was doing many things right. However, the most important reason to buy the book, is for all of the things I learned I was doing wrong! Garr, says many of the same things others have said in their books, but I believe his is the one I'd suggest for a person who doesnt have a lot of time, and wants to create a memorable presentation. Its an easy ready, quick and informative. Buy it, you wont be dissappointed!

Editorial Review:

Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net - presentationzen.com - shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today-s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes (Voices That Matter)

Joe McNally

Amazon Price: $26.39 List Price: $39.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: New Riders Press Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $22.16

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Inspirational 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is very helpful and inspires me to try new things with light. It also maybe very expensive because my current hotshoe toolbox is very lacking.

Editorial Review:

When it comes to photography, it’s all about the light.

After spending more than thirty years behind the lens—working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated—Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it...using small hot shoe flashes.

In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process—often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating—to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he’s photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.