Editorial Review

Reviews

missing manual, November 5, 2010
This book is what it is - the missing manual. If you are looking for creative uses then you probably want another book (although there are many creative use features in the book). When I think of a manual - it covers all the major parts of the program and gives insights on how to use the program and this book succeeds. I keep this "bible' on my desk as a quick reference to trouble shooting and how to use different tools of this feature laden program.

Super Informative Manual, November 10, 2010
I found this book to be super informative and extremely easy to navigate. It begins with a great description of Elements for the novice and users of previous editions. Within each chapter there are relevent tips, frequently asked questions, loads of information and plenty of photos. The Table Of Contents is very extensive, as is the index, making it very easy to find sought after information quickly.
It really is "The book that should have been in the box"

Missing Manual, November 2, 2010
Being a first time user of elements this book is a godsend. However there is so much information that I needed to read it first and now I am using the book as a guide as I try new opertations. My only comment is I wish it was a bit more graphic and has more screenshots. However it is a great book.

Falls Short, October 28, 2010

The book falls woefully short in it's treatment of Adobe Elements 9.
The only reason I bought it was to see if there was anything I might be "missing" since my last version of Elements was version (5).
I use Adobe CS4 extensively, but also use Elements when its a simple job for layers.
My image prep is done with Nikon Capture NX.

The book is probably ok for the first time user with little or no experience with image editing.

The treatment of color management in this book should be largely ignored as it could lead one to believe color management is not at all that important. This is something that should have either been left out entirely or covered more in depth.

The same holds true for the authors rather poor explanation of file types.

Most of what is in the book can be found for free with some google searching.

If you are new to image editing, I don't recommend this book since this information is already freely available.

If on the other hand you want a way to use Elements 9 creatively, you will have to search out another book as this one does little to show the real power that can be had in Elements. "Masking" which has been missing in Elements is now available. This is a pretty big deal for Elements, but again, the book doesn't go into the power of masks.

review of Photoshop Elements 9 book, December 9, 2010
This book is great. I had just bought the Photoshop Elements 9 software. As the program didn't come with a manual I bought this book. It is easy to understand and walks you through pretty much everything connected to the program. There are pics you can download from their site to work on if you want. I still haven't made it to the end of the book but I have learned alot from it. I strongly suggest buying this book if you haven't had any photoshop training.

Photoshops Elements 9 (O'Reilly), November 24, 2010
From O'Reilly comes the latest in the `missing manual' series, "Photoshop Elements 9. For photographers who like the streamlined lightness that comes the Photoshop Elements program, Barbara Brundage's manual covers all the basics of the ever popular program including more recent developments like photomerge and more. A five-dollar upgrade gets you a companion CD and there is a 45 day free membership to the online edition as well.

Great Accessory, December 15, 2010
This is a great item to have if you do not like reading manuals on line. The index is great for finding the solution to your problem. I would highly recommend this book.

Very helpful resource, November 15, 2010
This book is extremely helpful, filled with tons of information that is easy to find. Just what I was looking for. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A terrific value-a full-size book plus video demonstrations of key Windows 7 tasks

Windows 7 is Microsoft's much-anticipated new release of the operating system that powers nearly 90% of the world's computers. This two-for-one package provides the step-by-step guidance that will get you up and running with all the exciting new features.

This bundle includes the complete Windows 7 For Dummies book plus a DVD with two hours of video training. Featuring the expert advice you get in the book, the DVD shows you how to accomplish various Windows tasks and displays the screens you'll see as you proceed.

• A two-for-one value - the full-size Windows 7 For Dummies book plus two hours of video training on DVD
• Windows 7 has new features, an interface with more graphical elements, better interactivitiy with other devices, and faster speed
• Whether you're new to computers or just to Windows 7, this handy package provides a simple, easy-to-use guide plus video illustration to help you accomplish basic tasks in Windows
• Covers the things most books assume you already know, as well as how to work with files and programs, get things done online, and customize Windows 7
• Shows you how to use movie, music, and photo management features, how to upgrade your system, and how to fix common problems you'll encounter
• DVD shows you what you'll see on the screen as you master each step

This great book-and-DVD package will have you comfortably using Windows 7 faster than you can say 1-2-3! ... Read more

Reviews

Neophyte, December 2, 2009
This book has been a real help to me getting started with Windows 7. I've moved everthing that I had on a computer with Vista to this new computer with 7 and what a blessing. I am truly thankful to never have to do Vista again even with all the work to set up new in 7. I could have updated on the old computer, I guess, but decided why not start new. This book and two others--"Windows 7 Step by Step" and "Windows 7 plain & simple"--have been a great help in making the transition.

Rathbone Dummies Win 7 Book, February 26, 2010
Very well written with a gentle humor. The book is written for all levels of computer knowledge. You can skip around and read subjects where you need help or have an interest. I chose to start studying at the beginning and even found the basic level of information interesting. Andy has a way of pointing out the secrets of Windows 7. He even taught me several points about Windows XP in the process.

The DVD is excellent and covers the basics of Windows 7. The book deals in the depth but the DVD gets you off and running and you can learn from there. Windows 7 is a good operating system but when you jump from XP to Win7 there are gaps that are not obvious. The DVD gets you up to speed quickly.

I think the DVD and book package are well worth the price. I have recommended it to several people already. They agree with me that it is a good purchase.

Windows 7 Intro - Good Resource, January 7, 2010
This is a very good book if you want to learn all of the tricks of the new Windows 7 operating system. As a plus it comes with a DVD that will step you through some of the basics. As an experienced computer user I would recommend this book to anyone who has recently upgraded from XP to WIN7. It will help you navigate all of the new features.

Too simplistic - then again, it is for dummies, April 5, 2010
This book is written for the person with very little computer experience. I just got a new computer with Windows 7 on it, so I was looking for essentially some sort of user manual that will tell me everything Windows 7 can do. However, most everything in this book is extremely basic that anyone with the most rudimentary computer knowledge will already know (ie: folders are used for organizing your information). Very little in here is actually specific to Windows 7, but more of a generalized overview of any Windows system, including XP and Vista.
If you have no knowledge of how computers work to the point that you're scared to touch one, yeah, this book might be right for you.

Windows 7 for Dummies (me), April 22, 2010
Windows 7 is complex so the book seems that way also but is much easier if you just go to the section that pertains to the subject you need help with.

The video on DVD that comes with this book is also great. I watched the whole thing but that is not necessary. Again you can go to the part of the video that has the subject matter you need. The fact that you can see what is being done is very helpful although you may need to watch it a few times for it to sink in. I did.

I will keep it next to my computer and refer to it from time to time as the need arrises.

Andy Rathbone, the author, must really know his stuff. This is not his first book on the Windows operating system. He did a little beating of his own drum by telling me in his book and video that he has written all the previous Windows for Dummies books so far. Like I said, he knows his stuff.

Windows 7 for Dummies is a great book. Well written and is really fun to read. I'm reading it from cover to cover in hopes that some of it will sink in. Even if it doesn't, I can always refer to it when the time is right.

If you buy this book I believe it will be well worth the price.

Windows 7 For Dummies Book + DVD bundle

Hal

WINDOWS 7, December 12, 2009
Such prompt service but I haven't had time to use the DVD yet. Book is very helpful, easy to find subjects I want info about, written in layman's English, not computer-eez.

windows7 for dummies, February 18, 2010
Husband has read this book page by page - found it to be very informative and easy to understand. Uses it to review applications he wants to try out - can't be without it. This book has made using Windows7 easy to use now. Would definitely recommend buying this at this great price - excellent condition. The DVD is a plus.

First Pass at Windows 7 for Dummies, September 4, 2010
Andy Rathbone's Windows 7 for Dummies has been my major read for just over a month now, and I have completed all 398 pages with a highlighter. Andy's humor and writing style make it easy to stay with the text throughout, and my highlighting many key areas of specific interest make it easy to refer to just those areas I need to find when I'm at my computers.

I have upgraded my HP Media Center Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate with no problems, and this book taught me not to try a downwards upgrade. This means not to go from a Vista Ultimate to a less-than-Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade. I've had lots of computers over the years, and this Windows 7 Ultimate combination so far has been sensational -- much faster and better in every way than Vista. Thanks to Andy's book, I have learned a lot about the incredible things Windows 7 can do for me. Processing photos and videos is so much more enjoyable, as I have pulled out and reprocessed my dozens of Zip disk photos, graphics, and videos. Sorting and cataloguing them has gone quickly, with Andy's help, and I heartily recommend Windows 7 for Dummies before you get too deeply into your new Windows 7 application.

The smaller figures of the many figures in the book were difficult for my 73 year old eyes to make out, so I highlighted the text references to these figures, as well as the figures themselves, to make it easier to make the connection on my subsequent speed-reading pass-throughs. If this had not slowed me down a bit, this would have been a five-star review. I feel the publisher could fix this.

Striker0800

Windows 7 for Dummies, March 8, 2010
The book helped with changes with the new operating system. But the book contained too much information relative to Vista and XP.

New To Windows 7, May 16, 2010
I found this book, along with the DVD, to be most helpful to someone using Windows 7 for the first time. If there is previous experience with Windows 98 or XP, Windows 7 can be used almost immediately, but all the enhancements are not intuitive, and there are many. "Windows 7 For Dummies" makes this transition easy, but it recommended that the entire book be read and the DVD viewed in its entirety to fully appreciate the nuances. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Get the most out of your iPad with this fun and friendly full-color guide!

Part iPod touch, part MacBook, and part eReader—and all impressive—the iPad combines the best technological advances from all of these products into one ultraportable touch device. This full-color guide is the perfect companion to help you get up to speed and on the go with Apple's revolutionary iPad.

Veteran For Dummies authors and Mac gurus begin with a look at the multi-touch interface and then move on to setting up iTunes, surfing the Web, and sending and receiving e-mail. You'll discover how to share, store, and import photos; buy and read your favorite books; get directions and use maps; rent, buy, and watch movies and TV shows; listen to the latest music; play games; shop for cool new apps; and much more.

• Popular authors Edward Baig and Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus begin with the basics as they walk you through setting up and using the iPad in this full-color guide
• Offers a straightforward-but-fun approach to the many exciting functions of the iPad: listening to music, synchronizing your data, working with the calendar, setting up iTunes, and getting online via Wi-Fi, to name a few
• Presents an easy-to-understand approach to sending and receiving e-mail; shopping for movies, iBooks, and music at the iTunes Store; browsing the Web; sharing photos; downloading and watch movies and TV shows; and downloading apps from the App Store
• Explains how to use your iPad as a portable game console and how to manage your contacts and to-do lists
• Covers protecting your information and troubleshooting

From no-nonsense basics to useful tips and techniques, iPad For Dummies will help you discover all the cool things your iPad can do. ... Read more

Reviews

Excellent Book, July 22, 2010
"iPad for Dummies" was the only book I could find on the subject of learning about the iPad, probably because the iPad is such a new item. The book is great. It's a wonderful learning source and is very easy to understand. I am still referring to it as I continue to learn new tips from it. I would definitely recommend this book for new iPad users. I have found all "Dummies" books to do the job of teaching a subject well; this one is no exception. This is the only book I really need regarding how to use my iPad.

A Must-Have, July 1, 2010
Steve Jobs may think the ipad is "intuitive," but he is so, so wrong! For a non-mac user over the age of 60 this book is a must-have. The author explains in layman's terms everything Steve forgot to tell us....like, "Why can't I see anything but the front page in my hometown newspaper's website?" There's also a little humor thrown in to help calm the frustrations. Highly recommend this for any age - unless you're already a mac techno-weinie.

IPad for Dummies, July 27, 2010
I received my IPad from Apple with only a few instructions printed on a playing card size card. While the IPad site does have a capability to access a complete operations manual, it is cumbersome to access and use. IPad for Dummies is easy to read and contents well organized to walk even the most inexperienced computer user through the steps needed to get the device operational and informing about features and applications for optimal usefulness. I would highly recommend this publication tor any computer novice that has acquired an IPad. It's an invaluable tool.

Great for newbies, August 4, 2010
A wonderful book for people that are new to portable devices and smart phones and computers. It makes things the entertainment in life more enjoyable.

YES YES YES, July 27, 2010
These guys make reading tech stuff entertaining. I keep this book within arm's reach at all times. Fundamentals, plus lots of little secret tips! Thanks for making life with my iPad all it should be, plus so much more.

fantastic book for beginners, July 23, 2010
This is a great book for people that are not very knowledgeable with computers. It really does simplify things and also makes it enjoyable.

I Love this Book, September 12, 2010
Going from PC to Mac land is not an easy transition for some of us older folks. I knew my iPad had potential, but it wasn't love at first touch. I do plan to take some of the Apple Store free classes when my schedule calms down a bit, but by then I may not need the classes. This book is easy to follow, well-indexed, and helped me to come to love my iPad. For anyone familiar with the "For Dummies" series, this is a particularly good addition to the series. For anyone having a love-hate relation with your iPad, the book is worth every penny. I highly recommend it!

With New OS - Need to wait for an update, December 7, 2010
With ver 4.2 of the iPad OS out, this book is out of date. I enjoyed the book and prepared me well for the iPad. But the new ver of the OS came out right after I purchased this book and the difference can be a bit frustrating.

I can now work my IPad!, November 28, 2010
OK so I,m still no expert but this book is incredible! I recommend all new IPad owners get it or else it will take months to find all the little nuances (&,trust me, there are plenty!)

easy to follow, November 13, 2010
This book is easy to read and the photos and sketches are well done. Better than other iPad manuals. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Great Windows 7 Manual for Most People, March 27, 2010
This is a review of Windows 7: The Missing Manual by Daivd Pogue. The book is written in Pogue's clear, easy-to-read, and entertaining style. Through it all, he maintains his sense of humor. It covers most everyone from the most basic beginner to the the advanced super user, although the most sophisticated users won't need much from this book. But even for them, it includes some handy pointers and reference material.

It provides a complete Windows 7 manual, with everything from how to install (Appendix A), to Windows basics (using Windows, file management and search, and setting your desktop) to finding and installing programs, to connecting to and using the Internet, to advanced features like joining a domain and VPN. And it covers everything else in between.

New features like Libraries and Jump Lists are covered nicely. He even describes the Library problems where you can't add a network location to a Library without making that folder available off-line. He correctly points out that this copies that entire folder onto the local hard drive, so you probably don't want to do this.

I especially liked that when features were missing from a particular version of Windows 7, Pogue points that out. He also points out when a feature is available only on certain versions. For example, Aero is not available in Windows 7 Starter Edition, and he points that out when talking about Aero.

The book provides special help for people transitioning from XP and Vista. When he can, Pogue compares things to the way they used to be in XP and/or Vista. For example, he explains how the Start menu and taskbar have changed from both earlier versions.

He also offers handy sidebars with tips and other related information throughout the book. For example, in the section that teaches you about faxing, he has a sidebar on how to create your own fax cover page.

One of my favorite features of the book are the extraordinarily useful keyboard shortcuts. He provides shortcuts for every situation that has one. In addition, he provides a full keyboard reference in Appendix D.

This is truly the Missing Manual for Windows 7. It is not, however, a reference manual. It's designed to be read like a book. And it's a really good book.

Two hours to power, April 24, 2010
When you pick up a 904-page book, one of the first questions you ask yourself is "When can I put this puppy back down?"

For me, the answer in the case of "Windows 7: The Missing Manual" was that I couldn't put it down for two hours, because I was sitting in front of my computer at the time, with the book in my lap, and every time I turned a page I found another great new idea that I wanted to try. This went on for 172 fun-filled pages (yes, you read that correctly) before I took a break.

Let me back up and put this in perspective: I've been using Windows almost exactly 18 years, since Windows 3.1 was released in April of 1992, and I've been among the very first to try each new version of Windows since then. I've taught Windows courses. Most of the people I know consider me to be a power user of Windows. I don't necessarily agree with them, but I certainly consider myself to be comfortable with Windows, and I've never found myself thinking that I wish David Pogue would drop by and kick my productivity up a notch or two. (Besides, when someone drops by and starts kicking things, isn't there a chance you could get hurt?)

A little more perspective: I've been working in Windows 7 for several months now, and so I already knew that Windows 7 is not only the most powerful but also the fastest, most visually appealing, most user-friendly version of Windows ever released.

Yet while working my way through the first 172 pages of "The Missing Manual," I discovered dozens of new refinements in Windows and dozens of new, faster ways of doing things that until then had escaped my notice.

I think most readers can look forward to a similar experience, because the first 172 pages of the book describe techniques that everyone can benefit from, no matter what kind of work they are engaged in. This is where you'll learn surprising new ways to exploit the power of the Start menu, the Taskbar, and Windows Explorer, plus new ways to search and organize your files.

If you're thinking, "Great, because I'm new to Windows and I don't even recognize the terms you're using, much less how to do those things," then I can offer you the following reassurance: This book is highly illustrated. It is clearly written. It is entertainingly written. It will show you and tell you what you need to know.

If (as is more likely) you're thinking, "I already know how to do those things," then I invite you to think again: Of course you know how to do those things! Who doesn't? But these are some of the most common tasks you perform on your computer. You perform them hundreds if not thousands of times a day, day after day, week after week. What if you could perform them better and faster? What if you could perform them way better and way faster?

Everything I've said so far actually applies to pages 172 - 209, too, which pages cover changing the visual appearance of the Windows desktop and getting help from the Help system or from a user at a remote computer (whether down the hall or around the world) or from Microsoft.

The remaining 700 pages of the book are astonishingly comprehensive (and the writing is just as clear and just as engaging as the writing at the beginning), but few readers will want to bother reading every single chapter. Instead, this is the point at which you will return to the table of contents and pick and choose the chapters that matter to you. Later, you're likely to dip into specific sections as needed, guided by the excellent index. Major subject areas: Software included with Windows 7; Online Services; Pictures, Music, and Television; Hardware and Peripherals; and Networking (including the all-new, easy-to-use Homegroups).

A lot of people contributed ideas and expertise to this book. Their names are listed inside, but it is David Pogue's name on the cover, and whether by remote control or some other mysterious means, Pogue is the one who orchestrated the effort to produce the book. The results are superb. This is easily one of the most comprehensive and most readable books available on Windows 7. Even after spending just two hours with it, you'll be amazed at the power you've gained.

Windows 7: The Missing Manual, April 16, 2010
As a professional in the ever growing technical field i'm often asked "How can i keep up with technology?" And often times the answer is very blunt, "you really can't." With the release of Windows 7, I've been slowing promoting it to all of my clients, customers, co-workers and peers, but often i'm faced with the words "I don't have time to learn it."

I was graciously given the opportunity by O'reilly to review Windows 7: The Missing Manual. Most of the time while reading a book explaining anything technology, I become bored. It seems that often it is geared to the 'I'm Just learning about technology' individuals. After reading Windows 7: The Missing Manual, I was impressed to say the least. If I were to sum up Windows 7: The Missing Manual in a sentence i'd have to say, This book is one of the best instructive tutorial books I have ever read for any computer related product.

With their down to earth, yet at some points witty, instructive procedures, it was not only painless to read, but enjoyable. They tackle anything from switching screens, to folder options, to Taskbars. You name it, this book has touch based on it. To everyone that wants to start tackling Windows 7, whether computer savvy or not, I wouldn't only suggest to read this, I would highly recommend.

So, to the People of O'reilly, thank you for finally making a book to help, not only, the advanced users, but also the lesser of the computer savvy.

Give the Index a Test..., April 9, 2010
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In my reviews, I have been pretty hard on certain Windows 7 books that have come out lately. [ Windows 7: The Definitive Guide: The Essential Resource for Professionals and Power Users ] This one is very good and, so far, has been fun to read while still offering the extensive range of information and comprehensiveness you want on a nearby shelf.

One of my first tests on a reference sort of book always involves the index. This book has almost 900 pages. An adequate index is absolutely necessary and a bad one or good one can measurably enhance or degrade the value of the book. A book written by as knowledgeable and experienced an author as this one should reflect interesting topics not normally associated with manuals--but how do you find them?

Ever heard of Window 7's "god mode"? This feature would certainly not be in any official Microsoft manual but word gets around, doesn't it? Well "god mode" is in the index. Test passed.

I recommend this book to other people, like myself, who do not like to waste time.

�

Editorial Review

Perfect your photos and images with this “focused” guide to the latest version of Photoshop Elements

For most of us, the professional-level Photoshop is overkill for our needs. Amateur photographers and photo enthusiasts turn to Photoshop Elements for a powerful but simpler way to edit and retouch their snapshots. Photoshop Elements 9 For Dummies, fully updated and revised for the latest release of this software product, helps you navigate Elements to create, edit, fix, share, and organize the high-quality images you desire. Full color pages bring the techniques to life and make taking great photos fun and easy.

• Introduces you to the work area
• Shows you how to upload images to your computer
• Reviews ways to view, find, organize, and manage your photos
• Details how to modify your photos to your specifications
• Distills working with layers, contrast, color, clarity, filter, effects, styles, and type
• Explains how to print your creations, create a slide show, and optimize images for the Web

Written by veteran digital imaging and print authors Barbara Obermeier and Ted Padova, this handy reference is a highly readable and enjoyable way to learn this powerful image editing application. ... Read more

Reviews

poorly illustrated and disorganized, December 4, 2010
For a book about visual editing, this one is woefully lacking in helpful illustrations. The few screenshots reproduced are of such poor quality that the names on the taskbars and menus can hardly be read. The more abundant but still too few photos used to illustrate features of the software are almost useless since they fail to show the element of the feature. For example, in the section on selecting parts of the photo to edit, the lines to mark the section of the photo selected are almost invisible and things like the lasso cursor are about the size of a pinprick. Other reviewers had mentioned these shortcomings but I thought the book would be worthwhile at a discounted price since I had liked the "For Dummies" books purchased in the past. I was wrong wrong wrong. Even the text proved to be too frustrating to be of much help. The instructions were constantly referring the reader to an earlier or later section of the book to explain something or other. If this is where the Dummies series is headed, then they really are for dummies like me who waste their money on poorly illustrated, poorly organized and generally useless manuals.

Excellent for beginners to digital photography!, November 19, 2010
I had never done any more with photography than automatic point and shoot cameras, both film and digital. I had no idea what f stops and ISOs were. This book introduced me to the concept of exposure and what the factors affecting exposure are. Then it got into more detail, all with great reference to the digital camera's buttons and bells have on them. The organization of the book was extremely well done, beginning with basics and then going on to more complicated issues. It is one of the best Dummies books that I have read.

Good Purchase!, December 16, 2010
Unless you are already familiar with the details of digital photography, and I'm talking about pixels, bits, file types, etc, you will need a guide to steer through this complex software. Although I haven't read the entire guide yet, it is laid out very logically and the first few chapters give you the basics of what you have to know. From there, you can skip around and get creative. Recommended!

not for photoshop elements 9, November 29, 2010
I am a longtime used of photoshop elements I know that Adobe does not have a manual for the additions to the new release, This is not that book It spend hundred of pages to get to a few of the new additions, It has yons of scripe on general photography I already have over 15 books in that use, I wanted a manual to use the new items in elements not general info, This is mislabeled as to what it covers I am going to have to order the missing manual for what I want I hope ... Read more

Editorial Review

Have you ever wanted to rig a microphone to your computer, throw away your keyboard, and dictate everything instead of having to type it out? Dragon NaturallySpeaking enables you to do just that, but turning it from a technological miracle into a working tool takes a little practice.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking For Dummies targets new users who are impressed by its capabilities but want to optimize its features. The book is organized thematically and addresses the following topics:

• Installing and launching NaturallySpeaking
• Training yourself (and others!) on basic editing, formatting, and dictation features
• Proofreading and correcting text transcribed from your voice
• Using NaturallySpeaking to interface with other applications (like Web browsers or word processors)
• Dictating e-mails, memos, and calendar appointments remotely
• Customizing NaturallySpeaking to adapt to your way of speaking and to recognize more words in your vocabulary

Reviews

It's old!, May 12, 2005
This book was written to help the average user with techniques, hints, etc, for learning to use the Dragon.

However, it was written, in 1999, for Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 4!

The current version is Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8.0, which is quite advanced.

There have been so many improvements in Dragon Naturally Speaking, since the book was written, that much of the information has become quite dated, and much-needed newer information is, of course, not included.

I bought this book unknowingly, when I was using version 7.0, and it did not address my needs.

Until they update this book, or write a new one, I would suggest buying a different book. Spend your $20 on something that will be useful!

Perfectly Useless, August 3, 2006
This book is seven years old. It was written for version 4.0. We are now up to 9.0.

Avoid it.

Update to my previous review, November 11, 2002
I still consider this book excellent. NaturallySpeaking no matter which version can be challenging. I believe there will be confusion though if this book is used for other then version 4. There are many changes since then.

With all speech recognition failure will happen unless you do the following:

1. Computer specifications about double of what is recommended.
2. Computers have been prepared using original CD's to load the operating system.
3. Vocabularies are pre-populated with words and phrases from previous documents.
4. The starting pace of the person's voice is determined.

If the above is done, the user can enjoy close to 100% accuracy.

Pointless keeping in print, June 24, 2007
This book refers to version 4 of the Dragon Naturally Speaking program. The current version is number 9, and is very significantly different from version 4. I don't know why this book is being offered for sale. Do not buy it.

Don't Bother .... Current version is 10.1; Book is version 4, April 26, 2009
The book is 11 years old, and written for Dragon Naturally Speaking version 4.

The current of Dragon Naturally Speaking is version 10.1.

There are enormous differences between the 11 year old version and the current one. Very significant improvements in the software.

The book is useless; obsolete beyond belief.

Outdated, October 12, 2007
Great book if you have the very old version 4. Dragon naturally Speaking is up to version 9.5 and has changed drastically since this book was printed.

Excellent - a must for all owners of Dragon NaturallySpeakin, November 4, 1999
I have trained Dragon products for six years. I have waited for a comprehensive book for my clients after the inital training is completed. This book is excellent and will do just that.

It is also for the person who would like to train themselves. It gives an objective view of speech recognition, and does not lower the persons expectations, rather puts them in perspective.

Excellent for everyone.

Out dated, Version 4, July 5, 2009
If you have purchased Dragon 10 this book is of little or no help. It was written for Version 4.

This book is out of date, April 8, 2007
This book used to be useful but is now eight years out of date.

To learn how to use the latest version of Dragon, check out the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 "Video Guide" and "QuickStart." They are CD-ROMs that play on your computer. I am the author of both of these titles. They are available on Amazon:

Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred QuickStart
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Video Guide: Complete Three-Volume Set

Very Disappointing, July 15, 2009
I received this book as a gift for my birthday because I was also given Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10, it was very disappointing to discover that the book was intended for version 4 and that its copyright is 1999, 10 years ago. So I had to return this book which both disappointed myself and my bride, who gave it to me, along with the software package. In my opinion or clearly show that this book is severely out of date for the current version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

For what it's worth, I wrote this review with Dragon naturally speaking. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Great things don’t happen in a vacuum. But creating an environment for creative thinking and innovation can be a daunting challenge. How can you make it happen at your company? The answer may surprise you: gamestorming.

This book includes more than 80 games to help you break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies. The authors have identified tools and techniques from some of the world’s most innovative professionals, whose teams collaborate and make great things happen. This book is the result: a unique collection of games that encourage engagement and creativity while bringing more structure and clarity to the workplace. Find out why -- and how -- with Gamestorming.

• Overcome conflict and increase engagement with team-oriented games
• Improve collaboration and communication in cross-disciplinary teams with visual-thinking techniques
• Improve understanding by role-playing customer and user experiences
• Generate better ideas and more of them, faster than ever before
• Shorten meetings and make them more productive
• Simulate and explore complex systems, interactions, and dynamics
• Identify a problem’s root cause, and find the paths that point toward a solution

Play a Game from Gamestorming

We're hardwired to play games. We play them for fun. We play them in our social interactions. We play them at work. That last one is tricky. "Games" and "work" don't seem like a natural pairing. Their coupling in the workplace either implies goofing off (the fun variant) or office politics (the not-so-fun type).

The authors of Gamestorming, have a different perspective. They contend that an embrace and understanding of game mechanics can yield benefits in many work environments, particularly those where old hierarchical models are no longer applicable, like the creatively driven knowledge work of today’s cutting edge industries.

Here is one of the 83 games featured in Gamestorming:

The ELEVATOR PITCH Game

OBJECTIVE OF PLAY: What has been a time-proven exercise in product development applies equally well in developing any new idea: writing the elevator pitch. When developing and communicating a vision for something, whether it’s a new service, a company-wide initiative, or just a good idea that merits spreading, a group will benefit from going through the exercise of writing their elevator pitch.

Often this is the hardest thing to do in developing a new idea. An elevator pitch must be short enough to deliver in a fictional elevator ride but also contain a compelling description of the problem you’re solving, who you’ll solve it for, and one key benefit that distinguishes it from other ideas.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: Can be done individually, or with a small working group

DURATION OF PLAY: Save at least 90 minutes for the entire exercise, and consider a short break after the initial idea generation is complete before prioritizing and shaping the pitch itself. Small working groups will have an easier time coming to a final pitch; in some cases it may be necessary to assign one person with follow-up accountability for the final wording after the large decisions have been made in the exercise.

HOW TO PLAY: Going through the exercise involves both a generating and a formative phase. To set up the generating phase, write these headers in sequence on flip charts:

• Who is the target customer?
• What is the customer need?
• What is the product name?
• What is its market category?
• What is its key benefit?
• Who or what is the competition?
• What is the product’s unique differentiator?

These will become the elements of the elevator pitch. They are in a sequence that adheres to the following formula.

To finish the setup, explain the elements and their connection to each other:

• The target customer and customer need are deceptively simple: any relatively good idea or product will likely have many potential customers and address a greater number of needs. In the generative phase, all of these are welcome ideas.
• It is helpful to fix the product name in advance--this will help contain the scope of the conversation and focus the participants on “what” the pitch is about. It is not outside the realm of possibility, however, that useful ideas will be generated in the course of the exercise that relate to the product name, so it may be left open to interpretation.
• The market category should be an easily understood description of the type of idea or product. It may sound like “employee portal” or “training program” or “peer-to-peer community.” The category gives an important frame of reference for the target customer, from which they will base comparisons and perceive value.
• The key benefit will be one of the hardest areas for the group to shape in the final pitch. This is the single most compelling reason a target customer would buy into the idea. In an elevator pitch, there is no time to confuse the matter with multiple benefits--there can be only one memorable reason “why to buy.” However, in the generative phase, all ideas are welcome.
• The competition and unique differentiator put the final punctuation on the pitch. Who or what will the target customer compare this idea to, and what’s unique about this idea? In some cases, the competition may literally be another firm or product. In other cases, it may be “the existing training program” or “the last time we tried a big change initiative.” The unique differentiator should be just that: unique to this idea or approach, in a way that distinguishes it in comparison to the competition.

The Generating Phase
Once the elements are understood, participants brainstorm ideas on sticky notes that fit under each header. At first, they should generate freely, without discussion or analysis, any ideas that fit into any of the categories. Using the Post-Up technique, participants put their notes onto the flip charts and share their ideas.

Next, the group may discuss areas where they have the most trouble on their current pitch. Do we know enough about the competition to claim a unique differentiator? Do we agree on a target customer? Is our market category defined, or are we trying to define something new? Where do we need to focus?

Before stepping into the formative phase, the group may use dot voting, affinity mapping, or another method to prioritize and cull their ideas in each category.

The Formative Phase
Following a discussion and reflection on the possible elements of a pitch, the group then has the task of “trying out” some possibilities. This may be done by breaking into small groups, as pairs, or as individuals, depending on the size of the larger group. Each group is given the task of writing an elevator pitch, based on the ideas on the flip charts.

After a set amount of time (15 minutes may be sufficient), the groups reconvene and present their draft versions of the pitch. The group may choose to role-play as a target customer while listening to the pitch, and comment or ask questions of the presenters.

The exercise is complete when there is a strong direction among the group on what the pitch should and should not contain. One potential outcome is the crafting of distinct pitches for different target customers; you may direct the group to focus on this during the formative stage.

STRATEGY
Don’t aim for final wording with a large group. It’s an achievement if you can get to that level of completion, but it’s not critical and can be shaped after the exercise. What is important is that the group decides what is and is not a part of the pitch.

Role play is the fastest way to test a pitch. Assuming the role of a customer (or getting some real customers to participate in the exercise) will help filter out the jargon and empty terms that may interfere with a clear pitch. If the pitch is truly believable and compelling, participants should have no problem making it real with customers.

The elevator pitch, or elevator speech, is a traditional staple of the venture capital community, based on the idea that if you are pitching a business idea it should be simple enough to convey on a short elevator ride.

Reviews

A play book for work and life
For several weeks, I've been combing my bookshelves for activities to incorporate into my LIM College class on social media marketing. I wanted games to drive home the information in unconventional, interactive ways. I went to my theatre books, my business books, and my books filled with writing exercises. Nothing seemed quite right. And then I found Gamestorming. It felt like a gift out of the sky. My anxiety about the class diminished a bit more with every page.

Gamestorming details games that engage groups, both large and small, in learning and discovery. They work in corporations and in schools, and I'd like to add that they are a valuable tool for navigating just about any decision and complication in life. I found myself noting in nearly every margin how to use each game. The clear, concise description, depictions, and plan for each took a great deal of thought and care from the authors.

The metaphor of life as a game is well worked over. The trouble with the game of life is that there are no rules. You don't make them and neither does anyone else. They change from moment to moment, and the rule that seemed to work today may never be useful again. We are forced in every situation to think on our feet. Gamestorming gives us more confidence and empowers us to take our futures in our own hands.

A Gamechanger
With Gamestorming Dave, Sunni, and James created one of the most valuable and applicable collection of tools and techniques for organizational design that I have ever come across. The "games" outlined in the book help you make ideas more tangible and meetings more productive, notably through visual techniques. Gamestorming is a window into the future of how groups will work.

There is no way around this book if you are serious about making innovation and change happen in your organization.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!
Are you a gamer or a game designer? If you are, then this book is for you. Authors Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you how to embrace and understand gaming mechanics that can be applied to the workplace environment.

Gray, Brown and Macanufo, begin by showing you how to break down gaming barriers and how they can be applied in the work place. Next, the authors help you identify gaming tools and techniques from a unique collection of games that help encourage engagement and creativity in the work place. Then, they show you how to overcome conflict and increase engagement with team-oriented games. Next, the authors help you make innovation and change happen in your organization. They continue by detailing games that engage organizations, both large and small, in learning and discovery. Then, the authors show you how to introduce gaming in software development. Next, they cover the core principals and benefits of games, how to design games, games for opening and games for exploring. The authors continue by encouraging the use of games for the purpose of generating ideas. Finally, they show you how to create one of the most valuable and applicable collection of tools and techniques for organizational design.

This most excellent book provides the tools and real-world examples that you need to effectively analyze your information in order to facilitate decision making. The games outlined in this book, allows you to suspend the usual behavioral standards for a limited time, thus allowing creativity to surface!!

Celebrating the Sophistication of Play
Dave Gray is a real leader in this exploding field of business visualization. As the founder and creator of XPlane, he has lived the value of playful engagement as a part of serious design. Framing these activities as "games" points right at the central power of interactive work with groups, which is to create environments where everyone can contribute, create prototypes, and evolve their ideas. It brings the kinds of ideas Michael Schrage considers in "Serious Play", and Steven Johnson in "Where Do Innovative Ideas Come From" and makes them accessible for any group. Sunni Brown got her start at The Grove and knows this business as a very talented practitioner, and consummately playful person herself. James Macanufo is also a seasoned practitioner. The exercises suggested here have been well tested!!! Buy this book and keep your innovation toolkit brimming with great ideas.

Why games matter
In Gamestorming, Dave Gray and his colleagues Sunni Brown & James Macanufo do something extraordinarily important and they do it with such simplicity and clarity that it is easy to miss what is most valuable about this book: in short, it explains why the idea of the game matters.

It has become a media commonplace, at least in the "smart" media of Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker and the New York Times, that games and gaming are reshaping our world. Few, however, explain with such lucidity not only why we should pay attention to this phenomenon, but also give us such a practical roadmap to the application of what we have to learn.

Games are structured accelerators for learning. They are extraordinarily effective technologies for learning in groups and for accomplishing things while we learn and not simply after the fact. What Gray, Brown & Macanufo help us to see (the drawings & diagrams are fabulous) is that the game matters because it puts in our hands the technology to create and to explore other worlds, other realities; some possible, some parallel, some fantastical, but all of which are places that allow us to get beyond the constraints and the limitations of the present and the ordinary or mundane.

Gamestorming gives us both a roadmap for understanding why games matter so much and, as the authors properly say, an accessible "playbook" for how to use these powerful technologies.

My most grave complaint is that Gamestorming is still a book. Not withstanding the effort to challenge the limitations of the book (see the website at [...]), Gamestorming strains to show us things that belong on another platform altogether, perhaps something like the gamelayer that is starting to be built on top of the world we now "know": isn't that the "place" we should all go gamestorming?

This book is outstanding!
This book is outstanding! Simple yet powerful. "Gamestorming" offers a provocative framework in which groups can use games to achieve results. More practically, it provides over 80 games that can be played in groups to stimulate new thinking, innovations, creative solutions and game-changing insights. In today's hyper-competitive environment where change is constant and the need for creative solutions is ever-accelerating, this book is essential. In short, it is a great book!

Amazing & Innovative book
This is just the kind of book I was looking for. Management games to be used in presentations and team -building exercises. It had the right content and at a level i wanted for senior managers.
Highly recommended ... Read more

Editorial Review

It just may be impossible to exhaust the creative potential of LEGO bricks. With an active imagination as your guide, there are endless possibilities--provided you follow the LEGO Company's official (and sensible) rules. This means no cutting or tampering with bricks, creating models that shoot unapproved projectiles, or using non-standard parts with any LEGO product. After all, those little precision-molded ABS bricks can be dangerous in the wrong hands! Well, toss those rules out the window.

Forbidden LEGO introduces you to the type of free-style building that LEGO's master builders do for fun in the back room. Using LEGO bricks in combination with common household materials (from rubber bands and glue to plastic spoons and ping-pong balls) along with some very unorthodox building techniques, you'll learn to create working models that LEGO would never endorse. Try your hand at a toy gun that shoots LEGO plates, a candy catapult, a high voltage LEGO vehicle, a continuous-fire ping-pong ball launcher, and other useless but incredibly fun inventions.

Once you get into the spirit, you'll want to try inventing your own rule-breaking models. Forbidden LEGO's authors, share tips and tricks that will inspire you and help you turn your visions into reality. Nothing's against the rules in this book! ... Read more

Reviews

Could easily get you addicted to LEGO building..., September 1, 2007
Having a couple of close friends who are LEGO-maniacs, I couldn't pass up the chance to read and review this particular title in order to see what it's all about... Forbidden LEGO: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against! by Ulrik Pilegaard and Mike Dooley. I now understand why they find LEGO building so much fun, and it probably wouldn't take much to bring me into the fold...

Contents:
Introduction; How to Build Great Things; Project 1 - Paper Plane Launcher (PPL); Project 2 - Candy Coated Catapult (CCC); Project 3 - Ping-Pong Cannon (PPC); Project 4 - All-Terrain LEGO (ATL); Project 5 - High Velocity Automatic LEGO Plate Dispenser (HVALPD); Tips and Tricks

So what makes these projects "forbidden"? There are certain rules that have to be followed in order for a LEGO model to be allowed to be marketed as a kit. Some of these rules would be:

Never launch a non-approved object into the air.
Never launch a non-approved object into the air with great force.
Never alter any LEGO part.
Never connect two moters to run together.
Never double the approved voltage.

And so on. Generally speaking, a LEGO kit should not be able to injure someone, should be able to be built with standard pieces, and shouldn't use anything that doesn't come directly from LEGO. In varying degrees, these five projects break some (or all) of the official rules. Which is why they are appealing to the LEGO builder's inner-geek. For as complex as these devices look on the surface, the authors do an excellent job in breaking things down into step-by-step instructions. They start with a brief explanation of the project, some of the design hurdles they faced, what rules are broken, and what non-LEGO parts you might need. From there, you find a full parts list (in color, complete with pictures and amounts) followed by a numbered series of steps. The steps show what parts are needed for that specific step, as well as how they fit together with the growing assembly. Surprisingly, they do this without directions... just the pictures. But the assembly is broken down into very small steps, so you don't have to make any major intuitive leaps to get from step 45 to 46. And if you've been building with LEGO before this, I'll guess that you wouldn't have any trouble following along. I could even see myself making any one of these, and I'm definitely *not* an engineering wizard. :) Oh, and another nice touch... the binding is designed to allow the book to lay flat when opened. So you won't be looking for weighted objects to hold the book open while you're building your next contraption.

I don't know that I'd want to give this book to a 10 year old for fear of what he'd do with the items once built. But knowing the person(s) who I'll be giving my copy to after this, I should probably trust the 10 year old a bit more. Great book, wonderful quality, and it should provide a number of hours of fun walking on the "wild side".

A good effort but it IS somewhat impractical, December 14, 2007
This book was a good effort. The instructions are pretty good, in full color and it somewhat interesting to find out why these models would be forbidden from the perspective of a former Lego designer.
There are some problems though. My two biggest beefs with the book were

1. The author didn't tell you what sets you could pull pieces from to make the given model. I had to use a Lego set inventory web site ([...]) to determine that which took about an hour per model.
2. The models didn't use the latest pieces and motors in the Technic line. Most of the models in the book were built with pieces and motors from sets that came out in 2000-2003. Thus, unless you're a collector like me, the people who buy this book will have a hard time finding the right pieces to use.

Very fun to read and build, September 2, 2007
What an absolutely fun book to read. The authors, Pilegaard and Dooley, both worked at LEGO. Apparently, as a LEGO engineer, there are many rules that need to be followed when creating a new toy. Most of these rules appear to be in place to protect children from getting hurt. The purpose of this book is to allow two amazing LEGO designers to create models that break one or more of the LEGO rules. The results are some really interesting models that are a lot of fun to build--just don't let your 5 year old play with them!

I've read some previous LEGO books where the construction information was printed in black and white, making it difficult to follow. This book has all model instructions printed in full-color, making this book as easy to read as any LEGO-printed construction manual.

It also helps that the models are a lot of fun to build. You'll see instructions for a paper plane launcher, a candy catapult, a ping-pong cannon, an all-terrain vehicle, and "high velocity automatic plate dispenser". Each model starts out with the builder's inspiration for the model, as well as why it is forbidden by LEGO. While some reasons include safety concerns for young builders (any catapulted item must be below a certain velocity for it to be deemed "safe"), others include models that use non-LEGO parts.

All in all, this is a very fun book to read and build along with. If you've got a Technik set and want to try something new--something forbidden--then this is a great book to pick up. Not only are the models easy to follow (thanks in part to the color instructions), but they're fun to build.

5 Little-Known Reasons To Buy This Book, September 13, 2007
Here are my best 5 little-known reasons for you to consider buying this book:

1. It's got a great little summary (10 or so pages) about LEGO, the company's mindset, how these 2 authors got involved in LEGO, and how the design process works at LEGO. LEGO's safety test is described which is important because it helps to determine what is safe vs. non-safe for consumers (from LEGO's point of view). It's a great behind-the-scenes summary and very enjoyable to read.

2. What follows is a short 6 page summary about the LEGO master builders' design theory. With headers such as "How We Build at LEGO" and "The Hero Model," (don't know what that is - get the book!) readers can read a short essay on LEGO's design strategy as well as steps on incorporating it into your own design process.

3. Each project has an "Inspiration" and "Design" short discussion that lets you know how the project came to be. My favorite "LEGO Rules Broken" which tells you EXACTLY why this book is titled "Forbidden LEGO!" (You're also told if any non-LEGO parts are used which is a HUGE benefit before starting to build a project.)

4. "How it Works" short discussions tell you the principle behind the project's design and operation. After that, you've got full color building instructions.

5. Every project can be "MINDSTORM"-ed! These projects all have the ability to be converted to robotic platforms, automating them and giving your robots some real firepower. I've already got some ideas moving through my head after reading over some of these projects.

A great book - definitely a LOT of time and energy put into it.

Half an instruction book - no way to order parts needed to build, October 30, 2008
A waste of money. This is a well done instruction book that motivates you to build the design and then stops. There isn't a parts list and since it doesnt give you the Lego parts numbers, neither is there any place you can go to get the parts. The Lego website won't let you order without them and, even with hours of searching, you can't find most of the special gears the authors magically came up with. A good example for business classes of how to foul up a really great idea. I raised this question to the publisher, NoStarch Press and they thanked me for my comments but offered no solution. They said they talked to the authors "from time to time" and would ask them - 6 months later, still no response.

Get creative and have a blast, September 13, 2007
What an awesome, fun book! My 9-yr old son and I are having a blast creating all the cool models. The instructions are clear and as good as any official lego kit, while the text is funny and informative.

Included is some behind the scenes information on the inner workings at Lego, and how the design process operates there. Interesting reading for all ages.

The book has also inspired my son to build other creations of his own design. A great way to watch less TV and video games, and get the creative juices flowing.

Any fan of the Lego Technic line would enjoy this book. But be forewarned, unless you have a stockpile of technic parts, you will be buying more Lego sets and pieces to complete all the cool models. But it's not that bad, and well worth the effort.

useless unless you have a robotics kit, May 31, 2009
I was excited to get this book for my 12-year-old budding engineer. He was too, until he looked through it and saw that he would need to have a Lego robotics kit to make a good number of the creations. Since the kit is $250, that ain't happening, so back it goes.

And as other reviewers mentioned, they show pictures of the pieces you need, but they don't label them with names or part numbers. It would be EXTREMELY hard to find the parts you need to build most of these projects. It's amazing to me that the authors would create such great projects but then provide such incomplete info, rendering their book virtually useless to most users. What a waste of the return postage!

Very Cool book, August 29, 2007
I ordered this book a week ago, and I'm having a lot of fun with it now.

It's a very thorough, thick book for the somewhat small number of models it shows you how to build, (only 5 different models), but it does cover them all in depth and with full illustrations, just like any Lego manual you've ever used. There's a lot of interesting notes written in the comments at the beginning and end of the projects, offering some interesting insight into what goes on at the Lego thinktank. Overall, if you've got a lot of lego bricks on hand, and time to kill, this is a very fun and amusing book, and I would definitely recommend it.

Hopefully the first of a long series, April 4, 2008
This is a great book for LEGO aficionados wanting to push the boundaries of this wonderful Danish product.

Personal favourites include the full-functioning ground-to-air missile - built from the Fire Rescue set - and the life-size girlfriend with realistic hair that can be cobbled together from combining the Star Wars: Clone Trooper with various Bionicle sets.

My life would be complete if they were to publish a second book showing how to make a working distillery.

A great read, but needs some updating., January 10, 2009
Pro's: gives an insider's view of Lego and the Lego mindset in very well-written text sections; has easy to follow diagrams for assembling the fun forbidden models.

Con's: text is incredibly small (especially compared to the large assembly diagrams) and the Lego constructs rely on older Mindstorm motors.

Overall, very worthwhile. I bought this for my kids but it is geared more toward adults (despite the small type!) and serious entry-level robotics. It would be great to have a new edition! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Overrated, extremely light on content, January 22, 2009
I rarely review books, but this one was such a waste that I'd feel guilty if I didn't at least TRY to persuade you not to buy. The main problem with the book, as other reviewers have alluded to, is that it sort of tries to BE a design masterpiece rather than teach you. The design is interesting, but it is to the point that the content is subordinated to the design. There are maybe 5 pages worth of useful content.

Another irritant to me is that this is by far the most commercial book I've ever seen (more ads than a magazine). It seemed that every few pages I was being told to buy this book, or buy all of some other guys books. There is a two page section that is taken from Guy Kawasaki's blog. The whole thing is incredibly derivative (but shallow).

Finally, and this I can take responsibility for, it didn't meet my needs because I am not Al Gore, nor am I the CEO of a company. If I gave a presentation in the style of this book I'd be laughed out of the office. I'm an analyst, and the warm and fuzzy slides would not be good. Duarte's advice on data intensive slides? "Both [of Stephen Few's] books should be on your shelf along with everything Edward Tufte has written."
I have two Tufte books and they are virtually identical, I don't see myself buying his others (and they suffer from the same lack of relevance to corporate analysts). Disappointing.

Yet another designer's book, September 12, 2008
I have to rain on the parade of this book and Garr Reynold's book (and other ones).

The message is "I'm one of the best slide designers in the world (which is true) and I'm going to show you WHY."

The message should be "I'm one of the best slide designers in the world and I'm going to show you HOW."

You'll see plenty to interest you, but unless you're a full-fledged graphic designer you'll never recreate these slides. Imagine putting this book (and the Reynold's book) into a room with some of your worst slide creators, or even yourself. Would you see an improvement in their skills? I doubt it.

You might as well become a painter by reading books that have the world's greatest pictures in them. Even though there is explanatory text here it isn't enough to bridge the gap.

To see a book written for its audience, try the "Before and After" books by Jon McWade which deal with desktop publishing. Unfortunately John has not yet tackled slides, but you can see an page layout idea and make it yourself in minutes.

So, sorry about this, because both this and Reynold's book are "nice" books. The energy has gone into the book's design and production rather than the content. But that makes them coffee-table books, and unless you have a coffee table in your office I'd advise that you give both of them a miss.

Emperor's New Old Clothes, November 25, 2008
I had high hopes for this book. It looks very nice. It has the right nods to Tufte early on. But...

But the true content is very thin, includes a load of chart junk (the anti-Tufte - I guess the true cue is in the title, this is a PowerPoint book) and page after page of abstract diagrams demonstrating "flow" - much like the woeful second half of "Say it with Charts" which is about 50 pages of arrows.

Very very disappointing indeed.

don't buy this book, October 27, 2008
Don't buy this book. The text is maddeningly small and poorly contrasted. With postage stamp size visuals it's like reading a telphone book.
Get The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams and check out the website of the author of The Craft of Scientific Presentations, Michael Alley for templates and research based design tips.
With these two resources you'll have everything you need without having to wade through the padding in Duarte's book.

AMAZING--not about slides, about mind to mind communication, August 26, 2008
I just destroyed this book with folded pages and ink annotations, so the perfectionists out there may want to order two copies, one for eating and one for sharing. The price is phenomenally reasonable, especially for something that is all color and totally elegant.

This is not about powerpoint slides. If anything, it is a very subtle but explicit critique of how retarded they still are (e.g. no separation between bullet groups). This is an utterly inspiring combination of wisdom, education, visual excitement, and plain fun that "lives" what it preaches.

When I get back to the office I am going to read this book again while I create a briefing on the Earth Intelligence Network and educating the poor one cell call at a time that respects the deep knowledge being imparted by this author and her team. Mills Davis, visualization and semantic genius (Project10X) called my presentation "dense" yesterday, and I needed this book to understand just how polite he was being.

Bottom line mechanically: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 font size MINIMJM. For the advanced audiences, 20 slides, 20 seconds each, 6 minutes and 20 seconds total.

I read and reread sections, and the recurring thought in my head was that this book may well be all one needs to run a semester long course on the communication of important complex ideas. The author does not just show a correct slide, the author breaks down every aspect (e.g. fonts, color, grid layouts, use of images, creating your own art) into separate chapters with very ably-illustrated palettes covering all the options. I have a note on this, "nuances are unpackaged and illustrated."

I note the author's admonition that change across the presentation is a distraction, that animation should support the message and the continuity of understanding.

For large organizations, the author covers templates as a means of harnessing the diversity of knowledge of varied functions and employees, while maintaining a consistency of brand. BRAND is huge within this book, and in this book BRAND is not a legal term, it is a philosophical term. I am hugely impressed by a chart showing UK companies that treat BRAND as a design imperative being so much more competitive and profitable than those that do not. This book is not just asserttions and demonstrations, it is fact and case based and eminently authoritative.

I learn for the first time that powerpoint slides can be instantly made to be black and white to focus audience on the speaker, or made all white, by pressing B or W. Why didn't I learn that from Microsoft? Because their tool bar is not designed to teach....perhaps?

Special pages for me:

10-11 The Presentation Ecosystem (Message, Story, Delivery)
12-13 Time Estimate for world-class presentations (36-90 hours)
18-19 Rick Justice and 27 slides on eight topics (organization)
58-59 Making Diagtrams Work Together
64-65 Following the Five Data Slide Rules (Tell the Truth is Rule 1)
82-83 The (Financial) Value of Good Design
116-117 Lose the logo on every slide....
142-143 Dissecting a font (this section alone was HUGE eye-opener)
148-149 Typesetting a block of text (what powerpoint does not do)

The references are phenomenal, and comprise an instant library for any person, firm, or school of design. I only have ten links allowed, so below I list the reference categories, and link to a single book from the multiples identified--no disrespect intended for the others!

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

BRANDING
The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design

VISUAL THINKING
Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands

INFORMATION GRAPHICS
Nigel Holmes On Information Design (Working Biographies)

DATA DISPLAY
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data

CONTENT
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

BUSINESS BOOKS
The E-Myth Manager: Why Most Managers Don't Work and What to Do About It

The index is very good, another manifestation of the utter devotion to quality of the publisher, O'Reilly (I dislike most of their book sets, this one very properly rose to a proper high level).

Lots of white space. There isn't an ounce of fat or irrelevance in this book. It is world-class in every respect, and most publishers are so crummy about price and color that I want to end with a tip of the hat to o'Reilly for getting this one "just right."

Thoughtless design, November 17, 2009
This book is amazing in that it is a book on presentation and is simultaneously a fine example of how NOT to present something. The print is far too small and is a faded grey. How in all the world could someone who put this much effort and care into a book - I did manage to read some of it - fail to notice that it is nearly unreadable?

A must have for any presentation developer, September 15, 2010
I read some of the other reviews and I think some of the people who gave low ratings missed the point of this book. This is not a "How to" PowerPoint book. This is a "How to" effective presentation book. And if you read the introduction you should see the intent of Slide"ology.

Slide:ology provides theory behind visual communication using presentation media. The message is well, focus on the message of the presentation and provides basic design concepts that should help anyone in understanding what are the components of a well designed presentation. Key word here being design. I think some people struggle to understand that design means function and purpose instead of just making things pretty.

Some people mentioned small type and the book being hard to read. I thought the book was well designed and didn't have a problem with reading it. The pages provide ample room for taking notes.

It's a good reference, January 29, 2009
This was my first PowerPoint book so when I first read it, I thought it was fantastic.

What it is:
A reference that offers great design ideas, guidance on presenting information, layout, content, PowerPoint and storytelling. Sure, applying all of her principles will take a lot of time, focus, and clients/higher ups that are willing to try her method. But applying just one of her principles is easy to do. Either way, formatting your slides the slide:ology way will shift your presentation from good to better.

What is isn't:
This is not really a how-to book meaning it shows you the principles to follow but not necessarily how to achieve it. While I don't have a recommendation on which book to get, if you are a PowerPoint beginner, it would be wise to invest in a step-by-step guide as well.

A Must-Have for Seminar Presenters, August 20, 2008
I'm a trainer, offering live seminars which we convert to video presentations for our distance learners. I'm comfortable with creating good video, but not so with creating strong slide presentations. For years, we've felt the need for dynamic slide presentations that would heighten the excitement we work to build in our seminars. The slide presentations we created or had created for us, relayed information but they seemed flat to me, not what we were going for.

If you're hoping to create a great slide presentation or a great visual presentation of any sort, you will find that this book shows you how to do so. You will learn how to avoid kicking the audience into the yawn zone by creating presentations that have power and impact.

If you are even considering the possibility of creating a slide presentation, please consider picking up this book sooner than later. The author will help you to put together a strong presentation that will get your message across to your audience in a powerful and interesting way. This book is highly recommended.

Great ideas, great design! Just a very great book., August 12, 2008
Nancy Duarte has designed a winner with her first book - and it's an instant classic on presentation design. Not only will anyone be able to make MUCH better presentations, they will have fun learning how. Whether beginner or expert, Nancy helps anyone get to the top of their game in making a impact through presenting their ideas visually.

It's also interesting and inspiring reading as well, and goes far beyond presentations. The success of Duarte Design is well deserved, and you'll see why in reading this book.

Bert Decker ... Read more

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.

Reviews

This should be required reading for all presenters..., January 1, 2008
This is everything that I want my presentations to be when I'm up on stage... Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds. This will make you rethink everything you've known (and likely done) about how a presentation should be designed.

Contents:
Introduction: Presenting in Today's World
Preparation: Creativity, Limitations, and Constraints; Planning Analog; Crafting the Story
Design: Simplicity - Why It Matters; Presentation Design - Principles and Techniques; Sample Slides
Delivery: The Art of Being Completely Present; Connecting With an Audience
The Next Step: The Journey Begins
Photo Credits; Index

There's so much good stuff here that it's hard to figure out where to begin. Reynolds advocates for a departure from the ordinary style of presentation involving PowerPoint. You've all sat through those (or given them)... Pages of slides, chock full of text, gratuitous use of special effects, etc. Presentation Zen is more about simplicity and storytelling. Your slides should support *you*, the speaker. If someone can get all the information from your slides, why do they need you? Your slides should not overwhelm the audience, but should draw their attention to the point that you are making in your talk. Couple this approach with the ability to tell stories rather than recite facts, and you can put together presentations that will be appreciated, remembered, and best of all, acted upon.

He also gets into how best to design appealing and arresting slides. Reynolds uses sites like iStockPhoto to avoid the overused and cheesy clipart that comes part and parcel with PowerPoint. And rather than just pasting a graphic on the screen under some text, the graphic *becomes* the slide, and the minimal text is positioned on the graphic in such a way that the slide becomes a work of art. Since I do technical presentations, my first objection was that this doesn't give the listener anything to take away in terms of content. But rather than make your slides the take-away, Reynolds suggests that you put together a separate "handout" document that can be given out after the talk (or downloaded). That document can contain the details and facts that you present, without overwhelming the listener during the actual talk. It's a simple concept, but not one that I've seen done often.

The bad thing about a book like this is it points out just how bad I actually am at presenting. The good thing is that it challenges me (as well as shows me) to get a whole lot better. This should be required reading for anyone before they start to put together anything in PowerPoint...

Useful but disappointing, February 26, 2008
I found Presentation Zen disappointing. It seemed to violate in writing style many of the principles it seeks to correct in slide design, reading more like a meandering conversation over drinks than a well-laid-out, step-by-step primer. For example, the book was frustratingly repetitive, with even the simplest points restated through multiple chapters (really, how many times do you have to suggest using post-it notes?). Some central points came and went quietly in sidebars, and others completely lacked explanation or justification (i.e. the rule for using six words maximum per slide). Every time I thought I was about to discover a new and enlightening concrete principle of visual design with valid reasoning, it seemed the point from the previous chapter was repeated instead. Moreover, exceptions or alternate approaches also weren't considered, such as times when using a whopping seven words on a slide might be useful, or when more complex slide builds and transitions could help an audience grasp a concept. In addition, many of the points made in the book, such as the value of "taking risks," seemed obvious and trite.

Overall, like many tedious slide shows I've endured, I felt the book could have been half as long and made its points with the same clarity, and would have showed more respect for the reader's time. To its credit, it does offer some useful ideas on slide design, and some excellent graphic examples. It's also visually appealing, with beautiful slide reprints, tons of "good" and "bad" examples to learn from, and cleanly-designed pages. Still, I'd trade the appealing design for tighter, more solid, more useful content.

Lacking Gravitas, January 18, 2008
Like many others, I have grown (very) weary of the so-called "death by PowerPoint" culture which saturates the IT sector in which I work. I would gladly substitute every minute of mindless suffering sitting through too many presentations by sales persons and various "engineers" with 150% more time at the Dentist's. Much as I hate visiting my Dentist, at least I'll be healthier afterwards.

Also like many others, I wager, I found out about Presentation Zen the book from Presentation Zen the blog of which I am a fan. I am sorry to report that I am a bigger fan of the blog than I am of the book. First, the good.

The book itself is pleasing with good binding and great color. It's easy to read with clear type and an attractive layout. Chapter heading and sub-headings are clear and the flow of the book's content is harmonious. The reader can tell that good quality work went into the typesetting and publishing--kudos to New Riders.

How about content? Well here a few shortcomings appear and although not enough to dismiss the book outright are enough to cause me wonder. At 230 odd pages, the first impression as I flipped through is how "light" it is, literally and metaphorically. There is a surprising amount of white space and while that's understandable from a design perspective, from a reader's however, it falls short of fulfilling the promise of content a similarly priced book should deliver on.

Focused reading reveals surprisingly little that is original. I stopped counting at 12 the number of books by other authors referenced and quoted from; and while that isn't a crime per se, it's certainly a shortcoming. At best, it looks like Reynolds did a great job of editing, creating a pastiche of content from other authors and the reader might as well do the same thing: amass a large enough library and perform the acquisition of knowledge himself. That, at least, comes with the advantage that reader will be getting it wholesale from the source instead of the Presentation Zen pr�cis.

There is some practical and usable advice (start with analog brainstorming then proceed to the digital, keep the lights on, use a remote) but it's inadequately fleshed out. This information is better presented and with a heightened emphasis on practicality in other books--Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson comes to mind, one of the many cited as reference for further instruction.

A possible defense to the accusation of being light is that Reynolds' wrote the book, as the subtitle hints, as more of a philosophical treatise on presentation design. Fine, but even then, it's still light on those points as well. Reynolds is content to regurgitate some Japanese aphorisms and quotes from various personages that, while certainly inspirational, possess little value beyond that. The book ends up reading like a "pop psychology" cheer leading tome than what it means to be: a book instructing on presenting information to an audience.

Some of the subtext I noticed from reading is that Reynolds is a dye in the wool fan of Apple products with little if any regard for PC and PC software (from Windows to PowerPoint) including them as an afterthought, perhaps to sell more books. There is also a subtle but discernable thread of condescension toward American society--the number of "fat" Americans appearing in example slides started getting a little tired after a while. I don't know if this was purposeful and I doubt it, but nevertheless it's there.

The latter section of the book truly runs out of steam replete as it is with examples (with little to no analysis of them) filling page after page of slideware. It peters out with some feel-good advice from the author about creativity, etc. in what felt like padding.

In summary, Presentation Zen owes its existence (with apologies to Isaac Newton) to standing on the shoulders of giants on which it stands. Amazon has it for sale at a great price so definitely get it from here. Otherwise, there's no way I see of plunking down full price for this book at your local bookstore.

Don't buy this book (Unless you want to know all the inside secrets of presentations!), February 8, 2008
There's a reason that none of the country's best presentation coaches and presenters want you to purchase this book: that's because it will put the former out of business, and make you as good as the latter. Seriously!

Garr Reynolds has done what everyone else (at least among the presentation cognoscente) has been talking about for years. He has created what is truly THE book that is an absolute, positive must-read for everyone who is even thinking about presenting. I coach hundreds of entrepreneurs and CEOs each year for their fundraising road shows, and Garr has written and illustrated with stunning clarity the essence of what I and others have been preaching for years: visual clarity, simplicity, presence, planning and more.

If you are even *thinking* about buying a book on presentation skills, this is it. After you devour it cover to cover, you can then go on to the two other books I recommend: "Presenting to Win" by Jerry Weissman, and "The Articulate Executive" by Granville Toogood (the top presentation coaches on their respective sides of the country.) But start here, heed the lessons in this instant classic, and your audiences will be guaranteed to be putty in your hands.

David S. Rose (Described by BusinessWeek as "The Pitch Coach")

And another designer's book . . ., August 23, 2009
I have to rain on the parade of Nancy's book and Garr Reynold's book (and other ones). This is based on the review I gave Duarte's "Slideology."

The message is "I'm one of the best slide designers in the world (which is true) and I'm going to show you WHY."

The message should be "I'm one of the best slide designers in the world and I'm going to show you HOW."

You'll see plenty to interest you, but unless you're a full-fledged graphic designer you'll never recreate these slides. Imagine putting this book (and Duarte's book) into a room with some of your worst slide creators, or even yourself. Would you see an improvement in their skills? I doubt it.

You might as well become a painter by reading books that have the world's greatest pictures in them. Even though there is explanatory text here it isn't enough to bridge the gap.

To see a book written for its audience, try the "Before and After" books by Jon McWade which deal with desktop publishing. Unfortunately John has not yet tackled slides, but you can see an page layout idea and make it yourself in minutes.

So, sorry about this, because both this and Duarte's book are "nice" books. The energy has gone into the book's design and production rather than the content. But that makes them coffee-table books, and unless you have a coffee table in your office I'd advise that you give both of them a miss.

Recommendable only for beginners, January 7, 2009
I had high expectations on this book. And I found it interesting only for beginners. Too much text saying basically the same, and few visuals. I would had expected more, considering that it's a book on presentations.

Design 101, Zen Philosophy 301, December 13, 2008
"Presentation Zen" is written for people tasked to create powerpoint presentations despite the fact that they have no creative talent, no design training, and no money or desire to hire a real designer. It's an all too common fact of business life today.

If this describes you, you'll find the book very helpful. Garr offers good insights on overarching graphic design principles and a Zen philosophy of communicating visually. The reader looking to help develop a mind-set to improve their presentations will find food for thought and action. Taking a holistic approach to presentations, not just the medium of powerpoint, Garr offers well-considered advice that is enough to recommend the book to its target audience.

Further, if you're interested in Zen philosophy, this provides insight into Zen and its relationship to visual design. The mantra of simplicity espoused here is one that can be traced back to art movements of the 1880's, and more specifically the Bauhaus movement in Germany in the 1920's.

However, you may still be hungry after reading Garr's book. Especially if you desire to continue to develop whatever design skills you've discovered while creating powerpoint's. Also, if you are a trained graphic designer, you shouldn't need this book. It reiterates what you should have learned in the first semester of any competent design program. K.I.S.S.

For those wishing to take their design skills to the next level, I would recommend "slide:ology" by Nancy Duarte. This essentially provides a masters' level course in creative design as related to powerpoint presentations.

Replace Bullet Points with Dental Posters That Evoke Positive Feelings, Tell Stories, and Be Mentally Present, October 21, 2008
Long before there was PowerPoint, most presentations contained more columns of numbers and bullet points than pictures. PowerPoint seemed designed to capture the essence of those transparencies and make it faster to create them . . . while adding color. Compared to those ugly transparencies, PowerPoint seemed like an improvement.

By comparison, my dentist has always covered his walls with beautiful bleed images of gorgeous places combined with intriguing sayings about life. Those posters are the only uplifting thing about my trips to the dentist's office. He doesn't tell me any entertaining stories.

In presentationzen, Garr Reynolds shares with us that today's audiences like a standard PowerPoint presentation about as much as I like going to the dentist (I doubt if you are surprised by that). His prescription is to turn the typical presentation into a series of stories aided by exhibits that remind me of those dental posters while being very responsive (present . . . in his terminology) to the audience.

The book's main strength, and one that makes it well worth reading and following, is in describing a process that can be used to create a presentation that will be compelling. Even when I see a presentation that I like, I don't learn much from the example because the presenter doesn't share the process behind the result.

The examples almost all showed someone in a black turtle neck, black pants, and black shoes who looked like a Steve Jobs acolyte. As a result, there's an Apple versus Microsoft tone to the book that didn't match any environment where I ever see or give presentations (usually board rooms and senior corporate conference rooms).

Most presentations should be much shorter, should have a lot less material, and should be much easier to grasp. This book will help you if that's the way you want to go. Beware, however, that you don't go over the edge into becoming an "artiste" in your presentations. This book will probably push you a little too far in that direction.

For those who cannot imagine how an image might fit into a presentation, this book will be a great breath of fresh air. To those who want to copy the advice closely, keep your audience in mind. You might try to take them places where they don't want to go.

In my 30-plus years of presentation experience, I find that the story is the key to success. One good story will more than carry the day. You can draw on a chalk board with your fingernails for graphics and a good story will still work just fine. To me, the weakness of this book is that it doesn't pay enough to the story telling aspect of successful presentations.

I recommend Stephen Denning's books on story telling to help you with that aspect of presentations.

Good concepts; ironically, book misses its own ideals, July 12, 2009
I like the design principles and process tools that are provided in Presentation Zen: those are definitely usable and useful, and if I were rating on the book only on the learnings I came away with, I'd give it higher marks.

But I felt I really had to dock marks because of my experience with the book: I found it quite ironic that, for me, the book really failed in the very goals the author says we should have for our presentations: content that is engaging and is clear.

I was quite surprised to find this book non-engaging: for me, it has been a slog to work through. Typically I can read only part of a chapter before I wanted to put it down. I don't normally read like that, and I can usually get through a book like this within a few days, but it has taken me weeks to endure just the first half!

At first, that left me puzzled: The book has visual appeal; the chapters aren't overly long and there are only ten of them; why can't just get through them? The probable reason came to me in reading the chapter "Simplicity: Why it matters": the author really fails at his own ideals of simplicity. Not in the visual design; the visual design of the book is good in this respect. Rather, he fails to keep the written content simple. That very chapter on simplicity made this apparent to me. Let me explain.

He starts with two pages introducing the topic: simplicity really means clarity: getting the essense of the message and presenting that in a way that's clear for the intended audience -- and a key to that is eliminating the non-essential (simplicity). So far, so good.

Then he spends two pages using a comparison of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as illustration. Now, I'm not convinced that the stereotypes of these two are fully valid, and maybe that was a factor, but overall these two pages really added nothing to my understanding of the author's message. In other words, for me that was two pages of non-essential content that only distracted and detracted from the author's message.

The next sub-section is six pages long. The last page is well done and simply has a quotation that is relevant to the author's message: "By stripping an image to essential meaning, the artist can amplify that meaning..." (Scott McCloud). But that was preceded by five redundant and somewhat-tedious pages:

The sub-section starts with a discussion of three Japanese concepts: kanso (simplicity), shizen (naturalness) and shibumi (elegance). But the discussion of shizen really just re-iterates the need for simplicity: the recurring theme in that portion is restraint; naturalness is never mentioned after the opening sentence. (Along the way, he introduces another Japanese term "miegakure" without explaining it -- more distracting content that added nothing meaningful for me.) After that is a full-page discussion of elegance, and that was just more elaboration on simplicity (good taste can be attained in restraint). Then there are two more pages ("Wabi-Sabi Simplicity") in which the author further reiterates the less-is-more idea.

That's followed by a page with a side-bar anecdote that I found pretty silly: it leads to a nonsensical conclusion that a fish shop doesn't need any sign to advertise and identify itself. (More useful would have been a discussion of pros and cons for different signs.)

So, six pages on "kanso", "shizen" and "shibumi" that I found highly redundant with many paragraphs of text that added nothing new to the message. I think that has been typical of my experience in the book so far, and the reason I've found it a slog: there's been a lot of content that adds nothing to the message.

Like the bullets of text on slides that the author wants to steer us away from.

How ironic!

In part, I think the author's obvious interest in Zen and in Japanese culture may be contributing to this problem in the book. He wants to include elements of Zen and Japanese throughout the book because they interest his and because they relate to _his_ understanding of simplicity, clarity and elegance. But it seems to me that he failed to apply his own recommendations of going through a process to understand the audience and to tailor the presentation in a way that will get across his core message to them -- including elminating non-essentials. His core message is not about Zen or about Japanese culture (and if those are topics you want to read about, you can find much better books than this). His core message is about something else, and excessive incorporation of these other themes is, at least for me, a distraction.

In summary, then, I found the book to have some really useful ideas on creating presentations, but that they are presented in a way that really misses the mark in the very goals it strives for. I can readily imagine that Reynolds does live presentations on the same topic that are excellent and highly effective, but for me this written presentation is neither of those things. I'd give a buy rating for the usefulness of the ideas but with this strong caveat for the written presentation. (It's the first book on the topic I've read, so I don't have better alternate suggestions.)

Not up to expectations, February 17, 2009
I was really disappointed with this book, perhaps because of the expectations I built after reading the positive reviews. The book lacks originality as many of the key concepts are based on other books.

The author assumes that slides in a presentation should remain very simple with one chart perhaps and/or very few bullet points in each, which I agree is more elegant in the case of live presentations. Often however, business reports come in "power point" formats and are meant to be read without the presence of a presenter, and therefore have to be more comprehensive.

The samples of slides displayed in the book are very well designed and inspiring, which I thought was perhaps the strong point of this book. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Learning a complex new language is no easy task especially when it s an object-oriented computer programming language like Java.You might think the problem is your brain. It seems to have a mind of its own, a mind that doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study.

The fact is your brain craves novelty. It's constantly searching, scanning, waiting for something unusual to happen. After all, that's the way it was built to help you stay alive. It takes all the routine, ordinary, dull stuff and filters it to the background so it won't interfere with your brain's real work--recording things that matter. How does your brain know what matters? It's like the creators of the Head First approach say, suppose you're out for a hike and a tiger jumps in front of you, what happens in your brain? Neurons fire. Emotions crank up. Chemicals surge.

That's how your brain knows.

And that's how your brain will learn Java. Head First Java combines puzzles, strong visuals, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects to engage you in many different ways. It's fast, it's fun, and its effective. And, despite its playful appearance, Head First Java is serious stuff: a complete introduction to object-oriented programming and Java.You'll learn everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, including threads, network sockets, and distributed programming with RMI.And the new. second edition focuses on Java 5.0, the latest version of the Java language and development platform.Because Java 5.0 is a major update to the platform, with deep, code-level changes, even more careful study and implementation is required.So learning the Head First way is more important than ever.

If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. You'll see why people say it's unlike any other Java book you've ever read.

By exploiting how your brain works, Head First Java compresses the time it takes to learn and retain--complex information.Its unique approach not only shows you what you need to know about Java syntax, it teaches you to think like a Java programmer. If you want to be bored, buy some other book. But if you want to understand Java, this book's for you. ... Read more

Reviews

A different kind of Java book for beginners and experts, July 7, 2003
When I first saw "Head First Java", it reminds me of the colorful "conversational English" books I had when I started to learn English years ago. The casual, humorous books have turned out effective for English language learning. Is that style good for the Java language learners as well? Is this type of books for beginners only?

With those questions in mind, I started to read "Head First Java". Since I consider myself a Java expert (I wrote a Java book myself, after all), I decided that I would NOT read the book from cover to cover. Instead, I would randomly flip through the book for the humorous stories and photos. I figured that if I cannot learn much new about Java from a "beginner" book, I can at least have some fun.

Geez, I was wrong. I was ADDICTED to the book's short stories, annotated code snippets, mock interviews, puzzle games and brain exercises. They are not only entertaining but also informative. It may be a beginner's book but the stuff they cover are definitely deep enough for expert readers as well (e.g. multiple inheritance, polymorphism, inner classes, threads, RMI, ... just to name a few). The best of all is that I can actually remember the things I learned from the book because I associate them with the stories and pictures. I guess it has something to do with the fact that both sides of my brain are active when reading this book: The right side is for the stories and the left side is for the technical and logic stuff.

There are other great Java books (e.g. "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel) in the market. But they are all very serious and require the readers to spend hours to read entire chapters. The great thing about "Head First Java" is that the bite-size code snippets and stories allow me to learn something about Java in my 5-10 minutes spare time, one piece a time.

The overall writing style is casual and enlightened. The presentation style (fonts and placements of graphical elements) fits the content very well. The book covers a wide variety of Java topics including: basic code structure and language syntax, OOP concepts, math and numbers, exception handling, the Swing GUI library, serialization, network, and distributed computing.

Of course, the casual style is not for everyone. I know people who love the re-assuring feeling from "serious" books. But I can re-assure you that Kathy and Bert are authoritative figures in the Java training community. The content is absolutely first class. I highly recommend "Head First Java" for both Java beginners and expert readers.

An Amazing Achievment, November 14, 2003
Who do Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates think they are? Don't they know that learning a programming language is supposed to be hard? Don't they know that it is supposed to involve suffering? Apparently not, as they have written a complete introduction to Java that is fun to read and easy to understand. If we don't stamp this out now, students will start expecting their teachers to be entertaining!

The book is an excellent introduction to Java. It covers all the typical topics of a basic introductory text and some extra including serialization, networking, and distributed computing. Each topic is covered in a fun way with important information highlighted. The authors use stories, fake interviews, pictures, and assorted other clever techniques to catch your imagination and make the topics memorable. There are plenty of exercises (with answers) to help you check to be sure you understood each chapter. And there are plenty of fun programs to code including a cool music machine instead of the typical "reverse a String" exercises.

If you are looking for a traditional text then this book is definitely not for you. Instructors should think carefully whether this book fits in with their style of teaching. This book is not for everyone but if you want to learn Java and object oriented programming in fun and unique way then this is the book you want. Now I just have to figure out how to keep it away from my students.

My all-time favorite tutorial on Java (or anything else), January 7, 2004
In all my years of reading technical books trying to learn new skills, the closest I have ever come to a book like this was when I first read a Dummies book. I liked it because it presented information in a humorous fashion that made things easy to comprehend. This style takes that type of learning to a whole new level. Using a combination of writing style, graphics, illustrations, and sample code, they draw you into each subject in such a way that you can't help but learn and understand.

This book starts with the basics of Java and progresses clear through to RMI and JINI. Granted, those last subjects are just touched on, but at least you're exposed to them. Even after all the Java tutorial manuals I've read, I still got a lot out of this book. For instance, I always was sort of fuzzy on the event listener logic. The Head First explanation was one of the most understandable (and entertaining) treatments of it that I've ever read. Likewise, inner classes were always confusing to me. The coverage of that subject here makes it sound so simple.

And why do you need this if you're a Notes/Domino developer? If you've never worked with Java, you're probably intimidated by the subject and afraid to get started. Don't be... This is the most fun you'll ever have learning a new skill. While it doesn't talk specifically about how to code a Java agent in a Notes application, you'll learn the concepts and the syntax you'll need to be able to do that. Once you have those skills in place, you can move on to a book specific to using Java in a Notes environment (such as Domino Development With Java by Tony Patton). The book doesn't assume you're a programming guru to get started. You will learn a lot from this material, and it's something you need to do in order to continue to stay relevant in the IBM/Lotus world.

Conclusion
If you're a C/C++ guru approaching Java, this book may not be for you. You'll already know much of the material from your exposure to those languages. But if you're a mere mortal like the rest of us, you need to buy this book if you're looking to learn Java. I am SO hoping that the Head First approach to tech writing becomes a series. If it does, I'm ruined for life in what I will expect from a book. This is really great stuff!

Who said learning could not be fun., June 3, 2003
I had the pleasure of reading Head First Java as Kathy & Bert turned out the chapters. Though the book has not hit the stores yet, I'd like to share my experience reading the work copy of the book.

I'm a 47 year old programmer that has basically seen it all in my 25+ years in IT. Though I've been busy with Java for more than 2 years, I until recently still saw myself as an absolute beginner. Why you might ask? Well for starters all my Java was simply "hobby" work, I did not use it at work. Secondly, and the most important reason, is that I simply did not understand and grasp some of the key concepts of OO that one needs to know to be able to fully use the capabilities Java has to offer.

As fate would have it, the work copy Kathy & Bert's book became available to me as I started to work in a new department where I have to program in Java. I was drowning. I had to keep on asking the youngsters on the team for assistance. You can't believe what that does for your self-confidence. But as I read more and more of Head First Java I found myself sitting in tech meetings not only understanding what was being said but I was actually coming up with some fresh ideas that helped us re-design our systems to become fully OO.

Why is that so. Simply because of the unique way Kathy and Bert teach and share their knowledge. The best way for me to describe this book is by using the teacher at school that we all have encountered in our school careers. You know the one that enthusiastically drew the most elaborate drawing on the black board to explain his point, the one that simply generates interest in his subject purely because of his sheer love of the subject he teaches. Now imagine that teacher in book form. The Head First way, your favourite teacher in a book.

I can carry on for quite awhile about the unique style of the Head First way, but I suggest you download the sample chapters at O'Reilly or go download the "demo" at Kathy & Bert's own site...

What has this book done for me. For one it finally made me grasp Polymorphism, and the use of interfaces. Though I've used it before, like a parrot without understanding, I never saw it's real strength. Now I use it all the time. I can't believe I programmed Java without them. Head First Java turned me into a Java OO programmer instead of a Java procedural programmer. Yep one can write pretty neat procedural programs in Java.

If you are a Java programmer that has problems understanding the finer points of the language and OO in general I suggest you go out and buy the book.

I want to end with a word of caution. This book, because of it's uniqueness, might not appeal to everybody. I suggest you browse (or download the demo) the book before buying. You will know immediately know if the book is for you.

If you want learning to be fun buy this book.

Makes other books look like the API, July 17, 2003
In short, it's a great book. It will make all your other Java books
indistinguishable from a printed copy of the API. This is how to
actually understand Java. I kept yelling "So THAT's how it works!" at
least once a chapter. It's really amazing how much I realized I didn't
know. Well, didn't understand. I knew stuff and could do the right
syntax and all that but now I think I really get Java a lot more. In
particular OO and polymorphism which, let's face it, are the kind of
thing that seem simple at first but are slippery to really get ahold of.

The exercises are excellent. I think I could learn more from just the
Head First exercises than from the other books on Java I've bought,
combined. When you buy this, do them all at least once.

I want to point out one particular thing they do with the weirder
concepts. They'll introduce and explain a topic, and then you go to the
next page and there's a picture of someone going "Huh???" And the text
will say yeah, this is a weird concept, and start again and explain it a
different way. And then clarify it again. By then you really do
understand it. I think this is great because it acknowledges that some
of these concepts are just hard to learn. No matter how brilliant you are or
whether you're the love child of Bill Joy and Carly Fiorina.

You absolutely must have this book if you want to learn Java, and you
absolutely must have this book if you've been programming for a couple
years but you have to admit deep down you're still a little fuzzy on a
how things really work.

To much funny, not enough fact, March 25, 2006
I really wanted to like this book. I bought the Head First book on design patterns and love it. It was the right mix of irreverance and information. So, I bought this book even though I have been a Java developer for over 5 years. I was excited to see how the Head First authors handled a beginners book for Java.

Not too well, in my opinion. Chapter Three, in particular, was a mess. This chapter introduces the notion of variables yet never explains what an integer variable is. No explanation is given of the float type. We are told that a byte holds 8 bits...but not told what a bit is. We are not told how to assign a hexadecimal value to an int. We are not told that if we assign a numeric value with a leading zero...the compiler will assume that you meant to use octal values. The reader is not told that Strings are immutable. These are all things that will trip up a beginner (the target market for this book). The author of this chapter doesn't even bother to mention that a Java array uses a zero-based index.

Both primitives and the notion of classes are introduced in Chapter Three. Yet, the author doesn't mention that all primitives (except boolean) have wrapper classes. Strings are introduced...but, no mention is made of the StringBuffer or StringBuilder (very useful and often used classes). These items are included in the back of the book in Appendix B.

There are so many things left out that I wonder if the publisher actually had any beginners read this book. Readers of this book will finish this book still ignorant of many Java essentials.

Here is one of their dumbed-down explanations for an object reference:

"Think of a Dog reference variable as a Dog remote control. You use it to get the object to do something (invoke methods). An object reference is just another variable value. Something that goes in a cup. Only, this time, the value is a remote control."

Huh? Granted, they had been using the "cup" metaphor before...but, still I found this book confusing, superficial, and somewhat insulting. It felt like reading a children's Weekly Reader book. (It even has crossword puzzles)

I like the idea of making learning fun. However, in their attempt to make it fun they left out so much info which is pertinent to the beginning Java programmer. Apparently, another rule of the Head First series is that there MUST be a cute picture on every page. Many times, the logical flow of text is hindered because they had to fit a non-illuminating, unnecessary graphic on the page. Many of the pictures are unnecessary and do not help to explain the content at all. Many paragraphs are confusing, unclear, or simply badly structured. The editors were asleep on this one.

Many newbies are giving this book high marks. Unfortunately, they are woefully ignorant of the fact that this book left out a ton of info that is pertinent to actually coding Java well. One poster here raves that he was able to cover 60 pages in one day. In my opinion...ease of reading is not the only criteria for a good programming book.

My recommendations for Java beginners: Beginning Java by Ivor Horton or Core Java by Cay Horstmann.

A great new teaching style, August 19, 2003
Earlier this year I decided to learn Java. Grabbing a copy of 'Learning Java' from O'Reilly I started learning.

Of course, you can't learn Java without a good understanding of object-oriented languages. I made fairly heavy going with 'Learning Java' until I decided to dive in head first, 'Head First Java' that is - I bought this book that has a totally different attitude to teaching than I've seen before in computer books. The style is humorous, full of graphics, cartoons, puzzles, quizzes and crosswords. It reminds me of the textbooks that used to try and teach me geometry and algebra in high school or my daughters elementary books on Roman and Greek history I purchased for her at the British Museum. The style didn't work to teach me much algebra and geometry, but I wasn't anywhere near as motivated. This time, it worked. In a couple of weeks I worked through the book and finally have Java skills where I can branch off and start coding the projects I had in mind (though something more advanced will be required soon.)

In the introduction the authors examine learning and explain why they designed the book as they did. To quote from one section: "Some of the Head First learning principles. Make it visual. Put the words within or near the graphics. Use a conversational and personalized style. Get the learner to think more deeply. Get-and keep-the reader's attention. Touch their emotions." They argue that our brain is tuned to novelty, and that their style provides the novelty to keep your brain turned on. They also provide ten tips for good learning. That's one thing that seems to set this book apart from most other computer books, they say they think of their reader as a learner and indeed that's the way you are treated by the book.

The book also has a good emphasis on test-driven development, a good style to get new programmers started. I also appreciated the excellent chapter on how to package all your code up for release, something that you might expect to be trivial but not quite as easy as expected.

When compared to 'Learning Java' the coverage is not as good, 'Head First' really only covers the basics, up to and including creating a GUI with SWING and then touches a number of others; 'Learning Java' goes on to explore, with a fair depth, network programming, web programming, servlets, applets, Java Beans, XML and other topics that are only touched on briefly in 'Head First.' If the style of learning does not suit you then this will be an incredibly irritating and useless book, I'd give it a try first, though.

This edition also has a fair number of errors, including some in the examples. To this all I can say is "shame, shame, shame." I keep on harping on this in computer book reviews but if you can't figure out a way of including code that compiles and/or runs in your book then give up. The example code is available online - how hard is it to check that it all runs and then include that source directly into the text.

When you get down to it, though, the only way to really decide on the worth of a tutorial is to decide how well it teaches. 'Head First Java' excels at teaching. OK, I thought it was silly, I had a hard time making myself do the exercises, fill out the crosswords and solve the puzzles. Then I realized that I was thoroughly learning the topics as I went through the book. 'Learning Java' was doing the same job, but the dry traditional method wasn't doing as well. Both books are well written, designed and constructed-the style of 'Headfirst Java' just made learning, well, easier.

It would seem to me that the 'Head First' approach is going to work wonderfully for the more 'beginner' topics, books for introducing you to a new style of programming, a new language or a radically different operating system or application. So if you're looking for a book to introduce you to Java then I can recommend 'Head First Java'. Now if I could only find a book as good to introduce me to Common Lisp.

Brilliant Work!, January 5, 2007
I am only 12 years old, and struggled to find a java book that would teach me the language without assuming that I had previous experience with programming. This book was the answer. It was a quick read, and the pages flew by very quickly. The visually enhanced text made learning as close as possible to fun. I would reccommend this book to all who have little to no programming expierience, because it does cover some basic topics that are common to all languages.

Get started with Java here, August 22, 2003
For those programmers that want to learn Java, this book is an excellent resource. It appears to be targeted towards experienced programmers coming from a different language. There is a great deal to like about this book. The content is at an appropriate depth and numerous topics are covered. Most important perhaps is the way that the material is covered. Graphics and text are mixed in such a way to keep the reader visually stimulated. The explanations are very atypical for a book on a technical subject.

The book is organized as a tutorial of seventeen chapters that start with object oriented concepts and progress through graphics, swing, networking, I/O, RMI and deployment issues. I really like the Code Kitchen project. It is built in an incremental fashion on the material covered in the later chapters. In each chapter there is a group of exercises to challenge your retention of the material. But even more powerful are the learning concepts that the book is based on. Kathy and Bert are experienced instructors, but they have taken their knowledge of the content and merged it with the latest information in learning concepts to create a book that is fun to read, but a tremendous teaching tool. Dry and boring authors beware; tedious technical tomes are no longer acceptable, if they ever were.

The book is an excellent investment in time and money for anyone that wants to learn Java, but if you prefer a more serious tone, there is always "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel, another of my favorites. However, we liked the book so much that we bought several copies to start some of our staff down the Java road. One last point, do the exercises. They may seem a little trivial, but like calisthenics, they are very effective.

A converted skeptic, now I'm hooked., July 17, 2003
I was skeptical when I heard about this book, and even MORE skeptical when I saw it (at the JavaOne conference). At first glance, it looks like an explosion at the graphics factory. But it was fun to flip through, so I started looking at some of the pages, and I realized that I was learning things just looking at the pictures, that I hadn't known before. Whoever thinks this is a 'dummies book' hasn't read it, but I can see how it might appear that way if you don't really get into it.
This is a learning book, the authors go to great lengths to make that clear, and to explain the learning principles behind all the visuals. I have read three Java books, and even taken a two-day intro course, but there were still many key pieces that I didn't quite get until I worked through this book. I think its really important to do the exercises (I think the puzzles are optional).
I got through this book much faster than with the other books that cover the same topics (I won't give the book names, and they were very good books, but I can understand them better now that I really learned the topics from Head First Java), and now I understand some things much better than I had before. Things like OO concepts in particular, but also some of the distributed programming topics.
One nice thing about this book is that it makes even the advanced topics seem easy. I have the feeling sometimes that books make things even more complicated than they should be, and I am not sure why that is. Maybe it is because so many text books cover a topic in such detail (and with so many words) that you have a hard time getting just the key points out of it, so that you can understand and it and USE it.
There is a large optional exercise that covers several chapters, that uses JavaSound -- it is a multi-user, networked midi drum machine. If you are not into midi music, you might not want to take the time to go through it (but I think that is why they say it is optional), because it spend a fair amount of time teaching you about something (the sound API) that you will probably never use. But I thought it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot more Java from it. And I am now building a 'learning music' application as a result of getting started with that.

If you see it in a store, take the time to read some pages, or look at the sample chapters before you say it's a dummies book. It is definitely not a dummies book! I really don't consider myself a dummy, I just prefer it when things are clear.
I guess there are some people who will not like this style, and it does seem geared toward a younger audience (I am 45, but I have teenagers in the house). But it was the right choice for me, and I think it will probably be the right choice for most people trying to learn Java for the first time (or in my case, the third or fourth time). I wish this had been the first Java book I had picked up. Yes, there is a certain amount of 'cute', but I will never forget some of this content simply BECAUSE those pictures are in my head. So in some ways, I guess it like having an annoying radio commercial or song that you can't stop humming. You might not necessarily like it, but you can't forget it.
They claim this is part of the learning principles behind it -- that if you store information as both a picture and text, it is in two different parts of your brain, and doubles your chance of recalling it.

It is a very differrent experience, and I guess that people who are more comfortable with traditional methods might not like it. I happen to like things that are off-beat, and this was the perfect way for me to learn. One problem is that now I am hooked on this style and it's going to be harder for me to go back to learning things with text books. I am waiting for them to apply this format to other things I need to learn. O'Reilly are you listening? ... Read more

Editorial Review

One look at Excel 2007, with its new Office Button, Quick Access toolbar, and Ribbon, and you realize you’re not in Kansas anymore. Well, have no fear— Excel 2007 for Dummies is here!

If you’ve never worked with a computer spreadsheet, or if you’ve had some experience with earlier versions of Excel but need help transitioning, here you’ll find everything you need to create, edit, format, and print your own worksheets (without sacrificing your sanity!). Excel 2007 for Dummies covers all the fundamental techniques, concentrating on only the easiest, most user-friendly ways to get things done.

You’ll discover how to:

• Rearrange, delete and insert new information
• Keep track of and organize data in a single worksheet
• Transfer data between the sheets of different workbooks
• Create a chart using the data in a worksheet
• Add hyperlinks and graphics to worksheets
• And more!

Plus, in keeping with Excel 2007’s more graphical and colorful look, Excel 2007 for Dummies has taken on some color of its own, with full-color plates in the mid-section of the book illustrating exactly what you’ll see on your screen. Whether you read it from cover to cover or skip to the sections that answer your specific questions, the simple guidance in this book will have you excelling at home or in the office no time. ... Read more

Reviews

very helpful, February 13, 2008
This is a good book to get you started working with excel. It takes away the fear factor. It could give better detail on how to build formulas. It is a fairly simple, basic book and does not really deal with formulas as much as it could. It is very good at other aspects though, such as just getting started putting together a spread sheet.

A Quick Way to Find Out What's New, December 21, 2006
I suppose that you'd be inteested in this book for one of two reasons.

First, you're a newcommer to Excel and want to be hand held from the beginning to get started. I suppose that there must be at least a few people out there who don't know Excel - Well, my mother doesn't, but she's not likely to read this book anyway.

Second, and I suspect most of us fit into this category, we've been using Excel for a lot of years, but at a fairly rudimentary level. We do expense accounts, a few formulas to check things out, maybe use it as a calculator, etc. We don't do things like macros or pivot tables.

Now though, there's a new version of Excel - Excel 2007. It is worth spending the bucks on? What does it have that I might find useful? And I don't want to just see the Microsoft hype, I want a bit more than that. So here for twenty bucks or so is not only a description of what's new, but how to use it.

As best I can tell, the biggest change in Excel 2007 in in its user interface. There's a new look on the screen called the ribbon. This seems to replace all the various toolbars and the like from previous versions with a new layout that puts the bulk of the Excel commands you use only one click away. (The existing File button is replaced by an 'Office' button.) Furthermore, the Ribbon appears to be a dynamic thing. As you are doing something different, for example charting, a different set of frequently used commands appear in the Ribbon. The Ribbon is also easy to customize, so if you're doing a spreadsheet for someone else to use, you can get rid of things that might get them into trouble.

Down inside there are a bunch of other changes. Instead of being limited to a fixed number of columns and rows, how big a sheet you can build is limited only by the memory size. The formatting and fonts area is changed a bunch.

That's just the first chapter of this book. It's a great way to see if the new Excel is for you. And, oh by the way, if you decide that maybe you do want to do a pivot table, it's Chapter 9, and yes, there have been a few changes here as well.

grateful, January 7, 2008
This book came in very handy with the accounting class that I am taking. I had a little knowledge but not much and this book helps alot. I keep it right next to my computer and pull it out and use it on a daily basis. I continue to learn new tricks and shortcuts to make my life easier.

Excel 2007 for Dummies, May 18, 2008
Started a new job and was not used to using the 2007 version of Excel. The book is very informative and helped me greatly. Would recommend this book to anyone needing help with Excel 2007

Useful but..., July 27, 2008
The section on financial formulas contains some horribly incorrect information (totally wrong on NPV interpretation) and for some reason skips a description of IRR - one of the most used financial functions. Otherwise a good introduction to Excel 2007.

EXCEL 2007, August 5, 2008
I have several of these books on different subjects and although it is a good training or reference book, I would have preferred VISUALS as they are much easier for me to follow. What I like about the DUMMY line, is the reading material is in simple terms and not that WAY OUT THERE technical terms that I doubt the real computer geeks even understand.

Worth buying, February 23, 2008
This is a great book. It seems to cover all the new features of 07. I have learned a lot with just a few glances. Not for the advanced excel user. I use it as a per needed reference and it has not let me down yet.

Stephen's Review, May 20, 2008
The Excel 2007 for Dummies was just what I was looking for. It contained everything, plus some, that I needed to work with this version of Excel.

Easy to use, step by step, from easy to advanced., October 30, 2009
I've had this book for at least a year and finally need to use it now. I'm testing for Excel 2007 certification and this book will help me to study all of the functions. Whoever said it is too simplistic is wrong. Look at the later chapters! There are chapters teaching about pivot tables, hyperlinks and macros, and managing/manipulating data lists. This isn't the simple stuff in my opinion. I'm glad I already have the book to get me up to speed for the certification. If I pass the exam on the first try, I'll come back to add that to my review. :-)

Excel for Dummies, April 29, 2008
Easy to follow, funny, right to the point.
Excellant service getting the book promptly. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Tired of reading HTML books that only make sense after you're an expert? Then it's about time you picked up Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML and really learned HTML. You want to learn HTML so you can finally create those web pages you've always wanted, so you can communicate more effectively with friends, family, fans, and fanatic customers. You also want to do it right so you can actually maintain and expand your Web pages over time, and so your web pages work in all the browsers and mobile devices out there. Oh, and if you've never heard of CSS, that's okay--we won't tell anyone you're still partying like it's 1999--but if you're going to create Web pages in the 21st century then you'll want to know and understand CSS.

Learn the real secrets of creating Web pages, and why everything your boss told you about HTML tables is probably wrong (and what to do instead). Most importantly, hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions how his HTML is now strict, and his CSS is in an external style sheet.

With Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking web-safe colors still matter, and the foolishness of slipping a font tag into your pages. Best of all, you'll learn HTML and CSS in a way that won't put you to sleep. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect: a visually-rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, this book will load HTML, CSS, and XHTMLinto your brain in a way that sticks.

So what are you waiting for? Leave those other dusty books behind and come join us in Webville. Your tour is about to begin.

Praise
"Elegant design is at the core of every chapter here, each concept conveyed with equal doses of pragmatism and wit."
--Ken Goldstein, Executive Vice President, Disney Online

"This book is a thoroughly modern introduction to forward-looking practices in web page markup and presentation."
--Danny Goodman, author of Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Guide

"What used to be a long trial and error learning process has now been reduced neatly into an engaging paperback."
--Mike Davidson, CEO, Newsvine, Inc.

"I love Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML--it teaches you everything you need to learn in a 'fun coated' format!" -
-Sally Applin, UI Designer and Artist

"I haven't had as much fun reading a book (other than Harry Potter) in years. And your book finally helped me break out of my hapless so-last-century way of creating web pages."
--Professor David M. Arnow, Department of Computer and Information Science, Brooklyn College

"If you've ever had a family member who wanted you to design a website for them, buy them Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML. If you've ever asked a family member to design you a web site, buy this book. If you've ever bought an HTML book and ended up using it to level your desk, or for kindling on a cold winter day, buy this book. This is the book you've been waiting for. This is the learning system you've been waiting for."
--Warren Kelly, Blogcritics.org

Reviews

Best book for learning HTML and CSS, February 5, 2006
The "Head First" series by O'Reilly does it again. This book manages to take the conceptually easy yet complicated task of learning HTML, XHTML, and CSS and breaks it down so that anyone can figure out what is going on and what needs to be done in web page design using these technologies. Plus, if you learned HTML several years ago and you would like to update your skills to current technology, this is a great choice for a textbook.
The book starts out with the basics of HTML -text, webpage form via HTML, putting your webpage on the Internet and linking to other web resources, and adding images and thumbnails. Next the author tackles XHTML, starting by answering the questions What is XHTML? and Why would I want to use XHTML? The author composes three simple steps to take you from strict HTML to XHTML:
1. Change your DOCTYPE to XHTML 1.0 Strict.
2. Add the xmins, lang, and xml:lang attributes to your element.
3. All empty tags should end in "/>" not ">".
Next, CSS is introduced, along with the properties that can be controlled via CSS. When you read the CSS chapters you'll find yourself asking "Why don't other books just SAY this plainly like THIS book does?". Eventually, the author has you doing advanced layout and control using all the tools available to you without you ever noticing that you've been "studying". The book concludes with lessons on interactivity and tables. I think it is most interesting that the author saves the subject of tables for the end of the book versus other texts that usually introduce them early on. This is because the author is using the more advanced lessons on CSS to help make the subject of tabular data less confusing. The book's final chapter is entitled "The Top Ten Topics We Didn't Cover", thus acknowledging that this is not an advanced book on webpage design. Each chapter has a "There Are No Dumb Questions" section that answers common questions that may be a source of confusion to the reader.
Since this book is designed to be a textbook and not a reference, you might find it handy to have a copy of O'Reilly's "HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide" as a reference since it lists virtually all of the HTML tags and their properties.

The 1st HTML/CSS you should get, December 6, 2005
I've been involved with the Head First series as a reviewer from the beginning and, as such, my review might be biased, but I will regret not telling you how good this book is.

The Internet is fast becoming a means of sharing one's life with friends, colleagues and anybody out there who is prepared to listen. Some start by telling their story using a blog; the more adventurous create their own web sites, and it is that category of person that this book is aimed at. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this book, and the whole series, seems too upbeat and too young for you. This book is for all ages, The Head First series is designed to make learning fun, and though it was originally aimed at the younger generation, I personally think that old age pensioners will be able to learn HMTL the correct way just as easily as their grand children if they use this book - and you will be sooo cool if you have this book on your shelf when they, the grand kids, visit again next time.

The emphasis in this book is on creating web pages the correct way, to make pages that will work correctly in any browser. If you work through Elisabeth and Eric's book, you will end up with a web site that can withstand anything the W3C's Markup Validation Service can throw at it. And when your web pages pass the validation, you can put the W3C's cool "passed validation" logo on your site. A sign of recognition that you know what you are doing.

This book does not require you to have prior HTML knowledge; it takes you by the hand and teaches you everything you need from scratch. But don't be fooled, I was the review manager for this book and even some of the reviewers with years of HTML knowledge under their belt learnt new things from it. Sure, it isn't a complete HTML reference book, and it does not intend being one, but it lays the foundations for a solid start to becoming a true HTML/CSS expert.

I think this book should become the standard text book in HTML/CSS courses in schools, colleges and even professional training centers.

I highly recommend it to all. It will make the perfect Christmas gift for your family, all ages !!!, friends and even colleagues who are thinking about or are doing something with a web site of their own.
Have fun.

Like I said, I might be biased, but I am sure an independent reviewer will confirm what I said.

Fantastic book, Lousy index, full of blather, November 16, 2007
We're using this book in a college course I'm taking. This book contains a massive amount of REALLY good information, which has been buried in a landslide of unnecessary blather. Add to this the complete lack of a sensible, extensive index, and this book leaves me so frustrated, I am nearly ready to drop the class. (see below..)

The vast amount of useful information in the book makes it difficult to remember it all at one time. But it's impossible to refer back and find something a week after I've read it without leafing through an entire chapter or more, page by page, because the index is so brief and incomplete.

With a good, complete index, I'd give this book 4.5 stars for it's excellent content (withholding 1/2 star for all the blather). Without a usable index, the book is nearly worthless to me.

GOOD NEWS UPDATE!! The O'Reilly people have replied to my complaint about the index. They're compiling, and will be uploading a complete, extensive index online in January 2008! Too late for my class, but hey! Someone really does listen. Thanks, O'Reilly!

Great tutorial - will give you the basics, January 6, 2006
To learn HTML / CSS, you will probably need three books 1) a book to help you learn the topic; 2) a reference; 3) a book that describes the hacks and tricks for getting your own designs to work in various browers. This book does an excellent job of covering the first topic. It does not bill itself as a book for experts, or a reference.

It's well written in an engaging way that turns a potentially dry topic into a more conversational read. It has useful examples that are well-presented and that continue and build throughout the book. Examples are accomanied by sidebars and out-takes that break up the format in an engaging way that helps understand the material, why things work the way they do, alternative designs and their trade-offs.

My only gripe about the book and the reason I did not give it 5 stars, is that it seems to side-step the browser compatibility issue.

Best HTML/XHTML/CSS Book Ever, December 29, 2005
******
This book SHOULD receive 6+ stars.

Are you tired of reading reference manuals? Get ready for some fun with "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML". This is not your ordinary technical manual. It is funny, interesting, VERY helpful---even for seasoned professionals, great for beginners, and unlike anything you've ever seen before, unless you're familiar with other "Head First" books.

I wish, I wish, I pray, that instructors will read this book and see that learning can be fun, interesting, and enjoyable. If you purchase this book, no matter what your level of HTML familiarity, I guarantee that you will be entertained and informed. Even if you have spent years designing web sites, you won't mind spending $23 to read a prototype of what technical manuals SHOULD be but never are...until now!!

Buy this book....you won't be sorry.

I stayed up until midnight last night reading answers to questions I'd always wanted to ask but never knew who to ask them of...and being fascinated. A true beginner will need to study this book. A professional will laugh and be refreshed and have a lot of fun with it. All should purchase it and support a new way of learning!
******

Wish I could give this 6 stars..., January 19, 2006
Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML is totally unlike any other HTML book I've ever read -- or owned. Most are basic references -- "if you want this, do this" type books. Very dry and dull, not something you're going to sit and read in one setting. Not helpful to someone who is not technologically inclined who wants to learn how to "do a website."

This book is written to teach. It's written so that you remember what you read, using techniques that teachers are being taught to use in the classroom. And it's one that I would actually use in the classroom if I were still teaching Computer Applications.

The first thing you notice about the book is that it's colorful. Normally, the only color in an HTML book is the chart of colors and their hex codes (which, ironically, this book doesn't have). Even the acknowledgements include color pictures of the people they are thanking. And everything in the book is worth reading through -- including the acknowledgements and the table of contents. There's a healthy use of humor throughout that makes it worth actually reading through, rather than just using as a reference.

And that's the point. The authors are quick to say that if you're looking for another HTML reference book, to keep looking. This is a book for people who want to learn.

I wasn't sure how much I'd really learn from this book -- after all, I'd just read and reviewed Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual. But while that book gave me a good basis for understanding CSS, this book has expanded my understanding considerably. I've got a CSS reference book that has been seldom used; I think I'll be dusting it off soon, because I know enough to be able to use it now.

If you've ever had a family member who wanted you to design a website for them, buy them Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML. If you've ever asked a family member to design you a web site, buy this book. If you've ever bought an HTML book and ended up using it to level your desk, or for kindling on a cold winter day, buy this book. This is the book you've been waiting for. This is the learning system you've been waiting for.

Good for nearly all experience levels, March 30, 2006
I know HTML and XML (I've designed a number of domain-specific XML vocabularies). The problem is my HTML knowledge was acquired in the dawn of the WWW when Mosaic was new technology and one could actually have a site announcing the dozen or so new sites appearing on the web each week. This was pre-CSS too. My skills needed some serious updating.

The first few chapters of the book are certainly elementary and I just skimmed them. But starting with chapter five I started getting new and useful information. Those first four chapters would be great for someone starting ab-initio. (I'll test them on my wife and kids.)

The rest of the book is good for fixing my bad-old HTML 1.0 habits and transitioning to strict XHTML. And by the end of the book I actually understood CSS, which had always been a black art to me.

I'm using my new-found knowledge to build some web sites using an XHTML template for Joomla and CSS for all the styling.

The treatment is light and fun, but not nearly as smarmy and condescending as, say, the XXX For Dummies series. It is kind of neat how they match the visual personalities of the make-believe actors with the questions and topics.

This is NOT a reference manual: you'll be very disappointed if you buy it for that purpose. Instead, read this book and keep it nearby when coding up your web sites; use an on-line XHTML or CSS reference when you need it.

Great starter book for beginners and moderately experienced, January 16, 2006
Our department has been making good use of the Head First series of books while we move out of our legacy applications and replace them with Java and Java related technologies. Many of the legacy app's are being replaced with JSP based web applications where CSS is used to present the common corporate look. We again turned to Head First to brush up on our HTML skills and learn what CSS is all about.

What an awesome book! It is both engaging and educating at the same time. The authors cover tons of information in a way that makes this dry subject something to look forward to and not to dread. Any college or tech school that offers an introductory course into this subject should consider using this book as a primary source for teaching.

I had previously though I was fairly fluent in HTML but I found a few things in the first 7 chapters I did not fully know. Even though this section was mostly review, I did not mind going through the exercise. Then once I got into the application of CSS concepts, Wow! Why had I shied away from CSS for so long?

I agree with the previous reviews...A book for the experts? No. A great reference book? Not great but OK. A book to get you going and get you 80% into the world of web page creation? Absolutely. Head First folks, keep up the great work!

Nice Intro to XHTML and CSS, February 8, 2006

What distinguishes "Head First: HTML With CSS and XHTML" from the plenitude of books about learning about creating web pages is its novel teaching approach. It takes knowledge from modern developments in the science of cognition to develop a teaching approach designed to increase learning and retention using a checklist of techniques. It emphasizes use of visual and graphic elements to facilitate learning, the placing of words near graphics, use of a conversational and personalized writing style, engaging the reader's emotions, and grabbing attention by eye and brain-catching presentations. All of this is plausible pedagogically and I believe it works. After reading 655 pages of technical material, rarely did it feel tedious, difficult, or confusing.

The subject matter is basic coding with XHTML and CSS and is designed for beginner code writers and web page creators. It explains basic material for understanding and writing standards-compliant code. It is not a reference book and it does not dig deeply into its topics. Many readers may find the instructional approach highly appealing as it does make reading fun. Learning is likely to be enhanced by the brain stimulation provided by the many dozens of activities, like crossword puzzles, tests, exercises, and question and answer sections.

This is a handsomely produced volume with heavyweight glossy paper, clear, detailed photographs, and many illustrations and graphics. It is easy on the eye and stimulating to the brain. The discussion is suitable for virtually any beginners in XHTML and CSS. The presentation will appeal to the MTV generation especially, with its high density of graphics, bold illustrations, and low-density text.

Authors Elisabeth Freeman and Eric Freeman are software developers and computer scientists. The book emphasizes standards-compliant coding for all the right reasons - newer browsers may not correctly display older noncompliant code, accessibility for handicapped web users is heightened, efficiencies in code writing is enhanced, and more options are available for web page authors to display and style their content. It covers HTML 4.01 and XHTML, and covers both Mac and PC aspects of the topics.

After a couple of very basic chapters dealing with rudimentary HTML and hypertext, the authors turn to the building blocks of satisfactory, compliant coding - sketching structures, adding elements, learning inline vs. block element positioning, and similar items.

There are small sections throughout which inform on various related matters, like dealing with different browsers, using a hosting company and organizing one's site, but the bulk and better of the material deals with systematic construction of web pages using essential building blocks.

Headings, paragraphs, images, element identification, and the various components of CSS styling are carefully described and explained via examples using sample sites. The writing throughout is very clear and straightforward (as enhanced by the teaching elements noted earlier). The best chapter in my view is Chapter 10 explaining the "box model" of XHTML elements. The components of padding, margins, content, and body are very well illustrated within the context of the examples.

The chapter on layout is also very well done, showing how to create two and three column layouts and addressing how to handle common layout problems in positioning. Other matters covered include floating elements, liquid and frozen designs, and relative and absolute positioning.

Later chapters cover using XHTML to create lists, tables and forms, and then styling with CSS. The sections or CSS are very clear, but limited. This is an introduction, after all, and most of the most important and useful style components are described and illustrated. More advanced components like DIV and SPAN are covered nicely. The sections on classes and pseudo-classes are well done.

This is a fine introduction to the topics for the nontechnical reader. Higher-level computer types will not be satisfied; those people not attracted to the unconventional presentation may not be pleased. But, for the most part, this is a worthwhile introduction to the topics.

Better than it looks, August 25, 2006
I passed over this book initially because it looked too goofy, and the first half of the book seemed to take a lot of pages to cover HTML, which I basically already knew. I picked up Richard York's Beginning CSS instead, because it seemed more serious, and it looked a lot more dense with technical detail.

What a mistake. Beginning CSS was incredibly obtuse and difficult to get through, and the examples were just ugly (not to mention they don't work properly in any browser). A couple hundred pages in, I got lost in all the "direct adjacent sibling combinators" and "@import notations" and I gave up.

Then I decided to give Head First HTML a shot. It's about the same thickness as Beginning CSS, but it's much much much easier to read. The type is bigger, and there are lots of illustrations and puzzles and what-not. Most importantly, it's written much more clearly. The examples are easy to code, they look great, and they actually work in real web browsers.

I got through the book in about a week and a half, and boom, I know how to write standards-compliant XHTML & CSS. Obviously, I still have plenty of room for advancement, but I know enough to put together some pretty decent web pages. The book is up-to-date (it even mentions iWeb, which was just released earlier this year), and it really does make the learning process easy and, dare I say, fun. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Get the fast facts that make learning Office 2010 plain and simple! This colorful, no-nonsense guide uses easy-to-follow steps and screenshots, and clear, concise language to show the simplest ways to get things done with Microsoft Word, Excel�, Outlook�, PowerPoint�, Access�, Publisher, and OneNote�.

Here's WHAT You'll Learn

• Create documents, Web pages, and other publications
• Organize your e-mail, calendar, contacts and tasks
• Build spreadsheets to analyze and visualize data
• Set up a simple database
• Capture notes with ink, voice or text

Here's HOW You'll Learn It

• Jump in wherever you need answers
• Easy-to-follow STEPS and SCREENSHOTS show exactly what to do
• Handy TIPS teach new techniques and shortcuts
• Quick TRY THIS! exercises help you apply what you learn right away

From Inside the Book:

Reviews

Excellent Starter Book-, August 13, 2010
Like the other reviewers have said up to this point this is a great book. As the cover say it is Plain and Simple. So if you're looking for something that will teach you Microsoft Office inside out then you should look to another book. This book will help you to get a basic understanding of how to use each of the Office Professional 2010 applications. There is more emphasis placed on Word, Excel and power-point than the rest. The other programs Outlook, Publisher, One-note, Access and just a general overview of how the programs work together compose the lesser portion of the book. I think that it gives and adequate coverage of the applications.

I Enjoy the very colorful pages that it has. It helps to make the learning go by faster. Basically the book is screen shots bullet points showing you exactly how to do things. If you are new to any of the programs you could get this book and it will help you have a good enough knowledge to increase your productivity. I have never used outlook before and this worked it out beautifully. I got my emails all set up and and my schedule all good. This program has wonderful organization helps and it looks beautiful too.

Pros:

Very colorful, pictures and great labeling.
Simple well thought-out explanations on how to do basic, commonly used tasks in all the Microsoft office professional edition.
Good index and table of contents helps user to quickly locate what they want when they want.
Overall book flow is great.
Book can be read from start to finish or picked up in selected locations so that the user can understand virtually any part without reading what has came before it.
Great price for what you get.

Cons:

Possibly too brief of an overview for some of the programs. If you are wanting a lot of details then this book may not be right for you.



If you're looking for a Plain and Simple guide to Microsoft Office look no further, but if you're wanting more details for a certain program then I would suggest looking for another book.

Incredible Bargain Incredible Product, July 27, 2010
For anyone looking to learn Microsoft Office in the easiest way possible, you cannot go wrong with this book. Printed in beautiful FULL COLOR, this book will show all newbies the ins and outs of using Microsoft Office so you can be creating amazing results in no time at all!!

The writing is tight, the pictures jump out at the page, and this is amazing. I simply cannot believe how much you get for so little money. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote and more, it's all here.

Is this book for power users that want to learn how to do everything and anything in these apps? No, but that's not the target demographic here. If you want a book that will show you the basics and do it in an easy to learn way, look no further!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Like it Says, "Plain and SImple, July 31, 2010
Like the other books in the "Plain and Simple" series, this book gives straight forward instructions about how to accomplish various tasks in Microsoft Office. While I am an experienced user of Microsoft Office, this book still has given me several new ideas about how to use the program suite. It does an excellent job of introducing new features in Office 2010.

As always, the "Plain and Simple" books do not use a lot of jargon, but get down to the subject in a clear concise way.

Plain Simple Microsoft 2010, August 1, 2010
This book is very informative, yet not overly complex for one to understand. The basics of the Microsoft 2010 programs are velly well explained and the illustrations make it easy and fun to learn even the more complex ideas. One of the best software books that I have ever read, and would highly recomend it to any beginner as well as the more advanced student who wants to learn and apply Miscrosoft 2010 programs.

ONE OF THE BEST "SIMPLE BOOKS" OUT THERE!, August 26, 2010
First I am not a fan of quick and easy computer books simply because I outgrow them in just a few days. That said I will also say that this book is easy to read the illustrations are easy to see and there is a host of more information in this book than in most easy type books.
It is a book for beginners to the somewhat more advanced type of people. Each chapter is easy to read and understand, just be sure to be sitting at the computer so you can go through the exercises in this book.
This book was perfect for showing me very quickly how Windows 7 works after I came in both Office 2001 and also from Vista to Windows 7. And there are more difference that I realized. This book got me up and running in just one day and saved me quite a lot of time.
Great book and it is worth the money I paid for it!

Excellent Guide!, August 23, 2010
Plain & Simple is an excellent guide for non-techies who want to learn the various tools Microsoft Office 2010 has but don't want to read a thick manual or take a class. The book has quick guides & step-by-step guides with color illustrations. It's totally dumb-proof. I considered myself well-versed in Office Software but after purchasing this book, I learned a great deal more. It's worth the price.

Essential overview, October 14, 2010
I borrowed this book at my public library and liked it so much at the current price on amazon that I bought my own copy. Microsoft Office 2010 Plain & Simple enhances the suite. The built-in and online Help systems and the many online help forums available for Office 2010 are great resources for figuring out the minutiae of the software, but this manual gives you the essential overview that you miss unless you spend a lot of relatively inefficient time exploring the "Getting Started" section of the built-in Help system, something I rarely do.

PROS:

Shows you how to use the programs in your Office 2010 suite and demonstrates features you didn't even know you wanted until the book highlighted them for you. Shows you how the programs in your suite interact with one another. There's a reason it's designed as a suite, but some folks never move beyond using limited features and programs in isolation. Has lots of tips and tricks to speed your work and make your Office 2010 output grab the viewer's eye.

Has labeled color illustrations showing exactly how to quickly locate and execute the command sequence being discussed, as you can see from amazon's illustrations from the book. I hate it when other software instructions tell me to click this or click that, when the main problem is that I can't find what I'm supposed to click in the software. Extremely aggravating! That doesn't happen with this book,

Pitched at just the right level. Doesn't talk down to the reader and assume someone new to computers or Windows, but also doesn't assume Office expertise. Avoids the annoying, distracting humor(??) of some other third-party software help manuals. Has a detailed Index in the back. Has wide pages so the book stays open to the page you want without being held down so you can see a page while using a keyboard or mouse.

CON(??):

It's not comprehensive. I see another review here from another user who gave this book one star primarily because it didn't tell him how to do the one particular thing he wanted help with. I understand why that's a CON for him, but really, it's not for me, because such a comprehensive manual would have to be much more expensive and the size of the Manhattan Yellow Pages or a multi-volume set, and it would be much less approachable for readers seeking an overview. That's what the Help systems built in to the software and the online forums do better. You can also buy single volume Plain & Simple manuals for many individual programs in the Office suite that go into more detail if you use that program heavily and prefer books to online Help. (I haven't seen the Microsoft Word 2010 Plain & Simple book, but I bet our unhappy reviewer's question was answered there.)

Overall, highly recommended.

Office 2010 Plain and Simple, September 18, 2010
I purchased this book to see if I wanted to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010. It is a good book, it shows screenshots and step by step proceedures which helped me a great deal. I decided to buy the Microsoft Office 2010 upgrade and there were a few things that are not used often that the book did not cover. It did help me with the things that I use all the time. I like the book and will keep it beside my computer until I am completely comfortable with Microsoft Office 2010.

Almost as bad as the Microsoft product it seeks to explain, August 29, 2010
I lost my Office 2003 disks, and had to download Office 2010 Home and Business when my laptop returned from HP repair without my old programs. 2010 is a nightmare, but this book does nothing to clarify it. For example, I have "home" and "business" letterheads each loaded as a "normal" insert on 2003. No explanation as to how to load such items on the new "insert ribbon." Fortunately, I found my 2003 disks and will reload them, throwing out the 2010 free trial. I also bought "office 2010; the Missing Manual" from Amazon at the same time. This is equally bad, though twice as long. I rate both of them as "one very small star." ... Read more

Editorial Review

A full-color guide to the hot-selling Droid X!

The Droid X has landed and it?s selling like hotcakes! Ultimate For Dummies author Dan Gookin introduces you to everything the Droid X does. Covering a wide range of how-to topics, this full-color guide explores the device's features and shares techniques to getting the most out of Motorola's exciting smartphone. You?ll quickly discover that the Droid X is more than just a cell phone as you walk through setup and configuration, texting, e-mail, accessing the Internet, synching with a PC, using the camera, running multiple apps simultaneously, and expanding the Droid X?s potential with new software.

• Dives in to the exciting capabilities and features of Droid X
• Covers setup and configuration, battery care, maintenance, and troubleshooting
• Gets you going with using the Droid X as phone, camera, Internet, calendar, and more
• Walks you through connecting your Droid X to other things, customizing your Droid X, and adding multiple applications that can all run simultaneously

Don't avoid the Droid X! The three D?s?Droid X, Dummies, and Dan Gookin?have you covered! ... Read more

Reviews

Fantastic and full of information, September 12, 2010
I recently bought 3 Droid X phones, one for myself and one for each of my sons. Since I am 60 this new technology is harder to learn then perhaps for others. But thanks to Dan Gookin and his book I am using my new Droid like I've had it for months. His book has a wealth of information and covers everything there is to know about the phone except perhaps how to build your own. What I like most is the color pictures since I am a visual learner. Would I buy another one? Absolutely and in fact I did. The next day I went back to the book store and purchased one for my sons. Thanks from a senior citizen!

The manual that should have come with the phone, September 19, 2010
Droid X for Dummies is an informative book. I always figure a new phone out as I go without a book. The book saves a lot of time, and "oh, I wish I would have known that" moments.

One area the book is silent - Tethering. This refers to your phones ability to connect a computer to the internet. That means you can have internet access for your computer anywhere your phone has signal. There is a great app for tethering well worth the price of admission. Look it up in the app store.

A Dummy reading Droid X for Dummies, October 2, 2010
I'm fairly tech savey, but even the new Motorola Droid X has enough in it that I needed some help. This book has helped tremendously. Although I did notice a few minor errors in it, overall, it is well written, easy to understand, and has gobs (a technical term) of great information. For example, when typing, I constantly switched between letters and numbers. Droid X for Dummies told me that if I held a letter down, I would get whatever number or symbol was above that letter. This has saved me a lot of time from switching back and forth. The Google map chapeter has loads of valuable information in it. If you need any help with your Droid X, I highly recommend this book. Even if you are tech savey, I'm sure that you'll find some good information/ideas in it.

No Pictures delivered with the Android Kindle Download, September 25, 2010
The KINDLE EDITION of this book is DEFECTIVE!!!

The color print edition is excellent!!! The pictures and topics are very, very good and very helpful. This is a wonderful book.

The Kindle edition for Android on my Verizon Droid X is WORTHLESS because NONE of the illustrations come with the download I just did today (Sat, Sep 25, 2010)

Amazon refunded my money (great service as usual) and I will now get the print version.

DO NOT BUY this to use on the Verizon Droid X Kindle edition until the problem(s)are fixed. There needs to be upgrades to the Kindle program on my Verizon Droid, or to the actual Kindle Edition Amazon sends to the Verizon Droid.

The Droid X Novice Survival Guide, November 15, 2010

The undisputed Droid X manual!, December 2, 2010

Surprisingly useful, November 10, 2010

R2D2 gives this book a "beep" of approval!, November 8, 2010

real owners manuel, November 2, 2010
Droid X real manuel, if you purchased or are thinking of buying the droid x get this book asap.Directions that come with it are a joke. literally the size of a cocktail napkin.Droid x for dummies will have you taking advantage of all the phones capabilities in a short time instead of looking at it like a dummy.

Great help!, October 19, 2010
Droid X for Dummies is easier to understand than the Manual. Small things are explained - like how to move a cursor when texting or how to use map apps. Many are suggestions on what to do if the oridingal directions don't work. Of course, it is in a fun presentation :) ... Read more

Editorial Review

A must have guide for creating engaging and usable SharePoint 2010 branding

With SharePoint 2010, Microsoft has provided a more robust environment for creating collaboration and content management sites that rival any of the popular websites on the internet. Creating a branded SharePoint site involves understanding both traditional web design techniques as well as topics that are typically reserved for developers. This book bridges that gap by not only providing expert guidance for creating beautiful public facing and internal intranet sites but it also addresses the needs of those readers that only want to understand the basics enough to apply some style to their sites.

Things like creative design, the experience visitors have navigating your user interface, ease of use?these are all important branding considerations and not always intuitive. This unique book from a team of SharePoint branding experts lays it all out. The book is divided into four sections:

• Introduction to SharePoint Branding: In this part you will learn about what SharePoint branding is and how the topic has changed since SharePoint 2007.
• Branding Basics: This section is geared towards both getting started as well as being a guide for people that don?t want to dive super deep into the advanced topics of SharePoint branding. You will learn about how to plan for branding projects, including creating wireframes and creative mockups as well as gathering requirements and estimation. You will learn how to work with SharePoint Designer 2010, SharePoint 2010 themes, and SharePoint navigation as well as gain an understanding of the low and medium effort approaches to branding can be used to make SharePoint look more like your own visual style.
• Advanced Branding: This is where you will learn about the more intricate techniques for making large changes to the SharePoint UI, such as cascading style sheets (CSS), master pages, page layouts, web parts and XSLT. You will also get an introduction to deploying SharePoint branding to production servers using solution packages (WSP).
• Other Topics: Everything else that is related to SharePoint branding is discussed here, including working with the SharePoint 2010 ribbon and client side technologies such as the client object model, jQuery, and Silverlight.

Whether you want to make SharePoint look completely different or just make minor design changes, this expert guide will provide tips, techniques, and insights to get the job done. ... Read more

Reviews

*THE* SharePoint 2010 branding & UI customization resource, December 12, 2010
Finding information and guidance around branding and creating custom user experiences (UX) with SharePoint 2010 is quite a challenging task. Not only does this book do a fantastic job of walking you through creating and implementing a custom design in SharePoint 2010, but its by IMHO the best designer out there in the SharePoint space: Randy Drisgill. This is a MUST HAVE resource for those customizing the look & feel of SharePoint sites, especially those creating internet facing sites.

Not easy to write a good SP2010 branding book, November 29, 2010
It is easy to leave reviews, or even read books, but writing books is a whole another deal.

Writing good books is not easy. It is very difficult to present cohesive and accurate thoughts that are the work of many minds over many months over hundreds of meticulously carved pages.
In reading this book, I was happy to see that no stone was left unturned when talking specifically about SharePoint 2010 branding - no this is not a IT pro book, this is not a developer's book.
There cannot be a single book that covers EVERYTHING about SP2010. But when it comes to branding, this book is top notch.

I was especially pleased to see attention to detail such as not ignoring core CSS principles, HTML standards, browser sense, trends etc.. Branding SharePoint is not exactly the same your typical ASP.NET or PHP site. Branding SharePoint 2010 is it's own unique skill that requires significant SharePoint knowledge. It isn't just CSS and HTML and JavaScript, it is also navigation, security, master pages, standard CSS specific to SharePoint, SharePoint and ASPNET controls applicable to SharePoint, the theming engine, etc. etc. etc.

I was hoping that this book didn't sacrifice the classic branding knowledge, which is pure CSS,HTML and Javascript, in favor of being a pure one sided SharePoint book. And I am happy to see that this is a book well grounded in the current technology set, SharePoint or otherwise.

Finally, I like the author's writing style (disclaimer, I'm around page #200 right now). I hate to read books that have the personality of a whitepaper. This book is very conversational and fun to read.

Good work!

All around terrific Branding and UX resource!, November 24, 2010
What's in this book my manager, users, and I have been waiting for. This is a great start in branding and User design work for SharePoint 2010. I've been really busy setting up our corporate farm and working with some of our developers on cool new solutions. Now I can deliver them with a solid brand and a fresh look and feel that is unique and professional. This book will set you on a course with fresh ideas and confidence.

I've spent the last few days with this book and being new to SharePoint and specifically new to SharePoint 2010 I really appreciate the depth the authors have used in their topics. Everyone will get something from this book. From the new SharePointer to the old salt, there is something here for everyone.

I truly appreciated the sections on customizing the ribbon, wireframes, and the entire section on SharePoint Designer 2010. I also now have a new perspective on waffles!! If nothing else this book will keep you wanting a delicious breakfast treat!!

Black Friday is upon us, what a perfect gift for that SharePoint geek in your life!

Kindle Version = Bad Formatting and Hard to Read, December 13, 2010
This is my first Kindle version that I am reading on the Kindle for PC application. While the images are better than in the Kindle, the formatting is still awful making the book painful to read. You can change the size of the font, but not the font itself (in this case it is Times New Roman which I personally do not like). I am an IT professional, and I am trying to reduce my dependence on paper books. I was hoping that the Kindle version would be a good substitute for paper editions, but it is not when compared to PDF.

And you get to pay more for this hard to read mess than an easy to read, well formatted print book. Kindle might be good for novels, but forget about it for technical books. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The full-color guide to the exciting new iPad, written specifically with the needs of seniors in mind!

The iPad is the perfect device for the senior market, combining the Web, e-mail, photos, video, and book reading into an intuitive, portable device. Written by veteran Dummies author Nancy Muir, this fun and friendly guide shows you how to use the many features and capabilities of the iPad to make life easier! You'll learn how to use the multitouch screen to zoom in and out on Web pages and choose a font and size that makes reading comfortable so that you can get directions, plan vacations, enjoy photos, keep in touch with family, obtain financial and legal information, and much more.

• Assumes no prior information or experience and begins with the basics of getting acquainted with your iPad and its features
• Introduces the intuitive touch methodology for interacting, zooming, and scrolling
• Walks you through organizing your calendar, finding and browsing sites, sending e-mails, sharing photos, buying and playing music, and more
• Focuses on subjects that are particularly helpful to seniors, such as getting directions, protecting personal information, setting passwords, maintaining and troubleshooting the iPad, and more

You'll quickly discover that the iPad and iPad for Seniors For Dummies are the perfect combinations to get connected and stay connected! ... Read more

Reviews

Good for seniors, September 19, 2010
Bought for 87 yr old my father-in-law. Rapidly losing all his hearing. Hoping to communicate with iPad rather than telephone. Book assumes zero previous technical knowledge. This is the key distinction and key selling point. He seems to be grasping the basics so far. Very helpful. Works better when I go over the chapters with him and demonstrate on the iPad right there.

iPad for Seniors, December 7, 2010
I got an iPad to keep in touch with family and friends. The iPad is great and this book is the perfect complement to it. Easy to understand, geared towards Seniors and the types of activities and features they're likely to use. The book covers built-in apps and how to navigate around. Very helpful!

Ipad for senior Dummies, November 9, 2010
I have not received my ipad yet but I have perused some of this book and I do think it will be helpful when I can apply it.
I like most of the Dummy books I bought...
Thank you,
Marcia ... Read more

Editorial Review

Four top-notch authors present the first book containing a catalog of object-oriented design patterns. Readers will learn how to use design patterns in the object-oriented development process, how to solve specific design problems using patterns, and gain a common vocabulary for object-oriented design. ... Read more

Reviews

The best way to really learn object-oriented design, March 6, 1997
This book really changed my way of thinking about object-oriented design. The idea is that when designing a new class hierarchy, though implementation details may differ, you often find yourself using the same kinds of solutions over and over again. Rather than approaching each design task out of context as an individual, isolated problem, the strategy is to study the task and identify the underlying design pattern most likely to be applicable, and follow the class structure outlined by that pattern. It's a "cookbook" school of design that works amazingly well.

There are other advantages to this book. It isolates 23 of the most common patterns and presents them in detail. You wouldn't think that 23 patterns would be enough, but once you become adept at recognizing patterns, you'll find that a large fraction of the patterns you use in practice are among these 23. For each pattern, the book carefully presents the intent of the pattern, a motivating example, consequences of using that pattern, implementation considerations and pitfalls, sample code (C++ or Smalltalk), known uses of that pattern in real-world applications, and a list of related patterns.

Upon first reading, you will start to recognize these patterns in the frameworks you see. Upon second reading, you'll begin to see how these patterns can help you in your own designs, and may also start to see new patterns not listed in the book. Once you become familiar with the pattern concept, you will be able to originate your own patterns, which will serve you well in the future. One of the most valuable contributions of this book is that it is designed not merely to help you identify patterns, but to give you a sense of which patterns are appropriate in which contexts.

I think this book is particularly valuable to many C++ and Java programmers, because of the dynamic and flexible design philosophy it follows. (Its two fundamental principles of reusable OO design are: "Program to an interface, not an implementation" and "Favor object composition over class inheritance".) I've found that many C++ books unfortunately tend to emphasize a rather static and inflexible design philosophy. Many C++ programmers do not realize how the language and the books they've studied from have been limiting their thinking until they have been exposed to ideas from other lanugages. The authors of this book have obviously been influenced by other languages as well, especially Smalltalk, and have brought many of its best lessons to C++ design. Most Java books seem to take after the C++ books, even though Java is a more dynamic language. This book may help Java programmers take full advantage of the extra power offered by their language, if they look deeply enough into some of the lesser-known features its runtime system affords.

Last, but not least, this book is valuable because it names the patterns it uses, and so gives programmers a common vocabulary to describe design concepts, rather than particular implementations. You'll find yourself saying things like, "That would be a good use for a Decorator", or "Should we use a Facade or a Mediator in this case?" I encourage readers of this book to use this vocabulary with other programmers.

In summary, this is one of the few books that I think belongs on every programmer's "must-have" list. Not to overuse a cliche, but like object-oriented design itself, the pattern concept is one of those rare paradigm-shifts in computer programming. It is equally valuable to expert professional and novice student alike. The book has a home page at http://st-www.cs.uiuc.edu/users/patterns/DPBook/DPBook.html

Must read, but requires some sophistication, May 15, 2000
As you probably already realize from the large number of reviews, this book is one of the seminal books on patterns in software development. If you are a professional software developer, you must read this. If you are learning to write good software, this is a book that you will need to take on at some point, but I urge some caution.

In particular, many of the patterns in this book represent highly distilled wisdom about effective solutions -- distilled so far that, unless you have implemented code that realizes the pattern in question already, you may have trouble absorbing the material. I find that programmers-to-be who dive into this book, often end up talking annoyingly about "applying patterns" without having a real grasp of how these things translate (with some distortion and compromise) into real projects.

That being said, an excellent way to bridge the gap is to read this book along with "Pattern Hatching : Design Patterns Applied" by John Vlissides. That book is a chatty companion piece for this one -- I found myself understanding how to incorporate patterns into my day-to-day design work much more after reading both books.

See: Pattern Hatching : Design Patterns Applied [also at Amazon.com]

Overall, while this book is an extremely important contribution to software developers, it is structured in a way that makes the material difficult to absorb if you aren't approaching it with substantial previous knowledge about developing software. You can start with some of the simpler patterns (Singleton, for example) and work through the harder ones, but only by implementing projects and stumbling upon these yourself will you really feel a flash of recognition as you read them in the book.

Now that the hype is over..., January 19, 2005
... well, it's over. "Patterns" have not revolutionized the world. Nor does this book need to be "studied" for deep insights.

What it seems patterns are actually good for is giving common names to popular solutions to problems, to make them easier to call to mind, and easier to discuss with others. Even this much is overrated. Before the advent of patterns, you could have said "callbacks" and people would have understood. Now you say "the Observer pattern".

_Design Patterns_ is none the less valuable, because it is one of those few books that EVERYONE is expected to have read. This is helpful in practice, as you can expect everyone to be familiar with its vocabulary. Few books truly fall into this "required reading" category. The only other that comes to mind is the MIT algorithms text. Many tech pundits claim that every next book is "required reading", and the claim becomes tiring after a while, but this is one of the few that really is.

I would not necessarily purchase it, though. The "pattern" schematic is verbose, and requires pages upon pages to describe something that, once you have seen it in practice once or twice, you will recognize immediately. Omitting the appendixes, the book is barely 350 pages, and presents only 23 patterns. Only a handful of the patterns are truly famous: Singleton, Observer, Template Method ... perhaps a few more. A number of them are poorly presented. Chain of Responsibility, for instance, is just one of many ways to define an event framework and does not belong in a book that doesn't present the alternatives. Mediator is another; there must be dozens of ways to create a Mediator, which most people would call an "event registry" or something else, rather than a Mediator. "Mediator" itself is little more than a name, and won't help you in design.

Some patterns are boring, since modern languages tend to provide them, and we've heard about them many times already: Iterator, Proxy, Memento (serialization). Others, like Command, are geared towards GUIs, and provide little value to other types of applications. Then there are the State and Strategy patterns, which are two sides of the same coin, and needn't be given two different names.

And so on. Definitely do not "study" this book if it seems you "just don't get it". Chances are the book is wrong. It is worth a read through, and a second read through if the terminology doesn't stick the first time, but stop at that. My gut feeling is that this book is most appropriate for someone working on his or her first large project. After that, once the terminology sinks in, the book has little else to offer. And if taken dogmatically, or considered "inspired" or infallible, the book is a hindrance. Finally, overuse of patterns can result in a "kitchen sink" design, instead of a simple one that takes a few patterns, that may or may not be ones from this book, and implements them cleanly. Take the book for what it's worth, but remain skeptical.

Not for the faint-hearted, but a must read., February 10, 2000
Obviously, this book is *the* most recognized reference work on software-related Design Patterns, and as such cannot be ignored. If you want to know about patterns, here is where to start.

The main asset of this book is in its trustworthiness and credibility - not such an easy thing to come by in computer books these days. I went through many if not most of the C++ examples in detail, and did not find a case where it didn't hold up, at least to the extent where it clarified what the point of the pattern was. The UML diagrams are also extremely helpful.

Be forewarned, however; this is not light reading. The examples are based on heavy-duty design tasks your average programmer doesn't face, like language-parsing, toolkit creation, compiler writing, and the like. It makes one wonder how applicable many of the patterns are to less complex programming tasks.

Also, most of the examples are in C++, so you really have to understand the syntax of C++ before you can get much value out of this book. Another drawback is that many of the examples are abridged, so at times you have to kind of extrapolate on what some of the code *would* look like in order to understand the examples. The chapter on Interpreter in particular was a tough nut to crack due to this. I actually would have liked to have seen *more* explanatory text associated with the code itself.

For all that, many of the patterns are pretty staightforward. The trick is to nail down that you "get it" for each pattern. One technique I found enormously helpful in accomplishing this was to write a summary of the pattern after reading a chapter - right in the book, so it can referenced later (there's often an entire blank page opposite the beginning of each chapter you can use for this). You may find yourself delving back into the chapter to confirm your understanding.

Overall, a challenging but ultimately rewarding read for anyone who wants to understand what design patterns are all about.

Possibly the most practical textbook I've read, October 31, 2000
I've been a software developer in C++ for some time. I would have to agree with the reviews that mention that most C++ textbooks rarely show the full scope and power of what this language is capable of, until you look at modern OO languages like Java and how they have been put to use. After all, those are language textbooks, not OO design/philosophy books.

This book, on the other hand, made clear the "why" behind many software library architectures I've used, from the basic Java classes and AWT to things done in MFC, COM and the Stingray MFC extension libraries. Not only did it give an explanation, but it explicitly set out the "how-tos" on using these patterns yourself (complete with diagrams illustrating the structures and interactions), and more importantly when and when not to use particular patterns.

For me at least, the most difficult part of designing an application is not coming up with good algorithms or efficient routines, but is constructing a sensible, easy-to-maintain architecture that will hand the demands placed on it...without writing excessively convoluted code. This seems more all the more difficult the larger the application gets. The patterns in this book clarified many things which I wish I had known earlier. A few patterns that I had "discovered" through much trial-and-error and observation were set out, often in a much cleaner form than I had come up with myself. Several of the patterns in the book were immediately applicable to a project I was working on, helping to speed through what likely would have been another messy and slow design phase.

I would recommend ths book for any OO designer. At the very least, it will enable you to understand why various libraries were implemented in certain ways. At best, it will provide a useful toolkit of proven solutions enabling one to get the most out of an OO language such as C++ or Java, a toolkit that can be drawn on to solve your own architectural issues without reinventing the wheel.

The only warning I would give about this book is to reiterate the warning in the preface's very first paragraph: "This book assumes you are reasonably proficient in at least one object-oriented programming language, and you should have some experience in object-oriented design as well. You definitely shouldn't have to rush to the nearest dictionary the moment we mention 'types' and 'polymorphism', or 'interface' as opposed to 'implementation' inheritance."

The classic, and still the best, August 13, 2002
From all other people's reviews, you have already known this is the classic text on the subject of design patterns. This is indisputable so I don't need to waste time trying to prove it again.

However, I would like to say something to those readers who are totally new to design patterns and C++/Smalltalk -- please do not be intimidated by the seemingly terse, dry and difficult style of this book. Since I myself am new to the world of design patterns, I would like to share with you my own experience and hope you can make a better decision when you pick your design patterns book.

"Design Patterns" is the classic text; its style is academic-oriented, rigorous, and terse. Unlike most popular computer books, you will find reading this book takes a lot of thinking, for each paragraph or even each sentence. Most examples used in this book are adapted from real world systems popular many years ago, so you will likely find you're not familiar with them at all. Moreover, some examples are related to GUI programming, so if you're mainly programming for backend, you will probably feel it's tough to understand some of the examples. Most code example in the book is written in C++ (some in Smalltalk.) If you're a Java programmer and have limited knowledge in C++, it might take you some time to guess what certain C++ syntax means.

These all seem to be negative comment, but my conclusion is to the contrary -- this is the BEST book in the area, and you should read it despite of all the issues I mentioned above. I started my design pattern learning by using a couple of other books, such as "Java Design Patterns: A Tutorial", "Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design", and "Applied Java Patterns". I chose these books mainly because they seem to be much easier to understand than "Design Patterns". However, after spending time in these alternative books, I found none of them offers the accuracy and depth as "Design Patterns". Often, after I read a chapter of the "easy" book, I feel I am still kind of lost. I seem to have understood the pattern I just learned, but then I feel it's not quite so. I guess I only learned the pattern in a superficial way, with little depth, and without being part of "big picture." Later, I turned to the classic, "Design Patterns". I forced myself to sit down and try to understand the authors' terse and rigorous writing and their unfamiliar examples. Gradually I found I was getting used to the style and the examples, and I actually started to learn much more from this book than from others. After reading half-way through the book, I felt the rigorous style is actually a big plus for this book, because I can get more accurate and in-depth information.

Therefore, I strongly suggest that you buy and read this book, even if you feel it's difficult to read. Your effort will pay off eventually. Use other books as reference only.

Too bad I can not give 10 stars, February 6, 2001
This is absolutely one of the best books on OO design. I am a System Archtect and I can't image how my design (and Java) would look like without applying the concepts and patterns described in this book. This book, IMHO, plays a much more important role and should enjoy a much higher reputation than the UML series written by the 3 Amigos.

This book is definitely not for those who still do not understand the virtue of the concepts presented in the book. This book is not for programmer level either(although they can still greatly benefit from the book to enter the next level). The examples in the book are in C++ but the patterns it describes is language independent. Those who really know Java(not just reading sth like Teach Yourself Java in XX days,weekends,in a nutshells, etc) should tell immediately that lots of patterns are already applied in Java, especially in J2EE. Knowing the patterns in the books not only make your design step up to the next level, but now also a MUST if you want to pass the perfessional certificate exam like SCEA. I have to say no one can claim they know OO design without knowing the concepts and patterns described in this book.

This is one of those few books in computer world that will receive more and more recognization as time gose by. In three years no one will even mention 90% of those books currently getting five stars, but this one, I have to say, will be in top in foreseeable future and much longer.

I totally agree that this book is a little bit hard to read. Please think it this way, anything you can learn in 10 minutes is useless and of little market value because anybody can do the same. Those who grasp the essence missed by the majority are distinguished and of high value....

a must read, but a very tough read., July 2, 1998
The authors define design patterns as: descriptions of communicating objects and classes that are customised to solve a general design problem in a particular context. A design pattern names, abstracts, and identifies the key aspects of a common design structure that make it useful for creating a reusable object-oriented design. The design pattern identifies the participating classes and instances, their roles and collaborations, and the distribution of responsibilities. Easy to wrap your mind around, eh? Design Pattern people are in love with the power of abstraction and generality. You might even say they prefer to impress rather than inform. However, somehow you are going to have to learn this stuff, even if only to get into the heads of the guys who designed the AWT. Try starting with the code samples in the Design Patterns book. You have to read this book at least twice before it begins to make any sense. However, if you want to call yourself a programmer you MUST understand this book. I hope somebody writes a version of this book for Java programmers. It is written from the perspective of C++ and Smalltalk. This is a book where the you want the hardcover version. You go back to it again and again.

The original and definitive work on OO design patterns, May 16, 2001
Design Patterns, referred to warmly as the "Gang of Four" book by it's fans, is the book that introduced me to the world of design patterns. After reading this book, you'll immediately see patterns from it everywhere - many classes you use every day will suddenly all fit together in a pattern.

Besides being a tool for writing good maintainable code, patterns are a crucial tool for communication among developers. Knowing even a half-dozen of the basic patterns will facilitate communication among team members immensely. For instance, you may be having a whiteboard design session with another developer or two, explaining some particular design you have in your head. Instead of having to detail 3 or 4 or more classes and how they would interact, you could simply say that you are thinking of using the Factory pattern here, and the Decorator pattern over there, and the others will know exactly what you are thinking.

The patterns are grouped into three groups: Creational, Structual, and Behavioral patterns. Each pattern is considered in turn, each having sections detailing the intent of the pattern, the motivation for using it, the consequences (both good and bad) of its application, collaboration among the objects involved, and examples.

The examples are mostly in C++ with a small dose of Smalltalk, but the patterns are equally applicable to any object-oriented language, Java in particular. Some of the patterns can be implemented even more simply and cleanly in Java, as a result of language features such as dynamic class loading, among others.

This book is well-written, and it's a quality book well worth owning. It even has two nice ribbon bookmarks attached to the binding which makes to book even more practical as well as handsome.

An excellent complement to the book of the same name., July 9, 1998
This CD should not be considered a replacement for the book, at least as long as you are like me and like the portability of a book, it's ability to record notes, etc.

What John Vlissides and the folks at AWL have done very well is re-shaping the book to electronic form. This is not just a duplication of the book, but a genuine adaptation of the content to a different medium, in this case HTML. Perhaps most valuable for me is the ability to pop this in and do a full-text search. I still use the paper book, though.

It would have rated 5 stars but for one thing: the inability to record notes within the medium. That's not the fault of the publisher or anyone--it's a difficult technical problem that hopefully someone will solve.

I would heartily recommend this to consultants or anybody who doesn't necessarily have a "home base" because these are much easier to lug through airports than the hardcover GoF book. :-) ... Read more

Editorial Review

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Packed with insider tips and expert techniques, Quicken 2011: The Official Guide helps you manage your finances and assets with ease! Find out the most effective methods for tracking your income, expenses, savings, transactions, investments, and so much more.

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Reviews

Good Product, November 17, 2010
I recently switched to Quicken when Microsoft Money stopped being supported. It was a little hard to transition into but this book is over an inch thick and has a lot of helpful information. ... Read more

Editorial Review

These days it seems like everyone is collecting data. But all of that data is just raw information -- to make that information meaningful, it has to be organized, filtered, and analyzed. Anyone can apply data analysis tools and get results, but without the right approach those results may be useless.

Author Philipp Janert teaches you how to think about data: how to effectively approach data analysis problems, and how to extract all of the available information from your data. Janert covers univariate data, data in multiple dimensions, time series data, graphical techniques, data mining, machine learning, and many other topics. He also reveals how seat-of-the-pants knowledge can lead you to the best approach right from the start, and how to assess results to determine if they're meaningful. ... Read more

Reviews

Wow!, November 22, 2010
Lucid, learned, and full of insights--a great book on a difficult subject. When I pre-ordered this title, I expected it to be more cookbook-oriented. There are certainly cookbook aspects to it, but it goes way beyond that. For one, it's deep: Janert gives you solutions, sure, but you also get considerable background to go with them. I particularly like chapter 9's sagacious treatment of probability models, especially the section on power law distributions. For another, it's comprehensive--there is a lot of material here, and it's delivered with discipline and care. You can tell that Janert really pushed himself (maybe with a bit of help from his editor) when writing this book. Finally, this book has heart. Data analysis is a means to an end (albeit a wonderful, fascinating one), and the author does his best to ensure that we the reader keep the objective in mind--to inform and enlighten--all the while ensuring that we know enough to pick the right tool for the job. Chapter 16 is another stand-out, and I especially appreciated Janert's distinction here between operational and representative reports and his point about the former: good design emphasizes the content. That's a bit of Tufte-esque advice that we would all do well to remember.

Outstanding Compilation of Valuable Techniques, December 4, 2010
Anyone looking to analyze any sort of data should get this book - I gleaned more value from the first 30 minutes I had this in my hands than hours of internet surfing. This book has taken me far beyond my limited Excel techniques of analyzing data and 1) given me a refresher course on concepts I'd forgotten, and 2) taught me many new ways of looking at the various data sets I need to analyze on a day to day basis. Those with no formal Math background may struggle a bit with some of the concepts, so it may force some to learn new math concepts, but the value provided makes this book well worth the effort. ... Read more