The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web (Voices That Matter)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I haven't read the book yet
  • Perfect!!!
  • The Zen of CSS Design
  • Zen of CSS Design
  • Wonderful Layouts
The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web (Voices That Matter)
Dave Shea , and Molly E. Holzschlag
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Graphic DesignGraphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books | 3D Graphics | Adobe FrameMaker | Adobe Illustrator | Adobe InDesign | Adobe PageMaker | CAD | Desktop Publishing | Electronic Documents | General | Information Visualization | Interface Design | Printing | Reference | Rendering & Ray Tracing | Scanning | Typography | Web Design
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ASIN: 0321303474

Book Description

Proving once and for all that standards-compliant design does not equal dull design, this inspiring tome uses examples from the landmark CSS Zen Garden site as the foundation for discussions on how to create beautiful, progressive CSS-based Web sites. By using the Zen Garden sites as examples of how CSS design techniques and approaches can be applied to specific Web challenges, authors Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag provide an eye-opening look at the range of design methods made possible by CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By the time you've finished perusing the volume, you'll have a new understanding of the graphically rich, fully accessible sites that CSS design facilitates. In sections on design, layout, imagery, typography, effects, and themes, Dave and Molly take you through every phase of the design process--from striking a sensible balance between text and graphics to creating eye-popping special effects (no scripting required).

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I haven't read the book yet.......2007-09-15

.. but I fully expect to. Having followed the csszengarden site from nearly the beginning, I wouldn't miss it. I was learning css on my own when I came across the site.. being a visual artist, and unabashedly a "web DESIGNER" - I finally FINALLY felt that I had found my calling, my mecca on the pages of the site with all of the talented designers.

I learned SO MUCH downloading the css and trying my own stuff -- I actually credit the site for helping me to finally understand css and how it could be stretched - how it could be made to do the things I had always wanted to do. My kudos to everyone involved!

5 out of 5 stars Perfect!!!.......2007-09-13

I recieved my order fast, the book was in great shape, and wouldn't hesitate to order from amazon! Great service!

5 out of 5 stars The Zen of CSS Design.......2007-07-15

I'm not a "graphics" person. I struggle to understand creative design and how to build it in code. This book brought these elements together and really explained the process.

This is not a beginner's book on coding and design. It is more of an applications manual for someone who has worked with CSS. I was frequently looking at some area of a design and asking myself how, or why, did he do that? I don't think there was ever an example that left that question unanswered. If it wasn't explicit, there was always enough information and discussion to be able to figure it out. Including the code with the illustrations and explanations really tied the processes together.

This book will be kept on my 'A' references shelf. There is a detailed index and the example home pages were grouped in sections: Design, Layout, Imagery, Typography, Special Effects, and Reconstruction. Therefore, it will be easy to come back and locate relevant information.

5 out of 5 stars Zen of CSS Design.......2007-05-14

A great book with excellent examples and descriptions on how to implement a CSS web solution.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful Layouts.......2007-05-09

This book is fantastic for layouts and suggestions. While it is not the simplist thing for the beginner it is very good for layouts and suggestions on ways to make your own CSS better and HTML lighter.
HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition (Visual Quickstart Guide)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • This is the book to get on XHTML!!!
  • Internet Programming and Web Design
  • this book is easier for beginner
  • One of the most productive book!
  • Great book - bad binding!
HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition (Visual Quickstart Guide)
Elizabeth Castro
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Graphic DesignGraphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books | 3D Graphics | Adobe FrameMaker | Adobe Illustrator | Adobe InDesign | Adobe PageMaker | CAD | Desktop Publishing | Electronic Documents | General | Information Visualization | Interface Design | Printing | Reference | Rendering & Ray Tracing | Scanning | Typography | Web Design
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ASIN: 0321430840

Amazon.com

It's important for anyone who creates Web sites--even those who rely on powerful editors like Dreamweaver or GoLive--to know HTML. The World Wide Web Consortium rewrote HTML as a subset of XML (dubbing it "XHTML 1.0") and the allowable code will eventually be stricter. Tags that are being phased out are labeled "deprecated"--current browsers can still handle them, but if you want your site to keep up with future browsers, not to mention conform to accessibility requirements, you will want to get on top of XHTML.

Of course, Elizabeth Castro manages to write books that not only speak to those who are already fluent in HTML, but are good for newbies too. She makes it a breeze to create sites that are visually stylish and technically sophisticated without the expense of buying an editor.

Among the topics covered in her new book, HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: using the (relatively newer) structural tags (like doctype and div); correctly using older tags (like p and img) that have been modified in XHTML; writing XHTML so that formatting is done by the style sheets; writing those style sheets (cascading style sheets, a.k.a. "CSS"); creating a variety of layouts; and dealing with tables, frames, forms, multimedia, a bit of JavaScript (including mouseovers), WML (for mobile device displays), debugging, publishing, and publicizing your site.

As with all Visual QuickStart Guides, this one features clear and concise instructions side by side with well-captioned illustrations and screen shots that show both the source code and the resulting effect on the Web page. The index is extremely detailed, making this a great reference.

Also great for reference are the outstanding appendices. The first is an extensive list of tags and attributes, indicating which are deprecated and/or proprietary and on which page they are discussed. A similar appendix shows CSS properties and values; given the future of Web coding, this chart alone is worth the price of the book. Other handy charts cover intrinsic events, symbols and character Unicodes, and an expanded color chart that goes way beyond the virtually archaic Web-safe palette. All of which makes this a definite must-have for every Web designer's bookshelf. --Angelynn Grant

Book Description

Need to learn HTML fast? This best-selling reference's visual format and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up and running with HTML in no time. In this completely updated edition of our best-selling guide to HTML, Web expert and best-selling author Elizabeth Castro uses crystal-clear instructions and friendly prose to introduce you to all of today's HTML and XHTML essentials. You’ll learn how to design, structure, and format your Web site. You'll create and use images, links, styles, lists, tables, frames, and forms, and you'll add sound and movies to your site. Finally, you will test and debug your site, and publish it to the Web. Along the way, you'll find extensive coverage of CSS techniques, current browsers (Opera, Safari, Firefox), creating pages for the mobile Web, and more.

Visual QuickStart Guide--the quick and easy way to learn!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars This is the book to get on XHTML!!!.......2007-10-17

If you want to teach yourself & get up to speed quickly, this is the book to get. It is clear, easy to read, and has alot of step-by-step illustrations with both the code and the output side-by-side. The format and the illustrations really make this the easiest book from which to learn.

5 out of 5 stars Internet Programming and Web Design.......2007-10-11

The book is very useful for those beginning their webpages. The end of the book contains a very useful list with all the tags in HTML and CSS described during the book. Excellent book in my opinion for beginners.

4 out of 5 stars this book is easier for beginner.......2007-10-09

the book describes very clear in html and CSS,
it is good for beginner who want to learn web design.

4 out of 5 stars One of the most productive book!.......2007-10-04

The sixth edition has continued to live up to its name. It is indeed a 'Visual Quickstart Guide.' Unlike other books, it presents clear and concise instructions, and no lengthy text. Everything is delivered in point forms. Useful tips are sprinkled over the text here and there as well.

It can also serve as a quick reference tool that is easy to look up to. The appendices consists of the following: some commonly used (X)HTML elements and attributes, CSS properties and values, and some javascipt events. It is definitely worth it to own a copy of it.

It is a beginner's book and it offers more than enough to get you a decent layout for your web pages. Ideal for any novice designer to wants get productive fast.

4 out of 5 stars Great book - bad binding!.......2007-10-04

This updated edition is welcomed as it was written with standards in mind. Very well done.

The binding on this book is horrible. Most of the pages in my copy have come out of the binding!
PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition) (Visual QuickPro Guide)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
  • Great chapters on MySQL
  • Lots of pages, low on advanced content.
  • Excellent starter
  • Practical, project-oriented approach
PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition) (Visual QuickPro Guide)
Larry Ullman
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | SQL | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0321336577

Book Description

It hasn't taken Web developers long to discover that when it comes to creating dynamic, database-driven Web sites, MySQL and PHP provide a winning open source combination. Add this book to the mix, and there's no limit to the powerful, interactive Web sites that users can create. With step-by-step instructions, complete scripts, and expert tips to guide readers, veteran author and database designer Larry Ullman gets right down to business: After grounding readers with separate discussions of first the scripting language (PHP) and then the database program (MySQL), he goes on to cover security, sessions and cookies, and using additional Web tools, with several sections devoted to creating sample applications. This guide is indispensable for Web designers who want to replace their static sites with something more dynamic. The companion Web site includes source code, support forums, and extra tutorials. In addition to being updated for the most recent releases of MySQL and PHP, this new edition offers 25% new material, including updated examples for improved clarity and comprehension and new installation instructions for PHP, MySQL, and other related technologies.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!.......2007-10-05

I purchased this book having absolutely zero PHP or MySQL experience. I had just finished reading a book on HTML and CSS (my only coding experience by the way) with the intention of creating a dynamic web site but first needed to learn how to do it.

Larry's book was EXTREMELY HELPFUL in teaching a total beginner such as myself how to read, write and understand PHP and MySQL scripts. Not only are the scripts and exercises in the book easy to learn, they are also incredibly practical and transferable in terms of customizing for use on personal projects. There are all kinds of wonderful scripts that can be reused hundreds of times once they have been written.

By far, one of the greatest things about this book, is that the author, Larry Ullman has an online forum which he moderates and personally answers questions from all the people who have purchased one of his many books.

I have not read any of Larry's other books yet, but I can honestly say that his teaching style in this one is absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a desire to learn PHP and MySQL!!!

I give this book 100 stars!!!

5 out of 5 stars Great chapters on MySQL.......2007-08-24

I have had this book lying around the office for about a year, but never opened it because I program with Coldfusion, not php. But recently I have been working with a MySQL database and needed to read up on it. I had already read "Teach yourself MySQL in 10 minutes a day" and found that to be a bit confusing. I don't think it lays enough groundwork. So I thought, what the heck I'll read the chapters on MySQL in this book. They were excellent! The author lays the groundwork and gets you up to speed in just two chapters. The book is worth the price for just the sections on MySQL.

2 out of 5 stars Lots of pages, low on advanced content........2007-08-08

This is a huge book, approximately 665 pages, however it is quite hard to find anything of help in it. It's great if you are going to go through and do all of the examples, I'm sure you would learn something from it, but it's terrible when you want a quick answer, or you really need to know the details on something. I frequently find myself searching the net instead of this book because it is huge and there is no good way to find the answers. Additionally, when you do find the answers it is just a continuation of a previous example and does not explain in depth on how to use the various functions and such.

In conclusion, it's probably just fine if you are a student and want to go page by page and read the book and learn by examples. But it's terrible as a quick reference, and for more advanced users needing in-depth information you should look elsewhere.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent starter.......2007-06-08

We had to hire a programmer to construct a MySql database and construct the PHP code to complete the site project. Time was critical.
After the job was done, however, I had the time to teach myself the basics of MySql, especially, and enough PHP to modify the new code, or at least understand what was done.
I am still going through the book as time permits, but the book is an excellent starter, and gets you through the basics with excellent examples, well-written explanations and plenty of screen prints to show you what you should see onscreen. I really like the MySql section. I would highly recommend this book to anyone anxious to get up to speed on MySql and PHP.

5 out of 5 stars Practical, project-oriented approach.......2007-05-14

This book was an excellent introduction for someone like me, a professional programmer with no web programming experience, to get started. The project being carried through the book was broad enough to cover a diverse set of topics, and the code examples permitted exploration and experimentation. It doesn't cover object-oriented PHP, but that can be picked up later. I don't think the book will serve as a reference later, but it provides a lot of pointers to other reference information, including the web site associated with the book.
CSS: The Definitive Guide
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good reference
  • Excellent as a Second Volume and Definitive Reference
  • Definitive? Yeah, I'd agree with that.
  • slightly better than ok
  • excellent tutorial, not so much a definitive guide
CSS: The Definitive Guide
Eric Meyer
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Website Architecture & UsabilityWebsite Architecture & Usability | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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  5. Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design (Voices That Matter) Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design (Voices That Matter)

ASIN: 0596527330

Book Description

Simply put, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a way to separate a document's structure from its presentation. The benefits of this can be quite profound: CSS allows a much richer document appearance than HTML and also saves time -- you can create or change the appearance of an entire document in just one place; and its compact file size makes web pages load quickly.

CSS: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition, provides you with a comprehensive guide to CSS implementation, along with a thorough review of all aspects of CSS 2.1. Updated to cover Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft's vastly improved browser, this new edition includes content on positioning, lists and generated content, table layout, user interface, paged media, and more. Author Eric Meyer tackles the subject with passion, exploring in detail each individual CSS property and how it interacts with other properties. You'll not only learn how to avoid common mistakes in interpretation, you also will benefit from the depth and breadth of his experience and his clear and honest style. This is the complete sourcebook on CSS.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good reference.......2007-10-04

This book could be organized a little more intuitively, but all-in-all it has the stipulations and definitions you need from the CSS standards in a printed form. I would recommend the pocket guide as well.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent as a Second Volume and Definitive Reference.......2007-09-03

I've managed development efforts for several years and, although I'm an advanced developer in ASP.Net and numerous server-side technologies, felt I was too much at the mercy of "the web guys" on my project teams when it came to making decisions on content design. So, a couple years ago I purchased Richard York's "Beginning CSS" (Wrox Press) and found it to be an excellent primer on CSS. Having designed my own style-sheets for the couple years since, I realized I still had some questions as to the finer points of CSS design techniques.

I purchased Eric Meyer's "CSS: The Definitive Guide" and consider it an excellent second volume on the subject. If you are brand new to the topic of CSS, I'd recommend one of this author's other more introductory titles before attempting to read this title. Both Meyer's and York's more introductory texts focus more on building block examples and levels of support offered by the various browsers. "CSS: The Definitive Guide" assumes this foundation is in place and, instead, focuses on the more advanced and, as the title says, definitive discussions of topics Meyer has found to represent points of confusion among content developers.

I have had great luck with numerous volumes in O'Reilly's line of "Topic: The Definitive Guide", and this book continues this string of good luck. While it is not the ideal introductory text on CSS, for reasons cited above, it represents a great second volume - or even first volume for the content developer who already understands the basic principles and does not need building block examples. Numerous sections, especially the very succinct discussions of the CSS Box Model, are by themselves worth the price of the book.

--Doug Hettinger

5 out of 5 stars Definitive? Yeah, I'd agree with that........2007-08-08

In a way I'm glad this book contains everything you need to know about CSS.
But in a way I'm sad that everything you need to know about CSS seems to be growing at a phenomenal rate - along with just about everything else tech-related.
Sigh. Job security, I guess.
Anyway, this book, coupled with O'Reilly's "CSS Cookbook", should enable you to do anything you want to your website.
Color would've been nice (ditto for the "CSS Cookbook") but probably would have jacked the price up too high.

3 out of 5 stars slightly better than ok.......2007-07-03

I purchased this book with the expectation of being able to implement CSS for a website. The book felt very much textbook-ish, focusing too much on the theory and not enough on practical implementation. I had hoped for more best practices and more on layouts. This book is a great CSS reference but if you're looking for one-stop-shopping for building a CSS web site, you might be better off with something else.

4 out of 5 stars excellent tutorial, not so much a definitive guide.......2007-06-27

This is an excellent tutorial, and the discussion of the box model in Chapter 7 is alone worth the price of the book. If you think you understand CSS, but you don't understand the box model fully, then you don't really understand CSS. And Eric Meyer does a very good job of walking you slowly through that model. The chapters after chapter 7 fill in that model more completely with additional details that are also indispensable.

However, I think this book should have been called "CSS: A Complete Tutorial," rather than "CSS: The Definitive Guide." This is not laid out in a way that would make it ideal as a reference book.

Overall, this is a sort of book where you won't get an answer to your question without rereading a couple of pages first. Second, the index is quite poor. Basic concepts covered throughout the book don't make their way into the index. Third, while the appendix of CSS properties is useful, a glaring omission is the lack of a browser compatibility chart. Certainly creating such a chart would be difficult, but still necessary (I think) for calling something "The Definitive Guide." Browser compatibility is certainly subject to improve over time, but a baseline list of compatibility at the time of publication would be highly useful, considering that such resources on the web are virtually not to be found. After all, O'Reilly's "Javascript: The Definitive Guide" at least manages to list the standard that defines each portion of the language, whereas the appendix in this book doesn't even do that.

That said, this book has revolutionized my own understanding of CSS, since I read it like a tutorial, and it seems I was badly in need of a tutorial. Consequently, for those who don't understand the true mechanics of CSS, I highly recommend buying and reading this book cover to cover. For those who are well-versed in the underlying mechanics and simply want a reference to the nitty-gritty details, however, this is probably not your answer.
Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (3rd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Must read
  • Very didactic
  • not all the suggestions in the book are sound
  • the book does more damage than good
  • If you program in C++ this is a must read.
Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (3rd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Scott Meyers
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | C | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0321334876

Amazon.com

This exceptionally useful text offers Scott Myers's expertise in C++ class design and programming tips. The second edition incorporates recent advances to C++ included in the ISO standard, including namespaces and built-in template classes, and is required reading for any working C++ developer.

The book opens with some hints for porting code from C to C++ and then moves on to the proper use of the new and delete operators in C++ for more robust memory management. The text then proceeds to class design, including the proper use of constructors, destructors, and overloaded operator functions for assignment within classes. (These guidelines ensure that you will create custom C++ classes that are fully functional data types, which can be copied and assigned just like built-in C++ classes.)

The author also provides a handful of suggestions for general class design, including strategies for using different types of inheritance and encapsulation. Never doctrinaire and always intelligent, these guidelines can make your C++ classes more robust and easier to maintain. --Richard Dragan

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Must read.......2007-09-23

This book really helps you become a sharper c++ class designer. Tips are brief and yet very well explained. I read the book from A to Z in a single day!.
I highly recomend this book for c++ programmers of any level of experience.

4 out of 5 stars Very didactic.......2007-08-23

This is the type of book I recommend to everyone with little experience in C++ and willing to become a better and more experienced coder.

The author talks about several items which are useful for dealing with class hierarchies, design, good coding practices and solution to usual problems (and also shows some problems dont have a simple solution).

The way he writes makes it very easy for every coder to understand even for non native english readers. Sometimes you feel like going to the PC to implement what hes talking about and see the magic of C++ come alive.

Great book.

3 out of 5 stars not all the suggestions in the book are sound.......2007-03-15

I would consider this book somewhat useful, but readers should treat the suggestions in the book judiciously. Some of the suggestions are too trivial for advanced programmers. For example, "prefer const and inline
to #define". Every C++ programmer knows this! And this is also exactly the same advice clearly stated in Stroustrup's book "the C++ programming language". I think that the author is highly unprofessional by not citing Stroustrup who gave the same advice much earlier in the classic book that every C++ programmer knows.

Some suggestions in the book are not even correct. For example, the suggestion "never redefine an inherited nonvirtual function". This suggestion is incorrect. The author argues that the virtual functions should be defined. However, it does not need to. In some cases, redefine an inherited nonvirtual function is necessary, efficient, and the right way. For example, in the following case:

class A{ public void print() {cout < <"A print";};}
class B: public A { public void print() {cout < <"B print";};}
class C: public B { public void print() {cout < <"C print";};}

A a; B b; C c;
a.print(); b.print(); c.print();

In this case, the correct functions are called. More importantly, it does not need the virtual function and the dynamic binding to do that. So it is much more effecient that virtual functions. And efficiency is the main advantage of C++.

Cleary, if redefine the nonvirtual function is a bad practice, the C++ standard would have already banned it.

This case applies to the scenario that the compiler knows the exact type in compile time. If you use pointers or reference, like

A *a=new A(); B *b=new B(); C *c= new C();
Then only the "A print" would be the result of the output.

1 out of 5 stars the book does more damage than good.......2007-02-24

1)
the book doesn't know about the basic rule for writing exception safe code,
which is: DO only a single allocation inside a constructor-body and to the matching deallocation inside the matching destructor-body. Throw if allocation fails. Then chain such classes into base-class or member-class relationships. You wont have to deal with partially constructed objects, since the compiler is generating all the code for you.

2)
there is a glaring error on page 138. The order of construction/destruction is wrong. The correct order is:

bm1::constructor()
bm2::constructor()
Base::Base()
dm1::constructor()
dm2::constructor()
dm3::constructor()
Derived::Derived()

This mistake alone may have caused plenty of programmers to design their classes in a wrong way.

5 out of 5 stars If you program in C++ this is a must read........2007-02-23

Excellent practices for programming in C++. For all levels of programmers. Not only has it been good for my programming, I require that every programmer that works for me read it as well.
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Buy this Book!
  • Over-raed approach to stern looking dashboards
  • Another Tech Book Killed by Frills and Filler
  • Excellent Treatment of the Material
  • Great design principles
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
Stephen Few
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596100167

Book Description

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

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

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

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Buy this Book!.......2007-09-12

This book is great, it gets to the point, tells you what you need to know, provides many examples and is entertaining at the same time. The people who are still fascinated by all the colors in their kids Crayola boxes probably would object to some of Few's points.

1 out of 5 stars Over-raed approach to stern looking dashboards.......2007-09-03

The key elements of dashboard design (avoid clutter, focus and limit visual cues, beware of rainbow colors, carefully chose when to show numbers, tables or (appropriate) graphs), converted in a very lengthy and expensive piece of litterature. And the results is by all accounts debatable in terms of look and feel, in particular as very little attention is given to who your audience is...
I would not recommend this book.

3 out of 5 stars Another Tech Book Killed by Frills and Filler .......2007-09-02

There can be no doubt that the pages of this book contain some of the most original and decisive ideas about dashboard design of any book to come out on the market. Yet this strength cannot quite redeem it. This book is mostly pictures, figures, and graphs, many of which are not needed. The same could be said of dashboards in general. The prose is watered down and childlike, as if the author would spoon feed his ideas, one per chapter, to an infant audience. In the end I am forced to conclude that, like many tech books in HCI, a hard core text filled with complex ideas, lean, well-written chapters, and something like wit is both outside the reach of its authors and outside the bounds of contemporary techie marketing. This book may sell, but it does nothing to promote a sophisticated, confident HCI core at a time when awareness of the profession is still patchy. It will be a great day for HCI when its "Gurus" stop condescending to their audience.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Treatment of the Material.......2007-08-17

This is an easy to read book which does a fantastic job of conveying the topic material. I strongly agree with Few's perspective and think that you wouldn't go wrong with a design that's in alignment with this book.

5 out of 5 stars Great design principles.......2007-08-08

This manual is a great resource for best practices and principles for designing dashboards. It doesn't matter if you buy or build, the material is golden.
Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • More than one edition of this book
  • A reference book, not a how-to
  • from Eric Myer (the man!) comes a must-have for anyone using CSS
  • was a great book a couple of years ago
  • Good, thorough step-by-step guide
Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
Eric A. Meyer
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596005253

Amazon.com

Cascading Style Sheets can put a great deal of control and flexibility into the hands of a Web designer--in theory. In reality, however, varying browser support for CSS1 and lack of CSS2 implementation makes CSS a very tricky topic. Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide is a comprehensive text that shows how to take advantage of the benefits of CSS while keeping compatibility issues in mind.

The book is very upfront about the spotty early browser support for CSS1 and the sluggish adoption of CSS2. However, enthusiasm for the technology spills out of the pages, making a strong case for even the most skeptical reader to give CSS a whirl and count on its future. The text covers CSS1 in impressive depth--not only the syntactical conventions but also more general concepts such as specificity and inheritance. Frequent warnings and tips alert the reader to browser-compatibility pitfalls.

Entire chapters are devoted to topics like units and values, visual formatting and positioning, and the usual text, fonts, and colors. This attention to both detail and architecture helps readers build a well-rounded knowledge of CSS and equips readers for a future of real-world debugging. Cascading Style Sheets honestly explains the reasons for avoiding an in-depth discussion of the still immature CSS2, but covers the general changes over CSS1 in a brief chapter near the end of the book.

When successfully implemented, Cascading Style Sheets result in much more elegant HTML that separates form from function. This fine guide delivers on its promise as an indispensable tool for CSS coders. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

Book Description

Simply put, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a way to separate a document's structure from its presentation. The benefits of this can be quite profound: CSS allows a much richer document appearance than HTML; CSS saves time--you can create or change the appearance of an entire document in just one place; and its compact file size makes web pages load quickly. Eric Meyer, a member of the CSS&FP Working Group and an internationally known expert on HTML and CSS, tackles the subject with passion and delivers a comprehensive and thorough update to his groundbreaking book. All readers will benefit from both the depth and breadth of his experience and his clear and honest style. Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is a thorough review of all aspects of CSS2.1 and a comprehensive guide to CSS implementation. The book includes new content on positioning, lists and generated content, table layout, user interface, paged media, and more. It explores in detail each individual CSS property and how it interacts with other properties, and shows how to avoid common mistakes in interpretation. If you're ready to take the next step with your HTML coding and incorporate CSS or are already a CSS code warrior, you'll find Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is the book you've been craving.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars More than one edition of this book.......2007-09-04

Note that there are at least 3 editions of this book. Check for the latest edition if you want the latest.

4 out of 5 stars A reference book, not a how-to.......2007-06-16

This book is not an explanation or tutorial of how to make beautiful pages with CSS. I think the people who give it below 3 stars may have been looking for that, and instead they should try CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions. This book IS, however, a complete reference to all CSS properties and values, and also contains some valuable tips on browser behavior and bugs. If I'm coding along and forget what all the possible values are for list-style-type, this is the book I reach for.

5 out of 5 stars from Eric Myer (the man!) comes a must-have for anyone using CSS.......2007-03-30

This is the 'go-to' reference for me. The truly ultimate guide to CSS from one of the construct's primary innovators and authors. Mr. Meyer is the most knowledgeable person in the field of CSS, browser compatibility and all around HTML design.

3 out of 5 stars was a great book a couple of years ago.......2007-01-17

Probably a bit out of date at this point. For me, this book wasn't that useful, since I generally refer to the W3C site for information about CSS. But it's a nice desk reference, and a standard tool for almost all CSS developers. There's probably a new version out by now to address all the developments that have happened in the past couple of years, I would look for that (or wait until one comes out, it won't be long).

5 out of 5 stars Good, thorough step-by-step guide.......2007-01-07

I had done some work with style sheets, but was confused bythe terms and had no idea what they can do. This book completely changed what I can do when I design web sites. It'sa real eye-opener and a great reference.
Envisioning Information
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Amazing book for information design
  • An Obsolete Glance At A Classic Problem
  • one of three or four
  • A wonderful book!
  • An outstanding addition to my library
Envisioning Information
Edward R. Tufte
Manufacturer: Graphics Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0961392118

Amazon.com

A remarkable range of examples for the idea of visual thinking, with beautifully printed pages. A real treat for all who reason and learn by means of images. -- Rudolf Arnheim

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Amazing book for information design.......2007-07-15

I am the type of person who dabbles in all kinds of design, and I think of the ideal designer as one who knows a little about everything. Designers design ways of output, whether it be lemon juice from a lemon or ways to fit all vital components in a laptop in the most efficient way. This book is about the output of information from our multidimensional world to the flat paper space, and he does it brilliantly.
It's even worth mentioning the book itself as a good piece of design. All the images are vivid, the pages feel crisp and durable, even the color of the pages I bet was an attention of detail (it's slightly offwhite, but in an extremely good way). It's like good ol' fashioned timeless design.
He covers the subject wide and far, dips into everything from visual illusions to hardcore information displays. Sometimes you wonder where the heck he gets all these wonderful images, they span from the stoneage till today and show the vast variety of ways to display information, both simple and complex.
It is a beautiful book and an absolute must for people interested in the design of information. Actually, I'd say it's a must for anyone interested in information at all, be it for powerpoint or for magazine layout. This will be one of the most intelligent books on my shelf.

3 out of 5 stars An Obsolete Glance At A Classic Problem.......2007-06-28

This is a short book, 126 pages. An interesting cursory exploration of the subject. However, it feels like it predates information technology (1990 predates the web by 5 years), and seems to have more in common with how to communicate elements of a hand-drawn map atlas if you were living in the 1700s than it has with using Adobe Illustrator to convey an idea for the web. I bought this book to see if it would help me as a web developer, and instead when it arrived I realized I got a weird coffee table book that feels like it was written in the 1960s, at the latest, to summarize that you can use different icons or pictographs of small size to communicate important ideas without words. (Sorry, I already gave away the story of the book.)

I know this review isn't going to get very popular marks, but, put simply, this book is probably good for professional or student pure designers, but it's useless for me. I honestly don't think the book targets web designers, but somebody here reviewed that it was "great" for web designers, so because of that remark I bought it. Sorry, but I don't see the applicability. But then, I only skimmed over the book before I put it back on Amazon Marketplace.

While one should normally never judge a book by its cover, in this case I think you should.

5 out of 5 stars one of three or four.......2007-01-10

this is part of a series from tufte. he uses examples to describe techniques of visualization. if you do presentations to others or write reports that present complex data, several of his books should be in your library.

5 out of 5 stars A wonderful book!.......2006-11-04

No designer should be without this book. I especially enjoy the historical accounts of information design. Of course hind sight is 20/20 so his redesigns seem obvious from our perspective.

5 out of 5 stars An outstanding addition to my library.......2006-06-23

An outstanding addition to my library, Edward systematically explores the presentation of data showing the value of data rich content when it is properly displayed. After reading half the book, I couldn't sit through a presentation without coming up with at least 3 ways to improve it. The illustrations in the book are beautifully rendered and cover a diverse set of subject matter each as interesting as the next. The only topic concerning this book that I struggled with is whether or not to mark it up. In the end, as I do with all of my books I intend to refer back to, I did.
Introducing Character Animation with Blender
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • best book for learning character sub-d modeling and animation
  • not bad at all
  • Excellent!
  • Great Blender Intro and Character Design
  • Animation Motivated Novices
Introducing Character Animation with Blender
Tony Mullen
Manufacturer: Sybex
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0470102608

Book Description

Let this in-depth professional book be your guide to Blender, the powerful open-source 3D modeling and animation software that will bring your ideas to life. Using clear step-by-step instruction and pages of real-world examples, expert animator Tony Mullen walks you through the complexities of modeling and animating, with a special focus on characters. From Blender basics to creating facial expressions and emotion to rendering, you’ll jump right into the process and learn valuable techniques that will transform your movies.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars best book for learning character sub-d modeling and animation.......2007-10-16

This is not just a good Blender book, this book is the best Ive seen for learning the whole process of modeling and animating a 3D character. If you are new to 3D, you should know that Blender has a very difficult interface in which to learn, although all the rabid Blender devotees will tell you once you learn it, its the best workflow (I still dont know Blender well enough to make a fair call). But not only does this book effortlessly explain how to use the interface, it teaches very good modeling practices by using a simple but good quality character in which is used for entire book (the body was very easy, the face sort of tricky). This is so much better than regular 3D books that jump around to a thousand different unrelated aspects to the interface. You also are given a brief but good coverage of materials and texturing. And then go on to make quite a complex rig as well as many other aspects of rigging and skinning such as action constraints and facial animation with lip syncing. The book also covers nonlinear animation, lattice deformation and metaballs as well as python scripting. And of course how to render the final animation. Ive found no other 3D modeling/animation book that covers all this so simply. And I was even able to send my .blend file to the email the author provided in the book when I got stuck on rigging and he gladly gave advice.

5 out of 5 stars not bad at all.......2007-10-10

I pre-ordered this book the moment it appeared on Amazon...there are few resources which delve so in depth on this subject with blender all in one place, so if you're a blender enthusiast, it is surely the way to go.

Tony Mullen's writing style is superb for any newbie who wants to understand, a style which seems to be fairly prevalent in much of the resources that the blender community offers. They tend to write for those whom they know may or may not have extensive experience in CGI. If someone writes an introduction to the concepts of Blender, they write it accordingly. mind you this is an individual who holds a Ph.D. and yet his writing isn't intimidating at all.

I also enjoyed the forwards by Bassam Kurdali and Ton Roosendaal
and as far as having a problem with the included dvd, it worked just fine! And I really enjoyed watching the surreal "Elephant Dream", who knew blender could accomplish so much? though I do suspect that some heavy programming was done to accomplish some of the effects, but at least you get an idea that Blender is a very, very serious program with some amazing abilities.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent!.......2007-08-25

If you are new to Blender and 3d animation, this book will help you to "open your mind to the possibilities". You will learn to build and animate your own character step by step. Easy to follow and very well explained. The included DVD has a lot of animation samples and source files used in the book. Go for it!

5 out of 5 stars Great Blender Intro and Character Design.......2007-08-17

Of all the books I've read on 3D, this is the first that actually has been useful and direct to me. I have been using Blender 3D for a year now, but I found that there was alot of cool features that I missed that I then learned from this book.

Besides a great introduction, this book flows smoothly with the creation of a face from only a reference photo (with all the intermediate steps to get there), and then the rest of the book is showing how to build a a fully rigged (ready for animation) character from scratch. I am so amazed with this book.

This is a definitely a worthwhile book. I teach Blender 3D for a organization at Texas A&M University, and I suggest this to them all.

5 out of 5 stars Animation Motivated Novices .......2007-08-13

Great book for the Blender Project. The intro says it all, for Blender Pros and highly motivated novices. Great tutorial and all the pieces included on CD.
Illustrator CS2 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Perfect
  • Great book
  • An up to date Illustrator guide
  • Best Illustrator Book for the Money!
  • Great Book
Illustrator CS2 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Elaine Weinmann , and Peter Lourekas
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321336569

Book Description

If you're looking forward to using cool new tools like Illustrator CS2's Live Trace or Live Paint in your vector artwork, or eager to take advantage of its more than 200 professionally designed templates, you'll need to get up to speed on every aspect of Illustrator CS2 now with this Visual QuickStart Guide! As the standard Illustrator text in many design schools, this popular, task-based best seller has taught a generation of users how to make the most out of Adobe's vector-graphics powerhouse. Now it&rsquo;s back--revised and updated--to teach the next. Using simple step-by-step instructions, loads of screen shots, and an array of time-saving tips and tricks, this volume represents the quickest route to Illustrator CS2 proficiency. Clearly marked locators indicate new and improved features (such as enhanced type capabilities, powerful 3D graphics tools, enhanced PDF support, and more), a 24-page color section, and highly readable text create a winning combination for every level of Illustrator user.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Perfect.......2007-10-12

This book was delivered in a timely manner and was exactly the quality I expected.

4 out of 5 stars Great book.......2007-10-09

This book I found was a great reference book. It gives you good explainations of how to do different stuff. I would have liked it to have a bit more colour and a few more diagrams, but other than that I think it's a great book!

5 out of 5 stars An up to date Illustrator guide.......2007-07-23

I was a new user of Adobe Illustrator and this book had all the answers and ways to use Illustrator software. You can just go on reading and get a hands on the software or you can find the solutions when you face problems. Its just worth buying.

5 out of 5 stars Best Illustrator Book for the Money!.......2007-05-09

This is just a great book! It gives you simple ways to learn the program, excellent exercises, and explains everything you'd need to have to make Illustrator spin for you.

5 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2007-03-18

I own quite a few of the Visual Quickstart Guide series and this one is no exception. It is a great book. The format this follows allows for quickly finding exactly the help you need. The instructions are precise and clear telling you exactly what to do. Anyone that is pressed for time but needs a bit more know-how should consider this book.

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