Reviews (42)

This is the book you need, stop looking...
Im a college student, ive taken multiple classes that were supposed to "teach" us software via textbooks and this is by far the easiest book to follow. I have no formal experience with the software, i just bought it recently because this is the last year i will be able to take advantage of a student discount on software, and i thought it would come in handy... ive burned thru the first 1/2 of the book in 3 nites, prolly 2 hours a nite.. Its not tedious at all, very straight forward and color illustrated step by step... They give you the keyboard shortcuts, as well as the pull down menu commands upfront, and it guides you through the things you will actually use without alot of b.s. i will be ordering the rest of the series on adobe software to learn the rest of the web bundle, probably the best $45 ive spent on textbooks yet.

Well organized and easy to understand
I've tried learning photoshop many times before, but each book I read made me loose interest. This book is fun, and arranged in a way so that lessons are neither too long nor too short.

Get Deke McClelland's instruction books instead
Adobe's instruction book are: very basic, and . . . boring.Get Deke's books--you'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Adobe Photoshop (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Desktop Publishing    10. Desktop Publishing - General    11. Interactive & Multimedia    12. Microcomputer Graphics    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    14. Photoshop   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Video & Electronic - General    5. Computer games    6. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (10)

You need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE
This fourth Tufte title continues his themes of pairing image with text, focusing on how information can be transmitted graphically and focusing on 'sparklines': data-intense, word-like graphics. Perhaps it's impossible to adequately describe this concept using plain print: for more, you need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE, blending cartography, diagrams, science and art in a winning survey of measurement-based images.
Recycled?No problem!
I for one am the opposite of the people who read this and, as fans of Tufte's other works, felt let down.There seem to be a lot of complaints about recycled material.Yes, a lot of stuff in here is found in his other books.Yes, his whole Cognitive Style of PowerPoint pamphlet is reproduced here (I think?).No, I don't think that's a problem and in fact I think this is his best work ever.
Beautiful Figures, Shallow Words
I was disappointed by "Beautiful Evidence". It seems to me to be a medium primarily for the reproduction of many gorgeous drawings, graphs, and tables done by others and the author, and an opportunity to make a rant on PowerPoint. Yes, many bad figures have been created and Dr. Tufte has made valid points and good suggestions, but they are not as densely presented as one would expect from his own words.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computers    4. Graphic Methods    5. Visual communication   

Reviews (12)

Excellent guide with great strategies
I think this guide is a must-have for anyone seeking to venture into the dungeons *currently* in the game.The information goes well beyond the maps you have in the Atlas addon by providing details for quest lines and boss loot tables.The strategies alone make the book a worthwhile purchase.Those written for high level raids such as Blackwing Lair and Ahn Qiraj were developed by actual players -- and they work!This book is much loved by the people in my guild.
WoW dungeon guide
Again, I bought this in anticipation of my retrun from a deployment.I haven't used this particular guide in game use yet.
world of warcraft dungeon companion
This book was very helpful in understanding the high level instances before going into them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Computers - Games    3. Games    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Video & Electronic - General    6. Video & Electronic - Sony Playstation    7. Computers / Entertainment & Games / General    8. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (4)

Practically Worthless
If it didn't have a short precis of each mission, then it would be completely worthless. I was looking for something more along the lines of one of Andy Herd's FSX reviews found at Flightsim website.And Andy's reviews are free!I paid over $20 for this waste of time and paper.Does the writer, Bart G. Farkas, really think people buying this manual are looking to find out the basics of how a plane stays aloft?We wanted the FSX secrets, the down & dirty stuff that only a collaborator with the programmers could have written.What we got was a 2nd grade book report on the very basics of aviation.Save your money, or review a copy before purchasing. You've been warned.

Fledglin
Although the reviewers of October 14, 2006 rated this FSX Guide very poorly. they have inadvertently strengthened the product by giving a very useful and informative errata to the Guide. We applaud their specificity. We also look forward to an immediate, upgraded corrected FSX Guide from Prim Game Guides.

Poor quality
There are many typographical errors.Even worse, the airspeed info is often inaccurate.For example, on page 107, the Boeing 737-800 is listed with a cruising speed of 477 kt but when you read the next line it states that the maximum speed is 147 kt.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Computer Graphics    3. Games    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Video & Electronic - General    7. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (9)

Adobe Illustrator CS2 Classroom in a Book
What is it about the Classroom in a Book series that I devour like ice cream in the middle of August in Texas? It has to do with the richness of the presentation, the simplicity of design and the total coverage of material that you don't get in the box with the CD, or more importantly buy direct online and dont have a manual.
Great
I got exactly what I ordered in a very timely manner.thank you

A quick guide to Illustrator
In a few words what are the capabilities to the package, with a nice companion of labs and examples. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Reviews (5)

A comprehensive resource - but not for the novice
Truly Matt Pharr and NVIDIA are at the top of their game, and his "GPU Gems" series is certainly the only one of its kind for graphics professionals that are familiar with GPU's and shading languages already, and want to exploit them for the maximum speed and effect achievable using today's technology. It is not a "how-to" book on shading or GPUs or even advanced graphics. There are equations and code interspersed throughout the book, with bits of wisdom that are very instructive for the initiated. However, if you are a home-grown graphics programmer who knows C, or C++, or Java, and even some assembly language, plus you are familiar with image processing and computer graphics techniques, that will probably not be enough to get you through this book. I would say that this is a five star book for high-level professional graphics programmers who work with GPU specifics and shaders daily, and I would say it is a two or three star book for everyone else.
Excellent Second Book in the GPU Gems Series
This book is the second installment of the GPU Gems book series by NVIDIA. Just like the first book, GPU Gems 2 is a collection of articles by various authors from game development companies, academia, and tool developers on advanced techniques for programming graphics processing units (or GPUs for short). It is aimed at intermediate to advanced graphics developers that are familiar with the most common graphics APIs. The reader should also be proficient in C++. As with the first GPU Gems book, GPU Gems 2 is not for beginners. For professional graphics and game developers, however, it is an excellent collection of interesting techniques, tips, and tricks.
Pretty pictures
This book is targeted at people who have a good solid grasp of either OpenGL or D3D as well as a grounding in programming languages such as C/C++ or Java.While this much is obvious, the book is still painfully difficult to get anything useful out of.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer graphics    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Microcomputer Graphics    8. Programming - General    9. Real-time programming    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    12. Software engineering   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Video & Electronic - General    5. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (1)

Must Have
just picked mine up yesterday. Very detailed with all game maps, armor, weapons etc. Great! must have ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Video & Electronic - General    5. Computer games    6. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (17)

Not quite worth it
I haven't actually purchased this book, but Amazon won't let me post without giving it a score. However, I just want to point out to any WoW newbies interested in buying it that many things change in Azeroth, meaning this atlas will become more and more incorrect as time passes. Flight paths have changed more than once, as have the locations of various NPCs. Also, dungeons and entire areas have been added to Azeroth since it was released two years ago, including several since this book was published last winter. If you really want up-to-date maps, I would search online for sites that keep updated maps. Usually, sites that offer maps also have maps and walkthroughs of instances, so they will be much more useful than this atlas. Allakazam is one site I can think of off the top of my head. Not to knock this book, I'm sure it's pretty and all that; I just don't think it's that useful for playing the game.

Crazy Enoch!
This Book is the best companion book for WoW or my name aint CRAZY!
WoW Atlas
I haven't used the book in the game yet (I bought it in anticipation of my return from a deployment).I looked through the book briefly (it just made me want to play more when I return), it seems to have a lot of good information for each city.My main reason for buying the atlas is that I really don't like to switch screens back and forth when playing.So hopefully this will help me out.If I feel different after playing with the atlas, I'll update my review. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computers - Games    2. Games    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Video & Electronic - General    5. Video & Electronic - Strategy Games    6. Computer games    7. Computers / Entertainment & Games / General    8. Games / Video & Electronic   

Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Video & Electronic - General    6. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (1)

Deception Guide, Part 2.
The Armageddon guide may seem intimidating and interesting due to the number of pages it's toting - but do not be fooled.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Video & Electronic - General    6. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (4)

3D-Max Bible
Excellent book....very helpful for Web Design .Amazon 5 stars also for fast delivery and excellent communication.

Graphic Bible
Great book, complete,exaustive, may be necessary to introduce more colored photo with a better resolution.

Great For Newcomers or Advanced Users
I'm new to 3ds Max 8, so I bought this book to try and help me learn the program~ This book very well written and goes through all the tools and workings of 3ds max 8 plus some of the more popular plug-ins (afterburn etc.) I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to know the ins and outs of 3ds Max, it's great:-) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer animation    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Computer graphics software    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    10. Image processing: computer animation    11. Multimedia   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (11)

Wonderful Book - One of the better computer Manuals I've seen
Just plain good. Well written, well put togeather, and makes it all easy to understand. My only complaint is it should come with a box of stick-its :) I've marked so many pages already.
Wish I bought this first...
I bought the "Absolute Beginers Guide..." first.It wasn't 'absolute' enough for me.The layout of this book was much more logical and comprehensive.

it really is ...
this really is the missing manual.get this and "quick steps" and you will have a mated set that dovetail. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Microsoft FrontPage    8. Microsoft FrontPage (Computer software)    9. Web sites    10. Computer / Internet    11. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    12. Databases & data structures    13. FrontPage, FrontPage 2002, FrontPage 2003, Web design, Microsoft office, HTML, Sharepoint, building Web sites, cascading style sheets, XML, VBA, script, Web developer, Missing Manual, FrontPage: The Missing Manual   

Reviews (19)

Essential if you want to experience everything Oblivion has to offer.
If you're buying Oblivion, you might as well buy this guide at the same time. Although you don't need it, having the guide isn't going to ruin the game for you. Nobody said you have to use the walkthroughs to "cheat" your way through the quests. It is all the extra info that make this book worthwhile. The chapters on character creation, combat, spellmaking, and enchanting are very helpful and give you a lot more information than you can learn from the game itself. It's also nice to have a resource to look through to find what all you can do in the game.

Buy it used, not new
Buy a used copy of this guide.If you are playing Oblivion you will need access to this encyclopedia of information.The authors organized the information poorly.You will find your self flipping from page x to page z and then to page y.I suspect the book was on a tight time table, it certainly suffers from lack of thought.Bottom line, you will need the information but you will have to dig through a lot of chaff to find the wheat.Use this book in conjuction with the guides on GameFAQ.This book's main advantage is the maps.Very detailed.At times deep within the book you may find errors, such as place x is located northwest of y, when is really southwest.Also its confusing when they say place x is to the right of place z, when they should say place x is southeast of place z.

The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Game Guide
The Elder Scrolls Game Guide is invaluable. It will help you to navigate what is a complex and many faceted game. The game is a great adventure that you can pick and choose many different avenues to explore throughout your quest. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Computers - Games    3. Games    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Video & Electronic - General    6. Video games    7. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (20)

Love this book to review the Maya class I just took
This book is awesome for me as I just finished a beginning Maya 3D modeling and animation class this past semester. I was afraid that I would forget a lot of what I learned and also that I wanted to review to enhance my understanding so I looked for a book that would take me step by step, through several different types of projects. And I'm happy to say that I'm one third into this very thick, but easy to follow book and it does just that. It really leads you by the hand, better than my instructor in the classroom, because I can go at my own pace (which is very slow). A great book for the beginner and soon to be intermediate Maya practitioner. Please note, however, that I also bought the Visual Quickstart Guide to Maya 6 previously, which has been a great cross-reference book to this particular Learning Maya 7: Foundation book. I guess no one book will answer or be clear enough on every little nuance of a topic; that is why it helps to have another book or two on the same topic as a cross-reference just in case you get stuck on an interpretation of the textual meaning or intention.

Useless
This book is weighty, full-colored and honestly, looks pretty cool when it comes in the mail. The problem starts when you go to use it. For someone like myself who has absolutely no prior 3D animation expierence, this book is horrible. It skimps on steps, the steps it tells me to do fail to work in the program, the dozens/hundred of menu options are not labeled when you're doing the steps and then a few pages over it'll tell you to go to visor window and you're all, what? Visor menu? What in the world is that? Then you have to waste valueable time searching for the elusive menu.
WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION TO MAYA!!
It's pretty great for beginners, but if you have NEVER used a 3-D package before, I suggest doing the INTRODUCING MAYA 7: FOR BEGINERS first. I also suggest using the previous FOUNDATION BOOKS which include Salty the Seal and the spaceship battle since they teach things that aren't in this book. (As you can see, I'm a firm believer in grasping this program.)
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer animation    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Three-dimensional display systems    8. Computer graphics software    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    10. Image processing: computer animation   

Editorial Review

This Squaresoft-sanctioned book on one of the most highly anticipated console games ever does not disappoint. Those who have managed to obtain a copy of the game (descriptions of rioting and fighting upon the retail release of Final Fantasy IIV sound like sheer hyperbole, but probably aren't) will find plenty of helpful clues, maps, and general game play advice. Those less fortunate can at least take solace in--or further whet their appetites with--the hundreds of beautiful glossy screen shots that fill each chapter. ... Read more

Reviews (271)

No Good At ALL
This is one of the worst game guides I have read in my life...and I've read a few. I got it back in '97 when the game first came out and spoiled everything (even THE big event at the end of the first disc). I later got the guide from Versus Books and it blew this pathetic book out of the water. It spoiled nothing and had twice the amount of useful secrets (including materia combos). Don't waste your time (and money) with this joke. Thankfully, BRADYGames realized its idiocy, fixed it, and got it right for FFVIII's guide (which basically aped FFVII's Versus Books' guide's style). Then they ruined it again with that awful, useless FFIX guide. I guess money grubbers never learn. And guys, you're supposed to be reviewing the GUIDE, not the game...

Terrible...
I guess this is an okay guide if you just want to get the game over with, but why would you waste your time doing that? This guide misses out on so much. I've found items on my own that weren't even mentioned in the guide. The bestiary has no organization and it's still missing many monsters/enemies. You can tell that they tried to make it in the order that you'll encounter the enemies, but many of them can be found before and many of them aren't even listed at all. The weapons, items, and materials information at the end is not detailed enough. "Side Areas" lacks organizations and it isn't very helpful. Where is the help on Enemy Skills? On the walkthrough section, they don't even tell you the right buttons most of the time (not that you need it, though). The numbering/lettering system gets a little bit confusing. A lot of their "strategies" are based on the same party that they like to use. Not everyone likes to use Aeris, especially if they have played the game before. I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you. On a side note, the PC version (black and white, I can't find it anywhere anymore) by the same author was so much better. Everything that this guide lacked was in the PC version (except for color, but they made that up by having color maps and stuff in the back).

Product damage
The service was great I recieved my package within a week, but when i opened it i noticed that the book was damaged due to the poor handling. I guess if your looking to just have the guide for reference then you won't have a problem but if you want it for keeps then you might want to order it with some bigger stuff so it doesn't get damaged on the way. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers - Games    3. Video & Electronic - General    4. Computer games    5. Games / Video & Electronic   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games/Puzzles    3. Video & Electronic - General    4. Video & Electronic - Sony Playstation    5. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (22)

Good, but ONLY FOR WINDOWS
Great detail, but I was very disappointed to discover it is only for Windows.It does NOT cover PE4 for the Mac.There are some substantial differences between the applications on the two platforms.Good material, but now I have to figure out what to do on my Mac ...
Excellent Illustrations
What makes this book so useful is the preponderance of excellent illustrations! This book very clearly illustrates where the user should focus on the Elements' tool bars, option bars, menues, screens, etc.
Very helpful manual
The manual is essentially great for beginners and advanced users. Probably a little bit more illustrations would have inspired me to rate it with five stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Design    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computers    6. Computers - Desktop Publishing    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Techniques - Digital    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    12. Computers / Desktop Publishing    13. Digital techniques    14. Image processing    15. Photography    16. Photoshop    17. photography, digital photography, graphics, photo editing,   

Reviews (7)

Excellent bible for the bumbling novice
First I need to give a nod to "Gunny", the reviewer who convinced me to purchase this book: Thank you!This is truly the best Illustrator guide available for beginners, who need to find their painful path through the inscrutable thicket of Illustrator, who need to get a graphic project done, quickly.
Excellent, As Usual
Visual Quick Start Guides and I were introduced in college. Each one I have used is: supremely instructive, light to nonexistent on self absorbed asides (a blessed relief), and meaty...very meaty. The paper isn't glossy, the images aren't in color, you get no adorable photos of the author with their children frolicking on the sands of Southern California. But you get information about how to use Adobe products (and anything else you want to tackle) so that you, in your miserable Midwestern hovel, far from the smiling shores of the Pacific rim, can accomplish your tasks for your demanding and sniffy clients and get paid, and not go to the poor house! Tres cool, no?
Complete Reference
This is a reference book, and a very good one. If you're looking for a tutorial-based book, try the HOT series by Lynda Weinman and quit your griping. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Illustrator (Computer file)    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Microcomputer Graphics    9. Operating Systems - Macintosh    10. Operating Systems - Windows    11. Computer graphics software    12. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design