Editorial Review

Usability design is one of the most important--yet often least attractive--tasks for a Web developer. In Read more

Reviews (298)

A must read for anyone involved in website creation
An infinitely quotable book which takes you through the fundaments of designing websites that customers will find easy to use.Easy to use websites of course being successful websites.
The Title Says It All
I've read a lot on usability, and this is the single-best source I've seen. Every site designer and developer has to read this book. In fact, everyone on the decision food chain in your organization at least needs to be aware of what Krug teaches us. I will forever use usability testing often and early in the process now. Remember, it doesn't matter how cool your application or website is--if people can't use it, they will get frustrated and leave. Please--give us all a better experience!

definitely not a waste of paper :-)
This is a wise book, intentionaly kept small to be qucikly digestible. Very cleanly and simply the author describes where are the problems customers/users encounter while browsing the web, and how web contents designers should avoid making users think (more than absolutely necessary) while trying to do something on one's pages (look for/report/buy/pay/etc). The best book I have read in years.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Publishing    3. Computers    4. Design    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. Internet - World Wide Web    7. Web site development    8. Web sites    9. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    10. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Reviews (42)

Good but over-rated
Good but it could be much better. The selection of books on this topic is poor to begin with. But this happens to be one of the best in that underserved category.
A Refreshing Approach to Presentations
I ran across this book while researching a college workshop on perfecting presentation, dealing with public speaking and effective use of PowerPoint. As one who has suffered through numerous electronic slides that did little or nothing to augment the speaker's efforts, I was delighted to see this fresh and innovative approach. I believe this process works best, however, when one's speech is primarily persuasive in nature. Although these ideas helped me set up a strong introduction and conclusion, in a recent lecture I resorted to bullet points for the material I felt the students had to master. Perhaps as I get more used to Atkinson's technique, I'll better about using it in lecture. However, the business applications seem quite worthwhile. My students' workshop presentations that used his techniques were highly engaging. I highly recommend this book and the supporting web site.

Powerpoint Presentations that POP
If you do any kind of powerpoint presentations, this book is a must read.It provides insight into why you don't want to have your audience reading while you are presenting.It also provides you options and resources to make your presentations better, more informative and credible. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Software - MSOffice    2. Business Software - Powerpoint    3. Business presentations    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer Graphics    6. Computer Graphics - General    7. Computer programs    8. Computers    9. Computers - Accounting Packages    10. Graphic methods    11. Microcomputer Communication Software    12. Multimedia systems in business presentations    13. Presentation Software    14. Computers / General   

Reviews (13)

Beginner to Intermediate Book for great results.
This is a wonderful book for beginning and intermediate photographers who want to know the tricks of the professional photographers out there.Although this book could be useful to those with pocket digital cameras, I believe this book is best suited to owners of DSLR Camera's.
Best Photo Book on the Market
I have been in photography for over 20 years. This book is the best document covering "How to do it" I have read in years. Great for beginners and intermediates alike.

Useful, practical tips
This book contains very useful and practical tips that will help anyone who wants to learn more about digital photography and how to take great pictures.He also offers suggestions on the extra accessories that you may want to purchase that will enhance the quality of your pictures.He adds humor onto every page which makes reading this book even more pleasurable.Definite a must have! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Graphics - General    2. Computer Graphics - Image Processing    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography    5. Techniques - Digital    6. Photographic equipment & techniques    7. Photography / Techniques / Digital   

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   

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Reviews (150)

Fast and painless way to learn Design Patterns
This is the first book of the Head First series that I've read, and I have to say that I love it! I think their teaching approach is very very efficient. Each concept is presented to you in many different ways and at the end your brain finds its way to metabolize it. Sometimes it's a picture that catch your attention, sometimes it's just a joke but at the end the concept sticks in your head and is gonna be there forever (at least I hope so :-))) ). Moreover this book is so easy to read. I recommend it to anybody that wants to learn Design Patterns (in Java) in a painless and fast way.

A fun way to learn Patterns
Patterns are boring. This book makes them fun. How they did it, I'll never know.

Number one!!!
So far i bought about 30 computer books from amazon. This is the BEST!!!!!! First book that explains something real good but doesn't assume that you (the reader) actualy understood it so they re-explain it and attack the problem from a deferent point of view. I bought steven mezger's design patterns with c# book and read it cover to cover. It doesn't even come close to this piece of art although this is wrriten for java programers. I read "decorator" pattern in mezger's book more than 5 times and didn't actualy understand it. First time i read it in this book and i feel like a design patterns master! I'm thinking a lot about their teaching style. Its briliant!If you realy want to understand design patterns even if you are a c# or c++ programmer, By this book!
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer software    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Design    6. Development    7. General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Java (Computer program language)    10. Computer Programming    11. Computers / General    12. Computers / General Information    13. Computers / Programming / Software Development    14. Head First, Design Patterns, Object oriented programming, OOP, Java, Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates, Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Freeman, programming, software engineering,   

Reviews (19)

Very fast and professional
Well covered by cushion and a book was in very good condition as the seller described.No complaint.

A comprehensive, original work
An excellent resource, which not only covers all the relevant ground regarding conceiving and implementing an SEM program, but discusses the necessary approach one must take to make your program happen in the business environment. I've never seen a such a "how to" resource include -- and in such thorough and accuate detail -- these circumstances. A welcome approach which was very helpful to me in my day-to-day work.
Finally all ends covered for SEO and SEM
This book covers all angles.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computers    4. Internet - Web Site Design    5. Internet marketing    6. Web search engines    7. Business & Management    8. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design   

Reviews (5)

I didn't miss a class!
One hopes that the publisher of an application would make the best author for it,and while that is not always the case, this one did not disappoint.This book assumes no prior knowledge and walks the reader meticulously through all the features of Acrobat Standard and Professional for both Windows and OS X.
Very nice book
It is a comprehensive step by step book. I liked the fact that it also included alternative instructions for the instances when a Mac would have different commands.

Good book, but not at all if you prepare for the exam
The book was overall a good book with all what you need to know about Adobe Acrobat. I am preparing for the exam and the book does not cover 75% of the test. Unfortunately Adobe did not think of this and decided to make it very hard for us. Microsoft on the other hand has many books that cover the topics for their exams. Wish Adobe would learn that one thing from them.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Electronic Publishing    5. File conversion (Computer science)    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    7. Interactive & Multimedia    8. Microcomputer Text Processing Software    9. Portable document software    10. Word Processing - General    11. Computer Software Packages    12. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General   

Editorial Review

Provides a rapid and thorough exposition of the JavaScript programming language, as well as an in-depth reference section covering each JavaScript function, object, method, and even handler. Experienced programmers will quickly find the information they need to start writing JavaScript programs. ... Read more

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Reviews (226)

The one JavaScript book to rule them all...
I'm a technical trainer, and we've decided to distribute this book as part of our Ajax courseware.We've reviewed many other JavaScript books, but we keep coming back to this one.
Best JavaScript Reference!
This is the 5th edition of this almost thousand page book (992), and has been pretty much the gold standard for JavaScript reference books.I have the 4th edition that came out a few years ago and it was worth upgrading to this new 5th edition.
The Bible
It's called "The Definitive Guide" for a reason. Covers everything from simple variables to complex AJAX coding. Beginners may be a bit overwhelmed by it, but I would still recommend any O'Reilly guide as it's the one you'll actually use as your skills increase.. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. JavaScript (Computer program language)    5. Object-oriented programming (Computer science)    6. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript    7. Web servers    8. Computers / Languages / Programming    9. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript    10. Java & variants    11. JavaScript, Ajax, DHTML, HTML, scripting, css, dom, httprequest,    12. Object-oriented programming (Computer science   

Reviews (91)

excellent value
i don't usually rave over books but this one far exceeded my expectations. my whole workflow has been improved not to mention the improvment my images have received after reading this book. I don't come from a photography background and photoshop tends to overwhelm me. But photoshop is unavoidable for me- my work is increasingly tied to my photographs. I had been suffering from repeat editing, redoing edits when i would learn new tricks and generally stumbling thorugh photoshop as an absolute novice. But now i feel confident to really do it right in one session and move on. The chapters and sections are well laid out and to the point (despite the sometimes rambling jokiness). After a once-through I know where to look when i come across an issue.
Great intro to Photoshop for Digital Photos
His writing style may be a little cutesy, but most of that is concentrated in the chapter intros which you can safely skip - there's absolutely nothing about photo editing in the chapter intros. They don't even introduce the chapter.
I love his style
This is a great book, the style is easy to understand his tips.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Adobe Photoshop (Computer software)    3. Apple And Macintosh Graphics And Sound    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Techniques - Digital    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    11. Photoshop   

Reviews (28)

Good Starting Point for Channel Work
If you're just learning about channels, and want to learn ways to make your images look better, this book is a good start. Scott Kelby is certainly one of the most prolific pundits in the PS world, and here he assembles techniques from many sources. Explanations are simple, the techniques are tried-and-true, and the writing is not bad (albeit a bit corny). You'll get a lot better at Photoshop by incorporating these techniques into your workflow. It is indeed NOT meant for Elements users, and assumes use of CS2, although most methods can be used in earlier versions with minor modifications.
Poor description
No part of the description of this item states that the book is only for Photoshop CS or CS2 users.Photoshop Elements 3 (which I have)is a software that is used widely and is still for sale in all software sales locations.
Great explanation of channels in Photoshop
I bought this book because I was confused about channels. Mr. Kelby does a good job explaining, and showing by example, how to work with channels in Photoshop. I read the reviews before I bought this book and noticed the criticism about Kelby's "cute" writing style and lack of detail. I bought the book anyway because I wanted the information. This is a good to great book if you want to know about channels. If you already know a lot about channels you'll probably be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Adobe Photoshop (Computer software)    3. Computer Animation    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer Graphics    6. Computer Graphics - General    7. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    8. Computers    9. Software - Photography    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    11. Photoshop   

Reviews (22)

New to Logic?You need this book.
My excitement at being the proud owner of Logic Pro 7 was quickly tempered by the sheer complexity of the software.I spent time with the included documentation and even bought another training book.But it was this book that unlocked Logic's power for me.
Tutorial for Beginners Only
I am new to Logic, but extremely well-versed in other DAW applications. I was looking for a book to cover hands-on issues not specified in the Logic manuals; what I found instead was a series of tutorials that mimic the information found in Logic. If the Logic Reference Manuals don't address a given topic - for example, dealing with latency issues or how to properly archive a project - don't expect it to be addressed here. You're paying for the same content covered again with better hands-on instruction, which may be of great benefit to beginners of the Digital Audio Workstation paradigm.
Recommended
Being a long time Logic user, i still like to study this book to see which areas of Logic I'm still a novice in. What I like about this book, is the Structure, with the chapters and the Tasks to fulfill. So it get's me closer to a streamlined workflow. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Interactive & Multimedia    6. Stereo & Audio Equipment    7. Computer Software Packages    8. Computers / Interactive Media   

Editorial Review

PHP is far more than a cult language or open-source icon. It's a remarkably capable language that's well integrated with lots of technologies--notably mSQL and MySQL database servers--and quite easy to learn. Read more

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Reviews (41)

Solid Look At PHP Programming
'Programming PHP' by Kevin Tatroe is a solid look at this popular open source solution for generating dynamic web pages.Competing against the money solutions ASP and JSP, PHP will give you the same kind of functionality, but at a much lower price!Packed with over 500 pages of PHP goodness, this book will make you a better PHP programmer and teach you how to go all the way from defining the most basic of variables to performing database tasks and all sorts of other important tasks and tricks of the trade.I highly recommend this well-written and well ordered book, perfect for anyone that wants to learn and excel at PHP programming!!
Not the best, but decent
It's not the best computer language book I have ever read, by a long shot, but it did give me most of what I needed. I found a number of errors, including places where the example code differs from the text description. This is mostly the editor's fault. Also, there were a number of important details that were left out. This brings me to my main concern: it is not clear who this book was written for. A novice would be overwhelmed, I think, while a more experienced programmer like me may be frustrated with some critical omissions. On the whole, though, it did get the job done.

Programming PHP, 2nd Edition (PHP 5)
I'm assuming via the dates of the other reviews, that most of them are referring to Version 1.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Design    6. Information Technology    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. PHP (Computer program language)    10. Programming Languages - General    11. Web sites    12. Computer Programming    13. Computers / Languages / Programming    14. Computers / Programming Languages / General    15. Internet languages    16. Programming PHP, Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe, Php, web, database, mysql, dynamic, html, cgi, apache, database-backed, database-driven    17. Publishing on the Internet   

Reviews (10)

Covers every aspect of painter
This book does not focus on just one aspect of painter, such as painting photographs or raw illustration.It goes through each different use of painter in good detail.
Great Asset!
This book is a real asset for anyone, experienced or not. Easy tutorials, and many examples of what is possible in Painter IX.

CHOCK FULL OF INFO
This is an excellent book for PAINTER IX users. There are lots of inspiring paintings from many artists and generally good explanations of the processes used to create them. It does a great job of giving insight into PAINTER's extensive capabilities.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computer graphics    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Fractal design painter    7. Fractal design painter (Computer software)    8. Microcomputer Graphics    9. Computer graphics software    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Reviews (64)

Great web design book
This book is an analisys from a designer's point of view of the cssZenGarden.com project, which is a beautiful project on itself.
Css is not only about limits
As the web developer in our company I often hear our graphical designers asking me what IS possible with CSS. Well this book gives you a good idea. It is not really about learning CSS but at least it gives a good idea about all the possibilities. Each time I get stuck in the limits of CSS, I get back to this book.....

MUCH More Design than CSS
If you are a programmer that knows nothing about graphic design, this book is pretty nice.It is about 70% focused on how to do graphic design, and about %30 about CSS.Otherwise, if you want to learn CSS this isnt the best book.
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Subjects:  1. Cascading style sheets    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Web sites    10. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    11. Internet   

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Reviews (69)

good for beginners
It is a very good guide book for beginners really. I knew maybe just a little about Mac. But definitely not enough to help me go though a smooth work process. This book teaches me shortcuts and the necessary surviving skills I needed. I would recommend to other people.

Pretty Good Tutorial
Having switched from a PC a year ago and having suffered through 12 months with no manual, it is a relief to have it. It is written in plain English, very basic intro to Tiger OS X and should absolutely have been provided to customers free with the computer. Apple is too cute in assuming everyone, of course, is intuitive about "getting" its system. If you've spent much time in PC land it is a huge transition. This book is great because it assumes no knowledge and provides basic definitions. I also bought another "Missing Manual" for iPhoto and that was helpful, as well.

A must-have resource for Mac users
When the Help Menu can't, and you're stuck for an answer, Pogue's Missing Manual is always there with an answer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Apple/Macintosh    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - Macintosh    6. Macintosh (Computer)    7. Operating Systems - General    8. Operating systems (Computers)    9. Programming    10. Computer / Apple/Macintosh    11. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / Macintosh    12. Mac OS X, Tiger, Mac OS, Apple, Finder, System Preferences, Spotlight, Dashboard, iChat, QuickTime, Aqua, Mac OS X, Mac OS, Macintosh, Mac, 10.4, Apple, Finder, Dock, System Preferences, Java, AppleScript, System Administration, Network Administration, BSD, Unix, FreeBSD, Terminal, Perl, Darwin, Apache, MySQL, vi, vim, Emacs, CVS, tcsh, bash, Bourne shell, VPN, SSH, Secure Shell, Directory Services, Open Directory, NetInfo, osascript, OSA, AFP, Rendezvous, SMB, Samba, Developer Tools, Xcode, Interface Builder, Fink, Darwin Ports    13. Macintosh OS   

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   

Reviews (1)

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Do you need to edit and organize your photos? If you do, then this book is for you. Author Barbara Brundage, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is intended to make learning Elements easier by avoiding technical jargon as much as possible, and explaining why and when you'll want to use certain features in the program.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Techniques - General    7. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    8. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    9. Computers / Other Applications    10. Photoshop    11. photography, digital photography, graphics, photo editing, image editing, photoshop, photoshop elements, photoshop elements 5, Adobe   

Reviews (25)

Excellent book for just about any level programmer looking to do ASP.NET the right way
I'd like to give Marco a personal thank you for writing the lastest book with the beer house sample. I have learned quite a lot, compared to other .net books. The concepts in this book work quite a bit better than the standard asp.net 2.0 books, where they discuss everything ASP.NET capable of, but give no real world implementation or design pattern. I have purchased 7 books on asp.net 2.0 alone, and wasted quite a bit of time reading through them. This book has given me more concrete knowledge and help building real applications for businesses than I ever could have found in the others.
Great book
This is a fantastic book. The layout of each chapter and the book in it's entirety is exceptional. It doesn't go into too much details about specific content but rather gives the reader a greater appreciation for the website development process.

Excellent - Puts it all together
This book presents by far the best sample site/case study available for ASP.NET 2.0.Most/all of the primary ASP.NET 2.0 features are utilized.Unlike with the minimalist Microsoft sample apps, design alternatives and decisions are thoroughly explained.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Design    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. Internet programming    7. Microsoft .NET    8. Programming - General    9. Web sites    10. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design &