5 comments about Flexible Rails: Flex 3 on Rails 2.

1. The author goes into great detail on how to efficiently get Rails and Flex working together. The book is updated for the latest version of Rails as well as the upcoming Flex 3 release. I've found the book easy to follow along with and enjoy the author's humor spread throughout the book.
   
   As a developer I'm often tasked with making "things talk to each other". Typically if I can I'll use a tool like Flex Builder for a project and if I have a choice I'll pick Java, .NET or Ruby for the server back end - whatever is the best fit. This book only backed up my belief that Rails and Flex really do work very well together. I've learned a lot going through the code both on Rails and Flex.
   
   I also liked how the author is continually refactoring the application (called "Pomodo"), that is where your learning kicks into overdrive. He uses the Cairngorm framework and even RubyAMF. I didn't have any experience in either up until this point. Now I can say I do and it all fits together nicely.



2. I wasn't sure whether a mixed-technologies book would be adequate for both reading and reference, especially with two technologies. As both a software engineer and a moonlighting instructor this book was an easy read from the start. Mr. Armstrong explores both Flex 3 and Rails 2 with enough background information on both technologies to get a reader ready to code--and that was just Chapter...err...Iteration 1. The second iteration begins with coding (Hello World) and it doesn't stop. This is a must for your coding library and makes a great textbook for students who enrolled in courses geared toward building web and Rich Internet Applications.



3. This is a great book. Peter is the #1 expert in Flex + Rails.



4. I have used Flex for about a year and I have only dabbled in Ruby/Rails development. I have been curious how I might back a Flex front end with a simple service layer that isn't hard to create, maintain or host. So far I have only worked with Java/Spring/Hibernate backend services which can take a little while to build and integrate (Grails is MUCH faster).
   
   After about 100 pages I'm in interation 4 building an interesting RIA with a Rails backend that I can host on relatively inexpensive server if I wanted to. My only struggles thus far was getting MySQL going properly. But that was only because I forgot a step in installing it.
   
   If you have little exposure to Rails and/or Flex and you feel at home on the command line as well as you do in an IDE like Eclipse, this is a great "project" book for you. I'd say you probably want a primer in Ruby, Rails and Flex before you get going but it is pretty easy follow and has a lot of free professional advice from someone that has obviously been around the block a few times. Peter is very upfront about some things that he has done in the book that should not be considered "best practice".
   
   I am hoping to get some good insight how I might do something similar for Flex and Grails. Regardless, I am confident this is going to be a fun journey!



5. I found it best technical book till date but you should know Flex & Ruby before you can jump into this..

5 comments about Security Data Visualization: Graphical Techniques for Network Analysis.

1. I found the "Security Data Visualization" to be well written and full of useful information. The book provides a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in security data visualization, which includes the latest academic work as well as open source and commercial tools.
   
   I particularly liked the examples in Chapter 3 comparing visual representations of port scans from Nmap and the Unicornscan. The differences between the two port scans stood out very clearly even before reading the corresponding explanation.
   
   I also enjoyed the hands-on examples of dissecting visual representations of Nessus and Metasploit attacks in Chapter 4. Among the other things I liked about the book were the examples of using TreeMaps to visualize alert logs from Snort and to perform detailed analysis of alerts described in Chapter 8. (Make sure you read the first chapter because it explains many of the fundamental concepts.)
   
   Also, for those who like reading chapters out-of-order (like myself :) - to save time, I'd recommend reading the first three chapters before reading anything else. I found that it is much easier to understand the rest of the examples in the book that way.
   
   Overall, the book provides practical insights into a very interesting emerging area of information security--security data visualization. I would recommend this book to all security professionals.



2. Security Data Visualization (SDV) is a great book. It's perfect for readers familiar with security who are looking to add new weapons to their defensive arsenals. Even offensive players will find something to like in SDV. The book is essentially an introduction to the field, but it is well-written, organized, and clear. I recommend all security analysts read SDV.
   
   I give five star reviews to books that meet certain criteria. First, the book should change the way I look at a problem, or properly introduce me to thinking about a problem for which I have little or no frame of reference. Although I have been a security analyst for ten years, I have little visualization experience. Author Greg Conti spent just the right amount of time explaining the field, describing key terms (preattentive processing, occlusion, brushing) and displays (star plots, small multiples, TreeMaps). I loved the author's mention of Ben Shneiderman's visualization mantra: "overview first, zoom and filter, details on demand" (p 14).
   
   Second, a five star book should have few or no technical errors. SDV was as sound as they come, at least as far as the security and networking information goes. I can't comment on the author's synthesis of the visualization community. I also liked the case studies in Chs 3, 4, and 5. I liked reading the visualization methodology introduced in the chapter on analyzing firewall logs (Ch 7).
   
   Third, a five star book will make the material actionable. I finished SDV thinking I could try at least some of what I read on my own network. Ch 10 talked about how to build your own visualization tool. I would have liked additional detail on using some of the tools in the book, so perhaps a future edition will expand on that point.
   
   A fourth feature of great books is including current research and referencing outside sources. SDV cited many foundational papers and presentations on visualization in general and security visualization specifically. Chs 6 and 12 addressed these subjects in detail. Ch 11 presented readers with ideas for future projects.
   
   Overall, it should be obvious I really enjoyed reading SDV. My only real complaint seems inherent to the field: how to analyze large data sets. The case study in Ch 5 ("One Night on My ISP") only looks at 303 packets. It is easy to dismiss it since there's hardly any data to analyze. However, I feel that the author's techniques can be creatively scaled if one maintains realistic expectations. SDV is an excellent introduction to the security visualization field and I hope to see other works from the author and others on this important topic.



3. If you want to get into security visualization this is the book for you. This book gives you everything you need to get started in the field. You may be asking yourself why you should care or want to be interested in Security Visualization. In Chapter 1 the author sums it up nicely. "Visualizations make abstract data more coherent...In many cases, visualizations seek to display large amounts of information in a compact but useful way."
   
   Before we get into the review, I'll disclose that I know the author and he gave me a review copy. I don't think this makes it easier for the author to get a good review, in fact, I think it makes it harder because I expect a lot from the author. Its his fault I'm into computer and information security and I have taken courses that he taught, so he had high expectations to meet.
   
   The first three chapters, An Overview of Information Visualization, The Beauty of Binary File Visualization, and Port Scan Visualization give you all the background you need to get started and introduce you to the author's visualization tool, RUMINT. It was interesting to see the difference between nmap and unicornscan and paves the way to create signatures for all types of port scanners based on their default behavior. Chapter 4, Vulnerability Assessment and Exploitation, walks us through analyzing a dataset with an attack using the Metasploit Framework, very interesting and shows us that even with metasploit's built-in IDS evasion, in the end it must create sockets and connections and those can be seen with visualization tools (with the proper tweaking and analysis). I read the sample chapter available (CH 5, One Night on My ISP) before I read the whole book, and it was certainly easier to follow after reading the previous chapters. I think it gives you a good taste of what you can do with security visualization tools and what the book can teach you but can be hard to follow without the background material in the previous chapters. Chapter 6, A Survey of Security Visualization, gives us an overview of how other security researchers are solving security problems with different types of visualization. Chapters 7 (Firewall Log Visualization) & 8 (Intrusion Detection Log Visualization) written by the guest author Raffy Marty uses his tool "AfterGlow" to examine firewall logs and Treemaps to try to organize the volumes of IDS data. Chapter 9, Attacking and Defending Visualization Systems, shows us some sample attacks that attackers could use to thwart security visualization tools. The occlusion and windshield wiper attacks were interesting as well as the idea of using graphical attacks to send images to the analyst. Chapters 10-12, Creating a Security Visualization System, Unexplored Territory & Teaching Yourself, closes out the book with discussions and thoughts on building your own security visualization tools, areas of future research and obviously ways to help teach yourself security visualization.
   
   Some likes and dislikes. I liked that the author regularly points us to background material and extra reading for every section. Each section could pretty much be a book in itself so links to more reading and current research was helpful for the specific areas that peeked my interest. I really liked that the book was in color, I don't see the book being near as effective in black and white. I liked the guest author's take on visualization, it was nice to get a second opinion in the same book and it was extremely nice that they didn't cover the same material like a lot of books that have multiple authors seem to do. Lastly, I liked that the author had created his own tool to do some of the visualization and that its freely available on the tool's site. I was able to get up and running with RUMINT from the material in the book and the how-to on the site.
   
   For dislikes, it would have been nice to have access to some of the scripts mentioned in the book. Hopefully the author will post those on his site. I didn't care for the font of the book, Times New Roman, small times new roman font got a little tiresome of reading after a chapter or two (minor gripe)
   
   Overall, a great book and highly recommended to anyone interested in getting started with security visualization.



4. To those in the information assurance or network security fields, Security Data Visualization by Greg Conti is a must read title due to the fact that it represents the first significant text to analyze its namesake of its title. For those unfamiliar with the utility of visualization systems, the text provides excellent examples on the graphical presentation of information to aid analysis, and how human intuition can be far more effective than standard machine processing. After establishing the basics early on, the book dives into security applications very quickly. By the end of Chapter 2, Conti has already shown enough so that the reader can see how to find a security vulnerability in the file structure of Microsoft Word documents via visualization techniques. As the book progresses so do the applications covered, which include network traffic visualization, visualization of firewall logs, and a handful of other topics. The work presented is extremely eye-opening, as it really has not gotten much attention outside of research and conferences. Security-minded readers unacquainted with this niche field will find the book impossible to put down.
   
   This title is not without its drawbacks, which unfortunately are numerous. In writing Security Data Visualization, Mr. Conti seems to have lacked a clear opinion regarding the identity of his average reader. From the title, it might seem that this would be an advanced/applied topics book on Computer Security, which would imply an assumed basic knowledge level of the reader. Some chapters seem to make this assumption and waste no time getting to the heart of the matter associated with their chapter titles, whereas others get bogged down with extremely unnecessary levels of detail regarding information that does not belong in a book like this. As an example of several sections of this nature, nearly half of Chapter 3, entitled "Port Scans," is spent explaining TCP/IP and the OSI seven layer model. These are topics that a majority of readers would need as prerequisite knowledge in order even to be interested in a book like this, and this inconsistent scope of information hinders the already short book by wasting pages on topics that do not directly relate to the title. The book also frequently falls victim to favoring 'what' over 'why' in explaining most topics. All too often chapters fail to rationalize design decisions, or why certain visualizations were used in conjunction with specific applications. In writing the first book for this field, it would have been much more beneficial to have the text read more like a tutorial than a proof of concept.
   
   However, the most glaring problem with this book involves deception of the reader. In Chapter 5 "One Night on My ISP", the author introduces a Security Visualization program called RUMINT which is a tool to visualize network packets, and juxtaposes it with heavyweight open-source security tools such as Wireshark and nmap. What is not to be found anywhere in the book other than in an image caption in Chapter 11, and in a few small words on the back cover, is that RUMINT was written by the author and is not a community standard like the programs it is presented alongside. Further investigation into RUMINT at its project website (www.rumint.org), shows it is written in the obsolete Visual Basic 6 language and requires Microsoft Office as well as an expensive 3rd party component called PacketX to be installed in order to compile. Its use of the PacketX library also probably makes RUMINT illegally licensed with the Creative Commons version of the GPL it is published under. In addition, the software has several limitations and is incomplete, being nowhere near the level of maturity that the Wireshark or nmap projects have achieved over the years of community revision. If the author had stated anywhere in the text that he was using his own tool in order to illustrate a concept, all of the above would have been excusable. RUMINT is used throughout the book, and this is not the only example of selective omission in Security Data Visualization. Two chapters that cover firewall log visualization and intrusion detection system log visualization, and were written by his colleague Raffael Marty, who uses these chapters to anonymously promote his own software package called Afterglow. The lack of disclosure regarding the origins of these programs results in a serious loss of trust in the author. Omissions of this nature, especially in a book related to information assurance, are very difficult to forgive.
   
   Despite all of this criticism, Security Data Visualization is a must-have for any computer security professional's bookshelf. The abilities this book will add to your toolkit, such as being able to look at a visualization of your network traffic, and then being able to not only eyeball that you are being portscanned, but identify the specific program the attacker is using is nothing short of incredible. Each page is printed in full color on semi-gloss paper, presenting the wealth of visualizations and diagrams the way they were meant to be seen. Aside from covering most common network security topics in a completely new light, the book constantly reminds the reader of the youth of this niche field and provides ideas and suggestions for future work. With this book Mr. Conti has definitely succeeded in creating a groundbreaking title, and with some revisions and a second edition he almost certainly will succeed in creating a classic.



5. I'm somewhat on the fence as to whether I really liked this book or not. A book that covers this subject in detail with a number of practical applications in the real world is sorely needed. Unfortunately, this book only half-meets that criteria.
   
   As previously mentioned, the author has serious trouble maintaining focus on his intended audience, and spends far too much time providing security basics, when the audience who will understand the significance of this book will be intermediate/advanced security people.
   
   The entire book is only 230 pages including images, and can easily be read in an afternoon or two. Without images, it clocks in at well under 200 pages. Many of the chapters ended prematurely, when the information was just starting to get really interesting.
   
   Many of the images really could have been done better. For example, in several screenshots he shows packet traces in rumint, but it's impossible to tell which source and destination packets are which, because he uses 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2 as his IP addresses, whereas designating one box in the 10.x range and another in the 192.168.x range would have illustrated his point much better. Several of the color choices in his statistical analyses were far too similar for easy distinction (blue and dark gray against a black background? Really?).
   
   I did find his treeview analyses of snort logs very interesting and useful, and the chapter on analyzing firewall logs and how to determine how to parse the logs was really good.
   
   In all, it's not a bad book, but it's clear that this author has much knowledge to impart, and I'm disappointed that more of it didn't make it into this book.

1 comments about Painting the Web.

1. In spite of the huge number of graphics on the Web, the practice is surprisingly underserved in terms of the literature. Of course, there are design books, books on software, but these focus on best use of a product. The nuances and requirements for the Web are harder to find.
   
   This book is a practitioner's book. And, it's a quite personal work. Written in a conversational style, it's easy to read. The author covers a wide range of tools which she uses on a regular basis. That includes a variety of less-familiar open source tools.
   
   There is a great deal of HTML, CSS and JS code related specifically to graphic representation. It's really convenient to have this foundation in one place.
   
   At first glance, one might be surprised at the detail given to techniques of Photoshop and other tools. But again, as a practitioner's book, it reflects the techniques useful for specifically Web design. It's handy to have these in one place for reference.
   
   Because it is a rather personal work, there will be emphases that one might change. There is a significant amount of space spent on SVG -- which, although a standard, I think is problematic because of the lack of inherent support in IE and Adobe's discontinuation of the plug-in. In any case, weighing in at 638 pages, there's a lot of good information, regardless of one's personal opinion.
   
   The focus is on traditional and standards-based HTML programming. The author does broach the canvas object -- a part of the HTML 5 standard which provides another route to animation on the desktop. However, IE8, at the time of the book's writing, didn't support this object. There is no coverage of Flash, and Silverlight is mentioned simply to identify another non-standard MS approach. Indeed, both Adobe and MS focus their energies on Flex/Flash/AIR and Silverlight technologies respectively to provide a richer Internet experience.
   
   As fits a book on graphics, illustrations are in color. This adds a lot to the vitality of the read, and helps portray information in a useful way.
   
   As the author notes, no one book can address the many issues related to web graphics. This book is of a different character than Weinman's Designing Web Graphics.4. Though in need of an update, that volume presents a more structured and a complementary perspective to the present.
   
   In any case, it's a good addition to the Web designer's bookshelf.

5 comments about Schaum's Outline of Mathematica.

1. This is an excellent introductory book on Mathematica. If you need to learn some basic features of this language, it is the best tool.
   
   The author did not spend too much time on theory. The rules and syntax are explained very clearly with illustrative examples. Of course, the theory may first sound very dry and dull, but once you follow the examples, you will see that things will settle in your mind easily. Clear, concise and effective discussion of the topics makes your job easy and enjoyable.
   
   The best way to learn and explore various features is to try to modify the parameters in the examples. Make use of your own creativity to discover new features. In many examples, the same outcome can be obtained by several different ways.
   
   This book, in general, covers the fundamentals of the language, but it is sufficient to use differentiation, integration, 2D and 3D graphics, differential equations, linear algebra, etc. Mathematica, certainly, is quite a sophisticated language, there are many more intricate features.
   
   For more advanced features, please try "Mastering Mathematica" by John W. Gray.



2. This is typical of the Schaum's outline series: a decent, no-frills introduction to Mathematica at a reasonable price. When you look at the other books on the subject, they cost 8 to 10 times as much. Get this one, work hard and save some long bucks. The others may be pretty but are they really worth it?



3. I have another Shaum's Outlines book. I was expecting to get jump started in Mathematica but I found the book overtaxing and tedious. I found a better (free) website to help me.



4. although there remains useful information in this work, it is largely outdated, and offers techniques and methods incompatible with more recent incarnations of mathematica.
   
   it can still offer effective instruction if you are willing to tread the interminable help pages in mathematica for the appropriate syntax and parameters, but to a new user even that is a forbidding task. strongly recommend you look elsewhere, until the current edition is updated.



5. I could write a lot about this guide if I knew more about mathematics. First of all, if you want to make the most of this guide you should be fluent with calculus. Next, note that it is, IMHO written in a somewhat scatterbrained fashion. While there is a TOC and the book follows that format, the contents seem to be a stream-of-consciousness format. Finally, it is 2 versions out of date! A lot of commands that are graphics don't work properly and many new commands are not included. Still, Mathematica is pretty backwards compatible so you'll learn a lot. The worst thing is that (a) NO VERSION 6 docs exist or will be printed by Wolfram; (b) NO VERSION 6 docs exist by anyone else. This is one of the few books that cover math material lower than calculus! On top of that, it isn't in the cost stratosphere! For that reason, its one of the few reasonable options.

5 comments about Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice in C (2nd Edition) (Systems Programming Series).

1. It's an all-time classic in computer graphics world. I bought this in 1997 and i could learn a lot from it. Though it hasn't been updated, one can gain all the fundamentals about CG.



2. This book is a great book for general knowledge but all of the chapters that deal with talking about hardware is badly outdated. I got this book mostly for algorithms. I got much more then what I expected but most of everything I needed was there. Its a very good book for learning about line drawing, and polygon rasteration algorithms. Don't expect anything up to date like shaders though.



3. Except for the chapters on raster algorithms, this book is just an extended bibliography. It has no material on texturing, for example, just a reference to the original paper on it. The math isn't that mature either, and the chapter on Perspective Projections is a pedagogical atrocity. Instead of buying this book, just go to your local univ. library and xerox the bibliography; then, lookup the articles on topics you're interested in.



4. If you're a beginner looking for a book which has example code you can test out and try, either forget it or be prepared for some headache.
   
   I can speak on my experience, I have a GNU/Linux system, the SRGP library which is used by this book only supports a display depth of 8bpp, which means you'll most likely need to reconfigure your X server to some extent - the examples/library will crash at higher display depths.
   
   But there is no doubt that the techniques and principles explained throughout can be applied using other toolkits, as the book explicitly says that the facilities contained in the example libraries are common to many other graphics libraries.
   
   A quick note on the quality of the library code, it appears to be pre-ANSI C and contains a few modern no-nos, which can lead to crashes.
   
   If you're looking for a book to merely use as a reference or for theory then this is what this book is, and as one other reviewer said, you could probably just borrow a copy of the book and xerox the bibliography to refer to the papers it sources information from.



5. This is a bible for computer graphics. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn computer graphics knowledge base.

5 comments about Lewis and Clark for Kids: Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities (For Kids series).

1. I would have given this book five stars if there had been just a few more activities in it.
   
   The book reads as non-fiction literature and is interspersed with good photos and interesting sidebars. There are also some useful activities for the child to do within the text to reinforce what is learned.

   This book would be useful for all grades but can be read independently in the middle school grades. The book contains a glossary, index, web site suggestions, bibliography, listings of museums and parks and other handy references.




2. The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial is here, finally! If you are still on your own undaunted journey of discovery or plan to teach children about these two courageous men and their corps, then you NEED this book. It will be invaluable to any teacher of intermediate students.



3. I found "Lewis and Clark for Kids" to be an excellent source of information and activities for both children, parents and teachers. There is an abundance of information about the actual journey plus there are great activities for children to engage in to learn more about the various indian cultures that Lewis and Clark interacted with on their journey of discovery.



4. This is a perfect book for kids to learn about Lewis and Clark. Not only is it informative but also holds their attention by giving them useful and entertaining activites. A must for those not in the standard school system in the states.



5. The book has many fun and interesting facts about Lewis and Clark. If you're using it for the classroom...the activities are creative and easy to do.

5 comments about Flash Video for Professionals: Expert Techniques for Integrating Video on the Web.

1. This is a very excellent book. It cures any intimidation someone might have dealing with video in flash. The chapters were very easy to understand, and the samples were very fun to do. This book does really well at showing the potential and creativity of working with video in flash.



2. As promised, this book offers a lot of food of thought, and provides an excellent framework for creating a professional-quality online video player.
   
   The authors offer a strong argument against using the stock FLVPlayback components of CS3, and if you adopt their methodology (even if you skip Chapter 5 at first), you'll get plenty out of this book. You're sure to find some useful information, even if you don't drink all the design-pattern Kool-Aid.



3. Very good book that covers all from the beginig to the deploying to better deploy your video content. I am pleased to have gotten this book



4. A lot of books focus on telling you what to do. This is great as it enables you to get the job done.
   
   Far too often people who write technical manuals think that is all the learner requires in order to retain knowledge.
   
   Thank goodness this book doesn't stop there. It tells you WHY things should be done this way in addition to the HOW. I've found this process much more reliable as a means to transmit information in a sticky format.
   
   I've been working with Flash video for years and have found through trial and error how to get videos to work properly.
   
   This book finally explains in plain english things like keyframes, interlacing for web, exactly how the new CODEC works.
   
   Ultimately, every new thing this book taught me was set in cement by the logical explanation of the why.



5. This book is a much-needed resource and road map to creating all kinds of Flash video for the web. Authors Larson and Constantini begin with a chapter on project archaeology and conclude with a chapter on live video. In between, they cover all the nooks and crannies from encoding, the big picture of Object Oriented Programming, dynamic playlists.....in others words: Flash Video from soup to nuts. Coming from a traditional non-web video background in editing and graphics, this book is quite simply the book I'd been hoping would appear once I began to dabble in Flash development. Up to this point, most Flash books usually have a standard chapter or two about video. This book is the whole enchilada and delivers a fantastic "forest for the trees" perspective on planning, creating and deploying Flash video websites. The text is very well-articulated on subject matter that is quite complex. Whether you're an advanced specialist ready to dip right into the Action Script and get your own Flash video ball rolling or you need a quick primer in order to talk the talk with a Flash colleague, this book is your pixel-perfect friend. From a technical standpoint, there is a lot here, but one can browse very easily for quick solutions. From a creative standpoint, there are many inspiring examples and recipes to apply everything from a simple YouTube interface to a more ambitious video wall a la Nam Jun Paik to a website. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book mostly in how it challenged me to approach Flash video as its own art and craft, however new. From cue points to video skins to custom players; the sky's the limit. Let this book be your breath of fresh FLV air.

5 comments about A is for America.

1. This is a very good book. I purchased it for my daughter's fifth birthday. The illustrations are very well done. The text flows well with an almost sing-song rhythm. There are also explanations on the side for places and ideas mentioned in the main text. But can someone tell me where Mt. Rainier is in the picture? I can't see it. An example of the main text is "V is for Veterans and the valor they displayed in vying for vital victories and the sacrifices they made. V is for Virginia and Vermont and Vikings, too. It seems they got here long before Columbus was able to."



2. This book crams too many bizarre things onto its pages. Also I didn't think the author used the best choices for some of the letters. I was very disappointed when I saw this book since it had gotten good reviews. I advise getting "America is.." (Borden/Schuett) instead.



3. I really like this book. It's been in my 5-year-old's collection for about 2 years now, and it still get pulled down and read every few weeks.

   Devin Scillian has done a fantastic job of using events and facts from just about every imaginable facet of American life, both well-known and obscure. For example, the book mentions the YMCA, Harriet Tubman, "The Twilight Zone", Kellogg's Rice Krispies, Hoover Dam, and egrets. That's on top of many major cities, states, and historical events.

   The book layout features a very interesting two-tiered system. The main flow of the book is carried by a series of 4-line verses, one per letter. This portion is suitable for reading to pre-readers. Along the sides of each page, relevant factoids are given, further illuminating the main verse. This makes the book hold appeal for older readers, probably even up to 4th or 5th graders.

   Pam Carroll's well-drawn illustrations are very "busy", but not in a bad way; my boy enjoys hunting for all the listed items. Adults can get a chuckle noticing the curious juxtapositions, such as Huck Finn reading a Hemingway novel on the "H" page, or, on the "N" page, Norman Rockwell painting Neil Armstrong, while both are on the moon.

   I found this book to be an utter delight. Highly Recommended.




4. We received this as a gift when our son was born. We loved it so much we have started collecting all of the "Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series" books. While our son is way too young to appreciate the artwork and history the rhyming is great and have found these to be great before bed and naptime books. We look forward to expanding our "Alphabet Series" library as our son grows.



5. As an educator I enjoy using this book in my classroom. I have used it with second, third and fifth graders as it also compliments our state standards. It is refreshing to see an ABC book that is great for older children. The illustration are beautiful and the vocabulary used has a wide range of difficulty for English language learners as well. I own one of the other books in this series and will be purchasing many more to get a complete set. I just love them!

5 comments about Flash CS3 Professional for Windows and Macintosh.

1. A major upgrade to the previous editions and a must for any serious web design professional.



2. Programming/scripting is not natural for me! It is hard work. This is the third book on AS 3.0 I've tried. The other books did not work for me. I need a book that will tell me what to do in a very elementary manner. I can then put it in context. For example:
   
   1. This is how you script interactivity in a button (code)
   2. This is what it is doing
   3. This is what the various segments of code mean
   etc.
   
   This is the way I learned HTML. I looked up the code to do a given item. Over time if morphed into a thorough understanding of what HTML is and how to do it. This book enables me to do something similar. It takes basic AS 3.0, shows you how to do it then gives the information so you can put it in context. I'm relieved and grateful to find a book that allows me to construct the learning in a way that best fits me. THANK YOU!



3. I love the Visual QuickStart Guides. This book has easy to follow lessons which are great for beginners. Professional refers to the more robust version of Flash not the skill level of the reader. I have combined this book with some video tutorials which is ideal for learning actionscript fast.



4. This book has taught me sooo much already! If you want to learn how to use flash, this is the book for you!



5. This is a great guide that will give you step by step instructions on how to use Adobe Flash CS3 professional. You'll learn how to make Flash animations to add great multimedia to your websites or just games for local use.

5 comments about Essential ActionScript 2.0.

1. I am a beginner, I should understand that. But i wanted to buy it still thinking it would have been good. Its probably great for advance people but i found it personaly very difficult to understand as i am just a low beginner.



2. My purchase of this book really helps mne a lot. It added up more knowledge and technique on my present expertise with Flash. Highly recommended for all Flash Action Scripters.



3. As an occasional actionscript programmer, I try to stay to keep myself updated with the language as it evolves, as it has become the standard tools for my digital/artistic works.
   A year ago I dove into "ActionScript for Flash MX : the Definitive Guide" - I must admit I didn't understand some parts of it at first read - and got my poor programming skills to improve themselves at least a few notches up.
   
   I was a bit discouraged at all this Flash evolutions, thinking I'd be left behind (not to mention Flex 2 and Actionscript 3 right now), when I almost reluctantly bought this book.
   
   Well, it actually got me excited. Not only I feel way better in Actionscript programming now, seeing and understanding the improvements of the language (I still use the Definitive Guide for its handy and complete language reference while I code), but it also actually taught the principles of Object Oriented Programming.
   
   It does use some plain metaphors at first like all OOP stuff for dummies I've read here and there, but the author has a way of putting things in a relevent way that makes you actually understand what is what, what goes where, and why. It's clear.
   
   It's easy, going along his explanations and tutorials, and he also shows you thoroughly the possibilities and limitations of every concepts in the (relative to the Flash environment) he ever talks about, yet remaining accessible even to non-savvy programmers.
   
   A must have, like all his books I guess.



4. I took a Java course at the University of Texas @ Austin, which has a well regarded CS program, and I walked out of it knowing what classes, subclasses, and instances were, but no idea how to practically use them. After reading Moock's book, I not only better understand the theory behind object-oriented programming, but how to use it following best practices. I wish I hadn't taken the Java course, because in 500 pages Moock takes you through 3 semesters worth of material.
   
   Of course, Essential ActionScript 3.0 is coming out soon, so you might want to wait for it, but make sure you buy at least one of them.



5. This one felt more like work >.> And halfway through the book my copy had an extra duplicate chapter and that confused me for a little bit. This was a necessity for me though because I had to learn the syntax differences between how AS2 does it compared to what I'm familiar with (C++, etc.). I really didn't enjoy reading this book though as it felt more like work than any of the other Flash/AS books I've read so far.
   
   I'd recommend it only if you HAVE to learn about AS2 classes syntax ;-) Or want to punish yourself.