No comments about Visualization in Geographical Information Systems.

3 comments about Where is Tibet?.

1. where is tibet is a book that displays tibetan buddhist philosophy in a clear and beautiful way. it is an inspiration to read and motivates the reader to want to work to save tibet, and to treasure what tibet means in their own heart, to live a life of compassion. it is about two tibetan children living in exile in india and is an excellent introduction to the plight of the tibetan people as well as testimony to their spiritual strengths and hopes. i find the book to be inspiring and motivating to readers of all ages interested in buddhist philosophhy or the plight of the tibetan people. the illustrations are beautiful and intricate, adding texture to the written word as they display another facet of tibetan culture. this story seems to penetrate the heart of tibetan buddhism. i recommend that anyone interested in their own personal spiritual journey read this little book of wisdom and hope for the words apply to all struggles, not only the tibetan exiles, and the philosophy is buddhism in simple terms.



2. I have learnt Tibetan for about two months in India, I found this book extremely helpful for Tibetan students too. The text, though simple, are written with Tibetan script, transiliteration and English translation, the story is good too. I found it quite touching that finally His Holiness (in the comics) said, "Tibet is in your heart".

   Yes, Tibet is in my heart, I'm going back there one day.




3. Where is Tibet? is the book of my dreams. As a multi-cultural family (I am American and my husband is Tibetan) we cherish reading this with our [...]. (It helps me practice my Tibetan, too, with its clear phonetic translations) I first found this book in Nepal when I was teaching English to Tibetan nuns, and several of the older nuns and I were crying by the end of it, the book is so touching, but in a simple, accessible way.

3 comments about Java Programming for Spatial Sciences.

1. 90% of the book's content covers basic Java, and has nothing to do with spatial sciences, GIS, remote sensing, or anything else listed as a scientific field in the description. And those sections which do attempt to cover those fields, mostly involve drawing basic shapes and a pixel map on a display.
   
   I gave the book 2 stars instead of 1, because one of the code examples models an ant colony. The ants include homing instincts, a queen and even a genetic mutation, which I thought were pretty clever. However, this is a better example of artificial life than spatial sciences.
   
   I was really disappointed to find out that the most rudimentary steps to creating software for spatial sciences, converting x/y pixels to some real-world coordinates (such as latitude/longitude) are not to be found in this book. Maybe the truth-in-advertising laws are lax in England.
   
   You're better off buying a seperate book on geospatial sciences or 3d math, then picking up Java in a Nutshell for a more complete Java resource.



2. I thought the book was very good. I used it to teach myself Java, at least at a functional level. The case example of an ant colony was very good, and served as a basis for additional studies for me. It also builds the basic code for GIS (the Minimum Enclosing Rectangle that narrows searcing down and other items). For those involved in spatial sciences I recomend this book.



3. totally misleading
   It's a just a repackaged java intro. It has nothing to teach about spatial or GIS or hardly even java

5 comments about The Flash Webisode Production Handbook (With CD-ROM).

1. I really enjoyed this book. I love the book samples. The author not only knows flash, but his samples are excellent artistically. This book is definitely a good buy for anyone wanting to learn how to animate/create content using flash.



2. I really liked this book/cd-rom. This book not only gives you the nuts and bolts of how to make flash content, it also gives you some basic internet trend information ( how many narrowband users vs. broadband users...). This information helped me pitch my flash content to my department head! The cd-rom has some good samples and software. The loop section is very cool.



3. I really like the fact that this book covers more than just one product. It covers ACID pretty well. some of the samples are funny. The cd-rom has plenty of software and samples (much better than most of the other computer books I've recently purchased). I really liked chapter 18. This is a good book if you have some time to really pick apart the samples. The first three chapters start off slow but the book really picks up the pace towards the end.



4. 50 bucks for this, I wouldn't have paid 50 bucks for this if I would have known half the book isn't about Flash. I guess that's ok, because it teaches you to build a webisode from all aspects: graphics, sounds, distribution, and gif links. However, I don't have Acid, Fireworks, or the other programs mentioned. I liked the fact that the author gives you fast loading games (actionscrit) to play as your epic webisode is loading. Some nice touches. The cd is good, but for 50 dollars, I wish there were more about Flash.



5. This book is so outdated and basic. The pictures & examples are quite rudimentary. For a better value check out The Flash Animator.

No comments about High-Resolution Graphics Using Fortran 77.

1 comments about How to Use Macromedia Flash MX and ActionScript (2nd Edition) (How to Use).

1. Step by step instructions and illustrations help you understand the steps. A good introductory book for beginners. If you know the basics, then get a more advanced book.

5 comments about GIMP (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. This is an extremely complete guide to the Gimp. Everything you can do in PhotoShop, you can do in the Gimp -- and more! (Plus, the price of the software is right!) Phyllis Davis' book tells how to do anything you might want to do, with easy step by step examples. It is well illustrated. Perhaps the best part is the full color gallery section, showing Gimp art from around the world. If you want to learn to use the Gimp, I highly recommend this book. (Heck, you could learn stuff about PhotoShop from it while you're at it. Phyllis Davis is a wonderful writer, and explains computer graphic concepts and tools very clearly.) If you are just curious about all the fuss about the Gimp (Gnu means images!) check it out, too!



2. This book is *so* easy to use. There are pictures with each step and instructions that are really easy to follow.



3. At the time of this writing, this is easily the best introduction to the GIMP. It covers about 90% of the material in the GIMP for Linux Bible, but the explanations are more concise. I would recommend the other book only if you need coverage of scripting, which this Quickstart doesn't really have.



4. I'm not a graphic artist, and I don't have time or the desire to read a mammoth tome on image manipulation. What I want is a book that will teach me the basics of GIMP in as little time as possible. This is that book. With this book I was able to get up to speed with most of the basic functions in just a couple of days. This is the best GIMP book I have seen for beginners. My only complaint is that most of the illustrations are in black & white, and the sections on color manipulation, etc. would probably be a little easier to follow with color illustrations. I plan to read the author's book on CorelDRAW in the near future



5. I agree with previous reviewers that this book provides easy-to-follow instructions for learning GIMP. I used it recently to help me devise lesson plans for a 5-week class for children ranging from 8-15 years old! Having it with me to consult during class boosted my confidence, since I had never used GIMP before teaching the class! My only additional comment is that I quickly discovered that GIMP, which is continuously being revised, has new and different features which are not covered in this book. Fortunately, the online manual fills these gaps. Still, I think this book was a good purchase, and I do recommend it to GIMP newbies.

5 comments about The Flash Anthology: Cool Effects and Practical ActionScript.

1. Steven Grosvenors book is an insightful and comprehensive Flash manual. Each chapter is dedicated to a new project, and with it, he covers not just the functionality of the code, but the entire process from developing an idea, into a practical, fully functional application.
   
   The examples are step by step procedures, with full commentary along the way. A key feature of the comments, is that the functions and processes are explained in such a way that they can be used outside of the scope of that particular application - re-useable ideas, practices and code for you to implement in other projects.
   
   The beauty of the book is in its clarity, and the fact that once you have read and carried out the work, you have something useful, for your own website, or a client website, at the end of it!
   
   (For the Flash fanatics amongst you, its well worth checking out his personal site http://www.phireworx.com - there's a number of excellent free extensions)



2. With so many Flash books on the market, its hard to find one that will fit your needs. There are beginner books, books that teach ActionScript basics, and books that focus on animation. But there are very few if at all that show the what you can really do with it after you know the basics.
   
   This book gives the reader a true understanding of what can be really done with Macromedia Flash. Not just animation or text effects, but the whole gambit. There really is not another book out there now that goes over this much "real-world" examples in Flash. Believe me, I have purchased over 10+ books on Macromedia Flash in the past 2 years.
   
   It assumes the reader has a general knowledge of the basics of Flash and that's it. It starts with an explanation of ActionScript (Flash's programming language): syntax basics, naming conventions, basic commands.
   
   Then it continues with understanding the timeline in creating navigation effects for movies. Knowing how to use the timeline is one thing, but really understanding how the timeline can be used with creating Movieclips and ActionScript takes a slightly non-linear thinking that some people have trouble getting. The author really explains in great detail how the process is done with well-written examples to help the user "get it".
   
   The book then goes into some intermediate to advanced topics with ActionScript like creating simple script libraries that can be re-used in many of your movies you create. After that it has some great and fun examples of how ActionScript is used to create those cool animations you see on other "professional" websites. I have long wondered how the h*ll that is done. But his book tells you exactly how it is done!
   
   Towards the end of the book it focuses on using components, getting exernal data, incorporating video and sound and creating small applications with Flash.
   
   I love the how the book flows because it makes it easy to follow if you are reading it in order or if you want to look for a particular topic to learn.
   
   Many people just think of Flash as just an animation or drawing tool, but Flash is much more and with this book you will know too!
   
   This is a great book for the Flash users who knows the basics and wants to know what Flash can really do and it can be for the advanced suer who wants to know something very specific and is tired of spending hours looking on internet forums (flashkit.com) to find an example.
   
   A great Flash book that should be part of your library no matter what your skill level.



3. More to the point is this book relevant in the world of flash 8 here on 2006? Yes. Why? Because THere are not many books around useful to intermediate flashers, although you an be a complete actionscript beginner, use & understand this book..this is one of those helpful for intrmediate users as well to help you learn how it is that actionscript works.
   
   Assumes basic knowlege of way around flash, the tools and workspace & stage.
   OK for comlplete novice actionscripters but intermediate users have more advanced stuff like server side scripting with forms and loading external data work with here, though you better have MX@K4 pro to best utilize that chapter.
   IF you want to learn actionscript this book can be a handy tool for you as you work the examples and learn how the code for each executes you can begin to let your mind open up to how you can extrapolate to use the what you learn here for other projects. What you learn in this book will help you to solidify your AS understanding and is a great help to get you on your way to actionscripting.
   
   Things I particularly like: discussion of good flash/ bad flash, rainstorm animation,
   interactive sticky notes, forms including pswd protected logins
   
   I would recommend ths book For beginning to intermediate FLashers only and say it is NOT for those in the advanced intermediate/ advanced levels...
   I'm giving it only 3 stars since it is outdated but its really still quite good if you are in that niche group



4. Any working with Flash MX 2004 should also work with Steven Grosvenor's THE FLASH ANTHOLOGY: COOL EFFECTS & PRACTICAL ACTIONSCRIPT: it compiles the best solutions to common Flash problems, showing how to link ActionScript to these solutions to obtain better results. Here are over sixty such solutions, with chapters covering everything from modification routines to designing and setting scenes and using sound effects and special clips.



5. This is a great book for simple flash animations. It explains clearly what to do and is great for a beginner.

5 comments about Illustrator CS Accelerated: A Full-Color Guide.

1. This book can really be confusing when doing some of the exercises. Many of the exercises have very unclear instructions, plus the the author often times only gives keyboard shortcuts for the PC so if your a Mac person good luck. Most of the time you can figure it out, but it's annoying. At least the author could have given the menu equivalent. A couple of the exercises were so cunfusing that I just gave up. I did learn a little about Illustrator, but I got tired of the unclear instructions so I retired the book. I would not recommend this book.



2. That is all. Thre are some great exercises, but who can follow them. I wish Deke McCleeland had written this book. He at least numbers his figures so that you know what you should see when you do what he says to do. This author doesn't do that. There are times when a performed action doesn't render the result you expect. I'm giving the 2 stars because the book looks really nice.



3. There are a number of problems with this book. First, the book starts with an introduction to the controls. Nice idea, but it would have be nicer if the examples the author gives were included in the disk so that we could follow along. The big problem with this book, though, is that the sample projects cannot be done the way the author says they can. Take the first exercise, the building with the satellite dish on top. The little box that the dish sits on can't be made the way the author says--changing the width of the box copied from the main building changes the perspective of the sides of the box, so it doesn't match the rest of the building. In the second exercise, the dartboard, you need to color alternating slices of the outer ring different colors. But the ring can't be broken up, not using the technique the author gave. As in the other case, the properly finished project is included on the disk but I can't figure out how the guy finished it. This is very very poor. Don't be fooled by the glossy graphics, this is a lousy book.



4. Lets start with the positive aspect -->
   This book is very colorful with nice glossy pages and had a good intro to the many tools illustrator has to work with.
   
   OK THE BAD PART-->
   The projects looked very easy to do until I bought the book and actually sat down to do some learning. I am very familiar with all the Illustrator tools so I know my way around, however the directions given in the book had me very confused. The first project was a building with a satellite dish. This project to an artist looked very simple to construct yet trying to follow the directions made no sense. No matter what I did by following every word from the author, the building was horrible and lop sided due to the directions.I followed every word exactly that the author gave as instructions and yet my projects didn't even come close to what the book presented. Being very fluent in photoshop I knew this was not my fault.
   As an example for the building with the satellite project he author did not mention perspective positioning and left alot of detail out. To a novice or a beginner this would be very discouraging.
   I was really excited about this book from the way it looked in the store that was until I got home and read the directions while trying to perform the projects in the book. The author must have had to much wine while he was writing.
   
   I do not recommend this book because the author will leave your head spinning. Following the project's instructions will make you feel it is your lack of following directions and artistry when really the book just plain out sucks at teaching!
   
   
   If you have this book and your new to Adobe Illustrator please realize that the tutorials are badly written leaving huge gaps of instructions needed to perform each project.
   Please note that if you are using this book as an Illustrator learning tool and you are completely baffled that after many hours you can't get your project to look right, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.
   It is not your ability to understand illustrator rather it is the authors lack of understanding of who would be buying this book.
   Don't give up learning, just get a better author who can define and explain each step carefully and detailed-
   
   This could have been a fabulous book, but the author failed to pay attention to the fact that this was more than just showing pretty art work but rather a teaching tool to adavnce people in their desire to learn Illustrator.



5. Illustrator CS Accelerated: A Full-Color Guide
   
   I was looking for an Illustrator book that was suggested by a collegue. I order this one used, great book, it was $3.00 and it is a great book. I am sorry to say I wish I had waited a couple of days, as the price went from $3.00 to .75 cents, I probably at that point would have ordered more, for my students.
   Great book.

5 comments about AutoCAD VBA Programming Tools and Techniques : Exploiting the Power of VBA in AutoCAD 2000.

1. Once I learn how to program in VBA, I will look back on this book for reference. It is not a book to help a non-programmer like myself learn how to write code. I am breaking down and going to a local AutoCad dealership for that. Most of this book is just way over my head right now.



2. This book is certainly not for people new to VBA, even though the introduction leads one to believe that is covers the "basics" The second chapter begins with sample program and once the reader finishes that chapter, the authors assume they have taught just about all there is to know about how VBA works. I was hoping the CD would pull me out but it would not open on either win 2000 or win 98+. I learned AutoLISP out of a book in about two weeks and use it regularly but learning VBA from this book is next to impossible



3. AutoCAD VBA Programming Tools and Techniques



4. We can't find no much help on this book. The Cd rom that came with the book was blank and I had to download the examples files on the internet.



5. This is perhaps the worst book on programming I have ever read. I am an advanced autolisp programmer hoping to learn Visual Basic for Autocad and this book claimed to be for me. Unfortunately it wastes its ink on theory and large print than just giving a lot of useful programming examples - which is the best way to learn programming in my opinion.