No comments about Illustrator Illuminated.

5 comments about GIMP for Linux® Bible.

1. This book is great. You need some background as to what you are looking for, but if you have the right question this book can answer anything. It givs any level of insight from beginner to expert with examples. Great!



2. As a professional geek, I've ingested countless books covering computer hardware, administration, programming, and software packages. After getting my hands on the GIMP, and a copy of the "GIMP for Linux Bible", I thought I had everything I needed to start exploring the wonders of the GIMP.

   Unfortunately, this book was not up to the task. While the first few chapters were adequate for explaining the basics of the GIMP's interface, the discussion of the more complex (and more useful) aspects of the GIMP (such as layers, channels, blending modes, etc.) was thoroughly obscure. After reading and rereading these sections, I became progressively more confused.

   The many illustrations, presumably offered to clarify the muddy explanations in the text, are rendered nearly useless by being printed in black and white. Images intended to show differences in various layer operations and blending modes turn out virtually identical without color. After hours of frustration, I gave up and went shopping for another book.

   A much better choice for those interested in becoming GIMP gurus is the excellent "Grokking the GIMP" (ISBN: 0735709246, also available here). After merely skimming the sections covering the topics which were incomprehensible in the "GIMP for Linux Bible", all of these concepts became immediately obvious. "Grokking the GIMP" is packed with clear, full-color graphics, which reinforce the straightforward yet thorough coverage of the text. Start your GIMP education here instead, and you'll be glad you did.




3. As a professional geek, I've ingested countless books covering computer hardware, administration, programming, and software packages. After getting my hands on the GIMP, and a copy of the "GIMP for Linux Bible", I thought I had everything I needed to start exploring the wonders of the GIMP.

   Unfortunately, this book was not up to the task. While the first few chapters were adequate for explaining the basics of the GIMP's interface, the discussion of the more complex (and more useful) aspects of the GIMP (such as layers, channels, blending modes, etc.) was thoroughly obscure. After reading and rereading these sections, I became progressively more confused.

   The many illustrations, presumably offered to clarify the muddy explanations in the text, are rendered nearly useless by being printed in black and white. Images intended to show differences in various layer operations and blending modes turn out virtually identical without color. After hours of frustration, I gave up and went shopping for another book.

   A much better choice for those interested in becoming GIMP gurus is the excellent "Grokking the GIMP" (ISBN: 0735709246, also available here). After merely skimming the sections covering the topics which were incomprehensible in the "GIMP for Linux Bible", all of these concepts became immediately obvious. "Grokking the GIMP" is packed with clear, full-color graphics, which reinforce the straightforward yet thorough coverage of the text. Start your GIMP education here instead, and you'll be glad you did.




4. I was hoping from the thickness of this book that it would have all sorts of useful information. It doesn't. It looks as though the author has simply gone through the Gimp's menus item by item and given a synopsis of each. There's very little material that is not already obvious.

   Grokking the Gimp is a better choice; it goes through several projects to illustrate useful real-world techniques.




5. I wrote part of this book and though I can't vouch for the part I didn't write, I can say that the chapters I did write, the ones on scripting gimp in both it's native scheme and in perl, you'll find very educational. I wrote them with a total beginning programmer in mind as well as a seasoned coder. As developer of CoolText.com I am very familure with gimp scripting and I included a complete printed listing of the procedural database, the only one in print that I know of. I did this because I knew it would be handy to anyone codeing for the gimp and I am able to say that I've referred to my own book often.

5 comments about Animating with Flash 8: Creative Animation Techniques.

1. The number of books out there dedicated to using Flash as an animation medium can be counted on one hand, and most of those aren't very good. Despite the title, this book doesn't really qualify as an animation book.
   
   Much of the book covers non-animation topics like typography and video while animation topics like anticipation get less page space than the history of True Type fonts or noting when Nintendo added the Power Pad to its NES bundle.Even the off-topic of creating Flash content for mobile phones, which seems to be author's area of expertise, doesn't get covered very well.
   
   There's also an abundance of typos, clunky wordings and out of date text apparently copied from previous versions.
   
   All in all, I'm very angry I spent $30 for such a poor book.



2. If the instruction in chapter one-the tutorial for the walk cycle is what the rest of the the book is like, then I have wasted my money!
   If I didn't know Flash and had not already completed several walk cycles, I would not have a clue on what the author is trying to describe. He makes reference to objects that don't exist. Part of the writing seems like it was written for something else. The instruction on creating symbols and building elements within the symbol is ridiculous. If I had not already understood how to build nested symbols, I certainly would not have learned from this book.
   
   The book does haves some nice examples and references to professional flash work, but that's about it. It has given me a serious headache
   
   I am hoping the remaining chapters are much, much better. I can only hope.



3. Flash itself is so fascinating and has such potential for creativity that one expects any Flash book to embrace and impart that excitement. This effort was extremely dull and the book fails to demonstrate or excite any spark of imagination. It is no exaggeration to say that the most interesting part of the book was its front cover.



4. I am stuck in chapter 1 of this book. I have read through the instructions countless times, trying to make sense of the steps. I have compared the instructions to the completed project ... and there seems to be no correlation. The pictures display things that we haven't created yet. The references are largely incorrect.
   
   For example ... the very first instruction is to open the existing file called man.fla. Upon opening that file, we find the project is completely finished. I'm pretty sure that was a mistake, so I create a new file and move on. The next instruction is to create a new graphic symbol called "man". But from that point on, the author refers to the graphic symbol called "walk" ... which I'm pretty sure is a reference to the "man" symbol, since we were never instructed to create a "walk" symbol. The picture also indicates that we are still working within the "man" symbol.
   
   From here we start building symbols within symbols ... while it is never clear what each symbol should contain, or where it is nested, or even what it is called. We build a "legs" symbol, and then duplicate it twice for the "front leg" and the "back leg", after which there is no instance of the "legs" symbol on the stage. And then, all of a sudden, our "front leg" and "back leg" appear inside the "legs" symbol.
   
   Pictures meant to clarify the steps are even more confusing, as they are clearly taken after the animation is complete. There are obvious tweens displayed, while we are still building our body parts.
   
   I am comfortable with Flash already. I know how to make a symbol, and nest symbols within symbols. I know about layers and guide layers and stacking order. Keyframes and tweens are not new to me. I just wanted to learn some of the tips and tricks that the pros use in animation.
   
   I'm ready to give up on chapter one ... and am hoping to find something of value in some of the remaining chapters. But if this first chapter is any indication of the author's ability to describe things, I'm not real optimistic. Maybe he is one of the best professional animators in the business, but he should have hired a professional writer to help him author this book.
   
   If you decide to buy this book, spend some time in chapter one before opening the CD case in the back and copying the files to your computer. You don't need those files (since that first instruction to open man.fla is incorrect) ... and once you open the CD case, you can't return the book for your money back. And I'm pretty sure that you WILL want your money back.
   
   I would have given this book a rating of 0 stars if I had been allowed to. 1 star is a compliment that it doesn't deserve.



5. If your goal is to learn how to animate using Flash 8 this is not the book for you. If you have an interest in how computer animation is drawn, but not actually performing the tasks yourself, perhaps this book has some value. The author does talk about things such as how the mouth moves when saying different letters of the alphabet. Unfortunately, there's no tutorial on how to actually do it yourself.
   
   Do yourself a favor and read the first chapter at a book store, you will quickly see how the instructions are useless. The files that are included are either already completed or don't include the necessary files/assests to complete the tasks.
   
   What I was looking for was a book that would have activities that would demonstrate, through step-by-step tutorials, how to animate a cartoon character much like the one on the cover of the book. That didn't happen.
   
   I spent five minutes in a book store leafing through the book and at first glance it seemed promising. I was wrong. Look elsewhere.

No comments about AutoCAD LT 2006: The Definitive Guide (Wordware Applications Library).

No comments about Graphics, Design and Printing Terms: An International Dictionary.

No comments about Learning Media Design.

No comments about Arctic and Antarctic (Eyewitness Guides).

5 comments about Server-Side Flash: Scripts, Databases and Dynamic Development.

1. A massive treasure trove of information that has just saved me countless hours of messing around with Flash. I've read through the first 5 chapters and went through the included examples and that alone has been enough to make me feel comfortable selling backend integration to my clients now, and being able to deliver a Flash site that does more than just look and sound good. There's no ColdFusion here but at five grand for Cold Fusion Sevrver, I'll take the PHP/SQL,ASP,and Perl solutions detailed in this book any day of the week over a book trying to sell me on CF.

   I've got Flash MX too and the data transfer and handling model is still the same - you've got to know how Flash, the server, and the browser all integrate in the process, and this book puts all that knowledge well in hand. Thank you Sanders and Winstaley.




2. This book is awesome; it explains how to use Flash integration with the most common used server-side programming languages (PHP, ASP and Perl)...

   All separated by parts, and it explains some of the functions and methods of the programming languages, just for letting the reader who doesn't deal with certain server-side languages more confortable to understand it.

   Really good book, it solved all my problems with database and server integration with Flash.




3. When I buy a book, I want a little depth. This book is a decent summary of the Flash backend, but it's nothing you can't readily find on the web. I HIGHLY recommend a more specific approach--e.g Foundation PHP for Flash by Webster .



4. As a graphics person, I've tried for months to understand scripting and databases with no success, I was just about to throw in the towel and literally go back to the drawing board when I found this book. The authors make these subjects easy to understand and the tutorials are excellent for bridging the graphic person's need to see the concepts in action. I've never written a review before, but this book has finally made me understand and given me the tools to move forward.



5. This isn't a criticism of the book, but pay attention that it's from 2001 and covers Flash 5, NOT the latest Flash MX and its available Flash Remoting technology which offers far easier server-side integration.

   Still, the info in the book still has value today to those who have not yet bought Flash MX. Indeed, even if you have Flash Mx, if your server is Perl, PHP, CF5, etc, then the approaches here will work since the new Flash Remoting only works on CFMX, ASP.NET, and select J2EE platforms.

   Then again, MX users who do get the book should check out the newer LoadVars object as an alternative to the older but still supported LoadVariables. The approach to processing XML is also vastly improved in MX.

   Of course, the book can't be faulted for having come out prior to MX. It's just that since the title doesn't say Flash 5, if you buy the book thinking it's about the latest and greatest ways of doing Flash/server integration, you'd likely be disappointed. Just offering this as a caution.

1 comments about Computer Graphics for Design: From Algorithms to Autocad.

1. This book presents the basic concepts of Computer-Aided Design. The author wrote a book which should be understandable to everyone who wants to learn the basic aspects of the Computer-Aided Design thoery. However, i doubt if this book is helpful for an advanced reader or a graduate student who is looking for more specialized or analytically represented concepts.

5 comments about Official Advanced Powerbuilder 6: The Definitive Guide.

1. This is to the reader from New York, NY:

   I think you need to call Powersoft and find out for yourself that the "Validation Rules" are as described in this book. These validation rules were changed since version 5.0 and differ from version 4.0. I made the same mistake as you when I took the datawindow advanced course but to my surprize, I found out that the validtion rules were changes.

   Sorry but I had to jump in.




2. I wanted to say that I really liked this book. I am surprized that someone posted a message saying that the validation rules were wrong. The order of the validation rules are CORRECT. I guess this person needs to learn Power Builder. Since version 5, Powersoft changed the order of the validation rules. I enjoyed reading this book. I also found the database chapters very good too.

   My suggestion to Mr. gorgani is to concentrate on one major feature of Power Builder for the next release like pfc or distributed.




3. I'd start to say that only buy this book if you are an experienced powerbuilder developer. Why? Because there is some errors that could lead an inexperienced developer to sink. To be more precisely, I will list some errors that scared me:

   Page 89: ... the control array for the Tab control is only updated when tab pages are created in the Painters. It's wrong. The control array is update automatically by Powerbuilder when you use the following funtions: 1. OpenTab( ) 2. OpenUserObject( ) 3. OpenTabWithParm() 4. OpenUserObjectWithParm( ) 5. CloseTab( ) 6. CloseUserObject( ) 7. MoveTab( ) It's a new feature of Powerbuilder 6

   Page 41: ... Code table can be defined for the following edit styles: * Checkbox * DropdownDatawindow * Etc There is no table code for checkbox.

   Page 473: ...Here are valid values: (communication drivers) * Winsock * OpenClientServer * NamedPipes * Local OpenClientServer driver is no more available in Powerbuilder 6

   Well, there are others errors. But if you are good enough to detect them...go ahead.... buy the book, it'd worth. But if you are not prone to detect and correct others mistakes, I'd suggest try another book.




4. Hello. I read this book. It was okay! I have read many powerbuilder books and to this date, I have not found one that really covers what I want. Maybe my expectations are too hight! I guess all of the authors write for what they would like to write about and not for what we want.

   However, I registered my book, and I did receive a corrections page. I think the corrections page is also available on the publisher's web site.

   I know for a fact that this author, on his web site is looking for suggestions for his next book. So I guess they are listening....




5. Being a novice PB programmer I wanted more from the book than just a mention of all PB elements. It does mention more than the Fundamentals book. I guess I was looking for a book called 'Operational PB' which might have had more real-world examples in it about how to do the ordinary type things any programmer might weant to do in the average PB application. This wasn't it. I'll have to write it myself, sometime. This book was more an advanced accessory to PB help.