1 comments about Mali in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).

1. With a title of "Mali in Pictures" I thought this book would be full of photos. No so. What pictures it has are nice but small in size. It has information similar to any travel book so had rather have the Bradt Mali travel guide than this. Needs new title so as not to mislead. Over priced for what you get compared to what is expected.

3 comments about From After Effects to Flash: Poetry in Motion Graphics.

1. By now, everyone knows the great enhancements to working with video that Flash 8 brought with it. As someone who works closely with a motion animator in After Effects, I figured it'd be a great idea to check this book out and see what others are doing with it. I have to admit, I was sorely disappointed with what this book had to offer. To its credit, the book never did state that it was going to show me any groundbreaking After Effects stuff and how to leverage it in Flash to create a crazy, dynamic, animation driven website. However, when I think of the stuff that has been done with AE and Flash over the past year or two, I don't really consider the awesomeness of the text animation and lens flares (Chapter 5) and exploding Flash text (Chapter 7).
   
   There is much more to working with After Effects and Flash than things like this which were possible to do 5 years ago. I look at sites created by companies such as Big Spaceship and North Kingdom and always wonder, how did they do that. I know that they used video/After Effects for some of this stuff but I'm not quite sure how to wrap my head around the process of doing it since I'm not extremely familiar with AE and how to compress everything properly to bring into Flash for ease of use.
   
   I'd like to see even something as simple as a particle system effect from AE used in a Flash button, which hundreds of sites are doing these days, or a particle system on a preloader (which always puzzles me since you have to keep the size of the preloader really small so that you don't have to make a preloader for a preloader), but instead we get fed with some drivel about preset text effects in AE (Chapter 3) and masking videos (Chapter 9). That now makes a total of 3 chapters that are talking about text. I'm not sure about you, but I don't spend a plethora of hours on each project trying to figure out how I want the text to animate in on an intro animation (one reason being that I very rarely ever create intro animations unless a client just flat out insists on having one, but still...).
   
   This title would have been better served being labeled a Foundation title which friends of ED usually dishes out to introductory level books. It doesn't have the pizzazz that I was hoping from a title this misleading and I would not recommend this book unless you are absolutely just starting out using video in Flash 8 and After Effects (although, if you're a Flash guy, I'd suggest their other video title, Foundation Flash 8 Video, which could be the reason why this book didn't get the Foundation stamp in the first place).



2. From After Effects to Flash Poetry in Motion Graphics
   By Tom Green and Tiago Dias
   Publisher: Friends of Ed
   Copyright 2006
   ISBN:-130pkb:978-1-59059-748-4
   
   Sometimes video can be seen as a very difficult area of Flash. This book gives you the courage to go forward. The author's refer to video as uncharted or "Dragon Country" They cite an artic map of the 1500's that has wording on it stating "Here be dragons"
   
   The book tells you how Flash and After Effects play well together and how to avoid dragons. After Effects functionality really beefs up what can be accomplished with Flash.
   
   Tom Green describes the creative process as learning the fundamentals and then "driving a truck through it" He talks about how the lines are blurred between what is a video and what is an animation.
   
   The authors teach through causing you to ask, "How did they do that?" They give you a completed project and you reverse engineer it and answer for yourself how it was done.
   
   This book helps you decide when to encode the FLV in After Effects and when it is better to use the Flash FLV encoder.
   
   Of course the fundamental maxim of DV is "data rate controls quality." Other maxims are "Bandwidth controls the user experience" and "always keep an eye on the pipe." The Flash developer must have a solid bandwidth strategy in place for the user, the sever and the video.
   
   Tom Green shows you how simple it is to make a custom video player with pause/play rewind, scrubber and on/off buttons. The simple steps are: CONNECT, STREAM, and PLAY.
   
   The book shows you how to create a rich media ad with Illustrator content. Then it moves the file to After Effects for the Raining Characters, Drop Bounce and Boomerang, Wiggle and Chaotic preset effects. Then it brings the files into Flash and makes them FLV's. Then they show you how to use a glow effect to turn on a light bulb.
   
   Destructive cue points that are hard wired into Flash (not removable) and non-destructive cue points (removeable) which are done with code are discussed. Discussion of playing multiple videos in a Flash movie by using multiple net streams is mentioned.
   
   Practical tips are given such as: how to trim down the dimensions of an After Effects file and bring it into Flash to avoid slowing down the video.
   
   Sine wave animation is done in After Effects without complex coding. Using a ramp filter to make gradients, blinking and melting text, and a strobe light effect is described. Use of plugins for After Effects by Cycore demonstrate how to shatter everything and blow it up. 3d - the Holy Grail of Flash and how to get a creative jolt with After Effects is previewed.
   
   This book is helpful whether you are thinking of learning After Effects or would just like to know how to work with an After Effect expert when doing Flash movies.



3. Another great book for the beginner. Not so great for the experienced. Those familiar with Flash and just getting started with After Effects will enjoy this tour of possibilty. You CAN use these two powerful tools together to get more done in a better way for the medium you choose. The message of the book is clearly: 'Use the Right Tool for the Job'. There's a lot you can do with Flash that's just easier with After Effects and vice versa. Why make life difficult for yourself? Buy this book. Lighten your load. (Or borrow it from a library. Or just read it at the store.)
   
   When is it best to use After Effects or Flash? And why? Don't expect this book to answer those questions for you. Oftentimes, choosing the right tool depends on your situation. And the examples given in the book focus mostly on neat, yet basic, effects exported from After Effects and delivered through Flash. All good starting points for the motion graphic artist, but not necessarily finished to a fine... erm, point. (As media converges, so do my metaphors.)
   
   The authors walk us through the basic steps of working in After Effects. But, an After Effects book this is not. It simply points the way. And the way is convergence. (See?) After reading this book I feel the need to read a lot more books. Or get an AE expert and Flash guru in the same room and interrogate them aggressively.
   
   Many techniques are touched upon, but not much is dissected in a truly deep manner. There are three chapters on text effects, much about particle effects, masks are explained as are track mattes. Even a little about 3D, and some Illustrator tips, too. Also, a chapter on audio for good measure. When you bite off that much, you really have to chew for a long time.
   
   All that being said, it is a well-written and useful book for those of us just starting out with this stuff. And the can-do, fun tone of the authors is always appreciated.

2 comments about Visual Studio Team System: Better Software Development for Agile Teams.

1. From the first chapter, you want to be with the book in a hand and VSTS in the another making all of the taught examples.



2. This book covers a wide range of cool things in VSTS wrapped up in a solid introduction to and roadmap through agile practices. Read the book and you'll get great guidance to working with agile planning, test driven development, refactoring, agile modeling, and a number of other topics.
   
   I have two small gripes with the book. First is that it includes the seemingly mandatory, maddening "meet the development team and walk through each day in the project with them" storyline. This book does no better than any of the other weak attempts at the novelization of a working team. Leave that stuff off for novellas and focus on the technical aspects instead. My second gripe is the book's organization. Planning is way back in section 8, modelling's in 6, etc. It seems a bit disjointed.
   
   Those gripes aside, the content in the book is just great. The walk-through of test driven development is solid, and the emphasis on having an environment and code base that can rapidly change to requirements is very nice.
   
   The technical side relating to Team Systems is also solid. The guidance on using source control is well-written, and the section on working with team build is as good as it can be (I'm NOT a fan of team build). The section on using and working with the process frameworks are solid, although I wished they'd covered the process editor add on.
   
   I'm also very happy to see that the Framework for Integrated Testing (FIT) was included -- I've been a long-time proponent of FIT and love seeing it in more books.
   
   Overall this is a very solid book. I like their approach to discussing agile, and I like their tie-ins to VSTS/TFS. They gloss over some of the things I don't like about VSTS/TFS, but hey, those are more my issues, not theirs.
   
   This book is a good addition to your bookshelf if you're looking to do agile in the VSTS/TFS world.

1 comments about Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2005.

1. If you want to enter the world of solid works this is the book you must have. Easy to follow with step-by-step instruction and illustrations.
   I took the training and after I finish I could start making my own drawings. Also this is a good quick reference for the experienced designers.

3 comments about Quake 4 Mods For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. The title is Quake 4 Mods for Dummies. The tag line is "Ever wonder what Quake 4 would be like if it included that especially cool weapon you dreamed up? Here's the fun and easy way® to find out." But here's the deal: it will show you how to INCLUDE that fancy new weapon, but not how to make it. Nor will it tell you how to change the gameplay mechanics of the game.
   What you get instead is 200+ pages of how to make maps. At the end of that is a small section on how to make a GUI, reskin models, and package them for putting into the game.
   I'm giving it 3 stars because it seems like a pretty nice map tutorial, but this is NOT a book on how to make mods. If you wanted to learn how to make that machine-gun-shotgun, you're out of luck here. If you wanted to find out how to make new power-ups, you're out of luck here.
   Summary, the book would be better named Quake 4 Mapping for Dummies.



2. While this book does primarily cover mapping for Quake 4 (which is a form of modding), it also covers other aspects of modding (although in lesser detail). However, if you want to make a new level for the game, this book rocks. It comes with complete examples on making maps from start to finish. It shows you how to make custom textures for your maps and characters. Then it shows you how to package and release your map to the world.
   
   [...]
   
   Definitely worth the price. You'll be making your own maps for your friends or clan by the end of the weekend.



3. Sadly this thing only really covers Map making,with the title it has I would cry foul and demand your money back,unless you are focusing on maping.

No comments about Foundation Silverlight 2 Animation (Foundation).

1 comments about China in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).

1. I was excited about this book when I saw it on Amazon, but when I received it I was disappointed. The "new" format is rather silly. Instead of all the fancy new graphics I think they should have kept it simple and added more pictures. I have never returned a book to Amazon until now. It's my fault, I guess I expected a picture book (based on the title).

1 comments about Colors of Australia (Colors of the World).

1. Great book to share with children. It shows many diiferent aspects of Australia grouped by colors. Wonderful pictures!

5 comments about Differential Equations with Mathematica, Third Edition.

1. Abell and Braselton strike a nice balance between the analytical solution of differential equations by hand, and numerical solution by computer. Mathematica is used to simplify some of the details, but they teach how to do everything by hand, including programming runge-kutta solution methods, fourier series, and other topics that lazier authors might have skipped over.

   Every chapter starts with basic definitions and builds to useful solution techniques. The book is packed with fully worked examples. My edition is a few years old and talks about the "newly released" Mathematica 3.0, but everything applies just as well to version 4.2.




2. I was expecting more. The notebooks on CD-ROM were not particularly helpful. All I could do with them was to run the authors's examples. Could not modify them to do my own.

   Unless you are a complete novice in the field of differential equations, don't buy this book!




3. This book explains differential equations in a mathematical context rather than simply a "plug and chug" approach. What is particularly good is the section on partial differential equations and their applications. I have used the second edition extensively in my work, and the third edition is even better. The authors are to be congratulated for their clarity in writing.



4. I am using this book to brush up on the subject. In Chap 2, for instance, I have found a couple of places were the examples using Mathematica and those worked out on paper do not follow each other. Errors generated are shown for some Mathematica examples but not others.
   Heavily dependent on using Mathematica to do the legwork, coverage of the basics is sparse.
   Not a book for people just starting out learning Differential Equations. I would have rated this book lower if I was depending on it as a textbook or tutorial.



5. If you're taking a course in ODEs and your primary text doesn't have some kind of Mathematica supplement, then this book might help you learn to solve differential equations with Mathematica.
   
   However, this book most emphatically is *NOT* a good place to learn diffy Q's if you're a novice or you don't have some other source of instruction. The author tends to dance around from topic to topic a bit much; she frequently presents the "condensed" version of definitions or proofs; and she has a tendency to drop very advanced notions (e.g. nonlinear equations) into the middle of simple discussions without warning. Much of the time, she seems to be assuming that her audience already knows the subject matter, so she can just give a quick sketch of some topic.
   
   This book really doesn't provide enough value to justify its high price.

No comments about Vietnam in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).