5 comments about Gimp: The Official Handbook: Learn the Ins and Outs of Gimp from the Masters Who Wrote the GIMP User's Manual on The Web.

1. The information that some readers assert is lacking from the book is in fact easily found. For example, instructions for downloading and installing new plug-ins is on page 51 in the section ``Extra Plug-ins.'' People who have more patience, and who are willing to spend the time with this 900-page volume, will find it extremely helpful. I have been using it for just a few days and have already learned many useful techniques. The numerous illustrations well demonstrate the operations that can be performed with all the available tools. See for yourself. This is an excellent book.



2. I have over 300 technical books on C, C++, Java, Linux, Unix, Windows NT, distributed processing, CORBA, DCOM, Perl, etc etc. I have been a software developer for over 17 years. The reason I mention this is that I know a good technical reference (or tutorial, or "handbook") when I see one, and this is none of those. The first reviewer here had it right when (s)he said "try looking something up". It's truly useless. A classic example of a rushed book timed to cash in on the open-source and Linux craze. Save your money. The online reference is actually more useful than this glossy garbage. Case in point: I tried looking on page 51 as the last (positive!) reviewer suggested and the only information I can see is a URL for the plug-in registry - not exactly a reference for someone looking for a particular add-on tool in a hurry. And it's true that when optional plug-ins are mentioned, NO indication of the package name is given, which is very frustrating. Do yourself a favor and wait for a more thought-out reference.



3. I will just add to the two negative reviews below by saying that the *explanations* I read when skimming through the book were so bad that I could only understand the sections on points I was already familiar with. I think this is the worst technical writing that I have ever seen in print.



4. A total waste of money (and the English language). The authors are more concerned with showing their "guru" status than with actually instructing the reader in such basics as applying plug-ins, transparencies... By all means, if you're a guru yourself, this book will be more understandable. But then again, if you're a guru yourself, you shouldn't need to toss your money away.



5. Like so much in the opensource world, this book is not designed for the ease of it's users. The authors show little concern for accessebility or introducing their material in a structured, sensible manner befitting a primer on Gimp. This book, at best, has value as a reference work...

No comments about Flex 3 in Action.

3 comments about Gardner's Guide to Internships at Multimedia and Animation Studios (Gardner's Guide series).

1. In purchasing this book, I had little information to guide me beforehand; I made the decision based on commentary on other works by this author, the title, and my need for information on internships in this field.

   I found myself greviously disappointed. While the information capsules about the employers are indeed helpful, no specifics were given for internships these employers might or might not offer. Instead, the contents of the book (aside from some prefatory material providing poor advice about resumes and cover letters) act as a directory to employers. While I am not discounting the helpfulness of such a directory, the misleading title and the quality of the prefatory material leave this reader with a very low opinion the party responsible for misleadingly marketing this volume.




2. This books was very helpful in identifying the companies where I can apply for an internship. I live in Los Angeles but did not know how to locate and contact the companies in my area. This is a very useful book!!!



3. I found this book to be the Bible for finding an internship in animation. Lots of animation companies, great descriptions of the companies, and advice on writing my resume. I was able to find an internship in the field. I highly recommend this book for high school seniors and college students in CG. I also recommend "Careers in Computer Graphics and Animation" these are two well needed resources.

No comments about Adobe Creative Suite Keyboard Shortcuts.

No comments about X Toolkit Intrinsics Ref Man R5 (Definitive Guides to the X Window System).

3 comments about Advergaming Developer's Guide: Using Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Macromedia Director MX (Game Development Series).

1. I love playing the games and this book tells the story behind some of the greats! Blockdot has a game site called www.kewlbox.com where you can play all of them!



2. If you are an advanced Flash or Director user this book might be tolerable, but as a beginner it is HORRIBLE. I have spent 3 hours so far on the first tutorial. Not because the concepts are difficult, but the descriptions in each step are so awful. Most simply, they don't explain the basic principles of how to do things, but then just jump into tutorials telling you to do things like " Set up a new layer and type this into the actions panel". How do I set up a layer, where is the action panel? The book never told me.
   
   Even if you are an advanced user, the tutorials are very poorly set up. For example on one step they tell you to place a bunch of items on the timeline. After placing all 15, in the next step they start referring to different layers that the items are on and how to manipulate them. What they didnt tell you at any point before is that you were supposed to put all the items on specific layers and that the layers have to have specific names that they refer to later. How could this book possibly have gotten past any editors?
   
   Conceptually: Great idea. Could be a very handy book.
   In execution: Don't know how it ever got published.



3. I am a Marketing Manager and also a shockwave/flash developer, so this book was one of those books that I "must" have, and the content is interesting... as MKT Manager, some concepts about "Viral Marketing" and Case of studies of success branding campaign using Advergames, the interview with the Big Fishes of the ADgames revolution... was really inspirational.
   
   For developers, is ok too... Is like a novice-intermediate users level of concepts and programing tricks... not bad... at all... of course you can find more advanced Lingo/actionScript books around, but this one, have the concept of the Marketing oriented games, and concepts about Branding and public profile search, that you will find in Marketing books...
   
   In resume, if you are a Marketing Manager, a lingo/ActionScript geek fan, or you are looking to know better whats the latest move of advertisements in the digital era... this book will help you

3 comments about Introduction to 3D Graphics & Animation Using Maya (Graphics Series).

1. As you might guess from the title, this book is about designing 3D objects, rooms and areas, often used in the writing of gaming software using the Maya software system.
   
   The interesting aspect of the book is the way that it is written. Each chapter starts with a bit of theory which is followed by a tutorial. Thus you get a combined approach that I find works very well. Sometimes you read the theory and are left wondering just what he was talking about, and the tutorial shows you what he means. And conversely sometimes when you get lost in the tutorial having read the theory allows you to get yourself out of trouble.
   
   Make no mistake, 3D modelling is not easy. The amount of work involved to get the image you want is significant. A sophisticated software package such as Maya makes it easier, and completely understanding what Maya does is a big help. This book is a good one to help you get there.
   
   The book comes with a CD which includes all of the designs that the book describes. This way you can work with what the author has already done and see professional quality work. The CD also includes the Maya 7 Personal Learning Edition.



2. overall i think this book is great. if your into after effects or whatever else and have little knowledge of a true 3-dimensional software package but the ability to understand, buy this book. if you think 3d animation is neat and something you wouldnt mind learning, stop right now. Maya and most other 3d packages are not to be taken lightly. it takes a long time to learn the software and even longer to learn how to apply it. ive bought many other "maya" books by many other authors and the reason i really like this book is if your learning, it explains details about the little things that most other books skip past assuming you already know. dont cut yourself short, get the most out of each tool and start learning at the beginning.



3. This book is an introduction to 3D with Maya as the software package. This book provides plenty of discussion on general 3D topics including modeling (polygonal, NURB and organic), rendering, lighting, and character rigging. However, the majority of the pages are dedicated to hands on tutorials. The included CD has tutorial files, high resolution images and Alias Maya 7.0 Personal Learning Edition (PLE).
   
   Although this book covers a lot of good topics (especially a strong emphasis on clean geometry), the tutorials were too frustrating. The steps were very difficult and not just because of the subject material. The steps in the tutorials generally start out quite detailed, but they eventually get a little vaguer. I believe the idea of this approach is to allow you to finish part of the tutorial on you own. This approach works for some of the tutorials, however, most of the projects are just too large and complex. For example, the tutorials in the last chapters cover modeling, texturing and animating a complete Unreal 2004 compatible game character. Even though I was not able to complete all parts of this continuing project, I still learned quite a bit. The problem is, for a beginner level book, an arm or head would have accomplished the same with less aggravation. This book is simply not long enough to properly cover projects of this amount, size and difficulty. Maybe space limitations are another reason you are left to finish a lot of the tutorial steps on your own. Still, there are a few other reasons working through the book proved difficult. For one thing, the colorless photos in the book were pretty much useless. The high resolution images on the CD were a big help though. Sometimes these images were the only way to understand a given step. The book as a whole could have used more editing as it had plenty of mistakes. There were typos in the text such as repeated and missing words. Additionally, names for menu and dialog boxes differed a bit from the included version of Maya that I was using. Occasionally, a minor step was missing or an incorrect image was used (Check the CD for the correct images). There were also plenty of other little inconsistencies - many relating to layer and object naming.
   
   If you are able to get through all the chapters in this book, you will learn quite a bit about 3D modeling that does not just apply to Maya. Still, it would have been nice if some of the harder projects in this book provided more detailed and complete steps. Instead, you are left to complete much on your own, which is an approach that probably works better in a simpler subject area. For 3D modeling, the tutorials and topics are probably a bit too hard for a true beginner and it is supposed to be a beginner level book. In the end, this is just another Maya book that tries to cover too much material without committing to more pages.
   
   Rating: 3.5/5

3 comments about Numerical and Analytical Methods for Scientists and Engineers, Using Mathematica.

1. This book explains how to solve a variety of useful problems in mathematical physics with Mathematica. The clear and concise presentation of material facilitates rapid advancement in the subject. In addition, many interesting physical examples and problems are included. I highly recommend this book as a text for undergraduate mathematical physics instruction.



2. This book is alright if you got it for a price around $20.



3. What a great book. The author has taken examples of how to use MATHEMATICA to a new level. Some topics are very advanced (chaotic systems, eigenmode analysis, the wave equation in three dimensions, ekonal and others), yet doable with MATHEMATICA, the reader gets insight into various topics of mathematical physics, thanks to clear exposition by the author. I wish I had a book like this as an undergraduate. The CD provided with the book is very helpful for trying out many examples. The unique thing about this book is that it is well-written and it is mathematically ambitious, a good source to imrpove your ability to use MATHEMATICA. This book (published by WILEY) has excellent production quality.

2 comments about Making a Game Demo: From Concept to Demo Gold (Wordware Game Developer's Library).

1. The book might be invaluable to you, if you are a game programmer looking for advice on how to get funding for a full production of your ideas. It describes many aspects that need to be addressed in making an impressive and professional demo ["gold" version].
   
   The actual programming discussion in the book revolves around using C++, which is probably the most common language for games. But this discussion is of necessity not the most detailed. If it's hard core programming issues related to games, you may need more specialised books. Instead, the appeal of this book is more in the other issues it covers. Like doing good motion capture. Or making high level designs of the plot.



2. Its not that great of a read. There are some interesting modeling chapters if you know little of the subject. However, the modeling chapters use 3dMax and 3dMax is very pricey. The programming sections are on how to use the author's 3d engine.

5 comments about Microsoft DirectX 9 Programmable Graphics Pipeline (Pro-Developer).

1. My book has "Microsoft .NET" on the cover, down left corner. It's the reason I bought the book. It has NOTHING to do with .NET. I don't understand why Microsoft puts it there? It's like BMW putting "V8" on the back of their 4-cylinder 300-series just because they have V8:s.



2. If you want what any professional game programmer would expect from this book, buy it - it does exactly that. It isn't a CG specific book and isn't aimed at C# programmers, but you wouldn't expect it to be. It's reasonable documentation and tutorial material for writing shaders.



3. I suggest to read DirectX9 SDK document fist that comes with DirectX9 SDK. Think about this book later. This book ends explanation as stream of comments of the simple sample shaders that come with SDK. I'd say this book is "out of focus". There are bunch of important things that should be explained - are not in this book. Such explanations are in SDK document.
   However, if you want to be away from computer and learn about shaders in relaxed in your bed or at a cafe, or if you are an naturalist who do not want to waste printer inks and papers to print out SDK document, in terms of such points, this book may worth to you.



4. As of this writing, there doesn't seem to be a real reference manual for HLSL and the shader assembly language. This book makes a good effort at filling that role, however.
   
   The graphics programmer is likely to find this very useful. It integrates C application code with shader examples. It also discusses on-the fly compilation, use of resources for shader source code, the relationships between vertex and pixel shaders, texture samplers, and 'techniques' for pulling all the pieces together. Performance programming gets some discussion, but isn't a central topic. Appendices specify the shader language in dryly formal terms, but the descriptive chapters make most language features very clear.
   
   The shader programming model is decidedly non-standard. A rendering program does not work at all like a C program. Yes, a C/C++ programmer will be able to follow a shader's internals easily enough. The problem, though, is that a C program is in charge of what data gets handled when. Everything in a rendering program is silently a callback, however. It's invoked by some execution engine that sequences the input and output data, and even synchronizes multiple (and almost invisible) threads of execution. The hardware rendering program also interacts strongly with the application running in the main processor, partly through "semantics", reflective "annotations", and various parameter-setting mechanisms. There is a huge amount of mechanism at work, and it gives the real meaning to the interacting programs on the host and graphics engine. That mechanism is described in a black-box way, what it does rather than how it works. I think I've reverse engineered the workings, enough for my purposes, but this book did not address my needs directly.
   
   Still, it's the best I've found. Real graphics programs, like games and scientific visualization, are much more than lines and circles. This book, with its examples, will surely help the beginner acquire a working knowledge.
   
   //wiredweird



5. Too much of the book is dedicated to showing assembly language shaders. The examples are built with the DirectX SDK and framework that was available when it was written, and won't compile with the later SDKs (I have June 2005). Other than that, it is a good reference to supplement the difficult to read SDK documentation.