3 comments about Pro J2ME Polish: Open Source Wireless Java Tools Suite.

1. I searched for something like that so long. The tool is definetely already state of the art to enable Developers producing professionell applications under the J2ME Plattform. This book supplement the already existing and good documentation and explains everything from higher perspective.
   
   Very Well done !



2. When you first learn J2ME, you learn about this fantasy world where all devices follow the J2ME specification to a tee. But in the real world, because of the interpretive nature of the specifications, no two devices really implement the specification exactly the same. So this requires either targeting a particular device or have many versions of you app to run on different devices.
   
   Man what a pain. But that is where J2ME Polish comes to the rescue. J2ME Polish provides pre-compiler directives to allow you to write code such that J2ME Polish's build script can automatically create different versions for you on the fly however you want. There is a lot more to J2ME Polish than just that, but this is a book review.
   
   So let's get to that review. Well, first Robert Virkus is J2ME Polish, well he is the architect and lead programmer for J2ME Polish. Who better to write a book about it? Consider this book the hard copy of the manual for J2ME Polish. If you are going to use J2ME Polish, then this book is a must. It is the reference book that you will need to find anything you need to know about J2ME Polish.
   
   Now, it isn't really a read all the way through the book and you can be J2ME Polish expert. You really need to be actually using J2ME Polish at the time, to better grasp what is being explained. The book can be hard to understand, not because of the writing, but because J2ME Polish is feature rich and there is lots to learn.
   
   I highly recommend using J2ME Polish and buying this book if you will be developing for more than one device, and also to get their cool looking GUI screens, rather than MIDP 2.0 High Level GUIs.



3. I'm a serious J2ME developer. I bought this book because it claimed to solve the 600 phone problem. It also promised to do some fancy GUI which are otherwise completely lacking in J2ME.
   
   However, right out of the box the first demo, the menu sample, fails utterly. Ant crashed because I didn't put an Ant jar file in the any classpath then the menu sample didn't work. I had to search some forum to find there is a bug in the latest RC4 download. Apparently no one at Enough caught or fixed it. To fix it I had to patch a css file deep inside the project. If that wasn't enough the actual menu demo looked horrible on WTK 2.5. Couldn't see the menu highlights and it scrolled incorrectly.
   
   Then I tried the roadrunner game. But the game didn't fit on the screen properly--isn't this the 600 phone issue? Ultimately, when I tried to exit, the game (or emulator) crashed. I looked at the jar file size and it was a whopping 462 KB on just 1,433 lines of source! Unreal.
   
   I tried the tabbing demo which looked decent and worked well enough but it was 430 KB on just 200 lines of source. This is awful.
   
   J2ME Polish depends on Ant and preprocessing of #ifdefs which were recognized a bad idea when C introduced them 30 years ago. C++ introduced const (and Java, final) partly for this reason. Actually, in J2ME Polish (and NetBeans) they're not #ifdefs but //#ifdefs because Java never bothered, and rightly, with this silliness--and here they are back again. They make the code less readable and they're virtually impossible to debug.
   
   Then there's this matter of integration of the IDE (I use Eclipse) and Ant. I mean, why bother with an IDE if you must still use Ant? Throw in some .css files, too, for good measure. I just don't get it.
   
   Indeed, I'm returning the book for a refund. I had enough from Enough.

No comments about Learning and Applying SolidWorks 2008-2009 Step by Step.

5 comments about Build Your First Website with Flash MX.

1. I picked this book up because of its flashy title. Before I purchased it, I read through quite a few pages. However, being a novice at using Flash, I didn't have a handle on some of the techniques discussed. After careful review, and lots of practice time, it dawned on me that some of the examples and steps in the book were not quite accurate. After running through the tutorials, I made several changes that actually improved the tutorials themselves. For instance, one of the steps is to animate a butterfly symbol you create. However, the steps have you convert the symbol to a graphic. You can't animate a graphic symbol; it has to be converted to a movie clip instead. This was confusing until I figured it out. Also, they want you to add several extra keyframes where you really only need one; and it even helps make your animation smoother when you use only one. One other thing, sometimes the instruction will not match up with the illustrations provided; it requires some patience to figure it out. So, other than the occasional mistake in some of the steps, the book can teach you some really basic, fundamental steps in Flash. Some editing would improve this book. You can't beat it for talking in layman's terms, though I haven't checked out the "Dummies" series yet. Do they even have a Flash MX for Dummies book yet? Before buying this book, look for a few other titles. You might be much happier in the long run, unless you're patient.



2. I just bought this book in an effort to get an overview of Flash. Unfortunately, by the time I got to chapter 2 I had already discovered that the author's instructions simply don't work. After following the directions, explicitly, and then redoing the exercise because I couldn't get the butterfly thing to work, it became quite apparent that no one bothered to proofread this first.
   
   I'm now on chapter 4 and very close to giving up completely - while the book LOOKED promising, I'm now convinced that it is so filled with mistakes that it is nearly (if not completely) impossible to complete the excerises as written.
   
   It is really a shame that someone didn't do a decent job editing/proofreading this book - even a once through would have shown that are there are numerous mistakes. This book is a big disappointment. Save your money and look elsewhere.



3. My P.e teacher has asked me to make him a flash website. So far I am extreamly advance at flash but I haven't used it for about 2 years. I would like to see how flash websites are made. I am in a advance grade for flash animations and I hope this book will help me to build an advance flash website.



4. I bought this book because it claimed to walk you through the process of creating a full flash website. The way I usually learn is to just do it so it seemed great, especially for the price. Unfortunately, there are numerous typos, skipped steps, and missing files on the cd. The way I found it useful was by reading and getting the basics of flash site development. I used what I could from this book in conjunction with what I found on www.flashkit.com. Now I have everything I need to get my work done. Being a developer requires you have thinking skills, so anyone with a little experience with development should be able to figure it out. If you can't, maybe you should consider something other than flash development.



5. Don't even think about buying this useless poorly written book - it's fill with endless mistakes.

No comments about PHIGS by Example.

5 comments about Beyond the Third Dimension: Geometry, Computer Graphics, and Higher Dimensions (Scientific American Library).

1. After reading this book, no doubt Thomas Banchoff is a deeply experienced geometry enthusiast.Unlike many schoolbooks, his book shows the main ideas underlying a multi-faceted geometry with minimal technical complication nonsense, using simple concepts and a bright argumentation, almost without losing insight! He never misses an opportunity to connect geometry to other sciences like algebra, relativity, optics, mechanics and to arts. It is not only the 'Everything you desired to know about the 4th dimensions' but also a bunch of 2D and 3D geometry 'master tricks' as well as a historical narration (including recent discoveries).

   Examples: - how to find yourself the polytopes (4D 'polyhedra') with 3D representations - how to easily calculate vertex coordinates of the 5 polyhedra - how to draw a torus on a hypersphère! -.. and many others

   No way you could escape this reading with the same vision of geometry!




2. A comfortable introduction to modern geometry for the general reader, with emphasis on the concept of the dimension. This reference concludes with an introduction to non-euclidean geometry.



3. This book is a jewel! It contains a wide collection of visual geometry. Professor Banchoff is able to link geometry to many aspects of life. It's a treasure trove for anybody teaching geometry at any level. It's a book that can be read at many levels. If you're willing to skip a bit here and there, you can get a very good general idea. But if you want to really understand all the details, it can make for hours of challenging reading. I'm still reading it! :-)



4. Mathematical ideas, when first learned, tend to undergo a curious inner transformation. At the outset, some tangible representation is necessary to effectively latch onto the concept. Thereafter, the symbolic elaboration using the language of mathematics is sufficient to encompass not only that particular figure, but limitless others like it as well. The underlying geometry is still there, but there are simply too many possibilities to illustrate in any amount of time.

   The first step of illustrating must be manifest, using ink or chalk or sand or digital pixels. In this way, even the finest geometric illustrations can be considered extremely crude and innacurate in comparison to rigorous mathematical precision. Consider, however, how extraordinarily difficult it would be to grasp trigonometric functions, vector spaces, or even the basic Cartesian coordinate system, without first observing supporting representative illustrations. Even if later forgotten, those initial images are crucial for understanding.

   This work provides a wide range of richly color-illustrated examples of the abstract geometric structures dealt with regularly in mathematics and the sciences. It is unique in its quality and affordability, and is supported with excellent prose, briefly describing the developmental history, and frequently how to reconstruct the figures from a sparse handful of assumptions. From an introductory description of dimension, this book then branches into numerous and diverse major topics: scaling, slices, regular polytopes, perspective, coordinate geometry, and non-euclidean geometry. While sparing in its level of mathematical description and precision, it never diverges into a fully artistic exposition on the subjects either. There is a careful balance, to guide the reader into better understanding the particular system under discussion.

   Certainly reading this book is merely the first step of a far longer term process. Symbolic computing programs, such as Mathematica, Maple or MatLab, will assist in visualization, as well as in understanding the pragmatic relation between the graphical and set-theoretic descriptions of the figures. Other books will also assist in this. Many of Rucker's works provide further descriptions of certain topics, specifically Geometry Relativity & The Fourth Dimension is admirable in its brevity and profundity. Abbott's classic Flatland is the foundational book on non-technical description of dimensions. The venerable What Is Mathematics? by Courant and Robbins combines illustration and mathematics as well as any work written since. Design science touches on these topics frequently as well, Kappraff's Connections is an extraordinary example of this. Deeper mathematical topics include set theory, algebraic groups, vector analysis, and too many others to list.

   However abstract the concepts diagrams and illustrations in this book may seem initially, most if not all have been utilized for practical application in recent times. You may very well be using devices on a daily basis, which have these concepts as a basis for their functionality. Keep this in mind while reveling in what the individual imagination can conjure.




5. Living in a world of three dimensional space makes it hard for us to conceive fourth dimension and it gets even harder to visualize the fifth and higher dimension. Superstring theorists predict the existence of 10th and 26th dimensions in universe; hence it seems reasonable for many of us to understand how it would be like to be living in fourth dimension. Thomas Banchoff is one of the leaders in the study of higher dimension using computer graphics; he has illustrated fourth dimension using basic geometrical approach such as slicing the spatial dimension, observing the shadows of structures, comparing the folded and foldout versions of polytops and description of configuration of spaces. This book is useful for someone who appreciates geometry, but for a reader who likes to visualize the fourth dimension he/she may read Clifford Pickover's Surfing through Hyperspace, which does a better job in illustrating fourth dimension.

5 comments about The Art of Flash Animation: Creative Cartooning.

1. There are few books out there that cover using Flash as traditional animation medium, and even fewer that are any good. The Art of Flash Animation is another book in the "not so good" column.
   
   The fact that this book came from a small publisher like Wordware means you don't get a lot of the frills you'd expect in an animation book. The illustrations are a bit sparse and in black & white. There's no CD of examples or finished files. A lot of the projects he mentions can be found on his website, which I wasn't particularly impressed with; especially the audio on his personal cartoons.
   
   Even though the book spends a lot of time talking about animation and Flash, not a lot of usable information comes out of it. A few tidbits of animation knowledge come out, but still the best advice this book gives is to read The Animator's Survival Kit. I don't need a $23 book to tell me to buy a $20 book.
   
   The Flash instruction is also rather lacking. If you've never touched Flash before in your life, you might learn something. If you already have a working knowledge of the program, you won't learn a thing.
   
   All in all, it's quite a bit of money to spend on such a small amount of learning.



2. When I first started taking my flash animation class, it was, unfortunately, before this book came out. I was a bit concerned that it might be just like all of the other books and only focus on one thing, or two, but avoiding the main topics. I was very much mistaken. I read this book & found that it, not only, covered all of the topics and such concerning flash animation, but it also went into some cartoons as well. I would rate this book a 5 star, because that's just what it is, a 5 star. I think that it was wrong of this novel to be rated a 2 star, I consider that an insult. I would encourage all who are looking into flash animation and cartooning to grab a copy of this book. It will not only teach you what you want to know, but it will keep you awake, unlike most of the other boring flash books. Enjoy the read, people, I did! ^-^



3. I have been trying to learn to animate, draw, model, 2d, 3D . spend time as and when its available on books, software, pencil and paper.
   I try my hand at Maya, Anim8or, Flash, ToonBoom, Blender .. anything that lets me draw and animate.
   I started looking at Flash recently with renewed vigour. I picked this book up along with a few others.
   
   The book addresses the newbie. teaches traditional style animation using Flash. which involves quite a few things.
   
   character design
   Character construction
   Thumbnails
   storyboarding
   Camera shots
   sound track
   acting etc..
   which are general pieces, and then specifics on Flash such as,
   
   basic tools to get the characters into flash,
   symbols, scenes,
   library
   rigging etc.
   
   This is a nice walkthrough of all the tools you need as part of mastering the trade. I would think this is a very good primer. Gets you going. then you go fill the gaps, build on it. The book provides an overview of the various stages , very simple and easy to read. The style of writing is more like that of a fellow student trying to figure out things.
   
   I wouldn't say this is 'the' book, but certainly provides a good starting point.



4. The book is really informative and well written; it is aimed at beginners in Flash animation, but also advanced users will benefit from the principles presented here. I read it from start to finish while on holiday and could comprehend everything though I did not have my computer with me to try everything out at once.



5. This is a book more so about TRADITIONAL animation techniques. It hardly touches on using flash to animate. If you want to learn how to use Flash to animate look elsewhere. In fact, this book isn't even that good of a traditional animation book. I would like to return this book to writer...in person.

3 comments about Game Design: A Practical Approach (Game Development Series).

1. Computer games have changed dramatically over the past few years. Long gone are simple Pac-Man type games. Today's computer are vastly more powerful than the early PC's and competition has forced the gaming industry into every more sophisticated games. In addition to the powerful computers, extremely sophisticated software has come about to assist game development.
   
   As Mr, Schuytema says, however, the most powerful, the most important piece of software is your mind. The most powerful computers, the most sophisticated software don't have the crativity you have.
   
   All of the rest of this book then is on simply using the tools that are available to take your creativity and make it dance on the screen. It begins with the development of a plan. What is it that the game is supposed to do, what's the setting, the characters, what objects do these characters use: gun, bomb, chocolate bar?
   
   Then it goes into the tools that he recommends the starting designer to use, specifically the scripting language Lua. This is a simple to use, easy way to get started. You can certainly use it through the prototyping stage, at which time you may or may not need to go to something lower level like C++ or C.
   
   He develops a simple game through the book so that he can use Lua to illustrate what he is doing. A CD is included with the book that includes the game and a bunch of Lua software.



2. Paul Schuytema's GAME DESIGN: A PRACTICAL APPROACH is for new game designers as well as serious gamers who want to create their own. From beginning concepts that build a foundation of routines and knowledge to more advanced documentation on delivery systems, application, and using enhanced shareware (included), designers will find everything needed at all levels of the process, under one cover.



3. Gave me a head start on game design...I make cell phone games..Also goes into detail in concol and mmorpgs

No comments about Indonesia (Ticket to).

2 comments about 3D Toons: Creative 3D Design for Cartoonists and Animators.

1. I found this book about a month ago while browsing the animation titles at my local bookstore. What initially drew my attention to it was the extremely familiar dog character on its cover (I believe it's name is Dennis, but don't quote me); I was especially pleased to see that Steve and Raf Anzovin, its creators, listed as the book's authors. Steve, the founder of Anzovin Studios, his son Raf, and the team at Anzovin Studios are extraordinarily talented artists, animators, and programmers, with extensive knowledge in all aspects of commercial 3D animation production. Based on my experience with several of their products (use their last name dot com to find their website), I took it straight to the cashier and purchased it without bothering to look through it first. I don't often get excited about a book, but this one lived up to my expectations, it's excellent. Steve and Raf have done it again! Their writing is accessible, clear, and direct; and the visual examples used in each section are contextually appropriate throughout the book.
   
   NB My personal peeve with far too many writers and publishers of technical manuals and textbooks, where specific tables, figures, or photos referenced within a text don't enhance the reader's understanding of the material (add to, support, or clarify its meaning), and their locations are not immediately apparent (whereby its location is logically correlated both visually and contextually, or hopefully more simply stated, referenced visuals are on or near the same page[s] as, the text that references them!).



2. 3d Toons Creative 3D Design For Cartoonists and Animators is a powerhouse of information that focuses on artistic choices in explaining to its readers how 3D cartoonists reach their goals. As mentioned in the inside flap of the book, "3D cartoons are becoming the hottest thing in Hollywood, and they are also taking over TV."
   
   The book is written by authors who have an enormous and intimate knowledge of 3D cartoons. Steve Anzovin is the CEO of Anzovin Studio, a computer-generated character animation that he co-founded with his son Raf.
   
   Their objective in putting together this book was to deemphasize the teaching of techniques and focus on the "nitty-gritty" inner workings of the creative process.
   It is amazing how much effort and talent is required in the making of an animation. Readers are informed how 3D characters and sets are brought to life in cartoons, graphic novels, and computer-animated short films. It thus is more than a "fresh look" at 3D animation but rather a fresh attempt to appreciate the immense creative process that is required.
   
   The examination of this creative process is neatly organized into seven sections that are in turn sub-divided. The authors examine and explore 3DToonstyle, Toon Evolution, Anatomy of a Toon, Animated Toons, Shooting Toons, Toon Media, and 3dToon Gallery.
   Each section is prefaced with a succinct overview and thoughtful queries prompting reflection and discussion. For example, when you look at the chapter dealing with toonstyle, readers are asked, what makes a cartoon character? From this point of reference the authors analyze why they look, act, and sound the way they do.
   
   The book does not necessarily have to be read in a particular order and the newcomer to animation as well as the novice can easily open it to any section and garner useful information.
   Spectacular and easy to follow illustrations enhance the book's informative as well as its aesthetic appeal. Each image contains sidebar explanations as to how and why they were created in a particular manner. To illustrate, if you refer to the section pertaining to Cartoony Toons, there is an example of three images that are stripped-down cartoon faces without bodies and we are informed that is all a character needs. As explained, these bodiless characters were designed for medical animation aimed at children of cancer patients.
   
   The final chapter exposes the best of 3D Toon Art. It is here where we have a glance at the work of some of the giants in the field such as Jimmy Maidens, Robert J. Tiess, Yves Dalbiez, Sebastian Schoellhammer, Avalanche Software (Video Game Animation), Victor Navone, David Maas & Tatjana Herrmann-Maas, Shaun Freeman, Michael Sormann, Reel FX Creative Studios, and Patrick Beaulieu.
   
   As well as explaining at appropriate points within the various sections' key concepts, the authors provide a glossary of quick definitions of the 3D Toon Terms used in the book, as well as suggestions for further reading. There is also a very helpful index.
   
   Fledgling 3D animators, students, dreamers, and those who want to learn more about this fascinating topic will have a great deal of fun with this accessible book. It will most certainly become part of the required reading of many a course on animation, as it will prove to be quite an asset.
   
   Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

No comments about Colour Engineering: Achieving Device Independent Colour.