5 comments about The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers.

1. I bought this book hoping that it would answer many of my image processing questions. Not only did it do this but I have also learnt many new techniques to improve my image output. This book sits on my desk next to my computer and is referenced nearly on a daily basis. I love this book and it has made my work life so much easier.



2. If you own Photoshop ps4 this book is absolutely necessary.
   This book has solved most of my problems in learning ps4.
   The book is by Scott Kelby who is the authority on photoshop.
   All the instructions are easy to follow, step by step and well written.



3. For a beginner it is a very well written book. However if you are new to CS4 it might be troubling as you have to have a previous intoduction to CS4 to know what to look for and what you can do with CS4. It is similar to the chicken or egg. Which came first?



4. This book is a helpful reference for those familiar with photoshop.
   It is necessary for novices and provides helpful examples.
   This book is the bees knees.



5. I had a real internal debate over whether to upgrade from Photoshop Elements 7 to Elements 8 or to CS4. I had used Photoshop a while back, but I really hated the interface, so I had gone with Elements several years ago. Elements is very good--it's got about 90% of what most people ever need. But, there were a few features I missed from Photoshop CS, so in the end, I upgraded to CS4.
   
   With all that said, I am not a Photoshop novice, but I am rusty, and there are a ton of new features that are new to me. For example, Bridge and Camera Raw didn't exist when I left Photoshop, so I appreciate the detailed coverage. Note that if you are a Lightroom user (which I am not), the Bridge chapters will be superfluous.
   
   If you are brand new to image editing, you probably won't like this book. It assumes you have some basic familiarity with the workspace and capabilities of Photoshop, though not necessarily CS4. The focus of the book is on how to accomplish common tasks, which is exactly what I am looking for. I particularly appreciate the chapter on workflow, since I find myself somewhat overwhelmed as I move from the world of JPEG photography to the world of RAW, which is my primary reason for moving back from elements to CS4.
   
   So, if you are a digital photographer who has played around with Photoshop in the past, you are probably going to love this book as much as I do. If you are brand new to Photoshop, hold off on this book in favor of a more basic tutorial.

5 comments about Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations.

1. Garr Reynolds has done it again. His first book Presentation Zen created a huge learning curve for me as a Professional Speaker/Trainer. After using the tools and techniques he described my work took a dramatic leap toward. Not only have I become more "tech savvy" but now the slides I design capture my audiences attention instead of putting them to sleep. How much better does it get?
   
   I purchased this second book as soon as I could. While the topic is the same, somehow Mr. Reynolds has captured even more information in his unique crisp fashion. Not only does he give detailed information on how to capture the examples he choses but he does so in a way that makes learning fun. His calm "non-ego tripping style" is a welcomed retreat.
   
   I recently sent Garr Reynolds an email thanking him for his book. My email was send early one Sunday morning and within a very short time he replied back. His note was both personalized and humorous.
   
   The value I have received from both of the books Garr Reynolds has written is priceless. His books will give both your Right Brain and Left Brain a real treat.



2. Forgive me for my lack of professional experience, as I'm still an undergraduate in business school. However, I must say, after reading Mr. Reynolds first book, I went on to give some amazing presentations. So much so, that everyone else in my classes, students and professors alike, including my communications professor often approach me afterwards to compliment me on my presentation style and particularly my slide design. Students often ask me how I created slides like that, and I have been happy to teach them what I know.
   
   I think it is important to realize that there is, more than just creating slides that look pretty, a fundamental disconnect here. Many people cannot think within the realm of a presentation. They feel that the information NEEDS to be on the slide instead of having the slide as a backdrop. So the idea of breaking a four-rowed table out into four slides is ludicrous because "the information is not shown together so it cannot be prepared." I would argue that it is the job of the presenter to show the relationship between the information. Otherwise, if the table speaks for itself, why on earth are you presenting it?
   
   This is exactly the point. A deck of slides should enhance your talk, not outline all of your main points. If it outlines all of your points, you the presenter, are useless. Hand out a copy of your slide deck and sit back down. Instead, it should be off in the background, it should convey simple messages that enhance your speech and provide visuals for the messages you are providing. That's exactly what Garr teaches.
   
   Garr's book, while delving into philosophy and design in general, shows many incredible techniques I have incorporated into my own slides. Bleeding photos, using one or two colors for emphasis, text size and font selection, and even positioning on slides have all been incorporated into my slide design. Additionally, there are a few good specific examples of things I never thought to do, but that make the visuals interesting and exciting.
   
   Some people still do not think this way, and those people will say this style of presentation is useless or laughable, or that it focuses on being flashy and not on substance. They have been the ones to give negative reviews to this book and the first book. They are fundamentally wrong. This style of presenting is incredibly engaging. What is not understood and often overlooked is that the most important element of any slide is the person presenting it.
   
   If you don't buy into this idea, or can't being yourself to think this way, then you will not enjoy this book. But if you are open to it and embrace it, you will give some of the most astounding and engaging presentations of your life.



3. Presentation Zen Design
   
   Garr's a great writer, and his first Presentation Zen book made a huge impact on how I create PPT slides. His new Zen Design book is unfortunately more of the same. He covers some art and design topics in detail, such as color selection, font kerning, recommended fonts, how to take your own digital photographs, symmetry vs asymmetry but otherwise it is more of the same.
   
   I read through Zen Design and felt it did not add as much value as the first book. Sure, some of the topics are interesting but I've gotten the same lessons from other professionals in the area of photography and art. It felt like Garr ran out of new topics to discuss and fleshed out some of the earlier concepts - which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
   
   Overall, I felt that you could just buy and read the first book and be well on your way. The Zen Design book isn't mandatory. It's good to read, but not as important as the first book.
   
   Pros: Covers more design topics in detail, excellent tips abound
   
   Cons: More of the same, nothing revolutionary, not as good as the first book
   
   Overall: 3/5 stars



4. A good overview of presentation design, and follow up to his earlier volume. This book perhaps could have offered more advice for dealing with real life presentation situations. Not everything is a production that requires fully engaging the audience (although that should still be the goal). Sometimes you need to get a presentation across with 'economy' in terms of the time invested, i.e., the presentation you make needs to be the presentation you hand out as a reference document. More discussion on this second tier of presentations would have been very well received. Not everything is a plenary presentation, and most of us can't afford to have agencies put our presentations together for us.
   
   Still a very good book that points to where you can go and how to get there with your presentation.



5. Presentation Zen Design offers a range of design tricks and tips to enhance a presentation, with guidelines and basic principles for achieving overall harmony and balance using Zen simplicity. From preparing a talk to simplifying data and making your own images 'pop', PRESENTATION ZEN DESIGN: SIMPLE DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE YOUR PRESENTATIONS will reach a wide audience, from students to business and computer professionals and managers alike.

5 comments about Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd Edition).

1. As an instructor looking for a text for students taking an introductory programming course, this book is perfect. I had waded through several other works on objective-c but none took the approach of starting from square one. Even though I have programmed in many languages (APL, C, Forth, Pascal) I was new to OOP and I found most other texts very tiring to understand.
   
   This book is a breath of fresh air and includes good exercises at the end of each chapter. Coupled with a great on-line forum site with additional quizzes and solutions to problems, this is one of the best works I could have found for learning this material.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn about object oriented programming and for anyone who wants to learn how to create iPhone (or Mac) applications. Writing iPhone apps is just too different an area to jump into without first getting a good grasp of the programming fundamentals. This is a necessary first step in that process.
   
   Dave Crabbe



2. In the process of learning a new computer language or software development environment, I have found that multiple books are needed, each with a different focus: intro book with simple examples (Beginning iPhone 3 Development), great language reference book, and advanced applications/topics (iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach). This book, Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd edition), is the great language reference book in this set.
   
   I particularly like the approach that Stephen Kochan used with this book even though I have a strong background in C and OO design. Here is a quote from page 2 of his book: "So I decided neither to teach C first or assume prior knowledge of the language. I decided to take the unconventional approach of teaching Objective-C and the underlying C language as a single integrated language, from an object-oriented programming perspective. The purpose of this book is ... to teach how to program in Objective-C ... by example."
   
   Part I focuses on Objective-C language fundamentals. This part briefly covers use of the Xcode IDE and gcc. The material on classes, categories, and synthesized accessor methods are specific to the Objective-C environment. At approximately 300 pages in length, the material is well organized and considerable in content.
   
   Part II covers the large set of predefined classes that comprise the Foundation framework. If you are new to the Foundation framework but have prior knowledge of C like me, then Part II is where most of your study time will be spent. This part is approximately 150 pages in length.
   
   Part III moves the focus to Cocoa with a simple iPhone/Touch app example that shows usage of the UIKit framework, Xcode, Interface Builder, and the iPhone simulator. Note: Part III is less than 40 pages long. The other two books I referenced earlier provide that specific focus in a more extensive format. This book is about Objective-C and its Foundation framework which is the common software environment for both Mac and iPhone/Touch.
   
   Although I am still working my way through the chapters, I am very pleased with the amount of material and its organization in this book. After you understand the basics, nothing beats further learning than developing, compiling and debugging your own code to create your own software application. It is also the most humbling part of the process.



3. I've "skimmed" lots of programming books all the way back to a first edition of "The C Programming Language" and this is the first one that I've actually stuck with all the way through. I'm not a full-time developer so I usually drop-out once I've learned enough to accomplish the quick and dirty task. But this time I was happy to continue reading.
   
   Written clearly, simply and to the point. Enough information but not too much for the goal.
   
   Excellent!!
   
   Thank you!
   
   Tim



4. I have a certain degree of knowledge from JAVA, C++, and C#. When I first saw the code of objective-C, I felt a little bit intimidated by the syntax. After I read this book, it becomes more clear. I then begin to recognize the pattern of the programming concept for this language.
   
   I like the way the author chooses the words. He tends to link things around as if he knows that the readers may not understand some of the parts (either points to appendix or actually cover some background information on the following pages).
   
   Now I'm ready to develop iPad application before the device itself even launch yet.



5. If you are reading the reviews because you're on the fence, stop now and buy this book. Of the many, many programming books I've purchased over the years, this is by far the best. (Really!) The book itself is well organized, builds steadily on previous chapters, and I'm sure will also be a great reference for some time to come. But what really sets this book apart is the author's forum. There is a TON of information, including study guides, quizzes, questions answered (often by the author himself!) topics clarified, and ideas shared. If you are already a programmer the book alone is worth purchasing. But if you are starting out or still have a thing or two to learn, the book combined with the site is invaluable.

5 comments about Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.

1. Steve Krug is the author of the bestselling book Don't Make Me Think!, which has racked up worldwide sales of 250,000 since its publication in 2000.
   
   That book based its approach to assessing and improving the usability of websites on the injunction in the title. If visitors to websites have to figure out what to do on a website, then the website is operating at a disadvantage.
   
   Krug offered some very pertinent, uncomplicated advice on web usability, how to judge it and how to implement solutions to problems that are identified.
   
   When updating that first book in 2005, Krug decided that Rocket Surgery Made Easy had become necessary: a handbook for putting usability principles into practice, focusing in particular on user testing.
   
   The title refers to the phrase Krug coined (and trademarked) to summarise his view that all of this is just common sense: it's not rocket science and it's not brain surgery.
   
   It also gives a clue that Krug, while determinedly practical and grounded in the day-to-day business of designing and building websites for paying clients, approaches the subject with considerable humour and playfulness. It's apparent that this is partly out of a concern that usability might be a dry subject for some, but also because Krug is a very funny guy. I think we'd enjoy his workshops, if he ever brings them to Australia.
   
   Rocket Surgery Made Easy is itself easy reading. Less than 160 pages, it is well laid out, charmingly illustrated by Mark Matcho and very, very well edited - big hat-tip to the people at New Riders.
   
   The basis of the book is that it offers how-to advice on actually running user testing sessions. Krug is well aware that many designers and developers cannot afford the expansive, expensive and time-consuming approach to user testing that requires hiring rooms with two way mirrors and video equipment to observe and record user actions as they test a website under controlled conditions, so he has devised a budget approach based around the catchphrase of "A morning a month, that's all we ask". Catchy phrases are an identifiable part of the Krug approach.
   
   Because it's well-written, because Krug is witty, and because the subject material is based so much on common sense, it's easy to whizz through the book. But how much will it change the way a web designer or developer works?
   
   Frankly, while I agree with the need for it, and understand the benefits to be gained, user testing is unlikely to form a significant part of my day-to-day work scenario, at least while I remain a one man design band juggling a roster of new websites and long term clients. The logistical practicalities of even "a morning a month", using three testers without a lot of complicated equipment, are prohibitive. I accept that this may give me and my clients headaches into the future.
   
   However, Krug's books - the first explaining why usability matters, the second explaining how to do it - do give me a platform for addressing usability issues. The way Krug explains stuff allows and encourages me to engage with usability issues. Walking through his approach to user testing tells me a great deal about how I think about usability and how I can improve it. This alone gives me a competitive edge over designers who don't "get" usability
   
   Perhaps both these books should be bundled under the collective title Make Web Designers Think! It's what Krug does extremely well. He raises simple but devastatingly critical usability issues, explores his own way of thinking about them and then offers ways to deal with them.
   
   Krug points out - and emphasises - that anyone can do this. But the fact is that many web designers do not give themselves over to critical thinking, and even when encouraged to do so, may not be sure how to analyse, document and translate their thoughts into design changes.
   
   It is these people that will likely get the most out of Rocket Surgery Made Easy, but they may also be the last designers to actually buy it.
   
   Still if it does anything to get even highly experienced web designers thinking about what they are doing in a critical, insightful and constructive way, it will help to shape a better web.



2. As always, Steve at his best . . . pithy, short and sweet, loaded with practical tips and reminders, all couched in humor. A very quick refresher (or UX-Usability Studies 101), even for folks long in the field, and of course a great paperback to give to those who are new to the somewhat elusive "user experience, information architecture, interaction design, usability" world. Lots of great tidbits which re-anchor us to the core issues and keep us from getting too distracted with all the other "stuff." Only thing I wish he had emphasized a bit more, though he does speak to it when addressing the "How many users do you need?" issue, is that, even without a lab or a video camera or a laptop, you can still succeed . . . almost any type of "fail forward, fail fast" iterative reviews of concepts, wireframes, screen elements, flows, paper, models and/or digital, will unearth gold. Wonder what his next book, in, umm, nine years, will be about?!



3. If you want to know how to do discount usability testing, this is the book for you. This "show me don't tell me" book is laid out in a practical fashion that anyone can grasp.
   
   The points about getting effective feedback from only a few people is presented so compellingly that it will "rock the world" of those who believe that you must spend big to get great results.
   
   And the pithy, humorous writing style makes it an enjoyable read. It's short enough that every member of your web team can find time to read it. If you're a designer, give copies to your clients. If you're a web manager, give a copy to your CEO. This will help them understand why usability is so important.



4. This book is just as convincing as the first one Steve Krug wrote (Don't make me think!). It is an easy and entertaining read and on top of this hold's all the truths you need to know for efficient do-it-yourself testing. I admire Steve Krug's style of writing and especially his ability to condense the most important and valuable into some very nicely written chapters. This book contains the wisdom of an expert who easily reaches the beginner as well as the advanced usability tester, and his advice is very encouraging. Instead of listing a lot of theoretical stuff on sophisticated scientific testing, he focusses on making usability testing easy to understand and to put into practice and takes a much more pragmatic approach. The book offers easy to follow directions and many hints for successful testing and tweaking of websites.



5. Good ideas, good book, you can read it during a long trip of 8 hours, and start working with your own usability tests.

5 comments about Beginning iPhone 3 Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK.

1. If your completely new to iphone developing I suggest you skip this book. With every SDK update these books become instantly outdated if you depend on them to give you word for word, line by line help. As soon a you run across a section of the book that is no longer current like the last line on page 133 your screwed. I'm new to all this so i'm pretty ignorant on Objective C and everything else that has to do with programming. Out of the three tutorials in this book I went thru so far I only got one to work. I copied word for word the code as they show in the book..only to get a half a dozen errors, which immediately stopped me from progressing in that chapter. I would love to see someone come out with a book that actually has a technical support number that you can call (at a reasonable cost..say $100.00 for unlimited support for 6 Months) This is the only way I could have someone help me when I hit a road block. As soon as Apple changes one page in their SDK software and your following along in this book, its like coming to a canyon and the bridge is gone. With no help in site. I'm going to be looking for an online class to take or a community college course to take some where...I need hand holding.



2. I've 30+ years of software design/development experience. I read at least 10-12 technical books a year. In those that deal directly with software development I've nearly always found errors within the examples. With that said, I have been amazed at the accuracy within this book. Hats off to the authors for a job well-done! Now, I will admit that some of the screen shots in the book are a bit different than what I see in my Xcode environment. I keep my Mac development environments up to date so I expected to encounter some differences but thus far none have been difficult to overcome.
   
   With respect to some of the other reviewer's comments regarding this not being a "beginners" book... I have prior experience (5 years assembly language and 15 years C/C++) with languages that are close to the Objective-C syntax. (The last 10 years have been all Java and quite frankly I have enjoyed the return to a language that allows pointer manipulation.) But, I did read/study Stephen Kochan's book "Programming in Objective-C 2.0". It provides a solid foundation in the syntax and memory management and should prepare you for the iPhone development presented in this book. Working through the examples in Kochan's book reawakened the "old" C skill's quicker than I thought possible and has made the iPhone development easier to comprehend. It's been "fun" to step out of the Java world for a new adventure.
   
   If you don't have the C language back ground then I would suggest getting Kochan's book. It's a great introduction and coupled with the information/resources available on Apple's web-site you should soon feel comfortable with the language and the examples/problems presented in "Beginning iPhone 3 Development" should start to "click".



3. I've looked through many beginning iPhone development books and I can say this is the best one out there. I would prefer a big, thick, Deitel-style textbook though. I don't think there's anything like that out there for iPhone development. You should know some basic programming in C, C++, Java, or Objective-C(preferred), before you tackle this book. Otherwise, you will likely be confused. I recommend you learn the basics of Objective-C first too, though people with C, C++, Java experience may be able to understand the code. Apress has a decent book on Objective-C.
   
   This book covers every topic you need to learn to start developing iPhone applications and explains the basics of Xcode and the iPhone SDK. It's a by example type book. You learn by writing actual applications. There are plenty of screenshots that help you stay on the same page.
   
   Now, the bad things about this book. First, there is a quite a lot of errata. This isn't uncommon in programming books, but this book has more errata than usual. I think they cut corners putting out a new edition and forgot to update some of the code and check for other errors. Again, this is typical of programming books. They really should have had a programmer actually go through the book and type in the code, etc. before sending this off to print. I guess they couldn't afford the time and money to do this? Fortunately, there is an online forum with other readers of this book posting corrections. Secondly, the explanation of concepts and code is somewhat brief. Sometimes, you just have to look at the code and try to figure out what it does or just accept that it works.
   
   In conclusion, this book is easy to read, well organized and will teach you how to get started developing iPhone applications by example. The typeface and design is easy on the eyes. You will likely have to look back at the code of the programs in this book when you start writing your own programs. You should read some other iPhone development resources also to supplement your knowledge, because the explanation of concepts and code is brief at times. The errata is somewhat annoying, but there's a companion forum with corrections. I don't know of a better iPhone development book out there, which means that there is no "excellent" iPhone dev book, yet.
   
   Start with this book as a primer, then try writing some programs that you would like to make. Look back at the programs you wrote while going through this book, unless you have a photographic memory. Check out other resources too and ask questions in online forums when you run into problems. I have found that the best way to learn a programming language/SDK/etc. is to write programs you really want to write. You will have extra motivation to find the answers to get your program completed and learn the language at the same time.
   
   After going through this book, check out The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone 3.0 SDK (2nd Edition) for more, in depth coverage of development for the iPhone. It's more of a reference book than a how to book.



4. This book has wonderful example code, that is fairly simple to type in. The language is easy to read
   and things build from simple to more complex. It is not a book about Objective-C however. Another
   book must be purchased for that. By the end of this book, though, every reader should have a very
   good knowledge of the iPhone SDK and how to exploit it to create your own programs.
   
   Code in the book works great, no issues of code not making sense. There have been a few changes
   to the Xcode interface that are different from the book, but that should be expected.
   
   All-in-all this is a great book for starters. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the
   series about iPhone programming.



5. This book is a great tool for someone starting out with iPhone programming. I've found it to be very helpful but it doesn't have everything I'd like to know in it. It's pretty easy to follow along with the example applications.

5 comments about Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual.

1. Photoshop Elements Version 8's manual isn't entirely missing -- Adobe does supply you with several get-started pamphlets -- but if you want to really learn how to use this program, you need this book. As Adobe has made Elements "easier" to use, with multiple automated tools, it's also increased the complexity of the program and given you many more options. As valuable as the automation is, you still need to understand when to use each tool and how to apply them. For example, Elements' HDR-like Exposure Merge feature can be frustrating or mis-used unless you know exactly what it does. That's what you get from Brundage's comprensive coverage. Highly recommended.



2. Book arrived in time for Christmas giving and was appreciated by my daughter to enable her to more quickly dive into use of the new software she also received for Christmas.



3. A manual one half this good should be supplied with the software.
   
   I have worked with full blown professional Photoshop for years. This book is really helpful...I recommed it highly.



4. I'm a first time photoshop user, I was really against the idea of ever changing or enhancing your photos, I always thought you need to get them right in the Camera or it will be cheating, I'm not here to tell you why I changed my mind or how come I got to know how wrong I am. I want to share with you what I think about the book. I ordered both photoshop elements and this guide from Amazon the same day (I had downloaded the trial from Adobe website a couple of months back and then deleted it as I thought photoshop elements was complex and it is). I started reading the book and going over elements step by step and page by page. I am getting there and I'm loving it. It is a great way to teach you photoshop and it's working for me as a first time user. I'm having a wild time either simply enhancing my photos are just completely changing them. the possibilities are endless and the sky is the limit. This book as a great tool to teach you photoshop and get you where you'll be comfortable with a complex yet powerful software.



5. I love books that give excellent details about anything I have to use. This book is it, gives in depth information that I have been looking for to help with the program. Besides doing photos, I use Adobe Photoshop for other projects that need touchups, cutouts, coloring, etc. This book will be just the help I need.

5 comments about Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3.

1. Great collection for virtually anybody who is interested in photography. Amateurs can learn quickly how to make pro looking photos, more advanced folks can quickly reference info without dealing with formulas and theories. Check also [...] for weekly show which will add to your learning experience.



2. It is the best book for a begginer.
   
   It is easy and interesting. I would recomend it to every one.



3. easily read in an hour each and afterwards useful as reference, before you go on a specific mission.



4. I'm an amateur and this book really helps me.
   I had just started reading this book and my photography skills already improved. I like that it doesn't get deep in technical terms and it just tells you, as the author says, like in a trip with him, what to do. The photo examples are very useful, especially because underneath it's the EXIF.
   I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a pro.



5. This mans writting style is actually fun to read. He tells you what you want to know without all the history, un-nesesary, stuff - just right to the point as if he was standing right next to you saying - do this, then this, etc.

5 comments about Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book.

1. The book was very simple to use, and was shipped in great quality just in time for my classes to start.



2. CS4 Classroom in a Book is a great book. The book provides training to do the accompanying lessons that help the reader grasp the concepts by doing. In other words, learning by doing. The book demonstrates tool basics, the how and when to use each tool--in simple and easy steps and in understandable language. I recommend beginner and intermediate Photoshop users get the book, but be prepared to sit in front of your computer for hours of fun!



3. The book and project cd were in perfect condition and arrived sooner than promised. Absolutely no issues.



4. I had a nightmare experience with this product and my attempts to get assistance from Adobe customer service were horrible! This is a long review but it was a long process!
   
   The only part of the whole experience that went smoothly were the order,payment and delivery process!
   
   I recieved the software in the mail. On attempt to install I got a fatal error about 85% of the way into the install. Uninstalled and tried again..same error ..same place. Ok..I called cuistomer service and they 1st tried to direct me to FAQ and trouble shooting sites on the internet. I explained I had already read over them and could not find a simple fix or one that matched my problem and at any rate they were all in computer tech language of who I am not one which is why I called them! I also have some experience with solving my own problems this way and I knew that this time from reading that I would likely do more damage to my system by proceeding on my own and therefore made a call to them. So the tech on the phone kept saying .." read these steps and follow them and then call us back " I had to repeat several times I HAD read them and I did not wish to wait on the phone for another 45 minutes (it literally took that much wait time before I could talk with them)and basically refused to do what he told me to do and demanded that he help me during this phone call.
   
   He had me explain the problem ...then he had me uninstall & reinstall whith him on the phone . He had me download a cleanup program specifically for this adobe software and then run a clean up. Then try install again..same error ...same place!
   Run through the uninstall & cleanup again. Now he had me creat a seperate new user account on my desktop and then had me intstall the software directly on my desktop in the new account and then try to upload it directly from the desktop. Same exact result! Now we had been on the phone about 2 hours at this time. He had to leave work for the night so he left me to try it again saying this time it should work!
   Of course it did not.
   
   In the morning I called back..I also forgot to mention that on this 1st call attmept fpr help I was disconnected 3 times after waiting 30 to 40 minutes on hold each time and then 15 minutes into explaining the probelm.
   When I finally got to talk with the next tech and explain he said I needed to talk to another dept. The next tech had me repeat the whole story which got longer everytime a new incident was added to my experience. He had me go into my control panel etc after another uninstall & cleanup and attempted to discover what the probelm was. He 1st wanted me to unload and re-upload Interenet Explorer 8 because he said it had know conflicts with Adobe Photshop CS4! I asked why that was not listed as a conflict any where on their websites or on the product itself and really got no answer excep welllllll maybe it should be but it isn't! So I agreed to have him assist with this process. We got to a section that warned I might affect some of my exixting programs if I removed it.
   
   I had recently added several new softwate and hardware products ( I am an artist) an did not want them affected so I told him I did not want to do this. So he then talked about searching my registry. I know that going into the registry is not usually a good idea but he reassured me he does it all of the time! So in we go. He had me make a backup of my registry(which I was later informed by another tech at Adobe would not be a fix for my registy if it was damaged in any way) although this guy said it would!
   
   In the registry ...he had me check and uncheck certain boxes in certain areas and some he had me recheck and some he left unchecked (so that to me means he is making a change to my resistry as we never went back and redid everything as we had originally found it! But in the process he said that there was a conflict in one area of my operating system and I would have to call microsoft to get this changed in order for the software to install correctly. At that point I was so burnt out by all of this that I decided I would not have my Operating system messed with ..(what else would be affected by this if I did ) I opted to keep my system as it was with all of my perfectly working software etc and NOT to install the Adobe CS4 softwar much to my disappointment.
   
   He directed me to the return process with went ok. They disabled my serial number and put me in for a refund that was it! It was about 10pm by this time so I turned off the computer and that was it for the night.
   
   In the morning I started up my computer in order to open some of my artwork stored in the system and found the computer would not let me open any of them!Mind you I am an artist and have 100's of digital copies of paintings and drawings etc that I have created stored here. I freaked!
   
   Called back to get help[ and after a long holdtime again got a tech on the line. This is 3 days I have now been working with them for at least 9 hours by now! The 1st thing he said when I explained the probelm I was having was the I no longer had the software installed and my serial number was disabled so he had no responsibility to help me! I had to argue with him to agree that something from his software and or the trip into my registry by one his techs or both were causing a problem! He then said being a part of the Installation tech helpline he could not help me and that I need to talk with the Tech Imaging people for help. SO he transferred me to them! I expalind again and the guy told me ...well I can't help you you have to talk with the Installation Techs! I said they had just transferred me to his dept! He then had me check a few things on the computer and wr discovered I had no ability to right click to access anything in the computer. When I tried it would shut the whole system dowmn. So he patched in with the Install Techs and he asked for their manager to call me back. I forget ot mention that I was supposed to get a 'call back' from them the 2nd day in the process and that never happend I had to call them back! So I was hesitant to wait for another call back but I did. In an hour the guy called...we went through my problem and he said he needed to d oa little research and could he call me back in another hour! So ok! What choice did I have?
   
   He did..and he figured out that even with all of the expert help in the unintallation of the progeam that pieces had still been left in and that they were causing the problem. So he worked with me and sure enough we found somemore Photoshop CS4 portions still on my computer. He had me delete these and then we found my system worked ok now. Thank goodness.
   
   I still had some issues with my desktop and the start up process with my computer has changes...nothing major..I have adapted to that but still a pain!
   
   Adobe is like a virus and works it's way into your system and hangs on for dear life! And the Adobe customer service process is the glue that keeps the virus alive!
   
   I will never put another Adobe product on my system again!
   
   And by the way..I have a new system with more that adequate memory and should never have had this probelm!
   
   Beware!!



5. theres nothing in this book that i dont already know...and if i forget something, this would be a good quick reference book. i could honestly deal without having this book and be happy with it... and i thought it would be a book about stuff i already knew... its just sitting on my desk... its alright

5 comments about CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Fifth Edition.

1. This is the absolute gold standard, the one-stop shopping reference for CISSP certification! The price is economical enough to highlight its passages and put notes in its margins. It is the fifty-dollar solution to the horrifically expensive test.
   
   Every IT professional I met, who passed the CISSP test the FIRST time, credits the Shon Harris CISSP manual.
   
   It is the preferred reference for corporations to hand out free to thier employees.



2. I find this book to be very well written and contains alot of updated materials. I was getting a bit upset that I couldnt find a updated reference material until I found out about this edition. I would recommend this book to anyone who is attempting to get their CISSP. I've just started reading the book today and managed to get to Chapter 3. This book is very well written, and the cd contains multiple PDF's, that I use to read on my cell phone. I also like how the PDF's are broken down into chapters. It helps set small goals and allows you to feel accomplished after reading a 100+ page chapter!



3. I bought the third edition of this book in October 2009 to prepare for the exam. The reason for buying that instead of this fifth edition is obvious. It cost me only $2.95 plus $4.00 shipping. I was a little worry at the beginning because of the new material that was added since 2005. However, I though I can supplement with material in the internet. At the end, I don't have the time because the exam was on January 16, 2010 which gave me less than 4 months. During the exam, I did not see anything that I have not seen in the third edition. If you know something about the exam, you know they are not going to ask you directly about a concept or technology. So, you really have to understand the material. Since CISSP is more about principle and concept and less about specific technology, using a third or fifth edition is not going to make a big different. I passed the exam in one shot. Don't get me wrong. Getting the latest and the greatest is always good and I will consider getting the fifth in the near future when I need to brush up the knowledge. But if you want to save a little of money, consider getting the fourth or the third.



4. I got the All in One CISSP to study for the exam based on the reviews of other readers. I have to say that I'm dismayed by the poor writing style of the author, Shon Harris, and if I had it to do over again, I'd get a different study guide.
   In the book, Ms. Harris seems to delight in inserting attempts at jokes throughout the text. Each major section opens with a nonsensical one liner, such as "I want my training to have a lot of pictures and pop-up books" or to open a section on the security administrator role, "Hey, I have administrator rights! Response: Great, you're a security administrator. I quit."
   In a section on managing profiles, she enumerates the information about a user that is captured as "e-mail address, home address, phone number, panty size, and so on".
   Routinely throughout the text, the roles that constitute many business organizations are treated with barely veiled contempt. I also found a number of statements that make leaps of logic as if they're just blurted out in the belief that anyone can see they make sense. The author is also a fan of acronyms which go unexplained.
   I have read many professional books and I've never come across a book like this. At least one-third of the text could be eliminated by a decent editor. I doubt there was one for this book.
   In short, I find the inane jokes to be distracting at best. What's difficult to read around is the lack of regard for professional roles, the continual portrayal of employees as villains (which is why, in her discussions of organizational life cycles, they're always fired), and her very poor writing style.
   I hope that, if Ms. Harris writes again, she will first complete a couple of semesters of a college writing class.



5. Excellent book containing a wealth of information - breath and depth - on matters relating to Information Security.
   
   Its also easy to read!

5 comments about Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual.

1. It's the fourth book of the missing manual series I buy
   I'm satisfied with the contents, enjoy Pogue's wit
   What else?
   If you don't know where to look for in case of software problems, he's the way to go!



2. Although software manuals seem like the complete antidote to controversy or enthusiasm, the author is not a typical technical writer. David Pogue's increasing prominence and influence is starting to get him in trouble when he expresses opinions in periodicals about Macs and PCs.
   
   Mac users are typically suspicious about operating system upgrades like Snow Leopard that result in all G4 and G5 machines losing technical support and can be wary of writers like Pogue who trumpet the change as a big improvement. A recent dustup in //The New York Times// forced an editorial clarification about his multiple status as a product reviewer, writer of computer guides and quotable computer pundit. Nonetheless, Pogue is eminently qualified to lead both computer novices and seasoned users around the new features of the latest Mac operating system, even if he sometimes seems a bit too enthusiastic about some of the latest improvements.
   
   Pogue makes up for it somewhat by being so readable. Although it seems to nearly outweigh a MacBook, Pogue's book is extremely user friendly, and goes way beyond operating system questions to explain basics of the fifty pieces of bundled free software that come with Snow Leopard, as well as explanations of online Apple services like MobileMe. The book does not shortchange arcane subjects like networking with PCs, using Unix commands and utilities, debugging permissions, or troubleshooting web connections. It genuinely seems to have something for everyone who buys an Intel Mac.
   
   Reviewed by Richard Tolmach



3. This book is great! I am a computer newbie(Bought mac because of super customer support) and find david pogues book to be an essential resource to get full use of the mac. Really helpful with all the complex features in the Mac OSX; stuff i would never guess was in the box! Highly recommended.



4. This book was more than I wanted to know. I picked up many tips and clues for my new iMac. I used to use Pogue's books for a text for my classes.
   The ordered chapters and graphics are easy to follow. I keep it within reach of my new 64bit iMac.
   Bernie



5. This is a most amazing manual filled with more information than one could ever hope for about the MAC OSX Snow Leopard.
   It is easy to read and easy to look up problems. I would highly recommend it. Thank you.