4 comments about Blackboard For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. The review by Someone's Mom appears to contain some factual errors. The banner feature is discussed on pages 75 - 76. Creating a learning unit is discussed on pages 98 - 100. Whether these entries would satisfy the previous reviewer is another matter, but the topics are addressed. There may be other errors as well in that review, but these two just jumped out at me. I agree that the authors couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to write a technical book about Blackboard or a book focused on pedagogy and the use Blackboard. Nevertheless, there is useful content in this book, particularly for someone who is new to the use of course management systems.



2. I'm a Blackboard system administrator, so I read this book looking for things that I would like for our faculty members to know. I thought it did a very good job of providing them with basic explanations of features and ideas for using those features. I also enjoyed the paragraphs from instructors who made comments and suggestions.



3. In purchasing this book, I had hoped to find methods of enhancing the blackboard program with graphics, multimedia, and other web-based and hyperlinked enhancements to make my course more interesting. I did not find these topics. What I did find was some helpful hints in navigating the blackboard system which is largely found in the all of the 'blackboard faculty guidelines'. For example, utilized the 'personal information tool' you can use most of the windows text enhancements like color bold, underline, etc.... but not mentioned in the book. Consider these topics for another edtion or book.



4. I found this book to be very helpful when I began teaching on Blackboard. Sure, it's incomplete as previous reviewers have noted, and Blackboard is constantly evolving, so this book may not have the latest/greatest bells and whistles, but it serves a solid purpose as an introduction to Blackboard.
   
   Tim Warneka
   The Way of Leading People: Unlocking Your Integral Leadership Skills with the Tao Te Ching
   Black Belt Leader, Peaceful Leader: An Introduction to Catholic Servant Leadership
   Black Belt Leader, Peaceful Leader: An Introduction to Catholic Servant Leadership
   Healing Katrina: Volunteering in Post-Hurricane Mississippi

No comments about Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming: Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators.

5 comments about Refactoring to Patterns (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series).

1. Well done book, and a valuable next-step in learning about design patterns. The original GOF presents them in isolated and rather sterile format and manner, this book adds a much richer context and analysis in actually using them in application refactorings.



2. this is definitely the best book about design pattern I have ever read.
   
   but this book is not telling you what a pattern is and how to use this pattern; instead, it shows some inappropriate designed structure and explains what might be the reason of the inappropriate design, then suggests one pattern to help you out. it's an excellent idea to describe a pattern and the samples are interesting.
   
   moreover, the book is paperback, thin, small, easy to carry, what else can u ask for :D



3. A master-piece and a must-read art-work. When I was studying on Martin Fowler's Refactoring to make my code more comprehensive and improve its clarification, I see, Martin Fowler's techiques are generalized techniques, I found Joshua Kerievsky's techiques in Refactoring to Patterns are more specific techiques concern of purely Design Patterns. While Design Patterns itself high-level abstracted, it is easy to find concrete examples in Recfactoring to Patterns and that makes programmer easy to understand Design Patterns. Special thanks to Joshua Kerievsky and to his study group for a this kind of work.



4. Clean up (refactoring) is fun. Clean up to the design level (patterns) is stunning. A very pragmatic introduction, down to the code and incredibly helpful. Even strong procrastinators develop an appetite for this often little loved part of our work.
   
   Now what are the prerequisites: You should have read and maybe even handy the landmark book "Refactoring" by Martin Fowler and colleagues. You need a working knowledge of design patterns. You have to actually like real code. Everything else is contained in this beautiful book.
   
   The writing style is lucid and the topic is explained in a refactoring fashion: Readers are guided through the subject with real code (somewhat simplified) in small steps at a slow speed step by step. It is amazing how much ground you cover this way and how fast.
   
   I do highly recommend this book for every software developer.



5. There are a lot of nuggets of wisdom in the book, especially in the pragmatic approach the author takes to refactoring and patterns. He admits that patterns can make code worse, or better, depending on the need and skill of the author. He also provides a number of clear examples. However, the style of the book is like the dull works I had to read in graduate school, unnecessarily littered with citations. He cites Fowler to such an obscene degree that it looks more like academic backslapping. Citations are fine when doing a review of literature or examining research, but when they are used for mere quotations, the style is intrusive. As a final complaint, I found that I could often read a whole page and reduce it to one or two sentences. Curiously, he cites an example of Benjamin Franklin trimming a long phrase down to a single person's name. I wish he would have refactored the book in the same way. Almost all programming practices books suffer in the same way: dull, ungodly verbose, academic, and making unnecessary deviations from the point at hand. My suggestion is to get good at skimming, and you will find this book to be worthwhile.

5 comments about Drupal 5 Themes.

1. A few months back, I was sent a review copy of Drupal 5 Themes by Ric Shreves from Packt Publishing. I have been thumbing through it since, and despite some odd editing I have found it to be very easy to read. The examples strongly illustrate concepts through out.
   
   I really enjoyed the first couple of chapters which reinforced concepts that I already grasped providing very basic Drupal management and configuration and discussing what makes a Drupal theme. It goes on to illustrate setup and configuration. Chapter 3 looks at Theme engines--in depth for PHPTemplate and then touches on other engines. Chapter 4 explores style sheets. Chapter 5 looks at intercepts and overrides. Chapter 6 covers modifying existing themes using Zen primarily as the example theme. Chapter 7 explains the process to create a new theme from scratch. Finally Chapter 8 covers forms. Each chapter has a concise summary that re-iterates what was learned in during the chapter.
   
   I appreciated that some effort was put into explaining how cascading operates in CSS--a touch that will definitely help folks who are new to the sphere and made following parts of the book much more accessible.
   There is a form to download a copy of the sample files in the book. When you put in your request, an automatic email will be sent to you--be patient, it will take a few minutes for it to get to you. The email will contain a link to a ZIP file containing the files.
   
   Interestingly, there wasn't any information on two tools that I was taught back in the days of 4.x--CCK and Views. This seems to me to be an oversight given the prevalence of sites using CCK and Views.\
   
   This book is terrific for a beginner who is getting his or her feet wet in Drupal theming. It makes for a strong reference for themers with more experience as well. I've got to say, that it has inspired me to dig deeper into the theme layer of Drupal and has provided me with insight that helps me to understand what our themers at work are engaged in.
   All in all, I enjoyed the read and can recommend it.



2. The first thing new Drupal developers ask me is, "How do I make my new Drupal site look different from the rest?" Drupal 5 Themes by Ric Shreves is the first book dedicated entirely to theming Drupal. This topic certainly deserves its own book and I'm glad we now have it. (On the down side Drupal 6 is already released and Drupal 7 is in the works.)
   
   Somehow I've been able to avoid advanced theming by using sub-contractors or taking themes from the Drupal Theme Garden. But I realize that designers and programmers cannot go it alone. In order to build the most interactive sites, we need to reach across the gap and learn a bit about each other's craft. Enter Drupal 5 Themes.
   
   The book is written for designers who need to learn some base level Drupal theming. It covers Drupal's use of the abstraction layer in a way that is easy to understand. And while the pace and brevity are appropriate for the non-programmer, be prepared to look at some code: Chapter 8 does a good job of exposing novices to the template.php file and the form_alter api, allowing them to take advantage of some of Drupal's more advanced modification options.
   
   As a programmer, my favorite section was Chapter 4 - A guide to Themeable Functions (p.87)--it makes an excellent quick reference guide by listing theme functions and their definitions, organized by module. I find these sorts of things super useful, relieving the poor souls who answer my endless questions in the Drupal-support IRC channel about "What is the right theme function to use?"
   
   But this list, as well as the book in general, is limited as it only addresses theme functions in the Drupal core. Most sites I've developed have 20+ modules loaded, in addition to the Drupal core. It would be great to have additional references for popular modules and their theme functions. For instance, the Content Construction Kit and Views modules are becoming the preferred way of building forms, detail pages, and lists, therefore deserve addressing.
   
   I recommend this book to designers who need to learn some Drupal, as well as to new Drupal programmers who are looking to get a handle on Drupal's abstracted theme layer. But the established Drupal programmer, like myself, will find it a little too brief and lacking in real world use cases, considering Drupal's modular capabilities.



3. Great book for web-designers/developers who start with Drupal 6 Themes. Can't wait for the Drupal 6 version or a book that addresses the more experienced Drupal Developers.



4. This book is exactly what I have been looking for. Being pretty new to Drupal I had been using the documentation at the Drupal site. It is good for starting off but my company, Savant Creative Group - [...] - needs to develop our own themes. The book is well written, well documented and not too heavy on PHP. It is great for design people who know html and css.



5. Going through the pages of "Drupal 5 Themes" I kept thinking how useful it would have been to have this book in my hands a little over a year ago, as I was first dabbling with Drupal. This title complements very nicely Drupal: Creating Blogs, Forums, Portals, and Community Websites by focusing on making your Drupal-based site look and feel the way you want it to, departing as much as possible from the native themes available through the Drupal community.
   
   The book is not meant for those who are not familiar with a bit of PHP and CSS and should not be tackled before being clear on the basics of Drupal. The only downside to the book as far as I am concerned is the lack of color in the illustrations: while not critical, it would help get the point across better in a few places.

No comments about XSLT, 2nd Edition.

2 comments about Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Audio and Video Podcasting, Second Edition (Solutions).

1. Yes that's right, this is the perfect book for any and all podcasters. If you are a podcaster, or want to be one or just want to find out what it's all about buy this book.
   
   The title says it all; Podcast Solutions. Chock full of info, written concisely, humorously, intelligently, informatively and in language that anyone can understand (even me) this is the one book to buy on the subject. It takes you step by step down the road to conceiving, creating, recording, producing and profiting from your show idea. This book covers every nook and cranny of the considerable field of information on both podcasts and vodcasts.
   
   I personally have used both editions of this book to help me get my podcast going as well as optimizing it once it was up and running. What I really enjoyed about this book is how the authors explain things so that not only do you know what to do next but also why it works. Not only that there are many highlighted sections where the authors share a personal experience that really drives a point home. This brings the whole process into very sharp focus.
   
   And their personal experience goes way beyond the technical aspects of podcasting and vodcasting. On page 85, for example, they share a tip that is critical to anyone who really wants to make effective communication with their material. And that is this; "speak as if you are speaking to one person". That one piece of advice can turn a blah and lifeless presentation into one with depth and impact. This book is loaded with tips like that.
   
   I can't say enough good about this book. Without it I may not have gotten my podcast going. The two guys who wrote it have been doing this since it began and they know all the tricks. Don't think about, just buy the book. You'll thank me and more importantly you'll thank the authors Dan Klass and Michael W. Geoghegan.
   
   Geoffrey Leigh Tozer
   Producer - Sly Crooner



2. A couple of years ago, I got Podcast Solutions and was really impressed with its' overall content. For its' time. Of course, with everything on the web, practically everything changes and thus, a new edition of this book had to be released. And it's still probably the best book out there. Lots of updated information on how to create, edit and upload podcasts and for the most part, do it on the cheap since if you're really looking to make a million bucks doing this, keep looking. Lots more stuff on video which has truly taken off thanks to YouTube and similar sites and newer ways to promote and get advertisers to your site. You'll also learn how to use WordPress and similar blogs and create a podcast site as a result. That's what I did with one of my clients. Not as thick as the Bibles out there but at least you won't get a hernia trying to lift it. You should be getting ideas for your own (or your clients own) podcasts within minutes of surfing thru this book.

1 comments about Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 Unleashed.

1. This is actually one of the best books I have seen in support of a product. Not only does it provide in depth information, it is specific to certain 'views' about the product, including technical, business, adoption, etc. If you are implementing Project Server, this will be one of the wisest decisions you could make to purchase this book.

3 comments about HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. Very informative and equally complete. I think this is probally the only book you need to read to build some sexy websites. Only thing is the name is kind of condecending : )



2. I've been bodging and hacking my way through all sorts of Web-based projects for years, and had only recently begun to progress beyond hacking other people's code. This is an awesome primer for someone who wants to get a grounding in a wide variety of Web technologies. However, don't expect detailed how-tos on more advanced stuff (for example- styling dropdown menus with CSS.) What you will get is enough solid info to supercharge your further efforts down the line. This is the book for learning to walk before you can run.



3. I have been out of web design for years. In fact the last time I built a web page I was still using a single html doc and usually some images with hotspots. This book got me back in the saddle and quickly had me building great looking and functional web pages and sites.
   
   This book covers everything from basic html to css to MySQL and PHP. There is really no other book you could get that will help you build a more complete website at this level.
   
   I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to start their own web pages.

5 comments about Rapid GUI Programming with Python and Qt (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development).

1. Advanced programmer libraries and any versed in Python in particular will find RAPID GUI PROGRAMMING WITH PYTHON AND QT an invaluable guide, covering the mechanics of building GUI applications that run on all major operating systems. From custom widgets to advanced model and view programming, this book's depth and technical detail lend to any serious programming collection.



2. I've been programming in python for about 2 years, and programming in PyQt for about a year. But I haven't had time to really delve into how things work, and how they relate to each other. The on-line documentation falls short in this area, so this book is a great help! I learned some new stuff about Python in the first few chapters, but the biggest help was the explanations of how PyQt works, and how to use it to the best advantage.



3. This book is perfect for someone new to the world of GUI programming. It provides a detailed walk-through of generating a useful and robust user interface. Providing a firm foundation in python and OOP and then adding both knowledge of Qt and a best practices approach to GUI programming.
   If you aren't new to programming and GUI creation than this book is still a very useful source of information if a bit hard to get through. The feature this book lacks which many love in O'Reilly books is a component by component breakdown of features with good examples. This is not really a flaw as this book is a ground up approach, however if you are looking for something akin to PyQT In a Nutshell you won't find it here. That being said, it is the best book on PyQt4 out there, and even if there were many other PyQt4 book to choose from this is still an excellent learning tool.
   
   In short this is an excellent book for people new to Python and Qt, especially those without GUI experience. Those with more experience may be bothered by the lack of a more modularized approach to learning PyQt4 as this book follows a more chronological approach of the design process. It's not quick and dirty, but it is robust and well written.



4. Finally i made possible to buy this Book, when I'm just starting to develop in PyQt (http://opencoffee.lnxteam.org) even having basic Knowledge of Python, this book results a very well material. I am professor from the Univ. and my own Linux/Free software Centre and I found this book that has the right way of teachings.
   Another important detail is, i am Spanish speaker and i could easily read, speak and translate English. But most of the times I found many programming books that has a way to explain things not thinking if that many languages speakers could read it. This one is a very exception: it is easy to understand, even when you native language is not English.
   
   So, Congrats Mark!!



5. The book contains one of the best Python introductions I've seen so far, which means it's useful even when you don't know Python, yet. After the introduction, you'll love it :)
   
   After that come 19 chapters which are packed with useful information in well digestible bits so the reader won't feel overwhelmed. When you're a professional, you won't waste time finding the information you need and when you're a beginner, you can easily follow every step as the author builds the examples from ground up.
   
   When I started with PyQt, I was a seasoned Python developer but I knew little about Qt. With the help of the book, I could write a complex application using even more complex widgets like QTextEditor (including HTML formatting) in a very short time. Developing was a very nice experience because the book always seemed to contain just the answer that I was looking for.

5 comments about Pro CSS Techniques (Pro).

1. There are many CSS books on the market now, so distinguishing yourself from the many is getting harder and harder to do. Since there are less intermediate to advanced books compared to beginner CSS books this is a start. Another thing this book focuses on that is different than the majority of other CSS book is that is stresses creating semantic markup throughout the design and development process. Semantic markup means understanding the meaning of the XHTML that you write. What this means is that the code is free of presentational information using only
   and when absolutely necessary. These two tags can be very useful in creating intricate CSS designs but they have no semantic meaning. Many blog posts have called this "divitis" because their web page is just a whole bunch of

   tags with identifiers (id or class) and that's it. While this visually helps the designer quickly create the site, to screen-readers, or PDAs or cell phones may not render the page exactly as you may think it should and using semantic markup helps the browser for that particular device render that page that makes the most sense. It is a hard concept to grasp or fully explain (as I probably am not), but it is used more and more in current web practices.
   
   Now this book is written by a couple different authors which seems like the norm nowadays. [...] They all have contributed to various blogs (including their own) about web design techniques and many of them are here in this book.
   
   Now the title of this book may be misleading. You do not have to be a professional web designer using XHTML and CSS in the workplace to buy this book. Nor do you have to have memorized every CSS property and value to understand what the authors are saying. All you need to be able to grasp the concepts talked about in the book is a basic understanding of Cascading Style Sheets. As long as you know the basics, this will be a very enjoyable read. The reason it is called "Pro" I am guessing is that many "pro" fessionals use the same techniques and practices that are talked about in the book. It doesn't mean that it is so complex and intricate that only the select few will understand.
   
   So to start out the book goes into an excellent explanation (of what I started to in the beginning) of what semantic markup is, why it should be used and practical uses for it. The book then (chapter 2) goes into quick summary of CSS basics but from a perspective of why each element and style should be used (semantic meaning) and some of the least understood properties and selectors. The next chapter goes into a great explanation of how the "cascade" part of CSS works with using descendant, child and adjacent sibling selectors. This is a difficult concept to grasp and the author(s) explain it very simply and easily for almost any level of reader. Lots of code snippets and examples here with great uses for everyday stuff. The next chapter (chapter 4) is skipped in many other CSS books but is a very important issue: browser differences. This chapter explains each browser's (Firefox, IE, Opera and Safari) history and incompatibilities with CSS 2.1 and CSS 3.0 standards and discusses some of the big issues that started "hacks" back in the early years of CSS development. Hacks themselves are discussed in chapter 6 and are a very valuable skill in creating designs that are consistent across browsers. Though the author(s) explains that hacks are much a reason of non-semantic markup as they are with browser incompatibilities.
   
   CSS layouts (chapter 7) and common page elements (chapter 8) are great chapters to get your website started with good design ideas or help you redesign your site without tables.
   Some of the techniques shown are: rounded corners, image swapping and hover effects, creating tabbed navigation, and styling a logo image. Another concept explained in detail that gives most people headaches at first are floats which are used extensively in layout design and creating properly aligned forms without tables.
   
   Another great chapter (chapter 10) focuses on layout designs for styling tables. Although there are a lot of examples on the web on how to do this it makes it easier to find it and apply it to your own site.
   
   This is a great book for anybody wanting to further their CSS knowledge and experience by learning techniques that are used by some of the top designers out there. A must buy!



2. Having read through Pro CSS Techniques, I can recommend it to web site creators who occasionally (or often) find themselves scratching their heads wondering why that browser isn't rendering the page the way they intended. The book's subtitle reads: Real-world CSS Techniques for real-world CSS professionals. As a practical manual for developing today's websites, Pro CSS Techniques covers all the real-world bases.
   
   What I especially like about the writing is that it isn't preachy and it offers options. For instance, it explains two techniques to expand anchor elements across their containers, providing both pros and cons for each. In addition, having been released after the final version of IE7 and Windows Vista, Pro CSS Techniques covers both IE6 and IE7 rendering anomalies as well as Windows Vista-specific typography information.
   
   The authors are undoubtedly creating real websites every day. This book is a great resource for the areas we're most likely to need, as well as a fine reference for CSS techniques in general.



3. A nice addition to Apress' bookshelf covering CSS Web Development. The book is well-written, easing you through specific topics and techniques that will take your developement skills to the next level. Simon Collison, Dan Rubin, Ian Lloyd and Jeff Croft are revolutionizing standards-compliant, accessible, responsible web design.
   
   Well done again fella's. Looking forward to more advanced books from you and Apress!
   
   Cheers,
   
   Elias



4. Although pro css tecniques as the title of this book clearly incinuates it is for the more advanced designer, I still believe it is all in all beyond pro and to no bit of aid to the beginner or perhaps even the intermediate to advanced. Clearly the Authors of this book are master webdesigners and now what they are talking about, however Their lessons are overlooked when it comes to having the reader learn the techniques and not them illustrating and proving their intellect. Although my review may oppose likeness for this book I did learn a few little kickers here and there.



5. I come to web development as so many of us, through the back door. There are a hundred web projects for every web developer. And so, anybody with the desire can start building sites. This is how I started and how I continue. I learn just what I need to know to get this current project out the door. Now several years later I find myself deep in PHP programming with out any real knowledge of CSS. Free CSS templates have gotten me far and I have learned to hack them into something useful. But the fundamentals and advanced concepts escape me. So I did it, I got myself a CSS book and tackled the task I have procrastinated on for so long.
   
   Pro CSS Techniques turned out to be a great choice. I didn't want to waste my money on a beginner's book that usually are full of "not much". So I went for the book with "Pro" in the title fully expecting to have to struggle a bit. I was pleasantly surprised on two accounts. First I didn't find myself struggling much. And second this book actually covers a wide range of material including the basics. The tutorial style that most of the book is written in lends itself well to my practical side. At several points in the book I had a break through that took me straight to my computer to implement techniques on current projects. I found myself running through the section like a recipe, substituting their examples for mine. That's my kind of book!
   
   My favorite chapter turned out not to be a chapter at all but Appendix A - CSS Reference. It's a full reference for all CSS properties. This is what you would never get in a beginner book. How awesome to just look up the float property in the positioning section. I have to admit I may be over using the float property a little too much. But I have been freed from the bonds of tables and shale never return.
   
   Now I just need to live up to the Authors' challenge and write semantically correct code. I see the need and appreciate it when ever I come upon it but this will be the true change for an implementor like me who just needs to get the job done. "Take the time and do it right", is my new mantra!