Great Book, Great Advice, a little too much humour padding...

This book is aimed squarely at the beginner however even the more experienced photographer is likely to find a few useful tips contained within.<br /><br />Firstly a caveat to this review - why I gave it 4 stars and not 5. Unfortunately, the book contains a great deal of Scott Kelby's humour padding out the pages. Some may find the friendly tone helpful, others (such as myself) will find this unnecessary. Either the editor should have made the book smaller with less pages or asked Scott to include more tips.<br /><br />With that out of the way, I can honestly say this book is generally excellent throughout. Most of the advice given in this book is sound, the American slant on sources of equipment will be of little use to International readers, but everything else is great.<br /><br />For new Digital SLR users this book is probably required reading. Users of Compact Digital cameras will not gain as much, though a large amount of the advice is common to either camera type. Compact users may find the improvement in skills and technique this book offers gives them to confidence to advance to using a Digital SLR. A note of caution, SLR photography can get expensive in a hurry!<br /><br />One part of the book worth singling out for particular praise is"The Recipe for getting this type of Shot" section. Flick through the back of the book and find the photo of a picture type that you would like to take (eg. a portrait or architecture or landscape shot) and you will find concise help on taking that type of shot. This section alone makes the book worthy of being kept in your camera bag ready at all times.<br /><br />To Sum Up: For Beginners to Digital SLR photography, required reading. For Advanced Digital Compact users, still useful.<br /><br />

The best book about Windows client OS ever

I am a Microsoft Certified Trainer and my job is to teach people new technologies. So I am not only reading books to prepare myself for a test, but also choose it for my students.<br /><br />I must confess, usually I don't like Microsoft Press books. Usually they are not good enough, they just don't give you enough knowledge to pass the test, usually they are no better then MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum).<br /><br />But not this one. This book is awesome, it is so easy to read that my students, not native English speakers, simply forget that it is written in English. Needless to say, that every one of them, who got this book, passed the test, including myself.<br /><br />The enclosed DVD contains the electronic copy of the book in PDF form, various videos and chapters from other books, as well as custom testing engine. About 1Gb of extremely useful stuff.<br /><br />The book gives you more information than you need to pass the exam. Moreover, it gives you enough to really enjoy your new Windows 7. No matter what other materials you are using, I recommend to read this one completely.

Excellent book

I've worked halfway through this book now and find it both interesting and fun. Both authors have a very relaxed writing style, which helps. Trickier sections are introduced with a little"warning" for the reader to ensure the focus is there. Altogether the book makes a very rounded impression.<br /><br />My own background is business app and web app development (SAP ABAP and other SAP proprietary languages, PHP, Javascript), so object oriented programming wasn't new to me. However as a complete newbie to Objective-C I have to look up the odd statement and code segment, but the web can help out here. <br /><br />I have already wishlisted the"More iPhone 3 Development" by the same authors, as this seems to get deeper into local data storage and usage of web services, which is of interest to me.

Hit Trilogy

Just as great as its predecessors.<br /><br />The Digital Photography Book: v. 3 builds on the first two volumes with useful hints and tips of photographic techniques and equipment.<br /><br />Brilliant for Photographers at all levels and will inevitably improve your game. It's like your on a photo shoot with Scott Kelby. He's straight talking and to the point, which is perfect as in photography you don't often get chance to beat around the bush. <br /><br />You could start on this book but I highly recommend getting all three.

If you're interested in finance, maths, logic and have an open mind to new ideas, this is the book for you

The Black Swan event is the event no one expected or predicted that has a large impact - such as major crisis in the financial world (note that this book was written pre-Lehman collapse).<br /><br />Taleb explores his understanding of the Black Swan and how you can avoid the Black Swan, and even benefit from it. He uses various thought experiments, metaphors and real experiences to help the reader understand his ideas (Taleb used work on Wall Street).<br /><br />I believe many of his ideas overlap with behavioural finance ideas.<br /><br />I found this book was very well written and thought provoking. Some people might find Taleb quite arrogant in his writing, but if you get past this, you can see he has a point...

windows 7 for dummies

In commonsence form very easy to follow,i find most of the dummie books very helpfull.

Beginners choice

I bought this book for my Mother and Father, as - an experienced Mac/PC user - I had previously chosen their first PC and set up it up for them. I was trying to help them get to grips to things like e-mail, photos, folders - all the things we experienced users take for granted, when after I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 I decided to buy this book for a gift. My Dad loves it. As someone who had barely used a QWERTY keyboard and a mouse or GUI he immediately warmed to all the screenshots and other idiot-proof instructions. Basically this book is designed for the most basic/novice user and not for someone that wants to advance too much something outside basic home use.

A Must Read for anyone designing a website

I wish I had read this book BEFORE I desgined my website!<br />Fun and clear to read, you zip through pages of perls of wisdom, that make SO MUCH SENSE!<br />I have recommended this book to friends who are embarking on desiging a website, a must read.<br /><br />

Great even for beginners!

I'm one of those people who hasn't got the patience to read books cover to cover and would much rather be hands on clicking away. I haven't an enormous knowledge of HTML or CSS, but have recently discovered that CSS can help me be more structured in my approach to building websites and cutting down on lots of code.<br /><br />The book is clearly structured and easy to follow. It includes sample files for you to download from the web and follow at your own pace. The book is comprehensive without being patronise and the author has a great sense of humour which helps for easy reading.<br /><br />Whether you are a novice or more experienced, this book is fab.

Outstanding book

Great book. Freeman's writing is as good as his photographs, which are very good indeed! Authoritative and in-depth, but an easy read. I've read it twice, and plan to re-read it regularly. His diagrammed photos are very effective. (This purchase was a gift for my brother-in-law, and I think the cover photo on this edition is not as strong as the amazing cover picture on my own US edition).

Mass Effect 2 artbook

<br />I never buy game guides so can't compare to others that are on the market, however I came across a friend's copy and was amazed by the quality of this book! There are dozens of high definition images supplimenting the text and the guide I'm told is a decent walkthrough outlining all the secrets. Plenty of hints and tips - the only real problem with game guides in general is that you can guarantee when it comes to in-depth quality walkthroughs, you can't do better than some of the websites out there (available for free!). However if you're a big fan of the game then this is a decent companion if you're a collector.<br /><br />Recommended for those with interest in this incredible series.<br /><br />7.5 / 10<br /><br />David Brookes<br />Author of"Half Discovered Wings"

The Photoshop Elements 8 Book for Digital Photographers

I have to say I am not entirely in tune with Scott Kelby's sense of humour which he frequently brings in to play, fearing perhaps that the book will otherwise be somewhat dry, but it would be OK by me without it. Continuing the theme I also have to say his dedication pages are also a little over the top for my English taste! That aside this book like his The Digital Photography Book volumes is excellently written & presented. The procedures to follow in an endeavour to improve your photographs are clearly given on an easy to follow step-by-step basis & the professional tips he offers along the way are invaluable. Both he & Matt Kloskowski (his co-author on this one) undoubtedly have an in depth knowledge of their subject & (which is not always the case with experts) are able to communicate with us lesser mortals on our level without being patronising or using jargon without explanation. If you are thinking of buying Photoshop Elements - or even if you already have it, this book is well worth your consideration.

You shold have it !!!

I can recommend this book for everyone who is interesting in photography. Very good writing.

Windows 7 Inside Out book

very good book if not use windows 7 before take a bit of time to read as over 1000 pages in it.if you have a prob<br />just get out the book 9 time out of 10 its in there

A Dummier dummy

<br /> I purchased this as I was told it would help me become more familiar with the workings of Office as I'm a fifty year old novice.<br />Unfortunately I find I need another book to help me understand the jargon, it would have been more useful to have descipted diagrams rather than written exclamations.

Get started in usability testing

If you want to find and fix usability problems in your web site, the bad news is that finding them on your own is extremely difficult. You'll overlook massive show-stoppers because you know how the site is meant to work.<br /><br />The good news is that usability testing, getting someone else to use your web site while you watch them, is very easy and extremely informative.<br /><br />In this short, encouraging book, Steve Krug explains what you have to do in his wonderfully approachable style. In Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, he zeroed on in the really important points about web site usability. In this new book, he's done it again with usability testing. It's boiled down to the essence of an approach that anyone could use, in 'a morning a month'.<br /><br />Steve does not claim that this is a comprehensive manual for how to do any type of usability test. For that, he includes recommendations for further reading, such as Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests.<br /><br />Not does he claim that his method is full-on, professional testing. In fact, he says:"If you can afford to hire a usability professional to do your testing for you, do it". <br /><br />This book is for anyone who wants to make sure that their web site is easy to use, but doesn't have the budget for a professional.<br /><br />Having said that, I am a usability consultant and I still found it worthwhile to read this book. If you've struggled to get clients to make the changes that you know are necessary, then here's an opportunity to pick up some ideas. <br /><br />(Disclosure: Steve wrote the foreword to my book Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability (Interactive Technologies))

you are not a gadget

This is the only place that I seem to be able to praise the delivery of this item was super fast and I have been itching to share the news ... literally within three days I had it , so thanks for that . Now to the book itself , I have not read very deep into the book but so far he makes you think about things to do with the net it's evolution and it's origins ... He speaks of music and of how the notes are an approximation , born from the key board template from a simple profound need to share your creativity . Anyway he hopes that we will not forget what real music sounds like . The complexities of chords goes so far beyond this present technology we are using . So he made me think of music and I trotted downstairs to play some chords on my guitar ( not an accomplished player by any means , but I do have passion ) I was quite shocked at the notable difference , really there is no comparison . The approximation is so small and almost muted in comparison to the reality of the sound .... it's resonance simply went on and on , speaking to a soul part of my body . So I say thank you Mr Jaron Lanier for writing this book and naming it as a manifesto .... I shall read on

Complete SEO Guide

Really good book, covers lots of topics and areas. One suggestion is that you look also at the google analytics books to complement your seo work !<br /><br />Well Done to the author!