Engines of Logic: Mathematicians and the Origin of the Computer
By Martin Davis

* Publisher:   W. W. Norton & Company
* Number Of Pages:   272
* Publication Date:   2001-09
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0393322297
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780393322293
* Binding:   Paperback

Summary: Good mathematics history/biography
Rating: 5

EoL is, precisely as Publisher’s Weekly says, “a thoroughly enjoyable mix of biographical portraits and theoretical mathematics.” If, in places, the mathematical/logical ideas are not so clearly developed, I don’t fault the author. In a book of this size (slim) and scope (broad), one can only hope to find a decent overview of a particular subject matter. EoL is more than decent; it is highly entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking. The great pleasure Davis took in writing EoL springs from every page. Davis is a fine guide through some very abstruse mathematical and computer science fields — to which he himself has been a significant contributor. EoL is a first-rate piece of popular science.

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QuickTime Toolkit Volume Two: Advanced Movie Playback and Media Types (QuickTime Developer Series)
By Tim Monroe

* Publisher:   Morgan Kaufmann
* Number Of Pages:   528
* Publication Date:   2004-06-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   012088402X
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780120884025
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

“Buried inside QuickTime are a host of powerful tools for creating, delivering, and playing digital media. The official QuickTime documentation explains ‘what’ each API function does. But knowing what each function does isn’t enough to allow a developer to take full advantage of QuickTime. QuickTime Toolkit fills in the gap—providing plenty of practical examples of ‘how’ to use QuickTime to perform all kinds of useful tasks. More importantly, [this book] goes beyond ‘how’ and into ‘why’ —providing readers with a deeper understanding of QuickTime and how to benefit from using it in their own products.” —Peter Hoddie, cofounder of Kinoma and former QuickTime architect

QuickTime Toolkit, Volume Two continues the step-by-step investigation of programming QuickTime, the elegant and powerful media engine used by many of Apple’s industry-leading services and products (such as the iTunes music store, iMovie, and Final Cut Pro) and also used by a large number of third-party applications. This second collection of articles from the author’s highly regarded column in MacTech Magazine builds upon the discussion of playback techniques and media types presented in the first volume to cover advanced types of QuickTime media data, including video effects, Flash tracks, and skins. It shows how to capture audio and video data, broadcast that data to remote computers, play movies full screen, and load movies asynchronously. QuickTime Toolkit Volume Two also shows how to integrate Carbon events into your Macintosh application and how to work with Macintosh resources in your Windows application.

Part of the official QuickTime Developer Series, publishing the finest books on QuickTime in cooperation with Apple.

*Includes a CD-ROM with numerous code examples in C to help you get started with your own applications
*Written by one of Apple’s premier media engineers skilled in revealing QuickTime’s sophisticated technology to programmers
*Offers many undocumented insider tips for making applications that work well in both Mac OS and Windows

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Java Connector Architecture: Building Enterprise Adaptors (Kaleidoscope)
By Atul Apte

* Publisher:   Sams
* Number Of Pages:   360
* Publication Date:   2002-05-23
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0672323109
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780672323102
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

Java Connector Architecture (JCA) presents the JCA and identifies the scope in which a JCA-based adapter operates. The book quickly moves to the design methodologies employed in adapter using the JCA. The book then progresses to information about testing and deploying adapters in a production environment. Java Connector Architecture defines a development methodology and suggests analysis and design patterns, which are useful both for building connectors to legacy applications and for designing adapters for new applications.

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Absolute Java with Student Resource Disk (2nd Edition) (Savitch Series)
By Walter Savitch

* Publisher:   Addison Wesley
* Number Of Pages:   1248
* Publication Date:   2005-04-18
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0321330242
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780321330246
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

With the second edition of Absolute Java, best-selling author Walt Savitch offers a comprehensive introduction of the java programming language.  This book gives programmers the tools to master the Java language.  He takes full advantage of the new Java 5.0 features and incorporates the new Scanner class. There is comprehensive coverage of generic types, including how to define classes with type parameters, collection classes done as generic classes, and linked lists done with type parameters.

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Absolute Java with Student Resource Disk (2nd Edition) (Savitch Series)
By Walter Savitch

* Publisher:   Addison Wesley
* Number Of Pages:   1248
* Publication Date:   2005-04-18
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0321330242
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780321330246
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

With the second edition of Absolute Java, best-selling author Walt Savitch offers a comprehensive introduction of the java programming language.  This book gives programmers the tools to master the Java language.  He takes full advantage of the new Java 5.0 features and incorporates the new Scanner class. There is comprehensive coverage of generic types, including how to define classes with type parameters, collection classes done as generic classes, and linked lists done with type parameters.

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Laptops All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
By Corey Sandler

* Publisher:   For Dummies
* Number Of Pages:   768
* Publication Date:   2008-05-12
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0470140925
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780470140925
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

* Builds on the huge success of Laptops For Dummies, now in its second edition
* Eight minibooks comprising nearly 850 pages give laptop owners the detailed information and advice they need to make the most of their computers
* Offers focused content for new and intermediate laptop users, covering laptop basics and beyond, from synchronizing information with a desktop PC and coordinating e-mail between two computers to accessing the Internet or a desktop computer remotely
* Minibooks include laptop basics, software for laptops, accessories to go, traveling with a laptop, security, networking a laptop, sources of power, and upgrading a laptop
* Sales of laptops continue to outpace sales of desktop PCs, with retail laptop sales up 24 percent in the 2006 holiday season

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AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009: No Experience Required
By Jon McFarland

* Publisher:   Sybex
* Number Of Pages:   818
* Publication Date:   2008-04-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0470260580
* ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780470260586
* Binding:   Paperback

Product Description:

Learning AutoCAD, like learning any complex computer program, requires a significant commitment of time and attention and, to some extent, a tolerance for repetition. AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009: No Experience Required is a simple, yet engaging tutorial that takes readers through an entire project, designing a simple cabin from start to finish, while helping them become familiar with AutoCAD tools and techniques. As you work your way through the book, you’ll familiarize yourself with the AutoCAD interface and basic commands, develop efficient drawing strategies, learn how to work with AutoCAD’s major features, get comfortable with the 3D modeling tools and methods for applying materials, and ultimately, build a set of drawings that document your progress through the project that can be used later as reference material if you need to refresh a specific skill. (more…)

Forensic Engineering Investigation is a compendium of the investigative methodologies used by engineers and scientific investigators to evaluate some of the more common types of failures and catastrophic events. In essence, the book provides analyses and methods for determining how an entity was damaged and when that damage may have legal consequences. The material covers 21 common types of failures, catastrophic events, and losses that forensic engineers routinely assess. The range of topics include wind and blasting damage to structures, vehicular accidents, fires, explosions, hail damage to roofs and exteriors, lighting damage, and industrial guarding accidents. Additionally, the book offers an extensive discussion of the scientific method as it applies to forensic science and provides tips on organizing and writing an investigative report. The book also supplies the applicable codes and standards that regulate the profession, discusses the role of the forensic engineer in court proceedings, and addresses the role management plays in industrial safety. Each chapter is self-contained, highly specific, and succinct. Even more important, the analysis in each chapter is tailored to the answering of questions usually posed in the particular circumstances under discussion. The author does not skimp on the mathematical and scientific underpinnings of the subject matter. In that sense, Forensic Engineering Investigation contains the “good stuff” that is typically omitted in less challenging texts. (more…)