Black and white photography has come a long way in the digital world. Feeling overwhelmed by the endless conversion options in (and around) Photoshop, Lightroom and beyond? If so, youre not alone, and this is definitely the book for you!

In this thoroughly up-to-date book that covers all of the new features of Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom, you'll learn how to use methods within an application or raw converter, scripts, plug-ins, and more. Leslie Alsheimer and Bryan O'Neil Hughes show you everything you need to know to uncover the secrets to successful black and white conversion and printmaking. Let the stunning images (presented in both color and black and white) show you just what is possible when you master these powerful tools.

Learn from step-by-step tutorials and work through each conversion with clear, easy-to-follow instructions illustrated by a multitude of images and screengrabs
Maximize image quality in capture and output with professional tips and tricks for speeding up your workflow
Save time and learn professional techniques to creatively and technically improve your black and white photography and printmaking

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Are you in the market for some hot new electronic equipment?
Does walking into the store make you dizzy with options?
Relax. The experts at Consumer Reports have done your homework for you. Electronics Buying Guide 2008 is an invaluable reference that combines shopping advice, set-up guidance, and user tips for all things electronic!
 
This new edition of Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide will help you select the right electronics product for your needs. Our experts provide hundreds of smart ways to:
 
·         Save money and find the best values in computers, printers, plasma televisions, cell phones and service, cameras, PDA’s, DVD players and more
·         Get the right high speed Internet connection or go wireless
·         Set up home computer networks
·         Weed out spam and protect computers
·         Shoot, enhance, and share digital pictures
·         Select an MP3 player and download music from the internet
·         Create a home theater with high-definition TV
·         Enjoy the latest video games online and off
 
You’ll also find exclusive e-ratings of the best shopping websites, and can take advantage of a free 30-day trial to www.ConsumerReports.org for all of the most up-to-date product ratings.

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If you need to get to grips fast with creating interactive graphics and animation in Flash - then look no further! Whether you are a new user or a professional, this highly visual book is all you need to get up and running with the latest powerful upgrade - Macromedia Flash 8.

Birgitta Hosea breaks down the software into its main components and offers simple, visual step-by-step instructions to explain the fundamental practical techniques you need to create finished projects. The accessible style and structure lets you dip in and out when working on a project, or work straight through to explore more of the programs capabilities and develop your skills.

Written by a designer for designers The Focal Easy Guide to Macromedia Flash 8 offers a thorough coverage of the basic features of Flash, without going into in-depth coding with ActionScript.

Birgitta Hosea is a motion graphics artist and Course Director of the London Animation Studio at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Her experience ranges from designing moving branding to art directing pop promos and short films.

A Volume in The Focal Easy Guide Series.

The Focal Easy Guide series:
Starting working with new software immediately regardless of your level
Achieve professional results, learn practical skills from industry experts
Focused, user-friendly coverage of the key tools you need to know

*If you need to get up and running fast with creating interactive graphics and animation in Flash - then look no further!
*Offers a thorough coverage of the basic features of Flash, without going into in-depth coding with ActionScript
*Dip in and out of the book when working on a project, or work straight through to explore more of the program's capabilities

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Is your Web site serving its purpose? To find out, you need to analyze factors related to what the site is supposed to do. Site statistics give you raw numbers, but Web analytics are like site stats on steroids. Analytics crunch those raw numbers into meaningful metrics—information you can use.

If you read our first book on Google Analytics, you already know what this tool can do and why that matters. (If you didn't, don't worry; there's an overview here, too.) This edition shows you what's new in version 2.0, helping you uncover specific details and use them like never before.

• Master basic analytics and Web statistics concepts

• Set up Google Analytics 2.0, choose the filters you need, and explore goals and goal-setting

• Learn about new features that enhance analysis, including cross-segment reporting and drilldown content

• Take control of Google Analytics with customizable dashboards and date ranges

• Examine every aspect of the available reports, including visitors, traffic sources, content, and goals

• Discover the specific reports suited for e-commerce sites and how to use them

• Maximize the integration of Google Analytics with Google AdWords

• Boost your use of Regular Expressions, write your own filters, and quantify your goals

BONUS: Each copy of Google Analytics 2.0 includes a $25 Google AdWords gift card compliments of Google. With this $25 gift card , you can attract new customers to your website on Google's dime.

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JavaFX Script makes it easy for developers to quickly develop high-quality UI-intensive applications very quickly. As JavaFX Script: Dynamic Java Scripting for Rich Internet/Client-side Applications demonstrates, developers can develop Rich Internet Applications and rich client-side user interfaces quickly and easily with this potential replacement for Ajax and perhaps even ActionScript and other scripting found in Flash. This firstPress book on JavaFX Scriptcovers the following topics:

• The fundamentals of the JavaFX suite of technologies and the foundations of JavaFX Script and available tools
• How to create a Wordsearch application
• How to augment and enhance the Wordsearch application after learning more advanced JavaFX Script features such as classes, objects, UI components, and constructs.

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• The perfect desktop guide to AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 from a trio of award-winning authors who are Civil 3D experts; their practical tutorials and real-world examples focus squarely on teaching vital Civil 3D tips, tricks, and techniques
• Covers the best methods for creating, editing, displaying, and labeling all of the elements of a civil engineering project
• Features in-depth, detailed coverage of surveying, points, alignments, surfaces, profiles, corridors, grading, LandXML and LDT Project Transfer, cross sections, pipe networks, project management, Vault, and data shortcuts
• Includes a valuable CD with all the tutorial files necessary to complete the book's exercises, as well as useful utilities and plug-ins, and a trial version of the Civil 3D software.

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Get on the fast track to becoming CompTIA RFID+ certified with this affordable, portable study tool. Inside, RFID experts guide you on your career path, providing expert tips and sound advice along the way. With an intensive focus on only what you need to know to pass the CompTIA RFID+ exam, this certification passport is your ticket to success on exam day.

Featuring:

• Itineraries–List of official exam objectives covered
• ETAs–Amount of time needed to complete each lesson
• Travel Advisories–Expert advice on critical topics
• Local Lingo–Concise definitions of key terms and concepts
• Travel Assistance–Recommended resources for more information
• Exam Tips–Common exam pitfalls and solutions
• Checkpoints–End-of-chapter questions, answers, and explanations
• Career Flight Path–Career options mapped out to maximize the return from your IT journey
• Practice Exam on CD

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Passive optical network (PON) technologies have become an important broadband access technology as a result of the growing demand for bandwidth-hungry video-on-demand applications. Written by the leading researchers and industry experts in the field, this book provides coherent coverage of networking technologies, fiber optic transmission technologies, as well as the electronics involved in PON system development.

Features:

* An in-depth overview of PON technologies and the potential applications that they enable
* Comprehensive review of all major PON standards and architecture evolutions, as well as their pros and cons
* Balanced coverage of recent research findings with economic and engineering considerations
* Presents system issues of protocols, performance, management and protection
* Extensive references to standards and research materials for further studies

This book provides an authoritative overview of PON technologies and system requirements and is ideal for engineers and managers in industry, university researchers, and graduate students.

*Balances treatment of the optical technologies with systems issues such as protocols, performance, management and protection
*Covers latest developments in WDM-PONS, protection switching, dynamic bandwidth allocation
*Practical coverage with a chapter on PON applications and deployment
*Case studies on implementing PONs

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As the most popular database system in the world, Microsoft Access is used by millions of people and supported by hundreds of thousands of Access developers. The 2007 version marks the largest release of Access in five years. Written by design engineers on the Access test team at Microsoft, this book introduces you to the many new features of Access 2007 and shows you innovative ways of looking at old problems such as automation, debugging, and deployment.

The authors break down the book into four parts—programming Access applications, data manipulation, interacting with the application, and finalizing the application—in order to walk you through the important steps of creating a full-featured application. They also provide you with in-depth examples that require only minor modifications and then can be easily implemented in the real world. You'll quickly learn how the 2007 version makes it simpler to write quality Access applications with XML, C#, and other .NET languages that are actually fun to write, feature rich, and easy to use.

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This book is a series of seventeen edited "student-authored lectures" which explore in depth the core of data mining (classification, clustering and association rules) by offering overviews that include both analysis and insight. The initial chapters lay a framework of data mining techniques by explaining some of the basics such as applications of Bayes Theorem, similarity measures, and decision trees. Before focusing on the pillars of classification, clustering and association rules, the book also considers alternative candidates such as point estimation and genetic algorithms.

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This book describes philosophies, principles, practices and techniques for managing risk in projects and procurements, with a particular focus on complex or large-scale activities. The authors cover the basics of risk management in the context of project management, and outline a step-by-step approach. They then extend this approach into specialised areas of procurement (including tender evaluation, outsourcing and Public-Private Partnerships), introducing technical risk assessment tools and processes for environmental risk management. Finally they consider quantitative methods and the way they can be used in large projects. International case studies are included throughout.

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Future Shock is a book written by the sociologist and futurologist Alvin Toffler in 1970. The book is actually an extension of an article of the same name that Toffler wrote for the February 1970 issue of Playboy. The book has sold over 6 million copies and has been widely translated. Future shock is also a term for a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, introduced by Toffler in his book of the same name. Toffler's shortest definition of future shock is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time". The concept of future shock bears resemblance to the late 20th/early 21st century concept of "the technological singularity", and may have been influenced by Kuhn's concept of a technological paradigm shift.

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Wordpress is a simple and powerful way to start blogging. If you're not an IT expert but want to use a state of the art blogging system to give your blog the best chance of success, while giving you the time to focus on content and your readers, WordPress is the right system for you, and this book is the right place to start. It will give you a rapid and straightforward introduction to the rich and powerful features of WordPress and get you up and running with a state of the art blog as quickly and painlessly as possible. WordPress is an open source blog engine released under GNU general public license. It allows users to easily create dynamic blogs with great content and many outstanding features.

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This book is for anyone who wants to write good C# 2008 code – even if you have never programmed before.

Writing good code can be a challenge, there are so many options, especially in a language like C#. If you want to really get the best from a programming language you need to know which features work best in which situations and understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is this understanding that makes the difference between coding and coding well.

Beginning C# 2008 has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters, and from the first introductory concepts, you' ll be looking at real-world programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book the problems become more involved and interesting while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want.

By the time you've finished reading this book and worked through the sample exercises, you'll be a confident and very competent C# programmer. You will still have many explorations of the .NET Framework API to look forward to in your future career, but you will have a firm foundation to build from and you will know exactly where to go to find the things that you need to progress confidently in your projects.

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When you want to defend Windows Vista,it's good to know a PC Magazine expert

Unless a time machine just dropped you in the 21st century, you already know that protecting your computer is essential. Now, here's Vista—new enough that no one is sure exactly what security threats might arise to hijack your system. That's why the road map that Dan DiNicolo provides in this book is so valuable. Follow these steps, abide by the Golden Rules of Windows security, and you'll sleep better. We promise.

See at a glance what's critical for security

• Follow easy steps to implementing logon security, strong passwords, and firewall configuration
• Ensure that security holes are patched regularly
• Find out how to protect your Vista system against viruses—for free
• Recognize the difference between malware and viruses and install the right anti-spyware protection
• Implement parental controls to protect your kids online
• Explore additional layers of security, such as e-mail encryption and secure file deletion

Five Golden Rules of Windows security

1. Implement user accounts properly and protect them all with strong passwords.
2. Install a firewall.
3. Update your system regularly to be sure you have all security patches and Service Packs installed.
4. Use up-to-date anti-virus software and scan regularly for viruses.
5. Use up-to-date anti-spyware protection and scan regularly for spyware and related threats.

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This book is a short guide, suitable for everyone, that teaches you how to structure data and set-up your MySQL database tables efficiently and easily.

phpMyAdmin Providing a powerful graphical interface for managing MySQL, phpMyAdmin is one of the most popular open source applications. While most MySQL developers use routine features of phpMyAdmin every day, few are aware of the power and potential of its advanced features. This book builds a solid understanding of the core capabilities of phpMyAdmin before walking you through every facet of this legendary tool.

MySQL Used by millions of developers, MySQL is the most popular open source database, supporting numerous large dynamic websites and applications. MySQL has acquired this wide popularity by virtue of its open source nature, performance, reliability, robustness, and support for various platforms. However, this popularity has also been helped by the existence of phpMyAdmin, the industry standard administration tool that makes database management easy for both the experienced developer and their novice.

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This book has been designed from a practical, task-oriented approach so that the information taught is backed up with solid examples that confirm and extend the text. If you’re someone who prefers to get straight into your learning experience, rather than try to wade through thousands of pages of text, this is exactly the book you need. From the first chapter, you will be writing programs and learning how to use Visual Basic to solve common programming tasks.

If you’ve used the Basic language in its previous forms, you’ll appreciate the elegance and simplicity of this latest iteration, which is coupled with the most powerful library of functions and classes Visual Basic has ever been able to access. In addition, if you’re new to the language or new to programming, this book will introduce you to the important concepts and information you’ll need to get up to speed — by the end of this book, you’ll find that Visual Basic Express is so easy to learn that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been programming already.

This book is completely, unabashedly focused on the just released Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition. From installation to deployment, everything that you can do in Visual Basic Express is discussed here so you can get up to speed as quickly as possible.

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This book focuses on using SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SSE) to design and build your desktop and web applications. In addition to the tools supplied with SSE, Visual Basic Express 2005 and Web Express 2005 are used to for application development. The features that are unique to SSE such as Xcopy, User Instances, and deployment are also covered in detail. The Microsoft SQL Server Books Online focuses primarily on other editions of SQL Server, and the details specific to its free edition is often lost. You can use this book not only to jump start your database application development, but also as a reference on SSE features.

This book assumes you have very little background with either databases or programming. You may never have created a single application of any kind. No prior programming experience is required, but you should have an aptitude for working with software and a desire to learn. If you have a desire to learn and an interest in storing information in a database—and in creating drop-dead simple applications to work with the data—this book has a lot to offer. The step-by-step samples cover all the major scenarios SSE is designed for, from installation and development to debugging and deployment.

Alternatively, if you are a more experienced developer, you may find this book useful because it describes a number of new features that are unique to SSE that make working with SSE much easier than with its predecessor, MSDE. You get an insight into the SSE design and architecture from the authors who are intimately involved in the creation of many of these features. In addition, you will find useful information about the various deployment and programmatic features that are not properly documented.

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