Since earliest times, humanity has pondered the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe, life...and the afterlife. Was there somewhere on Earth where, after death, mortal man could join the immortal Gods? Where was this place? By whom was it established? And does it still exist today? After years of painstaking research--combining recent archaeological discoveries with ancient texts and artifacts--noted scholar Zecharia Sitchin has identified the legendary Land of the Gods, and provided astounding new revelations about the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and other mysterious monuments whose true meanings and purposes have been lost for eons. Since earliest times, humanity has pondered the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe, life, and the afterlife. In The Stairway to Heaven, the second book of Zecharia Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series, the author answers these fundamental questions: Was there somewhere on Earth where, after death, mortal man could join the immortal Gods? Where was this place? By whom was it established? And does it still exist today? 

The Earth Chronicles deal with the history and prehistory of Earth and humankind. Each book in the series is based upon information written on clay tablets by the ancient civilizations of the Near East. For the first time, the entire Earth Chronicles series is now available in a hardcover collector's edition.

About the Author

Zecharia Sitchin was born in Russia and raised in Palestine, where he acquired a profound knowledge of modern and ancient Hebrew, other Semitic and European languages, the Old Testament, and the history and archaeology of the Near East. He is distinguished by his ability to translate and interpret ancient Sumerian and other ancient texts. A graduate of the University of London, he worked as a journalist and editor in Israel for many years. He now lives and writes in New York City.

Virtual reality, a term coined by computer programmer Jaron Lanier in 1988, has been used to describe a variety of methods for turning computers into something other than glorified typewriters. The phrase conjures up images of people plugging into their computers with display goggles and interactive controllers that allow them to experience and move within artificial environments in ways similar to—or utterly different than—those of the real world.

As Lanier originally meant it, and as many people understood it, the term VR is a shorthand way of referring to a combination of highspeed computers, advanced programming techniques, and interactive devices designed to make computer users feel they have stepped into another world—a world constructed of computer data. There even is a form of Web-based virtual reality that has been around, in one form or another, since the mid-1990s—VRML, the Virtual Reality Modeling Language that allows Web surfers to manipulate three-dimensional objects or move through on-screen worlds with mouse, trackball, or joystick. Over a brief time, though, other people began using the terms virtual reality and VR for just about every type of computerized presentation of data, including text-only multiple-user dungeons, or MUDS, and the chat rooms of the World Wide Web.

Get up to Speed with Mac OS X 10.5

Nobody spends more time with Apple's computers and software than the writers and editors at Macworld, the world's foremost Mac authority. Now Macworld's team of experts take you inside Apple's latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.5, to help you master important new features, discover hidden tricks, and work around glitches - all to make sure you have the best Leopard experience possible.

Inside this 90-page book, you'll find all the information you'll need to set up Leopard smoothly and get started with its most important new features. Learn how to master the Web with Safari 3, track down files with Spotlight's improved search tools, automate tedious tasks with Automator, and access files and programs from afar. Our experts also offer step-by-step advice on recovering from crashes, freezes, and other Mac ailments - and show you how to back up your system with Time Machine to ensure you can recover quickly from more serious problems.

Let Macworld's experts show you how to get the most out of Leopard and your Mac.

It is fair to say that one of the fastest-moving areas in technology, in terms of innovation and “coolness,” is the Web. In the space of ten years, it has gone from being a near text-only medium to a platform upon which developers can create immersive and highly interactive experiences. The impacts on business, entertainment, and everyday tasks have been huge.

And just when a lot of people were thinking we had reached a peak, along came the concept of mashups, applications that combine information from more than one source into a single application. They empower users to view data in new and infinitely more useful ways, and they empower developers to push the limits of their imagination.

Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR provide a solid platform that enables developers to quickly and easily build mashup applications with proven toolsets and knowledge already in use. The Adobe Flash platform allows these applications to be deployed to an audience that has widely accepted Flash as a safe and powerful delivery platform.

I first started playing with AIR back when it was still referred to by the code name Apollo at the end of 2006. Having experimented with many cross-platform desktop technologies in the past, I was a bit skeptical as to whether AIR would really be any good. Usually a lot of compromises are made, or developers still need to produce lots of platform-specific code.

Pretty much the same day I got my hands on the SDK, I had to fly from Phoenix to London Heathrow. Having watched all of the decent movies on the outward flight, I was glad to have something to occupy myself, so I opened my laptop and fired up Flex Builder. By the time I had arrived in London, I had converted several widgets and web applications to run as AIR applications, and I was well on my way to creating some other dashboard applications.

What struck me almost immediately was that this was no different from building a web application using Flex, Flash, or even JavaScript. Applications were still written in a similar way, and even the additional AIR APIs available were straightforward and intuitive to use. Suddenly I realized that I could add “cross-platform desktop application development” to my list of skills.

AIR is a technology that has massive implications for developers. It has the potential to empower developers to create integrated experiences, taking interaction beyond the browser, and also to be a catalyst for innovation. As a result, this book is about exploring both the technological and creative sides of developing mashups; it provides inspiration about what is possible and is backed up by technical tips and guidance when working with Adobe Flex and AIR.

This book is for developers who are ready to move beyond small proof–of–concept sample applications and want to look at the issues surrounding a real deployment of GWT. If you want to see what the guts of a full–fledged GWT application look like, this is the book for you.

GWT 1.5 is a game–changing technology, but it doesn’t exist in a bubble. Real deployments need to connect to your database, enforce authentication, provide protection from security threats, and allow good search engine optimization.

To show you all this, this book looks at the code behind a real live web site called ToCollege.net. This application specializes in helping students who are applying to colleges, allowing them to manage their application process and compare the rankings that they give to each school. It’s a slick application that’s ready for you to sign up and use.

The audience for this book either owns another GWT book for the basic tutorials or is comfortable using the online documentation and forums when they’re stuck, which allows this book to move quickly and focus on answering the bigger architecture questions.

About the Apress Pro Series

The Apress Pro series books are practical, professional tutorials to keep you on and moving up the professional ladder.

You have gotten the job, now you need to hone your skills in these tough competitive times. The Apress Pro series expands your skills and expertise in exactly the areas you need. Master the content of a Pro book, and you will always be able to get the job done in a professional development project. Written by experts in their field, Pro series books from Apress give you the hard–won solutions to problems you will face in your professional programming career.

About the Author

Jeff Dwyer is a developer and entrepreneur who is the founder of ToCollege.net and MyHippocampus.com. His background is in medical software, where he has published research on aneurysm stress and endovascular repair and has patented techniques in anatomical visualization. As a developer, Jeff likes nothing better than to leverage high–quality open source code so he can focus on the core elements of his projects. He believes that GWT has fundamentally altered the feasibility of large Web 2.0 applications.

The book would certainly provide a sound and systematic introductionClearly and thoroughly written, it admirably meets the authors' stated goals and definitely deserves a place in the library of all institutions where courses on fuzzy systems and allied topics are taught. An excellent introduction to these fields via self-study.
-R. Bharath, CHOICE, September 2001

In the early 1970s, fuzzy systems and fuzzy control theories added a new dimension to control systems engineering. From its beginnings as mostly heuristic and somewhat ad hoc, more recent and rigorous approaches to fuzzy control theory have helped make it an integral part of modern control theory and produced many exciting results. Yesterday's "art" of building a working fuzzy controller has turned into today's "science" of systematic design. To keep pace with and further advance the rapidly developing field of applied control technologies, engineers, both present and future, need some systematic training in the analytic theory and rigorous design of fuzzy control systems. Introduction to Fuzzy Sets, Fuzzy Logic, and Fuzzy Control Systems provides that training by introducing a rigorous and complete fundamental theory of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic, and then building a practical theory for automatic control of uncertain and ill-modeled systems encountered in many engineering applications. The authors proceed through basic fuzzy mathematics and fuzzy systems theory and conclude with an exploration of some industrial application examples. Almost entirely self-contained, Introduction to Fuzzy Sets, Fuzzy Logic, and Fuzzy Control Systems establishes a strong foundation for designing and analyzing fuzzy control systems under uncertain and irregular conditions. Mastering its contents gives students a clear understanding of fuzzy control systems theory that prepares them for deeper and broader studies and for many practical challenges faced in modern industry.

Recent advances in the design of computer systems and programming languages have created a need for a state-of-the-art book on programming and computer techniques. This book has two objectives. The first is to present the APL language and terminal system. APL combines the power and relevance of Iverson's programming language* with the convenience of time sharing to provide an effective system for solving small intermediate, and large-scale problems. The second objective is to provide and introduction to computer techniques for scientists, engineers, business analysts, and managers. One of the major difficulties, initially, is a conceptual one of gaining familiarity with basic computing concepts and recognizing possible applications. A significant portion of this book is directed toward this end and toward the presentation of general information on computer systems and devices and on programming systems and languages.

This comprehensive text on the fundamentals of modeling flow and sediment transport in rivers treats both the physical principles and numerical methods for various degrees of complexity. It covers 1-D, 2-D (both depth- and width-averaged), and 3-D models, as well as the integration and coupling of these models. The volume includes a broad selection of numerical methods for open-channel flows, such as the SIMPLE(C) algorithms on staggered and non-staggered grids, the projection method, and the stream function and vorticity method. The many worked examples illustrate various conditions, such as reservoir sedimentation, channel erosion due to dam construction, and channel widening and meandering.

The Expert, Practical Guide to Succeeding with SOA in the Enterprise

 

In Executing SOA, four experienced SOA implementers share realistic, proven, “from-the-trenches” guidance for successfully delivering on even the largest and most complex SOA initiative.

 

This book follows up where the authors’ best-selling Service-Oriented Architecture Compass left off, showing how to overcome key obstacles to successful SOA implementation and identifying best practices for all facets of execution—technical, organizational, and human. Among the issues it addresses: introducing a services discipline that supports collaboration and information process sharing; integrating services with preexisting technology assets and strategies; choosing the right roles for new tools; shifting culture, governance, and architecture; and bringing greater agility to the entire organizational lifecycle, not just isolated projects.

 

Executing SOA is an indispensable resource for every enterprise architect, technical manager, and IT leader tasked with driving value from SOA in complex environments.

 

Coverage includes

 

·  Implementing SOA governance that reflects the organization’s strategic and business focus

·  Running SOA projects successfully: practical guidelines and proven methodologies around service modeling and design

·  Leveraging reusable assets: making the most of your SOA repository

·  Enabling the architect to choose the correct tools and products containing the features required to execute on the SOA method for service design and implementation

·  Defining information services to get the right information to the right people at the right time

·  Integrating SOA with Web 2.0 and other innovative products and solutions

·  Providing highly usable human interfaces in SOA environments