Welcome to the latest Apress User Group newsletter
and the first in HTML!
Summer is upon us and we are steaming up the shelves with hot new titles. Many of you are kicking off this season with very special events and we are very happy to support them!
To give the Apress User Group Page more sizzle, I'm requesting submissions of interesting media such as videos, podcasts, picture slide shows, etc. Also, if you have any other special events or news we should know about, please send them to me, cheryl.martinez@apress.com, any time. I'll fit them in as I can.
Please forward or post this newsletter for all group members.
In this issue:
- Apress UG Program News—Just for User Group Leaders
- User Group Events Recently Supported by Apress
- The Beyond the Manual Series Rebate
- New CS3 Titles Coming Soon from friends of ED
- The Apress Rewards Program—Buy 3, Get 1 Free
- Select Apress and friends of ED Titles Are 45% off at Bookpool.com
- The “On Ruby” Blogging Contest
- Upcoming Tradeshows
- Recent Apress and friends of ED Books—Hot off the Press
- Forthcoming Books
- The User Group Page Has the Answers
1. Apress UG Program News—Just for User Group Leaders
Update Your User Group Info
Attention group leaders and office holders! Just a quick reminder that if there have been any significant changes to group information, please take a moment to send me updates. This might include a change in e-mail or shipping address (very important!), or a change in group leader or president, book review policy, etc. Please help me keep my records up to date and ensure you get your review copies delivered to the right place.You can’t read ’em if you don’t receive ’em! Email Me.
Put up the New UG Banner, Get a Free eBook
Check out the newly designed “Apress User Group Program Member” banner. Please support Apress by choosing this graphic for your UG web site or newsletter and having it link back to the Apress User Group Program page. Once you have the banner on your site, or if you already have it up and linked, please send me the URL, and I will send you the code for a free eBook.
2. User Group Events Recently Supported by Apress
I’m always happy to hear how your events went! Thanks for keeping me informed with links to web sites and photo galleries. Below is a list of some of the UG events we’ve donated books and prizes to in the last few months.
South Central Pennsylvania Adobe User Group
June 7, 2007
Party with Palermo: Tech Ed 2007 Edition
June 3, 2007
Ruby Code Camp
May 5, 2007
Central Maryland Association of .NET Professionals Code Camp
April 21, 2007
Tulsa Code Camp—Tulsa Developers .NET
March 10, 2007
Roanoke Code Camp—Roanoke Valley .NET User Group
March 3, 2007
Orlando .NET Code Camp
February 24, 2007
Forthcoming UG events we are supporting:
Rock and Roll Code Camp – SoCalDotNet Developers Group
June 30th, 2007
Tampa Code Camp – Florida.NET UGs
July 14, 2007
3. The Beyond the Manual Series Rebate
Our Beyond the Manual series includes books written for experienced computer users who command the latest technology and want to learn what’s new or unique about an application to maximize time and get to the next level.
If you have already purchased one of our Beyond the Manual titles, you are entitled to receive a $10 mail-in rebate. You can download the rebate form here.
Forthcoming:
“MAC OS X Leopard: Beyond the Manual”
By Scott Meyers
May 2007 | ISBN: 1-59509-837-7 | 500 pages | $34.99
4. New CS3 Titles Coming Soon from friends of ED
friends of ED's first two CS3 titles will soon be with us, and we've both Flash and Dreamweaver covered.
“Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers” will be of interest whether you are taking your first steps into the world of Flash or are an existing Flasher wanting to make use of new features in CS3. Although a designer-focused beginner’s title, the book still manages to introduce some topics that an understanding of is essential if you are to get the most from the application: video, sound, ActionScript, dynamic data, and Flash Lite. Authors Tom Green and David Stiller ensure that you'll finish the book ready to produce Flash movies right away, or fully prepared to move on to more advanced books.
“The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP” by David Powers. Our Essential Guides aim to teach all you *need* to know to get the most from your applications. This book will have you able to create sites with Dreamweaver whether it's a simple standards-compliant static site you're looking to create or a potentially complicated dynamically driven web application. Setup, front-end design, and back-end development are covered as you'd expect, but Dreamweaver CS3 has a new trick up its sleeve—Ajax. This book will show how to make use of Adobe's Spry Ajax framework so you'll be able to add those “must-have” features to your site.
While not strictly a CS3 title, we've a new edition of our “object-oriented ActionScript book on the way: “Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0” builds on its previous edition with a blend of theoretical and practical examples of OOP using ActionScript. AS3 gives more power to your applications, and however you publish to the Flash platform, Peter Elst, Sas Jacobs, and Todd Yard will ensure that you are doing it in the most efficient way possible.
July 23 is the publication date for all three of these titles—mark your calendars!
5. The Apress Rewards Program—Buy 3 Books, Get the 4th FREE
The Apress Rewards Program is back for another year!
Starting April 1, 2007 and continuing through March 31, 2008, every time you purchase any Apress or friends of ED titles from participating stores, you're on your way to earning a free book. You’ll receive a card to be stamped each time you buy a qualifying title. Collect three stamps and pick out any Apress or friends of ED book for free. Contact me for details.
6. Select Apress and friends of ED Titles Are 45% off
at Bookpool.com
Select Apress titles are on sale at Bookpool.com. Visit Bookpool.com and find 45% off of featured titles on content management, .NET, C#, databases, Java, security, SharePoint, and web design/development!
Also, if you purchase both “Pro Drupal Development” AND “Pro PHP Security,” you’ll get “Foundations of PEAR: Rapid PHP Development” for free!
7. The “On Ruby” Blogging Contest
This is the final month of the On Ruby/Apress blogging contest. This month, David Berube, author of Practical Ruby Gems will be the guest judge. In honor of the Apress author, June’s contest theme is: Other than Rails, what is your favorite Ruby Gem, and why? The winning entry will get three Apress books of their choice. Please visit on-ruby.blogspot.com for more essential information about the contest.
8. Upcoming Tradeshows
Apress will be exhibiting at the following shows this summer and fall. Stop by our booth and say hello!
OSCON
July 23–27, 2007
Portland, OR
Join over 2,500 open source developers, gurus, experts, and users July 23–27, 2007 in Portland, Oregon for OSCON 2007.
LinuxWorld
August 6–9, 2007
Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA
LinuxWorld is the premier event for the Linux and open source community, bringing together industry leaders shaping the future of new enterprise technology in the largest single gathering of business and technical leaders deploying Linux and open source solutions.
AJAXWorld
September 24–26, 2007
Santa Clara, CA
Over 1,000 developers, architects, IT managers, and software professionals of every stripe will be converging in Santa Clara, CA to attend the West Coast AJAXWorld Conference & Expo—the most comprehensive meeting on the most significant technology subjects of recent times: AJAX, Rich Internet Apps and Web 2.0.
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d.Construct
September 7, 2007
Brighton, UK
d.Construct is an affordable, one-day conference aimed at those designing and building the latest generation of web-based applications. Tickets will be on sale in July. http://2007.dconstruct.org/ |
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Flash on the Beach
November 4–7, 2007
Brighton, UK
Flash on the Beach has brought together the most creative, technical, inspirational, awe-inspiring, educational, and entertaining industry leading speakers in the rich media industry. Tickets available now.
http://www.flashonthebeach.com/ |
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The Grails eXchange
October 17–19, 2007
London, UK
A three-day conference, packed with presentations on Grails, Groovy, Java EE, Ajax and Web 2.0, The Grails eXchange 2007 is promising to be the Web 2.0 event for Java Developers in 2007. Registration is now open and early bird tickets will be available until July 15.
http://www.grails-exchange.com/ |
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
October 23–24, 2007
London, UK
As the UK's only open source event for business decision makers and technical professionals, LinuxWorld is the showcase for the best in open source technology and innovation.
http://www.linuxworldexpo.co.uk/
9a. Recent titles from Apress
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Pro SQL Server 2005 Service Broker
By Klaus Aschenbrenner. ISBN: 1-59059-842-3
Rich with practical examples, Pro SQL Server 2005 Service Broker is the most complete and incisive book on this important new technology, an invaluable resource for all serious database and web developers. Focused on best practices, it explains in detail how Service Broker supports and enhances database and web applications. |
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By Joel Spolsky. ISBN: 1-59059-838-5
In Smart and Gets Things Done, Joel Spolsky draws from his experience of both working at Microsoft and running his own successful software company based in New York City. He writes humorously, but seriously, about his methods for sorting resumes, for finding great candidates, and for interviewing—in person and by phone. Joel’s methods are not complex, but they do get to the heart of the matter: how to recognize a great developer when you see one. |
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By Robert Pickering. ISBN: 1-59059-757-5
Every professional .NET programmer needs to learn about FP, and there’s no better way to do it than by learning F#—and no easier way to learn F# than from Foundations of F#. Written by F# evangelist Rob Pickering, this is an elegant, comprehensive introduction to all aspects of the language and an incisive guide to using F# for real-world professional development. |
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By Andrew Edney, Rui Maximo. ISBN: 1-59059-836-9
Pro LCS: Live Communications Server Administration will guide you on how to best leverage LCS to improve your business communications. This includes all the different clients that you can utilize, useful real-world scenarios, extensive walkthroughs, and handy hints and tips—all aimed at getting you up and running quickly. The book also includes a complete discussion about setting up a pilot deployment and rolling out the final solution in your chosen environment. |
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By Matthew MacDonald. ISBN: 1-59059-782-6
Pro WPF: Windows Presentation Foundation in .NET 3.0 covers WPF from installation to application design and implementation to deployment. It provides you with the no-nonsense, practical advice you need in order to build high-quality WPF applications quickly and easily. It also digs into the more advance aspects of WPF and how they relate to the other elements of the WinFX stack and the .NET Framework 2.0. |
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By Cheryl D. Wise. ISBN: 1-59059-805-9
Foundations of Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond starts with the basics of Expression Web, and then takes you to an advanced level through a series of practical real-world exercises. No prior knowledge of Microsoft Expression Suite is assumed, and the book is written with a highly professional tone. This makes it extremely useful whether you’re a beginner or an advanced web developer or designer who wants to make use of the software. |
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Pro Drupal Development
By John K. VanDyk, Matt Westgate. ISBN: 1-59059-755-9
Pro Drupal Development arms you with knowledge to customize your Drupal installation however you see fit. Presuming you already possess the knowledge to install and bring a standard installation online, authors VanDyk and Westgate delve into Drupal internals right away, showing you how to take advantage of Drupal’s powerful architecture. Also included is information you need to optimize your Drupal installation to perform well under high-load situations. The book even covers Drupal security and best practices, as well as integration of Ajax and the internationalization of your Drupal web site. |
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By Adam Machanic, Hugo Kornelis, Lara Rubbelke. ISBN: 1-59059-729-X
Expert SQL Server 2005 Development will help you actively develop expertise. Instead of rehashing the documentation, this book shows how to use SQL Server 2005 to solve real-world business problems. You will learn what tools and techniques are available, and how to choose and apply them to produce high-quality designs and applications. To that end, many exercises are included to help strengthen these skills. |
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Pro SharePoint Solution Development: Combining .NET, SharePoint, and Office 2007
By Ed Hild, Susie Adams. ISBN: 1-59059-808-3
Pro SharePoint Solution Development: Combining .NET, SharePoint, and Office 2007 takes a practical problem/solution approach to common business challenges. You’ll not only encounter interesting code samples, but also see how to combine these examples with the Microsoft collaboration platform’s services. This book features the challenges that end users deal with every day when using the Microsoft collaboration platform to support business processes. And the goal of corresponding examples is to build applications that apply the benefits of the Office desktop interface with the richness of SharePoint’s collaboration features. |
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By Joseph C. Rattz, Jr. ISBN: 1-59059-789-3
Foundations of LINQ in C# will help you run LINQ queries and gain a solid understanding of the technology’s implications in no time. The book features bite-sized information about key principles that are easy to absorb in short reading sessions. And throughout the book, concepts are demonstrated in practical ways. |
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By Stewart Smith, Michael Still. ISBN: 1-59059-779-6
Practical MythTV: Building a PVR and Media Center PC takes a project-based approach to implementing your own MythTV setup. You get to pick and choose the functionality you want to install for your PVR, and will learn the details of everything from selecting hardware to advanced customization. You will learn how to record your favorite television shows, store your DVDs for later playback, create a music library out of your CD collection, and even use your PVR for Voice over IP. |
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The Definitive Guide to SOA: BEA AquaLogic Service Bus
By Jeff Davies, Ashish Krishna, David Schorow. ISBN: 1-59059-797-4
The Definitive Guide to SOA: BEA AquaLogic Service Bus targets professional software developers and architects who are new to enterprise service buses (ESBs) and service oriented architecture (SOA) development. It provides hands-on information to developing SOA-driven applications with ESB as central components. It also gives strategic guidance on SOA planning, web service life-cycle management, administration of an ESB, and security considerations. |
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By Andrew Davison. ISBN: 1-59059-817-2
Learn to develop and program 3D games in Java™ technology on a PC, using the Java 3D API and Java for OpenGL, taught by recognized Java gaming guru, Andrew Davison. Pro Java™ 6 3D Game Development is the first book to examine the new Java (SE) 6 platform and its features with gaming. |
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By Lynn Langit. ISBN: 1-59059-834-2
Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence is the quickest path to understanding BI, and it is essential reading for all who work with SQL Server 2005. It explains how best to use Analysis Services, SQL Server Integration Services, SQL Server Reporting Services, and SQL Server Data Mining. It also describes best practices for implementing end-to-end BI solutions in small, medium, and large business environments. And it provides important information about integrating BI with various client tools. |
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By Michael Coles. ISBN: 1-59059-794-X
Pro T-SQL 2005 Programmer's Guide provides comprehensive and detailed coverage of all the major features and facilities of T-SQL for SQL Server 2005. Stored procedures, triggers, and user-defined functions are only part of the story. Dynamic SQL, the new XML data type, and SQLCLR programming are also covered, as well as accessing SQL Server with ADO.NET. Exception handling and performance are fully covered, too. |
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By Andrew Krause. ISBN: 1-59059-793-1
Foundations of GTK+ Development is aimed at C programmers and presents numerous real-life examples that you can immediately put to use in your projects. Some familiarity with C programming is assumed, as the book delves into new topics from the beginning. Topics like object inheritance are covered early on to allow for complete understanding of code examples later. |
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By Michael Bowers. ISBN: 1-59059-804-0
With Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns, you can reap the benefits of using design patterns in your HTML and CSS code. Web development expert and author Michael Bowers first provides you with all the CSS and HTML design patterns you need. He then takes you through multiple design patterns for text, backgrounds, borders, images, forms, layouts, and more. You’ll see exactly how each one works, and how to use them most effectively in your own projects. |
9b. Recent titles from friends of ED
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Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art
By Ira Greenberg. ISBN: 1-59059-617-X
Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art is written especially for artists, designers, and other creative professionals and students who want to learn how to use Processing for code art, graphics programming, and computational aesthetics. |
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Textpattern Solutions: PHP-Based Content Management Made Easy
By Kevin Potts et al. ISBN: 1-59059-832-6
If you want to develop a professional dynamic web site, without the hassle of coding it from scratch, then Textpattern, and Textpattern Solutions, could be just what you're looking for. |
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Web Development Solutions: Ajax, APIs, Libraries, and Hosted Services Made Easy
By Mark Norman Francis, Christian Heilmann. ISBN: 1-59059-806-7
There is potentially a lot of complicated code involved in creating cutting edge "Ajax style" web applications, but a lot of the hard work has already done for you! Web Development Solutions will show how to make the most of what's available. |
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Foundation ActionScript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move!
By Keith Peters. ISBN: 1-59059-791-5
If you are still relying on keyframes and tweens for the bulk of your Flash animation, you are missing out on some very exciting stuff! Foundation ActionScript 3.0 Animation will show you how to get AS3 doing your animation for you. |
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Microformats: Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0
By John Allsopp. ISBN: 1-59059-814-8
Microformats are a method of defining and describing (X)HTML data so that it is easily machine readable as well as human readable, making it more powerful. Get using them now with the help of Microformats: Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0. |
10. Forthcoming Titles
Keep an eye out for these titles publishing in June and July!
Beginning Rails: From Novice to Professional
By Cloves Carneiro Jr.
Jeffrey Allan Hardy
ISBN: 1-59059-686-2
425 pp.
Price: $34.99
Advanced NXT: The Da Vinci Inventions Book
By Matthias Paul Scholz
ISBN: 1590598431
392 pp.
Price: $34.99
Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML: Modern Guide and Reference
By Craig Cook, David Schultz
ISBN: 1590597478
456 pp.
Price: $29.99
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide
By Jim Kelly
ISBN: 1590598717
250 pp.
Price: $24.99
Visual Basic 2005 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach
By Todd Herman, Allen Jones, Matthew MacDonald, Rakesh Rajan
ISBN: 1590598520
650 pp.
Price: $49.99
Pro SQL Server 2005 High Availability
By Allan Hirt
ISBN: 159059780X
700 pp.
Price: $79.99
11. The User Group Page Has the Answers
I receive a lot of good questions from user group leaders and members. Some of these questions already have built-in answers available on our web site, and here are some of the most common:
Q: How do I obtain a review copy?
A: E-mail me with your UG name and address and what book you’d like to review. I will send it along as quickly as possible. If you need raffle copies, you can e-mail me for those as well.
Q: Where would you like us to post online reviews of your books?
A: Please read the “Suggestions for Writing Apress (and friends of ED) Book Reviews” page at http://www.apress.com/userGroups/writeareview.html.
Q: How do I and group members take advantage of the user group book discount?
A: All group members** of a registered Apress user group may receive a 25% discount to any Apress or friends of ED title when the book is purchased through our distributor, Springer.
(Place your order with our distributor, Springer, by calling 1-800-SPRINGER. Once you connect with a customer service representative, please mention the discount code, “APRESSUG” along with the name of your user group.)
** We apologize, but at this time, we are unable to honor this discount to user group members located outside of North America, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Q: May I have an Apress logo to post on our group web site?
A: You may download a logo, size of your choice, here.
If you still have questions not answered on the user group page, please contact me. Thanks! |
