A pretty good tutorial book
922866
I felt that some things were worded oddly and/or not explained clearly. I think he was trying to make things too simple in those cases. This is more of a tutorial book where you're not going to see rigorous definitions or something like an operator precedence chart, and I usually feel like a little bit of that sort of thing can go a long way. I feel like Learning Perl is probably the ideal balance in a tutorial-style book. However, I don't feel like this was a major drawback, as you can (and most definitely should) load up his example database, type in the examples, and read the online documentation to clarify things a bit.

Overall, I would recommend it, and will be keeping it on my bookshelf, so to speak.
4608725
This is a very beginner book on how take photographs using manual settings on your SLR/DSLR.  The vast majority of it is probably common knowledge to anybody who has looked up beginner guides for DSLR photography online.  The book did a few things well:

1) For each photo, the author commented on shutter and aperture setting and on how he metered the shot.  This was very helpful in understanding the step-by-step process in taking a good photo.

2) The author provided a few brief, but helpful pointers that made the book worth it.  This included tricks for metering, how to approach different lighting situations, and a simplified approach for choosing aperature.

Unfortunately, the brevity of this book leads to lots of confusion.  The technical side of photography is glossed over, and I do not have a true understanding of exposure after reading this book.  One example of this is his explanation of the various metering modes.  The author repeatedly describes how he metered various photos using center-weighted or spot metering, but then recommends matrix metering to his readers. Never does he describe how matrix metering must be handled differently than the center-weighted metering he uses for the books photographs.

In the end, the tips and pointers were helpful, but I'm more confused on some aspects of exposure now than before I read it.
1491334
If you've ever tried to make custom sounds play on a computer, including the raspberry pi, then you've likely heard of the graphical language, called PureData.  Let me say at the out set that you can find this tutorial online, and read it for free.  However, this text, along with its exercises is very much worth having in hand, if you don't mind paying the modest price.  I have a rich background in programming, so I'm not in a position to say wether or not a true beginner could self teach themselves with this help of this text.  What I can say is that the author's intention was to provide just such a book, and there is a generous amount of time spent explaining basic programming principles.  However, it didn't bore me at all, since these principles are implemented in a graphical language with "patches" in place of traditional imperative programming paradigms.
2229752
This is a good reference book for intermediate to advanced level users.  Examples shown could be a little better with their explanations, however, it definitely covers all the bases.
4348809
I had a hard time with the stars, because I didn't think this book was only worth three, but not quite worth four. I'm rating it 3.5 stars.

Overall not a bad tutorial for the beginner. I like how the herbs are listed individually for easy reference, with an introduction of each herb that states what the herbs are generally used for. I also like that there is information on the sunlight needs for each herb, and soil requirements.

There are some inconsistencies that if fixed could improve the book greatly. For instance, in the tools section, it doesn't mention that you need a pH meter, however, under the herbs, it tells you what pH your soil should be at, in order to test that, you would need a pH meter, or send the soil out for testing. I was also under the impression based on the title and introduction, that this book would concentrate more on growing your herbs indoors, but instead, its generalized, and assumes you would want to transplant outside. I would really love to see a book that lists herbs individually such as this one, but separates the different needs the plants would have based on growing indoors or outdoors.

I would recommend this tutorial for the very beginner, but I also think there is room to expand and offer more information. I consider myself an experienced gardener, and was offered to read this book for free, so I tried to read it from the perspective of someone who has never gardened before, and found the information to be well organized and useful. From the advanced gardeners perspective, I could see a lot more information being provided.
3288957
Whenever I work through a software tutorial, I inevitably find that some of my questions are not answered. This one is no exception but it does a better than average job. Along the way, I learned a lot that is probably good for me but which I had no pressing need to know. That is a good thing.

The book works systematically through most major topics with Pagemaker 7 and gives plenty of background information. Along the way, tutorials emphasize the important points and it was encouraging to actually get things done. The files that are needed are provided on the accompanying CD and were generally as depicted in the text; this is an exception to the general rule in my experience and very much appreciated.

All in all, I cannot claim competence in Pagemaker yet but I am a long way closer than I was when I started this tutorial 3 days ago.
2301525
I got this book after finding a recommendation on Peter Norvig's web site.  It works out pretty well as a "Computer Science 101" text.  The author does a good job of explaining how one might solve typical programming problems, using Python as the example programming language.  It does this pretty well, although I think it really should have an early chapter on TDD.  How else is the student to gain confidence their programs are correct?

It has its deficiencies.  It has examples of how to program using graphics but these aren't supported for the Mac, other than an oblique reference to Tkinter.  How is a new CS student to figure that out?  Also, it teaches some poor Python habits, like using camelCase naming.
2883435
Well, there's my opinion in the title. This book covers a lot of different things from dialog boxes to sprites to 3d rendering. However, beware, if you are a beginner, you WILL need more than this. It covers dialog boxes in less than one page. It gives maybe one example program per major concept and just describes the rest. This book gives you a good basic understanding of the Windows programming environment. However, if you think you can just sit down on a Saturday, start typing up the source, and get it to run, think again. It may just be my horrible typing or my compiler, but I had some major problems with the examples used here and eventually had to borrow a larger one with more examples from a friend. Again, its a great overview, but it won't help if you have little idea what you are doing.
103337
Great book for beginners, which I am. Very thoroughly detailed, with explanations of tools and their basic uses. If you're new to this software, it's a good book to learn tool use and locations and how to do really simple things, at first. By the end of the book, you should be able to produce a simple animation. I'm only 120 pages into it and found nothing difficult yet. First copy I ordered from a reseller was supposed to be new, but did not contain the required CD with examples you need to work with. The CD doesn't seem to be availalble on the web, so make sure your copy comes with the CD. I also have the 'Bible' by Kelly Murdock. I'll probably use it after I finish this book. It has more intermediate/advanced stuff.
3764686
This book has plenty of examples but a limited number of step-by-step projects.  The examples offer a variety of ways to achieve the presented effects which allows painters to experiment to find what works best for them.  The examples have clear descriptions and are easy to follow.  Overall, not the best book I own but I have already picked up some good techniques for skies.
3568266
I liked the book. I would have liked a few more examples though. I had to solution manual, which DEFIANTLY helped.
2870722
A good introduction to mesh backed projects, with good photos and explanations. Some issues with English usage, but still easily understandable.
3563627
Overall, this book is very good, which covers many areas in detail, and it is very useful for a beginner.
1989973
This tutorial is a good "Get Started" tutorial.  The author moves quickly through the content, but is clear and concise with the knowledge.  Great price.  Just what I wanted.
995722
Pretty good tutorial.  Like many books, this contains a fair amount of filler.  His images are amazing.
1374979
This book is collection of examples about HTML5. The examples are well explained with
full code solution, I liked that part because every example was whole solution not just
code snippet. Some newer features in HTML5 lack more examples thus the four stars.
If you learn by example this is book for you.
1966991
This is a nice book for those of you who want a smooth beginning to the OpenGL and are not comfortable with the scattered tutorials on the internet. Otherwise it is pretty much a compiled version of the tutorials on the internet. However, it is really well organized and the CD-ROM that comes with the book is helpful.

Keep in mind, though, that you are assumed to know the basics of C/C++ and also the book is not pure OpenGL, although it is the focus, but it rather has a few sections that cover the (very) basics of some DirectX technologies like DirectInput and DirectSound.