Free! - Mini-review Designing Web Usability

About the book
Designing a web site that meets all of it's communication goals is an art that many designers have yet to master. A lot of people think that when a website looks great the design is good, however Jakob Nielsen shows there is more to it. Packed with of real life Web sites, this book sets out many of the design views that, if it's up to Nielsen, should become a standard for all Web developers.

The author uses statistics to support his claims, making him very credible. He includes survey results of screen sizes, types of queries submitted to search portals, response times by connection type and more. This book is intended as the first of two volumes--focusing on the "what." The second part shows the "hows".

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Free! - Mini-Review of MySQL Bible

About the book
With the MySQL Bible you'll learn everything you need to know to get you started with MySQL and expand upon that by examining development and best-practices for MySQl implementations.

There is a cd-rom included with the book which contains version 4.1 of MySQL as well as  files created for the book, php and phpMyAdmin and Perl DBI.

What you will learn

The book is devided into five parts;

The first part shows you how to get started by taking a look at the prerequisites for installing MySQL, the actual installation itself and the concepts of database design. The installation covers the major operating systems Linux, Windos and Mac.

The second part is all about SQL essentials. In this part the author examines the command line interface (CLI) and SQL statements in MySQL. The last chapter covers the use of databases and data.

Part three covers administration. Server configurations are examined along with variables and options for the MySQL server. This part also covers security as well as debugging and repairng MySQL databases and servers.

The fourth part focuses on development. Four popular methods for developing applications with MySQL are examined. This includes Perl, PHP, connecting MySQL to ODBC and JDBC with Java.

The last part is all about boosting performance. This part looks ad replication and integration of MySQL with PAM in Linux and NuSphere MySQL.

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Free! - Mini-Review and win a copy of Beginning PHP5

Win a copy!
Wiley is giving away 5 of these books, all you have to do is to answer the question given at the end of the article.

About the book
With Beginning PHP5 you'll learn everything about the latest version of PHP. It starts with how to install and configure PHP. Then it will teach you the basics of PHP up to constructing complex data-driven sites.

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Free! - Mini -review and win a copy of Extreme Photoshop CS

About the book
Extreme Photoshop CS shows you how to master popular techniques and styles in professional Photoshop design and illustration. The book uses very clear step-by-step tutorials and in-depth explanations to teach you very useful Photoshop techniques.

 

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Free! - Mini-review and win a copy of Flash Math Creativity Second Edition

About the book
Flash Math Creativity is all about graphical patterns using mathematical patterns. It uses interesting formulas to produce amazing effects. The book is written by major Flash Gurus who are famous for their Flash experiments.

This book is the second edition of the well-received Flash Math Creativity book. This edition uses AS 2.0 for the mathematical experiments. If you missed the first edition, check out the FMC minisite to see what it's all about.

Who should buy this book?
Flash Math Creativity is for anyone with Flash and ActionScripting experience who loves to experiment and tinker with Flash, to create beautiful and interesting patterns and visual effects. It's a fun book!

To get the most out of the book you need to be able to understand the math behind the code. The book shows some amazing effects and is quite unique. The downside of the book is that the math isn't explained thoroughly, so it isn't for beginners. The graphics are great but the font size is rather small. However this ensures that the 266 pages of the book are packed with useful information.

Conclusion
"Flash Math Creativity 2nd Edition" is an unique and interesting book for people who enjoy experimenting with code and aren't afraid of ActionScript math and scripting. The book produces amazing graphical effects and is well worth the read!

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Free! - Mini-review and win a copy of the Zen of CSS design

Background
The CSS Zen Garden is a famous Web site that went up roughly two years ago. It presents several designers that are mainly based on cascading style sheets (CSS) linked to the file. It was (and is) a great demonstration of the power and possibility of designing with CSS.

About the Book
The book uses the designs on the CSS Zen Garden site to explain the workings on CSS in a practical, fun and very effective way.

The books graphics and layout are great they set an example for every other book. The book allows you to browse trough the chapters and zoom in when you need more detailed information. Each section shows the complete design of the CSS Zen Garden page. After a quick review of the design, the section goes into details about the design topic (see the chapters listed below).

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Free! - Mini-review and Win a copy of MySQL Basics for Visual Learners

This book helps non-programmers learn the basics of MySQL. As usual with books from Visibooks, many screenshots and graphics show how to:

• Administer databases: Back up, delete, restore databases, delete tables.
• Work with tables: Alter tables, update records, delete records.
• Perform queries: Create queries, sort results, add criteria.
• Secure databases: Add and remove users, restrict access.
• Web-enable databases: Use programming commands, join two tables, employ online forms.
• Administering Databases: Delete a table, Back up, delete and restore a database.

MySQL Basics For Visual Learners is a book that teaches you the very first basics of MySQL, the way of doing that is by using a great amount of images and pictures. The graphics and visualizations enable you to "scan" trough the book and zoom in to the topics you like. Although it allows you to go trough the lessons very fast, the information takes up a lot of space so your thick book (168 pages) does contain less information then a standard book format.

For who is this book? This book will teach you the very basics of MySQL, and is therefore best suited for users that make a first start with MySQL. Again, the visuals will help those to pick up methods in this program very easily.

The book covers basic topics such as Instalation, Queries, Managing Databases, Security, Tables and PERL/CGI.

MySQL Basics competition! The friendly people of Visibooks are giving away 6 e-books. All you need to do to enter the competition is to download the extract (press read more and then download sample pdf on your right), which is all about MySQL and answer the following question:

• What is the name of the new database created in chapter 2?

Send your answer to this e-mail address before Thursday 31th of March 2005.

Good Luck!

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Free! - CSS Cascading Style Sheets for Web Design review and competition

Product Description:
This book provides a good introduction to CSS. The Web markup standard that allows Web designers and developers to easily make a style change to one CSS template and then change formatting across several pages. IT covers the current CSS standard versions (CSS 1 and CSS 2) with notes and comments where appropriate on the CSS 3 standard in development. It includes a quick reference on CSS at the end of the book as well as integrated reference coverage throughout. The book teaches by using an example-oriented approach and includes exercises at the end of each chapter, with sample solutions provided in the appendix.

Should you buy it?
The books structure is very clear and the book contains a lot of useful information.
The examples are very clear but the graphics of the book are a bit dull, the book would be much more fun to read if they just added more and better graphics. Although informative the text is very dry to read as well. But that doesn't break down the fact that this book will teach you almost everything there is to know about CSS, after reading this book you should have learned a ton of information about using CSS. So it all comes down to your preference; if you don't mind the absence of fancy graphics and if you are looking for a good, huge reference on CSS you should buy this book, otherwise look for another solution.

Beginning CSS competition! The friendly people of Wiley are giving away 5 books. All you need to do to enter the competition is to download the extract (press read more and then download sample PDF on your right), which is all about Document Standards and answer the following question:

• What is the oldest markup language?

To be in the second DMXzone book draw of 2005, send your answer to this e-mail address before Wednesday 23rd of March 2005.

Good Luck!

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Free! - Mini-review and Win a copy of PHP Basics for Visual Learners

This book helps non-programmers learn the basics of PHP programming. 142 screenshots and graphics show how to:

• Learn the basics: Create, upload, and test simple scripts.
• Work with variables: Work with single variables, lists of variables.
• Work with numbers: Add, subtract, multiply and divide. Create random numbers.
• Employ logic and loops: Employ conditional if/and/or logic, create loops.
• Use forms and user functions: Create user functions, pass form inputs to scripts.
• Work with files: Create, append to, and modify text files.

PHP Basics For Visual Learners is a book that teaches you the very first basics of PHP, the way of doing that is by using a great amount of images and pictures. According to Visibooks there aren't many books that teach the very basics of PHP and I think they are right. Because of the visualizations, the book will teach you the basics in a very fast way. The plus is that you learn a lot in a small time period because you can browse trough the book much faster than a normal book. A small downside is that the information takes up a lot of space so your thick book (180 pages) does contain less information then a standard book format

For who is this book? This book will teach you the very basics of PHP, and is therefore best suited for users that make a first start with PHP, and never used a similar programming language before. As already said, the visuals will help those to pick up methods in this program very easily.

The book covers basic topics such as Installing an FTP program, Create Simple scripts, variables, working with numbers, forms&user functions, logic&loops and working with files.

PHP Basics competition! The friendly people of Visibooks are giving away 6 e-books. All you need to do to enter the competition is to download the extract (press read more and then download sample pdf on your right), which is all about working with variables in PHP and answer the following question:

• Which variable is used to display the number 100 in the sentence "Which one of our 100 cars is right for you?"

To be in the second DMXzone book draw of 2005, send your answer to this e-mail address before Wednesday 3rd of March 2005.

Good Luck!

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Mini-review and Win a copy of Fireworks MX 2004 for Visual Learners

This book helps beginners learn how to create Web graphics using Macromedia Fireworks. 234 screenshots and graphics show how to:

• Learn the basics: Export GIFs and JPGs, resize graphics, flip and rotate graphics.
• Format Web graphics: Crop graphics, lighten/darken, reduce file size.
• Create new graphics: Draw and paint, add text, erase/replace colors.
• Employ advanced techniques: Make GIF backgrounds transparent, retouch graphics, work with Layers.

Fireworks MX 2004 For Visual Learners is a book that teaches you the very first basics of Fireworks MX 2004, the way of doing that is by using a great amount of images and pictures. Because of the visualizations, the book will teach you the basics in a very fast way.

For who is this book? This book will teach you the basics, and is therefore best suited for users that make a first start with Fireworks MX 2004, and never used a similar program before. As already said, the visuals will help those to pick up methods in this program very easily.

The book covers basic topics such as Fireworks Basics, Format Web Graphics, Create new graphics and Employ advanced techniques.

Fireworks MX 2004 competition! The friendly people of visibooks are giving away 6 e-books. All you need to do to enter the competition is to download the extract (press read more and then download sample pdf on your right), which is all about advanced techniques in Fireworks MX and answer the following question:

• How do you call the tool to enhance and correct graphics?

To be in the second DMXzone book draw of 2005, send your answer to this e-mail address before Wednesday 17th of February 2005.

Good Luck!

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Mini review and Win a copy of Dreamweaver MX 2004 For Visual Learners

Dreamweaver MX 2004 For Visual Learners is a book that uses a very visual technique to show how to use the popular program. It uses illustrations to help beginners learn how to accomplish common tasks in Dreamweaver MX 2004.

For who is this book? This book is best suited for users that never used Dreamweaver MX 2004 before that learn best using visuals. I must say that you can almost flip through the pages and learn the basics very fast this way.

The book covers basic topics such as Dreamweaver Basics, Layout and Navigation, Utilities, Interactivity, and Advanced Layout.

All you need to do to enter the competition is to download the extract (press read more and then download sample pdf on your right), which is all about interactivity in Dreamweaver MX and answer the following question:

• To which html page is the text "Get more information about Western Travel mailed to you." linked to?

To be in the first DMXzone book draw of 2005, send your answer to this e-mail address before Wednesday 1^st Febuary 2005.

Good Luck!

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Win a copy of the Web Designer's Reference: An Integrated Approach to Web Design with XHTML and CSS

Just in time for the Christmas holidays, those very nice friends of Ed people have kindly provided us with 5 copies of their latest publication; Web Designer's Reference: An Integrated Approach to Web Design with XHTML and CSS, to give away to DMXzone members.

Written by friends of Ed regular Craig Grannell, the Web Designer's Reference promises to deliver accessible, usable, standards based web design insights to those seeking to upgrade their web design knowledge and take on board current approaches, as well as providing a handy reference guide to those currently working with XHTML and CSS.

The book takes the approach of looking at a specific aspect of web page development (such as working with text or obtaining input from a visitor) and examines the XHTML and CSS that can be applied. Practical examples will allow the newcomer to rapidly build up a body of knowledge they can use on site after site.

All you need to do to enter the competition is to read the short extract below from Chapter 5, which is all about creating effective navigation (a slightly longer sample from the book is available for download) and answer the following question:

• In what form is the navigation going to be marked up?

To be in the first DMXzone book draw of 2005, send your answer to this e-mail address before Wednesday 5^th January 2005.

Good Luck!

If you can't wait for the competition this way to Amazon >>

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