Review of 3ds Max 2009 Bible (Paperback)

Like other 'bibles' 3ds Max 'bible' is frustrating, often oblique and although the author clearly knows his stuff, he cannot teach - at least not this reader. It is a brick of a book and the illustrations often contradict the text which leads to further difficulty. Also the odd religious prose dedication at the beginning of the book about sin and how one should live one's life is odd to say the least in an industry text, and, given how frustrating the book is to use, simply adds another annoyance. For the 3ds Max novice the '3ds Max Essentials' book from Elsevir is excellent and had me in control of the application and understanding why I was in control in no time. As for the 'bible', comprehensive, yes, but helpful? Not for the novice. Avoid.

Product Description
The only comprehensive reference-tutorial on 3ds Max available, this book is everyone's favorite. Whether you're a beginner looking for 3D basics or a full-fledged animator seeking new ways to dazzle viewers with your creations, it's all here. You'll find pages of professional tips, loads of advice, and more than 150 step-by-step tutorials guaranteed to build your skills and spark your creativity. A 16-page color insert highlights cutting-edge work from 3D artists. A valuable companion DVD provides all the examples and content from the book, including unique models and textures you can customize on your own, and a searchable, full-color version of the book.

3ds Max 2009 Bible covers both 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max 2009 Design and covers:

• Navigating the viewports with the ViewCube, SteeringWheels, and other ways.
• Creating realistic materials with new ProMaterials.
• Using Spline Mapping to improve texture mapping over irregular shaped objects.
• Blending multiple texture maps together with the new Composite Map.
• Creating architectural walkthroughs with the Walkthrough Assistant.

Don't miss out on the newest version of this bestselling resource!

From the Back Cover
Covers both 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max 2009 Design

This is, hands down, the best book on 3ds Max you'll find

If you want just one book to be your go-to guide for all things 3ds Max, this is the book. Whether you're a beginner looking for 3D basics or a full-fledged animator seeking new ways to dazzle viewers with your creations, it's all here. You'll find pages of professional tips, loads of advice, and more than 150 step-by-step tutorials guaranteed to build your skills and spark your creativity.

• Discover the ViewCube, SteeringWheels, and more ways to navigate the viewports

• Use the new ProMaterials to create realistic materials

• Improve texture mapping over irregular shaped objects using Spline Mapping

• Blend multiple texture maps together with the new Composite Map

• Easily create architectural walkthroughs with the Walkthrough Assistant

What's on the DVD?
You'll find before-and-after example files for every tutorial in the book. The DVD also includes:

• Unique models and textures you can customize for your own designs

• Autodesk 3ds Max evaluation version

• A searchable full-color PDF of the book

System Requirements: See the DVD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

Also in the Book

• A 16-page full-color insert showcases cutting-edge work from 3ds Max artists

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Review of PHP 5 Fast & Easy Web Development (Paperback)

This is an "ok" book for web developers.It has some nice features if you can get past the amount of errors in the coded examples and the sometimes confusing and contradictory explanations.There is very little discussion of basic concepts, therefore, I would not recommend this book for anyone who does not have some programming background.
The title, PHP 5 fast & easy web development, is indicative of the book's contents.It provides a series of potentially useful PHP scripts that you can adapt to develop database interactive web pages (emphasis is on the MySQL database).However, like the 2nd edition of Julie Meloni's "PHP fast & easy web development," this book is plagued with coding errors which are not only annoying, but also make understanding the various features of PHP more difficult.
The book starts with instructions on how to install PHP, Apache and MySQL.The remainder of the book consists of a series of increasingly complex scripts, detailed step-by-step.For the first half of the book, the examples are relatively easy to read and carefully documented.However, halfway through the book, segments of code begin to appear without adequate explanation, and as the book progresses, it becomes more a cookbook of code to retype rather than a clear explanation of what the code mean.Instructions about where to insert new lines of code are difficult to follow.In addition, some explanations appear contradictory, which adds to the confusion.The errors in the coded examples are excessive.I can understand a few typos, but lines of code that are substantially different or are missing completely can be found in every chapter.This is unacceptable and unprofessional in a book that is supposed to help you learn a new programming language.


Product Description
Don't spend your time wading through manuals to learn PHP 5. Spend it doing what you do best-creating web pages! With "PHP 5 Fast & Easy Web Development" you can get up and running with PHP 5, Apache, and MySQL with ease. By the time you're finished, you'll be able to display dynamic content, build your own contact management system, create custom reports, work with XML, and much more. Less time, less effort, more results!

About the Author
Julie Meloni is the Technical Director for i2i Interactive, a multimedia company located in Los Altos, CA. She's been developing Web-based applications since the Web first saw the light of day and remembers the excitement surrounding the first GUI Web browser. She is the author of several books and articles on Web-based programming languages and database topics, and you can find translations of her work in several languages, including Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, and Polish.She is the author of "PHP Fast & Easy Web Development, 2nd Edition" (Premier Press, 193184187X).

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