Review of Flash CS4 Professional Bible (Paperback)

This edition of the Flash Bible was obviously written too fast - there are a lot of errors and typos in the examples.

Product Description
A completely revised and updated edition of the all-time bestselling Flash title

• Written by two of the world's leading Flash experts, this comprehensive reference provides you with undocumented techniques, tips, and tricks on the CS4 release of Flash, the popular tool that allows you to create animations and build interactive Web sites
• In-depth coverage on more than one thousand pages includes something for everyone-whether you're a Web novice or an accomplished Web professional-this resource will be your guide to the inner workings and capabilities of Flash CS4
• Two of the world's leading Flash experts offer more coverage than any other book on the market
• The accompanying CD-ROM includes trial software, addons, plugins, shareware, templates, and examples

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Review of Streaming Media: Building and Implementing a Complete Streaming System (Paperback)

I was very pleased to see the step-by-step process of how to build a webcasting system. I also found the background information very helpful such as encoding, enterprise serving, storage and security.

Product Description
Helps you choose audio and video equipment, capture and edit, and set up a streaming site.
* Explores how streaming media can be delivered via dial-up connections, as well as broadband connections.
* CD-ROM includes the author's streaming software package, allowing readers to configure, monitor, and mange a live encoded media stream.
* Reviews server issues, digital distribution systems, advanced enterprise streaming, and narrowband versus broadband.
* Also addresses legal issues and the future of streaming with wireless devices.

From the Back Cover
A complete toolkit to successfully develop and implement streaming media on the Web

From hands-on training and distance learning to teleconferencing and product demonstrations, streaming media is providing businesses with a whole new world of opportunity. Written by one of the leading experts in the field, this book will provide you with all the information you'll need to begin streaming immediately. Demetriades offers an accessible presentation of this complex technology and all of its components, so you'll be able to address each segment of the streaming industry. As you progress through each chapter, you'll take another step toward the development of a streaming media enterprise.

This informative book will direct you to the best resources to start streaming live or stored content over the Internet or Intranet. You'll also learn how to choose the right audio and video equipment, capture and edit, and set up a streaming site that meets your company's needs. Covering major platforms such as Microsoft, Real Networks, and Apple, it includes:

• Sixteen steps to building a successful streaming enterprise system
• Detailed instructions on how to make movies with a digital camera
• A guide to building your own encoders
• An in-depth look at wireless streaming media
• A discussion on security and surveillance using streaming media

The CD-ROM contains:

• Adobe Premiere tryout version
• Pathfinder, Rapid Response, and Screen Magic by MaxVU, Inc.
• Discreet cleaner demo version

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Review of PowerPoint Advanced Presentation Techniques (Paperback)

The title is really misleading. This book teaches all beginning powerpoint techniques. I browsed through the book. None of these techniques are advanced. How to rotate a text box. How to fill it with color. Who calls these advanced techniques. Not me.

If you are lookong for a beginners book for powerpoint, you can give this one a try. For advanced book look for alternative.

Product Description
* The first and only book to focus exclusively on advanced PowerPoint techniques, this latest addition to our successful Power Pack series shows veteran users how to harness sophisticated program features-and take their presentations to the next level
* Techniques covered include putting together design templates and color schemes, working with master layouts, importing and manipulating digital photos and video clips, creating sophisticated animation and transition effects, and building interactive Web-based presentations
* The CD-ROM offers add-ins, utilities, background images, presentation templates, sound effects, animated image clips, third party software toolboxes, presentation libraries, sound effects, and much more

From the Back Cover
Are you about to put yourself to sleep with yet another dull bulleted list presentation?

Get ready to motivate and excite your audience with your next PowerPoint presentation! This no-nonsense, jargon-free guide dives right in to show you all the exhilarating and powerful PowerPoint features that most people don't even know exist. Packed with priceless information that steers clear of stating the obvious, this book provides technical tidbits, unique ideas, and invaluable tips on avoiding pitfalls, all of which will help you become a more effective and efficient PowerPoint user.

Everything you need to know about

• Creating design templates and color schemes
• Building consistency with master layouts
• Integrating digital photography and video clips
• Creating complex custom animations
• Building interactive Web-based presentations
• Finding and installing time-saving add-ins

CD-ROM INCLUDES

• Paint Shop Pro® and Digital Juice evaluation versions
• Pantone® Office Color Assistant trial version
• SnagIt® and Camtasia Studio™ evaluation versions
• Plus backgrounds, images, templates, and sound effects

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Review of 50 Fast Flash MX Techniques [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

This book looks like you will learn a lot as there are 50 tutorials.

Unfortunately, many are redundant, many are not really significant (not really useful, just funny), and the last one is a filler as it teaches you how to make a projector.

If you are buying this book from a library, take your time to review the center page that display each "Technique" in color.

It is worth half the price it costs. Not a great deal anyway. At least, you get the source files.

This book is for beginner who wants to have a bit of fun.



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Review of Macromedia Studio MX Bible (Paperback)

Samuel Johnson remarked once that learning in Scotland was like bread in a siege town.Everyone got some but none got enough to make a meal.His quip could equally apply to this book.It touches on everything, but doesn't cover anything in sufficient depth.In fact I would tend to view the book as really centered around bringing Fireworks and Freehand into play (contra Illustrator and Photoshop). Freehand and Fireworks get 200 pages each, while Flash gets 90 pages. Dreamweaver gets just under 300 pages, and the surface of many features is revealed. However, there isn't a lot of depth throughout and elaborate examples are avoided.The rest of the book is focused on Cold Fusion (which was not of interest to me).

My personal recommendation is to look at specific books for specific components. Compendium type books, often suggest more than they can deliver.

Product Description
* Provides everything Web designers need to build cutting-edge applications with Macromedia's new tool suite, which includes Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, ColdFusion MX, Fireworks MX, and Freehand
* Covers building data-enabled sites with Dreamweaver MX, creating Flash MX animations, working with ActionScript, creating Web graphics and animations with Fireworks MX, building interactive ColdFusion MX applications, integrating Flash and ColdFusion, and drawing vector art with Freehand
* Major changes in the Macromedia MX tool suite mean even veteran developers and programmers are looking for the updates this book provides
* CD-ROM includes trial versions of the software, extensions, sample databases, images and applications

From the Back Cover
"If you are a developer using Macromedia MX technology, this is THE book to own."
-Brad Halstead, author of Dreamweaver MX Magic

If Macromedia Studio MX can do it, you can do it too . . .

If you want to develop Web sites that stop traffic on the Internet, this definitive guide to Macromedia Studio MX is essential. Aided by expert tutorials from some of the nation's top Macromedia developers, Web design guru Joyce Evans gives you an in-depth course in each application - Freehand MX, Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, and ColdFusion MX - plus tutorials and detailed instructions for integrating their capabilities. Whether you're creating static HTML pages or interactive Flash animations and data-driven Web applications, this book will become your constant companion.

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Macromedia Studio MX

• Use Fireworks MX to create and optimize images
• Create Web and vector graphics with Freehand MX
• Construct interactive ColdFusion MX applications and integrate ColdFusion with Flash MX
• Animate sites using Flash and work with ActionScript and Flash Remoting MX
• Develop data-enabled sites with Dreamweaver MX
• Understand how ColdFusion's programming language works behind the scenes in an application
• Integrate Flash movies and multimedia objects into Dreamweaver MX
• Apply client-side scripting and code, and use tables, snippets, and cascading style sheets

Bonus CD-ROM

• Author-created tutorials and movies
• Trial versions of Alien Skin Software's Eye Candy 4000, Splat! and Image Doctor
• Extensions, sample databases, images, and applications

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Review of Flash MX Complete Course [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

incorrect pictures, lack of filenames ("drag the main project movie file from the CD-ROM onto your desktop" - there is no file called anything similar so you have to guess), dead end instructions, lack of explanations or results. And that's just in the first session. Some of it you can go back and learn on your own by realizing their mistakes, but most of the omissions and errors are beyond correction. i've been banging my head on my desk trying to determine what i've done wrong, and figured i'd come to amazon to see what the reviews of the book were like. Glad to see i'm not alone. i've never given a book review before but had to save other starving artists like myself from wasting their money. This book is absolutely terrible.

Product Description
Exercises build gradually so that by the end of the book, readers will have created a Flash-based Web site that contains several Web pages.
* CD-ROM contains all raw files needed to reconstruct the project, plus "iteration" files for each session.

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Review of 3ds max 5 Bible [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

Be warned, I am a pretty harsh grader.
Well first off this edition does not contain the entire book in a pdf file for easy reading on a laptop/computer so that was definatly a minus.One of the reasons I liked 3DS Max 4 Bible was because you didn't have to carry around the entire book (I've had encyclopidia sets smaller that this folks).
Other than that no real complaints.Newbies will not get much out of this one as this is more of a reference book and not a book of tutorials and techniques.
The book is well written and give good (black and white) photos of what certain effects and/or modifiers look like.I give it 3 stars because its a solid reference book but when you think "bible" your kind of hopeing for more than refence.

Product Description
* Shows how to build an animation right away.
* Gives users valuable hands-on experience under the expert guidance of 3D master Kelly Murdock.
* Includes a 16-page full-color insert explaining how to push the limits of max.
* Explores the major program changes that are expected with the next release of 3ds max.
* Provides tutorial files from the book, trial versions of related software, and exclusive plug-ins on the enclosed CD-ROM.

From the Back Cover
"This book is a valuable and insightful resource for beginning and advanced 3D artists alike looking to harness the most power from the vast capabilities of 3ds max 5."
-Phillip Miller, Vice President, Discreet Animation Products Group

• Build your first dynamic animation project today with unique Quick Start guide
• Master all the new features found in 3ds max 5 including Global Illumination, Radiosity, Character Posing, and Layers
• Create cutting-edge special effects for video, motion pictures, games, and television

If 3ds max 5 can do it, you can do it too . . .

Plunge into the world of professional animation with 3D expert Kelly Murdock, whose easy-to-follow tutorials and fluid explanations make this book a must-have for beginners and experienced users alike. He meets you wherever you are as a 3ds max user and elevates your skills to the next level. If you're a veteran, here is the indispensable road map to the complex variations of version 5. If you're meeting "Max" for the first time, the amazing Quick Start teaches you to build an eye-popping animation in your very first session!

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of 3ds max 5

• Add realistic lighting to your images with 3ds max 5's new Advanced Lighting features including Global Illumination, Radiosity, Photometric Lights, and Area Shadows
• Explore such new modeling features as Character Assemblies, improved bone tools, poseable skin, and a host of new poly object modeling additions such as extruding along a spline
• Increase scene details with materials and maps like the new Ink 'n' Paint material
• Automate the animation process with many improvements to the Track View, including Auto Tangents and Soft Selections
• Investigate new transform gizmos and other new version 5 interface elements

Bonus CD-ROM

• 3ds max, Version 5 demo
• All tutorial sample files, models, and bitmaps
• Exclusive plug-ins from Furious Research, including Rainbow atmospheric effect, Sketch render effect, and many more

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Review of Flash ActionScript for Designers with CDROM (Paperback)

The purpose of simplification leads to incorrect explanations
in the subjects related with the language itself.
Chapters 6 and 8 have statements that a C (or javaScript or
ActionScript) programmer consider confused (variable types,
expresions, etc)others are amazing (ex. page 107 : k=k++)
and other false (ex. page 104 :explanation about post
increment in loops).
Programming concepts should be correctness handle, even
for designers.

Product Description
This book will teach Flash designers how to create ActionScripts that they'll refer to again and again in their design work. Projects such as Creating a Pop-Up Menu, Creating a Sound Controller, or Creating an Animated Flash Banner can be used as the starting point for readers' own customized projects. All of this is presented with lots of visual examples and a minimum of jargon and "programmer-speak."
ABOUT THE CD-ROM
Includes source material for each project, trial versions of Macromedia software and additional third-party software.

From the Back Cover
From user interactivity and eye candy effects to automated content management, ActionScript gives you the power to take your Flash movies to the next level. But what if you're not comfortable with objects, variables, and all that other programming stuff? Relax! Using plenty of easy-to-understand tutorials and an absolute minimum of geek-speak, Doug Sahlin takes the mystery out of ActionScript - and shows you step by step how to put it to work in real-world Web design.

Step-by-Step Tutorials and Projects Show You How to Create:

• Flash forms
• Animated preloaders
• Printable frames
• User-customizable e-commerce products
• Dynamic backgrounds
• Custom cursors
• Motion trails
• Starburst backdrops
• Slide shows
• Pop-up windows
• Banner ads
• Flash intros
• Animated banners

CD-ROM Contents

• Source files and artwork for chapter projects
• SWfX and Swift 3D demo versions
• Plus Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX and FreeHand trial versions

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Review of Digital Video for Dummies (Paperback)

Kudos to Martin Doucette! I've been waiting for a recognizable personality to write a good beginner's book for Digital Video.

I always try to use the "...for Dummies" books in my classes because I think thatthey talk in plain English and lay a basic foundation for learning to takeplace. It's easy for the beginner to start at the beginning of the book andfor the more advanced student to jump to what they need.

Digital Videofor Dummies is no different. I'm using the book for the included softwareand its explanation of non-linear editing, but it is also a good refresherfor my students on shooting and lighting.

Anyone that teaches digitalvideo production should give this book a second look as a text. People whowant to break into digital video production should use this as their bible.

Product Description
MovieWorks, Quick Editor, and more on CD-ROM

Now updated to cover Main Vision, iMovie, and Film Factory

Make your Hollywood dreams come true with this hands-on resource If you want to produce professional-quality home movies, wedding videos, sales presentations, or multimedia Web content, all you need is a digital camcorder, a souped-up PC … and the know-how contained in this savvy guide. So get the book, pick up some gear, grab your bullhorn, and start directing! all this on the bonus CD-ROM Ulead Cool 3D and MediaStudio Pro Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop trial versions Epson Film Factory Plus instructional examples, video samples, ready-to-use multimedia clips, and more System requirements: PC running Windows 95 or later, Windows NT 4 or later; Power Macintosh running System 7.6 or later. See the About the CD Appendix for details and complete system requirements.

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Review of Macromedia Dreamweaver e-Learning Toolkit: Building Web-Based Training with Coursebuilder (Paperback)

Doyle's book is supposed to be an introduction for Dreamweaver extensions, CourseBuilder and Learning Site. CourseBuilder writes javascript for learning interactions (multiple choice questions, etc.) and Learning Site helps manage information from a course website within a database. The book strikes me as poorly edited or proofread (a whole paragraph is repeated on p. 81, for example). Readers are directed to the author's web-based training website for resources in ways that feel like you are reading an infomercial, but then, when I took the bait, I found that links to the resources were dead anyway. Text and tables repeat the same information, making it seem like the book has been "padded" to reach the editor's page count, or like the author believes he is writing for particularly dim-witted readers.

To those looking for help with Dreamweaver and other Macromedia tools in e-learning applications, I would recommend two other books: Using Dreamweaver to Create e-Learning (Garin Hess and Steven Hancock) is a first-rate introduction to CourseBuilder, with clear and engaging tutorials.  Even better, perhaps, is MX eLearning (Jeffrey Bardzell), which does almost nothing with CourseBuilder, but demonstrates how to build interactions using the javascript that Dreamweaver will write through its behaviors panel, as well as Flash and ColdFusion.  This is an "advanced training from the source" book and non-threatening to people who don't think of themselves as coders but want to begin to make sense of html, javascript, actionscript, etc.

Product Description
* Includes everything developers need to start building online courses quickly and easily
* Enables Dreamweaver users to enter the rapidly-growing Web-based training market
* Begins with a crash course in Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, then guides readers through developing an online learning course, incorporating interactions, quizzes, tests, and animations
* Dreamweaver commands approximately eighty percent of the market for professional Web development tools; its supplementary CourseBuilder and Learning Site extensions have been downloaded more than 90,000 times
* CD-ROM includes sixteen e-learning templates worth $99, quick start forms, additional software, and a complete, customizable, three-hour online course

From the Back Cover
"With a book like this, even mere mortals can use Macromedia tools and extensions to create effective e-learning."
-Bill Horton, author of Designing Web-Based Training and e-Learning Tools and Technologies

The Web-based training field is hot, and this comprehensive toolkit will prepare you to take advantage of the opportunities it offers developers. Everything you need to create your own e-learning curriculum is here-software, plans for building your courses, site templates, a database, a dozen samples, and complete step-by-step instructions for using them all. There's a section devoted to Dreamweaver basics, an overview of e-learning concepts, a quick course in creating effective tests, plus plenty of expert tutorials and hands-on examples. You'll feel confident designing, developing, and implementing WBT courses with the most popular Web publishing tool in the world.

You'll learn how to:

• Design interactive pages, manage reusable content, and apply cascading style sheets
• Install and use Learning Site and CourseBuilder extensions
• Develop valid test questions and reduce the odds of accurate guessing
• Select, control, and process CourseBuilder interactions
• Choose layout styles for effective site navigation
• Create drag-and-drop and image hot area interactions
• Track test results with the Learning Site database

"Mike Doyle has done a fantastic job teaching novice and experienced Dreamweaver MX users how to develop effective courseware. This is destined to become a reference book you will want to keep close at hand."
-Margaret Driscoll, IBM Mindspan Solutions, Author of Web-Based Training: Designing e-Learning Experiences

The CD-ROM features:

• Trial version of Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, plus Learning Site and CourseBuilder extensions
• 12 valuable e-learning templates
• A complete 3-hour online course you can use as a course model for your custom Web-based training
• Author files and tutorials

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