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Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Osborne
ISBN: 0072254378
Everyday Photoshop® for Photographers, by Julie King, is touted as written for the user who is “a professional photographer, a serious hobbyist, or just starting to discover digital imaging.” This book, though, is better intended for photographers who are Photoshop beginners, not for the expert or casual user.
The book is divided into 5 parts, each of which addresses different subject matter. Part 1 – Into the Digital Darkroom, is chock-full of information about pixels, bit depth, color spaces, channels, and photo organization that beginners must know. Remaining parts focus on the basics of using Photoshop, exposure and color techniques, retouching techniques, and output, such as color management and how to properly print and share photos.
The content of the book provides an abundance of information designed for beginners. Examples are numerous, and the full-color printing makes them more tangible. However, it seems Julie King sacrificed quality of information in an effort to provide a definitive resource. Quite simply, she attempted to include too much; the amount of information may prove to be overwhelming to the reader.
Steps for performing many of the techniques are included; however, this is the most problematic part of the book. The steps are vague, the layout proves difficult to navigate, and the images, while having the potential to aid comprehension, are poorly placed and explained. Despite these difficulties, the basic information and techniques a beginner would likely need is there – the reader just has to carefully study it.
Everyday Photoshop® for Photographers is a solid reference book for Photoshop beginners, although difficult to navigate at times. It is by no means the definitive Photoshop guide, but provides a good introduction to the various features and tools of Photoshop, as well as basic tools and terms of digital photography. This book is not suited for Photoshop experts, and beginners must exhibit patience to fully gain all of the expertise Julie King has to offer.
-- Reviewed by Kayte Rudolph, STC-SWO Member
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Osborne
ISBN:
0072257040
On first glance, the size of this book may seem a bit daunting, particularly to those who suffer from "exam phobia". Having attempted the PMP exam twice (and missing a passing score by 10 or less points each time), I was pleased to see that the project management discipline was separated into sections. As I read through the sections, it was apparent to me that the author has the reader's best interest at heart. Putting myself in the role of "student", I like how these sections end with a chapter summary, quick tips, case study and review questions and answers. I appreciate having the answers in the same section … what a timesaver from flipping back and forth from the questions to the answers! I also appreciate the explanations given for the correctness of an answer. In the material itself, I think the Exam Notes are particularly helpful.
As a manager of some novice project managers, I've found the guide extremely useful when explaining how we're going to manage our projects. I can go to the guide, find what I'm looking for quickly and share the reference with my staff.
I would highly recommend this guide to anyone who has basic project management education, experience managing projects and is serious about pursuing CAPM distinction. I also see this guide to be beneficial to those who are serious about seeking CAPM distinction but may not have the experience required to sit for the exam. Referring to this guide would provide further knowledge and training to less experienced project managers while minimizing training costs.
-- Reviewed by Margie Schmitz, STC-SWO Member
Margie Schmitz has 19 years of service with Convergys Corporation. She
holds an Associate Degree in Office Science from Cincinnati Technical
College, a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Xavier University and a Master's
Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University School
of Business. She lives in Mason, Ohio with her husband, Ron Shaw.
Publisher: Paraglyph Press (O'Reilly)
ISBN:
193211193X
Anybody who uses the Internet or e-mail, hopefully, is aware of the dangers and annoyance caused by spam, viruses, Trojan horses, and worms. Author Jeff Duntemann created the word “degunking” to mean defeating any of these nasty and unwanted problems.
This is a clear and detailed book that is easy for the non-technical user to understand. There are sixteen chapters. The first six chapters discuss choosing an email provider, good email habits, reducing the potentially explosive number of email messages, and organizing the inbox. The next four chapters offer solid and practical suggestions for fighting spam and discuss the fascinating Bayesian filtering system, which analyses known spam messages to look for patterns in the text other messages to determine if they are spam. The final five chapters give helpful advice against potentially ruinous viruses, Trojan horses, and worms.
Although discussing all of the author’s suggestions is not possible here, mentioning a few would be helpful. A very simple, but unfortunately overlooked technique against spam is simply to NEVER respond to it. “Unsubscribing” only tells the spammers that the user’s address is active, and the user’s spam problem will only become much worse. All email attachments should be scanned, and attachments from unknown senders should be discarded without opening them. The author recommends not using Microsoft Outlook because the spammers and hackers target that program more than any other e-mail program. Installing and using anti-viral software and firewalls to stop worms are mandatory.
Implementing the author’s suggestions
will give users the peace of mind to use the Internet and email safely.
It is highly recommended.
-- Reviewed by David Michel, STC-SWO Member