Practical Software Project Estimation: A Toolkit for Estimating Software Development Effort & Duration
Peter Hill, International Software Benchmarking Standards Group
Proven techniques from the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group
Practical Software Project Estimation is a complete toolkit for accurately estimating the size, cost, and duration of software development projects. This book is based on software project data collected by the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) which contains an updated repository of more than 5,000 completed projects from around the world. The book provides clear explanations of different estimation techniques and shows you how to use them. Estimation equations and project delivery rate tables are provided for use in estimating projects, along with insights and best practices based on completed projects sitting in the ISBSG software project repository.
Practical Software Project Estimation:
Provides solutions for mitigating a wide variety of software project failures and pitfalls and delivering accurate estimates
Contains data based on more than 5,000 completed international software projects
Includes estimating exercises for real-world practice
Enables accurate estimation of costs and durations of large and small software projects
Explains different estimating techniques and how to best apply them
About the Author
Peter Hill is the chief executive officer and a director of the ISBSG. He has been in the information services industry for more than 40 years and has compiled and edited five books for the ISBSG.
The ISBSG (Australia, Finland, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA) is a not-for-profit organisation that established and now grows, maintains and exploits two repositories of IT history data (software metrics) to help improve the management of IT globally.
Mission of the ISBSG: “To improve the management of IT resources by both business and government through the provision and exploitation of public repositories of software engineering knowledge that are standardized, verified, recent and representative of current technologies.”
The ISBSG’s formation in 1997 was built upon several years of previous cooperation by a group of national software metrics associations with the common aim of developing and promoting the use of IT industry history data to improve software processes and products, for the benefit of both businesses and governments worldwide. Current members of the ISBSG represent IT and Metrics Associations from thirteen countries (Australia, Finland, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA ).
This hands-on guide shows SharePoint 2010 administrators how to use PowerShell to automate repetitive tasks and conduct remote troubleshooting.
PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrators explains how to take advantage of PowerShell─the built-in scripting language─to increase productivity by automating tasks on both local and remote systems. PowerShell is fully integrated into SharePoint 2010, providing administrators with a revolutionary set of tools, including more than 500 new PowerShell commands. This book covers all PowerShell capabilities.
This comprehensive guide provides an introduction to PowerShell for administrators who have never used it before. Specifics on how and why to use PowerShell with SharePoint are included. Real-word scenarios demonstrate the advantages of PowerShell as a tool to solve common problems.
PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrators
Covers the latest versions: SharePoint 2010 and PowerShell 2.0
Is written by global SharePoint and PowerShell experts and bloggers
Includes comparisons between PowerShell scripting and built-in SharePoint tools that demonstrate the differences and provide a good understanding of when to use PowerShell
Requires no prior knowledge of PowerShell—provides a good introduction to both PowerShell and SharePoint
Offers extensive PowerShell script examples for download
About the Author
Niklas Goude (Stockholm, Sweden), a senior consultant at Enfo Zipper, has been working with PowerShell since its beginning and is the lead responsible for PowerShell-related topics at Enfo Zipper. He runs the highly respected blog, www.powershell.nu and is a frequent trainer for Microsoft courses in PowerShell and is also a highly sought after speaker at technical venues.
Mattias Karlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) is a senior consultant at Enfo Zipper, a Microsoft Gold Partner company. A SharePoint expert, he runs the popular blog http://mysharepointofview.com and is a frequent trainer and speaker at SharePoint events.
Learn to create outstanding fine art and eye-catching commercial graphics with one powerful tool! CorelDRAW X5: The Official Guide is your comprehensive reference and workbook to get you started designing visually captivating CorelDRAW artwork. Learn, step by step, how to create the illustrations you’ve imagined, quickly assemble layouts for print and package designs, import and edit photos, master the art of typography and the science of color theory, make 3D scenes from 2D objects, and apply special effects to ordinary pictures. Packed with expert techniques and advice for creating professional-quality art, this is your one-stop CorelDRAW X5 reference and hands-on guide.
Create drawings that look like paintings using the Artistic media and Free Transform tools, Mesh Fill, and the Smudge and Roughen brushes
Master the Curves tools, including the new B-Spline tool
Design logos, brochures, and other business items in a flash with the layers and page options features
Use CorelDRAW as a desktop publishing program
Create 3D objects with the Extrude tool
Make your drawings look photorealistic with transparency, shadows, glows, and lens effects
Import, edit, and retouch photos, including camera RAW files
Go from novice to retouching pro with PHOTO-PAINT–the Suite’s advanced image-editing application
Master more than the tools–learn how to create impressive artwork with the guidance of an expert
About the Author
Gary David Bouton has used CorelDRAW professionally for more than 15 years and is the author of six books covering previous versions. He was a 1992 finalist in the CorelDRAW World Design Contest. A former advertising art director, Gary has received four international awards in design and desktop publishing and has written several other guides on digital graphics, including Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide.
Easy-to-follow coverage of portable Macs, including the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air
How to Do Everything: MacBook strongly emphasizes the portability and other unique features of the laptop versions of the Mac, examining ports and jacks, discussing user accounts and privacy, managing multiple network connections, using MobileMe to stay synched, etc. It also explores the activities laptop users most often perform, such as productivity, entertainment, and communication.
Tasks and activities are broken down into simple-to-follow directions and highlighted with clear graphics to make everything easy to understand. Tips and tricks for getting the most out of the latest versions of the built-in software, including the new versions of iLife and iWork are also included. As a travel writer, the author understands the needs of mobile computer users. She covers battery management and power, connectivity, working online, using VoIP, and maintaining and troubleshooting the MacBook.
How to Do Everything: MacBook
Draws on author’s personal experience as a writer who travels, providing tips and tricks for getting the best out of the MacBook on the road
Contains accurate and up-to-date product information on latest versions of Mac OS X and iWork/iLife applications
Explains the differences between the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air
About the Author
Robin Noelle is a professional writer who has more than 12 years’ experience in marketing and public relations, with an emphasis on technology. Her ability to translate highly technical information into layman’s terms led to Noelle facilitating interviews between product managers and editors from PC Magazine, CNET, and PC World. She has written travel guides for Avalon Travel.
A Zend Technologies columnist and bestselling PHP author provides practical information on today’s most popular PHP framework—with more than 7 million downloads.
Aimed squarely at real-world PHP developers working against aggressive deadlines, Zend Framework: A Beginner’s Guide teaches developers how to work smarter, by using the most popular open-source framework for PHP. Feature-rich, robust and mature, Zend Framework can simplify and shorten the application development cycle, reduce testing time, improve quality, and provide the developer with the extensibility, scalability and flexibility needed in today’s competitive, rapidly-changing environment. This book shows how to maximize all the features of Zend Framework.
Zend Framework is to PHP what JavaServer Faces is to Java. Just as Java Server Faces: The Complete Reference is popular and useful for Java developers, Zend Framework: A Beginner’s Guide will be the best guide for open source developers looking to develop web applications using PHP and the new Zend Framework.
Key Selling Features
Author is has been a well-known featured columnist with Zend Technologies since 2006. His columns are among the most popular on the Zend Technology community site.
Covers the most important components of the Zend Framework
Introduces MVC concepts and theory, and then demonstrates real-world implementation of the theory
Provides numerous projects and code examples
Companion website includes all of the code in the book
About the Author
Vikram Vaswani (Bombay, India) is the founder and CEO of Melonfire (http://www.melonfire.com/), a company specializing in software consultancy and content creation and syndication services. He is also the author of PHP Programming Solutions, How to do Everything with PHP and MySQL, and MySQL: The Complete Reference (all McGraw-Hill/Osborne titles) and XML and PHP (New Riders Publishing) He is also the author of numerous well-received articles on open-source technologies (including Perl, Python, XML and the very popular PHP 101 series), all written with the goal of making complex technologies accessible and understandable to novice users.
He has been developing software since 1995, was first introduced to PHP in 1998, and hasn’t looked back since. He is regular columnist with Zend Technologies (creators of PHP), as well as with IBM DeveloperWorks, CNET Builder.com, DevX.com and other OSS sites
Articles by Vikram Vaswani
Article 01: Zend Developer Zone on April 21, 2010 Build an Enterprise – Grade PHP Stack with Zend Server 5.0 and Oracle 11g To read, please click HERE
Article 02: IBM on May 11, 2010 Implement SOAP services with the Zend Framework To read, please clickHERE
Get the most out of the revolutionary iPad with help from this easy-to-follow guide. Covering both the Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G models, How to Do Everything: iPad shows you how to quickly master the basics, such as customizing your iPad, using the Multi-Touch screen, accessing the Internet through wireless and cellular connections, syncing, and backing up your data. Learn to use Mail, Safari, iBooks, iTunes, Maps, the App Store, and much more. View photos and video, create a slideshow, watch movies, use GPS, and play games. If you’re looking for a book as cutting-edge and streamlined as the iPad itself, you found it!
Configure, register, customize, sync, and back up your iPad
Select a data plan for your iPad 3G
Connect to Wi-Fi networks, access the web, and surf with Safari
Set up Mail and integrate with various email accounts
Install iBooks and download and read books
Download and run cool apps from the App Store
View, manage, and share photos and videos
Set up iTunes, sync music and media from your computer, download songs, and create playlists
Rent, purchase, download, and watch movies and TV shows
Manage your contacts and schedule and keep notes
Navigate with GPS and Maps
Discover, download, and play awesome games
Take advantage of the iPad’s built-in accessibility features, including VoiceOver and Zoom
Features
Personalize your iPad with applications, ringtones, themes, skins, and wallpapers and explore iPad accessories
Use iPad Desktop Software to synchronize the iPad with your computer
Download and access e-books, online newspapers, magazines, videos, movies, blogs, journals, and educational materials like college textbooks and lab books
Use the operating system to navigate file folders, applications, and perform computer-related tasks
Place and answer phone calls, use voice activation, add phone contacts, and incorporate a Bluetooth headset
Send and receive text, picture, and video SMS, MMS, and e-mail messages, and explore additional messaging options (Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, AOL, and others)
Find Wi-Fi hotspots, surf the Internet, research, and locate and read online publications, and explore GPS and Maps
Learn about networking options including Ethernet, ad-hoc, Bluetooth, wireless, and connect the iPad to your home entertainment center or game console
Readers quickly learn how to use basic features like making phone calls, sending text messages, and managing contacts, as well as listening to music, taking and viewing photos, working with e-mail, creating contacts and synching data with their computer
Readers learn about things they did not expect to see in the iPad, including using GPS and maps, working with an actual “Tablet computer”, and easily obtaining downloadable electronic publications in the nature of books, magazines, newsletters, journals, and blogs in the fields of entertainment, sports, science, history, culture, celebrities, news, current events, politics, technology, and education
Readers learn how to locate and connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, choose an Internet subscription plan, surf the Internet, and perform Internet-related tasks, like shopping, updating their device, signing into Web sites, and managing bookmarks and cookies.
Contents are arranged so readers can either work through the book chapter by chapter or use the book as reference, using the Table of Contents and Index as a guide
See what fun and games are available at the App Store, what can be acquired from iTunes, and download and install 3rd party applications created for the iPad
Learn how to take handwritten notes on the iPad and translate them into typed pages, how to navigate the mobility options, how to video conference with others, and how to use the computer functions
Joli Ballew (Garland, TX) Microsoft MVP, MCSE, MCDST, A+, and MCTS: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2007 is the extremely popular, bestselling author of Degunking Windows (Paraglyph Press), voted IPPY’s Best Computer Book of the Year in 2005. Joli has written over 30 books overall, including but not limited to How to Do Everything with Windows Vista Media Center (McGraw-Hill), How to Do Everything with BlackBerry Storm 2 (McGraw-Hill), PC Magazine’s Office 2007 Solutions (Wiley), Breakthrough Windows Vista (Microsoft Press), and 5 books in Pearson’s Brilliant and In Simple Steps series including Brilliant Windows 7 for the Over 50′s and Computer Essentials with Windows 7. Beyond her book writing career, Joli has written articles and given live webcasts for Microsoft’s Windows XP Expert Zone, and is currently writing web pages for Microsoft’s new Malaysia web site for small- to medium-sized businesses. She was the managing editor for BrightHub.com’s Home Office channel and still currently writes for the site, teaches classes weekly at Eastfield and Collin community colleges in Dallas and Collin County, Texas, and has created training videos for Keystone Learning. She has also served as technical editor and/or contributor on myriad book titles.
This hands-on guide shows SharePoint 2010 administrators how to use PowerShell to automate repetitive tasks and conduct remote troubleshooting.
PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrators explains how to take advantage of PowerShell─the built-in scripting language─to increase productivity by automating tasks on both local and remote systems. PowerShell is fully integrated into SharePoint 2010, providing administrators with a revolutionary set of tools, including more than 500 new PowerShell commands. This book covers all PowerShell capabilities.
This comprehensive guide provides an introduction to PowerShell for administrators who have never used it before. Specifics on how and why to use PowerShell with SharePoint are included. Real-word scenarios demonstrate the advantages of PowerShell as a tool to solve common problems.
PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrators
Covers the latest versions: SharePoint 2010 and PowerShell 2.0
Is written by global SharePoint and PowerShell experts and bloggers
Includes comparisons between PowerShell scripting and built-in SharePoint tools that demonstrate the differences and provide a good understanding of when to use PowerShell
Requires no prior knowledge of PowerShell—provides a good introduction to both PowerShell and SharePoint
Offers extensive PowerShell script examples for download
Practical PowerPivot & DAX Formulas for Excel 2010
Extract actionable BI using Excel 2010 PowerPivot and DAX language
Featuring 200 ready-to-use DAX queries, Practical PowerPivot & DAX Queries for Excel 2010 shows Office and Excel power users how to take advantage of DAX (Data Analysis Expressions)—the new standard language for extracting BI within Excel. An entire section shows how to create tables, pivot tables, and PowerPivot tables in Excel. You can then progress to writing DAX queries and formulas to harness the power of BI.
This solutions-based guide contains more than 200 DAX queries that can be immediately applied across a wide variety of BI-related problems. It begins with fundamental principles and simple queries and rapidly progresses to complex and sophisticated queries. The book is structured as follows:
Query: Introduction and description of query and its use
Syntax: Complete DAX syntax
Result: Screen shot showing the data returned in an Excel 2010 pivot table
Analysis: Analysis of the results and tips for customization
Practical PowerPivot & DAX Queries for Excel 2010
Includes 200+ ready-to-use, easily customizable DAX queries, all available for download
Features a practical and hands-on approach with a minimum of difficult concepts and theory
Explains how to visualize actionable BI
Helps to dramatically improve analysis and decision-making skills
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Web Applications The Complete Reference
Leverage SharePoint’s revolutionary software development platform to build business applications
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Web Applications: The Complete Reference is the perfect guide for developers who want to use SharePoint to build any type of web application using SharePoint as a platform. In SharePoint 2010, practically all of the additional functionality is aimed at extending this development capability. This book fully covers all of these features. Learn how to build a self-service web portal for customers; create a unified access point for all internal line-of-business applications; deliver e-commerce solutions; and much more.
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Web Applications: The Complete Reference:
Defines best practices covering the entire project lifecycle
Explains which development tool best suits each task
Provides step-by-step, real-world examples with downloadable sample code
Features comprehensive coverage of all the new SharePoint 2010 features
Helps to builds the skills required to use SharePoint as a development platform, both from a software development perspective and from a project management perspective
Written by a former member of the SharePoint development team, this is a step-by-step guide to mastering the latest release of this integrated suite of server capabilities.
In How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Stephen Cawood—one of the people who helped build SharePoint—offers advice from his many years of working with SharePoint customers, cutting to the core and focusing on key features to get you up to speed quickly. You’ll get easy-to-follow tutorials on blogs, wikis, MySites, Web parts, taxonomy, document management, workflow, publishing sites, team sites, and much more. Take full advantage of the content management, enterprise search, collaboration, and information-sharing capabilities of SharePoint 2010 with help from this practical guide.
How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010:
Covers the key new features, including new out-of-the-box web parts and SharePoint taxonomy
Contains step-by-step examples that walk you through the most common SharePoint tasks
Explains how to use SharePoint Workspace to work with SharePoint offline
Includes valuable advice from SharePoint experts
Functions as a handy reference to learn new features and as a refresher
A full-color, step-by-step guide to all the key features of SharePoint 2010
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 QuickSteps starts you up on SharePoint 2010 right away, including SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Designer 2010, and SharePoint Workspace 2010. Color screenshots and clear instructions make it easy to ramp up on the latest release of Microsoft’s integrated collaboration suite. Follow along and quickly learn how to plan, build, administer, and secure a SharePoint site and integrate it with Microsoft Office 2010. Get up to speed on SharePoint 2010 in no time with help from this practical, fast-paced guide.
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 QuickSteps
Offers full-color coverage of the key capabilities of the entire SharePoint suite
Features high production quality, breadth of coverage, and a low price
Includes color screenshots on every page with step-by-step explanations
Business Intelligence with Microsoft® Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007
Deliver BI Solutions with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007
Maximize the powerful BI tools available in PerformancePoint 2007 with help from this practical guide. You will learn how to collect and store data, monitor progress, analyze performance, distribute dynamic reports, and create maintainable projects and forecasts. Business Intelligence with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 provides full details on creating scorecards and dashboards, performing advanced analysis on data, and setting up business plans. You will also learn how to integrate PerformancePoint with ProClarity, Excel 2007, and SQL Server Reporting Services.
Configure, deploy, and secure all the PerformancePoint components
Create KPIs, scorecards, reports, and dashboards with the Dashboard Designer
Create business models with the Planning Business Modeler and create budgets and forecasts with Excel 2007
Enable advanced data analysis with PerformancePoint Server and ProClarity tools
Take advantage of the enhanced analytic capabilities of Excel 2007
The ultimate guide to Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
This comprehensive guide takes you through the planning and implementation lifecycle of a Project Server installation. You will learn how to utilize this powerful software to set up and manage projects, allocate human as well as financial resources, track progress, and adjust activities quickly to accommodate project changes and updates.
Endorsement
“Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 is an extremely advanced and dynamic toolset requiring fundamental organizational inspection. Rob and Dave provide an equally deep and unique perspective of this powerful solution.” –Daniel T. Renier, Principal Consultant, Milestone Consulting Group, Inc.
Extract and analyze mission-critical enterprise data using Microsoft Office 2007
This authoritative volume is a practical guide to the powerful new collaborative Business Intelligence tools available in Office 2007. Using real-world examples and clear explanations, Microsoft Office 2007 Business Intelligence: Reporting, Analysis, and Measurement from the Desktop shows you how to use Excel, Excel Services, SharePoint, and PerformancePoint with a wide range of stand-alone and external data in today’s networked office. You will learn how to analyze data and generate reports, scorecards, and dashboards with the Office tools you’re already using to help you in your everyday work.
Create Excel PivotTables and PivotCharts and apply Conditional Formatting
Convert Excel spreadsheets into Excel Tables with Conditional Formatting and Charting
Connect external data to Excel using Office Data Connections and SharePoint
Create SharePoint dashboards that display data from multiple sources
Add Key Performance Indicators and Excel Services reports to your dashboards
Harness advanced SQL Server 2005 data analysis tools with the Excel Data Mining Add-In and Visio Cluster Diagrams
Generate integrated PerformancePoint Scorecards
Create Visio PivotDiagrams and Windows Mobile spreadsheets
All of the examples in the book can be downloaded for free by doing the following: go to www.mhprofessional.com. Click on the Computing tab. Click on the Downloads page. Click on the book’s title to download the examples.
Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007: A Beginner’s Guide
Set up and administer a SharePoint Server 2007 environment
Get started on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 quickly and easily with help from this step-by-step guide. Using clear instructions, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: A Beginner’s Guide shows you how to set up and configure SharePoint Server, collect and store data, build lists and libraries, and enable enterprise search capabilities. You’ll learn how to create portals and Web pages, secure your SharePoint Server 2007 environment, and optimize performance. Microsoft Office 2007 integration techniques are also covered.
Install and configure SharePoint Server 2007
Secure your SharePoint Server network and data
Easily locate files and folders using the Search feature
Simplify data collection using forms and workflows
Logically organize content into lists and libraries
Monitor, maintain, and back up your SharePoint Server environment
Build Web applications and portals from reusable, modular Web Parts
Improve efficiency using customized views and metadata schemes
Seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007: The Complete Reference
The definitive guide to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Deploy and manage Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 in the enterprise with help from this one-stop resource. Through detailed instructions, screenshots, and code samples, this comprehensive guide shows you, step-by-step, how to use SharePoint Server and make the most of all its powerful tools and utilities.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: The Complete Reference explains how to develop a customized installation plan, configure the server for optimal performance, and administer users, documents, and content. You’ll get full details on designing feature-rich portals and collaboration sites, creating user-friendly forms and workflows, using modular Web Parts, and incorporating business data.
Install and configure SharePoint Server for the entire enterprise
Manage the server from the Central Administration site
Design SharePoint Server portals, websites, lists, and document libraries
Work with SharePoint Web Parts or build your own
Ensure cross-site consistency using site columns and content types
Create site definitions and templates using SharePoint Designer and Visual Studio
Build custom workflows using SharePoint Designer
Extend SharePoint Server using the Object Model and Event Receivers
Import and map enterprise information using the Business Data Catalog
Use the advanced services of Office Search and Excel Web Services
Endorsement
“This well-planned and well-written book offers a comprehensive reference for IT professionals, application developers and business analysts working with SharePoint applications.” – James A. Robertson, MCSD.NET, Senior Software Engineer, Applied Information Sciences
Visualizing Information with Microsoft® Office Visio® 2007
Create and distribute data-connected Microsoft Office Visio diagrams and reports
Get full details on the powerful features of Microsoft Office Visio 2007 inside this comprehensive volume. Written by Visio expert David Parker, Visualizing Information with Microsoft Office Visio 2007 demonstrates how to effectively visualize, explore, and communicate complex business information. Learn to use PivotDiagrams, Data Graphics, and Smart Tags, as well as link data to shapes and create meaningful Visio documents and reports. Plus, you’ll get vital security information, time-saving tips, troubleshooting techniques, and downloadable macros and code samples.
Essential Skills for Database Users and Professionals
Create shapes and link them to data
Summarize and analyze information using PivotDiagrams
Use Data Graphics, Smart Tags, and SmartShapes to reinforce information
Generate robust Excel, HTML, and XML reports
Create custom, reusable templates, stencils, and masters
Update and enhance diagrams with Reviewer’s comments and markups
Integrate Visio diagrams with other Windows applications
Publish and securely distribute Visio documents and summaries
Extend functionality using VBA macros, add-ins, and wrapper applications
Robin Nixon has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s (his first computer was a Tandy TRS 80 Model 1 with a massive 4KB of RAM!). During this time he has written in excess of 500 articles for many of the U.K.’s top computer magazines.
Robin started his computing career in the Cheshire homes for disabled people, where he was responsible for setting up computer rooms in a number of residential homes, and for evaluating and tailoring hardware and software so that disabled people could use the new technology – sometimes by means of only a single switch operated by mouth or finger.
After writing articles for computer magazines about his work with disabled people, he eventually worked full time for one of the country’s main IT magazine publishers, where he held several roles including editorial, promotions, and cover disc editing.
With the dawn of the Internet in the 1990s, Robin branched out into developing websites. One of these presented the world’s first radio station licensed by the music copyright holders, and was featured in several news reports on TV and radio networks in the United Kingdom. In order to enable people to continue to surf while listening, Robin also developed the first known pop-up windows.
Robin lives on the southeast coast of England with his wife Julie, a trained nurse, and five children, where he also finds time to foster three disabled children, as well as working full time from home as a technical author.
Robin has contributed an article to “The Daily Tip” section on “IT World,” and Plug-In PHP is one of the featured books on the company’s web site. For a look at the article, please click HERE.
An easy-to-use guide to the latest web design tools and techniques
Fully updated to cover new and emerging web design technologies and trends, this new edition teaches the fundamental skills and concepts of web design through tutorials, hands-on exercises, and integrated projects. The book is filled with tips for designing web pages from concept to completion. Expert advice from industry professionals take you beyond the “how to” and into the “why” of common web design practices.
Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide, Second Edition features:
Step-by-step details on how to create a successful design mockup, take it apart, and begin coding
Tutorials in web design using HTML and CSS, the two most widely used and supported coding methods on the web
Techniques for integrating multimedia such as audio, video, and animation
Best practices for ensuring that sites are standards-compliant and will display correctly in all major browsers
Instructions on how to test and deploy completed designs
Learn essential web design skills:
1. Planning
2. Beginning the Design Process
3. Preparing for Production
4. Producing the Design
5. Getting Started with the Code
6. Styling Content
7. Positioning Content
8. Integrating Dynamic Content
9. Editing Blog Templates
10. Testing and Deployment; Publishing Content
11. Advertising Your Site
12. Maintaining Your Site
About the Author
Wendy Willard (Bel Air, MD), is an accomplished professional with over 13 years of experience in all aspects of design, including publication design, print design, and web design. She is the author of the best-selling McGraw-Hill book HTML: A Beginner’s Guide (now in its fourth edition), and has written additional books and articles on the topics of Photoshop, web design, and the Mac O/S.
Endorsed by Microsoft and written by a Microsoft MVP and Visual Studio expert, this hands-on guide teaches programmers and developers new to Visual Studio 2010 how to maximize the latest release of Microsoft’s flagship development environment. Microsoft Visual Studio 2010: A Beginner’s Guide shows you how to build applications from the ground up. You’ll also learn how to customize the integrated development environment (IDE) itself, adding your own tools that integrate with Visual Studio 2010.
Microsoft® Visual Studio® is Microsoft’s flagship development environment, which includes a suite of development tools designed to aid software developers. Visual Studio 2010 is expected to release at the end of 2009 (most likely at the Microsoft Professional Developer’s Conference in November). Visual Studio 2010 is a smart choice for developers. Because of the growing complexity of building applications these days, most developers would never think of writing code with a text editor or some other primitive tool. Businesses can’t afford to waste time and demand the greatest amount of productivity they can get with developers. Visual Studio 2010 is a tool for software developers that helps build applications that run on Microsoft platforms and integrate with other Microsoft applications, allowing for greater productivity in the process.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010: A Beginner’s Guide helps developers get started with Microsoft’s newest version of their integrated development environment (IDE), Visual Studio 2010. The author shows how to build applications with Visual Studio 2010 from installation of the tool to deployment of their solutions. The book demonstrates how to get started with the features of Visual Studio 2010 that support newer technologies. The readers also learn how to customize the IDE itself, adding their own tools that work with the features that ship with VS 2010. Another important aspect of Visual Studio 2010 is extensibility. Developers can add snippets in the editor, write macros, and even develop their own tools that integrate with Visual Studio 2010. This book includes details on how the user can accomplish these tasks and make Visual Studio 2010 their own. This fast-paced tutorial helps developers learn to leverage the new features, applications, and tools in Visual Studio 2010 to their advantage..
Features
Covers C# and VB.NET languages, showing how to use the tools most productively
Incorporates the popular Beginner’s Guide elements including: Key Skills & Concepts, Ask the Experts, and Try This hands-on exercises
Bestselling author is a Microsoft MVP for Visual Studio who speaks at user groups and code camps, writes articles, and has a continuing on-line presence through multiple channels.
Foreword by Microsoft
About the Author
Joe Mayo, Microsoft MVP (Englewood, CO) is an author and instructor who specializes in Microsoft .NET software technology. He is also owner of Mayo Software Training where he brings real-world hands-on experience into the classroom. Joe is the author of C# Unleashed (Sams), LINQ Programming and numerous magazine articles for publishers such as Pinnacle and CoDe Magazine. Joe also operates the C# Station web site (www.csharp-station.com), which is a free resource for developers learning to apply C#. He is a prominent speaker at conferences and user group meetings. For more information about Mayo Software Training, visit www.mayosoftware.com.
Practical Software Project Estimation: A Toolkit for Estimating Software Development Effort & Duration 
Posted by mheasiacomputing 
How to Do Everything iPad
June 25, 2010How to Do Everything iPad © 2011
Authors: Ballew, Joli
ISBN-13: 9780071748698
ISBN 10: 0071748695
©2011 | 1st Edition | 336 pages , Softcover
Pub Date: July 2010
Price: US$ 25.00
Author’s Facebook | Podcast | Chapter 10 | Learn More
Tap into every feature of your iPad!
Get the most out of the revolutionary iPad with help from this easy-to-follow guide. Covering both the Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G models, How to Do Everything: iPad shows you how to quickly master the basics, such as customizing your iPad, using the Multi-Touch screen, accessing the Internet through wireless and cellular connections, syncing, and backing up your data. Learn to use Mail, Safari, iBooks, iTunes, Maps, the App Store, and much more. View photos and video, create a slideshow, watch movies, use GPS, and play games. If you’re looking for a book as cutting-edge and streamlined as the iPad itself, you found it!
Features
Author Profile
Joli Ballew (Garland, TX) Microsoft MVP, MCSE, MCDST, A+, and MCTS: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2007 is the extremely popular, bestselling author of Degunking Windows (Paraglyph Press), voted IPPY’s Best Computer Book of the Year in 2005. Joli has written over 30 books overall, including but not limited to How to Do Everything with Windows Vista Media Center (McGraw-Hill), How to Do Everything with BlackBerry Storm 2 (McGraw-Hill), PC Magazine’s Office 2007 Solutions (Wiley), Breakthrough Windows Vista (Microsoft Press), and 5 books in Pearson’s Brilliant and In Simple Steps series including Brilliant Windows 7 for the Over 50′s and Computer Essentials with Windows 7. Beyond her book writing career, Joli has written articles and given live webcasts for Microsoft’s Windows XP Expert Zone, and is currently writing web pages for Microsoft’s new Malaysia web site for small- to medium-sized businesses. She was the managing editor for BrightHub.com’s Home Office channel and still currently writes for the site, teaches classes weekly at Eastfield and Collin community colleges in Dallas and Collin County, Texas, and has created training videos for Keystone Learning. She has also served as technical editor and/or contributor on myriad book titles.
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