Friday, 25 February 2011

Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas, Volume II, 1838-1839



Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas, Volume II, 1838-1839
Stephen L. Moore | 2006-02-14 00:00:00 | University of North Texas Press | 440 | 19th Century
This second volume of the Savage Frontier series focuses on two of the bloodiest years of fighting in the young Texas Republic, 1838 and 1839.

By early 1838, the Texas Rangers were in danger of disappearing altogether. Stephen L. Moore shows how the major general of the new Texas Militia worked around legal constraints in order to keep mounted rangers in service. Expeditions against Indians during 1838 and 1839 were frequent, conducted by militiamen, rangers, cavalry, civilian volunteer groups and the new Frontier Regiment of the Texas Army. From the Surveyors' Fight to the Battle of Brushy Creek, each engagement is covered in new detail. The volume concludes with the Cherokee War of 1839, which saw the assembly of more Texas troops than had engaged the Mexican army at San Jacinto. Moore fully covers the failed peace negotiations, the role of the Texas Rangers in this campaign, and the last stand of heroic Chief Bowles.

Through extensive use of primary military documents and first-person accounts, Moore provides a clear view of life as a frontier fighter in the Republic of Texas. The reader will find herein numerous and painstakingly recreated muster rolls, as well as a complete list of Texan casualties of the frontier Indian wars from 1835 through 1839.

For the exacting historian or genealogist of early Texas, the Savage Frontier series will be an indispensable resource on early nineteenth-century Texas frontier violence.
Reviews
This book is a great book just to read for pleasure. If you are into Texas genealogy it is even better.

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CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET



CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET
| 2002-06-16 00:00:00 | | 0 | .NET


The Common Intermediate Language (CIL) is the core language of .NET. Although .NET developers often use a high-level language (such as C# or VB .NET) to develop their systems, they can use CIL to do anything allowed by.NET specifications&emdash;which is not the case for C# and VB .NET. Understanding how CIL works will provide you with a deep, language-independent insight into the core parts of .NET. This knowledge is essential for creating dynamic types, a powerful part of the .NET Framework.

In CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET, Jason Bock offers an in-depth tutorial on programming in CIL. First, Bock discusses the basics of .NET assemblies and manifests. He then shows how to create assemblies in .NET&emdash;including the ilasm directives and CIL opcodes, and how these are used to define assemblies, classes, field, methods, and method definitions. Bock also covers the ways in which C#, VB .NET, and other non-Microsoft languages emit CIL, and how they differ. Finally, he reveals how developers can create dynamic assemblies at runtime via the Emitter classes.

After reading this guide, you will gain a better understanding of CIL and how to program directly into it. CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET is a must-have on every .NET developer's desk!



User review
Great for learning Reflection.Emit
My goal in reading this book was not to learn how to write IL in notepad and compile it via ilasm.exe. I wanted to learn the basics of IL and learn how to use the Refelction.Emit namespace to create dynamic types at runtime. This book does a great job at teaching this. I think the two chapters about Reflection.Emit are the best in the book.

User review
CIL - Microsoft's Assembly for .NET
Has this ever happened to you,,. There's this new technology or programming language that you're dying to learn, but there are no books. Finally, someone writes a book, you get the book from the bookseller (Amazon), you open the book, and you thumb through the pages. Well, that's the way I felt about learning Microsoft IL for .NET. I really was keen about learning .NET's `assembly language` because throughout my career I found that having low level knowledge about how a system is put together is very, very useful. Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop everything you're doing and run out to learn CIL programming. However, I believe that if you want to be a serious .NET professional, learning CIL should definitely be on your To-Do list.

So what about Bock's Book: `CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET`? In a word - disappointing. Bock spends most of the book's first chapter entitled `Language Interoperability` on detailed discussion of programs written in a variety of languages. He's trying to make the point that the CLR allows programs written in different languages to freely interoperate. Duh? Why spend the better part of the book's opening talking about everything but CIL. There's even an Oberon (?) programming sample here.
The second and third chapters on ILASM Directives, and, CIL Opcodes, respectively, read like my weekend shopping lists. While it is true that programming books have to regurgitate all the nasty details of the programming language, the good books tell its readers how to internalize the information and describe useful ways of summarizing the information in one's mind. That is, the authors of the better books have figured out some rhyme and reason to the language and they share these insights with their readers. On the other hand, this is what I found in these two most important chapters of Bock's book: the more I read, the more questions I had. I wound up spending significant time on the NET trying to resolve questions that were raised in the material in these two chapters. Clearly, the author did not anticipate these questions.
The fourth chapter, `ILASM and CIL in Practice` is a decent discussion of a typical sample program in IL. It demonstrates some of the IL constructs and programming concerns discussed in the previous chapters.
Chapter 6 is interesting. Here the author talks about and contrasts the IL generated by various programming languages. Some of the VB.NET and C# exposés were eye-opening, but then Bock goes back to Oberon again.
The author ends off the book in chapters 7 and 8 with some very long and tedious samples. I got nothing from this. Chapter 9, the last in the book, is a two-pager on `CIL Tips`.

So why do I give this book 3 stars?
1) The book includes Chapter 5, a well-written and interesting discussion about CIL Debugging.
2) Right now, Bock's book is one of three books that talk about CIL. It is the only book that is targeted directly at programming. Although John Gough's `Compiling for the .NET Common Language Runtime` is an excellent book, it is very specialized and targets would-be compiler authors. I didn't read the third book in the IL arena, Serge Lidin's `Inside Microsoft .NET IL Assembler`, but I did thumb through it several times (you know what little that is worth): this book strikes me as being very difficult.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you need to learn IL Programming right now, buy Bock's book - read the second half of chapter 1, and read Chapters 2-5, maybe Chapter 6. If you have the time, money, and inclination, then buy and read Gough's book. You'll need a lot of time for Gough, but you will definitely learn.

If learning IL is not that pressing right now, I would wait to see if someone else releases a better book.

User review
CIL - Microsoft's Assembly for .NET
Has this ever happened to you,,. There's this new technology or programming language that you're dying to learn, but there are no books. Finally, someone writes a book, you get the book from the bookseller (Amazon), you open the book, and you thumb through the pages. Well, that's the way I felt about learning Microsoft IL for .NET. I really was keen about learning .NET's `assembly language` because throughout my career I found that having low level knowledge about how a system is put together is very, very useful. Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop everything you're doing and run out to learn CIL programming. However, I believe that if you want to be a serious .NET professional, learning CIL should definitely be on your To-Do list.

So what about Bock's Book: `CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET`? In a word - disappointing. Bock spends most of the book's first chapter entitled `Language Interoperability` on detailed discussion of programs written in a variety of languages. He's trying to make the point that the CLR allows programs written in different languages to freely interoperate. Duh? Why spend the better part of the book's opening talking about everything but CIL. There's even an Oberon (?) programming sample here.
The second and third chapters on ILASM Directives, and, CIL Opcodes, respectively, read like my weekend shopping lists. While it is true that programming books have to regurgitate all the nasty details of the programming language, the good books tell its readers how to internalize the information and describe useful ways of summarizing the information in one's mind. That is, the authors of the better books have figured out some rhyme and reason to the language and they share these insights with their readers. On the other hand, this is what I found in these two most important chapters of Bock's book: the more I read, the more questions I had. I wound up spending significant time on the NET trying to resolve questions that were raised in the material in these two chapters. Clearly, the author did not anticipate these questions.
The fourth chapter, `ILASM and CIL in Practice` is a decent discussion of a typical sample program in IL. It demonstrates some of the IL constructs and programming concerns discussed in the previous chapters. Chapter 6 is interesting. Here the author talks about and contrasts the IL generated by various rogramming languages. Some of the VB.NET and C# exposés were eye-opening, but then Bock goes back to Oberon again. The author ends off the book in chapters 7 and 8 with some very long and tedious samples. I got nothing from this. Chapter 9, the last in the book, is a two-pager on `CIL Tips`.

So why do I give this book 3 stars?
1) The book includes Chapter 5, a well-written and interesting discussion about CIL Debugging.
2) Right now, Bock's book is one of three books that talks about CIL. It is the only book that is targeted directly at programming. Although John Gough's `Compiling for the .NET Common Language Runtime` is an excellent book, it is very specialized and targets (would-be) compiler authors. I didn't read the third book in the IL arena, Serge Lidin's `Inside Microsoft .NET IL Assembler`, but I did thumb through it several times (you know what little that is worth): this book strikes me as being very difficult.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you need to learn IL Programming right now, buy Bock's book - read the second half of chapter 1, and read Chapters 2-5, maybe Chapter 6. If you have the time, money, and inclination, then buy and read Gough's book. You'll need a lot of time for Gough, but you will definitely learn.

If learning IL is not that pressing right now, I would wait to see if someone else releases a better book.


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Thursday, 24 February 2011

Building Storage Networks



Building Storage Networks
McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media | 2000-01-01 00:00:00 | McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media | 590 | Networking
The amount of electronic data being transmitted is skyrocketing - making the need for storage capacity tremendous. Explains innovative strategies for storing, accessing, and protecting data. Provides valuable information on the latest technologies, including Storage Area Networks (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), and high Availability (HA) clustering solutions. Includes 16 page Blueprint section displaying network storage topolgies and six case studies of network storage strategies used in real corporations.
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BS 7671: 2001 Requirements for Electrical Installations



BS 7671: 2001 Requirements for Electrical Installations
IEE | 2001-01-01 00:00:00 | Institution of Electrical Engineers | 317 | Electrical Engineering
The 16th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations, adopted as British Standard BS7671 in 1992, has been revised and a new version released. The complete amended Regulations will now carry a blue cover to distinguish them from the previous yellow-covered version (ISBN 0 85296 927 9). The Regulations are the national standard to which all domestic and industrial wiring must conform. Amendments incorporated in the new BS7671:2001 affect several sections and include substantial changes to align with European documents. There are also two wholly new sections. Unsold copies of the previous version can be withdrawn from sale and returned to the IEE for refund, provided that copies of the new version are ordered.
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Essential Styles for the Drummer and Bassist



Essential Styles for the Drummer and Bassist
Houghton | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Music
Essential Styles for the Drummer and Bassist, Books 1 and 2, are two innovative book and play-along CD packages that teach 50 essential grooves from today's jazz and popular styles. The books include written-out charts of each selection and performance tips for both drums and bass. All of the grooves have been recorded with a rhythm section and woodwinds, with drums mixed on the left channel and bass on the right, so either instrument may be dialed out. In addition, many of the tracks contain open choruses of comping so any instrument can practice playing solos! Essential Styles emphasizes the most important aspects of solid group playing locking-in between the drummer and bassist providing a strong rhythmic foundation and creating an authentic feel for whatever the style demands.
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Digital Economies: SMEs and E-Readiness



Digital Economies: SMEs and E-Readiness
Stephen M. Mutula | 2009-01-01 00:00:00 | Business Science Reference | 356 | Computers (Other)
Digital Economies: SMEs and E-Readiness
By Stephen M. Mutula


* Publisher: Business Science Reference
* Number Of Pages: 356
* Publication Date: 2009-07-08
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 1605664200
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9781605664200



Product Description:

Several studies have been made to determine the effectiveness of information and communication technologies within small business enterprises, but the focus on e-readiness assessments have been very limited.

Digital Economies: SMEs and E-Readiness provides valuable insights into the current state of the digital economy and the ability of SMEs to leverage information and communication technologies in overcoming their position in the global business market. This innovative collection provides vital information for developing strategic objectives and frameworks that promote economic growth, infrastructure development, capacity building, and educational training.
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Fashionable Technology: The Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science, and Technology



Fashionable Technology: The Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science, and Technology
Sabine Seymour | 2008-05-19 00:00:00 | Springer | 249 | Fashion

The interplay of electronic textiles and wearable technology, wearables for short, and fashion, design and science is a highly promising and topical subject. Offered here is a compact survey of the theory involved and an explanation of the role technology plays in a fabric or article of clothing. The practical application is explained in detail and numerous illustrations serve as clarification. Over 50 well-known designers, research institutes, companies and artists, among them Philips, Burton, MIT Media Lab, XS Labs, New York University, Hussein Chalayan, Cute Circuit or International Fashion Machines are introduced by means of their latest, often still unpublished, project, and a survey of their work to date. Given for the first time is a list of all the relevant information on research institutes, materials, publications etc. A must for all those wishing to know everything about fashionable technology.


Reviews
Fashionable Technology is an excellent source of information about the topic of Wearable Electronic, the fusion of technology and fashion.



The book contains a extensive overview of wearable electronic projects and products starting with the first emergence of this fast growing technology up to the latest developments in this field. Useful as information source with highly inspirational value for people interested into this field like students, researcher and companies interested to explore interactive clothing.



Next to the overview of many projects and products documented with a wealth of photos, the book contains a list of materials typical in the field of e-textiles as well as online resources, list of Institutes and events related to wearable electronics.



It's the most up-to-date and most comprehensive work about 'technology meets fashion' book currently on the market.

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Dreams of Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature



Dreams of Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature
Steven Weinberg | 2000-01-01 00:00:00 | Blackstone Audiobooks | 0 | Audio Books
A scientist recounts his search for the laws of nature, imagining the shape of a final theory on nature and the effects its discovery will have on the human spirit. 60,000 first printing. $60,000 ad/promo.
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Algorithms and Parallel VLSI Architectures III



Algorithms and Parallel VLSI Architectures III
Mark Moonen | 1995-01-01 00:00:00 | Elsevier Science | 410 | Mathematics
A comprehensive overview of the current evolution of research in algorithms, architectures and compilation for parallel systems is provided by this publication. The contributions focus specifically on domains where embedded systems are required, either oriented to application-specific or to programmable realisations. These are crucial in domains such as audio, telecom, instrumentation, speech, robotics, medical and automotive processing, image and video processing, TV, multimedia, radar and sonar. The book will be of particular interest to the academic community because of the detailed descriptions of research results presented. In addition, many contributions feature the "real-life" applications that are responsible for driving research and the impact of their specific characteristics on the methodologies is assessed.

The publication will also be of considerable value to senior design engineers and CAD managers in the industrial arena, who wish either to anticipate the evolution of commercially available design tools or to utilize the presented concepts in their own R&D programmes.
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Java 2 in 21 Tagen . Schritt für Schritt Java programmieren lernen (Repost)



Java 2 in 21 Tagen . Schritt für Schritt Java programmieren lernen (Repost)
| 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Others
Java 2 in 21 Tagen . Schritt für Schritt Java programmieren lernen
Publisher: Markt+Technik | 2003 | ISBN: 3827265282 | 896 pages | PDF | 6,86 MB
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You Must Be My Best Friend . . . Because I Hate You!: Friendship and How to Survive It



You Must Be My Best Friend . . . Because I Hate You!: Friendship and How to Survive It
Emily Dubberley | 2006-09-01 00:00:00 | Vision | 241 | Self-development
Product Description:

This no-nonsense guide delves into the most trying difficulties faced in maintaining friendships—difficulties seldom discussed between friends in conflict or covered in relationship manuals. Combining revealing anecdotes with expert research, the guide addresses every friendship roadblock imaginable, including "third wheel" syndrome; being friends with a nasty gossip; surviving a not-so-hot vacation with a friend; and, of course, falling in love with a best friend. Including a quiz to help forecast your friendship future with a given person, this vital volume is for anyone who wants to become a better friend.
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Advanced Calculus (5th Edition)



Advanced Calculus (5th Edition)
| 2002-08-04 00:00:00 | | 0 | Calculus


The Fifth Edition of this leading text offers substantial training in vectors and matrices, vector analysis, and partial differential equations. Vectors are introduced at the outset and serve at many points to indicate geometrical and physical significance of mathematical relations. Numerical methods are touched upon at various points, because of their practical value and the insights they give about theory.

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Collaborative and Distributed Chemical Engineering. From Understanding to Substantial Design Process Support: Results of the IMPROVE Project (Lecture Notes ... / Programming and Software Engineering)



Collaborative and Distributed Chemical Engineering. From Understanding to Substantial Design Process Support: Results of the IMPROVE Project (Lecture Notes ... / Programming and Software Engineering)
Manfred Nagl,Wolfgang Marquardt | 2008-08-27 00:00:00 | Springer | 851 | Artificial Intelligence

IMPROVE stands for "Information Technology Support for Collaborative and Distributed Design Processes in Chemical Engineering" and is a large joint project of research institutions at RWTH Aachen University. This volume summarizes the results after 9 years of cooperative research work.

The focus of IMRPOVE is on understanding, formalizing, evaluating, and, consequently, improving design processes in chemical engineering. In particular, IMPROVE focuses on conceptual design and basic engineering, where the fundamental decisions concerning the design or redesign of a chemical plant are undertaken. Design processes are analyzed and evaluated in collaboration with industrial partners.



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Molecules: Nucleation, Aggregation and Crystallization, Beyond Medical and Other Implications



Molecules: Nucleation, Aggregation and Crystallization, Beyond Medical and Other Implications
Jan Sedzik | 2009-04-23 00:00:00 | World Scientific Publishing Company | 364 | Internal Medicine
This volume, dealing with Nucleation, Aggregation and Crystallization, consists of a compilation of lectures offered at the international course held at Karolinska Institute and at the scientific meetings of the MARIE Network.

The word nucleation, derived from nuclear family, refers to the concept of the progenitor, or the mother and the father of any family. Only in the last few centuries have physicists borrowed the word, and more recently, biologists for Theodor Schwann's cell theory. Most recently, the term has come into use in atomic theory, spectroscopy, and radioactivity, as well as in the fields of atomic bombs, fission, and fusion. Nucleation as a physicochemical process is followed by two poorly understood phenomena aggregation and crystallization - which underlie disorders like Alzheimer's and mad-cow disease (aggregation of amyloid plaque), cardiovascular diseases (deposition in coronary vessels of cholesterol and lipids), and the appearance of crystals under physiological conditions (gout, silicoses, and liver or kidney stones).

Written by leading scientists in the field, including one Nobel Laureate, this book provides a unique perspective between the physical and chemical sciences on the one hand, and the biological and medical sciences on the other, and should be of considerable value to scientists, physicians, students, and the interested lay public.

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Practical Business Skills for Driving Instructors: How to Set Up and Run Your Own Driving School



Practical Business Skills for Driving Instructors: How to Set Up and Run Your Own Driving School
John Miller | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | Kogan Page Ltd | 248 | Management
Over 20,000 people apply to become an Approved Driving Instructor each year, but whether you are a sole trader or franchisee, you will need more than just the instructional skills that are tested in the official DSA qualifying exams. "Practical Business Skills for Driving Instructors", by the author of the definitive "Driving Instructor's Handbook", provides solid, practical advice to help you set up your own business. Each business topic is dealt with in the author's down-to-earth style including: preparing a business plan, financing the business, choosing and maintaining a car, book-keeping, sales and marketing, and presenting a professional image. Whether you are just considering becoming a driving instructor, or have just passed your ADI exams, "Practical Business Skills for Driving Instructors" will help you ensure your new career is a huge success.
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Convex Cones (Mathematics Studies)



Convex Cones (Mathematics Studies)
Benno Fuchssteiner,Wolfgang Lusky | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Elsevier Science Ltd | 440 | Mathematics

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Western Medicine: An Illustrated History



Western Medicine: An Illustrated History
Irvine Loudon | 1997-09-18 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 347 | History
From ancient religious rituals and magical incantations, to Renaissance practices such as purging, bleeding, and trepanning, to modern day miracles such as antibiotics, CAT scans, and organ transplants, the advance of western medicine has been nothing short of astonishing. Now, in this richly illustrated volume--boasting 150 pictures, including 24 pages of color plates--readers have an authoritative and wide-ranging history of Western medicine, charting the great milestones of medical progress, from the birth of rational medicine in the classical world right up to the present day.

The history begins in ancient Greece, where medical practice, under the auspices of Hippocrates and others, first looked past supernatural explanations and began to understand disease as a product of natural causes. The book examines the contributions of the great Islamic physicians, such as Rhazes (Al-Razi) and Avicenna (Ibn-Sina), who had a profound impact on the practice of medieval medicine, and it chronicles the slow growth of medical knowledge through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, illuminating the work of figures such as Paracelsus, Vesalius, and William Harvey (who explained how blood circulates through the body). But it has been in the last two centuries that medical practice has made its greatest strides, and Western Medicine provides informative portraits of figures as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch (the fathers of bacteriology), Wilhelm Roentgen (discoverer of x-rays), and Paul Ehrlich (who pioneered the use of chemicals to destroy disease-causing organisms), and many others. And as the contributors highlight the great medical discoveries, they also cover broader medical and social themes, examining for instance the rise of medical training in universities (beginning around 1200 AD), the relationship in the Renaissance between medicine and art, and the tension between the church and an increasingly secularized medical professional class, tension that continues to this day. The book also explores nursing, midwifery, and the rise of the hospital, traces our slow understanding of the patterns of epidemics and the geography of disease (tracking for example the devastating effects of disease brought about through colonization and the slave trade), and charts our changing attitudes towards child birth, mental disease, and the doctor-patient relationship.

Authoritative, informative, and beautifully designed, this volume offers a fascinating introduction to medicine in the West. In addition to its generous illustrations, the volume includes a glossary, an extended list of suggested further reading, a chronology, and a full index, making it an indispensable reference for anyone interested in medical history.

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The Revelations of an Elite Family Insider (2005)


The Revelations of an Elite Family Insider (2005)
Insider | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | none | 39 | Philosophy
Revelations of an Elite family Insider

Something fascinating happened on a forum (godlikeproductions.com) in a span of a few days and it has caused quite a stir in certain parts of the Internet.

A person by the moniker of Insider claimed he was from a ruling bloodline and gave the people a chance to ask everything they wanted and Insider would answer. At first it looks like another internethoax, some lightweight questions were followed by lightweight answers, but then things started changing drastically.

Anyone who understands dialectics knows that the answers Insider gave were designed to force/provoke others to ask questions which went to the core of the matter. First some questions are being asked by Insider like "Are you really living on the planet you think you are?" which made people react differently than before.

The answers this person started giving to those following questions showed a deep, broad understanding of philosophy, history, metaphysics, religion, magic, politics, and more in a way which is very innovative, detailed and some answers are thought provoking to say the least.

What amazes is that Insider answered these questions in a very short time span and if you keep in mind that the topics are diverse, some in depth and some epic answers showed up literally minutes apart, one must wonder how it was done. Copy/paste from internet? I checked intensively and the sentences Insider used cannot be found on internet. Like one person observed, this was way over the heads of the usual suspects.
Some people started getting upset, others were drawn to it and this all lead to a dialogue where so much was revealed, including by the other posters that it can be studied for years to come
.
Sounds hard to believe? Read on.
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Dirty Little Secrets of the Record Business: Why So Much Music You Hear Sucks



Dirty Little Secrets of the Record Business: Why So Much Music You Hear Sucks
Hank Bordowitz | 2007-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Music
I came across this book at my local library. After looking through it, I decided to check it out. This book, written by someone who works in the music biz is a must read for not only musicians but music lovers as well.
The author, a veteran of the music biz shows why music sales are down & why blame for that goes to the music biz itself. From forcing VERY bad music down our throats to briding radio stations to play this music. Also forcusing only on the youth despite the fact that they make up only a small % of those who actually buy music (fact is most music buyers are older folks & 60% of all music sales are back-log catalog or reissues). It's not surprising that people have either stopped buying music altogether or go online to look for the music they want.
Broadacst radio is also in the same boat as we see more & fewer stations
being owned by fewer and fewer owners, there's a decrease in musical diversity on-air. Thus causing an exdous of people towards satelle & internet radio.
Then there's the record companies screwing over their artists. One artist in the book went from going Gold (selling half a million copies) to flipping burgers.
I can keep going, but you're find out more in the book. Also "The label: the story of Columbia Records" by Gary Marmorstein is also worth reading.
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Basic Medical Biochemistry: A Clinical Approach (Books)



Basic Medical Biochemistry: A Clinical Approach (Books)
Dawn B., PH.D. Marks,Allan D. Marks,Colleen M. Smith | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins | 806 | Internal Medicine
Dr. Dawn Marks and her coauthors cover human biochemistry in a reasonably comprehensive fashion for students, using case studies to show the relationship between biochemistry and clinical problems. Facts and pathways are presented to emphasize how the underlying biochemistry is related to the body's overall physiological functioning. Lecturers - Click here to order a FREE Review Copy of this title
Reviews
Some biochemistry books proceed to describe metabolic pathways with scant reference to the physiological context in which they occur and then fill the conceptual gap by including a chapter on regulation and integration of metabolism. Not this thoughtful and cleverly designed book. From the start the authors make it clear that they are going to tell us the story in terms of one crucial unifying concept: which pathways are activated or inactivated when we eat or when we fast?

With this approach the reader never loses sight of the big picture, ie, what's going on in the body at any particular time. And then, when we do reach the chapter on integration of metabolism, most of the work has already been done for us: the chapter then operates as a useful review of what we have already been told.

The book does not miss any opportunity to make us think in terms of the big picture, and furthermore, it is never afraid of saying something more than once if it needs to. Just one example to illustrate this point: Lipoprotein lipase. Action and properties of this enzyme are detailed in the context of digestion of chylomicrons (p 497), storage of TAGs in adipocytes (p 512), integration of metabolism (p 561) and the influence of insulin levels on gene expression of the enzyme (p 564).

The early introduction of the fed and starved states is also useful in other ways. The student perceives right away what the point is of learning those endless metabolic pathways and studies them with much more enthusiasm and not just thinking that biochemistry is but an unnecessary obstacle they have to overcome to get to the more clinical stuff (at least I'd like to think so!). Inspired by this book I have organized my course in that way and I am convinced that it is the best approach.
Reviews
This book is different from its contemporaries in many ways. First of all is written in a clinical approach format which is very interesting for medical students. Most of the biochemistry textbooks are dry and vast and difficult to grasp the information needed for a medico.
But the Marks helps to learn to use biochemistry in the process of Clinical Problem Solving. With a lot of diagrams and clear text it is easy understand.
The Clinical Material is presented in the form of real patients.
It is a student friendly text with which you can learn biochemistry in a funny way of solving the clinical cases.
It can be used as a main textbook for self study.
I strongly recommend the Marks for all medical students.
Reviews
This books is great.If you want to leran biochemistry within a month,buy it.I think it is the best book.It is perfect for your exam.
Reviews
Texts are not easily to follow. Diagrams and help notes scatters around pages which make readers confused. If you are preparing for Step 1, I recommend you study Lippincott Biochemistry, Board Review Series.
Reviews
I love this book on biochemistry simply because it was the easiest to read, with diagrams and pictures even dumb people like me can read (gg). I also found that it is very comprehensive also. Some of the other titles I've read on the subject (Lippincott, Harper's) did not go into the detail of this one. Another positive note is that this is a clinical book also; giving you case studies in each chapter to test your knowledge. I can't say enough about this book and even referred it to one of my friends. Although not required in Chiropractic College (Lippincott was), it should have been the standard.

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Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials (Chapman & Hall/CRC Biostatistics Series)



Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials (Chapman & Hall/CRC Biostatistics Series)
Shein-Chung Chow,Mark Chang | 2006-11-16 00:00:00 | Chapman and Hall/CRC | 296 | Pharmacology
Although adaptive design methods are flexible and useful in clinical research, little or no regulatory guidelines are available. One of the first books on the topic, Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials presents the principles and methodologies in adaptive design and analysis that pertain to adaptations made to trial or statistical procedures that are based on accrued data of ongoing clinical trials. The book also offers a well-balanced summary of current regulatory perspectives and recently developed statistical methods in this area.

After an introduction to basic concepts and statistical considerations of adaptive design methods, the book questions the impact on target patient populations as the result of protocol amendments and discusses the generalization of statistical inference. The authors also present various adaptive design methods, including where hypotheses are modified during the conduct of clinical trials, for dose selection, and commonly used adaptive group sequential design methods in clinical trials. Following a discussion of blind procedures for sample size re-estimation, the book describes statistical tests for seamless phase II/III adaptive designs and statistical inference for switching adaptively from one treatment to another. The book concludes with computer simulations and various case studies of clinical trials.

By providing theoretical and computer simulation results, method comparisons, and practical guidelines for choosing an optimal design, Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials fills the need for a unified, comprehensive, and updated resource in the clinical research and development of adaptive design and analysis.
Reviews
I used this book and accompanying software for about a year and was surprised, when opening the software, to be greeted with the message, "Your license will expire within 30 days. Please contact license@www.CTriSoft.net to renew it immediately." Neither the book, nor the accompanying CD mentions any expiration of the software. When I contacted the vendor, they offered a brief license extension, but going forward I would need to renew the license for $495 per year. When I contacted Wiley, their response was apologetic that they hadn't mentioned the limited life of the software, and that they would do nothing until the next reprinting (at an unspecified time in the future). It was unclear what they would do then.



Although there are some warts, I found the book and software to be useful. However, the book is not valuable without the software and if you plan to use the combination for more than a year, be prepared to pay several hundred dollars per annum to renew the software license.








Reviews
This book's best features are its bibliography (about 240 entries) and its broad survey and taxonomy of adaptive methods. Its publication represents an important step in popularizing adaptive trials and, thus, streamlining drug/device/biologic development pipelines.



The book is, however, filled with inaccuracies on several levels: incorrect grammar and equation references, undefined symbols, a reference to a non-existent appendix, unclear language (e.g., what is the "statistical strength for rejecting Ho" on Page 150?), mathematical typos [e.g., P(x|y,theta) rather than P(y|theta) in the integrand for the posterior predictive probability distribution P(y|x)], and misapplications of statistical philosophy (e.g., using Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing for statistical inference, identifying the p-value as a post-hoc type I error rate). In the sample I took of about 1/3 of the pages, about 120 errors occur. The book should be considered only a pre-publication "beta" version. Any second edition should receive much more attention to detail.



A statistician or clinical scientist planning a potentially adaptive trial could use this book to learn about some of the aspects of a trial that can be made adaptive. The book could also help him/her to assess the assumptions and mathematical complexity of methods under consideration. However, when it comes to actually performing an analysis, one would want to use the bibliography to obtain the relevant articles and books, perhaps together with Chang's "Adaptive Design Theory and Implementation Using SAS and R" (Chapman & Hall/CRC Biostatistics).



Overall, this book disappointed me. The authors should have had several more collaborators and copyeditors check their work.
Reviews
I meet the second author, Mark Chang, at a conference on adaptive designs. I work as a professional statistician in the pharmaceutical industry. For the past several years, at least ten, these ideas have been the topic of research and it is being investigated as a possible way to speed up drug development and its development is being encouraged by the FDA. There has not been a formal statistical text covering the existing theory and its application to clinical trials. Consequently, when we knew this was coming out we preordered it and have been studying it since it came out last November.



The book has lived up to expectations. Adaptive designs are very similar to group sequential designs in that they have planned times to make preliminary assessment of the trial data and then decide whether or not to continue the trial or modify the design. Adaptive designs can be more flexible than their group sequential counterparts. They even can allow changes to the protocol as long as the criteria for making such changes are mapped out in advance of the trial.



These methods have been controversial in the past and simulation studies are often required to determine their properties. But there has been enough development now that some designs are being applied in real trials. In fact we are considering a two stage adaptive design similar to the ones described in this text (except applied to bioequivalence).



Later this year Mark Chang is coming out with an applied text that include SAS macros to aid in the implementation of the methods. A preview of the manuscript was displayed at an adaptive trials conference that I attended recently. I can enthusiastically recommend that one even more than this one! However, any biostatistician working on clinical trials should have this book on his or her bookshelf.

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Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems



Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems
| 2004-12-14 00:00:00 | | 0 | Miscellaneous


The three-volume set LNAI 3213, LNAI 3214, and LNAI 3215 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, KES 2004, held in Wellington, New Zealand in September 2004.

The over 450 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers present a wealth of original research results from the field of intelligent information processing in the broadest sense; among the areas covered are artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, cognitive technologies, soft computing, data mining, knowledge processing, various new paradigms in biologically inspired computing, and applications in various domains like bioinformatics, finance, signal processing etc.




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Reflexive Grounded Theory: Eine Einführung für die Forschungspraxis



Reflexive Grounded Theory: Eine Einführung für die Forschungspraxis
| 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Others
Franz Breuer, "Reflexive Grounded Theory: Eine Einführung für die Forschungspraxis"
Publisher: VS Verlag | 2010 | ISBN: 3531177664 | PDF | 180 pages | 7.1 MB
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Kant's Aesthetic Epistemology: Form and World



Kant's Aesthetic Epistemology: Form and World
Fiona Hughes | 2007-06-15 00:00:00 | Edinburgh University Press | 336 | Philosophy

Drawing on resources from both the Analytical and Continental traditions, this book argues that a comprehension of Kant's aesthetics is necessary for grasping the scope and force of his epistemology.

Fiona Hughes draws on phenomenological and aesthetic resources to bring out the continuing relevance of Kant's project. One of the difficulties faced in reading the Critique of Pure Reason is finding a way of reading the text as one continuous discussion. This book offers a reading at each stage of Kant's epistemological argument, showing how various elements of Kant's argument, often thought of as extraneous or indefensible, can be integrated.

This incisive study, arguing for the centrality of aesthetics in philosophy, and within experience in general, challenges a blind spot in the Anglo-American tradition of philosophy and will contribute to a growing interest in the general significance of aesthetic culture.



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Longman English Grammar



Longman English Grammar
L. G. Alexander, R. A. Close | 1989-01-01 00:00:00 | Longman Publishing Group | 374 | English
The Longman English Grammar is an indispensable guide for all students at intermediate and advanced levels. First, it provides a comprehensive reference book of modern English grammar. Second, it looks at language from the students' point of view and so gives them clear and precise guidance on the areas of grammar they need to master for effective communication. Explains each area of grammar clearly and concisely. Uses traditional and familiar descriptions, yet takes account of modern research into grammar. Pays attention to areas where errors are commonly made. A useful Appendix gives additional help, with lists of words and phrases which often cause difficulties for learners Takes each major area of grammar, such as nouns, articles, tenses or prepositions in turn. Chapter 1 covers word order and sentence structure. Presents sections clearly with headings and numbered subsections for ease of use. Uses extensive cross references and a comprehensive index to make the information readily accessible to students. Explains each area of grammar clearly and concisely Uses traditional and familiar descriptions, yet takes account of modern research into grammar Pays attention to areas where errors are commonly made.
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Nokia Smartphone Hacks (Hacks)



Nokia Smartphone Hacks (Hacks)
| 2005-07-25 00:00:00 | | 0 | Gadgets


Nokia's smartphones pack a powerful computer into a very small space. Unlike your desktop or laptop, your smallest computer can be connected to the Internet all the time, and can interact with the world around it through its camera, voice recognition, and its traditional phone keypad. Nokia smartphones combine these features with impressive storage options and a host of networking protocols that make this smallest computer the only thing a road warrior truly needs.

If you're still cracking open your laptop or pining for your desktop while you're on the road, you haven't begun to unlock your Nokia's full potential. Nokia Smartphone Hacks is dedicated to tricking out your smartphone and finding all the capabilities lurking under the surface. Learn how to:

Unlock your phone so that you can use it with any carrier Avoid and recover from malicious mobile software Watch DVD movies on the phone Use the phone as a remote control Use the phone as a data modem for your notebook Check your email and browse the web Post to your weblog from your phone Record phone conversations Choose mobile service plans Transfer files between the phone and your computer

Whether you want to use your smartphone as your lifeline while you're on the road, or you're just looking for a way to make the most of the time you spend waiting in lines, you'll find all the user-friendly tips, tools, and tricks you need to become massively productive with your Nokia smartphone. With Nokia Smartphone Hacks, you'll unleash the full power of that computer that's sitting in your pocket, purse, or backpack.



User review
Disappointed at Best
It may be a good book for some but I felt it too general in scope to help me with my new Nokia E71x. The hand book for my phone offers more specific information but not enough. It's like buying one of those Idiots Guide to 30 different but similar computers and expecting to squeeze every nuance out of the one you bought. Maybe for academics but too general to be serious help.

User review
Nothing Special
The book calls them hacks but they are nothing more than excerpts from the manual. Most tips are about the data packages you can buy. Nothing about accessing programming codes, creating your own applications, using alternate gateways, toothing, etc. Skimmed it and straight to the garage sale. I usually expect better from O'Reilly.

User review
Loaded with useful information and intermediate to expert advice
If you have a Nokia series 40 or series 60 phone, this book is indispensable. Every chapter has something even a old hand with Nokia phones will not know. Codes to find the phones version and address information, ways to customize the menus, and alternative programming and settings. In all, this book is `the manual that didn't come in the box.`

User review
A SMART HACK!
If you're a Nokia smartphone user, then you know by now that hacks are especially useful. Author Michael Yuan, has done an outstanding job of writing a great book that brings all of those powerful hacks to all Nokia smartphone users.


Yuan begins by showing you how to use hacks to understand the basic characteristics of your smartphone and its related mobile network services. Next, the author shows you how to connect your smartphone to the Internet and to nearby computers. Then, he covers how to use , manage, and even develop smartphone software. The author continues by dealing with how to prevent malicious programs from infecting your phone, and how to recover from them if they do. In addition, the author next covers interesting hacks such as speed dialing, recording phone conversations to digital files, and using calling cards. He also discusses everything you'd want to know about data exchange and synchronization between smartphones and PCs. Next, the author covers how to use a smartphone as a data modem to provide Internet access to computers anytime, anywhere. Then, you will learn innovative hacks to use the profile, ring tones, and graphics and fonts on the phone display. The author continues by showing you how to develop your own mobile web site, use mobile portals and search engines, and post to mobile photo blogs from your smartphone. In addition, the author covers various ways to set up e-mail and instant messaging on your smartphone. Finally, you will learn how to take good photos and video clips with your phone camera, and share them with friends across the world.


So, if you do not have a Nokia smartphone already, the author of this excellent book will show you how to use some of the hacks as a nice buyers guide to help you choose from hundreds of combinations of devices and service plans. With that in mind, read on `dude` and start this most excellent adventure!



User review
75 fun and handy hacks
Who knew there was so much to do with a smartphone? This book presents 75 hacks on a wide variety of topics around the cellphone. You can find out how to use your phone as a remote control for presentations. Running your own scripts, creating your own themes, reading blogs, sendmail mail through gmail and much more. Definitely a must have for Nokia Smartphone owners.


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Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain



Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
Portia de Rossi | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | Atria | 320 | Entertainment (Other)
If you are looking for books to take you to the next step and point you toward recovery, or if you have a family member with anorexia or bulimia symptoms but is still very thin, I HIGHLY recommend to book "100 Questions and Answers about Anorexia Nervosa" by Dr. Sari Fine Shepphird. It is the best, most helpful book I have in my collection and I have been reading books about eating disorders for 15 years. If you want to know more about eating disorders like anorexia, it's so helpful. I also want to recommend "Crave: Why you binge and how to stop" by Dr. Cynthia Bulik, if you are looking for a book specifically about Binge Eating, on the opposite end of eating disorders.

Thank you, Portia, for your honesty. People need to see how this disorder ravages lives but that there is also life after an eating disorder.
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Hallucinogens and Shamanism (Galaxy Books)



Hallucinogens and Shamanism (Galaxy Books)
Michael J. Harner | 1973-05-17 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 224 | Philosophy
Reviews
It is high time (ahem) this collection of writings receive the praise it is due. Offerings on this subject have proliferated in recent decades, but far too many of them have little to offer those seeking genuine knowledge and understanding. Here, packed in one volume, is an assortment of excellent articles exploring various aspects of how hallucinogenic plants and fungi figure in ritual uses across culture. This is a work of anthropology, not lightweight stuff for those who want to beat their own drum playing "New Age shaman" (instead of learn about shamanism as an aspect of other cultures to which such practices actually belong). Later in his career, Harner abandoned this type of scholarly work and went with a more commercialized route that was far less interesting (unless, again, you want to become a Harner Core Method ® Shaman yourself). But this volume amply testifies that in his early career Harner did some excellent work, such as his field studies among the Shuar Indians (popularly known as the Jivaro), whose culture is steeped in shamanism and applications of hallucinogenic plants. (Incidental irony: many of the Shuar shamans state that they took up their practice in order to get rich!)



One of the most fascinating and informative pieces in this book is Harner's article on the use of belladonna and related plants by peasant herbalists accused of witchcraft in mediaeval Europe. The evidence he presents is strong and persuasive, but watch out! It tends to demolish more fashionable and ideologically polarizing interpretations of history, such as (a) there were no "witches," the very idea is preposterous, the whole notion just a paranoid projection from the hysterical imaginations of superstitious people in a pre-scientific age; (b) witches were real, and Evil!, worshippers of Satan, even if they didn't exactly fly on broomsticks; and (c) witches were real and Good!, noble practitioners of an ancient pagan goddess-worship religion. No, its all much more interesting than any of that, turns out.



The selections in this volume are generally well written, although in the scholarly-academic sense, i.e., with the intention of informing, not merely entertaining, the reader. A favorite, unique highlight herein is "The Mushrooms of Language," which astutely interprets Mazatec Indian customs concerning psilocybin mushrooms. The final section of the book raises an interesting question, of the extent to which experiences with hallucinogenic drugs may tap into something beyond cultural soft-wiring of perception, although none of the evidence offered could be described as conclusive, only suggestive.



This book came out in the early 1970's, before the discussion and exploration of this subject got derailed by the "Castaneda effect" and similar "New Agey" influences. It is founded not upon exploitation and sensationalism, but intellectually open-minded curiosity and a desire to explore and learn with feet planted firmly on the ground. "Hallucinogens and Shamanism" is baby without dirty bathwater, and as such is highly recommended for those with serious interest.
Reviews
Despite the fact that I am absolutly facinated with Shamanism (more so Ethnobotany than the new age stuff) I found this work to be more of a textbook in the school sense and at times really dragged on. I do recommend this work for the content. Getting through the content can be a little arduous though
Reviews
"Hallucinogens and Shamanism" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

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C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4



C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4
| 2006-06-26 00:00:00 | | 0 | C++


Qt 4 is radically different from earlier versions of Qt, with lots of new features and many small changes everywhere in the API. For customers porting applications from Qt 3 to Qt 4, this is bad news; but for us, this is good news, because it means that owners of the Qt 3 book will want to buy this one as well. Those who buy this book will: [1] Learn how to program Qt the right way, i.e. with the grain of the tool. [2] Learn standard patterns of Qt programming, from basic tasks like creating a file menu with a recently used files list to more complex tasks such as presenting data to the user through the user interface, and providing the user with the ability to interact with their data. [3] Learn how to extend Qt to meet their needs, for example, through subclassing and by composition. [4] Gain insight into programming in general and into graphical user interface programming in particular.

User review
This book is mediocre, hard to read, etc,,.
The UK based magazine, Linux Format 109, gives it a poor grade: 4/10

And says `As easy to read as a Croatian trains time table`.


I would certainly agree with Linux Format: this book was quickly (hastely?) written.

In its current form, it is not good at all: I do regret my purchase (made only because Trolltech somewhere recommends it).


I have been browsing: `The Book of Qt 4: The Art of Building Qt Applications` by Daniel Molkentin.


My first impression of `The Book of Qt 4: The Art of Building Qt Applications` is a lot more positive, and I will probably purchase it.


Note: My previous posting, also negative (never derogative though) just disappeared.

I am wondering if Amazon delete negative evaluations.

This would not be so wise: trust here is of some value.



User review
A warning about the Kindle edition
Just a note of caution if you decide to buy the Kindle version: of course the CD-ROM is not included, and I have not been able to locate any alternative source for the example code (although the Qt software is readily available for download). I assumed this would be a minor issue, but some of their examples are cumulative, so having the source would give one the option of skipping topics that are not of immediate interest. In addition, I encountered an apparent ambiguity or omission in a description of constructing a dialog in the designer tool; having the source would clear this up, but it is difficult to resolve without it. Interestingly, the latest hardback edition does not have this problem -- the same section has a slightly different description that makes sense. So perhaps the Kindle edition is an earlier version.



User review
Excellent Book
This book is well written and covers everything needed to get up and running. I bought the book and used it to learn Qt for my CS masters research. I went through it cover to cover, and was programming professional quality, rock solid, GUIs in a month and a half. Using just the Trolltech supplied on-line documentation, that would have been impossible.

User review
Qt book really helps get you started.
I've recently started GUI programming again after about 12 years doing other things, and I've never used Qt. I needed a book to get me started, and this one really worked well. It provides many examples and pieces of template code that help bootstrap whatever it is that you need to do. The major pieces of functionality are all covered, and the explanations are precise and understandable.


My one complaint for this book is that it doesn't cover everything in Qt. For more esoteric things you'll have to switch over to the Qt on-line documentation available at trolltech.com. I've read other reviewers' complaints that the information in this book is all available at the Qt web site. That may be true, but if you're just learning, this book presents things in a logical and subsetted way. Also, since it has an index, it's easier to look up a specific area of interest.


Overall, I highly recommend this book if you're just starting out with Qt and/or GUI programming in general.

User review
Well structured and nice examples.
What impressed me the most, was how simple was to build a drawing icon widget and a spreadsheet with qt 4. I believe that this is a must have.


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Knowledge and the State of Nature: An Essay in Conceptual Synthesis



Knowledge and the State of Nature: An Essay in Conceptual Synthesis
Edward Craig | 1991-02-28 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 184 | Germany
In this illuminating study Craig argues that the standard practice of analyzing the concept of knowledge has radical defects--arbitrary restriction of the subject matter and risky theoretical presuppositions. He proposes a new approach similar to the "state-of-nature" method found in political theory, building the concept up from a hypothesis about its social function and the needs it fulfills. Shedding light on much that philosophers have written about knowledge, its analysis and the obstacles to its analysis, and the debate over skepticism, this compelling work will be of interest to students and scholars of epistemology and the philosophy of language.
Reviews
This book managed to solve two years of painful wrangling with the Oxford epistemology paper in the day or so it took to read it. Nozick, Goldman et al are all deftly dealt with and dismissed. The problems of knowledge cannot be "solved", but Craig presents a new, lucid way of approaching them that demonstrates the problems of traditional analytic approaches to philosophy and how they have tried (and failed) to handle the problems raied by Edmund Gettier.

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Telecom For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))



Telecom For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))
| 2006-04-10 00:00:00 | | 0 | Telecommunication


Worldwide telecom spending was over $4 trillion in 2004, and virtually all 12 million businesses in the U.S. buy phone and other telecom services Our book shows people at small and medium-sized businesses how to make sense of telecom lingo and get the best deals Includes an overview of the major players in the telecom industry and an easy-to-understand explanation of the existing telecom infrastructure Helps people pinpoint the telecom services best suited to their business needs, understand billing, and troubleshoot problems Covers emerging industry trends, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and how they can help businesses cut costs

User review
Superb book!
This book is flat out great. The author's humor and overall way of writing keeps you interested in the content all throughout the book. If you have basic to no telecom experience this book will walk you through step by step without being overally technical. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of technical information in this book as well, but it is presented in such a manner that it almost doesn't seem so technical.


The only sections I skipped were the ones on Troubleshooting. Since that topic covered such a wide range of setups and configurations, I did want to spend the time on the `theory` behind it all now. I do see that section as an excellent reference if encountered with actual real world telecom problems in the future though.


Overall I would highly suggest this book if you require incite into the world of telecom for your job or your own business.

User review
Oustanding resource for telcom consumer
This book is an outstanding resource for non-telcom professionals specifically business consumers of telcom products. I am in the telecom biz (customer service) and bought the book because my company provided absolutely no training and I have found it an invaluable resource. I highly recommend for any consumer of telecom services or for those of us just starting out working in the telecom biz who need a basic understanding of the telecom biz.

User review
Fully covers the subject with humor!!!!
This is the guide to telecom I wish I had when I first started in the business. The very first `For Dummies` manual that I read cover to cover. Great for veteran Telecom expert as well as for a newbie in the business.

User review
An excellent starting point to understanding your phone system,,.
So where was this book when I started working for Enron Broadband??? I could have used it,,. Telecom For Dummies by Stephen P. Olejniczak.


Contents:

Part 1 - The ABCs of Telecom Service: A Buyer's Scoop on Telecom; Making (And Living with) Telecom Decisions; Getting Around the Telecom Neighborhood

Part 2 - Reviewing Telecom Products and Prices: Understanding Dedicated Service Requirements; Meeting Toll-Free Service, the Red-Headed Stepchild of Telecom; Getting the Non-Accountant's Guide to Your Phone Bill

Part 3 - Ordering and Setting Up Telecom Service: Ordering Regular Phone Lines and New Long-Distance Service; Ordering Dedicated Service; Ordering Toll-Free Service; Activating Your Dedicated Circuit and Toll-Free Numbers

Part 4 - Taking Care of Your Telecom System: Maintaining Your Telecom Services; Troubleshooting Switched Network Issues; Troubleshooting Your Dedicated Circuits

Part 5 - What's Hot (Or Just Geeky) in the Telecom World: Transferring Data, Not Just Voice Content; Riding The Internet Wave - VoIP

Part 6 - The Part Of Ten: Ten Acronyms and What They Really Mean; Ten Troublesome Telecom Traits to Avoid; Ten Places To Go for Hints and Help

Appendix - Making a Loopback Plug; Index


This is one of those Dummies titles that may sound a little strange at first, but quickly starts delivering the goods. The audience here is anyone who is responsible for maintaining the phone system in an organization. This could be a new technician just starting to learn the ropes, or a small business owner who needs something more than just one phone line to run their business. The author starts out with the basics of the technology and terminology, and he quickly demystifies many of the acronyms that are so common in this business. He then builds on that solid foundation to walk you through the process of determining your telecom needs and how you need to order them. And of course, when things go wrong (and they *will*), you'll have some great advice on how to troubleshoot things on your end, as well as what you'll need to know in order to help the phone company resolve things expeditiously.


Although I didn't deal directly with the network while at Enron Broadband, I built computer systems that helped people run said network. Knowing this information would have made my job infinitely easier, and I wish I had been able to have a book like this back then. I'm sure you can find all this information in other books, but I doubt it would be as clear and concise (as well as being fun to read). If you have any responsibilities for the phone system at work, this is the place to start reading,,.


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Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products



Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products
Jim Highsmith | 2004-01-01 00:00:00 | Addison-Wesley Professional | 312 | Management
This book is not only good for project managers but also an excellent read for developers. In the real world it is not uncommon that developers would confront a manager who likes to micromanage and everything the developers do have to be conform to something really bureaucracy and with little or no business sense or tech sense. In this book, the value of APM is well articulated in concise sentences. These sentences can be powerful tool when it is necessary for R&D people to discuss/argue with a manager about things like project plan/report, etc. There is also practical method of APM.
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Sensors Applications



Sensors Applications
P. ?ke ?berg,Tatsuo Togawa,Francis A. Spelman | 2002-06-15 00:00:00 | Wiley-VCH | 444 | Engineering
Taken as a whole, this series covers all major fields of application for commercial sensors, as well as their manufacturing techniques and major types. As such the series does not treat bulk sensors, but rather places strong emphasis on microsensors, microsystems and integrated electronic sensor packages. Each of the individual volumes is tailored to the needs and queries of readers from the relevant branch of industry.

A review of applications for point-of-care diagnostics, their integration into portable systems and the comfortable, easy-to-use sensors that allow patients to monitor themselves at home. The book covers such advanced topics as minimal invasive surgery, implantable sensors and prostheses, as well as biocompatible sensing.

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Projektcontrolling



Projektcontrolling
| 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Haufe Mediengruppe | 294 | Subjects

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The Early Fiction of H.G. Wells: Fantasies of Science



The Early Fiction of H.G. Wells: Fantasies of Science
Steven McLean | 2009-05-15 00:00:00 | Palgrave Macmillan | 240 | European
This book explores the relationship between H.G. Wells's scientific romances and the discourses of science in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century. It investigates how Wells utilizes his early fiction to participate in a range of topical scientific disputes and, increasingly, as a means to instigate social reform.


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Pope John Paul II (Modern World Leaders)



Pope John Paul II (Modern World Leaders)
Edward Renehan | 2006-09-30 00:00:00 | Chelsea House Publications | 112 | Religious

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Safeguarding Children Living With Trauma and Family Violence: Evidence-Based Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions (Best Practice in Working with Children)



Safeguarding Children Living With Trauma and Family Violence: Evidence-Based Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions (Best Practice in Working with Children)
Arnon Bentovim | 2009-06-15 00:00:00 | Jessica Kingsley Publishers | 192 | Sexual Abuse
Offering a systematic approach to evidence-based assessment and planning for children living with trauma and family violence, this practical book shows how to assess and analyse the needs of the child, make specialist assessments where there are continuing safeguarding concerns (using the Assessment Framework) and plan effective child-centred and outcome-focused interventions. The authors analyse the impact of exposure to a climate of trauma and family violence on a child's bioneurological development and on their capacity to form attachments and to develop and reflect on relationships through childhood and adolescence into adulthood. They bring together the assessment of children in need with the evaluation of significant harm and risk, and potential for rehabilitation, and also explore the application of evidence-based approaches to intervention. This book is an essential tool for all front-line practitioners working with child protection, including social workers, child and adolescent mental health practitioners, police officers, probation workers and domestic violence organizations. It is also suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and post-qualifying students. The titles in the "Best Practice in Working with Children" series are written for the multi-agency professionals working to promote children's welfare and protect them from harm. Each book in the series draws on current research into what works best for children, providing practical, realistic suggestions as to how practitioners in social work, health and education can work together to promote the resilience and safety of the children in their care. Brigid Daniel is Professor of Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling. She is co-author of several textbooks and practice resources on child care and protection. She was a member of the multi-disciplinary team that carried out a national ministerial review of child protection practice in Scotland.

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NORTHERN IRELAND AND ENGLAND: THE TROUBLES (Arbitrary Borders: Political Boundaries in World History)



NORTHERN IRELAND AND ENGLAND: THE TROUBLES (Arbitrary Borders: Political Boundaries in World History)
Robert C. Cottrell | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Chelsea House Publications | 139 | England

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The International Space Station: Commercial Utilisation from a European Legal Perspective (Studies in Space Law)



The International Space Station: Commercial Utilisation from a European Legal Perspective (Studies in Space Law)
F. G. Von Der Dunk,M. M. T. A. Brus | 2006-07-15 00:00:00 | Hotei Publishing | 267 | International Law
Currently, perhaps the most complicated and challenging undertaking in outer space is the building of the International Space Station, the ISS. The recent decision to use the ISS also as a facility for pre-commercial research and development in a microgravity environment, inviting commercial enterprise on board, only enhanced such complications and challenges. As a consequence, the major question arises to what extent these are held in check by a sound and effective legal and regulatory regime, e.g. pertaining to criminal liability or intellectual property rights. The present book offers the first overview of applicable law and regulation which is not merely superficial, as well as some directions for future legislative and regulatory developments, written by a number of highly reputed experts in space law. The analysis, finally, is with a clear focus on the European situation in view of the particularities which increasing ESA and EU involvement in space activities bring with them.

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Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Entrepreneurship and Its Economic Significance, Behavior and Effects



Entrepreneurship and Its Economic Significance, Behavior and Effects
Maria V. Bradshaw, Patricia T. Carrington | 2009-01-01 00:00:00 | Nova Science Publishers | 247 | Management
Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting new organisations or revitalising mature organisations, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities. Entrepreneurship is often a difficult undertaking, as a vast majority of new businesses fail. Entrepreneurial activities are substantially different depending on the type of organisation that is being started. Entrepreneurship ranges in scale from solo projects (even involving the entrepreneur only part-time) to major undertakings creating many job opportunities. Many 'high-profile' entrepreneurial ventures seek venture capital or angel funding in order to raise capital to build the business. Angel investors generally seek returns of 20-30 per cent and more extensive involvement in the business. Many kinds of organisations now exist to support would-be entrepreneurs, including specialised government agencies, business incubators, science parks, and some NGOs. This book presents the latest thinking in this vibrant and essential area.
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Creative cloth doll couture



Creative cloth doll couture
Patti Medaris Culea | 2006-01-01 00:00:00 | Quarry Books | 128 | Do It Yourself
This is the only book available on making clothing for art dolls. Moreover, it not only includes a pattern for various wardrobe staples, but the author offers basic garment making techniques, as well as information on decorative fabric treatments and embellishments. Culea provides tips and techniques for creating everything from a vintage 1940s ensemble to a 1960s type of outfit. There are techniques for dyeing, painting, and stamping to create a beautiful evening gown and how to drape a doll body to create your own pattern. Professional tips, ideas for embellishments, cutting-edge techniques, short cuts, pattern making ideas, and more are also included.
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