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The book is very thorough and easy to understand.Even comes with a ‘walk-through’ DVD that makes it even easier.
Quite a wonderful compliment to iPhoto!

Product Description
Updated teacher’s edition of the best-selling book on Apple iLife–theultimate interactive classroom learning guide to iPhoto, iMovie HD,iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb!

Music, movies, and photos cometogether before your eyes. Just imagine the creative possibilities instore for you and your students. The special edition of Jim Heid’sbest-selling interactive guide to Apple iLife ‘06 includes practicalinformation especially for K-12 teachers. Digital media guru Heid showshow digital media can be an integral part of the classroom routine,enhancing the learning experience in many subject areas. Everything youneed to master the iLife applications is at your fingertips. Lessonplans and a teacher supplement at the end of the book provide sampleprojects and show you how other teachers have been using iLife in theclassroom. Inside, you’ll find clear, accessible instructions for:

• Professional shooting techniques for digital cameras and camcorders
• Editing video with iMovie HD
• Creating spectacular, informative slide shows with iPhoto and iDVD
• Recording and arranging original music with GarageBand
• Producing a documentary video using photos and home movies
• Making a soundtrack using music from old records and tapes
• Using iMovie HD to turn a simple math lesson into a fun photo album
• Interviewing family and community members for oral histories
• Implementing and adapting award-winning projects from other teachers using iLife
• Sharing photos, movies, blogs, and podcasts on the Web using .Mac

About the Author
Jim Heid is one of the most highly regarded computer authors and trainers in the United States. A columnist for Macworld magazine since 1985, he has also been the personal technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a frequent contributor to PC World, Internet World, and Newsweek magazines. He is the author of several best-selling books, including The Macintosh iLife ‘05(Peachpit, 04/05). Jim is editorial director and a partner in AvondaleMedia, producers of DVD-based instruction and conferences.

Ted Laiis a veteran educator and technology consultant. He is currently ateacher on special assignment at the Los Angeles County Office ofEducation. Honored as an Apple Distinguished Educator and an M-AudioM-Powered Educator, Ted speaks at local and national conferences abouteducational uses of podcasting, iPods, GarageBand, and the rest of theiLife suite. A self-described “presentaholic,” Ted is also the founderof PodPiper Productions and advises the TechSavvyGirlz, a group of fivegirls who explore how technology enhances learning.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Macintosh iLife 06 in the Classroom (Paperback)

At first I though this would just be a rehash of Heid’s other iLife 08 book. Obviously, much of the material covered touches on the same subjects but the presentation is definitely different. His Macintosh iLife 08 book is more of a manual while this follows well laid out lessons. If you learn best by following sequential training, you might want to consider this book.

As president of a Mac User Group, I am called on to give classes. This manual makes an excellent book for training from.

Product Description
With tools for photography, moviemaking, DVD production, and musiccreation, Apple’s iLife software can enhance just about any educationalexperience. The real power comes when all of these programs are usedtogether, and in this fully updated book, longtime digital media guruJim Heid, along with education expert Ted Lai, provide teachers withboth the technical detail they need to work with the software(including an interactive tour of the iLife suite) and the lesson plansand projects they need to get students using the tools creatively andeffectively. Teachers learn by doing as the book steps them throughprojects that teach iLife basics. They can then choose from among the 6full lessons and 20 mini lessons (that can be taught in an afternoon orjust over a day or two). The lessons include projects to share thatknowledge with students, student tip sheets, and more. This book isbeautifully illustrated with updated coverage that includes the latestproducts in iLife ‘08 (now available for US$79): iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie,GarageBand, iWeb, and .Mac Web Gallery. These amazing applicationsbring out the creative spirit in everyone.

About the Author
Jim Heid is one of the most highly regarded computer authors and trainers in the United States. A columnist for Macworld magazine since 1985, he has also been the personal technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a frequent contributor to PC World, Internet World, and Newsweek magazines. He is the author of several best-selling books, including previous editions of The Macintosh iLife.Jim is editorial director and a partner in Avondale Media, producers ofDVD-based instruction and conferences. Ted Lai has years of experiencein education and currently works for the Los Angeles County Office ofEducation. Ted also worked on the previous editions of The Macintosh iLife in the Classroom.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Macintosh iLife 08 in the Classroom (Paperback)

The Macintosh iLife `08 book, authored by Jim Heid and published by Peachpit Press, is an excellent resource to learn not only the basics of the iLife `08 suite of applications, but it also provides some very good tips and tricks as well.

I just wished I had this book when iLife `08 first came out!

This book is perfect for beginners interested in learning iLife `08. It is an `easy read’ because visual cues are everywhere in this book, and the layout of the pages are quite aesthetic (someone must have said, “thou shalt have a graphic on each and every page!”). The reading is clear and easy to follow, with step-by-step instructions on how to use each feature.

Much of the book is spent covering the basic functionality of the applications. However, the author sprinkles in application and design tips as well, which I found very interesting. Not only does he offer tips on the iLife `08 applications, he takes a step further by offering tips on the use of peripherals (camera, DVD recorder, microphone, etc.) used in conjunction with the iLife `08 applications. In addition, he makes recommendations on the use of other software which complement the iLife `08 suite, such as Flickr, MacOSaiX, Audio Hijack Pro, Handbrake, etc. Finally, he includes additional reference books by his publisher as well as his companion website to the book – Macintosh Digital Hub – to round out the reading experience. I took a peek at his website, and I recommend you do too, if you like to read about Mac stuff.

Before I opened this book, I thought to myself, I already know five of the six applications pretty well. How useful is it going to be for me? I thought the information in this book would be a rehash of things I already knew about iLife `08.

I learned from reviewing this book that I wasn’t as seasoned as I thought I was! There are so many tips and tricks that I was not aware of, which I would like to explore further.

Here are, but a few, of the tips that I highlighted for myself to learn more about:

* iTunes: Tuning In to Internet Radio – page 70. I knew about Internet Radio, but I never tried it through iTunes. Simple feature that I had seen on the navigation bar, but never paid attention to.
* iMovie: Creating cutaways – page 256. A technique commonly used in video-production which I have not tried. I have used iMovie `08 to create 10-15 short movies, and I want to learn more film editing techniques in general.
* iPhoto: Working with Shared Photos – page 195. I would like a better understanding of how sharing works in iPhoto, and what the limitations are. I use iPhoto every day, and anything that can learn to enhance my understanding of iPhoto, I am interested in.
* iDVD: Hacking iDVD Themes – page 320. I’m curious to know more, should I ever have such a need.
* iWeb: Instant Alpha – page 390. I’ve used iWeb extensively in iLife `06, but haven’t explored this new iLife `08 feature that selectively removes the background of an image. Worth taking a peek!
* GarageBand: Importing MIDI Files – page 342. As a non-musician and a beginning GarageBand user, I’m looking for anything that helps me practice and create songs.

In my opinion, this is an excellent reference book, particularly since most people do not know all six of the iLife `08 applications like the back of our hand. Beginners, novices, and even seasoned veterans can benefit from this book.

My Thoughts:

Ease of Use: It’s such an easy book to read!

Audience: Beginners through seasoned users

Cost: Reasonable

Product Description
The definitive iLife reference, completely updated and revised!

The Macintosh iLife ‘08 isa lavishly illustrated handbook packed with easy-to-followinstructions, essential technical background, and tips for iLife usersof all levels. Now in its sixth edition, it’s the world’s top-sellingiLife book.

• Shop ’til you drop at the iTunes Store-and wirelessly with the iPhone and iPod touch
• Create a digital media center with Apple TV and your widescreen TV set
• Improve your photography and video-shooting techniques
• Produce spectacular slide shows, photo books, calendars, and greeting cards
• Refine your photos to perfection with iPhoto’s new editing tools
• Share photos via email, .Mac Web Gallery, DVD slide shows, and more
• Assemble a video library with the all-new iMovie-and share your creations on YouTube
• Record and arrange your own music with GarageBand
• Create and publish your own Web sites, blogs, and podcasts
• Preserve the past: digitize old records, photos, and movies

The book:Each two-page spread is a self-contained tutorial or set of tips.Everything you need is at your fingertips, and every page is updatedfor iLife ‘08, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, the iPhone, and latest iPods.

The Web site: Get updates, tips, and much more at this book’s companion Web site, www.macilife.com.

About the Author
Jim Heid is one of the most highly regarded computer authors and trainers in the United States. A columnist for Macworld magazine since 1985, he has also been the personal technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a frequent contributor to PC World, Internet World, and Newsweek magazines. He is the author of several best-selling books, including previous editions The Macintosh iLife. Jim is editorial director and a partner in Avondale Media, producers of DVD-based instruction and conference.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Macintosh iLife 08 (Paperback)

The audience for this book is beginning/novice web developers with a knowledge of HTML but not of JavaScript.The book begins with an introduction to basic JavaScript language features and then proceeds to work through a number of examples according to category (images, frames, browser windows, forms, regular expressions and strings, user events, and cookies).After, there are two chapters on AJAX fundamentals.

The book does not claim to be an in-depth resource.The general purpose of the QuickStart series of books is to provide an overview of the main concepts and practices in use by web developers today.It is meant to be a STARTING POINT to introduce novices to technologies, not as an in-depth reference.The authors of this and other QuickStart books point this out continually, yet still get bad reviews from people who have not taken the time to read about the purposes of various series from technical publishers.This is unfortunate for the public as well as unfair to the authors.

A previous reviewer mentioned what he took to be atrocious coverage of Ajax.The book contains two chapters exclusively covering Ajax.The first covers the fundamental techniques used to take advantage of this combination of technologies.The second chapter explores some of the popular Ajax toolkits currently available.This is consistent with the purpose of the book.Some readers may be interested in heading down the development path, yet others may be more interested in design and in using pre-existing tools.This book caters to both and has no intention of deceiving either reader.

The following quote is a good example of this.It is an excerpt from the title page of Chapter 16, which follows the introductory chapter (basic XMLHttpRequest usage, etc.) and precedes the Ajax toolkit chapter:

“[Writing] Ajax applications can be difficult.They often require a great deal of knowledge of working with the DOM, CSS, JavaScript, and server resources.Since this is a book for beginning scripters, we’ve shown you how to do some easy things with Ajax, so you can see that learning Ajax techniques is well within your reach.But many books have been written that are completely devoted to showing intermediate-to-advanced scripters how to create Ajax applications, and our Ajax chapters are no substitute for that kind of in-depth exploration.”

As for the dual-column formatting that some reviewers disliked, it is consistent with the formatting of the entire QuickStart series, as well as the QuickPro series of the same publisher.The format is nice for tackling specific techniques in a concise amount of space.It is not as abstractly engaging as conventional technical books, but it is not meant to be.The format is excellent for explaining techniques (especial design techniques) as well as for conveying a sense of quick forward momentum.

I’ve only recently started reading books from Peachpit Press, and I will turn to them before I turn anywhere else.I am a web developer who has been doing light programming for the last several years.I like these books because they get me up to speed quickly, and act as a comprehensive starting point, allowing me to understand “where I need to go from here.”

This book is excellent as a broad introduction with lots of real-world examples.If you’re a novice web developer with a decent grasp of HTML wishing for a comprehensive introduction to JavaScript and practical JavaScript techniques, this is the book for you.

However, if you’re well-grounded and are looking for more in-depth coverage of JavaScript and Ajax techniques, “Professional JavaScript for Web Developers” (Nicholas Zakas / Wrox Press) and “Professional Ajax” (Zakas, et. al. / Wrox Press) are excellent in-depth resources geared toward real-world professional development, and both are among the best peer-reviewed titles in existence on these subjects.

Product Description
Need to learn JavaScript fast? This best-selling reference’s visualformat and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up andrunning with JavaScript in no time. In this completely updated editionof our best-selling guide to JavaScript, leading Web and computingexperts Tom Negrino and Dori Smith use crystal-clear instructions andfriendly prose to introduce you to all of today’s JavaScriptessentials. Along the way, you’ll find extensive coverage of Ajax andXML techniques, current browsers (Opera, Safari, Firefox), and more.

Visual QuickStart Guide–the quick and easy way to learn!

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through JavaScript and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations get you up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.
• Companion Web site at www.javascriptworld.com offers sample scripts, updates, and more!

About the Author
Tom Negrino is the author of dozens of books including Visual QuickStart Guides covering Macromedia Contribute and Keynote, and Visual QuickProject Guides on upgrading to Mac OS X Tiger, Keynote, and PowerPoint.

Dori Smith is the author of Java for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide.She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, publisher of theWise-Women’s Web community, and a member of the Web Standards Project.Together they’ve written the best-selling Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide, authored numerous print and online articles, and maintain the Backup Brain weblog.

Click Here to see more reviews about: JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide) (Paperback)

This is an expanded edition of a book first published in 2003. In it, Neumeier develops in greater depth several basic ideas about how to bridge a gap between business strategy and design. My own experience suggests that on occasion, there may be a conflict or misalignment rather than a “gap.” Or the business strategy is inappropriate. Or the design concepts are wrong-headed. Or the execution fails. Whatever, Neumeier correctly notes that “A lot of people talk about it. Yet very few people understand it. Even fewer know how to manage it. Still, everyone wants it. What is it? Branding. of course — arguably the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.” What Neumeier offers is a “30,000-foot view of brand: what it is (and isn’t), why it works (and doesn’t), and most importantly, how to bridge the gap between logic and magic to build a sustainable competitive advantage.”Of course, that assumes that both logic and magic are present and combined…or at least within close proximity of each other.

As others have already indicated, Neumeier provides a primer (”the least amount of information necessary”) rather than a textbook. His coverage is not definitive, nor intended to be. He has a crisp writing style, complemented by “the shorthand of the conference room” (i.e. illustrations, diagrams, and summaries). Some describe his book an “easy read” but I do not. When reading short and snappy books such as this one, I have learned that certain insights resemble depth charges or time capsules: they have a delayed but eventually significant impact. For example, Neumeier explains why “Three Little Questions” can bring a high-level marketing meeting to a screeching halt:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why does it matter?

I also want to express my admiration of the book’s design features. They create an appropriate visual context within which Neumeier examines each of five “Disciplines”: differentiation, collaboration, innovation, validation, and cultivation. Expect no head-snapping revelations. For many of those who read this book, its greatest value will will be derived from reiteration of certain core concepts which Neumeier reviews with uncommon clarity and concision. Check out the “Take-Home Lessons” (pages 149-157) which include

“A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s not what you say it is. It’s what THEY say it is.”

“Differentiation has evolved from a focus on `what it is,’ to `what it does,’ to ‘how you’ll feel,’ to `who you are.’ While features, benefits, and price are still important to people, experiences and personal identity are even more important.”

“How do you know when an idea is innovative? When it scares the hell out of you.”

Readers having relatively less experience with the branding process will especially appreciate the provision of an expanded (220-word) “Brand Glossary.” Neumeier also includes a “Recommended Reading” section in which he briefly comments on each source. When reading business books, I much prefer annotated bibliographies such as Neumeier’s to mere lists. For whatever reasons, many provide neither.

Product Description
THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand-building. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a “charismatic brand”-a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives. In an entertaining two-hour read you’ll learn:

• the new definition of brand
• the five essential disciplines of brand-building
• how branding is changing the dynamics of competition
• the three most powerful questions to ask about any brand
• why collaboration is the key to brand-building
• how design determines a customer’s experience
• how to test brand concepts quickly and cheaply
• the importance of managing brands from the inside
• 220-word brand glossary

From the back cover:
Not since McLuhan’s THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE has a book compressed so many ideas into so few pages. Using the visual language of the boardroom, Neumeier presents the first unified theory of branding-a set of five disciplines to help companies bridge the gap between brand strategy and customer experience. Those with a grasp of branding will be inspired by the new perspectives they find here, and those who would like to understand it better will suddenly “get it.” This deceptively simple book offers everyone in the company access to “the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.”

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition (Paperback)