From stefano.rodighiero at gmail.com Fri Mar 30 05:09:14 2007 From: stefano.rodighiero at gmail.com (Stefano Rodighiero) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:09:14 +0200 Subject: [Firenze-pm] Fwd: In-Reply-To: <83A70F4D99BD6341BBAE165BD7E8BBFD08B0F2@ora-srv02.OReilly.local> References: <83A70F4D99BD6341BBAE165BD7E8BBFD08B0F2@ora-srv02.OReilly.local> Message-ID: <699026fb0703300509o39a0bbccj56819f80f83fb7ae@mail.gmail.com> FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Josette Garcia Date: Mar 23, 2007 7:28 PM Subject: To: stefano.rodighiero at gmail.com O'Reilly UK User Group Programme NEWSLETTER Issue 03-07 Within a week, this newsletter will be available to be downloaded in pdf format from the Delphi and C# Developers Group web site at http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/03.07.pdf You are welcome to create a link to it for your members' use. Previous newsletters are available at ? http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/02.07.pdf http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/01.07.pdf http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/10.06.pdf Our aim is to have both formats available at the same time, but that might take us a little longer. ================================================ HIGHLIGHTS ================================================ O'REILLYGMT NEWS FROM O'REILLY AND BEYOND -David Pogue to visit NYPC March 20 -Call For Makers: Maker Faire Bay Area 2007--Deadline Extended to March 18 -QOOP + O'Reilly: Create Your Own Shirt or Mug -User Group Members Receive a Special 30% Discount on O'Reilly Learning Courses -How an Accident of Hardware Design Encouraged Open Source -How to Optimize Rank Data in MySQL -Lightroom Getting Started: Organizing the Lightroom Workspace -Joe Schorr on Color Management in Aperture -Replacing AppleScript with Ruby -Stream Live HDTV from Your Mac -Cleaning Up Your Disk Drives in Windows Vista -The Three Faces of ASP.NET AJAX -Analyzing Assemblies with Reflector -Statement, Branch, and Path Coverage Testing in Java -An Introduction to Hibernate 3 Annotations BOOK NEWS - Books for review - Coming soon CONFERENCE NEWS UPCOMING EVENTS YOUR BOOK REVIEWS ================================================ O'REILLYGMT ================================================ O'ReillyGMT is a new blog from O'Reilly. We plan to bring you the low-down on tech culture from Iceland, Russia, South Africa and every place in between, from grass roots coding in solitary rooms, through the hopes and dreams of start-ups, via the pioneering work done by governments, charities and direct action groups, to the sizeable contributions of the major corporations that grace this territory. Our main line of reportage will be technology, but we're keen to dive into ecology, business, media, the arts, academia whenever we learn something we'd like to pass on. But we want this to be a two-way conversation. Please let us know what you're working on, comment on the stuff we write about, tell us what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. We built this site to reflect what's going on: you know better than us, so please, join us! Contact us ? oreillygmt at oreilly.co.uk ================================================ NEWS FROM O'REILLY AND BEYOND ================================================ --------------------- General News --------------------- ***David Pogue to visit NYPC March 20 David Pogue ("Missing Manual series") will be the featured presenter at the New York Personal Computer User Group on March 20. The Doors open at 6pm and the presentation starts at 7pm. David will be talking about Windows Vista and his latest book, "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual." David will also sing and play the piano to entertain the crowds. NYPC General meetings are Free and Open to All. For more information and directions, go to: ***Call For Makers: Maker Faire Bay Area 2007--Deadline Extended to March 18 Maker Faire Bay Area will take place May 19-20, 2007 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, CA. Here's some new ideas for projects that we're looking for: Halloween projects (props, costumes, interactive displays, music), Recycled things, Ham Radio, Weather stations, Cars (hot rods, custom vans, especially with a tech flavor), Airplanes and Aeronautics (models, etc), History of Science & Engineering, Biology/Biotech, Chemistry, Cool RC Toys & Mods, Video Games (retro, arcade and more), Trains, Looms (historical or unusual), Sewing demonstrations, Kites, Boats, Old Farm or Garden Equipment (Tractors, etc.), Temporary Structures (Tents, Domes, etc.), Unusual Tools or Machines, How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.). For more information and the application form, go to: ***QOOP + O'Reilly: Create Your Own Shirt or Mug In three easy steps you can create your own O'Reilly shirt or mug. ***New Course Featuring AJAX--O'Reilly/University of Illinois Certificate Series O'Reilly Learning is proud to announce their new Client-Side Web Programming Certificate Series. These courses provide a complete understanding of front-end web development, from HTML and CSS, to JavaScript DOM and AJAX. ***User Group Members Receive a Special 30% Discount on O'Reilly Learning Courses As an O'Reilly User Group member, you save on all the courses in the following University of Illinois Certificate Series: -Linux/Unix System Administration -Web Programming -Open Source Programming -.NET Programming -Client-Side Web Programming featuring AJAX To redeem, use Promotion Code "ORALL1," good for a 30% discount, in Step #3 of the enrollment process. Each course comes with a free O'Reilly book and a 7-day money-back guarantee. Register online: --------------------- Open Source --------------------- ***How an Accident of Hardware Design Encouraged Open Source In the early 1970s, the designers at DEC made a technical decision about memory addressing that separated their computers from the mainframes of the day. That single decision led to porting woes throughout the 1980s--and, so believes Mark Rosenthal, made free and open source software more possible and appealing. ***How to Optimize Rank Data in MySQL Suppose you need to calculate constantly-changing information based on constantly-updated information in one or more tables. Are you stuck doing everything in multiple expensive queries? By no means. Baron Schwartz demonstrates how careful denormalization and query construction can lower your database load and simplify your code. --------------------- Digital Media --------------------- ***Lightroom Getting Started: Organizing the Lightroom Workspace The Lightroom workspace is extremely malleable. You can easily enlarge or shrink the various windows to suit your viewing and working preferences, whether you are on a laptop in the field or your cinema display in the studio. In this downloadable PDF excerpt from Photoshop "Lightroom Aventure--Mastering Adobe's next-generation tool for digital photographers," Mikkel Aaland takes you on a short Lightroom tour of the workspace. ***Joe Schorr on Color Management in Aperture Joe Schorr, Apple Senior Product Manager for Aperture, covers color management in Aperture 1.5.2. Derrick Story interviews Joe in this exclusive O'Reilly Media podcast. --------------------- Mac --------------------- ***Replacing AppleScript with Ruby Matt Neuberg describes how to use rb-appscript to manage Apple events without Applescript. Learn the basics of rb-appscript usage, with example scripts, including a rewrite of the Ruby-AppleScript example from Matt's book "AppleScript: The Definitive Guide." ***Stream Live HDTV from Your Mac Erica Sadun shows how to stream HD EyeTV video from a Mac using VLC in five easy steps, even as it records. Learn how to build this remote video streaming solution by accessing EyeTV's raw MPEG transport streams and using VLC to stream that MPEG and watch the video on another computer. --------------------- Microsoft/.NET --------------------- ***Cleaning Up Your Disk Drives in Windows Vista Your PC's hard disk fills up fast with junk, gunk, and extraneous files. In this excerpt from "Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide," William R. Stanek and Paul Marquardt show you how to clean it up fast. ***The Three Faces of ASP.NET AJAX Jesse Liberty and Dan Hurwitz show you how to how to make the most out of AJAX, whether you want to work with simple drag-and-drop controls, create custom controls or extenders, or dig deep into its innards and see how it all works. ***Analyzing Assemblies with Reflector In this excerpt from "Windows Developer Power Tools," James Avery and Jim Holmes show you how to use Reflector freeware to explore any .NET assembly and find its dependencies and callers, or dive down and explore an entire assembly. --------------------- Java --------------------- ***Statement, Branch, and Path Coverage Testing in Java Even with unit tests approaching 100% coverage, critical logic errors could be hiding in your code. It is impossible to test every possible condition, but with a little analysis of the potential paths and a plan to test them, you can be much more confident in the quality of your tests. ***An Introduction to Hibernate 3 Annotations Hibernate is just about the defacto standard for Java database persistence. With Hibernate 3, it has become even easier to specify how your Java objects are stored in a database. In this article, John Smart shows how Java 5 annotations are used by Hibernate to simplify your code and make persisting your data even easier. ================================================ BOOK NEWS ================================================ Copies of our books are available for your members to review -- send me an email with the delivery address together with the book you would like to review. When the review is published, please send me a copy or the url. I would also appreciate if you could send a copy to www.amazon.co.uk Latest books available for review ? 40 Digital Photography Techniques, 3rd Edition (Young Jin) Digital Photography has truly reached the masses, and with this friendly, full-color guide new users can immediately start having fun with their digital cameras. It provides dozens of tips for taking better pictures and getting creative with digital photography at a remarkably affordable price. Topics covered include composing good shots, playing with light, close-ups, self-portraits, action shots, and event photography. Ajax on Java This practical guide shows you how to make your Java web applications more responsive and dynamic by incorporating new Ajaxian features: suggestion lists, drag-and-drop, and more. Java developers can choose between many different ways of incorporating Ajax, from building JavaScript into your applications "by hand" to using the new Google Web Toolkit (GWT). The book includes strategies for integrating Ajax into JSP and JSF applications, and using Ajax with Struts. Beyond Schemas: Planning Your XML Model (PDF) Have you ever wondered how to get started writing your own schema? As you prepare to create your schema, you must consider a number of factors. This guide explains each of those factors in detail and recommends an approach for documenting your schema development plan in an information model. Your information model can not only be used as a planning mechanism to develop your schema but can also be used as a training resource and as a reference guide for those using the schema after it is developed. By putting a well-thought-out information model in place, you are bound to produce a schema that you can use indefinitely and build upon easily. CompTIA A+Essentials 220-601 Exam Guide (PDF) The big question you should ask yourself before you fork over $158 to take CompTIA's A+ Essentials exam is: am I ready? Are you? This guide was created with one purpose in mind, to ensure that you pass CompTIA's A+ Essentials Exam. This Short Cut offers the edge you need to pass, and includes: ? Real exam insight, structure, and question formats ? The most difficult 100 Question A+ Essentials practice exam you will find anywhere, to ensure that you really know your stuff ? Invaluable A+ Essential exam survival test-tips found nowhere else Also prepares you well for exams 220-602, 220-603, and 220-604 study. Facelets (PDF) Curious about Facelets, but short on time for trying a new product? This short cut shows you how to start developing web pages quickly with Facelets, the new JavaServer Faces-based templating framework. This short cut begins with an explanation of what Facelets is, how it works, and what it will do for you. Then, it shows you how to install Facelets, and teaches you how to build Facelets templates, how to create UI components without writing a single line of Java code, how to create custom Facelets tags, how to integrate AJAX into a Facelets application, and more. Facelets unleashes the power and versatility of Faces by replacing the default JSP view handler with an xhtml template compiler. This short cut shows how Facelets lessens development time and improves code reusability. Are you ready to build a top-notch JSF user interface with Facelets? Power up your computer and let's go. HDR: An Introduction to High Dynamic Range Photography (PDF) A step-by-step introduction to one of the hottest new imaging trends. We'll walk you through making the best HDR images-from image capture to digital darkroom tips and tricks. Introduction to Flex 2 (PDF) This Short Cut is all about getting up and running with Adobe Flex 2; a perfect title would be "(Almost) Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know about Flex 2 But Were Afraid to Ask." It consists of conversational instruction, along with demonstrative examples, in order to give developers an efficient grounding in how to get their arms around using Flex 2. Especially helpful for those coming from the Flex/AS/Flash universe, but also designed for those coming from Java, .Net, and elsewhere. Six small sections cover: ? Quick background on Flex 2 ? What's new in ActionScript 3.0 ? How to use Flex right out of the box (so to speak) ? "Making It Look Good": Design and UI issues ? Extending Flex ? Little-known features and capabilities Roger Braunstein is a developer and designer living in Brooklyn. He's obsessed with beautiful code, motion design, graphics programming, and video games. He also cultivates an interest in cooking, photography, biking, and 8-bit music. One day he hopes to have a real website at www.partlyhuman.com. Lead Generation on the Web (PDF) Are you a small-business owner, consultant, or marketing manager for a big company selling an intangible service or hard-to-understand product? Does it take a while to gain your customer's trust and make the sale? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this Short Cut will walk you through a step-by-step process for generating leads and sales. This Short Cut helps you identify metrics for success, create a plan to hit those metrics, and put in place a system for nurturing leads into successful sales. MAKE: Technology on Your Time Volume 09 MAKE magazine leaves no stone unturned in its quest for the bizarre in Volume 09, the Fringe issue. Behold such wonders as the cosmic ray cloud chamber, high-voltage levitation, and the amazing vortex tube. Plus, learn how to make almost anything with carbon fiber, photograph the luminous auras around everything, and build a $5 guitar amp. Explore the fringes of technology with projects and articles that push the boundaries of physics and reason. Managing RPM-Based Systems with Kickstart and Yum (PDF) Managing multiple Red Hat-based systems can be easy--with the right tools. The yum package manager and the Kickstart installation utility are full of power and potential for automatic installation, customization, and updates. Here's what you need to know to take control of your systems. Microsoft Windows Vista Exam 70-620 Guide This no-nonsense guide was created with one purpose in mind: to ensure your readiness to pass Microsoft's Windows Vista Configuration Exam 70-620. This Short Cut offers the edge you need to pass, including: ? Real exam insight, covering structure and question formats ? A difficult Windows Vista practice exam to help make sure you really know your stuff ? Invaluable exam survival test tips Programming WCF Services Written by Microsoft software legend Juval Lowy, Programming WCF Services is the authoritative introduction to Microsoft's new, and some say revolutionary, unified platform for developing service-oriented applications (SOA) on Windows. Relentlessly practical, the book delivers insight, not documentation, to teach developers what they need to know to build the next generation of SOAs. Not only will this book make you a WCF expert, it will deliver techniques and guidance to become a better software engineer. It's the Rosetta Stone of WCF. Rails for Java Developers (Pragmatic Bookshelf) If you are a Java programmer, you shouldn't have to start at the very beginning! You already have deep experience with the design issues that inspired Rails, and can use this background to quickly learn Ruby and Rails. But Ruby looks a lot different from Java, and some of those differences support powerful abstractions that Java lacks. We'll be your guides to this new, but not strange, territory. In each chapter, we build a series of parallel examples to demonstrate some facet of web development. Because the Rails examples sit next to Java examples, you can start this book in the middle, or anywhere else you want. You can use the Java version of the code, plus the analysis, to quickly grok what the Rails version is doing. We have carefully cross-referenced and indexed the book to facilitate jumping around as you need to. Thanks to your background in Java, this one short book can cover a half-dozen books' worth of ideas: ? Programming Ruby ? Building MVC (Model/View/Controller) Applications ? Unit and Functional Testing ? Security ? Project Automation ? Configuration ? Web Services SQL Injection Defenses This Short Cut introduces you to how SQL injection vulnerabilities work, what makes applications vulnerable, and how to protect them. It helps you find your vulnerabilities with analysis and testing tools and describes simple approaches for fixing them in the most popular web-programming languages. This Short Cut also helps you protect your live applications by describing how to monitor for and block attacks before your data is stolen. Hacking is an increasingly criminal enterprise, and web applications are an attractive path to identity theft. If the applications you build, manage, or guard are a path to sensitive data, you must protect your applications and their users from this growing threat. TextMate (Pragmatic Bookshelf) TextMate is a full-featured text editor available for Mac OS X that can greatly enhance your text manipulation skills. TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding. Let's face it, who doesn't want their very own team of robot ninjas? With TextMate you can do your normal work, but signal the ever-watchful ninjas as you go. At your command, they will launch into action, slicing through text, building repetitive structures of data in the blink of an eye, and much more. They will even post to your blog, handle your IRC conversations, and read your email. Inside this book you will learn how to teleport instantly to the exact line of the file you need to be on, edit the data with the briefest incantations of power, and banish the end result to the land of your choosing. It's magic, as you can plainly see. Leave the days of dull work behind. Learn your spells, gain access to your team of robot ninjas, and you too will be able to edit text so effortlessly that everyone watching over your shoulder will be forced to ask, "Wait, how did you do that?" What's New in Apache Web Server 2.2? What's New in Apache Web Server 2.2? shows you all the new features you'll know to set up and administer the Apache 2.2 web server. Learn how to take advantage of its improved caching, proxying, authentication, and other improvements in your Web 2.0 applications. Windows Vista Pocket Reference Windows Vista Pocket Reference is the ideal guide to setting up and navigating the basics of this new operating system, from the new user interface to networking, multimedia, security, and mobility. ? Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide Whether you're a beginner, power user, or seasoned professional, this complete guide has everything you need to customize the operating system, master your digital media, manage your data, and maintain your computer -- regardless of which Windows Vista edition you're using. Windows expert William Stanek doesn't just teach you the steps you need to follow, he also tells you how features work, why they work, and how you can adapt them to meet your needs. ****Coming Soon A+, Network+, Security+ Exams in a Nutshell Apollo for Adobe Flex Developers Pocket Guide Closeup Shooting (Hard Cover) (Rocky Nook) Head First PMP Linux System Administration ================================================ Conference News ================================================ ***RailsConf 2007 is now sold out--Get On the Waiting List Now If you were not able to register for RailsConf 2007before it sold out, please add your name to our waiting list and we will notify you if more space becomes available. If space does open up, the opportunity to register for the conference will given on a first come, first served basis. ***Register for ETech 2007--Mar 26-29 Use code "et07usrg" when you register, and receive 15% off the early registration price. To register for the conference, go to: ***Register for Web 2.0 Expo--Apr 15-18 The Web 2.0 Expo is the first event specifically designed to help teach Web 2.0 techniques and best practices to people in the trenches directly involved in the design, development, engineering, marketing, and business of second-generation internet technology. ****Register for the MySQL Conference and Expo--Apr 23-26, Co-presented by O'Reilly Media and MySQL AB Use code "mys07ugmy" when you register and receive 15% off the early registration price. To register for the conference, go to: ***Register for Where 2.0--May 29-30 Use code "whr07dsug" when you register, and receive 15% off the early registration price. To register for the conference, go to: ***Register for the O'Reilly Tools of Change Conference--Jun 18-20 Use code "toc07dsug" when you register, and receive 15% off the early registration price. To register for the conference, go to: For complete conference information, go to: ============================================== UPCOMING EVENTS (ORM = O'Reilly will be there) ============================================== ***HPUG Linux Seminar, London, 28th March Most organisations have deployed Microsoft Active Directory as an essential part of their network infrastructure, either enterprise-wide or sometimes at a Business Unit level. The same organisations must be able to demonstrate compliance with S.Ox, PCI DSS, PhDA, and other security regulations. These regulations require them to enforce a password management policy, and adopt a policy-based desktop administration and identity management regime. Active Directory's authentication and policy services provide the tools for addressing compliance issues in a Windows environment, but it can be much more complicated to achieve that level of control throughout large UNIX and Linux server estates, where system-by-system management of accounts and groups or unsecured NIS implementations are all too common. Many organisations end up running multiple directories, synchronizing them to achieve a degree of interoperability. These solutions can be complex, expensive, and difficult to manage. This seminar will demonstrate how some organizations have tried to leverage Active Directory to address compliance issues by using Linux scripting along with WinBIND, NIS, Samba and Kerberos. You'll also see for yourself the pain that has prompted many of these same organizations to abandon this approach. The seminar will also describe a product that provides a native daemon for UNIX and Linux servers that enables them to join an Active Directory domain. By centralizing account administration, authentication, access controls, and security policy in Active Directory, organizations have found a non-intrusive, cost-effective way to address compliance issues for systems, applications, and other resources. Book now: http://www.hpug.org.uk/seminar_signup.php?Title=Active+Directory+for+Linux+and+UNIX+-+28+March+2007&ID=070328 ORM ***Future Web Design, London, April 18th Join world-leading web designers in London for one day of inspiration, advice and best practice If you're serious about web design, you can't afford to miss it! http://www.futureofwebdesign.com/ ORM*** NLUUG Virtualisation Conference, Ede, The Netherlands May 10th the NLUUG (formerly Unix Users Group the Netherlands) will organise a conference about virtualisation. The program has been finalised and is available at http://www.nluug.nl/events/vj07/. Some highlights of the program are Joanna Rutkowska (Blue Pill), Anil Madhavapeddy (Xensource) and Avi Kivity (Qumranet). Specifically for non-Dutch speakers there will always be at least one talk in English in each timeslot. The registration form can be found at: http://www.nluug.nl/cgi-bin/vj2007-registration-en (English) http://www.nluug.nl/cgi-bin/vj2007-registration-nl General information about the conference can be found at: http://www.nluug.nl/events/vj07/" ORM***XTech Conference, Paris, May 15-18 The theme for this year's conference is "The Ubiquitous Web". As the web reaches further into our lives, we will consider the increasing ubiquity of connectivity, what it means for real world objects to connect to the web, and the increasing blurring of the lines between virtual worlds and our own. Register now - http://2007.xtech.org/public/content/register ORM***The Grails eXchange 2007, London, May 30- June 1 Drive your web platform to the next level! Learn about Modern Web Development with Groovy, Grails, Ajax, Web 2.0 and JEE at the Grails eXchange 2007! www.grails-exchange.com ================================================ YOUR BOOK REVIEWS ================================================ ? NEEI, Portugal reviewed ? Python in a Nutshell in Portuguese: http://neei.uevora.pt/node/331 in English: http://neei.uevora.pt/node/330 ? Java Hellenic User Group reviewed ? Enterprise JavaBeans, 5e - http://www.jhug.gr/phpnuke/PHP-Nuke-6.5/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=5759#5759 That's all for now. Josette stefano.rodighiero at gmail.com