[Firenze-pm] Fwd:

Fri Mar 30 05:09:14 PDT 2007

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Josette Garcia <Josette at oreilly.co.uk>
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:

<http://nypc.org/generalmeeting.php>

***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:

<http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2007/callformakers/>

***QOOP + O'Reilly: Create Your Own Shirt or Mug

In three easy steps you can create your own O'Reilly shirt or mug.

<http://www.qoop.com/photobooks/photofront/pub_store.php?pub_name=oreilly>

***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.

<http://oreillylearning.com/courses/clientsidecert.php3>

***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:

<https://oreillylearning.com/enroll/>

---------------------

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.

<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2007/02/22/open-formats-open-source.html>

***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.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mysql/2007/03/01/optimize-mysql-rank-data.html>

---------------------

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.

<http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2007/02/22/lightroom-workspace.html>

***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.

<http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2007/02/13/inside_aperture_podcast-9.html>

---------------------

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."

<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2007/02/27/replacing-applescript-with-ruby.html>

***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.

<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2007/02/20/stream-live-hdtv-from-your-mac.html>

---------------------

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.

<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2007/03/06/cleaning-up-your-disk-drives-in-windows-vista.html>

***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.

<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2007/02/27/the-three-faces-of-aspnet-ajax.html>

***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.

<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2007/02/20/analyzing-assemblies-with-reflector.html>

---------------------

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.

<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2007/03/02/statement-branch-and-path-coverage-testing-in-java.html>

***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.

<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2007/02/08/an-introduction-to-hibernate-3-annotations.html>

================================================
 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.

<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/rails2007/create/inv>

***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:

<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/52/register.html>

***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.

<http://www.web2expo.com/>

****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:

<http://www.mysqlconf.com/pub/w/54/register.html>

***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:

<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/56/register.html>

***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:

<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/57/register.html>

For complete conference information, go to:

<http://conferences.oreilly.com/>

==============================================

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