[Nottingham-pm] O'Reilly UK User Group Programme NEWSLETTER, Issue 04-06
Michael Erskine
perl at tecspy.com
Wed Apr 5 10:18:14 PDT 2006
All,
Here's the latest from the O'Reilly UK User Group Programme...
Regards,
Michael Erskine.
O'Reilly UK User Group Programme
NEWSLETTER
Issue 04-06
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/0406.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/0306.pdf>
<http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0206.pdf>
<http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0106.pdf>
<http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/1705.pdf>
Our aim is to have both formats available at the same time, but that
might take us a little longer.
================================================
HIGHLIGHTS
================================================
NEWS FROM O'REILLY AND BEYOND
-Tim O'Reilly Quizzes Bill Gates at MIX06
-O'Reilly Authors Get Jolted
-New Rough Cuts Title: Atlas
-Secure Your Linux Server
-Autofilled PHP Forms
-What Corporate Projects Should Learn from Open Source
-Digital Bookmark Mods
-Getting Started with Quartz Composer
-Using the MultiView and Wizard Controls in ASP.NET 2.0
-Directions in Windows Scripting
-Zero Configuration Networking: Using the Java APIs, Part 1
-What Is Java?
-The Internet of Things
-The Future of Telephony, Going Digital, and Open Formats
-Managing Digital Images: Applying Ratings and Keywords
-Inside Animusic's Astonishing Computer Music Videos
-Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA--April 22-23
BOOK NEWS
- Books for review
- Coming soon
CONFERENCE NEWS
YOUR BOOK REVIEWS
YOUR NEWS
================================================
NEWS FROM O'REILLY AND BEYOND
================================================
---------------------
General News
---------------------
***Tim O'Reilly Quizzes Bill Gates at MIX06
Watch the screencast here:
<http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=173941>
***O'Reilly Authors Get Jolted
O'Reilly authors won three of four Jolt Product Excellence Awards.
The winners are:
*"Prefactoring," by Ken Pugh
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/prefactoring/>
*"The Art of Project Management," by Scott Berkun
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/artprojectmgmt/>
*"Producing Open Source Software," by Karl Fogel
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/producingoss/index.html>
***Latest Title Available on Rough Cuts: "Atlas"
"Atlas Rough Cuts" provides experienced web developers with an exciting
hands-on tour of Atlas--the new development environment that uses both
Ajax and ASP.NET. Beginning with an introduction to the technologies
behind it all, including JavaScript, XMLHttpRequest, DHTML and related
topics, author Christian Wenz shows readers how to create Ajax-style
applications with the Atlas framework, including data binding and XML
Web Services. The book imparts important fundamental knowledge in a
concise reference-like way, making the concepts of this new framework
accessible to developers of various technical levels.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/atlas/>
For more information, go to:
<http://www.oreilly.com/roughcuts/>
---------------------
Open Source
---------------------
***Secure Your Linux Server
Linux is a powerful and popular operating system kernel. That popularity
means you might be running it even if you're not a dedicated Unix
administrator or high-powered programmer. That doesn't mean that
rock-solid security is out of your reach, though. Aaron Brazell shows
how to make Red Hat 9 (and other Linux distributions) much more secure
in a few easy steps.
<http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2006/03/23/secure-your-server.html>
***Autofilled PHP Forms
PHP makes handling interactive web pages easy--but when you have large
forms to fill out, errors to handle, and lots of data to pass back and
forth, you can make your life easier by making PHP fill in all the form
values for you. Gavin Andresen shows how to make forms autopopulate from
PHP arrays.
<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/php/2006/03/16/autofill-forms.html>
***What Corporate Projects Should Learn from Open Source
Many corporate projects fail to produce quality software, yet many
large-scale open source projects succeed, and under much more difficult
conditions: no budget, a geographically distributed team, and a
volunteer workforce, to name a few. So how do open source project teams
ensure success? Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene introduce five basic
principles in their new book, "Applied Software Project Management,"
that will help any project succeed, open source or proprietary. The
authors detail these principles in this article.
<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/02/27/what-corp-projects-learn-from-open-source.html>
---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***Digital Bookmark Mods
Matthew Russell shows you how to add better bookmarks to your audio
books, add slideshows to your music files, create enhanced podcasts, and
share your favorite mods with others--even if they're on protected audio.
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/03/15/digital-bookmarks-mod.html>
***Getting Started with Quartz Composer
Apple's free developer tool collection contains many overlooked gems.
These aren't limited to programming-specific utilities. Take Quartz
Composer, for example. It's a free utility that can bring new life and
interest to your iMovie projects. In this article, you'll learn how to
use your own pictures to create simple, but flashy animation.
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/03/23/quartz-composer.html>
---------------------
Windows/.NET
---------------------
***Using the MultiView and Wizard Controls in ASP.NET 2.0
Need to collect data from Web pages? ASP.NET 2.0 makes it easy, with the
use of MultiView and Wizard controls. Wei-Meng Lee, author of "ASP.NET
2.0: A Developer's Notebook" shows you how to take advantage of them.
<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/03/21/multiview-and-wizard-controls-in-aspnet-20.html>
***Directions in Windows Scripting
Administering Windows platforms using scripts can be a big productivity
booster or a headache. Mitch Tulloch, author of "Windows Server Hacks,"
sits down with Don Jones, a Microsoft MVP and the creator of
ScriptingAnswers.com, for a no-holds barred interview about the future
of scripting.
<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/03/14/directions-in-windows-scripting.html>
---------------------
Java
---------------------
***Zero Configuration Networking: Using the Java APIs, Part 1
Zeroconf, also known as Bonjour and previously known as Rendezvous,
offers a robust system for self-networking that has been adopted by many
applications. With a provided Java API, now it's easy to make "Zeroconf
applications hop platforms. In this excerpt from Zero Configuration
Networking: The Definitive Guide," Stuart Cheshire and Daniel H.
Steinberg show how to register a service with Zeroconf.
<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/excerpt/bonjour_ch08/index.html>
***What Is Java
Everyone knows what Java is, right? Interpreted code, applets,
proprietary, and slow. Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong. In its second
decade, it's time to re-evaluate Java: the language and the virtual
machine are going their own ways, its open source sub-community is
vibrant and independent, and developers are taking the best ideas from
other languages and frameworks and bringing them to Java. In this
article, ONJava editor Chris Adamson tries to reset old assumptions
about Java to fit modern realities.
<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2006/03/08/what-is-java.html>
---------------------
Podcasts
---------------------
***The Internet of Things
This week, Bruce Sterling's Emerging Technology keynote on "The Internet
of Things" is the sole segment in our program. (DTF 03-20-2006: 30
minutes 13 seconds)
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/03/20/distributing-the-future.html>
***The Future of Telephony, Going Digital, and Open Formats
Peter Cochrane looks at the future of telephony and handheld devices,
James Duncan Davidson talks about his switch from film to digital
photography, and Simon Phipps explains the importance of open formats
backed up by open source software. (DTF 03-13-2006: 26 minutes 30 seconds)
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/03/13/distributing-the-future.html>
---------------------
Digital Media
---------------------
***Managing Digital Images: Applying Ratings and Keywords
The explosion of digital imaging has left professional and serious
amateur photographers drowning in photographs, with little guidance on
how to store, sort and organize them. In this excerpt from "The DAM
Book," Peter Krogh shows you expert techniques for applying ratings and
keywords so you can begin to take control of your digital photo library.
<http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/02/24/keywords-and-metadata.html>
***Inside Animusic's Astonishing Computer Music Videos Composer Wayne
Lytle's custom software transforms musical notes into jaw-dropping 3D
animations. The resulting DVDs have sold tens of thousands of copies.
Watch excerpts here and learn how Lytle turned his digital pipe dream
into a thriving business.
<http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/03/22/animusic-computer-music-videos.html>
---------------------
MAKE
---------------------
***Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA--April 22-23
Join the creators of MAKE magazine, the MythBusters, and thousands of
tech DIY enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, science
clubs, students, and authors at MAKE's first ever Maker Faire!
Meet all kinds of people who make amazing things in garages, basements,
and backyards for inspiration, know-how, and spirited mischief-making.
An incredible learning experience for the entire family, students of all
ages and their teachers are welcome.
<http://www.makerfaire.com/>
***Try a Sample Project from MAKE:
<http://makezine.com/samples/>
================================================
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 <http://www.amazon.co.uk>
Latest books available for review -
* Ajax Hacks <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ajaxhks>
Want to build next-generation web applications today? This book can
show you how. A smart collection of 80 insider tips and tricks, Ajax
Hacks covers the finer points of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, or
Ajax as it's known. Learn leading-edge web development tasks like how to
display Weather.com data, scrape stock quotes, fetch postal codes and
much, much more.
* The Art of SQL <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/artofsql>
Enterprises throughout the world are confronted with exploding volumes
of data, and many IT departments are looking for quick solutions. This
insightful book demonstrates that since SQL code may run for 5 to 10
years, and run on different hardware, it must be fast and sound from the
start. Expert Stephane Faroult offers SQL best practices and relational
theory that force you to focus on strategy rather than specifics.
* Best of Ruby Quiz <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/0976694077>
(Pragmatic Bookshelf)
Sharpen your Ruby programming skills with twenty-five challenging
problems from Ruby Quiz. Whether you have faithfully followed the weekly
online Ruby Quiz challenges or are just looking for some practical tests
of your Ruby skills, this book delivers. Read the problems, work out a
solution, and compare your solution with others. Read about the
interesting issues of each problem. Writing code and reading code are
still the only ways to truly gain skill with a programming language, and
within these pages you can do both quickly and easily.
* Don't Get Burned on eBay <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dgbebay>
Don't Get Burned on eBay offers relevant lessons based on real-life
stories posted on eBay's Answer Center. With sharp, witty rhetoric,
veteran eBay user Shauna Wright (co-founder of the popular web site
WhoWouldBuyThat.com <http://www.whowouldbuythat.com>), shows eBay
veterans and newcomers alike how to avoid those nasty scenarios, and how
to pull themselves out of the muck if they've already fallen in.
* Fixing Windows XP Annoyances
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/windowsxpannoy>
Inspired by author David Karp's Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, this
all-new tome pulls together tips, tricks, insider workarounds, and fixes
for PC novices and pros, in a handy, accessible Q&A format that lets you
find the solutions in a flash . Fixing Windows XP Annoyances will not
only increase your productivity but lower your blood pressure.
* Flash 8: The Missing Manual <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/flash8tmm>
Macromedia's Flash 8 is the world's premier program for adding
animation to websites. But Flash isn't intuitive. And it doesn't come
with a manual. This hands-on guide to today's hottest web design tool is
aimed at nondevelopers, and it teaches you how to translate your ideas
into great web content. Whether you want to learn the basics or unleash
the program's true power, Flash 8: The Missing Manual is the ideal
instructor.
* Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/flashprojects>
This book teaches Flash design rather than simply Flash itself. With a
standalone series of walkthroughs and tutorials for Flash beginners
coming from a graphics field, Flash is covered in the context of
real-world projects. Rather than learn a Flash tool for the sake of it,
you learn which areas of Flash are important, and which are less used,
simply by seeing how typical content is actually created. And rather
than a text-heavy approach, this graphically rich book leads you through
hands-on examples by illustration.
* Google: The Missing Manual <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/googletmm2>
Sure, you know how to "Google it" when you're searching for something
on the Web. But did you know how much more you could achieve by clicking
beyond the "Google Search" button? Our fully updated and expanded
edition to Google: The Missing Manual covers everything you need to know
to become a Google guru--including all the new, cool, and often
overlooked features that make Google the world's best search engine.
* Head Rush Ajax <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/headra>
Asynchronous programming lets you turn you own websites into smooth,
slick, responsive applications that make your users feel like they're
back on the information superhighway, not stuck on a dial-up backroad.
With Head Rush Ajax, in no time you'll be writing JavaScript code that
fires off asynchronous requests to web servers...and having fun doing
it. Head Rush Ajax takes you beyond basic web development with DHTML and
JavaScript and explains how asynchronous data requests and more powerful
event models can be used in the Ajax methodology.
* Intermediate Perl
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/intermediateperl/index.html>
Perl programmers need a clear roadmap for improving their skills.
Intermediate Perl teaches a working knowledge of Perl's objects,
references, and modules -- all of which makes the language so versatile
and effective. Written by the authors of the bestselling Llama book,
Learning Perl, this guide offers a gentle but thorough introduction to
intermediate programming in Perl. Topics include packages and
namespaces, references and scoping, manipulating complex data
structures, writing and using modules, package implementation, and using
CPAN.
* iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/iphotomm>
Along with its host of new features, iPhoto 6 can handle as many as
250,000 images. It's incredible, and Apple makes it sound so easy. But
you can still get lost, especially if you're new to iPhoto. Not to
worry. The latest edition of this popular book gives you plenty of
undocumented tips & tricks for taking advantage of the new sion and
every feature packed into it.
* iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ipodtmm4>
An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than
most people realize. That's where this new edition comes in. Like the
iPod itself, this book is a long-running bestseller with a wealth of
useful information for any iPod user. This edition features the new
Video iPod, iTunes 6, ways to use an iPod as an external drive or
personal organizer, and much more.
* MySQL Stored Procedure Programming
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/mysqlspp>
MySQL Stored Procedure Programming covers a lot of ground. The book
starts with a thorough introduction to stored procedures programming and
functions, covering the fundamentals of data types, operators, and using
SQL in stored procedures. You'll learn how to build and maintain stored
programs -- covering transactions, stored functions, and triggers -- and
how to call and use MySQL-based stored procedures in a variety of
languages, including PHP, Perl, Python, .NET, and Java. This book,
destined to be the bible of stored procedure development, is a resource
that no real MySQL programmer can afford to do without.
* Photoshop CS2 RAW <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/photoshopraw>
The RAW file format is the uncompressed data file captured by a digital
camera's electronic sensor. Because RAW files remain virtually untouched
by in-camera processing, working with them brings greater flexibility
and control to the editing process-if you know how to use them. Adobe
Photoshop CS2 has emerged as the best way to edit RAW images, and
Photoshop CS2 RAW is dedicated to working with RAW in Photoshop. This
comprehensive guide explores the entire RAW process, focusing
extensively on Photoshop editing techniques targeted to professionals
and photo hobbyists alike.
* Practices of an Agile Developer
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/097451408X> (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
These are the proven, effective agile practices that will make you a
better developer. You'll learn pragmatic ways of approaching the
development process and your personal coding techniques. You'll learn
about your own attitudes, issues with working on a team, and how to best
manage your learning, all in an iterative, incremental, agile style.
You'll see how to apply each practice, and what benefits you can expect.
Bottom line: this book will make you a better developer.
* UML 2.0 Pocket Reference <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/uml2pr>
Globe-trotting travelers have long resorted to handy, pocket-size
dictionaries as an aid to communicating across the language barrier. Dan
Pilone's UML 2.0 Pocket Reference is just such an aid for on-the-go
developers who need to converse in the Unified Modeling Language (UML).
Use this book to decipher the many UML diagrams you'll encounter on the
path to delivering a modern software system.
* XAML in a Nutshell <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/xamlian>
The Windows Vista operating system will support applications that
employ graphics now used by computer games--clear, stunning, and active.
The cornerstone for building these user interfaces is XAML, the
XML-based markup language that works with Windows Presentation
Foundation, Vista's new graphics subsystem. This book teaches you
everything necessary to design the new generation of user interfaces and
.NET applications, with plenty of examples to get you started.
****Coming Soon
* Programming PHP <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/progphp2>
* Linux Annoyances for Geeks
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/linuxannoygks>
* Flash 8 Cookbook <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/flash8ckbk>
* SQL Pocket Guide <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sqlpg2>
* JUNOS Cookbook <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/junosckbk>
* Learning UML 2.0 <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnuml2>
* Learning SQL on SQL Server 2005
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnsqlsvr05>
* Programming Excel with VBA and .NET
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/progexcel>
* Enterprise Services Architecture
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/enterprisesa>
================================================
Conference News
================================================
***Where 2.0 Early Registration is Open
The Where 2.0 Conference brings together the people, projects, and
issues leading the charge into the location-based technology frontier.
Join the developers, innovators, and business people behind the new era
of geospatial technology as they come together--because everything
happens somewhere, and it's all happening here.
Where 2.0 Conference, June 13-14, 2006
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, CA
<http://conferences.oreilly.com/where/>
User Group members who register before April 24, 2006 get a double
discount. Use code "whr06dsug" when you register, and receive 15% off
the early registration price.
To register for the conference, go to:
<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/47/register.html>
***MySQL Users Conference
Join us at the 2006 edition of the MySQL Users Conference, the largest
gathering of MySQL developers, users, and DBAs. It's the only event
where you'll be able to join the core MySQL development team and over
1000 users, open source innovators, and technology partners under one roof.
MySQL Users Conference, April 24-27, 2006
Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA
<http://www.mysqluc.com/>
User Group members who register before March 6, 2006 get a double
discount. Use code "mys06dusg" when you register, and receive 15% off
the early registration price.
To register for the conference, go to:
<http://www.mysqluc.com/pub/w/45/register.html>
====================================================
O'REILLY WILL BE THERE!
====================================================
UKUUG/Apple Technical Briefing 2006. <http://www.ukuug.org/events/apple06>
Apple and the UK Unix Users' Group are happy to announce another
Technical Briefing "OS X on Intel", from 1:30pm on Thursday April 20th
in Central London.
SANE 2006 - <http://www.sane.nl/sane2006/>
15 / 05 / 2006 at 09:00 Aula Congresscentre, Delft, The Netherlands
The SANE 2006 conference offers 3 days of training, followed by a 2-day
conference program filled with the latest developments in system
administration, network engineering, security and open source software,
and practical approaches to the puzzles and problems you wrestle with.
Xtech - <http://xtech06.usefulinc.com/>
16 / 05 / 2006 at 09:00 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
XTech 2006 is the premier European conference for developers,
information designers and managers working with web and standards-based
technologies. XTech brings together the worlds of web development, open
source, semantic web and web standards.
The theme for 2006, "Building Web 2.0", recognises the key place of
standards-based and open technology in enabling the next generation of
web applications. Practitioners and leaders from all disciplines are
invited to participate in presenting and discussing the technology and
design issues behind the changing web.
================================================
YOUR BOOK REVIEWS
================================================
***Jug Trento reviewed -
Applied Software Project Management
<http://www.jugtrento.org/trewiki/index.php/recensioni/libri/AppliedSoftPrjMng>
Java Enterprise in a Nutshell 3e
<http://www.jugtrento.org/trewiki/index.php/recensioni/libri/EJBNutshell>
***SNUG reviewed -
Pragmatic Unit Testing in C# with NUnit
<http://cs.snug.se/forums/105/ShowPost.aspx>
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