[Firenze-pm] Fwd: User Group Newsletter - Issue 09-06

Fri Oct 13 05:36:05 PDT 2006

Eccovi la newletter di Settembre :)

S.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Josette Garcia <Josette at oreilly.co.uk>
Date: Oct 13, 2006 2:25 PM
Subject: User Group Newsletter - Issue 09-06
To: Josette Garcia <Josette at oreilly.co.uk>

O'Reilly UK User Group Programme
 NEWSLETTER
 Issue 09-06

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/0906.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/0806.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0706.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0606.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0506.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0406.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0306.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0206.pdf
http://www.richplum.co.uk/oreilly/0106.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
-2.6 Million Lines of Code
-Smalltalk for Everyone Else
-User Group Members Receive a Special 30% Discount on
 O'Reilly Learning Courses
-Sharing Internet Connections
-Scaling Dynamic Websites with Apache Modules
-Two Slick QuickTime Tricks
-Your New iTunes Movies to DVD (and Protect Your Other iTunes
 Purchases)
-Better Registry Searching
-Windows Mobile Weekly Roundup
-What is Java Content Repository
-Managing a Honeypot
-Enter the MAKE & CRAFT Halloween Contests
-The Way of a Digital Photography Pioneer (Podcast)
-TechTalkRadio Interviews David Pogue
-Creating Beautiful Digital Photos the Eddie Tapp Way (Podcast)
-Scaling Dynamic Websites with Apache Modules

BOOK NEWS
 - Books for review
- Coming soon
CONFERENCE NEWS
YOUR BOOK REVIEWS
YOUR NEWS

================================================
 NEWS FROM O'REILLY AND BEYOND
 ================================================

---------------------
General News
---------------------
***2.6 Million Lines of Code
Announcing O'Reilly Code Search, where you can enter search terms to
find relevant sample code from nearly 700 O'Reilly books. The database
currently contains over 123,000 individual examples, comprises 2.6
million lines of code, all edited and ready to use.

<http://labs.oreilly.com/code/>

***Smalltalk for Everyone Else
The Pragmatic Programmers advise learning a new language every year.
Instead of yet another Algol derivative, why not master object
orientation with perhaps the purest OO language ever devised?
Smalltalk and the Squeak environment offer a powerful and usable
learning experience; Keith Fieldhouse provides an introduction.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/09/21/learning_smalltalk.html>

***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

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
---------------------
***Sharing Internet Connections
Protecting your computer when you're online is good. If you have
multiple computers in your home or small business, protecting all of
them is also good--especially if you can share your internet
connection. Dru Lavigne demonstrates how to allow other computers to
use the network safely with a FreeBSD or similar Unix system and
fwbuilder.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/bsd/2006/10/05/FreeBSD_Basics.html>

***Scaling Dynamic Websites with Apache Modules
Yogesh Makwana and Syvum Technologies had a problem: their
application, hosted on a shared server, used too much CPU time and had
grown unresponsive. Moving to a virtual private server and using the
appropriate Apache modules and architecture brought their costs and
response times and load averages under control. This case study
explores their technique.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/apache/2006/09/28/httpd_scaling.html>

---------------------
Digital Media
---------------------
***Two Slick QuickTime Tricks
Turn your video on its ear! Our hands-on tutorial shows you how to
work with vertical movies and then embed them in a web page with a
friendly new kind of trigger.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/09/29/two-slick-quicktime-tricks.html>

---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***Your New iTunes Movies to DVD (and Protect Your Other iTunes Purchases)
How much money have you spent at the iTunes store? And what do you
have to show for it? An iPod full of music? TV shows? Those new games
and movies? Too many people forget how much cash they've put into
their digital media. And when bad things happen--house fires, computer
theft, iPod loss--they're not always prepared to be able to recover
those digital assets. Erica Sadun shows you archiving techniques to
preserve your (hefty) iTunes investment.

<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/09/19/burn-itunes-to-dvd.html>

---------------------
Windows/.NET
---------------------
***Better Registry Searching
Finding what you need in the registry is harder than trying to find a
needle in a haystack. Mitch Tulloch shows you how to find what you
need--fast!

<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/09/26/better-registry-searching.html>

***Windows Mobile Weekly Roundup
Here's the weekly summary of a mix of Windows Mobile and general
mobile tech related items from Todd Ogasawara's blog.
<http://www.oreillynet.com/windows/blog/2006/10/windows_mobile_weekly_roundup_5.html>

---------------------
Java
---------------------
***What is Java Content Repository
You might have heard of JSR-170, but what is a content repository, and
what can you do with it? Well, do you want to manage documents with
versioning, search, access control, and more? Content repositories
offer these features, and JSR-170 codifies them into a single API.
Sunil Patil shows how to use the reference implementation--Apache
Jackrabbit--to create a blogging application.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/onjava/2006/10/04/what-is-java-content-repository.html>

---------------------
Sys Admin/Web
---------------------
***Managing a Honeypot
If intruders are always scanning the Internet for potential
victims--and they are--can you find the intruders and their exploits
by putting up fake networks that only a deliberate scan could find?
That's the theory behind honeypots. Peter Mikhalenko discusses the
implementation, theory, and legality of using a honeypot to protect
your network.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/sysadmin/2006/09/28/honeypots.html>

---------------------
MAKE
---------------------
***Enter the MAKE & CRAFT Halloween Contests
Makers and Crafters, it's time to enter our ghoulishly fun Halloween
contests! Anyone, anywhere can enter. Depending on what type of maker
or crafter you are, enter one or all of the following contests:
Hack-o-Lantern, Costume, Decorations, Gadgets and More, and
Treat-or-Treat.

Have your entries in before Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006, at 1:59 pm EST.
We're giving you a little time to take photos and get them up
post-Halloween, but you can enter any time starting now. Contest is
open to anyone on planet Earth or the surrounding orbit. Remember you
can enter any time just by tagging your photos on Flickr (flickr.com)
with "MAKECRAFTHALLOWEEN" and adding them to the MAKE and/or CRAFT
photo pools. To enter Trick-or-Treat just post about MAKE/CRAFT or the
contest on your blog.

For complete contest information, rules, and prizes, go to:
<http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/10make_craft_halloween_contests.html>

For More MAKE Projects and info, go to:
<http://makezine.com/>

---------------------
Podcasts
---------------------
***The Way of a Digital Photography Pioneer
In "Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography," the renowned photographer
writes about his journey on the "bleeding edge of digital
photography's evolution." In this podcast, Johnson talks to Sara
Peyton about his career, photo techniques, photo ethics in a digital
age, and why, for him, taking landscape photos became synonymous with
caring about the wild places he wandered in. (20 minutes 27 seconds),
Stephen Johnson, a digital photography pioneer and author of Stephen
Johnson on Digital Photography, discusses photo techniques, photo
ethics in a digital age, and why, for him, taking landscape photos
became synonymous with caring about the wild places he wandered in.

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/09/29/digital-photography-pioneer.html>

***TechTalkRadio Interviews David Pogue
Find out what to expect with the subject of one of David's upcoming
titles on the anticipated Microsoft Windows Vista and some other ways
to get info on tech from David Pogue. We'll also find out why David
loves the latest Tivo!

<http://www.techtalkradio.com/books/poque.htm>

**Creating Beautiful Digital Photos the Eddie Tapp Way
Eddie Tapp, 2006 Photoshop Hall of Famer, award-winning photographer,
and much sought after educator, discusses his new book from O'Reilly,
"Photoshop Workflow Setups." In this interview by new O'Reilly staffer
Sara Peyton, Eddie talks about his photography roots, the art of
taking pictures, his new book...and why he lives by the rule of 300.
(15 minutes 33 seconds)

<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/09/15/eddie-tapp-podcast.html>

---------------------
Web
---------------------
***Scaling Dynamic Websites with Apache Modules
Yogesh Makwana and Syvum Technologies had a problem: their
application, hosted on a shared server, used too much CPU time and had
grown unresponsive. Moving to a virtual private server and using the
appropriate Apache modules and architecture brought their costs and
response times and load averages under control. This case study
explores their technique.

<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/apache/2006/09/28/httpd_scaling.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 –

Agile Retrospectives

Project retrospectives help teams examine what went right and what
went wrong on a project. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known
as "post-mortems") are only help at the end of the project--too late
to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and
incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the
team today. Now Esther and Diana show you the tools, tricks and tips
you need to fix the problems you face on a software development
project on an on-going basis. You'll see how to architect
retrospectives in general, how to design them specifically for your
team and organization, how to run them effectively, how to make the
needed changes and how to scale these techniques up. You'll learn how
to deal with problems, and implement solutions effectively throughout
the project--not just at the end. With regular tune-ups, your team
will hum like a precise, world-class orchestra.

CSS: The Missing Manual

Cascading Style Sheets are now a reliable method for handling all
kinds of Web page presentations -- from fonts and colors to page
layout. But due to CSS's complexity most designers treat it as a kind
of window-dressing to spruce up the appearance of their sites without
tapping into the real power of CSS. CSS: The Missing Manual clearly
explains this powerful design tool and how you can use it to build
sparklingly new Web sites, or refurbish old sites that are ready for
an upgrade.

Google Hacks, Third Edition

Now that new features and services such as Google Maps, Google Talk,
and Google Desktop have been added to the expanding Google universe,
we've made the third edition of this bestseller into an infinitely
more useful book for this powerful search engine. You'll not only find
dozens of hacks for new Google services, but plenty of updated tips,
tricks and scripts for hacking the old ones.

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fifth Edition

The indispensable reference for JavaScript programmers since 1996,
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition is completely revised
and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today's Web 2.0
applications.

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, Second Edition

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, Second Editionis a thoroughly
researched reference to the Linux Professional Institute exams. The
book is divided into four parts, one for each of the LPI exams. Each
part features not only a summary of the core skills you need, but
sample exercises and test questions, along with helpful hints to let
you focus your energies.

Make: Technology on Your Time Volume 07

If you like to tweak, disassemble, recreate, and invent cool new uses
for technology, you'll love MAKE, our project-based quarterly for the
inquisitive do-it-yourselfer. Make Volume 07 is the Backyard Biology
issue, with DNA extraction, plant grafting, home mycology lab, snail
cryogenics, and more. Also, learn how to make your own Stirling
engine, install a video camera on a model rocket, make a head-mounted
water cannon, and dozens of other projects to satiate your inner
maker.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry
topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with
solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular
Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth of information that you can
put to immediate use.

Photoshop Workflow Setups

Adobe Photoshop has so many different work areas and tools that it can
become confusing or even intimidating for digital photographers to use
in a production environment. This first book in our new series on
digital photography offers a step-by-step approach to Photoshop's vast
collection of menus, palettes, and tools, showing you not only how
they work, but how they should work for your specific needs in a
visually uncluttered workspace.

PHP Cookbook, Second Edition

When it comes to creating dynamic web sites, the open source PHP
language is red-hot property: used on more than 20 million web sites
today, PHP is now more popular than Microsoft's ASP.NET technology.
With our Cookbook's unique format, you can learn how to build dynamic
web applications that work on any web browser. This revised new
edition makes it easy to find specific solutions for programming
challenges.

Programming Python, Third Edition

An industry standard just got even better. This bestseller from
O'Reilly has been updated to reflect the many changes introduced by
Python 2.5. It teaches the most common Python application domains from
the ground up with plenty of real-world examples and in-depth
discussion. Ideal for novices as well as advanced practitioners.

Ruby on Rails: Up and Running

This compact guide from O'Reilly teaches you the basics of Ruby on
Rails, the super-productive new way to develop full-featured web
applications. Discover how to install and use both the Ruby scripting
language and the Rails framework. More advanced material shows you
just how fast Ruby on Rails can go.

Software Testing Foundations

This book offers basic knowledge that helps to achieve structured and
systematic evaluation and testing. This should contribute to an
improved quality of the software. The content of this book is written
in a way that does not subsume previous knowledge of software quality
assurance. A continuous case example is included in order to help
understand every shown topic and its practical solution. It
corresponds to the requirements of the ISTQB Foundation Certificate.
The knowledge needed for the exams can be acquired by self-studies.
The book can also be used to extend the knowledge after or parallel to
participation in a course.

The Relational Database Dictionary

Avoid misunderstandings that can affect the design, programming, and
use of database systems. Whether you're using Oracle, DB2, SQL Server,
MySQL, or PostgreSQL, The Relational Database Dictionary will prevent
confusion about the precise meaning of database-related terms (e.g.,
attribute, 3NF, one-to-many correspondence, predicate, repeating
group, join dependency), helping to ensure the success of your
database projects. Carefully reviewed for clarity, accuracy, and
completeness, this authoritative and comprehensive quick-reference
contains more than 600 terms, many with examples, covering issues and
concepts arising from the relational model of data.

Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography

A master photographer and teacher since 1977, Stephen Johnson is
widely recognized as a pioneer of digital photography. His new book
chronicles his ride on the bleeding edge of this medium's evolution,
and provides a practical in-depth introduction to digital photography
that includes the latest techniques. Complete with beautiful color
photographic examples and illustrations, this book is a unique,
passionate, holistic examination for every student of photography.

****Coming Soon

ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook
Craft Volume 01
CSS Cookbook, Second Edition
Digital Photography Expert Techniques, Second Edition
Essential Electronics for Software Folk (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
Everyday Scripting with Ruby (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, Sixth Edition
Java Generics and Collections
 "Just Right" Software Planning & Estimation (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
Learning JavaScript
MCSE Core Elective Exams in a Nutshell
Photoshop Elements 5: The Missing Manual
Pragmatic Unit Testing in C# with NUnit, Second Edition (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
Process Improvement Essentials Programming Atlas
Programming Embedded Systems, Second Edition
Visual Basic 2005 Cookbook

================================================
Conference News
================================================

*** Put Up an O'Reilly EuroOSCON Banner
At long last I have got the winners –
Mugara group in Zagossa, Spain wins 10 O'Reilly books
Lonix, London, UK wins one year sub to Make Magazine
Congratulations to both groups and thank you all for putting up the banner.

***Submit Your Proposals for the 2007 MySQL Conference & Expo
The Call for Participation for the 2007 MySQL Conference & Expo has
just opened: an invitation for database experts and enthusiasts to
share their knowledge of MySQL with the global open source community.
The theme for the 2007 conference is "Scale to New Heights with
MySQL." This annual event brings nearly 2,000 MySQL developers, DBAs,
users, and partners together in Santa Clara, California. The Call for
Participation ends November 7, 2006; the conference takes place April
23-26, 2007.

<http://www.mysqluc.com>

====================================================
 YOUR EVENTS
 ====================================================

***HP-Interex EMEA Technical Conference on HP-UX
13-15 November 2006 in Valbonne, France
Enjoy the sun of the Côte d'Azur while learning about HP-UX.

====================================================
 O'REILLY WILL BE THERE!
 ====================================================

*** UK Geospatial Mash-up
20 / 10 / 2006 at 09:30 , Ordnance Survey, Southampton
A meeting for all those interested in working with and using services
based on UK Geo data.

***LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
25/26 October,  Olympia 2, London
The UK's only open source event for business decision-makers and
technical professionals. The event delivers information and resources
to implement Linux and open source solutions into business
infrastructure and enterprise networks.

***EuroBSDCon 2006
November 10th - 12th 2006, Milan, Italy
Hosted in the foggy northern Italy, the fifth EuroBSDCon aims at being
a new successful chapter in the itinerant series of european BSD
conferences. EuroBSDCon represents the biggest gathering for BSD
developers from the old continent, as well as users and passionates
from around the World. It is also a chance to share experiences,
know-how, and cultures.

*** OpenCON 2006
2/3 December, Venice, Italy
The conference is entirely organized by OpenBEER
(http://www.openbeer.it ), the italian OpenBSD users group. OpenCON
lasts about two days and, as usual, many official developers have
already confirmed their presence. The main topics will be: information
security, secure programming, and anything related to OpenBSD. The
manifestation is completely free of charge, but it will be possible to
buy tshirts and gadgets to fund both OpenCON and OpenBSD.

 ***Flash on the Beach
Flash on the Beach conference is the first major Flash conference in
the UK for over 6 years! Over 40 of the world's most talented Flash
designers, developers and artists presenting on 3 tracks over 3 full
days with mixer get togethers each morning and evening for essential
networking opportunities. Flash on the Beach has brought together the
most creative, technical, inspirational awe-inspiring, educational and
entertaining industry leading speakers in the rich media industry.

================================================
 YOUR BOOK REVIEWS
 ================================================

***UKUUG
All the UKUUG reviews are now online, there are too many to list them,
but please have a look on http://www.ukuug.org/books/reviews/

*** ActionScript.it reviewed –
Ajax Hacks  - http://www.actionscript.it/showContent.cfm?id=698

*** Durham Computer Society reviewed –
Intermediate Perl - http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/reviews/Intermediate-Perl.html
Head Rush Ajax - http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/reviews/HeadRushAjax.html
XAML in a Nutshell - http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/reviews/XAML-In-a-Nutshell.html
DNS & Bind, 5e - http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/reviews/DNS-and-BIND-5.html

***Perl it reviewed –
Perl Hacks - English version:
http://www.varlogarthas.net/blog/2006/08/perl_hacks.html
Italian version:
http://www.perl.it/documenti/bibliografia/37.html

*** MMUG-Egypt reviewed –
DV Flimmaking from start to finish -
http://mmug-egypt.mxdj.com/reviewing_dv_flimmaking_reviewed_by_rafiq_elmansy.htm

***GNUraghe il LUG di Oristano reviewed –
Learning GNU Emacs -
http://www.gnuraghe.org/?O%27Reilly_Users_Group:Recensioni:Learning_GNU_Emacs

***Apriti Software reviewed –
Python in a Nutshell 2e -
http://www.apritisoftware.it/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=45

***London Perlmongers reviewed –
Time Management for System Administrators
-http://london.pm.org/reviews/time_management_sysadmins.html

***Nordest Perlmongers reviewed –
Unicode Explained -
http://www.varlogarthas.net/blog/2006/10/unicode_explained.html

***JUG Trento reviewed –
Building Scalable Web Sites -
http://www.jugtrento.org/trewiki/index.php/recensioni/libri/ScalableWebSites
Enterprise SOA -
http://www.jugtrento.org/trewiki/index.php/recensioni/libri/EnterpriseSOA

That's all for today.
Josette

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