================================================================ O'Reilly News for User Group Members April 1, 2004 ================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Book News ---------------------------------------------------------------- -SQL Pocket Guide -Windows Server Hacks -Excel Hacks -Digital Photography: Expert Techniques -Network Security Assessment -Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition -Linux for Non-Geeks ---------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Events ---------------------------------------------------------------- -Robbie Allen ("DNS on Windows Server 2003," "Active Directory "), Windows & .NET Magazine Connections, Las Vegas, NV--April 4-7 -Brian Aker ("Running Weblogs with Slash") and Jeremy Zawodny ("High Performance MySQL"), MySQL Users Conference, Orlando, FL--Apr 14-16 -Mac User Group Day at O'Reilly in Sebastopol, CA--April 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------- News ---------------------------------------------------------------- -Resizing an Image with Photoshop -What's New in Photoshop CS? -400 O'Reilly Books on Safari -Top Ten Tips to Make Attackers’ Lives Hell -Eleven Metrics to Monitor for a Happy and Healthy Squid -You Sexy Thing! -Creating Online Help with Tinderbox -Windows Server Hacks: Resetting User Passwords -Kill Internet Ads with HOSTS and PAC Files -Power Up Internet Explorer with Three Shells -Java and Sound, Part 1 -Create Project Item Wizards -O'Reilly Learning Lab's .NET Certificate Series -Fun April Fool's Day Stuff ---------------------------------------------------------------- News From Your Peers ---------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki for the latest news ================================================ Book News ================================================ Did you know you can request a free book to review for your group? Ask your group leader for more information. For book review writing tips and suggestions, go to: http://ug.oreilly.com/bookreviews.html Don't forget, you can receive 20% off any O'Reilly, No Starch, Paraglyph, or Syngress book you purchase directly from O'Reilly. Just use code DSUG when ordering online or by phone 800-998-9938. http://www.oreilly.com/ ***Free ground shipping is available for online orders of at least $29.95 that go to a single U.S. address. This offer applies to U.S. delivery addresses in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. For more details, go to: http://www.oreilly.com/news/freeshipping_0703.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- New Releases ---------------------------------------------------------------- ***SQL Pocket Guide Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 0596005121 Not just an endless collection of syntax diagrams, this guide succinctly covers the four commonly used SQL variants: Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL. It also addresses the language's complexity head on, offering a concise reference to frequently used SQL statements and commonly used SQL functions. This handy book provides pocket-size help to programmers who use SQL in their day-to-day work. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sqlpr/index.html A sample excerpt on Hierarchical Queries is available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sqlpr/chapter/index.html ***Windows Server Hacks Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 0-596-00647-0 The tools, or hacks, in this book reveal techniques that go well beyond basic management tasks found in most handbooks. Hacks range from those that deal with general administration to more esoteric hacks in the areas of network deployment, patch management, performance, security, and backup and recovery. No matter which Windows Server you use--NT, IIS, 2000, or 2003--"Windows Server Hacks" will put the knowledge and expertise of veteran system administrators to work for you. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winsvrhks/ Sample hacks are available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winsvrhks/chapter/index.html ***Excel Hacks Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 059600625X The tips and tools in this book include little-known "backdoor" adjustments for everything from reducing workbook and worksheet frustration to hacking built-in features such as pivot tables, charts, formulas and functions, and even the macro language. This resourceful, roll-up-your-sleeves guide shows you new ways to make Excel do things--from data analysis to worksheet management to import/export--that you never thought possible. Excel Hacks increases your productivity and gives you hours of "hacking" enjoyment along the way. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/excelhks/ Sample hacks are available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/excelhks/chapter/index.html ***Digital Photography: Expert Techniques Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 0596005474 Rather than a general discussion of photography principles, this four-color book focuses on workflow: time-tested, step-by-step procedures based on practitioners’ experiences of the art of digital photography. The book provides detailed information about what to look for in today's high-end digicams, how to use simple techniques and equipment to shoot breathtaking shots and great panoramas, do’s and don'ts for creating better Photoshop masks, and professional digital darkroom techniques. Serious photographers and professionals will find this problem-solving book invaluable. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dphotohdbk/ Chapter 3, "Bringing Out the Best Picture," is available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dphotohdbk/chapter/index.html ***Network Security Assessment Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 059600611X Using the same steps professional security analysts have adopted to identify and assess risks, this book offers an efficient testing model you can adopt, refine, and reuse to create defensive strategies to protect your systems from current threats, as well as those still being developed. This thorough guide covers offensive technologies by grouping and analyzing them at a higher level--from both an offensive and defensive standpoint--helping administrators design and deploy networks that are immune to exploits, tools, and scripts. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/networksa/ Chapter 4, "IP Network Scanning," is available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/networksa/chapter/index.html ***Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 0596005253 "Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition" is a thorough review of all aspects of CSS2.1 and a comprehensive guide to CSS implementation. The book includes new content on positioning, lists and generated content, table layout, user interface, paged media, and more. It explores in detail each individual CSS property and how it interacts with other properties, and shows how to avoid common mistakes in interpretation. This book prepares you to take the next step with your HTML coding and incorporate CSS into your web pages. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/css2/ Chapter 2, "Selectors," is available online: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/css2/chapter/index.html ***Linux for Non-Geeks Publisher: No Starch Press 1593270348 "Linux for Non-Geeks" introduces you to Linux, without the technical jargon and advanced topics that you'd find in other books. You'll learn how to use Linux to do the normal, day-to-day computer tasks that you know how to do with another operating system, like connecting to and surfing the Internet, listening to CDs, playing with audio files, customizing your desktop, playing games, downloading software and fonts, printing, and more. Includes a complete installation of Fedora Linux on two CDs. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1593270348/ ================================================ Upcoming Events ================================================ ***For more events, please see: http://events.oreilly.com/ ***Robbie Allen ("DNS on Windows Server 2003," "Active Directory "), Windows & .NET Magazine Connections, Las Vegas, NV--April 4-7 Robbie is a speaker at this networking technology conference. Hyatt Lake Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV http://www.winconnections.com/win/ ***Brian Aker ("Running Weblogs with Slash") and Jeremy Zawodny ("High Performance MySQL"), MySQL Users Conference, Orlando, FL--Apr 14-16 Brian and Jeremy are a featured speakers and several O'Reilly editors and other authors will be be attending the conference--be sure to say hello if you run into them. Our friends at Digital Guru will be staffing the booth for us, so stop by to check out our newest titles. Peabody Hotel, Booth #301, Orlando, FL http://www.mysql.com/events/uc2004/index.html ***Mac User Group Day at O'Reilly in Sebastopol, CA--April 24 Join O'Reilly and NCMUG for a special Mac User Group Day in Sebastopol on Saturday, April 24 from 2-6pm. Speakers include Derrick Story ("Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition," "iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual"), Chris Stone ("Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell"), Tom Negrino & Dori Smith ("Mac OS X Unwired"), and Scott Fullam ("Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks"). For more information and a complete schedule of events, go to: http://ug.oreilly.com/banners/macugday_hi_res.pdf Please RSVP to let us know you will be attending at mugevent@oreilly.com. Mac User Group Day 2:00pm-6:00pm, Saturday, April 24 O'Reilly 1005 Gravenstein Hwy North Sebastopol, CA 95472 800-998-9938 Ext. 7103 For directions, go to: http://www.oreilly.com/oreilly/seb_directions.html The 58th Annual Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival will be also be happening. Come to Sebastopol early to watch the parade downtown. It starts at 10am and ends by noon, followed by a festival in Ives Park. For more info, go to: http://www.sebastopolappleblossom.org/ ================================================ News From O'Reilly & Beyond ================================================ --------------------- General News --------------------- ***Resizing an Image with Photoshop Learn how to modify image size, when to resample, and how to handle resolution issues from Photoshop expert Deke McClelland. We've included a sample video file so you can get a taste of the hands-on video tutorials that are an integral part of Deke's recently released "Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One." http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/excerpt/PhotoshopCS_chap05/index.html ***What's New in Photoshop CS? Photoshop CS may have fewer new features than version 7, but quality counts more than quantity, and Ken Milburn is pretty jazzed about the quality. In this article, he covers the new features in CS he's most excited about. Ken is the author of "Digital Photography: Expert Techniques" http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2004/03/23/digphoto.html ***400 O'Reilly Books on Safari O'Reilly now boasts more than 400 books on Safari, the premier electronic reference library for IT professionals and programmers. We're proud to have such a strong presence on Safari, where we share company with the industry's leading technical publishers in bringing readers time-saving access to the information they need. If you are not yet a Safari convert, give the service a try with a free trial subscription: https://secure.safaribooksonline.com/promo.asp?code=ORA14&portal=oreilly&CMP=BAC-TP2974244892 --------------------- Open Source --------------------- ***Top Ten Tips to Make Attackers’ Lives Hell Chris McNab breaks down his top ten tips all network administrators should follow to protect their networks from opportunistic threats and make it hard for the more determined attackers to get anywhere. Chris is the author of the recently released "Network Security Assessment." http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/security/2004/03/25/ntwksecurityassess.html ***Eleven Metrics to Monitor for a Happy and Healthy Squid Duane Wessels offers 11 tips to help you stay on top of Squid's performance. If you follow this advice, you should be able to discover problems before your users begin calling you to complain. Duane is the creator of Squid and the author of "Squid: The Definitive Guide." http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2004/03/25/squid.html --------------------- Mac --------------------- ***You Sexy Thing! Just about everyone looks great behind a cursor, but the days of communicating online exclusively with text are numbered. So Snaggy and Nitrozac offer their brand of advice on how to look great on iChat AV, in spite of iSight. With tips on proper lighting, camera angles, and using the right foundation, Snaggy and Nitrozac offer more of the high-tech humor you've come to know and love in their comic and in their book, "The Best of The Joy of Tech." http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/03/16/iSight.html ***Creating Online Help with Tinderbox Apple's online help system, Apple Help, has a dubious reputation among some Mac users, mainly because of poky performance. But Panther has improved the situation. Matt Neuburg built an online help system for a Mac application using a note-taking hypertext outliner called Tinderbox. He explains the process in this article. http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/03/30/online_help.html --------------------- Windows --------------------- ***Windows Server Hacks: Resetting User Passwords Resetting user passwords from the command line can save you time, but there are "gotchas" along the way. Mitch Tulloch, author of "Windows Server Hacks," shows you what to watch out for and how to reset passwords fast. http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2004/03/30/serverhacks_passwords.html ***Kill Internet Ads with HOSTS and PAC Files You don't need special software to kill ads and objectionable Internet content--just use the power built right into the Windows browser. http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2004/03/30/hosts.html ***Power Up Internet Explorer with Three Shells Supercharge Internet Explorer with one of these three wrappers, and you won't be able to imagine how you got along without them. http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2004/03/23/ie_shells.html For all the latest Windows tips and tricks visit: http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/ --------------------- Java --------------------- ***Java and Sound, Part 1 Where can you learn how to play simple audio clips with the java.applet.AudioClip class, as well as how to use the javax.sound.sampled and javax.sound.midi packages to do such things as load and play sound clips, and monitor and change the playback position within a clip? In these first excerpts in a two-part series of excerpts from Chapter 17 ("Sound") of "Java Examples in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition." http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/excerpt/jenut3_ch17/index.html ***Bug Prevention with Code Generation: A J2EE Case Study If you had to drill 12,000 holes, would you prefer a manual drill, or its automated equivalent? Francesco Aliverti-Piuri describes using code generation for discovering bugs in a J2EE example. http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/03/31/codeGen.html --------------------- .NET --------------------- ***Create Project Item Wizards In a recent project, Niel Bornstein and his team had to produce a platform that included a set of base classes that other developers could use to develop Windows forms in Visual Studio .NET 2003. As the team worked on the base classes, it became clear that the developers would be able to crank out their forms a lot faster if they could also generate stubs and skeleton code for all the methods they needed to override in their own classes. Niel explains how to do it in this article. http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2004/03/22/wizards.html ***O'Reilly Learning Lab's .NET Certificate Series Learn .NET programming skills and earn a .NET Programming Certificate from the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education. The .NET Certificate Series is comprised of three courses that give you the foundation you need to do .NET programming well. The courses are: Learn XML; Learn Object-Oriented Programming Using Java; and Learn C#. Limited time offer: Enroll in all three courses and save $895. http://oreilly.useractive.com/courses/dotnet.php3 ------------------------------------ Fun April Fool's Day Stuff ------------------------------------ 10 stories that could be pranks--but aren't http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3589239.stm Google Copernicus Center is hiring (Google, 2004) http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html The technology behind Google's great results (Google, 2002) http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html Programming Parrot in a Nutshell (O'Reilly, 2001) http://www.oreilly.com/parrot/ The Story Behind the Parrot Prank http://www.oreilly.com/news/parrotstory_0401.html Still a good joke--47 years on http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/3591687.stm 10 funniest media jokes on April Fools day http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/12398_jokes.html ================================================ News From Your Peers ================================================ ***Check out the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki for the latest news You can look for a meeting, user group, or post information any time you want. http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/view?HomePage Until next time-- Marsee __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss