Books about Computing from Amazon.com

No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, the odds are high that you've delivered a high-stakes presentation to your peers, your boss, your customers, or the general public. Presentation software is one of the few tools that requires professionals to think visually on an almost daily basis. But unlike verbal skills, effective visual expression is not easy, natural, or actively taught in schools or business training programs. slide:ology fills that void.

Written by Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, this book is full of practical approaches to visual story development that can be applied by anyone. The book combines conceptual thinking and inspirational design, with insightful case studies from the world's leading brands. With slide:ology you'll learn to:

• Connect with specific audiences
• Turn ideas into informative graphics
• Use sketching and diagramming techniques effectively
• Create graphics that enable audiences to process information easily
• Develop truly influential presentations
• Utilize presentation technology to your advantage

Millions of presentations and billions of slides have been produced -- and most of them miss the mark. slide:ology will challenge your traditional approach to creating slides by teaching you how to be a visual thinker. And it will help your career by creating momentum for your cause..
Price: $21.92 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This innovative resource teaches you the critical thinking and assessment skills you need to build customized care plans based on each patient's unique needs. Its step-by-step approach guides you through the process, helping you formulate a nursing diagnosis based on known information and assessment findings; identify the appropriate nursing diagnosis; and create a care plan that includes desired outcomes, interventions, and evidence-based rationales. Nursing Diagnosis Handbook is an essential care planning resource you will turn to again and again throughout your nursing education and career.

• Provides care plans for every NANDA-I approved nursing diagnosis.
• Includes examples of and suggested NIC and NOC interventions and outcomes for each care plan.
• A convenient A-to-Z organization in Sections I and II helps you quickly locate key information.
• Evidence-based practice information is incorporated throughout.
• Includes complete coverage of pediatric, geriatric, and multicultural considerations, as well as home care and client/family teaching guidelines for each condition.
• A Care Plan Constructor on the Evolve website helps you create customized plans of care.

• Features the most up-to-date 2007-2008 NANDA-I approved nursing diagnoses, including approximately 15 new, 20 revised, and 5 replacement diagnoses.
• Provides a more detailed explanation of NIC and NOC taxonomies and their use in care planning.
• Explanations of assessment versus action interventions help guide you to the correct choice of intervention.
• Covers important information on concept mapping.
• Patient/Family Teaching sections offer expanded wellness and health promotion information.
• Clustered wellness nursing diagnoses are quick and easy to locate.
• Includes the latest evidence-based nursing rationales.

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Price: $37.76 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Written by New York Times columnist and Missing Manual series creator David Pogue, this first-to-market update shows readers and tire kickers everything they need to know to get the most out of their new Apple iPhone. As beautiful as the product it covers, this full-color book helps readers accomplish everything from Web browsing to watching videos.

Author David Pogue's iPhone 2E Tips
The beauty of the new iPhone 3G is that you don't need one. Almost all of the juicy stuff actually comes with the iPhone 2.0 software and the online App Store, both of which run perfectly well on the old iPhone as well. That, incidentally, is also the beauty of iPhone: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition. It covers both the old and the new iPhones, because it covers the 2.0 software, the iPhone App Store, and so on. Here are a few of my favorite tips from the book:

1) At the top of the screen, little icons indicate how you're connected to the Internet: an E for the vast but dog-slow AT&T Edge network, a 3G icon if you're on the faster but limited-area AT&T third-generation network, and radiating signal bars if you're on Wi-Fi. The tip here: The two cellular icons (E and 3G) disappear whenever you're on Wi-Fi. That's not a mistake. The iPhone assumes that Wi-Fi is faster and better than any cellular network, and if you're on it, you don't care about E or 3G (and it's right).

2) Unfortunately, 3G is a battery hog. If you don't see a 3G icon on your iPhone 3G's status bar, then you're not in a 3G hot spot, and you're not getting any benefit from the phone's 3G radio. By turning it off, you'll double the length of your iPhone 3G's battery power, from 5 hours of talk time to 10. To do so, from the Home screen, tap Settings->General->Network-> Enable 3G Off. Yes, this is sort of a hassle, but if you're anticipating a long day and you can't risk the battery dying halfway through, it might be worth doing. After all, most 3G phones don't even let you turn off their 3G circuitry.

3) More ways to save power: turn off more features. In Settings, you can turn off Bluetooth; Wi-Fi; GPS; "push" data; and the cellphone radio. Each saves you another bit of power.

4) When typing on the on-screen keyboard, you can save time by deliberately leaving out the apostrophe in contractions like I'm, don't, can't, and so on. Type im, dont, cant, and so on. The iPhone proposes I'm, don't, or can't, so you can just tap the Space bar to fix the word and continue.

5) To produce an accented character (like é, ë, è, ê, and so on), keep your finger pressed on that key for 1 second. A palette of accented alternatives appears; slide onto the one you want. (Keys that sprout these alternative versions: E, Y, U, I, O, S, L, Z, C, N, ?, ', ", $, and !.)

6) Even if you've engaged the silencer switch on the side, the iPhone still sounds any alarm you've set. Good to know.

7) You probably already know that you can rearrange your Home screen, and even set up multiple Home screens (up to 9). Just hold your finger down on any one icon until they all begin to wiggle. Now you can drag them to rearrange them (even onto the Dock of four special icons at the bottom), or drag off to the right to create a new Home screen. And what if, in the process of downloading and then deleting new App store programs, you wind up with unsightly gaps on your Home screens? Here's a quick way to consolidate them onto a smaller number of full Home screens, without gaps: tap Settings->General-> Reset->Reset Home Screen Layout. If you'd put 10 programs on each of four Home screens, you wind up with only two screens, each packed with 20 icons. Any leftover blank pages are eliminated.

8) If you come to the iPhone from another, lesser GSM phone, your phone book may be stored on its little SIM card instead of in the phone itself . In that case, you don't have to retype all of those names and numbers to bring them into your iPhone. In Settings->Contacts, the new Import SIM Contacts button can do the job for you. (The results may not be pretty. For example, some phones store all address-book data in CAPITAL LETTERS.)

9) If you've indulged yourself by downloading some goodies from the App Store, then you may find yourself wondering where you're supposed to adjust their preferences. Turns out they often get stashed away in a completely different program—in Settings. That's where Apple encourages software authors to locate their own setting screens. For example, here's where you can edit your screen name and password for the AIM chat program, change how many days' worth of news you want the NY Times Reader to display, and so on.

10) Don't type http://www or .com when entering Web addresses. Safari is smart enough to know that most Web addresses use that format—so you can leave all that stuff out, and it will supply them automatically. Instead of http://www.cnn.com, for example, just type cnn and hit Go.

11) Don't type .net, .org, or .edu, either. Safari's secret pop-up menu of canned URL choices can save you four keyboard-taps apiece. To see it, hold your finger down on the .com button. Then tap the common suffix you want.

12) The iPhone can now geotag the photos you take with it. Geotagging means, "embedding your latitude and longitude information into a photo when you take it." After all, every digital picture you've ever taken comes with its time and date invisibly embedded in its file; why not its location? So the good news is that the iPhone can geotag every photo you take. How you get to see this information, is a bit trickier. Once the photos are synced to your computer, you can view the geotag information in iPhoto (the Get Info command reveals latitude and longitude), Preview (the Inspector window shows a map), Picasa (use the Tools->Geotag menu to see the photo's location in Google Earth). Unfortunately, the iPhone strips away the geotags whenever you send a photo by e-mail. That's a good argument for using the free downloadable program AirMe instead of the iPhone's built-in camera program. It avoids that geotag-stripping problem and many others.
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Price: $15.67 [Notify me when price goes down.]

You love your iPhone 3G and you've found out that it's mighty simple to use out-of-the-box, but you might not know that some of its most useful and powerful features are hidden away in obscure parts of the system. You've found out that your iPhone 3G doesn't get in your way when you're trying to be productive or creative, but sometimes it will do something (or force you to do something) that just makes you want to scratch your head in wonderment. You've found out that your iPhone 3G's robust design makes it a reliable device day after day, but even the best-built machines can have problems.

When you come upon the iPhone 3G's dark side, you might consider making an appointment with your local Apple Store's Genius Bar, and more often than not the on-duty genius will give you good advice on how to overcome the iPhone 3G's limitations, work around its annoyances, and fix its failures. The Genius Bar is a great thing, but it isn't exactly a convenient thing. You can't just drop by to get help; you have to make an appointment; you have to drag yourself down to the store, perhaps wait for your genius, get the problem looked at, and then make your way back home; and in some cases you may need to leave your iPhone 3G for a while (No!) to get the problem checked out and hopefully resolved.

What you really need is a version of the Genius Bar that's easier to access, more convenient, and doesn't require tons of time or leaving your iPhone 3G in the hands of a stranger. What you really need is a "portable" genius that enables you to be more productive and solve problems wherever you and your iPhone 3G happen to be.

Welcome, therefore, to iPhone 3G Portable Genius. This book is like a mini Genius Bar all wrapped up in an easy to use, easy to access, and eminently portable format. In this book you learn how to get more out of your iPhone 3G by learning how to access all the really powerful and timesaving features that aren't obvious at a casual glance. In this book you learn how to avoid your iPhone 3G's more annoying character traits and, in those cases where such behavior can't be avoided, you learn how to work around it. In this book you learn how to prevent iPhone 3G problems from occurring, and just in case your preventative measures are for naught, you learn how to fix many common problems yourself.

This book is for iPhone 3G users who know the basics but want to take their iPhone 3G education to a higher level. It's a book for people who want to be more productive, more efficient, more creative, and more self-sufficient (at least as far as the iPhone 3G goes, anyway). It's a book for people who use their iPhone 3G every day, but would like to incorporate it into more of their day to day activities. It's a book we had a blast writing, so we think it's a book you'll enjoy reading.

Look Inside the iPhone 3G Portable Genius(Click on Images to Enlarge)

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Master the unprecedented capabilities of Microsoft Office 2007 with the New Perspectives on Microsoft Office 2007, First Course, Windows XP Edition! With our critical thinking, problem-solving focus, users will gain a comprehensive understanding of the software and will learn how to capitalize on the flexibility it offers. The case-based tutorials challenge users to apply what they are learning to real-life tasks, preparing them to easily transfer skills to new situations. With the New Perspectives Series approach, users understand why they are learning what they are learning and are better prepared to retain these skills..
Price: $75.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Aimed at any serious programmer or computer science student, the new second edition of Introduction to Algorithms builds on the tradition of the original with a truly magisterial guide to the world of algorithms. Clearly presented, mathematically rigorous, and yet approachable even for the math-averse, this title sets a high standard for a textbook and reference to the best algorithms for solving a wide range of computing problems.

With sample problems and mathematical proofs demonstrating the correctness of each algorithm, this book is ideal as a textbook for classroom study, but its reach doesn't end there. The authors do a fine job of explaining each algorithm. (Reference sections on basic mathematical notation will help readers bridge the gap, but it will help to have some math background to appreciate the full achievement of this handsome hardcover volume.) Every algorithm is presented in pseudo-code, which can be implemented in any computer language, including C/C++ and Java. This ecumenical approach is one of the book's strengths. When it comes to sorting and common data structures, from basic linked lists to trees (including binary trees, red-black, and B-trees), this title really shines, with clear diagrams that show algorithms in operation. Even if you just glance over the mathematical notation here, you can definitely benefit from this text in other ways.

The book moves forward with more advanced algorithms that implement strategies for solving more complicated problems (including dynamic programming techniques, greedy algorithms, and amortized analysis). Algorithms for graphing problems (used in such real-world business problems as optimizing flight schedules or flow through pipelines) come next. In each case, the authors provide the best from current research in each topic, along with sample solutions.

This text closes with a grab bag of useful algorithms including matrix operations and linear programming, evaluating polynomials, and the well-known Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) (useful in signal processing and engineering). Final sections on "NP-complete" problems, like the well-known traveling salesman problem, show off that while not all problems have a demonstrably final and best answer, algorithms that generate acceptable approximate solutions can still be used to generate useful, real-world answers.

Throughout this text, the authors anchor their discussion of algorithms with current examples drawn from molecular biology (like the Human Genome Project), business, and engineering. Each section ends with short discussions of related historical material, often discussing original research in each area of algorithms. On the whole, they argue successfully that algorithms are a "technology" just like hardware and software that can be used to write better software that does more, with better performance. Along with classic books on algorithms (like Donald Knuth's three-volume set, The Art of Computer Programming), this title sets a new standard for compiling the best research in algorithms. For any experienced developer, regardless of their chosen language, this text deserves a close look for extending the range and performance of real-world software. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Overview of algorithms (including algorithms as a technology); designing and analyzing algorithms; asymptotic notation; recurrences and recursion; probabilistic analysis and randomized algorithms; heapsort algorithms; priority queues; quicksort algorithms; linear time sorting (including radix and bucket sort); medians and order statistics (including minimum and maximum); introduction to data structures (stacks, queues, linked lists, and rooted trees); hash tables (including hash functions); binary search trees; red-black trees; augmenting data structures for custom applications; dynamic programming explained (including assembly-line scheduling, matrix-chain multiplication, and optimal binary search trees); greedy algorithms (including Huffman codes and task-scheduling problems); amortized analysis (the accounting and potential methods); advanced data structures (including B-trees, binomial and Fibonacci heaps, representing disjoint sets in data structures); graph algorithms (representing graphs, minimum spanning trees, single-source shortest paths, all-pairs shortest paths, and maximum flow algorithms); sorting networks; matrix operations; linear programming (standard and slack forms); polynomials and the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT); number theoretic algorithms (including greatest common divisor, modular arithmetic, the Chinese remainder theorem, RSA public-key encryption, primality testing, integer factorization); string matching; computational geometry (including finding the convex hull); NP-completeness (including sample real-world NP-complete problems and their insolvability); approximation algorithms for NP-complete problems (including the traveling salesman problem); reference sections for summations and other mathematical notation, sets, relations, functions, graphs and trees, as well as counting and probability backgrounder (plus geometric and binomial distributions)..
Price: $58.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Writing well is just a step away! Join the thousands of students who have learned to write well with Jean Wyrick's helpful instruction. STEPS TO WRITING WELL WITH ADDITIONAL READINGS, Seventh Edition, is the ultimate step-by-step guide to writing effective essays. With Wyrick's clear, practical advice and student-friendly tone, you'll find it easy to begin, organize, and revise your writing-from choosing a topic to developing your essay to polishing your prose. Interesting readings in a variety of styles offer useful examples of the types of essays you'll most often be assigned in your composition and other college classes..
Price: $65.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As the new owner of Canon's most advanced intermediate digital SLR, you want to get started taking professional-looking photographs using all of the exciting features at your fingertips. "Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital SLR Photography" is a concise introduction and guide to your camera's essential controls and functions, such as Live View, built-in dust reduction, and the blistering 6.5-frames-per-second continuous shooting mode that is an action photographerÂ’s dream. The book provides detailed instructions showing you how, when, and why to make optimized settings with the Canon EOS 40DÂ’s enhanced menus, which include a half-dozen versatile new custom functions. You'll learn about the camera's improved automatic focus, flash synchronization tricks, how to choose lenses that will provide the perspective and effects you want, and which exposure modes are ideal for each picture-taking opportunity. Packed with full-color images and examples that illustrate the recommended techniques and settings for your Canon EOS 40D, this book helps photographers of any skill level begin maximizing their equipment as soon as you open the cover!.
Price: $17.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]