The Cult of Mac/by Leander Kahney (Author)
Description
No product on the planet enjoys the devotion of a Macintosh computer. Famously dedicated to their machines, many Mac fans eat, sleep and breathe Macintosh. In The Cult of Mac, Wired News managing editor Leander Kahney takes an in-depth look at Mac users and their unique, creative, and often very funny culture. From people who get Mac tattoos and haircuts, to those who furnish their apartments out of empty Mac boxes, the book details Mac fandom in all of its forms. This paperback edition includes an all-new chapter about the iPod, updates throughout, and new photos that reflect current Apple technology.

Professional Visual Studio 2008/by Nick Randolph (Author), David Gardner (Author)
Description
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is the latest version in the ongoing evolution of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and this resource examines the diverse facets of the IDE—from common tasks to intricate functions to the powerful tools that accompany the main code editing and design windows. Written by a unique author duo and offering an in-depth look at the powerful and fascinating features and techniques of the IDE, this book explores each aspect of the development life cycle from the perspective of how Visual Studio 2008 can make your life easier.
Each chapter is packed with examples that illustrate uses for various tools, commands, and shortcuts of Visual Studio 2008. You will gradually learn to identify where a feature is used, conclude how you can use it to its fullest potential, and then seamlessly apply that feature to help solve real-world problems.
What you will learn from this book:
*How to create project templates and wizards
*Methods for using IntelliSense, code refactoring, class modeling, and unit testing
*Tips for using DataSets, LINQ, and Synchronization Services for working with data
*How to build web applications using ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, and ASP.NET MVC
*Ideas for building Office and Mobile applications, WPF, WCF, and WF projects
*Ways to effectively analyze and identify bugs using the advanced debugging features
*How to automate repetitive tasks using the Visual Studio 2008 add-ins and macros
*Suggestions for using Visual Studio Team System components coupled with Team Foundation Server
*Techniques for building more secure applications
Who this book is for
This book is for programmers who want to become proficient with the latest version of Visual Studio and are interested in the advanced capabilities of the IDE.
Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

The Ruby Way Solutions and Techniques in Ruby Programming/by Hal Fulton (Author)
Description
"Ruby is an agile object-oriented language, borrowing some of the best features from LISP, Smalltalk, Perl, CLU, and other languages. Its popularity has grown tremendously in the five years since the first edition of this book. The Ruby Way takes a "how-to" approach to Ruby programming with the bulk of the material consisting of more than 400 examples arranged by topic. Each example answers the question "How do I do this in Ruby?" Working along with the author, you are presented with the task description and a discussion of the technical constraints. This is followed by a step-by-step presentation of one good solution. Along the way, the author provides detailed commentary and explanations to aid your understanding.
Coverage includes
* An overview of Ruby, explaining terminology and basic principles
* Operations on low-level data types (numbers, strings, regular expressions, dates)
* The new regular expression engine (Oniguruma)
* Internationalization (I18N) and message catalogs in Ruby
* Operations on hashes, arrays, and other data structures such as stacks, trees, and graphs
* Working with general I/O, files, and persistent objects
* Database coverage including MySQL, SQLite, Oracle, DBI, and more
* Ruby-specific techniques in OOP and dynamic programming
* Graphical interfaces in Ruby (Tk, GTK+, Fox, and Qt)
* Working with Ruby threads for lightweight multitasking
* Everyday scripting and system administration in Ruby
* Working with image files, PDFs, YAML, XML, RSS, and Atom
* Testing, debugging, profiling, and packaging Ruby code
* Low-level network programming and client-server interaction
* Web development tools including Rails, Nitro, Wee, IOWA, and more
* Working with distributed Ruby, Rinda, and Ring
* Ruby development tools such as IDEs, documentation tools, and more

The Art and Science of Interface and Interaction Design/by Christa Sommerer (Editor), Lakhmi C. Jain (Editor), Laurent Mignonneau (Editor)
Description
Artists and creators in interactive art and interaction design have long been conducting research on human-machine interaction. Through artistic, conceptual, social and critical projects, they have shown how interactive digital processes are essential elements for their artistic creations. Resulting prototypes have often reached beyond the art arena into areas such as mobile computing, intelligent ambiences, intelligent architecture, fashionable technologies, ubiquitous computing and pervasive gaming. Many of the early artist-developed interactive technologies have influenced new design practices, products and services of today's media society. This book brings together key theoreticians and practitioners of this field. It shows how historically relevant the issues of interaction and interface design are, as they can be analyzed not only from an engineering point of view but from a social, artistic and conceptual, and even commercial angle as well.

3-D Shape Estimation and Image Restoration: Exploiting Defocus and Motion-Blur/by Paolo Favaro (Author), Stefano Soatto (Author)
Description
Images contain information about the spatial properties of the scene they depict. When coupled with suitable assumptions, images can be used to infer three-dimensional information. This useful volume concentrates on motion blur and defocus, which can be exploited to infer the 3-D structure of a scene—as well as its radiance properties—and which in turn can be used to generate novel images with better quality.
3-D Shape Estimation and Image Restoration presents a coherent framework for the analysis and design of algorithms to estimate 3-D shape from defocused and motion blurred images, and to eliminate defocus and motion blur to yield "restored" images. It provides a collection of algorithms that are optimal with respect to the chosen model and estimation criterion.
Topics and Features include:
• Comprehensive introduction to guide readers through the different areas of the topic
• Basic models of image formation
• Discussion of least-squares shape from defocus
• Unifying defocus and motion blur
• Handling multiple moving objects
• Dealing with occlusions
• Appendices supply the necessary background in optimization and regularization
• www.eps.hw.ac.uk/~pf21/FavaroSoattoBook/downloads contains implementations of relevant algorithms, test data and demos.
Written for readers with interests in image processing and computer vision and with backgrounds in engineering, science or mathematics, this highly practical text/reference is accessible to advanced students or those with a degree that includes basic linear algebra and calculus courses. It can also be seen as a resource for practitioners looking to expand their knowledge in the subject.