Computers

Adobe Photoshop CS3 is more than just the world's most popular image-editing tool: as part of Adobe's Creative Suite, it's a key component of an overall design workflow that lets users work seamlessly among all of their graphics applications to create graphically rich content for print, Web, motion graphics, and mobile devices. This info-packed guide lets users get right down to work by focusing on the Photoshop CS3 features they're most likely to use and showcasing each in a stand-alone tip--complete with a relevant hint or two and a graphic example. In this fashion, readers learn just what they need to know, exploring the program in a way that makes sense to them. Before they know it, users will be using the Bridge to manage their files, exploring the revamped Photomerge tool to effortlessly combine multiple images, tweaking color with Photoshop's enhanced color-correction features, and will enjoy taking advantage of Photoshop's built-in integration with Photoshop Lightroom to import, select, develop, and share their digital photos. more...

Price: $19.99

Flash is the most ubiquitous technology today for creating and deploying dynamic content on the Web. From button rollovers to video animations, Flash not only brings pizzazz to the Web but also makes difficult concepts easier to understand through illustrations, diagrams, and so on. Now that Flash CS3 Professional is part of the Adobe family, users new to the software as well as veteran users unfamiliar with added Adobe feature need quick access to key features and fundamental techniques. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional: 100 Essential Techniques provides users with what they need to know to start working in Flash. Each technique is presented in a self-contained unit of one or two pages so users can dive in and start working right away, unencumbered by lengthy descriptions or technical detail. For example, if readers want to know how to use Flash’s new QuickTime export feature, they can turn directly to that page, quickly grasp the technique, as well as pick up a few tips along the way. more...

Price: $19.99

This thorough, self-paced guide to Adobe Photoshop CS3--written by the experts at Adobe Systems' is ideal for beginning users who want to learn key Photoshop concepts and techniques, while readers who already have some experience with Photoshop can use this book to learn Photoshop CS3's more advanced features and newest tools. Using clear, step-by-step, project-based lessons, each chapter walks readers through the creation of a specific project, with each chapter building on the reader's growing knowledge of the program, while review questions at the end of each chapter reinforce the skills learned in each lesson. Photoshop CS3, long the industry standard for digital imaging software, offers plenty of new features and enhancements for creative professionals and digital photographers alike. Users can enjoy unrivaled editing with non-destructive Smart Filters, improved curves, and adjustable cloning and healing with Preview Overlay. Increase productivity with Photoshop CS3's streamlined interface and new Photoshop Lightroom '' integration. Anyone who wants to create a composite will benefit from the revamped Photomerge® tool, which lets you apply automatic layer alignment and blending to your images, while the new Quick Selection tool lets you select pixels not just by color, but by texture and shape as well. And digital photographers will be pleased to know that they can now process multiple Camera Raw images in a fraction of the time it used to take. more...

Price: $43.99

Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, 2nd Edition is a culmination of Lee Lanier's professional and teaching experience. He learned advanced techniques working on such films as Mortal Kombat and Shrek, and as an instructor he craved an in-depth book that taught shop-tested and professional texturing, lighting, and rendering methods. This second edition is up-to-date with Maya's latest texturing, lighting and rendering powerhouse features, including Toon shading, nCloth texturing, and multipass rendering. It begins with an introduction of lighting concepts, moves into a thorough explanation of texture mapping and Maya's hidden features for achieving great results, then provides the most thorough exploration ever published of Maya's Hypershade (where animators create connections between shaders, texture maps, lights, cameras, and geometry), and concludes with a detailed look at rendering in Maya, including everything from batch rendering to global illumination workflow and HDRI techniques. more...

Price: $59.99

The only Apple-certified book on supporting Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, this comprehensive reference takes support technicians and Mac aficionados deep inside the new operating system, covering everything from installation to networking technologies, and more. Following the learning objectives of the Apple Certified Support Professional exam, the lessons in this self-paced volume serve as a perfect guide for Apple’s own training class and a first-rate primer for computer support personnel who need to troubleshoot and optimize Mac OS X as part of their jobs. Lesson-review quizzes reinforce the knowledge gained along the way. more...

Price: $43.99