Cutting-edge computer games rival the best that Hollywood has to offer in visual effects, musical score, and pure adrenaline rush. But games are a form of entertainment unlike any other; they can keep players glued to their monitors for hours on end. What sets games apart and makes them so engrossing is interactivity. In a computer game, you...

Most SQL texts attempt to serve as an encyclopedic reference on SQL syntax -- an approach that is counterproductive, since this information is readily available in online references published by the major database vendors. For SQL beginners, it's more important for a book to focus on general concepts and offer clear explanations and...

With the Alpha DSLR-A850, Sony has combined 24 megapixels of full-frame resolution with the compact body and ease of use that the Alpha models are known for. David Busch's Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 Guide to Digital Photography shows discerning photographers like you how to take outstanding pictures with this sophisticated and cutting-edge...

As a digital artist, you have the advantage of being able to combine all of the creative art forms using your medium--the computer. Photoshop CS5 Trickery & FX shows you how to take your creativity and your art to a new level by blending your traditional artistic skills and vision with the powerful tools of Adobe Photoshop CS5. Photoshop...

T-RackS is a popular stand-alone audio mastering application that includes a suite of powerful analog-modeled and digital dynamics and EQ processor modules that also work perfectly as plug-ins during mixing. While T-RackS is an extremely powerful tool for improving the quality of your recordings, all of that power won't do you much good...

Many people think of Fedora as an operating system that is way over their heads -- that only techies can use this strange, arcane OS with the odd name. Introducing Fedora: Desktop Linux is here to tell you that this is simply not the case. Fedora, and Linux in general, have become very easy for everyday home and business users to install and...

As I traveled around the world as a photographer, it quickly became apparent that stories such as, “I was stuck on an overnight train, sleep deprived, en route to Warsaw, Poland, as border guards were demanding my travel documents at 4 a.m. in a language I didn’t understand…,” or, “I found myself celebrating the...

Before starting a new task, you generally do research so you can avoid mistakes. In the computer realm, bootstrap sessions provide a head start and help you minimize mistakes and surprises. As an example, to design a protocol stack, build a bootstrap session so you can understand the protocol specification and the system on which it...

Aspiring and professional game developers have a lot of questions: What should be in their portfolios? How do they make contacts? How do they negotiate salaries? How much do game designers make? What should they wear to interviews? In this fast-paced and humorous guide, the authors answer these questions and many more, including the ones you...

This book will teach you how to create games with the awesome Java language. Previous editions emphasized the casual game market with chapter projects designed to run in AppletViewer or in a web browser. While still relevant, the code in this new edition is a bit simpler, using a JFrame more often instead of an applet, so that...