Book Description

This book is presented in Packt’s “CookBook” format, which means it is a series of how-to steps that show the reader how to accomplish some task. In this case, the book shows how to program Android devices using the Eclipse ADT plug-in.

Establishing the development environment was a bit troublesome in my case. I’ve done a little Android development in the past, but the machine I used was underpowered for the emulator, so I decided to set up Eclipse and my Android environment on my Fedora 13 quad-core. The book is of little value here– pretty much you are told what you need, and are left on your own to get it set up. Luckily, I’m familiar with this sort of task, so things were running smoothly after the initial install and about a half an hour of Google’d help from other ADT users.

In the early chapters, the book is very explicit about how to set up your Eclipse project and which files to edit. The author takes no chances that the reader is unfamiliar with the environment, and spells everything out in perfect detail. Normally, I prefer printed books to electronic, but this is one case where an e-book would’ve been handy– for code copying purposes. I spent my learning time dutifully typing in the author’s suggestions, though, and was rewarded with properly running examples each time.

The first chapter is about ‘Activities’, which results in a window being presented on the device. (In my case, the emulator.) You are shown how to make an Activity, how to store state, how to send an ‘Intent’ (which is like a message that can be sent to another Activity or other receiver). This chapter spells out the steps in complete detail, so the reader should be assured of success if he has his development environment set up correctly. Later chapters omit some of the detail, but you are never given so little that you can’t accomplish what you want. It’s just the first chapter that sets the basics for the reader.

All the chapters are set up the same way. There is little or no ‘academic background’, each chapter is a series of step-by-step descriptions of how to accomplish some goal. I think this book will be a very effective reference for development, I imagine many copies will be kept close at hand.

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Book Description

Book Description

TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1, Second Edition, is a detailed and visual guide to today’s TCP/IP protocol suite. Fully updated for the newest innovations, it demonstrates each protocol in action through realistic examples from modern Linux, Windows, and Mac OS environments. There’s no better way to discover why TCP/IP works as it does, how it reacts to common conditions, and how to apply it in your own applications and networks.

Building on the late W. Richard Stevens’ classic first edition, author Kevin R. Fall adds his cutting-edge experience as a leader in TCP/IP protocol research, updating the book to fully reflect the latest protocols and best practices. He first introduces TCP/IP’s core goals and architectural concepts, showing how they can robustly connect diverse networks and support multiple services running concurrently. Next, he carefully explains Internet addressing in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. Then, he  walks through TCP/IP’s structure and function from the bottom up: from link layer protocols–such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi–through network, transport, and application layers.

Fall thoroughly introduces ARP, DHCP, NAT, firewalls, ICMPv4/ICMPv6, broadcasting, multicasting, UDP, DNS, and much more. He offers extensive coverage of reliable transport and TCP, including connection management, timeout, retransmission, interactive data flow, and congestion control. Finally, he introduces the basics of security and cryptography, and illuminates the crucial modern protocols for protecting security and privacy, including EAP, IPsec, TLS, DNSSEC, and DKIM. Whatever your TCP/IP experience, this book will help you gain a deeper, more intuitive understanding of the entire protocol suite so you can build better applications and run more reliable, efficient networks.

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Book Description

If you’re an experienced programmer interested in crunching data, this book will get you started with machine learning—a toolkit of algorithms that enables computers to train themselves to automate useful tasks. Authors Drew Conway and John Myles White help you understand machine learning and statistics tools through a series of hands-on case studies, instead of a traditional math-heavy presentation.

Each chapter focuses on a specific problem in machine learning, such as classification, prediction, optimization, and recommendation. Using the R programming language, you’ll learn how to analyze sample datasets and write simple machine learning algorithms. Machine Learning for Hackers is ideal for programmers from any background, including business, government, and academic research.

• Develop a naïve Bayesian classifier to determine if an email is spam, based only on its text
• Use linear regression to predict the number of page views for the top 1,000 websites
• Learn optimization techniques by attempting to break a simple letter cipher
• Compare and contrast U.S. Senators statistically, based on their voting records
• Build a “whom to follow” recommendation system from Twitter data

Book Description

Welcome to the world of 3D architectural visualizations using the most powerful and versatile 3D software package on the planet: 3ds Max. In just the last few years, the visualization industry has arguably become the fastest-growing 3D industry, and may soon overtake all others in total number of users. Just as the use of computer-aided design became the norm for nearly all architectural, engineering, and construction firms in the 1990s, 3D visualizations have become standard practice today.

This book takes you through the challenge of learning one of the most complex computer programs ever created, by way of easy-to-follow tutorials and instruction. It specifically focuses on those parts of the program you need to know to produce stunning architectural visualizations.

The intent is not to show you every possible way to accomplish a task, but rather some of the fastest and most efficient ways. At the end of the book, there is a guide to marketing your services, as well as 20 top tips that took the author almost 10 years to learn in a production environment—sometimes the hard way.

3ds Max is a large and complex application, but by learning just the features that apply to visualizations, you’ll be learning everything you need to know to get ahead in the industry in the shortest possible amount of time.

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Book Description

Identify and investigate computer criminals of all stripes with help from this fully updated. real-world resource. Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics, Second Edition explains how to construct a high-tech forensic lab, collect prosecutable evidence, discover e-mail and system file clues, track wireless activity, and recover obscured documents. Learn how to re-create an attacker’s footsteps, communicate with counsel, prepare court-ready reports, and work through legal and organizational challenges. Case studies straight from today’s headlines cover IP theft, mortgage fraud, employee misconduct, securities fraud, embezzlement, organized crime, and consumer fraud cases.

• Effectively uncover, capture, and prepare evidence for investigation
• Store and process collected data in a highly secure digital forensic lab
• Restore deleted documents, partitions, user activities, and file systems
• Analyze evidence gathered from Windows, Linux, and Macintosh systems
• Use the latest Web and client-based e-mail tools to extract relevant artifacts
• Overcome the hacker’s anti-forensic, encryption, and obscurity techniques
• Unlock clues stored in cell phones, PDAs, and Windows Mobile devices
• Prepare legal documents that will hold up to judicial and defense scrutiny
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