Megaupload Books

ISBN 0-7615-4364-3
Author Valve Corporation, David SJ Hodgson
Language English
Subject Game design
Publication date 2004
Pages 288

Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar - A Behind the Scenes Look: Prima’s Official Insider’s Guide is a coffee-table book published by Prima Games in November 2004, comprising a collection of images chronicling the development of, but not limited to: Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike and Half-Life, all of which are developed by Valve Corporation. It also includes notes on the design of the game, information relating to voice actors and other areas. It was written by David Hodgson.

Contents

The book is divided up into two main sections with a foreword by Valve Corporation founder Gabe Newell. The two sections, titled: “Investigation 1: Anomalous Materials” and “Investigation 2: Unexpected Interference” are references to the opening levels of the Half-Life video game. The first section chronicles the evolution of the first Half-Life, containing much concept art and character designs: the various iterations of Gordon Freeman for example. It contains information relating to the mod scene that developed in the game’s wake and the subsequent retail release of iconic mods, Counter-Strike being the most famous. The second section deals with the long development of Half-Life 2 containing much concept art. It also contains chapters dealing with the creation and design of the main characters, and their real life counterparts.

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by G Coulouris, Jean Dollimore, Tim Kindberg

# Hardcover: 800 pages
# Publisher: Addison Wesley; 3 edition (August 21, 2000)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0201619180
# ISBN-13: 978-0201619188

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Book description
Create your own professional-quality templates with this fast, friendly guide

Create Joomla! 1.5 Templates for your sites
Debug, validate, and package your templates
Tips for tweaking existing templates with Flash, extensions and JavaScript libraries
In Detail
Using Joomla! Templates with HTML and CSS allows you to give a unique look and feel to your site, present a “fresh face” to your pre-existing content, ensure that your site design is consistent with your brand, and build a site layout that suits your unique needs. A quality web site is easily within your grasp using these cutting-edge templates. However, even experienced web developers need help to take their designs and turn them into flexible and easily maintainable Joomla! 1.5 templates.

The release of Joomla! 1.5 meant a radically enhanced template system that is very different from that of Joomla! 1.0. Joomla! 1.5 comes complete with the ability to create template overrides and customize “module chrome”. The Joomla! development team has also revamped the template process by introducing clean, understandable jdoc tags in place of the PHP function-based Mambo-derived markup that Joomla! 1.0 templates used. This book focuses squarely on the new enhancements to the Joomla! 1.5 templating process and walks web designers through the process of turning a working XHTML and CSS “mockup” into a fully functional Joomla! 1.5 template.

This well-crafted and easy-to-use book provides you with everything you need to create your own unique Joomla! 1.5 template. It guides you through setting up a basic work flow for Joomla! template design, debugging and validating the template code, creating drop-down menus and dynamic forms for your site, and packaging up your finished template in a ZIP file for users. At the end of this book you will be able to create a template that is effective, flexible, and presents a new look for the pre-existing content.

This book focuses on the new jdoc template system for Joomla! 1.5. It is geared toward web designers who need to know how to turn their designs into Joomla! 1.5 templates. It covers how to enhance and speed up your design and revision process, then focuses squarely on the Joomla! 1.5 essentials of creating a template. It covers implementing template overrides, the best approaches for implementing Flash and AJAX techniques, as well as advanced enhancements such as creating design parameters so users can have some control over the template via the administration panel. The original 1.0 book covered how to amend an existing 1.0 template before creating one from scratch, the new templating features of Joomla! 1.5 are so logical to implement we move right into creating a full table-less, semantic XHTML/CSS template from scratch.

What you will learn from this book?

Debug and validate your template code
Use the W3C’s XHTML and CSS validation tools
Package up your finished template into a working ZIP file
Know the standard XHTML markup and CSS classes for Joomla!
Create Suckerfish drop-down menus
Get Flash content quickly into your Joomla! site
Create interactive and dynamic forms in your Joomla! site
Download and install Joomla! Extensions for your Joomla! site
Use the wrapper (Wrapper Menu Item) for fully working AJAX applications
Tessa Blakeley Silver’s background is in print design and traditional illustration. She evolved over the years into web and multi-media development, where she focuses on usability and interface design. Prior to starting her consulting and development company hyper3media (pronounced hyper-cube media), Tessa was the VP of Interactive Technologies at eHigherEducation, an online learning and technology company developing compelling multimedia simulations, interactions, and games that met online educational requirements like 508, AICC, and SCORM. She has also worked as a consultant and freelancer for J. Walter Thompson and The Diamond Trading Company (formerly known as DeBeers) and was a Design Specialist and Senior Associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ East Region Marketing department. Tessa authors several design and web technology blogs. Joomla! Template Design is her first book.

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Product Description:

Whether you are planning to visit a city, a region or a country, DK’s foolproof ‘Eyewitness’ approach makes learning about a place a pleasure in itself. All the traditional guidebook subject matter is covered-descriptions of sights, opening times, hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, phrase books etc- but, with the help of specially commissioned illustrations and maps, DK makes essential information easy to access and quick to absorb. No other guides explain the history of a place as clearly in words and pictures. DK Eyewitness Travel Guides-the best guides ever created.

Thanks to its year-round appeal, Bulgaria is an up-and-coming tourist destination in Europe, with approximately 5 million visitors per year enjoying the historical cities and towns, white sand beaches, and spectacular ski resorts. Whether exploring Sofia’s magnificent churches or trying to decipher the Cyrillic alphabet, the Eyewitness Guide to Bulgaria is indispensable.

Summary: Only guide that does this underrated gem justice
Rating: 5

I picked up this book purely out of curiousity while browsing in the bookstore. The only exposure I’d had to Bulgaria as a tourist destination was the show from Rick Steves, which whetted my appetite but didn’t leave me compelled to go. Then I picked up this book expecting a ho-hum response (after all you hear so little about it) and instead Bulgaria has shot to the top of my list of most desirable destinations. I’m working on going next year and am learning some of the language now. After viewing the amazing photos in this book, it compelled me to do further research online for more photos and information and I now realize what an underrated gem Bulgaria is. Black and white words in your ordinary travel guide can’t do it justice, and I would never have realized what I was missing without the gorgeous full color photographs and architectural cutaways of this book. I wouldn’t rely on the hotel and restaurant listings in the DK Eyewitness guides because I would want to use a guide that is more frequently updated and budget minded (I recommend Rick Steves Eastern Europe), however, this book cannot be beat for the armchair traveller, someone deciding where they should go (the pictures really help), or someone inspired by beautiful photos. It covers a lot of the countryside and small towns as well as big cities.

Summary: Best guidebook about Bulgaria
Rating: 5

Compared with other guidebooks, this is the best, when it comes to useful information for individuals visiting Bulgaria without an organized trip.

Mr. Bousfield book covers extensively history, customs, geography, and, above all, all necessary information which helps the reader to get the best travel experience. It is also brilliantly written, very well researched and beautifully illustrated.

As a cultural tourism travel consultant, I have to research a lot of guidebooks about the region of my specialization - South Eastern Europe.

With its reliable information, useful tips, and overall responsible approach to travel writing, this book is an exception from the bunch of poorly researched, trashing the country or full with factual mistakes “guidebooks” out there.

Summary: The best travel guides
Rating: 5

DK makes the best travel guides. As simple as that. Every time I am about to travel I purchase one of their books. They also have smaller books that you can carry with you, the “top 10″ series. I highly recommend those as well!

* Publisher: DK Travel
* Number Of Pages: 288
* Publication Date: 2008-05-05
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0756636396
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780756636395

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Product Description:

World War II is divided into nine chronological chapters, each introduced by a general overview of the military and political situation. This is followed by a comprehensive timeline, covering events in all theaters of the war. The opening chapter analyzes the build-up of hostility in the years leading up the war, both in Europe and in the Pacific. Similarly the final chapter analyzes the immediate and long-term consequences of the war and the way it has shaped recent history. In the chapters that cover the events of the war itself, the main spreads move from one theater of war to another but are linked by an easy-to-use system of cross referencing to earlier events and the consequences of the actions described on the spread. The main spreads are interspersed with features, eyewitness accounts, and galleries of weaponry and equipment.

This title differs from DK’s previous World War II title, in that it is a spread-by-spread account ГѓВЎ la History (with “previous” and “following” tabs placing each spread in chronological context) of the war, rather than a narrative that needs to be read from start to finish.

Summary: I understand it now
Rating: 5

For the first time in my 38 years, I better understand the time-line of events throughout WWII. The book goes just far enough into the details to give an understanding of the what and why things played out. The calendar timelines for each year helped me to understand when events played out.

I did find it interesting that it seems that most photos in the book are used twice… Once as a small image somewhere in descriptive before/after panel, then later as a bigger image elsewhere in the book. This did not negatively affect the overall impression of the book but was just something that I noticed.

I borrowed this book from my local library, but I’m thinking I may purchase my own copy to keep on my shelf.

Summary: WWII, a stunning, definitive, visual history
Rating: 5

As a history buff, I truly appreciate DK’s new WWII book.

Unlike many history books,this collaborative effort combines a world view of the war. Utilizing newly released archival photographs and reports, the events are reported in a largely unbiassed perspective. The team of writers takes readers from 1914 (WWI) to 1950, and the aftermath of the many political events and agreements.

There are many features that make this book unique. The various time lines included detailed history month by month for the various camps during the war. The sheer number of remarkable photographs probably numbers in the 1000’s. Rare German medals, personages, allied tool kits, and on-field documentation (German/Japanese/US/British/Italy) are sprinkled liberably over the 360 plus pages. Quotes are well chosen and the different campaigns are covered.

It is truly amazing that information of this quality is now available. Moreso, the different reports and original material must have been staggering.

No WWII history class should be without this book.

Tim Lasiuta

* Publisher: DK Publishing
* Number Of Pages: 360
* Publication Date: 2009-03-16
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0756642787
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780756642785

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Review
“Recommended for libraries serving graduate engineering programs or specialists.” (E-STREAMS, May 2005)

Product Description
All the expert guidance you need to understand, build, and operate GPS receivers

The Second Edition of this acclaimed publication enables readers to understand and apply the complex operation principles of global positioning system (GPS) receivers. Although GPS receivers are widely used in everyday life to aid in positioning and navigation, this is the only text that is devoted to complete coverage of their operation principles. The author, one of the foremost authorities in the GPS field, presents the material from a software receiver viewpoint, an approach that helps readers better understand operation and that reflects the forecasted integration of GPS receivers into such everyday devices as cellular telephones. Concentrating on civilian C/A code, the book provides the tools and information needed to understand and exploit all aspects of receiver technology as well as relevant navigation schemes:
* Overview of GPS basics and the constellation of satellites that comprise the GPS system
* Detailed examination of GPS signal structure, acquisition, and tracking
* Step-by-step presentation of the mathematical formulas for calculating a user’s position
* Demonstration of the use of computer programs to run key equations
* Instructions for developing hardware to collect digitized data for a software GPS receiver
* Complete chapter demonstrating a GPS receiver following a signal flow to determine a user’s position

The Second Edition of this highly acclaimed text has been greatly expanded, including three new chapters:
* Acquisition of weak signals
* Tracking of weak signals
* GPS receiver related subjects

Following the author’s expert guidance and easy-to-follow style, engineers and scientists learn all that is needed to understand, build, and operate GPS receivers. The book’s logical flow from basic concepts to applications makes it an excellent textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in electrical engineering, wireless communications, and computer science.

# Hardcover: 352 pages
# Publisher: Wiley-Interscience; 2 edition (December 3, 2004)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0471706477
# ISBN-13: 978-0471706472

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McMillan on Options, Second Edition

Product Description
Legendary trader Larry McMillan does it–again–offering his personal options strategies for consistently enhancing trading profits. Larry McMillan’s name is virtually synonymous with options. This “Trader’s Hall of Fame” recipient first shared his personal options strategies and techniques in the original McMillan on Options. Now, in a revised and Second Edition, this indispensable guide to the world of options addresses a myriad of new techniques and methods needed for profiting consistently in today’s fast-paced investment arena. This thoroughly new Second Edition features updates in almost every chapter as well as enhanced coverage of many new and increasingly popular products. It also offers McMillan’s personal philosophy on options, and reveals many of his previously unpublished personal insights. Readers will soon discover why Yale Hirsch of the Stock Trader’s Almanac says, “McMillan is an options guru par excellence.”

The McMillan name is virtually synonymous with options. Over the years, this legendary trader’s popular and informative books, newsletters, and seminars have helped both new and seasoned investors use options to consistently enhance their trading profits.

McMillan first shared his personal options philosophies and techniques in the original McMillan on Options. Now, in his revised and expanded Second Edition, he reveals a number of new approaches for success in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing investment arena.

By exploring both the flexibility and predictive ability of options, this highly revised resource will show you the best new ways to apply options to everyday trading situations. You’ll quickly learn how to establish self-contained strategies, substitute options for other financial instruments and protect your positions — whether in stock, index, or future options. More importantly though, you’ll receive a complete education in the exciting new products that are popular with investors, from single-stock futures and exchange-traded funds to LEAPS and the brand new volatility futures.

Backed by over 100 case studies, updated charts, and new examples, McMillan on Options, Second Edition:

–Illustrates how a stock can be “pinned” to a striking price at expiration, what causes it, and when to expect it
–Discusses put-call ratio charts and theory on individual stocks
–Examines how to use volatility indices as an accurate market predictor
–Adapts trading systems and strategies (such as intermarket spreads and seasonal trading systems) to the realities of a new market environment
–Presents advanced approaches to options trading, including the concepts of expected return and Monte Carlo probability simulation
–Offers guidance for those who need to find reliable options trading data and tools online

This timely Second Edition also expands on discussions regarding the NYSE as a faulty indicator, the history of market volatility, and the importance of buying and selling volatility.

Readers can now gain a unique insight into McMillan’s personal philosopy on options, and discover the innovative new tactics and strategies he applies to his own trading and analysis. Packed with hands on examples and techniques that address hedging and volatility — plus fresh new pricing concepts — this comprehensive and updated work will help you understand and unleash the full power of options.

From the Publisher
Thousands of investors turn to Larry McMillan, leading finance writer and advisor, for expert advice on options. In this reader-friendly book, McMillan offers the latest information on the high-profit world of options trading. This up-to-date guide provides an information-hungry marketplace with in-depth coverage of pricing strategies, volatility and risk control, hedging techniques and option philosophy, as well as key insights into the predictive power of options, the versatile option and buying and selling. Real-world examples provide hands-on applications and clear illustrations to turn theory into practice.

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Barron’s How to Prepare for the TOEFL without CD-ROM, 11th Edition

* Pages: 720 pages
* Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series; 11 edition (June 1, 2004)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0764175785
* ISBN-13: 978-0764175787

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PDF|32.86 MB|ISBN: 0000041944

Model Design and Diagrams by Satoshi Kamiya
Editor: Makoto Yamaguchi
Translator: koichi Tateishi

Language: Japanese and English

Publisher: Origami House

Satoshi Kamiya is one of the leading “Technical Origami” creators in the world today. Most of his models, despite being ultra-complex and extremely detailed, still have a sense of beauty and are quite aesthetic and pleasing to look at.

This book was expected for a long time, and when its contents was finally revealed, there was some disappointment, as almost all the models in it have already been published elsewhere - in magazines, convention-books etc. Kamiya states in the forward to the book that he did not publish this book in order to show his new designs, but rather to provide a source of inspiration for young would-be designers. However, the book is still worth obtaining even for the obsessive magazine collectors among us, because:

* Most of the diagrams have been re-drawn for sake of clarity, and even to incorporate design changes.

* The instructions are now in English, too!

* Each model is accompanied by Kamiya’s thoughts and tips about its design.

* And, of course, having all the models in one place is a treat, too.

This being said, the book collects 19 of Kamiya’s creations, arranged chronologically by dates of design, so you can follow Kamiya’s progress (actually, he was pretty good from the start!).
There are several prehistoric beasts, some mythical creatures (with the 274 step Ancient Dragon and 275 step Bahamut!) and a few others. All interesting and original. Each model is accompanied with design tips and the crease pattern.

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Author(s) : David McAmis
Publisher : Wrox
Year : Apr 2004
ISBN 10 : 0764557300
ISBN 13 : 9780764557309
Language : English
Pages : 384
File type : PDF
Size : 8.8 MB (book + source code)

This book does not attempt to be all-inclusive, and it will not teach basic .NET techniques. To be able to deliver a functional guide to Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET, we assume that you have a grasp of essential programming techniques — in this case, a knowledge of programming in Visual Basic .NET and experience using Visual Studio .NET — and that you can apply these skills to a new technology.

Examples are carefully chosen to demonstrate the capabilities of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET and aid you in understanding the techniques that you can apply when you begin to use this technology in your .NET applications.

This book is for programmers who want a comprehensive guide to the functionality included with Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET. It’s assumed that you have some knowledge of .NET and experience with Visual Studio .NET.

This book covers the features of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET that you’ll find yourself using time and again to build complex reports and integrate them into different .NET applications. We start by explaining how Crystal Reports fits into the .NET platform and how it differs from previous versions of Crystal Reports.

TABLE OF CONTENT:
Chapter 01 - Crystal Reports .NET Overview
Chapter 02 - Getting Started with Crystal Reports .NET
Chapter 03 - Designing Reports
Chapter 04 - Report Integration for Windows-Based Applications
Chapter 05 - Report Integration for Web-Based Applications
Chapter 06 - Creating XML Report Web Services
Chapter 07 - Working with .NET Data
Chapter 08 - Formulas and Logic
Chapter 09 - Working with the Crystal Reports Engine
Chapter 10 - Distributing Your Application

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