================================================================
O'Reilly UG Program News--Just for User Group Leaders
September 16, 2004
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-O'Reilly User Group Program in Germany
-Want to speak to user groups?
-Put Up an O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference Banner, Get a Free Book
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General News
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***O'Reilly User Group Program in Germany
We are pleased to announce we now have a User Group program in Germany.
German-speaking User Groups can now belong to both our US and German
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For more information or to sign up, go to:
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 ================================================================
O'Reilly News for User Group Members
September 16, 2004
================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------
Book News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-iLife: The Missing Manual
-The Mezonic Agenda: Hacking the Presidency
-sendmail 8.13 Companion
-PayPal Hacks
-Camera Phone Obsession
-Linux iptables Pocket Reference
-ASP.NET Cookbook
-Building the Perfect PC
-NUnit Pocket Reference
-Head First Servlets & JSP
-Oracle Initialization Parameters Pocket Reference
-Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials
----------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Digital Lifestyle Expo, New York, NY--September 25-26
-Richard Thieme Visiting Bookstores in WI and IL--September 27-October 
2
-Northern California Independent Bookseller's Association Fall Trade 
Show
--October 1-3
-O'Reilly Authors at Windows Connections 2004--October 24-27
----------------------------------------------------------------
Conference News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Early-Bird Deadline Extended
-Call for Participation: O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
----------------------------------------------------------------
News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Study Shows Safari Saves Time
-A Conversation Between Dan Gillmor and Jay Rosen
-Fiddling with Nero 6 Ultra Edition
-O'Reilly Launches Digital Media Web Site
-Tasteful Food Photography
-Machinima: Filmmaking's Destiny
-Linux/Unix SysAdmin Certification Special Offer for September
-The Best Tips from the Great Linux Desktop Migration Contest
-More Inside News on O'Reilly's Mac OS X Conference
-Acrobat to a Paperless Office
-Mac OS X for the Traveler
-Site Surveys--Windows DevCenter & ONDotnet
-Lightweight XML Editing in Word 2003
-Site Navigation in ASP.NET 2.0
-IRC Text to Speech with Java
-Developing Your First Enterprise Beans, Part 1
================================================
Book News
================================================
Did you know you can request a free book to review for your
group? Ask your group leader for more information.

For book review writing tips and suggestions, go to:
http://ug.oreilly.com/bookreviews.html

Don't forget, you can receive 20% off any O'Reilly, No Starch, 
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----------------------------------------------------------------
New Releases
----------------------------------------------------------------
***iLife: The Missing Manual
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596006942
"iLife: The Missing Manual" gives you everything you need to unleash 
your
creative genius with iLife '04, Apple's suite of five programs--iTunes
4.6, iPhoto 4, iMovie 4, iDVD 4, and GarageBand--that's revolutionizing
the way we work and play. Celebrated author David Pogue makes sure 
there's
nothing standing between you and professional-caliber music, photos,
movies, and more. He highlights the newest features and improvements,
covers the capabilities and limitations of each program, and delivers
countless goodies you won't find anywhere else: undocumented tips, 
tricks,
and secrets for getting the very best performance out of every one of
these applications.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ilifetmm/


***The Mezonic Agenda: Hacking the Presidency
Publisher: Syngress
ISBN: 1931836833
The Mezonic Agenda: Hacking the Presidency is the first cyber-thriller
that allows readers to "hack along" with the heroes and villians of 
this
fictional narrative. It tells the tale of criminal hackers attempting 
to
compromise the results of a U.S. presidential election for their own 
gain.
The book deals with some of the most pressing topics in technology and
computer security today--reverse engineering, cryptography, buffer
overflows, and steganography--and includes a CD that contains real,
working versions of all the applications described and exploited in 
this
thriller.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1931836833/

Hack along at www.mezonicagenda.com


***sendmail 8.13 Companion
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596008457
For a simple dot release, V8.13 sendmail has added more features, 
options,
and fundamental changes than any other single dot release to date. An
excellent companion to our popular "sendmail, 3rd Edition," this book
documents the improvements in V8.13 in parallel with its release.
Highlighting important changes in the new version, the book points out 
not
only what is handy or nice to have, but also what's critical in getting
the best behavior from sendmail.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sendmailcomp/

Chapter 3, "Tune sendmail with Compile-Time Macros," is available 
online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sendmailcomp/chapter/index.html


***PayPal Hacks
Publisher: O'Reilly 
ISBN: 0596007515
Learn how to make the most of PayPal to get the most out of your online
business or transactions. Presented in a clear and logical format, each
hack consists of a task to accomplish or a creative solution to a 
problem.
You'll learn everything from how to protect yourself while buying and
selling on eBay, to how to handle online subscriptions, affiliations, 
and
donations. This collection of tips and tricks provides the tools and
details necessary to make PayPal more profitable, more flexible, and 
more
convenient. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/payhks/index.html

Sample hacks are available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/payhks/chapter/index.html


***Camera Phone Obsession
Publisher: Paraglyph Press
ISBN: 1932111964
"Camera Phone Obsession" is a unique guide that marries the technology 
of
camera phones with the emerging culture. Author Peter Aitken shows you 
how
to purchase the best camera phones, how to best shoot and print photos,
what the best services are for sharing photos, and how to use your 
camera
phones with your PCs.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1932111964/


***Linux iptables Pocket Reference
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596005695
"Linux iptables Pocket Reference" will help you at those critical 
moments
when you have to open or close a port in a hurry to enable important
traffic or block an attack. The book helps you keep the subtle syntax
straight and remember all the values you have to enter to be as secure 
as
possible. Listings of all iptables options are organized by suitability
for firewalling, accounting, and Network Address Translation (NAT). 
This
unique quick reference format is ideal for Linux administrators who 
have a
firewall in place but need to be prepared for frequent changes in their
environment.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lnxiptablespr/


***ASP.NET Cookbook
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596003781
ASP.NET brings rapid drag-and-drop productivity to web applications and
web services. There are many benefits to using ASP.NET, and one major
drawback: the time developers must devote to mastering this new web
application technology. "ASP.NET Cookbook" provides a wealth of 
solutions
to problems commonly encountered when developing in ASP.NET. Appealing 
to
a wide range of developers, each recipe provides an immediate solution 
to
a pressing problem, followed by discussion so developers can learn to
adapt techniques to similar situations. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/aspnetckbk/

Chapter 12, "Dynamic Images," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/aspnetckbk/chapter/index.html


***Building the Perfect PC
Publisher: O'Reilly 
ISBN: 0596006632
For many computer users, a ready-made system is about as satisfying as 
a
frozen microwave dinner: sure, it works, but it's not exactly what you
need or want. Don't accept the assortment of components bundled for 
your
price point; build your own PC. With straight-forward language, clear
end-to-end instructions, and extensive illustrations, this book covers 
a
variety of complete systems and their components. Regardless of your
experience, you can take control and create your ideal machine. 

Chapter 1, "Fundamentals," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/buildpc/chapter/index.html


***NUnit Pocket Reference
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596007396
"NUnit Pocket Reference" is a complete reference to this popular and
practical new open source framework. Filling in the blanks left by
existing documentation and online discussion, this little book offers
developers everything they need to know to install, configure, and use
NUnit and the NUnit user interface. It includes a reference to the 
NUnit
framework classes, and offers practical, real-world "NUnit examples." 
With
NUnit Pocket Reference, IT managers will know what to expect when they
implement unit testing in their projects. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/nunitpr/

A sample excerpt, "Unit Testing with NUnit," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/nunitpr/chapter/index.html


***Head First Servlets & JSP
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596005407
"Head First Servlets & JSP" will help you truly understand the latest
version, J2EE 1.4, of Servlets and JSP. You'll learn how to write 
servlets
and JSPs, what makes the Container tick, how to use the new JSP 
Expression
Language (EL), and even some server-side design patterns. Written by 
the
creators of the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam,
this book will help you pass the exam, talk about Struts at dinner
parties, and put Servlets and JSP to work right away.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/headservletsjsp/


***Oracle Initialization Parameters Pocket Reference
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596007701
"Oracle Initialization Parameters Pocket Reference" provides the
information Oracle DBAs need to keep databases operating at peak
performance. The book describes each initialization parameter, 
including
what category it's in--from auditing to multi-threaded server MTS--and
whether it can be modified dynamically via the ALTER SESSION or ALTER
SYSTEM commands. You'll also find performance tips, such as how the
various parameters interact and optimal settings for different
configurations. No other reference focuses exclusively on these
initialization parameters; this book is an absolute must for anyone
working with an Oracle database.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/oracleippr/


***Excel 2003 Programming: A Developer's Notebook
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596007671
Light on theory and heavy on practical application, this guide takes
intermediate to advanced Excel VBA programmers directly to Excel 2003's
new features. With the help of dozens of practical labs, you'll learn 
to
work with lists and XML data, secure Excel applications, use Visual 
Studio
Tools for Office, consume Web Services, and collect data with Infopath. 
If
you'd like to work with Excel 2003 but don't know where to start, this
book is the solution. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/exceladn/

Chapter 2, "Share Workspaces and Lists," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/exceladn/chapter/index.html


***Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596006217
"Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials" is a tightly focused,
all-in-one technical overview for Oracle Application Server users of 
every
level. Divided into three concise sections, the book covers server 
basics,
core components, and server functionality. If you're concerned with 
using
and managing web servers, doing Java development and deployment, using 
or
developing for Oracle Portal, or using and administering business
intelligence and mobile or integration software, this guide will 
provide a
foundation for understanding and using OracleAS effectively and
efficiently.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/appserver/

Chapter 2, "Architecture," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/appserver/chapter/index.html

================================================
Upcoming Events
================================================
***For more events, please see:
http://events.oreilly.com/


***Digital Lifestyle Expo, New York, NY--September 25-26
Author and Mac guru David Pogue (Missing Manual Series) is a keynote
speaker at this event.
Marriott Marquis Hotel
New York, NY
http://www.dlexpo.com/


***Richard Thieme Visiting Bookstores in WI and IL--September 27-
October 2
Richard is author of "Islands in the Clickstream" (Syngress)  and is 
one
of the most visible commentators on technology and society, appearing
regularly on CNN, TechTV, and various other national media outlets. 

Schwartz Bookshops--7pm, September 27
4093 North Oakland Avenue, 
Shorewood, WI 53211

Transitions Bookplace--7pm, September 28
1000 W. North Avenue 
Chicago, IL 60622

Bookworld--October 1 & 2 
Friday, October 1 from 4-7:30 
Saturday, October 2 9AM to noon 
320 Watson Street 
Ripon, WI 54971

For more information on Richard Thieme, go to: 
http://www.thiemeworks.com/


***Northern California Independent Bookseller's Association Fall 
Trade Show--October 1-3
If you're going, be sure to stop by our booth, say "hey," and peruse
our wares.
Oakland Convention Center
Oakland, CA
http://www.nciba.com/tradeshow2004.html


***O'Reilly Authors at Windows Connections 2004--October 24-27
Authors Robbie Allen ("DNS on Windows Server 2003" & "Active Directory
Cookbook"), Mike Danseglio ("Securing Windows Server 2003"), and Roger
Grimes ("Malicious Mobile Code") are featured speakers at this event.
Hyatt Grand Cypress
Orlando, FL
http://www.winconnections.com/devconnections/win/defaultfall2004.asp

================================================
Conference News
================================================
***Early-Bird Deadline Extended
The O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference is October 25-28. This conference 
brings
together what you need to know and what you want to experience. You'll
learn how to solve the day in-day out problems of connected computing,
leverage the power of scripting, improve the performance of your 
network,
and protect your systems from intrusion. You'll also get up to speed on
grid computing, home automation, streaming media, how to build your own 
TV
studio, and much more.

User Group members who register before September 20, 2004 get a double
discount. Use code DSUG when you register, and receive 20% off the
"Early Bird" price.

To register, go to:
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2004/create/ord_mac04

O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference
October 25-28, 2004
Westin Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA
http://conferences.oreilly.com/macosxcon/


***Call for Participation: O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
What alpha geeks do today can radically alter the future of technology 
for
everyone tomorrow. O'Reilly's Emerging Technology Conference (ETech)
frames the ideas, projects, and technologies that the alpha geeks are
thinking about, hacking on, and inventing right now into a coherent
picture that we can build upon. If you've got your eye on nascent
technological transformations, send us a proposal (due September 27), 
and
join us in San Diego, California March 14-17 for ETech 2005.
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/et2005/create/e_sess

O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
March 14-17, 2005
Westin Horton Plaza, San Diego, California 
http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech/

================================================
News From O'Reilly & Beyond
================================================
---------------------
General News
---------------------
***Study Shows Safari Saves Time
A recent study by The Ridge Group of Princeton, New Jersey found that
Safari Bookshelf delivers savings of about 24 times its cost. The group
found that without the use of an Electronic Reference Library (ERL), 
the
typical technology professional spends an average of 31 hours per month
looking for answers, researching issues, and helping colleagues do the
same. Safari subscribers, however, report an average of 13.5 hours 
saved
per month--nearly half the amount of time lost by people who don't
subscribe.
Test it out: oreilly.com/go/safari-ug 


***A Conversation Between Dan Gillmor and Jay Rosen
Jay Rosen talks to Dan Gillmor about the current state of journalism 
and
the impact technology is having on traditional media. For a full expose 
on
the deep shift in how we make and consume the news, see Dan's recently
released "We the Media."
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2004/09/14/gillmor.html


***Fiddling with Nero 6 Ultra Edition
Wallace Wang, author of "The Book of Nero" writes a review of the 
latest
version of Nero
for Computing Unplugged.
http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200408/00001349001.html

---------------------
Digital Media
---------------------
***O'Reilly Launches Digital Media Web Site
To inspire digital media users to new heights of creativity and 
expertise,
we've unveiled our new Digital Media Web Site: 
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/

For more information check out Derrick Story's blog "Doing Digital 
Media Right":
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/5487

Or the official Digital Media Web Site press release:
http://press.oreilly.com/pub/pr/1221


***Tasteful Food Photography
Food photography traditionally has been the realm of a handful of
weathered professionals. So for the casual shooter or even the 
ambitious
amateur, getting great food shots can seem like an intimidating and
daunting task at best. But it doesn't have to be that way.
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2004/09/15/food_photos.html


***Machinima: Filmmaking's Destiny
Machinima is filmmaking redefined--a merging of three creative mediums:
filmmaking, animation, and 3D game technology. Think animated 
filmmaking
within a real-time 3D virtual environment. Here's a guided tour from 
Paul
Marion, author of Paraglyph's recently released "3D Game-Based 
Filmmaking:
The Art of Machinima."
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2004/09/08/machinima.html

---------------------
Open Source
---------------------
***Linux/Unix SysAdmin Certification Special Offer for September
Learn how to administer Linux/Unix systems and gain real experience 
with a
root access account. This four-course series from the O'Reilly Learning
Lab covers the Unix file system, networking, Unix services, and 
scripting.
Upon completion of the series, you'll get a Certificate for 
Professional
Development from the University of Illinois. And this month, when you
enroll in three of the online courses, you get the fourth free.
http://oreilly.useractive.com/courses/sysadmin.php3

Find out more about the O'Reilly Learning Lab go to:
http://learninglab.oreilly.com


***The Best Tips from the Great Linux Desktop Migration Contest
What's the best way to move an organization to a Linux desktop? Here's 
a
collection of the best tips we received from our Great Linux Desktop
Migration contest.
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/09/10/migrationtips.html

---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***More Inside News on O'Reilly's Mac OS X Conference 
We've added top-level Apple-employed speakers to the conference 
faculty.
And yes, some have been approved to talk about Tiger. Here's the latest
inside scoop on the upcoming Mac OS X event.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/09/16/osx_conf.html


***Acrobat to a Paperless Office 
Adobe Acrobat is an excellent program for document distribution. Most
users are familiar with the freely available Acrobat Reader, allowing
anyone to view PDF documents. The full-blown version of Acrobat offers 
a
range of tools to manage document distribution beyond just converting
other formats to PDF. Julie Starr shows you how to use these tools to
design the paperless office.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/09/14/pdf.html


***Mac OS X for the Traveler
In this ongoing series about traveling safely with your PowerBook or
iBook, you'll learn that preparation is one of the keys to peace of 
mind.
F.J. helps you get your equipment in order.

Part One:
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/08/31/traveller.html

Part Two:
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/09/03/traveller.html

Part Three:
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/09/10/traveller.html

---------------------
Windows
---------------------
***Site Surveys--Windows DevCenter & ONDotnet
We're asking our readers to participate in a couple of online surveys: 
the
Windows DevCenter Survey and the ONDotnet Survey. This is your 
opportunity
to help shape our online editorial direction and influence which book
titles we pursue. You'll also have a chance to win some of our most
popular Windows or .NET books.

Windows DevCenter Survey:
http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB2HMXUEFSE

ONDotnet Survey:
http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB2PYHVA5GV

***Lightweight XML Editing in Word 2003 
Strictly speaking, you can edit custom XML in Word, but there are
limitations that make the process needlessly complex. This article
presents a lightweight approach to XML editing in Word that works in 
all
editions of Word 2003. All you need besides Word is an XSLT processor.
Evan Lenz, coauthor of Office 2003 XML, shows you how.
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2004/09/07/XMLnword2003.html


***Site Navigation in ASP.NET 2.0 
As your web site grows in complexity, it is imperative that you make 
the
effort to make your site much more navigable. A common technique 
employed
by web sites today uses a site map to display a breadcrumb navigational
path on the page. ASP.NET 2.0 comes with the SiteMapPath control to 
help
you in site navigation. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how it all works.
http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2004/09/13/site_nav_aspnet20.html

---------------------
Java
---------------------
***IRC Text to Speech with Java
Paul Mutton creates a multi-platform IRC bot that uses the FreeTTS Java
speech synthesizer library to convert IRC messages into audible speech.
Why would you want to use an IRC text-to-speech system? By reading out
messages as they arrive, you can keep working, diverting your attention 
to
IRC only when necessary. Paul is the author of "IRC Hacks."
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/09/08/IRCinJava.html


***Developing Your First Enterprise Beans, Part 1 
In this first installment of a two-part series of excerpts from Chapter 
4
of Enterprise JavaBeans, 4th Edition, you'll learn how to develop your
first entity bean. This segment covers how to define the remote 
interface,
how to create a deployment descriptor, how to deploy, and more. Code
examples step you through everything you need to do to create and use 
your
first entity bean.
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/excerpt/ejb4_chap4/index.html

================================================
O'Reilly User Group Wiki
================================================
Don't forget to check out the O'Reilly UG wiki to see what user groups
across the globe are up to:
http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/lpt?HomePage

Until next time--

Marsee