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O'Reilly UG Program News--Just for User Group Leaders
April 28, 2005
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-Thank you!
-Promotional Material Available for Your Group
-Safari Affiliate Program for User Groups
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Book Info
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***Review books are available 
Copies of our books are available for your members to review--
send me an email and please include the book's ISBN number on 
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***Please send copies of your book reviews
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***Discount information
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No Starch, Paraglyph, Pragmatic Bookshelf, SitePoint, and Syngress 
books and O'Reilly conferences. 
Just use code DSUG.


***Group purchases with better discounts are available
Please let me know if you are interested and I can put you in 
touch with our sales department.

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General News
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***Thanks for all the replies to my request for Linux reviewers.
The response was fantastic.


***Promotional Material Available:
The following items are available for your next meeting.
Numbers are limited so please don't wait too long.

Let me know the type and the amount you would like
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"iPhoto: The Missing Manual"


***Safari Affiliate Program for User Groups
Give your members access to content from Safari's thousands of 
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 ================================================================
O'Reilly News for User Group Members
April 28, 2005
================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------
Book News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
-Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds
-Data Crunching
-Developing Feeds with RSS and Atom
-Degunking Microsoft Office
-Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows One-on-One
-Spring: A Developer's Notebook
-Degunking Your Personal Finances
-Network Security Tools
-MAKE Subscriptions Available
----------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------------------------------------------------
-BSDCan 2005, Ontario, Canada--May 12-14
-David Sklar Classes at Big Nerd Ranch, Atlanta, GA--May 16-20
-Colin Moock's ActionScript Boot Camp, Los Angeles, CA--May 16-17
----------------------------------------------------------------
Conference News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Where 2.0 Conference Registration Open, San Francisco, CA--June 29-30
-EuroOSCON Call for Papers Now Open, 
  Amsterdam, The Netherlands--October 17-20
----------------------------------------------------------------
News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-O'Reilly Radar Blog Launched
-Mapping Hacks Safari Exclusive
-Wired, MAKE, And MacGyver
-Revitalizing the Pay-Per-Call System
-The State of the Dolphin at the MySQL Users Conference 2005
-PHP 5 on Mac OS X
-Trust and Zeal in Open Source Advocacy
-Housecleaning Tips for Tiger
-Mac Mini Eye for the Linux-Windows Guy
-Protect Yourself from WiFi Snoops
-XML DataSource Controls in .NET 2.0
-Five Favorite Features from 5.0
-Adding Custom Buttons to Internet Explorer
-Make Your Own Music Software with Pure Data
-Johnny “Juice” Rosado: Digital Public Enemy
-Panoramas Made Easy
-The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks, & Hacks
-The Future: HTML or XHTML?

================================================
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, 
Paraglyph, Pragmatic Bookshelf, SitePoint, or Syngress book you 
purchase directly from O'Reilly.
Just use code DSUG when ordering online or by phone 800-998-9938.
http://www.oreilly.com/

***Free ground shipping is available for online orders of at 
least $29.95 that go to a single U.S. address. This offer 
applies to U.S. delivery addresses in the 50 states and Puerto Rico.
For more details, go to:
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----------------------------------------------------------------
New Releases
----------------------------------------------------------------
***Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596006098
A must-have for Java developers, this second edition has been reworked,
revised, and expanded upon to reflect Ant's evolution. It documents the
new ways that Ant is being applied, as well as the array of optional 
tasks
that Ant supports. In fact, this new edition covers everything about 
this
extraordinary build management tool from downloading and installing, to
using Ant to build web applications, to using Ant to test code. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/anttdg2/

Chapter 6, "Getting Source Code from CVS Repositories," is available:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/anttdg2/chapter/index.html


***Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 059600754X
This detailed, step-by-step guide provides both home and business users
with a hassle-free way to investigate Linux before purchasing and
installing a complete Linux distribution. Quickly learn how to use 
Linux
to perform your most common tasks without changing, installing, or
configuring a thing on your computer. This release comes with Move, a 
CD
that allows Windows users to try all the features of Mandrake Linux
without the hassle of actually installing Linux. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/tdlinux/

Chapter 7, "Edit Digital Images," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/tdlinux/chapter/index.html


***Data Crunching
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ISBN: 0974514071
This book describes the most useful data crunching techniques, explains
when you should use them, and shows how they will make your life 
easier.
Along the way, it will introduce you to some handy, but under-used,
features of Java, Python, and other languages. It will also show you 
how
to test data crunching programs, and how data crunching fits into the
larger software development picture.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/0974514071/


***Developing Feeds with RSS and Atom
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596008813
This step-by-step guide offers bloggers, web developers, and 
programmers
an understanding of content syndication and the technologies that make 
it
possible. It highlights all the new features of RSS 2.0, and offers
complete coverage of its rival technology, Atom. If you're interested 
in
producing your own content feed, this is the one book you'll want in
hand.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/deveoprssatom/

Chapter 4, "RSS 2.0," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/deveoprssatom/chapter/index.html


***Degunking Microsoft Office
Publisher: Paraglyph Press
ISBN: 1932111956
"Degunking Microsoft Office" covers the basics to help you quickly get
your PC back to top performance. The book is organized according to
special "cleaning" processes that will improve the performance of your
computer. Shortcut and time calculation charts are provided at the
beginning of the book to help you determine how much time is required 
to
perform different degunking tasks from small to large.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1932111956/index.html


***Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows One-on-One
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596008449
"Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows One-on-One" is a complete training
system on how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements software to edit and
optimize images. Written in conversational style and packed with
full-color photos, this book contains 12 step-by-step lessons on
real-world tasks, along with two hours of video tutorials on CD. 
You’ll
also learn about photography and graphic theory, best practices, and 
tips
for avoiding problems. Both image-editing novices and those already
familiar with using Photoshop Elements will benefit from this book.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/photoele3/


***Spring: A Developer's Notebook
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596009100
This no-nonsense book quickly gets you up to speed on the new Spring 
open
source framework. Favoring examples and practical application over 
theory,
"Spring: A Developer's Notebook" features ten code-intensive labs that
will force you to hone your skills by working through multiple
instructional examples. In the end, you'll understand how to produce
simple, clean, and effective applications. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/springadn/

Chapter 6, "Services and AOP," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/springadn/chapter/index.html


***Degunking Your Personal Finances 
Publisher: Paraglyph Press
ISBN: 1933097027
You don't have to win the lottery to improve your financial status.
"Degunking Your Personal Finances" will give you a simple, proven, 
12-step
plan to help you get out and stay out of debt. This unique book will 
help
you create a workable and enjoyable lifestyle, and get you to organize
your finances, save money, and really put your money to work for you.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1933097027/index.html


***Network Security Tools
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596007949
"Network Security Tools" accessibly shows experienced administrators 
how
to modify, customize, and extend popular open source security tools 
such
as Nikto, Ettercap, and Nessus. This concise, high-end guide discusses 
the
common customizations and extensions for these tools, then shows you 
how
to write even more specialized attack and penetration reviews that are
suited to your unique network environment. It also explains how tools 
like
port scanners, packet injectors, network sniffers, and web assessment
tools function.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/networkst/


***MAKE Subscriptions Available
The annual subscription price for four issues is $34.95. When you
subscribe with this link, you'll get a free issue--the first one plus 
four
more for $34.95. So subscribe for yourself or friends with this great
offer for charter subscribers: five volumes for the cost of four.
Subscribe at:
https://www.pubservice.com/MK/Subnew.aspx?PC=MK&PK=M5ZUGLA

The MAKE blog is available at:
http://www.makezine.com/blog/

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

***BSDCan 2005, Ontario, Canada--May 12-14
Dru Lavigne ("BSD Hacks"), Greg Lehey ("The Complete FreeBSD, 4th 
Ed."),
and No Starch's Michael W. Lucas ("Cisco Routers for the Desperate") 
will
be among the speakers this year.
http://www.bsdcan.org/2005/


***David Sklar Classes at Big Nerd Ranch, Atlanta, GA--May 16-20
Author David Sklar ("PHP Cookbook") leads PHP5 Bootcamp, an intensive
five-day course designed for system administrators, webmasters, and web
application developers, for Big Nerd Ranch.
http://www.bignerdranch.com/classes/php5.shtml


***Colin Moock's ActionScript Boot Camp, Los Angeles, CA--May 16-17
Join author Colin Moock ("Essential ActionScript 2.0") for this
ActionScript Boot Camp, a crash course on the fundamentals of 
ActionScript
programming in Flash MX 2004. Topics covered include a beginner's
introduction to Flash programming, an introduction to object-oriented
programming, and an introduction to Flash application architecture and
design patterns.
http://www.fitc.ca/bootcamp/

================================================
Conference News
================================================
***Where 2.0 Conference Registration Open, 
  San Francisco, CA--June 29-30
Join us at the first O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference. Location-based
services and mapping are becoming mainstream technologies. Meanwhile,
innovative new software makes it possible to apply the wealth of new 
data
to old business problems. Come explore the emerging consumer and
enterprise ecosystems around location-aware technologies that 
increasingly
impact the way we work and play.
For more information, go to:http://conferences.oreilly.com/where/

User Group members who register before May 31, 2005 get a double
discount. Use code "WHEREUG" when you register, and receive 15% off the
early registration price.

To register for the conference, go to:
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/where2005/create/ord_where


***EuroOSCON Call for Papers Now Open, 
  Amsterdam, The Netherlands--October 17-20
EuroOSCON 2005, to be held October 17-20 in Amsterdam, will explore the
best and newest open source technologies, with a focus on what's
particularly useful to companies, governments, and non-profits. Session
and tutorial proposals are due by midnight, May 23rd. We're interested 
in
all aspects of building applications, services, and systems that 
utilize
the new capabilities of the open source platform.
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/eurooscon/create/e_sess

Submit your proposal:
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/eurooscon/create/e_sess#form

================================================
News From O'Reilly & Beyond
================================================
---------------------
General News
---------------------
***O'Reilly Radar Blog Launched
O'Reilly is constantly watching the horizon for emerging technologies 
and
trends sure to affect you and your business. Featuring links, articles,
and blog entries posted by Tim O'Reilly, Rael Dornfest, Marc Hedlund, 
and
Nathan Torkington, the group weblog offers a window into the O'Reilly
predictive sense, letting you track what O'Reilly tracks.
http://radar.oreilly.com/

Be sure to read the About page for an overview:
http://radar.oreilly.com/about/


***"Mapping Hacks" Safari Exclusive
"Mapping Hacks," a collection of one hundred simple techniques for 
digital
mapmaking, is scheduled for a June release, but your advance purchase
gives you full access to the book's content right now. "Mapping Hacks" 
is
currently available as a Safari Exclusive, meaning only subscribers to
Safari's e-library can read it before its release. Purchase now and
receive 45 days of free access to the book with no subscription
necessary.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/mappinghks/


***Wired, MAKE, And MacGyver
The evolution of the geek mag.
http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a4255.asp


***Revitalizing the Pay-Per-Call System 
The 900 number, long associated with porn and psychics, is a technology
that was ahead of its time. Despite its reputation, pay-per-call 
service
is a proven and practical way to collect micropayments and create a
competitive marketplace for information services. Brian McConnell 
suggests
that third-party wireless providers use pay-per-call as a means to 
build
and profit from voice and data services.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/04/18/900numbers.html

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Open Source
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***The State of the Dolphin at the MySQL Users Conference 2005 
Daniel Steinberg's report from the 2005 MySQL Users Conference covers
David Axmark and Michael Widenius' "State of the Dolphin" keynote and
Michael Tiemann's keynote.
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/04/20/dolphinatmySQL.html

For all the announcements, press coverage, blogs, and photos from the
MySQL Conference, check out our Conference Coverage page:
http://www.onlamp.com/mysqluc2005/


***PHP 5 on Mac OS X
Blane Warren discusses writing PHP 5 on Mac OS X systems--the tools, 
the
software, and the utilities available to web developers.
http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=257605


***Trust and Zeal in Open Source Advocacy 
Advocacy is critical to the spread of open source and free software. 
Good
advocates build trust in their audiences, explaining how, and if, F/OSS
can help them solve their problems. Jono Bacon explains how to build 
trust
and avoid overzealous advocacy.
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2005/04/21/advocacy.html

---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***Housecleaning Tips for Tiger 
Is your Mac ready for a smooth transition to Tiger? Maybe you're in 
need
of a spring housecleaning anyway. Check out these tidy tips from 
Derrick
Story, then roll out the red carpet for Mac OS X 10.4.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/04/26/tiger.html


***Mac Mini Eye for the Linux-Windows Guy 
Todd had no intention of giving up his Linux and Windows boxes to 
become a
"Mac switcher." But he had heard good things about OS X, so the Mac 
mini
presented the opportunity for him to become a Mac-tryer. He details his
experiences here.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/04/19/mac_mini.html

---------------------
Windows/.NET
---------------------
***Protect Yourself from WiFi Snoops 
You needn't be at the mercy of WiFi snoops. There's a lot you can do to
protect your home or business network, without spending a lot of time 
or
even any money. Preston Gralla, author of "Windows XP Hacks, 2nd 
Edition,"
shows you how with step-by-step guides to hiding your network SSID,
filtering out MAC addresses, and using encryption.
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/04/19/WiFiHacks.html


***XML DataSource Controls in .NET 2.0 
With .NET 2.0's XML DataSource control, you can bind to an XML document
just as easily as you bind to tables in a database. If the XML document
you load is hierarchical, the data is exposed hierarchically, which 
makes
it ideal for mapping an XML document to a TreeView control. Jesse 
Liberty
explains how the XML DataSource works in ASP.NET.
http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2005/04/18/liberty.html

---------------------
Java
---------------------
***Five Favorite Features from 5.0
David Flanagan reviews five of his favorite new Java 5.0 features: the
Callable and Future interfaces, new APIs for varargs and autoboxing, 
new
ability interfaces, the @Override annotation, and MatchResult. Read to 
the
end, where David reveals a bonus sixth feature, a new language syntax
supported by Java 5.0 but known to very few. David is the author of 
"Java
in a Nutshell, 5th Edition."
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2005/04/20/javaIAN5.html


***Adding Custom Buttons to Internet Explorer 
Have you ever wanted to extend the Internet Explorer toolbar by adding
your own buttons? It's not that tough to do. Mitch Tulloch, author of
"Windows Server Hacks," walks you through it in a few easy steps.
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/04/26/ie_buttons.html

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Digital Media
---------------------
***Make Your Own Music Software with Pure Data
With Pd (Pure Data), the graphical music toolkit for Windows, Linux, 
and
Mac, you can wire up custom music programs no commercial software can
duplicate--for free. Generate and process complex streams of MIDI and
audio for live performance, build your own software synthesizer and
effects, and even process video. Here's how to get started.
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/04/27/pd.html


***Johnny “Juice” Rosado: Digital Public Enemy
Chuck D’s right-hand man explains the high-tech (and surprisingly
low-tech) secrets behind the Public Enemy sound, then shares a track 
from
the group’s upcoming album.
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/04/20/juice.html


***Panoramas Made Easy
Alex reviews some groundbreaking new software that any web designer or
digital camera enthusiast will find extremely useful in stitching 
together
panoramas.
http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=254954

---------------------
Web
---------------------
***The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks, & Hacks
"The CSS Anthology" from SitePoint offers a problem/solution format
designed to help make your site easier to maintain and faster to load 
with
CSS. If you've been working with images in CSS, you've probably looked 
for
answers to questions like "How do I position my background image?" or 
"How
do I set background images for other elements?" You'll find solutions 
to
these image-related CSS problems in this sample excerpt from the book:
Chapter 3, "CSS and Images."
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/css-anthology-tips-tricks-3


***The Future: HTML or XHTML?
Lachlan Hunt attempts to answer a crucial question about the future of 
the
Web: does that future lie with HTML or XHTML?
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/future-html-xhtml

================================================
From Your Peers
===============================================
*** Don't forget to check out the O'Reilly UG wiki to see what user
groups around the globe are up to:
http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/index.cgi

Until next time--

Marsee Henon


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