Hello,

Just to let you know this February is my four year anniversary working 
with User Groups.
Thanks for making my job one of the best here at O'Reilly.

--Marsee


================================================================
O'Reilly UG Program News--Just for User Group Leaders
January 27, 2006
================================================================
-RSS Feeds--Do You Use Them?
-Put Up an O'Reilly ETech Banner, Get a Free Book
-Put Up a MySQL Users Conference Banner Get a Free Book
-Promotional Material Available
-Safari Affiliate Program for User Groups
----------------------------------------------------------------
Book Info
----------------------------------------------------------------
***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 
your request. Let me know if you need your book by a certain date. 
Allow at least four weeks for shipping. 


***Please Send Copies of Your Book Reviews
Email me a copy of your newsletter or book review.
For tips and suggestions on writing book reviews, go to:
<http://ug.oreilly.com/bookreviews.html>


***Discount Information
Don't forget to remind your members about the 30% discount on 
O'Reilly, No Starch, Paraglyph, PC Publishing, Pragmatic Bookshelf, 
SitePoint, and Syngress books. 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.

----------------------------------------------------------------
General News or Inquiries
----------------------------------------------------------------
***Do you use RSS Feeds? Does your group site offer an RSS feed?
What are your favorite RSS Feeds and what applications or web sites
do you use to read them? Send me an email and let me know.


***Put Up an O'Reilly ETech Banner, Get a Free Book
We're looking for user groups to display our conference banner on their
web sites. If you send me the link to your group's site with our
O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference banner, I will send you the
O'Reilly book of your choice.

ETech Banners:
<http://ug.oreilly.com/banners/etech/>


***Put Up a MySQL Users Conference Banner Get a Free Book
We're looking for user groups to display our conference banner on their
web sites. If you send me the link to your group's site with our
MySQL Users Conference banner, I will send you the O'Reilly book 
of your choice.

MySQL Users Conference:
<http://ug.oreilly.com/banners/mysql/>


***Promotional Material Available:
The following items are available for your next meeting. Let me know 
the
item and the amount you'd like:

-MAKE Magazine Volume 4
-O'Reilly Catalog
-30% UG Discount bookmarks
-ETech Conference brochures <http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech/>
-ETel Conference brochures <http://conferences.oreilly.com/etel/>


***Safari Affiliate Program for User Groups
Give your members access to content from Safari's thousands of
technology books right on your site and raise money for your
user group at the same time. Use custom designed search boxes, 
show the latest releases, or display your favorite book cover
with our easy to use tools.

For more information and to sign up for the Safari Affiliate 
Program, go to:
<http://ug.oreilly.com/safari_affl.html?CMP=EMC-U1L284871961>

================================================================
O'Reilly News for User Group Members
January 27, 2006
================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------
Book News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Podcasting Pocket Guide
-Learn to Program
-Dreamweaver 8 Design and Construction
-C# Cookbook, Second Edition
-Baseball Hacks
-Essential Microsoft Operations Manager
-Learning Windows Server 2003, Second Edition
----------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Digital Photography Fundamentals Workshop with Stephen Johnson,
 Pacifica, CA--January 28-29, 2006
-II Conferencia Internacional de Software Libre, 
 Malaga, Spain--February 15-17
-Derrick Story at NCMUG, Rohnert Park, CA--February 21
----------------------------------------------------------------
Conference News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Upcoming 2006 O'Reilly conferences
-MySQL Registration is Open
-ETech Registration is Open
----------------------------------------------------------------
News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
-Early Access to Cutting-Edge Technology
-What Are Syndication Feeds?
-Hacking Online Applications for Location Awareness
-PHP Easter Egg
-Simplify PHP Development with WASP
-Running Commercial Linux Software on FreeBSD 
-Putting Google Video onto Your iPod
-Adding a New Style Preferences Window to Your App, Part 1
-Using the Windows Mobile 5.0 Emulators in Visual Studio 2005
-An Inside Look at IPSec in Vista
-What's Your Link Reputation?
-Building a Web Community with Bribes
-Head First's Cover Model Contest
-Using Lucene to Search Java Source Code 
-Spring: Integrating iBATIS
-O'Reilly's New Podcasting Site
-Connect the Video iPod to TV
-Jack Herrington Interviews Founder of Fake Science
-MAKE Contest on Digg

----------------------------------------------------------------
From Your Peers
----------------------------------------------------------------
***Photos from Macworld

================================================
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 30% off any O'Reilly, No Starch, 
Paraglyph, PC Publishing, 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 address. This offer 
applies to US delivery addresses in the fifty states and Puerto Rico.
For more details, go to:
<http://www.oreilly.com/news/freeshipping_0703.html>

----------------------------------------------------------------
New Releases
----------------------------------------------------------------
***Podcasting Pocket Guide
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596102305
Whether you're a listener or an aspiring podcaster, "Podcasting Pocket
Guide" is a non-technical guide for the non-geek who wants in on this
revolutionary new medium. This handy guide shows you how to tune into
unique and interesting podcasts and download them to your favorite
portable device and contains an introduction to creating, recording,
publishing, and finding an audience for your own, professional-quality
podcasts.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/podcastingpg/index.html>


***Learn to Program
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ISBN: 0976694042
It's now easier to learn to write your own computer software than it 
has
ever been before. Now everyone can learn to write programs for
themselves--no previous experience is necessary. Chris Pine takes a
thorough, but light-hearted approach that teaches you how to program
with a minimum of fuss or bother. Starting with small, simple one-line
programs to calculate your age in seconds, you'll see how to have your
web page send you email, to shuffle your music more intelligently, to
rename your photos from your digital camera, and more. You'll learn the
same technology used to drive modern dynamic websites and large,
professional applications.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/0976694042/index.html>


***Dreamweaver 8 Design and Construction
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596101635
Whether you're an absolute beginner or you're switching web design
programs, "Dreamweaver 8 Design and Construction" gets you up to speed
quickly and efficiently. With speed as its watchword, Marc Campbell's
practical hands-on guide focuses on rapid prototyping techniques for
constructing both interactive and static web sites. Clear and thorough,
it emphasizes learning by doing with short, task-oriented chapters that
use screen shots, illustrations, and sample layouts to demonstrate
theory through design solutions.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dreamwvrmx/index.html>


***C# Cookbook, Second Edition
Publisher:O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596100639
Completely revised for C# 2.0, this updated bestseller offers more than
100 new code solutions to common problems that you're sure to face as a
C# programmer. Nearly every solution or "recipe" contains a complete,
documented code sample showing you how to solve the specific problem.
Covers .NET Framework Class Libraries, interoperability, design
patterns, and much more.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csharpckbk2/index.html>


***Baseball Hacks 
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596009429
Whether you're a fantasy baseball fanatic, casual fan, or just a
statistically inclined mathematician, "Baseball Hacks" has something 
for
you. This comprehensive guide walks readers through the sport's core
statistical categories, and then demonstrates how to use this data to
truly understand baseball. Statistical analysis, data mining,
probability, forecasting, and other valuable tools are examined.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/baseballhks/index.html>


***Essential Microsoft Operations Manager
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596009534
This comprehensive tutorial gives system administrators a solid
foundation for planning, implementing, and administering Microsoft
Operations Manager (MOM) 2005. Learn how to program MOM so it automates
burdensome and lengthy diagnostic tasks, making your life as a
troubleshooter easier than ever. Features practical, real-world advice
from MOM expert Chris Fox.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/microsoftopmgr/index.html>


***Learning Windows Server 2003, Second Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596101236
This compact guide provides the nuts and bolts for installing,
configuring, securing, and managing Windows Server 2003. Topics include
patch management, Active Directory replication, network access
quarantining, server clustering, and more. Designed for system
administrators of all levels, "Learning Windows Server 2003, 2nd 
Edition"
has also been completely updated for Service Pack 1 and release R2. 
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lwinsvr20032/>

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

***Digital Photography Fundamentals Workshop with Stephen Johnson,
 Pacifica, CA--January 28-29
Photographer and author Stephen Johnson ("Stephen Johnson on Digital
Photography") presents a two day class designed to provide you with the
background and understanding to transition your work into the digital
realm. The digital basics are covered here, in real world terms, with
care to make sure the concepts are understood and the complications
simplified. Those basics are built on to tackle the thorny issues of
camera design and choice, data storage, color management and printing.
<http://www.sjphoto.com/beg_wksp_frameset.html>
	

***II Conferencia Internacional de Software Libre, 
 Malaga, Spain--February 15-17	
"Innovation and Freedom" is the theme of the Second Open Source World
conference organized by both the Andalucia and the Extremadura Regional
Governments. Stop by our booth to check out our new titles and get 30%
discount on all purchases.
<http://www.opensourceworldconference.com/malaga06/es/modules/wiwimod/>


***Derrick Story at NCMUG, Rohnert Park, CA--February 21
Author Derrick Story ("Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 3rd Edition,"
"iPhoto 5: The Missing Manual," and "Digital Photography Hacks") 
presents
"Dumb DigiPhoto Tricks" to the North Coast Mac Users Group. There are 
so
many serious things to do with you Mac that sometimes we forget to 
play.
Join Derrick as he shows you how to entertain yourself (and friends)
with digital photography toys and your Mac.
<http://www.ncmug.org/events.html#Feb2006>

================================================
Conference News
================================================
***Upcoming 2006 O'Reilly conferences 
-O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, March 6-9 in 
 San Diego, California
-MySQL Users Conference, April 24-27 in Santa Clara, California--early 
 registration discount ends March 6
-Where 2.0, June 13-14 in San Jose, California--registration opens in
 February
-O'Reilly Open Source Convention, July 24-28 in Portland, Oregon--
 Call for Participation ends February 13; registration opens in April
-O'Reilly European Open Source Convention, September 18-21 in 
 Brussels, Belgium--Call for Participation ends March 6; registration
 opens in May
-Web 2.0, November 7-9 in San Francisco, California

For up to date information on each conference, go to:
<http://conferences.oreilly.com>


***MySQL Users Conference Registration in Open
Join us at the 2006 edition of the MySQL Users Conference, the largest
gathering of MySQL developers, users, and DBAs. It is the only event
where you will be able to join the core MySQL development team and over
1000 users, open source innovators, and technology partners under one
roof.

MySQL Users Conference, April 24-27, 2006
Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA
<http://www.mysqluc.com/>

User Group members who register before March 6, 2006 get a double
discount. Use code "mys06dusg" when you register, and receive 15% off
the early registration price.

To register for the conference, go to:
<http://www.mysqluc.com/pub/w/45/register.html>


***Register for O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
We're five years into the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference and
the stuff of which it is made shows no sign of abating: bandwidth
continues to broaden, storage grows ever larger and cheaper, and 
content
keeps streaming from the firehose. How do we visualize all of this
digital data, filter it, remix it, and access it in meaningful ways? 
The 
coming technical challenge is not about generating digital content-we 
have 
more than enough already. It's time to do something with that data. 
It's time
to build The Attention Economy.

O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, March 6-9, 2006
Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA
<http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech/>

User Group members who register with code "et06dsug"  receive 20% off
the conference pricing.

To register for the conference, go to:
<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/43/register.html>

================================================
News From O'Reilly & Beyond
================================================
---------------------
General News
---------------------
***Early Access to Cutting-Edge Technology
O'Reilly's Safari Books Online has just announced a new service called
Rough Cuts that gives you early access to content on cutting-edge
technologies months before it's published. Rough Cuts allows you to
purchase work-in-progress manuscripts of selected titles. You'll even
have the chance to shape the final product by sending feedback to the
author and editors. The beta version just debuted with four
works-in-progress covering Ajax, Ruby, and Flickr. For more 
information,
go to:
<http://www.oreilly.com/roughcuts/>

Titles now available:
Ajax Hacks: Rough Cuts Version 
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ajaxhks/>

Flickr Hacks: Rough Cuts Version 
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/flickrhks/>

Ruby Cookbook: Rough Cuts Version 
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyckbk/>

Ruby on Rails: Up and Running: Rough Cuts Version 
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyrails/>

Rough Cuts FAQ
<http://www.oreilly.com/roughcuts/faq.csp>


***What Are Syndication Feeds?
O'Reilly recently commissioned Shelley Powers, a specialist in
technology architecture and software development, to create a
comprehensive PDF document that would help webmasters manage their
incoming and outgoing feeds. Shelley produced nothing short of a
must-have reference for online publishers, titled "What Are Syndication
Feeds?" You can download it today from the O'Reilly shopping cart.
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/syndicationfeeds/?CMP=ILC-7VG584093978>


***Hacking Online Applications for Location Awareness 
Based on his work developing a stable wireless mesh platform that 
allows
true peer-to-peer multi-hop network connectivity, Chris Ngan discusses
some proof-of-concept applications that demonstrate the power of this
network infrastructure and the ease with which text/chat, voice, and
video applications can be made location-aware.
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/etel/2006/01/20/hacking-online-applications-for-location-awareness.html>

---------------------
Open Source
---------------------
***PHP Easter Egg
The Easter Bunny has come early. Kevin Yank uncovers a little-known PHP
Easter Egg.
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2006/01/08/phps-doggie-easter-egg/


***Simplify PHP Development with WASP 
Where are the all-in-one PHP frameworks that make building 
well-factored
and maintainable applications as easy as building simple sites? Brian
Fioca shows how to make a simple database-backed site with WASP in just
a few lines of code.
<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/php/2006/01/19/wasp_intro.html>


***Running Commercial Linux Software on FreeBSD 
One intriguing feature of the BSDs is their ability to run binaries for
Linux distributions. This can be very useful for running commercial
software. Michael W. Lucas demonstrates how to configure and use the
Linux compatibility layer on FreeBSD.
<http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2006/01/12/Big_Scary_Daemons.html>

---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***Putting Google Video onto Your iPod 
There's some pretty interesting stuff on Google Video. In this article,
Erica Sadun shows you how to download videos, convert them to an
iPod-friendly format, and load them onto your new 5G video iPod.
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/01/24/google-video.html>


***Adding a New Style Preferences Window to Your App, Part 1 
In this first of two articles, Martin Redington shows you how to add a
new style preferences window to your application that behaves in all
respects exactly like the Apple preferences windows.
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/01/20/preferences.html>

---------------------
Windows/.NET
---------------------
***Using the Windows Mobile 5.0 Emulators in Visual Studio 2005 
Emulators are a must-have for anyone developing mobile applications. To
get you started, Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use the emulator tools
that shipped with Windows Mobile 5.0 and Visual Studio 2005.
<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/01/24/windows-mobile5-emulators-in-visual-studio-2005.html>


***An Inside Look at IPSec in Vista 
IPSec management tools are not particularly intuitive in XP. But things
are going to be better in Vista. Mitch Tulloch, author of "Windows
Server Hacks," takes a look at IPSec support in Vista, and clues you in
on what you can expect.
<http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/01/17/an-inside-look-at-ipsec-in-vista.html>

---------------------
Web
---------------------
***What's Your Link Reputation?
Forget Pagerank: as Gord explains, this measure no longer allows us to
accurately or consistently predict how a page will perform in the 
search
results. Here, he unravels the concept of link reputation, explaining
why it's important and what it means for your site's ranking.
<http://www.sitepoint.com/article/whats-your-link-reputation>


***Building a Web Community with Bribes
Building a community on the Web is one of the hardest things to do.
Chris explains some shortcuts that you can take to drastically speed up
the process.
<http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2006/01/09/building-a-forum-with-bribes/>

---------------------
Java
---------------------
***Help Choose a Cover Model for the Next Head First book
JavaRanch is hosting a contest to choose a cover model for the next 
Head
First book ("Head First Objects"), due out this Spring. Examine seven
wannabe photos, decide which would work best, then craft an essay or 
poem
describing why. Try your luck at winning one of five fabulous prizes,
including the chance to have your name appear in the new book. Deadline
for entries is January 29th.
<http://saloon.javaranch.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=75&t=000265>


***Using Lucene to Search Java Source Code 
Most uses of the Java-based Lucene search engine are for searching
typical text documents. But what if you want to search Java code 
itself?
Renuka Sindhgatta argues that this would be a boon for finding reusable
code, and shows how to adapt Lucene to parse Java code for maximum
searchability.
<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2006/01/18/using-lucene-to-search-java-source.html>


***Spring: Integrating iBATIS 
iBATIS is one of the object-relational (OR) frameworks embraced by the
Spring framework, and it's an ideal choice for those seeking a middle
ground between full-blown OR and hand-written JDBC. In this excerpt 
from
"Spring: A Developer's Notebook," Bruce Tate and Justin Gehtland show
how to integrate iBATIS with Spring.
<http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/excerpt/springadn_ch05/index.html>

---------------------
Podcasts
---------------------
***O'Reilly's New Podcasting Site 
Check out our latest podcasting shows and selections:

"Distributing the Future" hosted by Daniel Steinberg
O'Reilly Media's weekly podcast show features the technology and the
people behind what you're using now--and what you'll use next. This 
half
hour program includes interviews and commentary on science, technology,
related social issues, and is good fun, to boot.
<http://www.oreillynet.com/future/>

"MAKE Audio and Video" hosted by Phil Torrone
Each week MAKE magazine delivers audio and video of amazing Makers,
inventions, do-it-yourself projects, and lab tours. Phil also showcases
how all kinds of things are made, from wireless microphones to 
cigar-box
guitars. 
<http://makezine.com/blog/archive/make_podcast/index.html>

"FOO Casts"--Podcasts from Friends of O'Reilly
FOO Casts feature great audio interviews from O'Reilly's editors,
authors, conference presenters, and other friends. Get a whole new
perspective by hearing an author explain a concept in a new way, or
speak on new tech topics, gadgets, and tips and techniques.

"In Our Ears & Pick of the Week Selections"--Highlights what O'Reilly
editors, authors, and readers recommend.
http://www.oreillynet.com/podcasts/

---------------------
Digital Media
---------------------
***Connect the Video iPod to TV 
Did you know you can use your Video iPod with your TV? Best-selling
author Derrick Story details how you can connect the Video iPod using
standard cables and share your content on a TV any time you visit with
friends and family.
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/01/16/connect-the-video-ipod-to-tv.html>


***Jack Herrington Interviews Founder of Fake Science
James Polanco, founder of Fake Science, chats with Jack about his
popular radio show and how he started podcasting to cover digital music
news, reviews, and to showcase favorite artists. James reveals his gear
setup for recording and editing the show.
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/01/09/jack-herrington-interviews-james-polanco.html>

---------------------
MAKE
---------------------
***MAKE Contest on Digg
MAKE and Digg.com are testing the delivary of the latest news and top
stories from Digg using MAKEbot. On AIM/iChat, just add MAKEbot to your
buddy list and then type "subscribe digg 1" or "subscribe diggall 1" to
get the latest/top stories from Digg every hour. ("1" is the number of
hours, but you can change that. You can also just type digg or diggall
at any time). MAKE will randomly pick a user of the MAKEbot and give 
away
a high-speed flash photography kit, T-shirts, a year of MAKE, and our
new book, "Makers." So add the MAKEbot and start Digging to win! If you
need help with the MAKEbot, just type "help"during your chat.


***Meet Your Fellow Makers
Find and post events, exhibits, and more with Maker events listings:
<http://www.makezine.com/events/>


***Try a Sample Project from MAKE:
<http://makezine.com/samples/>

================================================
From Your Peers
================================================
***Photos from Macworld
Check out photos from User Group University and Macworld. Thanks to 
Maria O.
Arguello, Main Line Macintosh Users Group, for sharing these with us:
<http://homepage.mac.com/marguello2/PhotoAlbum22.html>
(See if you can find the photos of Tim O'Reilly saving the day by 
bringing
more copies of "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Ed" to David 
Pogue's
talk at the O'Reilly Booth!)

***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

================================================================
O'Reilly 
1005 Gravenstein Highway North  
Sebastopol, CA   95472
http://ug.oreilly.com/  http://www.oreilly.com
================================================================