Apress The Essential Guide to Flash CS4 Edition

If you’re familiar with the basics of Flash, then The Essential
Guide to Flash CS4 will take you further in all aspects of the
application, animation sound, 3D, Inverse Kinematics, the drawing
tools, ActionScript, and much more

This book takes all the good bits of Flash CS4 and demonstrates
them in methodical and intuitive exercises full of hints and tips
for streamlining the creative process.

Jump straight into Flash CS4 and start working on real life
examples that you can customize to suit your needs.

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The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP

With over 3 million users worldwide, Adobe’s Dreamweaver is the most popular web development software in the world, and it just took another step forward with CS3, the new version released in 2007. Having come a long way from its humble beginnings as a simple web design tool, CS3 allows you to rapidly put together standards compliant web sites and dynamic web sites with server-side languages and Ajax, and much more.

To complement this great new application, David Powers has written the ultimate guide to itThe Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 teaches you everything you need to know about the application, from setting up your development environment environment to publishing your sites and applications on the web, and everything in between.

* Takes you through your development environment set up
* Covers everything you need to create both standards compliant web sutes, and dynamic web applications
* Teaches several real world techniques using a series of step by step tutorials

What youll learn

* How to set up your ideal development environment, using Mac OSX/Windows, Apache (and IIS on Windows,) Apache, MySQL, and phpMyAdmin
* Creating standards compliant web sites using CS3′s XHTML and CSS features
* Creating dynamic web applications using CS3′s PHP and Spry Ajax server behaviors
* Building several real world web site functions, such as form validation, random quote generator, search function, user management/login pages, dynamic Ajax gallery, and much more.
* Creating an interface design in Fireworks CS3 and importing it into Dreamweaver CS3.
* How use Dreamweaver CS3′s XML functionality, to consume RSS feeds, and create Spry data sets
* Using includes, templates and master detail pages.
* How to publish your site after you’ve created it

Summary of Contents

* Chapter 1: Dreamweaver CS3Your Creative Partner
* Chapter 2: Building Dynamic Sites with Ajax and PHP
* Chapter 3: Getting the Work Environment Ready
* Chapter 4: Setting Up a PHP Site
* Chapter 5: Adding a Touch of Style
* Chapter 6: Creating a CSS Site Straight Out of the Box
* Chapter 7: Building Site Navigation with the Spry Menu Bar
* Chapter 8: Sprucing Up Content with Spry Widgets
* Chapter 9: Building Online Forms and Validating Input
* Chapter 10: Introducing the Basics of PHP
* Chapter 11: Using PHP to Process a Form
* Chapter 12: Working with PHP Includes and Templates
* Chapter 13: Setting Up MySQL and phpMyAdmin
* Chapter 14: Storing Records in a Database
* Chapter 15: Controlling Access to Your Site
* Chapter 16: Working with Multiple Tables
* Chapter 17: Searching Records and Handling Dates
* Chapter 18: Using XSLT to Display Live News Feeds and XML
* Chapter 19: Using Spry to Display XML
* Chapter 20: Getting the Best of Both Worlds with PHP and Spry

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HTML5 opens up a plethora of new avenues for application and game development on the web. Games can now be created and interacted with directly within HTML with no need for users to download extra plugins, or for developers to learn new languages. Important new features such as the Canvas tag enable drawing directly onto the web page, the Audio tag allows sounds to be triggered and played from within your HTML code, the web sockets API brings the facility for real-time communication, and the local storage API enables data such as high scores or game preferences to be kept on a user’s computer to be retrieved next time they play your game. All of these features and many more are covered within The Essential Guide to HTML5.

This book begins at an introductory level, teaching the essentials of HTML5 and JavaScript through game development. Each chapter features a familiar game type as its core example, such as hangman, rock-paper-scissors, or dice games, and uses these simple constructs to build a solid skillset of the key HTML5 concepts and features. By working through these hands on examples, you will gain a deep, practical knowledge of HTML5 that will enable you to build your own, more advanced games and applications.
Concepts are introduced and motivated with easy-to-grasp, appealing examples.
Code is explained in detail after general explanations.
Reader is guided into how to make the examples “their own”.

What you’ll learn
- Use HTML5 and JavaScript to create interactive web sites
- Program in JavaScript with the new HTML5 features
- Draw on canvas and place text on the canvas
- Create animated scenes using timing events
- Handle mouse events for interaction with the user/player
- Important concepts useful in any programming language/environment
-HTML tags, canvas, Math.random, setInterval, setTimerout, addEventListener, Date, localStorage and other features

Who this book is for
- Anyone who wants to make interactive websites. This book is suited for:
Total beginners
- Those who have done some HTML but are afraid to do any programming
- Those with some experience with HTML, JavaScript, or Flash ActionScript but who are unfamiliar with the new features in HTML5

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As people try to get more things done using computers, the demand for better security has never been greater. In this day and age, antivirus programs alone may not be enough. Here are 15 essential tips to help you secure your PC.

1. How to password-protect folders for free

Have some private collections of files you want to keep from prying eyes? The most convenient way to do so is through password protection, and MyLockBox does its job well. Just select the folders you want to be passworded and voila! Even system administrators are not spared the lock.

2. How to get free anti-virus software

No matter how cliché installing antivirus software may seem, this method is undoubtedly still the easiest and most effective means of protecting your PC. A huge chunk of internet threats out there are viruses and Trojans, so having one will effectively shield you from this majority. AVG is a free antivirus that has won the accolades and hearts of computer users worldwide. It has real-time protection, daily updates, and email scans among other powerful features.

3. How to truly hide files on a computer

Those who use a sharing system may find the occasional snooping habit of your computer partner annoying or even harmful. Sofonesia Folder Protector hides selected files so that it remains hidden from all users as long as the software is installed.

4. How to get free anti-spyware software

Viruses may be the age old nemesis of computer users, but a new villain has emerged in the scene – spyware. Spywares hogs major system resources while performing its malicious acts. This is where Spybot Search & Destroy comes in, a free Windows tool designed to ward off these invaders. True to its name, all spyware on Windows systems dating back to 95 will be searched and destroyed.

5. How to do a registry backed up spyware scan

Combofix is a free spyware removal tool that works on a much lower level. It backs up the registry before scanning away, and a technical log file will be created which can be used to identify system problems. Alternatively, it can also be used by more technical users to manually remove spywares.

6. How to encrypt files and folders

For those perilous and treacherous times when even hiding and locking does not do, TrueCrypt steps in to save the day. Offering advanced data encryption using 256-bit AES algorithms, users can choose to hide files inside virtual encrypted disk volumes. All this military-sounding features should be useful for power users.

7. How take advantage of cloud computing in virus detection

Panda Cloud Antivirus is an antivirus software utilizing the concept of cloud computing. Lightweight is the word to use here, as Panda does not take up heavy CPU resources while scanning. There is no need to update virus definitions frequently either, as data are stored on the Panda servers.

8. How to seek free professional help to combat spyware

Hijackthis is a comprehensive scanner which scans the software-state of your system. While the huge log file created does not remove spywares or change your system, it does offer precious technical info to those in the know. If you’re not a advanced user, you can show the log file to expert spyware veterans over at the BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and get some personalized anti-spyware instructions. Alternatively there is an automated online scanner at Hijackthis.de to run through the log file.

9. How to get free firewall software

Comodo Firewall is a free firewall software that will help shield your computer from unwanted intruder and hacker access. Comodo is one of the lightest firewall software in terms of resource usage and it stops intrusive applets and software from the internet before they can do any harm to your system.

10. How to secure your wireless network

If you are running on a home wireless network, have you made sure that it is secure? If left unsecured, sneaky neighbors may be in for the free internet access, or worse, phishers may be out there waiting for you to take the bait. Always make sure that your wireless connection is password-protected using WEP or WPA encryption. To do this, enter your router’s settings page  (by typing the router address in your browser’s address bar, usually 192.168.0.1) and proceed to work out necessary security settings.

11. How to NOT run scripts in Firefox, so you can be even safer

NoScript is a Firefox plugin that blocks any script from running on your browser – be it JavaScript, flash or other script-based content. The catch here is you would have to add your favorite sites on the trusted list one-by-one, so initial discomfort may be present.

12. How to surf only websites which are deemed safe

Yet another Firefox add-on, Web of Trust warns users about a website’s safety-level through color-coded icons. With over 21 million sites on the rating list, you can now be sure of treading on unfamiliar territories.

13. How not to fall for fake anti-virus software

There are some malicious software out there which poses as genuine versions. Among them are the infamous Antivirus 2009, Spyware Protect 2009, PC AntiSpy. The Web of Trust is a good way to detect these bogus websites, apart from your own intuition.

14. How to remember your Internet passwords AND keep them safe

LastPass is a IE/Firefox add-on/online password manager for all your passwords so that you wouldn’t need to worry about losing your password along with your local data. All passwords will be encrypted locally before being uploaded to their servers, so that even folks from LastPass won’t be able to get to your precious.

15. How to create disposable e-mail addresses

Have you ever registered in a forum just to post a single question? Or fill up forms to download a trial application? Maybe giving away your email address for a newsletter? In many of these cases, you give out your real e-mail and all you get in return are junk mails. Meet Melt-mail, a website where you can create temporary e-mail accounts just for those quickies. E-mails can be set to expire in 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours.

You bought a brand new laptop computer for mom – the Apple Macbook was too expensive so you settled for a Dell machine loaded with Windows Vista and a trial copy of Office 2007.

Your mom is a great self-learner and knows all the basic stuff about computers but needs some help is in finding the right software tools that will help her do stuff more efficiently and as inexpensively as possible.

Letter to Mom suggesting tools and web apps for her new computer

Dear Mom – I hope you are enjoying the new Dell notebook. Now the first thing I want you to do is install PC Decrapifier – this will detect and remove all the unwanted trial programs that came pre-installed with your machine.

Next you should install Firefox – it’s an Internet Explorer like web browser but slightly better. Instead of using browser bookmarks, try the delicious add-on to save the addresses of all your favorite websites. Another add-on that you should install is Iterasi – web pages come and go but Iterasi will permanently archive your favorite web pages (like that eggless cake recipe).

You should create two email accounts one Gmail.com – share the primary email address with your friends and family but for everything else (like the newsletter and shopping deal alerts) always use the secondary email address. If you come across a site that requires registration, generate a temporary email address from 10MinuteMail.com and enter without sharing your main email.

With so many websites around, you’ll soon find it very hard to remember all those passwords so get into the habit of putting down all the different passwords into KeepPass from day one.

If you plan to carry this laptop in public places (like the Library), get this Laptop Alarm software that will emit a loud sound if someone tries to shut down your computer or remove the power cable. Laptop thefts are not so uncommon after all.

The trial version of Microsoft Office on your computer will expire after 60 days so you may completely uninstall that software and switch over to Google Docs – it has all the basic feature you would need in an Office suite including templates for tracking expenses and utility bills. You can use your primary Gmail address to log into Google Docs.

Sometimes your friends will send you documents, images or video clips that won’t open on your computer – that’s because you don’t have the right viewer software on your machine. You can simply go to zamzar.com and convert the file into some simple format (like avi for video, jpg for images, doc for documents, mp3 for songs, etc.) that you computer can play/open.

If the computer contains too many programs that you’ll rarely or never use, get the Revo Uninstaller to get rid of such programs permanently. To free up additional space on the hard drive, use WinDirStat to learn about file folders that are occupying the maximum space on your computer and delete the unnecessary files.

Be very careful when deleting files on your computer but if you ever delete something important accidently, Recuva may help you recover all those erased files. It even works with the memory card of your digital camera.

To download pictures from your digital camera onto the computer, get Windows Live Photo Gallery. This software can also upload your photos to our common family Flickr account so everyone gets to see your pictures even though we are several hundred miles away from you.

If the computer is not able to play your huge collection of DVD movies, you’re probably missing some codecs (don’t worry about the term) -  just download the VLC player and the DVDs will play just fine.

You should also get Live Mesh – it will allow us to share files and documents with each other privately plus you can use Mesh to backup important files onto the cloud (I mean the web).

I am almost always available for chat on Google Talk but if some of your online friends use other chat software (like Yahoo! Messenger or AOL), you can easily connect with them through Miranda or, if you don’t want to install any software, use Meebo.

Another thing – do open an account at PayPal and link it to your main credit card as this will make online shopping easier. If you ever have a problem with PayPal or something isn’t clear, just call their toll-free 1-800 support number from your browser using Gizmo.

If your current voice plan is too expensive, I suggest that you download Skype – it lets you make calls from the computer to any landline or mobile phone at much cheaper rates. We can also use Skype to have video chats on weekends but if you don’t find me online, just send me a video email with Eyejot.

If you have newspaper clippings, bill receipts and business cards lying in the closet, just take a picture of them separately using the camera of your mobile phone and transfer them to the computer with Evernote – it will turn your “paper” documents into digital format that is always so easy to find and manage.

When planning a movie or weekend dinner with friends, you can send all of them a quick reminder for the event via phone and SMS for free using Notifu. If you’re inviting people at home for a party, head-over to sites like VideoJug.com, SuTree or 5min.com for new ideas about food, cocktails, party games, etc.

If you ever need to fax a document somewhere, just go to FaxZero, upload the document and fax it for free. FaxZero is only available for fax numbers of US or Canada but for international numbers, you may try eFax.

You can also consider dropping those magazine subscriptions that are delivered by snail mail – switch to Zinio instead that delivers the same magazine but in digital format.

As far as I remember, you’re currently using an unlimited data plan for the Internet but if that’s not true, get BitMeter – it will help you visually monitor your bandwidth usage so you never exceed the plan limit. You may also want to download FlashGet for downloading big files from the Internet.

If you notice carefully, some websites add an orange colored icon in the browser address bar (go to cnn.com to see a live example) – this icon means that you can get updates about new articles posted on that site automatically without having to visit the site again and again. If that’s the case, go to Feed My Inbox and type the address of that website – you’ll be notified automatically via email.

When browsing the web, you’ll frequently come across photographs, web pages and videos that you’ll want to share with us (your family members) – you could either send the link in a group mail or better still, simply create an account at Tumblr and start saving all the “interesting” stuff there.

And if you ever find yourself spending too much time on the computer, get RescueTime to know about websites where you spend most of your time.

There are a few other things that I want to do on your computer like installing a hosts file and configuring OpenDNS so that sites load quickly on your machine. These however require some geeky knowledge so I will try configuring them from here itself via CrossLoop – a remote desktop access tool.

Answer: There are several options, depending on how old the systems are and what tools are available.

Using Windows 98 certainly suggests an old system, which may limit the options.

If both systems have USB ports, one favorite method is a special USB-to-USB cable that lets you copy between the systems as if you were moving files on the hard drive. You can shop for them at usbcable.com; click on “Data Transfer” on the left for these types of cables. They run $30 to $40.

If the computers are networked, you can set up file sharing and copy the files across the network. This is pretty straightforward between Windows 98 and XP.

If USB ports and networks aren’t an option, Windows’ File and Settings Transfer Wizard is designed for moving files between systems. It can be a bit confusing to use and may take a couple of attempts to get it working.

The utility can be installed from the Windows CD or downloaded from Microsoft’s Web site.

Depending on the number of files, the utility really needs a network connection between the two computers, but you also can transfer data on CDs. You can learn more about this process on Microsoft’s support page: support.microsoft.com/ kb/306186.

Microsoft Windows 7, while it’s getting good reviews, from all accounts it’s going to be a real headache to install on an existing Windows XP computer while keeping all of your files and settings intact.

Microsoft suggests that the best route for XP users is to buy a new Windows 7 computer and transfer all of your files over directly. (Adding it to a Vista computer, on the other hand, should be a fairly easy upgrade.)

But Laplink, the market leader in PC migration, is offering an alternative. It touts its PCmover utility as the only software with the ability to upgrade from XP to Windows 7 on the same computer, without requiring you to back up your data externally and wipe your hard drive clean.

PCmover Home, which moves all of your selected programs, files and settings from your old operating system to the new one, incorporates the “Upgrade Assistant” feature and costs about $40. The software is available for download at laplink.com.

If you’d prefer to have help in the process, support.com is offering an online migration service utilizing Laplink’s software. The remote service is $49 if purchased with a subscription (starting at $19.99 a month) or $149 otherwise.

Finally, if you do choose to buy a new computer running Windows 7, you can follow the first suggestion above and try the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows 7, a USB cable designed specifically for the Windows Easy Transfer Utility in the new operating system. It’s $23 at Amazon.com.

Source: http://www.courant.com