Hardware Books

Visual Basic .NET Tips & Techniques

$9.99, P & P ($3.65) at BookCloseouts $54.95, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

Bestselling and highly acclaimed Visual Basic author Kris Jamsa delivers the ultimate VB.NET resource. Organized by topic and packed with critical information, this book effectively explains complex concepts with precision. Filled with proven techniques and hundreds of solutions that can be put to immediate use easily and effectively, this is a must-have guide for every Visual Basic developer and programmer working with Web services and applications on the .NET platform.

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Murach's CICS for the COBOL Programmer

$52.38, Free P & P at DeepDiscount.com $45.90, Free P & P at Barnes & Noble $45.90, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

Join the more than 150,000 programmers who have learned CICS using our CICS books alone. Now, our two-part CICS for the COBOL Programmer has been revised into a single volume that meets today?s need for fast-paced training. You get all the commands and features that are current today?plus, new chapters on creating web or component-based programs?in just 630, information-packed pages. You?ll start off with the basics that you need for every CICS program you write:

how to use basic mapping support (BMS) to define the screens your programs use pseudo-conversational programming...what it is, why you have to use it, and how it complicates the logic in a COBOL program

the CICS commands for terminal handling, VSAM file handling, and program control

how to design a CICS program using event-driven design so it?s easier to code, test, debug, and maintain

how and when to use temporary storage queues instead of the communication area to pass data between program executions

how to use IBM-supplied transactions like CEMT, CECI, and CEDF to simplify testing and debugging

Then, you?ll see the design and code for a complete application consisting of four interrelated CICS programs?a great way to solidify your new CICS skills.

But that?s not all. You?ll also learn about the commands and techniques you need for special purposes. Like processing VSAM files sequentially. Accessing records by an alternate index. Handling DB2 data (this chapter assumes you already know DB2, so if you need some training, please see our DB2 books on pages 5-6). Scheduling a task for execution. Using the error recovery features that come into play when a task or CICS abends. Using the intercommunication features of CICS, including Distributed Program Link and EXCI, so that resources can be shared across remote systems. Handling outdated code as you maintain older programs.

Beyond the commands and coding features, however, there are two chapters of special interest for creating new applications:

how to design and code programs in which the presentation logic (the code that handles the interaction with the user at a terminal) is separated from the business logic (the code that processes the data)?This makes it feasible to create programs with front-ends in languages like Java or Visual Basic, leaving CICS on the back-end to do what it does best: process transactions

how to design and code CICS programs for the web (probably the most compelling reason for separating the presentation logic from the business logic)

So if you?re new to CICS, you?ll learn the best development techniques as well as all the coding details for creating today?s applications. If you have some CICS experience, you?ll add to your skills in record time. Either way, you?ll gain an understanding of CICS that makes it easier handle each new programming challenge. So get your copy of Murach?s CICS for the COBOL Programmer today!

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Interactive TV Standards: A Guide to MHP, OCAP, and JavaTV

$80.46, Free P & P at DeepDiscount.com $66.36, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

For any digital TV developer or manager, the maze of standards and specifications related to MHP and OCAP is daunting-you have to patch together pieces from several standards to gather all the necessary knowledge you need to compete worldwide. The standards themselves can be confusing, and contain many inconsistencies and missing pieces. Interactive TV Standards provides a guide for actually deploying these technologies for a broadcaster or product and application developer.

Understanding what the APIs do is essential for your job, but understanding how the APIs work and how they relate to each other at a deeper level helps you do it better, faster and easier. Learn how to spot when something that looks like a good solution to a problem really isn't. Understand how the many standards that make up MHP fit together, and implement them effectively and quickly. Two DVB insiders teach you which elements of the standards that are needed for digital TV, highlight those elements that are not needed, and explain the special requirements that MHP places on implementations of these standards.

Once you've mastered the basics, you will learn how to develop products for US, European, and Asian markets--saving time and money. By detailing how a team can develop products for both the OCAP and MHP markets, Interactive TV Standards teaches you how to to leverage your experience with one of these standards into the skills and knowledge needed to work with the critical, related standards.

Does the team developing a receiver have all the knowledge they need to succeed, or have they missed important information in an apparently unrelated standard? Does an application developer really know how to write a reliable piece of software that runs on any MHP or OCAP receiver? Does the broadcaster understand the business and technical issues well enough to deploy MHP successfully, or will their project fail? Increase your chances of success the first time with Interactive TV Standards.

* A practical, real-world introduction to the technical elements of the OCAP and MHP standards.
* Get everything you need without wading though thousands of pages of standards- many of which don't apply to digital TV!
* Get inside concrete problems that have been found by the authors and other users - issues not generally known outside of the standards committees.

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Great Age Guide to Gadgets & Gizmos (Sandy Berger's Great Age Guide)

$19.99, Free P & P at Amazon $7.25, P & P ($3.99) at Buy.com See All Retailers

Author Sandy Berger is the host of the AARP Webplace Computers and Technology website, and is the perfect host to guide you through the world of electronic devices. Sandy's easy-reading style and bite-sized chunks of information are just a few of the reasons why she has been dubbed "the Martha Stewart of e-learning." Sandy will introduce you to the latest electronic toys and devices, including digital cameras, computer devices such as voice-recognition and magnification software, cell phones and more. You'll find out what you should purchase to improve a specific aspect of your life Sandy will explain how they all work so you can use it for your enjoyment. There is much to learn and keep up-to-date with when it comes to technology. Let Sandy help guide your way through her new Great Age Guide book series!

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Structured Computer Organization (5th Edition)

$92.25, Free P & P at Textbooks.com $77.07, P & P ($0.99) at Textbooksrus $108.07, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

This book takes a modern structured, layered approach to understanding computer systems. It's highly accessible - and it's been thoroughly updated to reflect today's most critical new technologies and the latest developments in computer organization and architecture. Tanenbaum?s renowned writing style and painstaking research make this one of the most accessible and accurate books available, maintaining the author?s popular method of presenting a computer as a series of layers, each one built upon the ones below it, and understandable as a separate entity. A CD-ROM for assembly language programmers?is available for teachers. For all computer professionals and engineers who need an overview or introduction to computer architecture.

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If I Only Changed the Software, Why is the Phone on Fire?: Embedded Debugging Methods Revealed: Technical Mysteries for Engineers

$29.37, Free P & P at DeepDiscount.com $30.97, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

This new book manages the unthinkable- it conveys crucial technical information to engineers without boring them to tears! In this unique reference, expert embedded designer Lisa Simone provides the solutions to typical embedded software debugging problems from a fresh new perspective. She introduces a team of engineers who readers will recognize from their own workplaces, and then confronts them with real-world debugging scenarios of progressive complexity, drawing the reader into the "mysteries" with their new fictional colleagues, and guiding them step-by-step toward successful solutions.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Case of the Irate Customer: Debugging Other People's Code, Fast
Chapter 2: The Newest Employee: Learning the Embedded Ropes Through Code Inheritance
Chapter 3: It Compiles with No Errors; It Must Work! Integrating Changes in a Larger System
Chapter 4: The Case of Thermal Runaway: Rare Transient Bugs are Still Bugs
Chapter 5: The Case of the Creeping Slider Carriage and the Case of the Hesitating Clock: Alternate Methods of Understanding System Performance
Chapter 6: If I Only Changed the Software, Why is the Phone on Fire?
Chapter 7: The Case of the Rapid Heartbeat: Meeting the Spirit of the Requirement
Chapter 8: What Kind of Error Message is "lume Fault"? When all of the Symptoms Seem Impossible
Chapter 9: When It's Not Hardware, It's Software. And Vice Versa. Blurring the Interface.
Chapter 10: Li Mei's List of Debugging Secrets

·Unique format casts the reader as "technical detective" by presenting a new mystery in every chapter
·Not another dry technical book! Conversational tone and intriguing quandaries draw the reader into the action, while teaching crucial debugging skills
·The final chapter, a summary of the smart debugging techniques introduced throughout the book, is a quick reference to help solve future problems

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Just the Computer Essentials: A Plain-English, No-Nonsense Guide to Buying and Maintaining a PC Running the Windows Vista Operating System for Your Home or Home Office

$13.07, P & P ($0.99) at Textbooksrus $21.46, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

You've seen the books for "dummies" and you're beyond that - you know how to turn a computer on, check your email, and surf the Internet. There are books for geniuses that focus on getting over-detailed on technology you don't care anything about. Why can't there be a book for you - a book to help you buy a new computer or help you protect your computer and data without all the useless information

You've come to the right place! Just the Computer Essentials is a book written for the everyday user. Jim White wrote

Just the Computer Essentials to help you with your day-to-day work without taking up your whole day.

Just the Computer Essentials will help you understand exactly what you need to know when buying a new PC.

Jim White's Just the Computer Essentials will:

• Help you understand exactly what you need to know when buying a new PC
• Lead you in protecting your computer from dangers such as viruses, spyware, spam and phishing
• Show you how to set up a backup strategy to safeguard all your important files
• Coach you how to recover your computer from system problems - starting with the least intrusive all the way to disaster recovery
• Teach you how to migrate your files and settings from one computer to a new PC running the Windows Vista(tm) operating system

If you're ready to purchase a new computer or need help protecting your data on a computer running the Windows Vista operating system, then this book's for you!

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Repairing and Upgrading Your PC

$24.49, Free P & P at DeepDiscount.com $17.47, Free P & P at HotBookSale.com $23.09, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

Most computer users think that fiddling with the insides of their PC is taboo. They fear that by removing the screws that hold the case on, they're crossing into forbidden territory. And even for those who know they can open the box and fix or upgrade their PC, analysis paralysis often stops them in their tracks:

Which upgrades offer the best bang for the buck? How do you pinpoint the faulty component that's making your system freeze? What about compatibility issues?

Get ready to get unstuck and get your PC running fast and running right. Repairing and Upgrading Your PC delivers start-to-finish instructions, simple enough for even the most inexperienced PC owner, for troubleshooting, repairing, and upgrading your computer. Written by hardware experts Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, this book covers it all: how to troubleshoot a troublesome PC, how to identify which components make sense for an upgrade, and how to tear it all down and put it back together. This book shows how to repair and upgrade all of your PC's essential components:

• Motherboard, CPU, and Memory. Choose the optimal match of these core components to keep your PC running at top speed
• Hard Drive, Optical Drive, and Removable Storage
• Give your computer what it needs for long-term and short-term storage
• Audio and Video. Enhance your computing experience with the right sound and graphics devices for your needs
• Input Devices. Pick the best keyboard and mouse to keep your hands happy and healthy
• Networking. Set up secure wireless networking to keep the bits flowing between your computers and the outside world
• Cases and Power Supplies. Keep everything running cool and reliably

With its straightforward language, clear instructions, and extensive illustrations, this book makes it a breeze for PC owners of any skill level to work on their computer.

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Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop

$25.87, Free P & P at DeepDiscount.com $26.60, Free P & P at Barnes & Noble $24.39, Free P & P at Amazon See All Retailers

Go beyond the mechanics of Final Cut Express 4--learn how to edit with it! More than a button-pushing manual--this workshop give you firsthand experience with the art and ...

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PC Modding For Dummies

$9.99, P & P ($3.25) at BookCloseouts $21.36, Free P & P at Amazon $17.18, P & P ($3.99) at Buy.com See All Retailers

Here's your ticket to the high-octane world of modding!

Supercharge your PC, add windows and fans, try a new paint job, and more!

Why should something as cool as your computer look and act like a staid, sand-colored sedan? With this book and a few basic tools, you can perform the ultimate computer makeover. Kick performance into high gear, discover overclocking, add bells and whistles, toss in some blowholes and awesome lighting effects, and go PC cruisin'!

Discover how to:
* Optimize your computer's BIOS
* Overclock your system
* Choose and install a graphics card
* Keep souped-up parts cool
* Cut a window in the case
* Add a lighted fan

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