Book Description
Silverlight makes it much easier to build web applications with highly usable, interactive, and exciting user interfaces. However, with so many new options open to designers and developers, making the best use of the tools available is not always so easy. It’s ease of use and rapid development process has left one area completely uncovered— how to design, build, and implement professional and usable interfaces, and create an enjoyable user experience and interaction.

Written by a Microsoft MVP and Silverlight Prototyping Specialist, this book is the first and only book on developing Silverlight User Interfaces. Clear, step-by-step instructions show how to build all the user interface elements that users look forward to in a cutting edge app. This book offers essential recipes, with each recipe depicting the commonly used user interface patterns built with Silverlight, and in some cases, with WPF to showcase the possibilities.

The author’s experience in designing and developing user interfaces enables him to share insights on creating professional interfaces in a clear and friendly way. The book starts off with recipes dealing with fixed and fluid layouts, building custom command link controls, working with navigation, and collapsible panels, and then moves on to the more advanced topics such as calendars, alternating row colors, and task panes. The author covers a number of different UI patterns, controls, and approaches accompanied by XAML and C# code where needed (and explained), along with usage context and practical, proven, and professional techniques for specific controls and patterns.

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Book Description
AdvancED Flex 4 makes advanced Flex 4 concepts and techniques easy. Ajax, RIA, Web 2.0, mashups, mobile applications, the most sophisticated web tools, and the coolest interactive web applications are all covered with practical, visually oriented recipes.

• Completely updated for the new tools in Flex 4
• Demonstrates how to use Flex 4 to create robust and scalable enterprise-grade Rich Internet Applications.
• Teaches you to build high-performance web applications with interactivity that really engages your users.

What you’ll learn
Practiced beginners and intermediate users of Flex, especially those with a knowledge of other web development tools, will learn to leverage Flex 4’s new tools and capabilities to build truly advanced web applications.

• Get the most out of the new features introduced in Flex 4.
• Integrate Flex 4 with PHP, Java, JavaScript, and Ruby on Rails.
• Leverage architectural and design patterns.
• Create mashups and collaborative applications using Flex 4.
• Build rich media applications using audio and video streaming and open source 3D libraries.
• Tune the performance of your Flex applications.

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Book Description
Are you interested in starting a blog but can’t decide on which service to use? Google’s Blogger offers many advantages over other blog publishing systems, including seamless integration with Google services and web applications.

Beginning Google Blogger is a complete resource on how to create and manage a blog using Blogger. The book offers step-by-step instructions and visual aids which walk you through both the basics of Blogger and the advanced features it offers—from creating a new blog and choosing fonts and colors, and installing custom blog graphics; to converting from a 2-column to a 3-column layout, setting up a domain name and creating an online store with a built-in navigational bar.

The journey from newbie to experienced blogger will be fun and challenging. You’ll learn practical applications of the most popular gadgets, search engine optimization tips, how to make money using Blogger, and, overall, taking blogging to a new level by incorporating social networking tools, using advanced blog design techniques, setting up a custom domain and creating an online store.

What you’ll learn

• Create a new blog and publish posts.
• Modify blog design, change the page layout, and install gadgets.
• Learn how to make money with your blog. Continue Reading »

Book Description
ActionScript 3.0 from novice to master

If you want to build interactive applications on the desktop, in the browser, or on mobile devices, this new edition of the ActionScript 3.0 Bible is all you need. If you’re a beginner, it guides you through the whole ecosystem of the Flash Platform, ActionScript 3.0 language and syntax, object oriented programming, and even error handling techniques and debugging tips. For intermediate programmers, the Bible is packed with detail on every part of the expansive Flash Player 10.1 API. For experienced programmers, it includes interactive examples with real-world applications, a UML table of contents for finding the right chapter immediately, and comprehensive coverage of the very latest features including multitouch, Pixel Bender, and more.

• Massively updated and revised
• Program for mobile devices including iPhone, Palm WebOS, Android 2.0, and more
• Learn AS3 you’ll use in Flash Professional CS5, Flash Builder 4, Flex 4, and AIR 2
• Run and modify over 200 new examples in your browser, with no software or setup required
• Use the speedy new Vector class
• Interface with web services in any language
• Display print-quality text with the Flash Text Engine and Text Layout Framework
• Learn 3D math and program your own 3D engine with AS3
• Write and run powerful pixel shaders with Pixel Bender
• Synthesize and analyze sound digitally
• Display, analyze, and capture audio and video

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Book Description
Comprehensive guide to creating Web sites with the open-source Joomla!1.5

Joomla! is an open-source content management system (CMS) for Web sites. While it is free and relatively easy to use, there are lots of tricks and functionality that may not be intuitive to new users or those switching from other systems. And the previous version is quite different from the new Joomla 1.5, for which documentation is sparse. Joomla! Bible is the complete, step-by-step guide you need to build and manage Web sites using the very newest version of this powerful and popular CMS.

• Walks you through obtaining the Joomla! 1.5 code and how to deploy it to a server, configure the site, create content, and manage content and user hierarchies
• Helps you get the most out of core modules that provide advanced functionality, including the Polls Module, the Banner Manager, the Media Manager, Galleries, Weblinks, Content Syndication, and Newsfeed Aggregation
• Vaults you into the world of Web 2.0 with extensive coverage of JomSocial, and shows you how to set up for e-commmerce with VirtueMart

Get the most out of Joomla! 1.5 with this complete guide guide.

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