Big Blue and Cousins: The Greater Victoria Personal Computer Users' Association—O'Reilly UG News modified by BB&C for BB&C members.
Big Blue and Cousins: The Greater Victoria Personal Computer Users' Association—
In this issue:
O'Reilly News for User Group Members
March 25, 2008
New Releases: Books, Short Cuts, and Rough Cuts
Get 35% off from O'Reilly, No Starch, Paraglyph, PC Publishing,
Pragmatic Bookshelf, Rocky Nook, SitePoint, or YoungJin books you purchase directly from O'Reilly. Just use code "DSUG" when ordering online or by phone 800-998-9938.
Free ground shipping on orders of $29.95 or more. See details.
Did you know you can request a free book or PDF 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.htmlNew Releases: Books, Short Cuts, and Rough Cuts:
MAKE Magazine Subscriptions
The annual subscription price for four issues is $34.95. When you
subscribe with this link, you'll get a free issue--one plus four
more for $34.95. So subscribe for yourself or friends with this
great offer for UG Members: five volumes for the cost of four.
Craft Magazine Subscriptions
The annual subscription price for four issues is $34.95. When you subscribe with this link, you'll get a free issue--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.
Upcoming Events
For more events, please see: events.oreilly.com| Webcast: Five Ways to Make Your Photos Look Better |
| Mar 27, 2008 |
|
In this webcast, Derrick Story, digital photographer, blogger, and author of The Digital Photography Companion, gives you the tools to capture the high quality pictures you've always wanted--photos that will distinguish your work from others. Thousands of pictures are recorded every day. Many of these shots are personal and not meant to be viewed as art. But what if you could capture the world everyone else sees, but in a more beautiful way? Derrick shows you five ways to make your pictures look a cut above those snapshots we typically see. Attendance is limited, so register now. We'll send you a reminder before the webcast. |
| Jonathan Zdziarski at the MIT Spam Conference |
| Mar 27-28, 2008 |
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MIT Stata Center Cambridge, MA |
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Jonathan Zdziarski, leading iPhone app developer and author of iPhone Open Application Development, presents "Adaptive Language Parsing."
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| Jesse Liberty at VSLive! San Francisco |
| Mar 30-Apr 3, 2008 |
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Moscone Convention Center West San Francisco, CA |
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Author Jesse Liberty (Programming .NET 3.5 and Learning ASP.NET with AJAX) will be Presenting "Intro to Silverlight 2" and "Silverlight and Data."
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| O'Reilly Sponsor at MuleCon 2008 |  |
| Apr 1-2, 2008 | |
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Hilton Financial District San Francisco, CA | |
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MuleCon 2008 is the second annual Mule User Conference, bringing together Mule experts, developers and users from around the world, along with executives and engineers of MuleSource, the creators of Mule and the company behind the technology.
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| O'Reilly at PhotoShop World Orlando 2008 |
| Apr 3-4, 2008 |
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Orange County Convention Center Orlando, FL |
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Visit the O'Reilly booth #115 at PhotoShop World Orlando. Come join the revolution with a FREE Tech Pass!
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| Dru Lavigne Speaks at Flourish |
| Apr 4-5, 2008 |
| Chicago, IL |
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Dru Lavigne (BSD Hacks) will be speaking at Flourish in Chicago, IL from April 4-5, 2008. She will be speaking on women in open source, as well as manning the BSD booth and proctoring the BSDA exam. Keep an eye out for her!
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| Sean Duggan Presents an All-Day Workshop: "Selections & Masking in Adobe Photoshop CS3" |  |
| Apr 11, 2008 | |
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Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI | |
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Sean Duggan's (The Creative Digital Darkroom) day-long seminar will focus on essential Photoshop concepts and techniques for creating accurate selections, alpha channels and layer masks for precision control in the modification of photographic images.
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| Brandon Schauer at Information Architecture Summit 2008 |
| Apr 12-14, 2008 |
| Miami, FL |
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The Information Architecture Summit is the premier gathering place for information architects. Everyone who touches on IA is welcome to share and learn. This year your peers and industry experts will speak about how topics such as social networking, gaming, patterns, tagging, taxonomies, and a wide range of IA tools and techniques can help as users “experience information." Brandon Schauer (co-author of Subject to Change will be presenting on the topic of "The Long Wow."
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| Sean Duggan Presents a Weekend Seminar: "Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3" |
| Apr 12-13, 2008 |
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Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI |
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Sean Duggan (The Creative Digital Darkroom) focuses on exploring the art of the photographic composite with Adobe Photoshop CS3. Explorations range from simple collages, to combining two exposures of the same scene to control contrast, to the creation of surreal, photo-realistic flights of fancy. Topics include masking and knockout techniques; layers and layer groups; simple collages based on image overlays, blend modes, and opacity; precision collage control with layer masks; image transformation tools including Free Transform and Warp; using Smart Objects to preserve flexibility of transformed elements; creating a collage from different source photos; multi-exposure composites to control contrast; and matching color and lighting between images.
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| Allison Randal at LugRadio Live USA 2008 |
| Apr 12-13, 2008 |
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The Metreon Theater San Francisco, CA |
Author and OSCON Program Chair Allison Randal will be presenting "Linux Kernel." Featuring over 35 speakers and 40 exhibitors, LugRadio Live USA 2008 brings the popular UK conference to San Francisco, combining an incredibly unique, social and fun atmosphere to cover a range of subjects in and around Open Source, digital rights, technology and more. Stop by the O'Reilly booth and say hi.
|
| MySQL Conference & Expo |
| Apr 14-17, 2008 |
| Santa Clara, CA |
Co-presented by O'Reilly Media and MySQL AB, the friendly, professional atmosphere of the MySQL Conference & Expo brings together developers, users, and database administrators, reflecting MySQL's wide-ranging appeal and capabilities.
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| Sean Duggan Presents a Hands-on Workshop: "Camera Raw 4 & Adobe Bridge Workflow" |
| Apr 14, 2008 |
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Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI |
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Sean Duggan's (The Creative Digital Darkroom) hands-on workshop delves into the raw processing combo of Adobe Bridge CS3 and Adobe Camera Raw 4.1 in Photoshop CS3. Every feature in the eight tabbed panels of the Camera Raw dialog is explored and fully explained to help you get the most from your raw files. Also covers speeding up the raw workflow using batch processing capabilities and saved presets, and specialized techniques that are only available with raw files such as Dual Process Raw and High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging.
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| Eric Meyer at MinneWebCon 2008 |
| Apr 14, 2008 |
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McNamara Alumni Center, Twin Cities Campus, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN |
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| Derrick Story at NCMUG |
| Apr 15, 2008 |
| Rohnert Park, CA |
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Author Derrick Story (The Digital Photography Companion, iPhoto 8: The Missing Manual, and Digital Photography Hacks) presents "Digital Photography Tips, Tricks, and Stunts."
North Coast Mac Users Group.
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| FOWD - Future of Web Design |
| Apr 17-18, 2008 |
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Kensington Town Hall London, UK |
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Join the industry's leading and most inspirational designers for some class A inspiration and practical advice. Putting the 'design' back into web design, FOWD brings you a packed day of sessions on the entire design process - from inspiration to build, project management and evolution. You will enjoy a live Photoshop tennis session, where top designers create from scratch on the stage. At breaks, stop by the O'Reilly booth to say hi, and check out our great new books.
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Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco |
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| Apr 22-25, 2008 | |
| San Francisco, CA | |
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Co-produced by O'Reilly Media and CMP Technology, the annual gathering of technical, design, marketing, and business professionals, Web 2.0 Expo events bring together the innovators and industry figures building the next generation web.
| |
| Derrick Story at Northbay Adobe User Group |
| Apr 28, 2008 |
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Rm 1999 in Bech Hall Santa Rosa Junior College, CA |
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Author Derrick Story (The Digital Photography Companion, iPhoto 8: The Missing Manual, and Digital Photography Hacks) presents Adobe Camera Raw.
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Conference News
2008 MySQL Conference & Expo Registration is Open
Web Expo SF Registration is Open
Registration for Where 2.0 2008 is Open
Registration for RailsConf 2008 is Open
Registration for the O'Reilly GSP East Conference is Open
Registration for the O'Reilly Velocity Conference is Open Web 2.0 ExpoO'Reilly School of Technology
O'Reilly School of Technology Courses: UG Members Receive a 30% Discount
O'Reilly School of Technology has opened its virtual doors with
educational offerings and certification for IT students looking to
further their careers or to launch one. As an O'Reilly User Group
member, you save on all the courses in the following University of
Illinois Certificate Series:
(This discount is not combinable with other offers.)
To redeem, use Promotion Code "ORALL1" good for a 30% discount, in Step #2 of the enrollment process. Each course comes with a free O'Reilly book and a 7-day money-back guarantee. Register online. (This discount may not be combinable with other offers.)News from O'Reilly & Beyond
UG News
LugRadio Live USA 2008 comes to San Francisco
TechEd 2008: Get Involved with Birds-of-a-Feather
INETA is once again coordinating the Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) sessions
at TechEd 2008. THey have extended the deadline for topic submissions to
Wed 4/2/2008 and the voting deadline to Monday, April 7.
LinuxFest Northwest 2008
LinuxFest Northwest is happening in April, the 26th and 27th. LFNW is an
annual, international, technical event focused on Linux and OpenSource
software that attracts around 1,000-2,000 attendees each year, the
majority from Canada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and
California. Online registration is available for Presenters/Speakers.
LinuxWorld Now Accepting Applications Birds-of-a-Feather Topics and
.org Projects
If you'd like to lead a BOF discussion, submit an idea for a session by
Monday, May 5.
The .org Pavilion is your opportunity to exhibit your free open source software and open source projects. They're looking for projects that produce great software and can host an informative, helpful exhibit. The deadline for submitting is Friday, April 11.
Two new research reports: "Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide" and "The Facebook Application System" have been published by O'Reilly Radar.
Very limited review copies are available.
Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide
by Ben Lorica, Roger Magoulas, and the O'Reilly Radar Team
What's the real business opportunity in Second Life and other virtual
worlds? What trends and innovations point the way to success? Why have
some high-profile virtual worlds flopped? You'll find answers in this
report.
The Facebook Application Ecosytem: Why Some Thrive--and Most Don't
by Shelly D. Farnham, Ph.D
What do the killer apps on the Facebook platform have in common? What
must you build into your application if you want Facebook users to adopt
it--and pass it on to their friends? Get this report and find out.
Head First Caption Contest
The Head First team is extending the caption contest that was in our
puzzle book at SDWest and SXSW onto the Head First Labs site. For the
next two months, readers can submit their questions and have a chance to
win $200 in O'Reilly products. If you're familiar with Head First books,
you know each chapter starts with a retro picture and humorous caption.
Send us your suggestions for amusing or educational Head First-related
captions for three of our favorite images and we'll enter you in a
drawing to win $200 of O'Reilly products. The winner will be announced in
May Head First newsletter.
DIY O'Reilly Gear
Create Your Own Calendar, Shirt, Notebook, Poster...In just three easy
steps you can create one of a kind calendars, greeting cards, keychains,
luggage tags, magnets, mousepads, mugs, notebooks, postcards, posters,
shirts, hoodies, and stickers adorned with your favorite O'Reilly
animals.
Articles
Step by Step: Configuring SSL Under Apache
This is the first in a new series of ONLamp articles you'll be seeing
over the next few months. They aren't breaking news about the hottest
new technologies, they're step by step guides to common but sometimes
complicated procedures you may have to tackle. In the first installment,
Juliet Kemp gives us a checklist that should have your Apache server
running SSL in nothing flat.
Using Zend Studio for PHP Programming
Most programmers are familiar with Eclipse, and PHP programmers are
familiar with Zend Studio. But, like two great tastes that taste good
together, the two have now been combined into a single tool. Learn how
you can use Zend Studio to make your PHP programming more productive.
Aperture 2 Features 101-103 with Joe Schorr
Apple's web page says, "Aperture 2 delivers over 100 dramatic, new
features." And still there are a few terrific ones they forgot to put on
the list. In this podcast, Derrick Story chats with Joe Schorr, Senior
Product Manager for Aperture, to uncover a few of these hidden gems.
Reverse Callback Templating
Many programmers know of the two main systems of templating. One embeds
actual source code into the template. The other provides a mini language
with loops, conditionals, and other control structures. There is a third
way--a reverse callback system. James Robson explains this
best-of-both-worlds approach by demonstrating Perl's Template::Recall
module.
Audio Insights from the 2008 Game Developers Conference
To hear the future of audio, listen to video games. Interactive Audio
expert Kurt Heiden did just that at the Game Developers Conference. He
brings you what the experts at GDC 2008 had to say about the state of
audio in games, and then dives into some of the technology advancements
that are changing the interactive audio landscape.
For more articles, go to: http://www.oreillynet.com/
Blogs
Windows IT Evangelist Matt Hester interviews Laurel Ackerman about O'Reilly's new Up-to-Date Series at SXSW
For more blogs, go to: http://www.oreillynet.com/blogs/
Until next time—
