There are so many photography how-to books that the budding photographer hardly has time to catch his or her breath before embarking on another set of rules for this or that kind of image making. Whether it be fine art photography, fashion, or wedding photography there are tomes a-plenty to help with the chores of learning the ropes, and that’s a good thing.
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You’ve heard it time and time again: backup, backup, backup. Updating software? Backup first. Installing a new hard drive? Backup first. Sounds simply enough, but how many of us are really doing it, or if we are backing up, how many of us are doing it correctly? Never fear, Joe Kissell is here to help us with his latest book, Backing Up Your Mac.
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If you’re in a hurry, here’s the one sentence review of Take Control of iCloud: if you have any confusion or questions about iCloud, buy this book.
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When I want to learn, really learn, about a single technology topic, I turn to Take Control books. Each book dives deep into its subject; for example Dropbox, online privacy, or 1Password. Many other readers prefer a quick overview of the topic, a get in, get out philosophy if you will.
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I remember in the late 70’s and early 80’s there were predictions about our society becoming more and more paperless in the future with the revolution of the personal computer. But at the same time, huge companies were investing more and more into faster printers and fax machines that were in total contradiction of the predictions.
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DSLR cameras are the top choices for professional photographers. The provided owner’s manual is great reading to familiarize yourself with your camera. But is there a better book to get you started? Let’s evaluate Mastering the Nikon D700.
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The Missing Manual series, of course, aims to fill gaps that many pieces of software (may) leave by having no – or an inadequate – manual. iMovie The Missing Manual (OReilly) looks at Apples venerable movie editing software.
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Jony Ive The Genius Behind Apples Greatest Products is a handsome, silver and black jacketed, 320 page book that isnt exactly a biography. It covers Sir Jonathan Ives early family life, schooling, higher education, and working life before Apple, as well as the products he is so well known for. It is, I would say, more a study of the mans work history, methods, philosophy, accomplishments, and the challenges behind them. In as much as anyone can study such things relating to an intensely private individual who works at perhaps the most secretive company in the world!
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Beginning to produce a podcast can be a little intimidating. Which software do I use to record? How do I choose a mic? Should I use GarageBand, Audacity, or another program for editing? Those questions, and many more, are answered in Take Control of Podcasting On The Mac.
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In this exhaustive analysis of different types of natural light, the British photographer Michael Freeman illuminates essential principles that will have you looking for photographic subjects in a different way.
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At first glance iPad Animation How to Make Stop Motion Movies On The iPad with iStopMotion, GarageBand, and iMove by Craig Lauridsen looks like a giant advertisement or manual for the iPad app iStopMotion by Boinx Software. However, as you get further into the book it is much more. It is a great book on stop motion animation that has tips and techniques that can be used with any software, even though iStopMotion is the software used and explained in the book.
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Are you thinking of starting a blog, but are unsure of how to begin? WordPress: Visual QuickStart Guide by Matt Beck and Jessica Neuman Beck would be a good place to start.
Read MoreTake Control of 1Password Author: Joe Kissell Publisher : TidBITS Publishing, Inc. Price: $10.00 148 pages, ebook format ISBN: 9781615424283 Unless you live under
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Although Mavericks (OS 10.9) differs from previous OS upgrades in being free and more readily installed “over” existing systems, users can still benefit from adequate preparation, from planning, from a thorough understanding of Mavericks’ benefits (and possible pitfalls) and from access to a rich set of resources to make the most of it. Experienced Mac author Joe Kissell’s ebook, Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks, provides all of that – and more.
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Click on the link below to listen to our four-minute interview with Barbie, book artist. Be patient while the clickable audio page link and
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There is Martin Evening and there is everyone else when it comes to learning and understanding the professional version of Adobe Photoshop. From his 16 page detailed table of contents to his 17 page equally detailed index, Martin provides everything essential for newcomers and experienced users of Adobe’s new CC photo enhancement software.
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Published roughly two years apart, these companion books are the equivalent of a one semester crash course in Photoshop. Both books are lavishly illustrated on quality stock. Both provide step-by-step instructions for achieving a wide range of effects in Photoshop. The tutorials do not cover everything there is to know in Photoshop. The focus appears to be a mix of simple tasks, like moving images from the camera to the computer, to the more complex, such as using LAB channel adjustments to change colors.
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Dropbox is the ubiquitous application that allows users to sync and share their files, and access them from computers, smart phones, and tablets. If you’re reading this review you probably are already a Dropbox user. Are you using Dropbox to its fullest potential? Do you have a hard time trying to explain the Dropbox concept to potential new users? Are you still a little confused about how Dropbox works? Answers to all those questions, and more, can be found in Joe Kissell’s new Ebook, Take Control of Dropbox.
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Mac Kung Fu is a collection of hundreds of little things that can make a big difference in the way your Mac works. I’m always surprised when someone stumbles across features that I’ve known for years but are new to them. Mac Kung Fu is full of that kind of stuff. While you may be aware of some of these tips, I doubt many besides the author will know all of these.
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The cover of Mac Hacks features a Swiss Army knife, which is very fitting given the breadth of topics this book addresses. The hacks covered in this book range from Quick Hacks for Mountain Lion to Give Your Polycarbonate Mac a Dye Job. But whether you consider yourself a “hacker” or not, this book contains some great information that many Mac users will find useful. Topics like Create a Great Backup and Create a Bootable Flash Drive should be of interest to many Mac owners.
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