From Spam to Insanely Great to Life After Star Trek: Tech Stories for Everyone
Behind every technology breakthrough, curse, and fetish is a good story.
Anyone interested in how today's technology is transforming society will
enjoy these great reads.
- Spam Kings: The Real Story Behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements
Everyone is plagued by spam, and the mounting onslaught of email pitches has some techno-pundits declaring that spam is on the verge of destroying the Internet. In "Spam Kings," author and investigative journalist Brian S. McWilliams delivers a compelling account of the cat-and-mouse game played by spam entrepreneurs in search of easy fortunes and the cyber-vigilantes who are trying to stop them. - Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac was Made
The perfect gift for any Mac addict, this book traces the development of the Macintosh computer from its inception as an underground skunkworks project in 1979 to its triumphant introduction in 1984 and beyond. In this vivid first-hand account, author Andy Herztfeld--a key member of the original Mac team--recalls his all-consuming experience as a major player in the creation of technology that changed the world. - Just a Geek
Wil Wheaton starred in "Stand By Me" at the tender age of 12 and grew up on television as Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." With stunning honesty and self-deprecating wit, Wil tells the intensely personal story of how he quit Star Trek, chased success, dodged the pitfalls of early fame, and ultimately found love, family, and a new career as a writer.
O'Reilly Fan Books:
Great Gifts for Gadget Junkies
It's hip to be square! These lovely little books--a compact 6" x 6"--will
delight anyone who's passionate about their favorite gadget.
- iPod Fan Book
The iPod is more than a digital music device. It's a cultural phenomenon and a fashion statement. This beautiful book gives you a quick, fun way to bond with your iPod by learning all its features and capabilities (and it tempts you with cool accessories, too!). - Xbox Fan Book
Compact, colorful, and loaded with the stuff you need to master your console, the "Xbox Fan Book" takes you through all the basics, including online play and to-die-for games and accessories. It's the must-have guide for Xbox gamers of any level. - Treo Fan Book
Your Treo smartphone is tiny enough to fit in your pocket but mighty enough to be your full-featured mobile phone, Palm-powered organizer, wireless email, text messaging, and web-browsing tool, and even a digital camera! Not much bigger than the Treo itself, the full-color "Treo Fan Book" is treasure trove of tips and tools to help you quickly master this revolutionary device. - iBook Fan Book
Energy-efficient, lighter weight than most textbooks, and exceptionally powerful, the iBook is Apple's ultra-thin G4 notebook. If you own one of these stylish little white wonders, you can count on the "iBook Fan Book" to give you everything you need to make it work--and play--just as hard as you do. - PowerBook Fan Book
This is the perfect guide for mastering your beloved PowerBook. It helps you make the most of your PowerBook with tips for doing most anything and everything you could want at home, at the office, or on the go.
Hacks Books
O'Reilly's Hacks Series reclaims the term "hacking" for the good
guys--innovators who explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, create
useful tools, and come up with fun things to try on their own.
- iPod and iTunes Hacks
Most people are content to use their iPod simply to play music, but some want to do much, much more. "iPod and iTunes Hacks" will take you beyond the obvious with 100 ingenious tips and tricks that will delight, entertain, and add astonishing power to the iPod and iTunes experience. - Gaming Hacks
It doesn't take long for an avid--or just wickedly clever--gamer to chaff at the limitations of off-the-shelf videogames. If you want to go far beyond the obvious, there's an awful lot of free fun you can have, using the creative exploits of the gaming gurus. "Gaming Hacks" is the indispensable guide to cool things you can do to create, modify, and hack videogame hardware and software. - Smart Home Hacks
This book covers a litany of stand-alone and integrated smart home projects designed to enhance safety, comfort, and convenience in new and not-so-new homes. Learn how to equip your home with motion detectors for added security, install computer-controlled lights for optimum convenience, and much more. No matter what your technical level may be, "Smart Home Hacks" will help you achieve the automated home of your dreams.
Missing Manuals: The Books that Should Have Been in the Box
- Windows XP Power Hound
This insightful and amusing book is packed with hundreds of power tips, cool tricks, and workarounds in one organized, easy-to-use resource--for everything from the desktop to Office programs to the registry. Perfect for those who want to take control of Windows XP. - Mac OS X Power Hound, Panther Edition
Creator and editor of the extremely popular Mac OS X Hints web site (www.macosxhints.com), Rob Griffiths lifts the hood on the Formula-One-powered operating system and delivers over 500 high-octane secrets for finding easier, faster, and better ways of using Panther and the programs that come with it--and even a bunch that don't. - iLife '04: The Missing Manual
This book gives you everything you need to unleash your creative genius with iLife '04--Apple's suite of five programs: iTunes 4.6, iPhoto 4, iMovie 4, iDVD 4, and GarageBand--that's revolutionizing the way we work and play. Author David Pogue makes sure there's nothing standing between you and professional-caliber music, photos, movies, and more. It's your guide to livin' the iLife!
O'Reilly's New Personal Trainer Series
Imagine you had a personal trainer at your beck and call to help you learn
the software you depend on every day. Imagine this trainer had a proven
track record of success, didn't treat you like a dummy, and helped you
learn by doing--not just by reading about doing. Sound too good to be
true? Think again. O'Reilly's Personal Trainer series delivers just such
an experience. Light years beyond typical computer books that tack on a
CD full of fillerware, they're book/digital packages explicitly designed
to be used at your keyboard. You'll read a section and then immediately
try out what you've learned by working through the online training
course included on the CD.
- Excel 2003 Personal Trainer
Get on top of all the new features in the latest version of Excel. This fully illustrated book takes a modular approach, allowing you to start with the fundamentals and work your way to advanced topics through dozens of task-oriented lessons--at your own pace. It's written in an engaging, user-friendly style and, of course, includes an interactive CD. - Windows XP Personal Trainer
Get a grip on Windows XP without wading through tons of jargon and technical information. Start from scratch, or, if you already have Windows XP up and running, dive right into the topics (and only those topics) that you need or want to learn. Along the way, work through the examples on the included CD to get safe, "real world" experience. - PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer
Become a PowerPoint black belt, quickly and easily. Every chapter in this book includes useful diagrams and a review at the end to help you absorb and retain all you have learned. Unlike many consumer software tutorials that dumb down the material or present it in a confusing fashion, you'll find "PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer" fun, easy, and most of all, clear and informative.
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.