Programming isn't hard. But it is hard to find learning materials that teach you to do interesting things with programming. Other computer books go over many topics that most newbie coders don't need. This book will teach you how to program your own computer games. You will learn a useful skill and have fun games to show for...

LEGO has been a part of my life since I was about four years old. My first sets were basic LEGO SYSTEM sets. However, I soon lumped to the early TECHNIC sets that were beginning to appear on the market. Because I was one of those kids who had to take everything apart to figure out how it worked, TECHNIC seemed like a good fit for me....

Pick one. Test-drive a few luxury sports cars. A Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Maserati maybe? Or compare the top First Growth Bordeaux from 2005. Maybe an Haut-Brion, Latour and Mouton-Rothschild? Alternatively, go play in a social media application. Perhaps creating your profile on Facebook or blogging about your passions or sharing...

PHP is mainstream. Wherever you look, you will see PHP meet - ups, job openings, and major companies using this open source language to support their business. An open source language with such humble beginnings is now heavily rooted in the enterprise world. PHP is brushing shoulders with the “ the big kids ” now — the...

One day,Erica and her husband took the kids out for ice cream, and she noticed a big advertisement hanging above the counter. It said, “Bring in your digital photographs. We’ll put them on ice cream cakes.” She found the manager and asked what was involved. “It’s simple,” she said. “Just bring...

You may know When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth as a goofy humans-coexisting-withdinosaurs movie from the 1970s. However, in technology circles, “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” refers to a grim humans-coexisting-with-mainframes story from the 1970s. I refer, of course, to IBM and its brontosaurus-size computers (called...

A few years ago, I was teaching a workshop on advanced SketchUp techniques to a group of extremely bright middle and high school (or so I thought) students in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As subject matter went, I wasn’t pulling any punches — we were breezing through material I wouldn’t think of introducing to most groups...

You’re no dummy; we both know that. But something about computers often makes you feel like a dummy. And that’s perfectly understandable. Unlike today’s kids, you probably didn’t grow up with a computer in your kindergarten class, car, or in your back pocket. With this book, you’ll no longer feel uncomfortable...

"This book provides cutting-edge coverage by expanding the field to include specific problems such as online gaming, cybersex addiction, and gambling addiction. Its extensive attention to dealing with adolescents is essential, given the rapid...

"Don't worry. This isn't a garden makeover book that'll convince you to put decking over every plant you see nor will it teach you how to spot your Symphoricarpos albus from...

In 1985 I brought home a new shiny Commodore Amiga 1000, about one week after they were released. Coming with a whopping 512K of memory, programmable colormaps, a Motorola 68K CPU, and a modern multitasking operating system, it had “awesome” writ all over it. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I thought it might make a...