I first met Peter Plesch in the late 1950s when he had established his vacuum techniques in Keele and I was embarking on my PhD. My visit to Keele was to seek advice (freely given) on handling sensitive reaction systems. I rapidly came to appreciate that Peter operated on a somewhat higher intellectual plane than many academics. All...

Why should you learn about Linux? It’s a fast-growing operating system, and it’s inexpensive and flexible. Linux is also a major player in the small and mid-sized server field, and it’s an increasingly viable platform for workstation and desktop use as well. By understanding Linux, you’ll...

The second, revised edition of this book covers all aspects of non-uniform rational B-splines necessary to design geometry in a computer-aided environment. Basic B-spline features, curve and surface algorithms, and state-of-the-art geometry tools are all discussed. Detailed code for design algorithms and computational tricks are covered, too,...

I have been extremely fortunate. I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful grown-up children, and I have had all but thirty years working for Shell, which provided an environment...

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is an exceptional programming language and environment. The language has grown out of a need to have a programming language that would allow more business-focused individuals to write programs, but equally support the programming features that developers look for in a product. The...

Information networking has emerged as a multidisciplinary diversified area of research over the past few decades. From traditional wired telephony to cellular voice telephony and from wired access to wireless access to the Internet, information networks have profoundly impacted our lifestyle. At the time of writing, over 3 billion...

SolidWorks as a topic of learning is a huge, sprawling expanse. There is a lot to know, and a lot to write about. While I have made every effort to be complete in this book, I'm sure there are some niche topics that have gone untreated. New in 2011, I have taken this book from a single volume of an immense scope to two individual volumes,...

Although professionals have always acknowledged the value of networking, today’s economic climate makes developing a solid network even more critical. LinkedIn, the leading social networking site for professionals, is the ideal tool for maximizing the potential of an online network. LinkedIn currently has more than 65 million...

One of the most challenging tasks in today’s business and information technology (IT) environments is to communicate a solution to an organizational problem in a simple manner that can be easily understood by business and IT personnel alike. Is it also arduous to explain in simple words how a remedy to an enterprise concern can be...

Location-based services (LBS) are nally coming out of research labs and getting into the hands of nal users. It is fairly common to see cellular carriers and private companies oering LBS to locate your children, friends, and sites of interest, track assets, enhance the security of key personnel, help people with disabilities use...

In 2009, it is estimated that more than 1.5 billion people have access to the Internet, including 220 million in the U.S. alone. Throw in 338 million Chinese users, 55 million German users, 48 million British users, 38 million Russian users, and 67 million Brazilians, and you can see the meaning of the word “world” in the...

CMMI^® for Services (CMMI-SVC) is a comprehensive set of guidelines to help organizations establish and improve processes for delivering services. By adapting and extending proven standards and best practices to reflect the unique challenges faced in service industries, CMMI-SVC offers providers a...