Imagine this scenario: You create a hunter character with random stats and hit points and enter the dungeon to begin exploring for treasure. You stumble upon a zombie pacing near a pile of gear and gold! You attack the zombie and it strikes back! You roll 1D20 and score a critical hit! The 20 point die plus dexterity, against the...

We are entering the golden age of GPU computing. Since the introduction of CUDA in 2007, more than 100 million computers with CUDA-capable GPUs have been shipped to end users. Unlike the previous GPGPU shader programming models, CUDA supports parallel programming in C. From my own experience in teaching CUDA programming, C programmers...

Do you think that only experts with a deep understanding of the inner workings of ASP.NET, SQL Server, and IIS can improve a website's performance? Think again - because this book tosses that notion out of the window. It will help you resolve every web developer's nightmare - a slow website - with angry managers looking over your...

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...

Introduced 160 years ago as an attempt to generalize complex numbers to higher dimensions, quaternions are now recognized as one of the most important concepts in modern computer graphics. They offer a powerful way to represent rotations and compared to rotation matrices they use less memory, compose faster, and are naturally suited for...

You don’t have to be an Apple fanboy or fangirl to give Apple Inc. credit for redefining mobile gadgetry and its surrounding industries. First the company used the iPod to reshape the music industry and strongly influence how we acquire and consume tunes. Just count the number of people wearing iPod-connected earbuds in a subway car....

When it comes to understanding one of your most intimidating courses--calculus--even good students can be confused. Intended primarily for the non-engineering calculus student (though the more serious calculus student will also benefit), Calculus for the Utterly Confused is your ticket to success. Calculus concepts are explained and applied...

Anything can be measured. This bold assertion is the key to solving many problems in business and life in general. The myth that certain things can't be measured is a significant drain on our nation's economy, public welfare, the environment, and even national security. In fact, the chances are good that some part of your life...