More From No Starch – Helping Regular People Do Amazing Things With Technology
No Starch is one of our favourite publishing companies – I think of them as publishers for geeks. (And that’s totally a compliment. I married one.)
Many of their books aren’t of the parenting variety and don’t really “fit” here, but are applicable to enough of our readers that we like to share them anyway. Two titles that we’d love to share with you today apply to anyone who shoots with a D-SLR camera and wants to learn to shoot in RAW, and for anyone who becomes an “accidental administrator” of a network, whether at home or at work.
The Art of RAW Conversion: How to Produce Art-Quality Photos with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Leading RAW Converters by Uwe Steinmueller and Jürgen Gulbins is a practical and beautifully illustrated guide that explains the advantages of working with RAW files (the digital equivalent of film negatives) and then how to use RAW converters to create the best digital image from each shot. It covers all of today’s most popular and innovative RAW converters, such as Photoshop Camera RAW, RawShooter, Lightroom, and Aperture) and how to get the best results from each one. As an amateur photographer (aren’t we all?) who shoots in RAW aboult half the time, I am really enjoying this book. Rather than reading it cover to cover, I leave it by my computer and each time I work on a session I’ve shot in RAW I use it to gather new ideas and streamline my workflow. With D-SLR cameras being affordable for the average parent now, almost everyone has the ability to shoot in RAW but almost nobody knows what to do with the files once they’ve been created. Thanks to this great & easy to follow book, anyone who wants to work with RAW now can do so without too much effort.
Network Know-How: An Essential Guide for the Accidental Admin by John Ross is just awesome for parents whose family members have two or more computers, because it will show you step by step how to connect them together and to the internet. No matter which OS you use (Windows, Mac or Linux), you’ll learn how to implement network addressing, configure adapters, hubs, switches, and your router, share music, photos, and documents, automate household appliances and stream digital audio and video to your home entertainment center and troubleshoot network slowdowns and failures. Sound like Greek? It did to me too, until I read John’s book. If I can do it, so can you!
Win it! We’ve got copies of each of these books to give away. To enter, leave a comment on this post (a SEPARATE comment for each book, please, noting either NETWORK or RAW in your comment) before noon mst on July 9, 2009.
CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:36 am
This sounds like something we could definitely use as we don’t have the time to go and figure it all out on our own!
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 am
oh my! Both books sound awesome!
RAW would be wicked to read while breastfeeding th enewborn
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:32 am
Wow NETWORK actually gives instructions for us mac geeks?!?!
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
would love either netwok first choice
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
would love raw
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
i like to read mverno@roadrunner.com
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 am
I would love raw, would be great to learn how to do this.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 am
Art of raw-Great!
July 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
I’d love to win the network book.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
Network Know-How sounds great. We have 3 computers in our house and I would love to be able to connect them.
smchester at gmail dot com
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Raw
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Raw sounds like a great book to read!
July 4th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
I would love t win this, so would my husband.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I would love RAW. Thanks!
July 5th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I would love the Art of Raw Conversion. I am always trying to figure out Photoshop!
July 5th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Net-work know how sounds super interesting
July 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
RAW photo files have been a mystery to me. I would love to win this book and learn how to use them properly in Photoshop. Thank you for the chance to win.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I’ve got a wi fi in my house but it would be nice to have a network so I could print to the one printer in the house and store large files on a external hard drive connected to the Desk top machine.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Count me in for NETWORK.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
network for me
July 6th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
raw second for me
July 7th, 2009 at 7:59 am
RAW sounds like a book my boyfriend would love
July 7th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Likewise, NETWORK sounds good for me because I’m not all that great with networking type stuff yet
July 7th, 2009 at 11:59 am
would love network for us
July 7th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Great prize, great contest!
July 7th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
the network book
July 7th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I’d love a chance to win Network Know-How
July 7th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
The Art of RAW Conversion might be a bit beyond my skills… but I’d like to give it a shot.
July 7th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I think I would like Network Know How.
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
July 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
enter me in for RAW, my husband would love it!
July 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
enter me in for NETWORK, I’d love that one!
July 7th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
These books look like something we could use at our house! We don’t know much about this stuff!
July 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Here is my entry for The Art of RAW Conversion: How to Produce Art-Quality Photos with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Leading RAW Converters. Thanks for the giveaway.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Here is my entry for Network Know-How: An Essential Guide for the Accidental Admin. Thanks for the giveaway.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Happy Summer!
July 8th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I need Network Know-How… and how!! I set up my home wireless router and forgot to write down the password and now I can’t get into it.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Both books sound awesome!
July 9th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Would love the network book
July 9th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I would love to read the Art of Raw Conversion!
I love nature photography and shoot raw so this would be invaluable to me.
Thank you so much for offering these books.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Please enter me in the RAW drawing. I would love to become a better photograpjer. Beyond taking a picture I’m lost.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Please enter me in the NETWORK drawing. I would love to integrate my computers but I am challenged when it comes to compter technology.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Please enter me into the contest for the NETWORK book. Thanks!
July 9th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Please enter me into the contest for the RAW book. Thanks!
July 9th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I would like to learn how to reproduce photos. Please enter me for “Raw”. Thanks.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Please enter me for “Network”. My son tries to explain things over the phone but it would be great to have a book. Thanks.