Reviews (1)

Great ITV examples
The book has excellent examples of concepts for interactive television-and some pretty cool work from broadband design companies like Heavy and Artifact. I wish there were more example of wireless projects. Overall- a good balance ofvisual examples and project details for inspiration. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Forecasting    4. Graphic Arts - General    5. Information Technology    6. Interactive television    7. Internet    8. Mass media    9. Media Studies - Electronic Media    10. Social aspects    11. Graphic design    12. Multimedia   

Reviews (4)

Great concepts and models.Bad delivery.
I've been an information architect for most of my career but I only started teaching college students fairly recently.Now, there's a difference between training professionals (managers and executives) and students fresh out of high school.This book explains everything I need for my students to grasp the importance of human-computer interaction in their future careers.Unfortunately, it suffers from too much scientific jargon.I find myself constantly groping for ways to tone down words such as "one-key with disambiguation", replacing them with simpler terms such as "dictionary".Ironically, chapter 5 discusses the importance of simplifying your language in order to facilitate understanding between the designer (you) and the users (your customers).I guess, they're not really practicing what they preach.My students ask me if they could buy this book as their reference guide, but I shudder to think of the migraine they'd get from trying to wade through the jargons.They're future multimedia artists, not rocket scientists.

Scholarly, thorough, and very in-depth, but poorly edited
I have never encountered so many grammatical errors, mostly in the form of omitted auxiliary verbs and the like, as in this text. I also found certain chapters poorly written due to a paucity of examples provided for conceptual challenging material.
Constantly amazed at this book
Working through this book, I am constantly amazed at the number of topics covered and the depth and clarity of the authors (and in some cases, the entertaining story they tell).There is much important theory that exists in HCI and I have not found a book that does such a wonderful job bringing it, and the proper author to explain it, all together.Previously, it was a chore to track down the important theoretical works, not so now.Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Science    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Data Modeling & Design    6. Information Theory    7. Internet - World Wide Web    8. User Interfaces    9. Computers / User Interfaces    10. Human-computer interaction   

Reviews (7)

Useful also for beginners
I found this book suit my needs as a 3d GUI beginner perfectly. The book covers basic 3d GUI techiques but more importantly presents a the design of a basic 3d GUI tool set. The many acronyms are annoying I have to say.

Pioneering work
If you are expecting to learn Java 3D programming, then you won't find much help from this book.This book is talking about the pioneering idea of '3D Virtual world for user interaction', instead of the current '2D GUI'.There are more principles than implementations in this book, which is the way I like.I will not use Java 3D to build any real applications, but Java 3D is purer and easy to grasp the concept than OpenGL or DirectX. Not written to learn java3D but the authors own framework.
The author sure knows how to write java 3D programs.But he Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Java (Computer program languag    6. Java (Computer program language)    7. Microcomputer Graphics    8. Programming Languages - Java    9. Three-dimensional display syst    10. Three-dimensional display systems    11. User Interface    12. User Interfaces    13. User interfaces (Computer syst    14. User interfaces (Computer systems)    15. Computer Programming    16. Computer graphics software    17. Computers / Languages / Programming    18. Computers / Programming Languages / Java    19. Java & variants   

Editorial Review

Susan Fowler descends on the interface scene with a book that should prove to be a valuable resource for the independent developer. Read more

Reviews (2)

Not much help
Pretty much contains a lot of recycled material in simplistic form from other, more detailed, sources. Not enough meat to feed a Merlin (small raptor).

For MS-Win95x platforms only
("There is no language- or platform-specific information here") says the editorial review. i.e. this book is not a syntax guide.Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computers    5. Graphical user interfaces (Computer systems)    6. User Interface    7. Object-oriented programming (OOP)    8. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)    9. Systems analysis & design   

Subjects:  1. Coding theory    2. Computer Bks - Other Applications    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Digital video    8. Electronics - Circuits - General    9. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    10. User Interfaces    11. Video compression    12. Image processing: video    13. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (3)

Incredibly poor
This book is so thin on content as to make it unusable for real development work. The actual number of pages devoted to user-interface software design is TINY. With luck, it might fill out an acceptable overview article in a magazine. Disappointing
As a software "old hand" in embedded systems for way too many years, I ought to know better than to be taken in by the hype on this book. But, I blew it. This was a waste of money. The examples are misleading, thetext is just plain wrong in far too many places, and the direction he takesin instructing is insulting. Then to cap it off, the compiler he wrote theexamples for is very old. I have used Borland compilers since Turbo-Pascaldays, and I used BC3.1 for years (still have it on one of my systems), butI would not recommend them today as they have been passed by. He obviouslyhas had experience in embedded user interfaces, but this book will not helpnovices learn the how, where, or why of the subject in a way that they canuse for the future. My recommendation is to pass on this one...

Much wisdom in accessable form.
This book covers embedded system design without forgetting the original reason for it -- the user.A truly balanced approach to the problems in this domain.Many years worth of hard-won wisdom about embedded systemdesign AND the users of embedded systems.You can learn it from him, orthe hard, expensive way.Fun reading for an "old hand", besides. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. C (Programming Language)    2. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    3. Computer Books: Database    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Data Structures    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Programming Languages - C    9. Programming Languages - General    10. User Interfaces    11. C & Visual C   

Reviews (2)

importance of usability
When I first picked up this book I had incorrectly assumed it focused on the new accessibility features in MX. This is merely a small part of what the book offers, however. Instead, it gets into the nitty gritty of what developers and designers need to consider as they build their sites in order to produce work that users can ..well, USE. I found this book addressed and offered solutions to many common problems, as well as some more interesting and subtle issues that arise during site production. My only gripe was that at times I felt that, due to the multiple-author nature of the book, certain material was retread chapter to chapter. Although each chapter offered something new, it also presented material previously addressed. Still, a very helpful book of practical theories and implementations amidst so many tutorial-based books on how to achieve cool effects.

Great book for all web designers
Anyone serious about web design/development (whether you use flash or not) should read this book. It is well written and practical. Showing you how to make your web site from the users side of view instead of the designers side of view, taking into account how to make it accessible for everyone, all the little things most web developers and designers miss along the way. Giving you real life siduations on what can happen during the stages of development and wrenches thrown in during the web development process (as any web developer or designer knows all to well from clients) and how to cope with them. It shows you fantastic strategies how to cope with user importance and usuabilty during every phaze of development (even ones you would never think was important) It also shows you when it's good to use flash and when not to. This is one of the best books I've seen written yet on the usuabilty of flash. An extreme must for all web designers and developers (even for those wanting to learn it just for themselves) If more would read books like this, the internet would be alot easier place to surf. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Web Programming    2. Computer Graphics - Flash    3. Computers    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Computers / Information Technology    8. Computers-Desktop Publishing - General    9. Computers-Internet - Web Site Design   

Reviews (3)

Must for usability and product design professionals
Courage and Baxter did an amazing job writing this book, thank you! I really liked the fact that this book is based on years of realworld experiences from commerial high technology company.
Unflinchingly practical tour de force of usability...
Baxter and Courage provide a rich, accessible toolbox of diverse yet interrelated usability methods that will enable a designer (UI, UE,IA, etc.) to understand user goals, values, and purposes. As a design professional without a human factors background I find this incredibly useful at the office! A handy reference guide with case studies and sample projects, there is also an undercurrent of strategic thought in terms of how to approach and intepret usability methods, thus complementing the designer's iterative art. This book should also benefit design students and educators, who may be seeking a robust compilation of methods that speaks to the "real world" of adroitly performing usability to advance a design's evolution.

A Very Usable Guide to User Requirements
Courage and Baxter have assembled an extremely thorough, practical, and readable guide to a diverse array of user requirements methods available to the usability and design professional. "Understanding Your Users" will surely be an valuable addition to your bookshelf, but don't be surprised if it spends more time in your hands than on the shelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer software    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Development    6. Human-computer interaction    7. Interactive & Multimedia    8. Social Aspects - Human-Computer Interaction    9. User Interfaces    10. User interfaces (Computer systems)    11. Computers / User Interfaces    12. General Theory of Computing   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Other Applications    4. Mathematical & Statistical Software    5. Programming - General    6. User Interfaces   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - General Information    4. General    5. Programming - General    6. Software Engineering    7. Computers / User Interfaces    8. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)   

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Bks - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Internet - General    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Computers / Internet / World Wide Web    8. Human-computer interaction    9. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Editorial Review

Written for the experienced Java developer, Read more

Reviews (36)

Very well written. A must have reference...
Its a must have for all intermediate to expert level developers. Lots of good code. I develop applications using Swing and really, this is the only book that I turn to for reference. You will tend to get some good ideas from the code they have presented and it definitely helps in understanding the Swing framework and designing better UIs.

Who is this book for?

real world code
This book allows one to quickly go from a Swing amateur to a very competent Swing programmer. The quality of the demo code is good, and more than just toy problems are tackled. I didn't give this book five stars because of the number of typos. While they generally don't detract from understanding the topic at hand, they are annoying.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Networks    3. Computer Programming Languages    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Internet - General    7. Java (Computer program language)    8. Programming Languages - General    9. Programming Languages - Java    10. Computer Programming    11. Computers / Languages / Programming    12. Computers / Programming Languages / Java    13. Java & variants    14. Graphical user interfaces (Com    15. Swing (Computer file)    16. Java foundation classes   

Editorial Review

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (a.k.a. Windows Me) endowsMicrosoft's everyday operating system with considerable multimedia capability,including video editing. The Read more

Reviews (3)

A book to teach you how to film
Not only the handbook for Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, this book introduces the ways to film to make your home movie more interesting. Instead of shooting without any plan, home video amateurs can really take advantage of the suggestions in the book for better planning to get better entertaining result.

Like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!
I think this is a good book on Movie Makers by author Seth McEvoy and on the cover it reminds me like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire becuase of the cover! Puts you in the director's chair.
Microsoft brings the ability to make movies right to the desktop with Windows ME. This book takes that adventure and shows you the techniques that will have you making, editing and showing movies to your friends in no time flat.Read more

Subjects:  1. Agronomy (General)    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Data processing    5. Editing    6. Film & Video - General    7. General    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Internet - General    10. Microsoft Windows Movie Maker    11. Motion pictures    12. Multi-Media Hardware & Software    13. Performing Arts    14. Computer graphics software    15. Computers / Internet / General    16. Multimedia    17. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)   

Editorial Review

As a scientist who works in computer development, Rosalind Picard is accustomed to working with what is rational and logical. But in her research on how to enable computers to better perceive the world, she discovered something surprising: In the human brain, a critical part of our ability to see and perceive is not logical, but emotional. Therefore, for computers to have some of the advanced abilities we desire, it may be necessary that they comprehend and, in some cases, feel emotions. Read more

Reviews (6)

Outdated
This book is meant for a pop audience.Its completely out of date and does not take into account the vast research at major computer-human interaction conferences such as ACM SIG-CHI

Religious Artificial Intelligence?! Say what?!!
In pop-culture there is the usual dichotomy between someone who "thinks with their head" and one who "thinks with their heart". In fact, the more enlightened thinkers realize that this dichotomy is at least half false: people who are emotionally-impaired are not more rational than the rest of us, but are rather quite crippled and incapable of facing everyday life. (Though if you are not already convinced of this, this book will do little to persuade you.)
Interesting book - Very interesting area.
This is an interesting book, and I strongly agree with Picard's assertion that computers ought to be able to "recognize" and respond to human emotions.She does an excellent job of making and supporting this point.The other part of her thesis, that computers themselves should have "emotions" is much less clear.She never seemed to adequately make the case that a computer with its own emotions would be of any significant value for anything, and frankly I can't think of any useful applications for such an ability.Some sort of emotional component may be needed to fully support and achieve AI (and she makes this point) but in terms of sort of the standard user interface types of applications it's hard to imagine how such a capability could be useful.Read more

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Science    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Human-Computer Interaction    7. User Interface    8. Virtual Reality    9. Artificial intelligence    10. Computers / Computer Science   

Subjects:  1. Business/Economics    2. Computer Operating Systems    3. Computers    4. Computers - Other Applications    5. Miscellaneous Software    6. Operating Systems - General    7. Computer Communications & Networking    8. Computer Programming    9. Computers / Operating Systems / General    10. Internet    11. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)   

Reviews (1)

Stop writing BAD web content!
There is a difference between writing for print and writing for the Web. This book really explains it. Quit guessing. Read this book. It's fun and your website won't be so BORING or hard to use! Thank you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Business & Economics    3. Business Communication - General    4. Business/Economics    5. Computer Books: General    6. Computers - General Information    7. Design    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Interactive multimedia    10. Internet - Web Site Design    11. Internet - World Wide Web    12. Web sites    13. World Wide Web    14. Business Communication    15. Business & Management    16. Business communication & presentation    17. Publishing on the Internet    18. Business Communication - Meetings & Presentations    19. Internet - Web Page Design    20. Online journalism    21. Business Writing    22. Usability   

Reviews (41)

Not as "Complete" as I hoped
I was really wanting something that would show a step by step guide to building a USB device (even if all it did was turn on and off an LED) but this book doesn't really show how to actually BUILD anything.It's more about the principles/standars for USB from both the hardware and software side, and some examples on how to connect to and use an HID USB device.

Excellent book
This book really explains USB in detail, and Jan Axelson seems to really know what he is talking about.I am impressed.

Decent, but not "Everything You Need"...
My use of the book was primarily as a second opinion, against which I could check my interpretations of the USBv2.0 specification.In a few instances, this was very useful (i.e., clarifying exactly what is meant by the terms transaction, packet, handshake, etc.).
Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Engineering    3. Computer interfaces    4. Computer peripherals    5. Computers    6. Computers - General Information    7. Hardware - Peripherals    8. Programming - Software Development    9. USB (Computer bus)    10. User Interfaces    11. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)   

Reviews (5)

More about users than about web pages!
This is a serious work on Web Usability that attempts to define in detail the user context and to construct a user-centred methodology based on that context. A must-buy for Web designers ...
What use is a Web site if no one uses it? Too many Web design books and development tools provide cut-and-paste solutions to design problems without providing the developer with an understanding of fundamental principles. A must read book
This book is unlike many other web usability books.It goes well beyond the cookie-cutter guidelines for fast web usability, and gets the reader thinking deeply about contexts of web usability. It focuses on the real important issues and concepts.However, it is not an abstract or theoretical book. The author illustrates the concepts and explanations with numerous real examples from the web. This book is a must read for web designers, information architects, and web usability engineers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Networks    4. Computer input-output equipmen    5. Computer input-output equipment    6. Computer software    7. Computers    8. Desktop Publishing    9. Development    10. Human factors    11. Human-computer interaction    12. Internet - Web Site Design    13. Social Aspects - Human-Computer Interaction    14. Computers / Internet / Intranets    15. Publishing on the Internet    16. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Subjects:  1. Careers - General    2. Careers / Job Opportunities    3. Computer Graphics - Design    4. Computer games    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Design    7. Games    8. Games/Puzzles    9. Graphic Arts - General    10. Programming    11. Programming - General    12. User Interface    13. User Interfaces    14. User interfaces (Computer systems)    15. Video & Electronic - General    16. Art / Graphic Arts    17. Systems analysis & design