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I wasn't particularly happy when I heard that Python 3 wasn't backwardly compatible with previous versions of Python, but I tried to keep an open mind about this. When I heard that Programming in Python 3 was being published in Addison-Wesley's Developer's Library series, I saw a chance to get up to speed quickly with what had changed.

Women Who Tech brings together talented and renowned women breaking new ground in technology who use their tech savvy skills to transform the world and inspire change. We provide a supportive network for the vibrant and thriving community of women in technology professions by giving women an open platform to share their talents, experiences, and insights. In April 2009 the second annual Women Who Tech TeleSummit will bring together hundreds of women from across the US and abroad in the non-profit, political and business world for an incredible lineup of thought provoking panels featuring technology change makers. Have an idea for a panel?

First of all, to really appreciate this book, you'll have to become comfortable with surrendering data you'd normally have contained in apps on your hard drive onto "the cloud". You'll also have to become comfortable with surrendering that data to Google. Then again, maybe you've already gone a long way down that path without even realizing it. Let's see.

I suppose this would be a better, or at least a more contextually relevant review, if it were a video on YouTube instead of in text on my blog. Alas, my face and voice wouldn't do either YouTube, this book, or this review justice, so you'll have to read it instead of watching it. Also, since Lastufka and Dean chose to write a book and not produce a short movie, posting a blog is a good way to respond.

If you're a Twitter user, you know how much power you can put into a mere 140 character message, especially if it contains a link. Who you follow (which can include a "what" such as O'Reilly.com or Linux Journal) can mold your entire Twitter experience and provide you with up-to-the-minute information on your favorite topics. Recently, Tim O'Reilly, who I follow on Twitter, posted a link suggesting that you follow the Bash Cookbook.

Surprise. I normally review books on actual and not fictional technology, but I came across the hardcopy version of this book at my local library and, having not read a Haldeman novel in a couple of decades, decided to revisit science fiction as one might revisit an old girlfriend. I wanted to see how much my interest in the genre and specifically Haldeman's writing, had held up over time. I'm also kind of a sucker for time travel stories.

I've owned this book for quite awhile and discovered that I have never reviewed it. I determined to correct my oversight and to share my insights regarding Goldwasser and Letscher's book with you. Of course, the snake head on the cover is totally inaccurate, given that the Python language was actually named for Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and company (or Flying Circus, rather). I suppose the snake's head just looked more cool against a jet black background, though. Is the book itself just as cool? Let's find out.

Recently, Linux.com has announced that it will be changing its format starting with the new year. I popped on this morning and got a bit of a surprise. I tend to visit the site largely for news updates, but when the default page loaded in my browser, I was confronted with a (yet another) discussion forum.

On the one hand, who hasn't heard of Facebook? On the other hand, if you don't use it, how do you know what it is? For the Facebook faithful, maybe this book seems unnecessary, but for the rest of us, perhaps it is. Certainly for the parents of all the kids who use Facebook, this book should be required reading.

According to Wikipedia, a dojo is "a Japanese term which literally means "place of the Tao". Initially, dojo were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any martial arts style to conduct training, examinations and...", oh wait! Wrong dojo. Dojo, in this context, is a JavaScript toolkit, somewhat similar to jQuery, Mochikit, and Prototype. I previously reviewed a book largely oriented towards jQuery and was favorably impressed. How will the Pragmatic book on Dojo compare in presenting Dojo, especially in terms of being a teacher?

Oh no! I spent all that time learning CSS and weaving my tortuous path through many a messed up website, until I finally figured out what works and what doesn't...at least for me. Now Andrew and Yank come along (yeah, I know...sounds like a comedy team) and tell me I've got it wrong? Egad! But wait! There's hope. After all, of the hundreds and hundreds of CSS books and other resources out there, how can a single book containing a mere 116 pages rewrite everything that came before it? That's what we're here to find out.

There's a blurb on the back cover of this book; a quote of Greg Kroah-Hartman, who is a well respected contributor to the Linux kernel and the current Linux kernel maintainer for the USB, driver core, debugfs, kref, kobject, and the sysfs kernel subsystems. As you can imagine, his word carries a certain amount of weight in the Linux development community. Regarding this book, he says, "The first edition of this book has always been kept within arm's reach of my desk due to the wonderful explanations of all areas of the Linux userspace API. This second edition greatly overshadows the first one and will replace it." That certainly speaks volumes.

For a long time, Linux has been trying to convince most people (that is, mostly home and business users) that Linux on the desktop is a good alternative to Windows. Linux has already established an outstanding reputation in the server room, so system administrators are already convinced of the virtues of Linux. All that can be considered "Linux, open and above board". What about "Linux under the hood"? By that I mean, what about the virtues of embedded Linux systems? What about Linux running "in everything from cell phones to car ABS systems and water-filtration plants..."? That's what Yaghmour, et al proposes to teach you in this book.

This review has been a long time coming...mainly because I've been having such a good time with this book. That said, the title is a bit misleading. It's not really "The book that should have been in the box" (even if JavaScript came in a box) since a "box of generic JavaScript" wouldn't have come with half of what this book contains. In fact, I'm not really sure the reader will come away with a solid foundation in JavaScript after reading McFarland's book. Let me explain.

Ok, let's get past the buzz word "optimization". It seems like just a ton of goods and services have been sold over the years, that have promised to "optimize" this or that. Working with "optimization" is like working with "synergy". It's not that the words or concepts are bad or ineffective; it's just that the terms have been overused (Anybody remember your "Inner Child"?). Let's remember that Andrew King's 2003 book Speed Up Your Site "kicked ass" back in the day and that its subtitle is "Web Site Optimization". Does lightning strike twice in the same spot? There's one way to find out. Read on.

A book on (gulp) law? Why would I want to read this? Well, if you're a developer (open source or not) and you are at all interested in protecting the fruits of your labors, you will want to know this the same way you want to know about locking your house when you leave for work each morning. The next question is, "Will I understand anything the author is saying?". Depends. If you're an attorney, the answer is "yes". If you're a software engineer, the answer is..."yes". What? How can that be? Turns out the author is both a software engineer and a practicing attorney (at least, according to the blurb on the back cover of the book). Is it possible he can speak to both audiences? Let's find out.

Wanna learn Perl? Huh? Do ya, do ya, do ya? Sorry. When I started thinking about writing this review, I had a Dory moment. The question (such as it is) still stands, though. Do you want to learn Perl? If you do, you've come to the right place...maybe. Let me explain.

There actually are many fine articles on how to write tutorials on the web and particularly on those related to image editors such as Photoshop, but I thought it was time for one aimed at the beginner who wants to learn how to write a tutorial, particularly using GIMP. The writing in and of itself, is a skill set that takes time to master. It's not enough to have the desire to help others and it's not enough to know the subject you want to teach. The trick is being able to communicate to your audience in a way that will help them understand, learn, and then apply what they've learned to expand their own skill sets.

Not too long ago, I reviewed The Official Ubuntu Book, Third Edition published by Prentice Hall (July 13, 2008). The thing about reviewing a later edition of an already successful book, is that you need to make sure it updates to the current version of whatever it's describing, which in this case is Ubuntu 8.04, the Hardy Heron. I dinged the Benjamin Mako Hill, et al. book, primarily because it didn't address readers who were already dedicated Ubuntu users and who needed to know the ins and outs of upgrading vs. doing a clean install. I've since learned (and it wasn't addressed in the Prentice Hall book) that there actually is a direct upgrade patch from 6.06 to 8.04 (and this information was a little hard to come by). I needed that information, because performing that upgrade was the task I needed to perform. Rickford Grant's third edition book arrived at my home yesterday. How will this book appeal to the complete Ubuntu newbie vs. the experienced "non-geek" with upgrade needs?

Django (for those of you who don't know and are just reading this out of sheer curiosity) is "an open source web application framework, written in Python, which loosely follows the model-view-controller design pattern". At least that's how Wikipedia defines it (it's also a 1966 Italian film directed by Sergio Corbucci and an album by The Modern Jazz Quartet, first released on LP in 1956, but I digress). Before you go any further, check your bag of tricks and make sure you have at least some familiarity with the Python programming language. You're going to need it for this book to be of any use to you.