[mdlug] President's Mail bag -O'Reilly News for User Group Members

[Raymond McLaughlin]

O'Reilly News for User Group Members
March 25, 2008

New Releases: Books, Short Cuts, and Rough Cuts

Get 35% off from O'Reilly, No Starch, Paraglyph, PC Publishing,
Pragmatic Bookshelf, Rocky Nook, SitePoint, or YoungJin books you
purchase directly from O'Reilly. Just use code "DSUG" when ordering
online or by phone 800-998-9938.

Free ground shipping on orders of $29.95 or more. See details.

Did you know you can request a free book or PDF to review for your
group? Ask your group leader for more information.
For book review writing tips and suggestions, go to:
http://ug.oreilly.com/bookreviews.html

New Releases: Books, Short Cuts, and Rough Cuts:

    * Programming Amazon Web Services
    * Ferret
    * The Digital Photography Companion
    * LINQ Pocket Reference
    * ScreenOS Cookbook
    * iPhone Open Application Development
    * Java Pocket Guide
    * C# 3.0 Pocket Reference, Second Edition
    * Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition
    * Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition
    * Take Control of Switching to the Mac (TidBITS)
    * ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook, Second Edition
    * Digital Photography from the Ground Up (Rocky Nook)
    * Head First Servlets and JSP, Second Edition
    * Making Things Happen
    * JUNOS Enterprise Routing
    * Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide
    * Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual
    * The ThoughtWorks Anthology (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
    * The Principles of Project Management (SitePoint)
    * The Photograph (Hard Cover) (Rocky Nook)
    * Visual Communication in Digital Design (Young Jin)
    * Building a Server with FreeBSD 7 (No Starch)
    * Groovy Recipes (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
    * Audio Editing with Adobe Audition, Second Edition (PC Publishing)
    * Rails for PHP Developers (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
    * Wicked Cool PHP (No Starch)
    * The Ultimate CSS Reference (Hard Cover) (SitePoint)
    * The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Zoo! (No Starch)
    * Desktop GIS (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
    * CRAFT: Volume 06
    * SEO for Book Publishers: Beyond Book Search
    * XML for Publishers
    * Making Mobile Work
    * Digitizing Your Backlist
    * Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date
    * Take Control of Permissions in Leopard (TidBITS)
    * Learning Flex 3 Rough Cut


MAKE Magazine Subscriptions
makezine.comThe annual subscription price for four issues is $34.95.
When you subscribe with this link, you'll get a free issue--one plus
four more for $34.95. So subscribe for yourself or friends with this
great offer for UG Members: five volumes for the cost of four.

Subscribe at: http://www.makezine.com/go/ugsub

Craft Magazine Subscriptions
craftzine.com The annual subscription price for four issues is $34.95.
When you subscribe with this link, you'll get a free issue--one plus
four more for $34.95. So subscribe for yourself or friends with this
great offer for charter subscribers: five volumes for the cost of four.

Subscribe at: http://www.craftzine.com/go/craftug

Upcoming Events
For more events, please see: events.oreilly.com


Webcast: Five Ways to Make Your Photos Look Better
Mar 27, 2008

Five Ways to Make Your Photos Look Better

In this webcast, Derrick Story, digital photographer, blogger, and
author of The Digital Photography Companion, gives you the tools to
capture the high quality pictures you've always wanted--photos that will
distinguish your work from others.

Thousands of pictures are recorded every day. Many of these shots are
personal and not meant to be viewed as art. But what if you could
capture the world everyone else sees, but in a more beautiful way?
Derrick shows you five ways to make your pictures look a cut above those
snapshots we typically see.

Attendance is limited, so register now. We'll send you a reminder before
the webcast.
Jonathan Zdziarski at the MIT Spam Conference
Mar 27-28, 2008
MIT Stata Center
Cambridge, MA
Jonathan Zdziarski, leading iPhone app developer and author of iPhone
Open Application Development, presents "Adaptive Language Parsing."

Jesse Liberty at VSLive! San Francisco
Mar 30-Apr 3, 2008
Moscone Convention Center West
San Francisco, CA
Author Jesse Liberty (Programming .NET 3.5 and Learning ASP.NET with
AJAX) will be Presenting "Intro to Silverlight 2" and "Silverlight and
Data."

O'Reilly Sponsor at MuleCon 2008 	MuleCon
Apr 1-2, 2008
Hilton Financial District
San Francisco, CA
MuleCon 2008 is the second annual Mule User Conference, bringing
together Mule experts, developers and users from around the world, along
with executives and engineers of MuleSource, the creators of Mule and
the company behind the technology.

O'Reilly at PhotoShop World Orlando 2008
Apr 3-4, 2008
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, FL
Visit the O'Reilly booth #115 at PhotoShop World Orlando. Come join the
revolution with a FREE Tech Pass!

Dru Lavigne Speaks at Flourish
Apr 4-5, 2008
Chicago, IL
Dru Lavigne (BSD Hacks) will be speaking at Flourish in Chicago, IL from
April 4-5, 2008. She will be speaking on women in open source, as well
as manning the BSD booth and proctoring the BSDA exam. Keep an eye out
for her!

Sean Duggan Presents an All-Day Workshop: "Selections & Masking in Adobe
Photoshop CS3" 	cover image
Apr 11, 2008
Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI
Sean Duggan's (The Creative Digital Darkroom) day-long seminar will
focus on essential Photoshop concepts and techniques for creating
accurate selections, alpha channels and layer masks for precision
control in the modification of photographic images.

Brandon Schauer at Information Architecture Summit 2008
Apr 12-14, 2008
Miami, FL
The Information Architecture Summit is the premier gathering place for
information architects. Everyone who touches on IA is welcome to share
and learn. This year your peers and industry experts will speak about
how topics such as social networking, gaming, patterns, tagging,
taxonomies, and a wide range of IA tools and techniques can help as
users “experience information." Brandon Schauer (co-author of Subject
to Change will be presenting on the topic of "The Long Wow."

Sean Duggan Presents a Weekend Seminar: "Creative Collage with Adobe
Photoshop CS3"
Apr 12-13, 2008
Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI
Sean Duggan (The Creative Digital Darkroom) focuses on exploring the art
of the photographic composite with Adobe Photoshop CS3. Explorations
range from simple collages, to combining two exposures of the same scene
to control contrast, to the creation of surreal, photo-realistic flights
of fancy. Topics include masking and knockout techniques; layers and
layer groups; simple collages based on image overlays, blend modes, and
opacity; precision collage control with layer masks; image
transformation tools including Free Transform and Warp; using Smart
Objects to preserve flexibility of transformed elements; creating a
collage from different source photos; multi-exposure composites to
control contrast; and matching color and lighting between images.

Allison Randal at LugRadio Live USA 2008
Apr 12-13, 2008
The Metreon Theater
San Francisco, CA
LugRadioAuthor and OSCON Program Chair Allison Randal will be presenting
"Linux Kernel." Featuring over 35 speakers and 40 exhibitors, LugRadio
Live USA 2008 brings the popular UK conference to San Francisco,
combining an incredibly unique, social and fun atmosphere to cover a
range of subjects in and around Open Source, digital rights, technology
and more. Stop by the O'Reilly booth and say hi.

MySQL Conference & Expo
Apr 14-17, 2008
Santa Clara, CA
Co-presented by O'Reilly Media and MySQL AB, the friendly, professional
atmosphere of the MySQL Conference & Expo brings together developers,
users, and database administrators, reflecting MySQL's wide-ranging
appeal and capabilities.

MySQL Conference & Expo 2008

Sean Duggan Presents a Hands-on Workshop: "Camera Raw 4 & Adobe Bridge
Workflow"
Apr 14, 2008
Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI
Sean Duggan's (The Creative Digital Darkroom) hands-on workshop delves
into the raw processing combo of Adobe Bridge CS3 and Adobe Camera Raw
4.1 in Photoshop CS3. Every feature in the eight tabbed panels of the
Camera Raw dialog is explored and fully explained to help you get the
most from your raw files. Also covers speeding up the raw workflow using
batch processing capabilities and saved presets, and specialized
techniques that are only available with raw files such as Dual Process
Raw and High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging.

Eric Meyer at MinneWebCon 2008
Apr 14, 2008
McNamara Alumni Center, Twin Cities Campus, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

Eric Meyer
Author Eric Meyer (CSS: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Ed. & CSS Pocket
Reference, 3rd Ed.) will be speaking at MinneWebCon 2008, located at the
University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. This conference will deliver
a practical blend of technical and creative information from industry
practitioners and educators.

Derrick Story at NCMUG
Apr 15, 2008
Rohnert Park, CA
Author Derrick Story (The Digital Photography Companion, iPhoto 8: The
Missing Manual, and Digital Photography Hacks) presents "Digital
Photography Tips, Tricks, and Stunts." North Coast Mac Users Group.

FOWD - Future of Web Design
Apr 17-18, 2008
Kensington Town Hall
London, UK
Join the industry's leading and most inspirational designers for some
class A inspiration and practical advice. Putting the 'design' back into
web design, FOWD brings you a packed day of sessions on the entire
design process - from inspiration to build, project management and
evolution. You will enjoy a live Photoshop tennis session, where top
designers create from scratch on the stage. At breaks, stop by the
O'Reilly booth to say hi, and check out our great new books.

Web 2.0 Expo
San Francisco 	Web 2.0 Expo 2008
Apr 22-25, 2008
San Francisco, CA
Co-produced by O'Reilly Media and CMP Technology, the annual gathering
of technical, design, marketing, and business professionals, Web 2.0
Expo events bring together the innovators and industry figures building
the next generation web.

Derrick Story at Northbay Adobe User Group
Apr 28, 2008
Rm 1999 in Bech Hall
Santa Rosa Junior College, CA
Author Derrick Story (The Digital Photography Companion, iPhoto 8: The
Missing Manual, and Digital Photography Hacks) presents Adobe Camera Raw.

Conference News
O'Reilly 2008 MySQL Conference & Expo Registration is Open 2008 MySQL
Conference & Expo Registration is Open
April 14-17, 2008 in Santa Clara, CA
The largest gathering of MySQL developers, users, and DBAs worldwide,
the event reflects MySQL's wide-ranging appeal and capabilities. The
open atmosphere of the MySQL Conference & Expo helps IT professionals
and community members to create the best database applications, tools,
and software through expert instruction, hands-on tutorials, readily
available MySQL developers, and guru business advice.
Use code "mys08usrg" when you register, and receive 15% off the
registration price. Early registration discount deadline ends February
26. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly Web Expo SF Conference Web Expo SF Registration is Open
April 22-25, 2008 in San Francisco, CA
A companion event to the Web 2.0 Summit, Web 2.0 Expo is an expanded,
inclusive gathering for the technology and business communities through
a combined conference and trade show.
Use code "websf08ug" when you register, and receive 15% off the early
registration price. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly Where 2.0 2008 is Open Registration for Where 2.0 2008 is Open
May 12-14, 2008 in Burlingame, CA
At the O'Reilly Where 2.0 Conference, we expose the tools pushing the
boundaries of the location frontier, track the emergence of new business
models and services, and spend time examining new sources of data and
the platforms for collecting them.
Use code "whr08usrg" when you register, and receive 15% off the
registration price. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly Registration for RailsConf 2008 is Open Registration for
RailsConf 2008 is Open
May 29-June 1, 2008 in Portland, OR
Co-produced by Ruby Central and O'Reilly Media, RailsConf is "the" event
for the growing Rails Community--the largest official gathering
dedicatedto everything Rails. If you're passionate about Rails and what
it helps you achieve--or if you're curious about how Rails can help you
create web applications better and faster--this conference is the place
to be. Early registration discount is available until April 10.
Use code "rc08usrg" when you register, and receive 15% off the
registration price. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly GSP East Conference Registration for the O'Reilly GSP East
Conference is Open
June 9-11, 2008 in Washington, DC
GSP is the premier conference for developers and marketers building and
distributing apps for MySpace, Facebook, OpenSocial, and other social
networking platforms. Over three days of tutorials, sessions, and
keynotes, participants will explore how to reach online communities
using new and established social networking platforms and applications.
Use code "gspe08usrg" when you register, and receive 15% off the
registration price. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly Velocity Conference Registration for the O'Reilly Velocity
Conference is Open
June 23-24, 2008 in Burlingame, CA
Velocity is designed to deliver the best information on building and
operating web sites that are fast, reliable, and always up. We're
bringing together people from around the world who are doing the best
performance work, to improve the experience of web users worldwide.
Pages will be faster. Sites will have higher up-time. Companies will
achieve more with less. The next cool startup will be able to more
quickly scale to serve a larger audience, globally. Velocity is the key
for crossing over from cool Web 2.0 features to sustainable web sites.
Use code "vel08usgr" when you register, and receive 15% off the
registration price. Early registration discount is available until May
5. Click here to register for the conference.

O'Reilly Web 2.0 Conference Web 2.0 Expo
September 16-19, 2008 in New York, NY
The Call for Participation is now open. Web 2.0 Expo is for the builders
of the next generation web: designers, developers, entrepreneurs,
marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists. O'Reilly and
CMP are seeking the best and brightest in the Web 2.0 universe to show
the world how the next Internet Revolution is being designed and delivered.
To submit a proposal to speak at Web 2.0 Expo, go to:
http://en.oreilly.com/webexny2008/public/cfp/18

O'Reilly School of Technology

OST O'Reilly School of Technology Courses: UG Members Receive a 30% Discount
O'Reilly School of Technology has opened its virtual doors with
educational offerings and certification for IT students looking to
further their careers or to launch one. As an O'Reilly User Group
member, you save on all the courses in the following University of
Illinois Certificate Series:

    * PHP/SQL Programming
    * Linux/Unix System Administration
    * Web Programming
    * Open Source Programming
    * .NET Programming
    * Client-Side Web Programming featuring AJAX

(This discount is not combinable with other offers.)
To redeem, use Promotion Code "ORALL1" good for a 30% discount, in Step
#2 of the enrollment process. Each course comes with a free O'Reilly
book and a 7-day money-back guarantee. Register online. (This discount
may not be combinable with other offers.)

News from O'Reilly & Beyond

UG News

LugRadio Live USA 2008 comes to San Francisco
Featuring over 35 speakers and 40 exhibitors, LugRadio Live USA 2008
brings the popular UK conference to San Francisco, combining an
incredibly unique, social, and fun atmosphere to cover a range of
subjects in and around Open Source, digital rights, technology and more.
At only $10 for the full weekend, LugRadio Live USA 2008 is well within
anyone's reach, and if you encourage people to pre-register, you can win
an Asus EEEPC or Neuros OSD, O'Reilly books, and more. Want to share
this event on your website?

TechEd 2008: Get Involved with Birds-of-a-Feather
INETA is once again coordinating the Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) sessions
at TechEd 2008. THey have extended the deadline for topic submissions to
Wed 4/2/2008 and the voting deadline to Monday, April 7.

LinuxFest Northwest 2008
LinuxFest Northwest is happening in April, the 26th and 27th. LFNW is an
annual, international, technical event focused on Linux and OpenSource
software that attracts around 1,000-2,000 attendees each year, the
majority from Canada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and
California. Online registration is available for Presenters/Speakers.

LinuxWorld Now Accepting Applications Birds-of-a-Feather Topics and .org
Projects
If you'd like to lead a BOF discussion, submit an idea for a session by
Monday, May 5.

The .org Pavilion is your opportunity to exhibit your free open source
software and open source projects. They're looking for projects that
produce great software and can host an informative, helpful exhibit. The
deadline for submitting is Friday, April 11.

Two new research reports: "Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide" and "The
Facebook Application System" have been published by O'Reilly Radar.
Very limited review copies are available.

Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide
by Ben Lorica, Roger Magoulas, and the O'Reilly Radar Team

What's the real business opportunity in Second Life and other virtual
worlds? What trends and innovations point the way to success? Why have
some high-profile virtual worlds flopped? You'll find answers in this
report.

The Facebook Application Ecosytem: Why Some Thrive--and Most Don't
by Shelly D. Farnham, Ph.D

What do the killer apps on the Facebook platform have in common? What
must you build into your application if you want Facebook users to adopt
it--and pass it on to their friends? Get this report and find out.

Head First Caption Contest
The Head First team is extending the caption contest that was in our
puzzle book at SDWest and SXSW onto the Head First Labs site. For the
next two months, readers can submit their questions and have a chance to
win $200 in O'Reilly products. If you're familiar with Head First books,
you know each chapter starts with a retro picture and humorous caption.
Send us your suggestions for amusing or educational Head First-related
captions for three of our favorite images and we'll enter you in a
drawing to win $200 of O'Reilly products. The winner will be announced
in May Head First newsletter.

DIY O'Reilly Gear
Create Your Own Calendar, Shirt, Notebook, Poster...In just three easy
steps you can create one of a kind calendars, greeting cards, keychains,
luggage tags, magnets, mousepads, mugs, notebooks, postcards, posters,
shirts, hoodies, and stickers adorned with your favorite O'Reilly animals.

Articles

Step by Step: Configuring SSL Under Apache
This is the first in a new series of ONLamp articles you'll be seeing
over the next few months. They aren't breaking news about the hottest
new technologies, they're step by step guides to common but sometimes
complicated procedures you may have to tackle. In the first installment,
Juliet Kemp gives us a checklist that should have your Apache server
running SSL in nothing flat.

Using Zend Studio for PHP Programming
Most programmers are familiar with Eclipse, and PHP programmers are
familiar with Zend Studio. But, like two great tastes that taste good
together, the two have now been combined into a single tool. Learn how
you can use Zend Studio to make your PHP programming more productive.

Aperture 2 Features 101-103 with Joe Schorr
Apple's web page says, "Aperture 2 delivers over 100 dramatic, new
features." And still there are a few terrific ones they forgot to put on
the list. In this podcast, Derrick Story chats with Joe Schorr, Senior
Product Manager for Aperture, to uncover a few of these hidden gems.

Reverse Callback Templating
Many programmers know of the two main systems of templating. One embeds
actual source code into the template. The other provides a mini language
with loops, conditionals, and other control structures. There is a third
way--a reverse callback system. James Robson explains this
best-of-both-worlds approach by demonstrating Perl's Template::Recall
module.

Audio Insights from the 2008 Game Developers Conference
To hear the future of audio, listen to video games. Interactive Audio
expert Kurt Heiden did just that at the Game Developers Conference. He
brings you what the experts at GDC 2008 had to say about the state of
audio in games, and then dives into some of the technology advancements
that are changing the interactive audio landscape.

For more articles, go to: http://www.oreillynet.com/

Blogs
Windows IT Evangelist Matt Hester interviews Laurel Ackerman about
O'Reilly's new Up-to-Date Series at SXSW
MAKE Magazine highlighted on NPR: Digital DIY
Head First or Head Rush?
Julie Lerman blogs about writing her first book for O'Reilly
Quality Begs for Object-Orientation
The Dangers of The Death March Mentality
Find Some Serenity on Your Mac
Anton Security Tip of the Week #14: More access_log Fun: What Are You
Not GETting?
Windows Mobile Weekly Roundup
Pocket These Tips from Derrick Story
Jolting the Industry Again

For more blogs, go to: http://www.oreillynet.com/blogs/
Until next time—
Marsee Henon
Spreading the knowledge of innovators.O'Reilly.com
O'Reilly Media, Inc. 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
http://ug.oreilly.com/   http://ug.oreilly.com/creativemedia/