Programming the Future: Publishers Come Back to Advanced Users

A decade ago, DOS for Dummies hit stores, launching a low-end computer book craze that might finally be waning. Last year, programming and other high-end titles exploded (see "Dummies or .NET," LJ 10/15/01), and this fall and winter the trend continues. By the looks of it, the technology publishing landscape is changing—just who it should accommodate is a question that librarians and publishers continue to debate.

Some major houses observe less demand for introductory books, so their lists focus on specialized topics. John Pierce, director of product marketing for QUE, SAMS, New Riders, and Pearson Technology Group Software, notes that his imprints "have spent the last 20 years teaching people who'd never had technology before to use it, but now they live it." Brandon Nordin, VP and group publisher of Osborne/McGraw-Hill, agrees. "People have been using Microsoft Office applications for ten years, and they don't need to get reskilled each time."

However, some experts aren't ready to invest their all in high-end subjects. Although he believes that web services will drive computer book publishing in the near future, for now, Richard Swadley, VP and executive group publisher of John Wiley & Sons, wages on beginners. "With the bust of the dot-coms and the recession, the high-end books have suffered. Too many IT people are out of work, and the funds to purchase those books were based on company budgets, which were cut," Swadley says. "In the meantime, consumers have continued to buy computers."

Forthcoming beginner books cover topics such as graphics software, networking, and wireless technologies rather than productivity software and operating systems. One exception, however, is Mac OS X, which several publishers believe will continue to thrive in the novice niche. O'Reilly & Associates scored a best seller with Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, and CEO Tim O'Reilly predicts that the operating system will gain more steam with the fall release of OS X's update—OS X.2 (code named "Jaguar"). OS X has also helped spur demand for titles covering new features in the latest editions of software, as well as for Mac programming books and those on Mac hobbyist/home software such as iMovie.

Computer graphics guides and "rich media" titles on digital audio and video remain strong, especially as new releases of such standards as Adobe Photoshop 7 and Macromedia Flash and Fireworks MX begin to win converts. The hubbub over Microsoft .NET, however, seems to have quieted, owing in part to the decline in the technology market; the initiative is building gradually and may not pick up momentum until the end of 2003.

Wiley's acquisition of Hungry Minds Inc. and the dissolution of the Coriolis Group last year shook up the computer book market, but industry veterans haven't lost hope. They still register demand, and one intrepid publisher has even ventured into this destabilized market. In May, Coriolis cofounders Keith Weiskamp and Jeff Duntemann formed Paraglyph Press, which produces "high-level technology books for general audiences and experienced technology users." (Paraglyph's first fall list is represented in the following bibliography.)

Computer books continue to circulate, but librarians are starting to observe a split among patrons. Requests for introductory "how-to" titles are still up, perhaps reflecting beginners' view of the library as a trusted and nonthreatening source for such information, but patrons have also asked for books on major programming languages as they retool their skills for a more challenging workplace. "We seem to have a higher-than-average interest in computer programming in our community," says Martha Krause, reference librarian, Downers Grove PL, IL. "Books on Visual Basic and C++ are in demand."

This trend is spotty at best, though. Librarians have found that more advanced users prefer to purchase their own guides. "We don't get too technical, assuming the real 'techies' will want their own copy to thumb through at their leisure," says Latoya Trott, assistant librarian at Bermuda National Library. Still, programming books draw a larger audience than titles on other advanced topics.

The computer industry's tendency to introduce software updates rapidly and the expense of new technology titles are concerns for many libraries. Carla Beasley, assistant director for materials services, Forsyth County PL, GA, explains it this way: "Typically, the 'newer' subjects are actually the latest release of an 'old' subject. We don't have the budget or the shelf space to keep up with the releases."

Publishers are pushing electronic solutions, such as the year-old O'Reilly/ Pearson Technology Group Safari initiative (safari.oreilly.com), as a possible answer to this issue. "I could see it being very important for every library to have a subscription to Safari," says Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, VP of the Pearson Technology Group. "For libraries specifically it is an incredible reference, because in a number of minutes you can search through hundreds of the best books." (For a review of Safari, see "Get with the Program: A Guide to PC Manuals ," LJ 5/1/02.)

Librarians are somewhat more skeptical of e-book initiatives. Echoing the sentiments of many, Marie Bruni, director, Huntington Memorial Library, NY, says, "We have had no requests for e-titles and do not carry them. I thought people would request them, being that we're in a two-college town, but there isn't any interest. People often tell me they want to hold the book in their hand and be able to carry it anywhere they go." Still, most librarians' previous experience with Rocket e-book readers and services such as netLibrary has focused on general rather than on technology titles. A more technologically savvy audience may yet emerge for Safari and other electronic options.

The following list includes books published between October 2002 and February 2003.

Fogg, B.J. Persuasive Computing. Morgan Kaufmann. Dec. 224p. ISBN 1-55860-643-2. $39.95.

Lovink, Geert. Dark Fiber: Tracking Critical Internet Culture. MIT. Oct. 394p. ISBN 0-262-12249-9. pap. $27.95.

Mitnick, Kevin. The Art of Deception. Wiley. Oct. 304p. ISBN 0-471-23712-4. pap. $27.50.

Rheingold, Howard. Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Perseus. Nov. 288p. ISBN 0-7382-0608-3. $26.

Sherman, William & Alan Craig. Understanding Virtual Reality. Morgan Kaufmann. Oct. 576p. ISBN 1-55860-353-0. $69.95.

Shneiderman, Ben. Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies. MIT. Oct. 269p. ISBN 0-262-19476-7. pap. $24.95.

Warschauer, Mark. Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide. MIT. Jan. 272p. ISBN 0-262-23224-3. pap. $29.95.

Zygmont, Jeffrey. Microchip: An Idea, Its Genesis, and the Revolution It Created. Perseus. Nov. 256p. ISBN 0-7382-0561-3. $25.

Calabria, Jane & Dorothy Burke. How To Use Lotus Notes R6. QUE. Jan. 304p. ISBN 0-7897-2796-X. pap. $29.99.

Canada, Michelle. Lotus Notes X Fast and Easy. Premier. Jan. 350p. ISBN 1-931841-37-3. pap. $18.99.

Chow, Garrick. Acrobat 5 Hands-On Training. Peachpit. Oct. 504p. ISBN 0-321-11275-X. pap. $44.99 with CD-ROM.

Ivens, Kathy. QuickBooks 2003: The Official Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 576p. ISBN 0-07-222697-X. pap. $29.99.

Langer, Maria. Word 2001/X Advanced for Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide. Peachpit. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-321-14873-8. pap. $24.99.

Murray, Katherine. Faster Smarter Microsoft Office XP. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1862-3. pap. $19.99.

Negrino, Tom. Quicken X for Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide. Peachpit. Oct. 232p. ISBN 0-321-14874-6. pap. $19.99.

Ball, Billy & others. Red Hat Linux X Unleashed. SAMS. Oct. 1000p. ISBN 0-672-32458-X. pap. $49.99.

Bell, Mark. Mac OS X.2. Paraglyph. Nov. 565p. ISBN 1-932111-73-5. pap. $39.99 with CD-ROM.

Bott, Ed. Faster Smarter Microsoft Windows XP. Microsoft. Nov. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1857-7. pap. $19.99.

Bott, Ed & others. Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out: Deluxe Edition. Microsoft. Oct. 1504p. ISBN 0-7356-1805-4. pap. $59.99 with CD-ROM.

Cowart, Robert & Brian Knittel. Platinum Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP. QUE. Oct. ISBN 0-7897-2790-0. $59.99.

Irtegov, D. Operating System Fundamentals. Charles River Media. Oct. 500p. ISBN 1-58450-274-6. pap. $54.95.

Langer, Maria. Mac OS 10.X: Visual QuickStart Guide. Peachpit. Nov. 352p. ISBN 0-321-15801-6. pap. $21.99.

LeBlanc, Dee Ann. SAMS Teach Yourself Red Hat Linux X in 24 Hours. SAMS. Dec. 450p. ISBN 0-672-32475-X. pap. $29.99.

Levine, Margaret & John Levine. Windows XP Home Edition: The Complete Reference. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 960p. ISBN 0-07-222664-1. pap. $39.99.

McIntosh, Jason. Mac OS X in a Nutshell. O'Reilly. Dec. 600p. ISBN 0-596-00370-6. pap. $34.95.

Maran, Ruth. Teach Yourself Visually Mac OS X. Wiley. Oct. 320p. ISBN 0-7645-1802-X. pap. $29.99.

Muthyala, Narender. Red Hat Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 544p. ISBN 0-07-222631-5. pap. $39.99.

Ness, Robyn. SAMS Teach Yourself Mac OS X in 24 Hours. SAMS. Nov. 450p. ISBN 0-672-32474-1. pap. $24.99.

O'Malley, Kevin. Mac OS X for UNIX. Manning. Dec. 500p. ISBN 1-930110-85-5. pap. $42.95.

Petersen, Richard. Red Hat Linux 8: The Complete Reference. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 1008p. ISBN 0-07-222646-3. pap. $49.99.

Ray, John & William Ray. Mac OS X Unleashed. SAMS. Dec. 1000p. ISBN 0-672-32465-2. pap. $49.99.

Red Hat, Inc. The Official Red Hat Linux Users Guide. Wiley/Red Hat. Oct. 600p. ISBN 0-7645-4967-7. pap. $40 with CD-ROM.

Shapiro, Jeffrey & others. Windows .NET Server Bible. Wiley. Feb. 1200p. ISBN 0-7645-4937-5. pap. $49.99.

Sobell, Mark G. A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux. Addison-Wesley. Nov. 1504p. ISBN 0-201-70313-0. pap. $49.99.

Steinberg, Gene. Mac OS X.2 Little Black Book. Paraglyph. Nov. 560p. ISBN 1-932111-72-7. pap. $29.99.

Tiemann, Brian & Michael Urban. FreeBSD Unleashed. SAMS. Dec. 1200p. ISBN 0-672-32456-3. pap. $49.99.

Welch, John. Real World Mac OS X Server. Peachpit. Dec. 800p. ISBN 0-201-78264-2. pap. $44.99.

DuBois, Paul. MySQL. New Riders. Jan. 900p. ISBN 0-7357-1212-3. pap. $49.99.

DuBois, Paul. MySQL Cookbook. O'Reilly. Oct. 500p. ISBN 0-596-00145-2. pap. $39.95.

Niemiec, Rich & TUSC. Oracle 9 i Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 816p. ISBN 0-07-222473-8. pap. $59.99.

Plew, Ron & Ryan Stephens. SAMS Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days. SAMS. Oct. 750p. ISBN 0-672-32451-2. pap. $39.99.

Seidman, Claude & Pamela Smith. MySQL: The Complete Reference. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 800p. ISBN 0-07-222477-0. pap. $49.99.

Wishnow, Jason. PostgreSQL. New Riders. Feb. 800p. ISBN 0-7357-1257-3. pap. $49.99.

Beck, Kent. Test-Driven Development. Addison-Wesley. Dec. 192p. ISBN 0-321-14653-0. pap. $29.99.

Box, Don & Chris Sells. Essential .NET. Vol. 1: The Common Language Runtime. Addison-Wesley. Oct. 464p. ISBN 0-201-73411-7. pap. $44.99.

Brooks-Bilson, Rob. Programming ColdFusion MX. 2d ed. O'Reilly. Oct. 1000p. ISBN 0-596-00380-3. pap. $49.95.

Buckland, Mat. A.I. Techniques for Game Programming. Premier. 500p. Oct. ISBN 1-931841-08-X. pap. $59.99.

Buyens, Jim. Faster Smarter Beginning Programming. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1780-5. pap. $19.99.

Cadenhead, Rogers. SAMS Teach Yourself Java 2 in 24 Hours. SAMS. Oct. 460p. ISBN 0-672-32460-1. pap. $24.99.

Dennis, Alan. .NET Multithreading. Manning. Nov. 380p. ISBN 1-930110-54-5. pap. $34.95.

Donley, Clayton. LDAP Programming. Manning. Nov. 380p. ISBN 1-930110-40-5. pap. $42.95.

Dreamtech Software Inc. Java Web Services Development. Paraglyph. Feb. 800p. ISBN 1-932111-77-8. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Elliotte, Rusty Harold. Processing XML with Java. Addison-Wesley. Nov. 864p. ISBN 0-201-77186-1. pap. $49.99.

Flanders, Jon & Chris Sells. Mastering Visual Studio .NET. O'Reilly. Oct. 350p. ISBN 0-596-00360-9. pap. $39.95.

Freeman, Adam & Allen Jones. Microsoft .NET XML Web Services Step by Step. Microsoft. Oct. 500p. ISBN 0-7356-1720-1. pap. $39.99.

Fomitchev, Max. Visual C++ .NET Programming Black Book. Paraglyph. Oct. 784p. ISBN 1-932111-69-7. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Hughes, Sterling & Andrei Zmievski. PHP Developer's Cookbook. SAMS. Oct. 500p. ISBN 0-672-32457-1. pap. $24.99.

Java Best Practices. O'Reilly. Dec. 300p. ISBN 0-596-00385-4. pap. $34.95.

Kimmel, Paul. .NET Wireless Programming. Wiley. Dec. 450p. ISBN 0-7645-4850-6. pap. $50.

King, Konrad. JavaScript Professional Projects. Premier. Oct. 800p. ISBN 1-59200-013-4. pap. $49.99.

Koch, Stefan. JavaScript: A Programmer's Companion from Basics Through DHTML. Wiley. Nov. 640p. ISBN 0-470-84704-2. pap. $55.

Liberty, Jesse. Learning Visual Basic .NET. O'Reilly. Oct. 304p. ISBN 0-596-00386-2. pap. $34.95.

McShaffrey, Mike. Game Coding Complete. Paraglyph. Feb. 450p. ISBN 1-932111-75-1. pap. $34.99.

Mangano, Sal. XSLT Cookbook. O'Reilly. Nov. 450p. ISBN 0-596-00372-2. pap. $39.95.

Marshall, Donis. .NET Programming Internals. Wiley. Feb. 736p. ISBN 0-471-23595-4. pap. $55.

Martelli, Alex. Python in a Nutshell. O'Reilly. Oct. 400p. ISBN 0-596-00188-6. pap. $34.95.

Morrison, Michael. SAMS Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours. SAMS. Oct. 400p. ISBN 0-672-32461-X. pap. $29.99.

Oualline, Steve. How Not To Program in C++. No Starch. Nov. 304p. ISBN 1-88641-195-6. pap. $24.95.

Ray, Randy. Programming Web Services with Perl. O'Reilly. Oct. 280p. ISBN 0-596-00093-8. pap. $29.95.

Roff, Jason. UML: A Beginner's Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 512p. ISBN 0-07-222460-6. pap. $29.99.

Schildt, Herb. C++: The Complete Reference. 4th ed. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 1056p. ISBN 0-07-222680-3. pap. $49.99.

Sklar, David & Adam Trachtenberg. PHP Cookbook. O'Reilly. Oct. 500p. ISBN 1-56592-681-1. pap. $39.95.

Smiley, John. Learn To Program with C++. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 704p. ISBN 0-07-222535-1. pap. $39.99.

Sullins, Benjamin G. & Mark B. Whipple. JMX in Action. Manning. Oct. 350p. ISBN 1-930110-56-1. pap. $39.95.

Tittel, Ed & others. Inside XML. New Riders. Dec. 1000p. ISBN 0-7357-1286-7. pap. $49.99.

Anonymous. Maximum Security. SAMS. Oct. 900p. ISBN 0-672-32459-8. pap. $49.99.

Bauer, Mick. Building Secure Servers with Linux. O'Reilly. Oct. 500p. ISBN 0-596-00217-3. pap. $44.95.

Bhasin, Shweta. Web Security Basics. Premier. Nov. 400p. ISBN 1-59200-006-1. pap. $49.99.

Bhatnagar, Kartik with NIIT. Cisco Security. Premier. Nov. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-84-5. pap. $49.99.

Brisbin, Shelly. Build Your Own Wi-Fi Network. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 400p. ISBN 0-07-222624-2. pap. $49.99.

Cobb, Chey. Network Security for Dummies. Wiley. Oct. 408p. ISBN 0-7645-1679-5. pap. $29.99.

Frye, Curtis. Faster Smarter Home Networking. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1869-0. pap. $19.99.

Greenberg, Eric. Mission-Critical Security Planner: When Hackers Won't Take No for an Answer. Wiley. Jan. 320p. ISBN 0-471-21165-6. pap. $35.

Gupta, Meeta with NIIT. Building a Virtual Private Network. Premier. Nov. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-81-0. pap. $49.99.

Gupta, Rashi with NIIT. Microsoft Windows 2000 Security. Premier. Nov. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-86-1. pap. $49.99.

Ivens, Kathy. Linksys Networks: The Official Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 384p. ISBN 0-07-222683-8. pap. $29.99.

Malik, Saadat. Network Security Principles and Practices. Cisco. Oct. 600p. ISBN 1-58705-025-0. $55.

Potter, Bruce & Bob Fleck. 802.11 Security. O'Reilly. Dec. 350p. ISBN 0-596-00290-4. pap. $39.95.

Rhodes-Ousley, Ben Rothke & Jim Hansen. Network Security: The Complete Reference. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 928p. ISBN 0-07-222697-8. pap. $49.99.

Sandhu, Roopendra Jeet & Surbhi Malhotra with NIIT. Microsoft .NET Framework Security. Premier. Dec. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-82-9. pap. $49.99.

Schiffman, Mike & others. Hacker's Challenge 2: Test Your Network Security and Forensic Skills. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 450p. ISBN 0-07-222630-7. pap. $39.99.

Siddiqui, Shadab with NIIT. Linux Security. Premier. Dec. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-99-3. pap. $49.99.

Simmons, Kurt. Microsoft Windows XP Networking Inside Out. Microsoft. Oct. 800p. ISBN 0-7356-1652-3. pap. $44.99.

Splaine, Steve. Testing Web Security. Wiley. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-471-23281-5. pap. $40.

Vaid, Sapna with NIIT. Internet Security and Firewalls. Premier. Dec. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-97-7. pap. $49.99.

Varghese, Mathew with NIIT. Disaster Recovery. Premier. Dec. 400p. ISBN 1-931841-98-5. pap. $49.99.

Allardice, Simon. Building Data-Driven Web Sites with Dreamweaver MX. O'Reilly. Oct. 375p. ISBN 0-596-00340-4. pap. $34.95.

Danika, Aria, ed. Flashkit.com Macromedia Flash Development Goodies. QUE. Oct. 504p. ISBN 0-7897-2778-1. pap. $39.99 with CD-ROM.

David, Matthew. Building Great Flash MX Games. Wiley. Nov. 352p. ISBN 0-7645-1985-9. pap. $34.99.

Davis, Lori. Paint Shop Pro X Power! Muska & Lipman. Jan. 400p. ISBN 1-929685-38-6. pap. $39.95.

Franklin, Derek. Macromedia Flash MX Creative Web Animation and Interactivity. Peachpit. Oct. 600p. ISBN 0-321-11785-9. pap. $39.99 with CD-ROM.

Friedlein, Ashley. Web Project Management. Morgan Kaufmann. Dec. 300p. ISBN 1-55860-830-0. $42.95.

Garrigus, Scott R. Sound Forge 6 Power! Muska & Lipman. Nov. 350p. ISBN 1-929685-64-5. pap. $29.95.

Green, Garo & Abigail Rudner. Dreamweaver MX Hands-On Training. Peachpit. Oct. 704p. ISBN 0-321-11271-7. pap. $44.99 with CD-ROM.

Halstead, Brad & Murray Summers. Dreamweaver MX Templates. New Riders. Oct. 304p. ISBN 0-7357-1319-7. pap. $29.99.

Holzschlag, Molly. Special Edition Using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX. QUE. Oct. 800p. ISBN 0-7897-2707-2. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Jenkins, Scott. Digital Composting. New Riders. Feb. 352p. ISBN 0-7357-1294-8. pap. $55 with CD-ROM.

Kabili, Jan. Photoshop 7 Complete Course. Wiley. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7645-3684-2. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Kabili, Jan. Photoshop 7/ImageReady for the Web Hands-On Training. Peachpit. Oct. 704p. ISBN 0-321-11276-8. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Lowery, Joseph. Joseph Lowery's Beyond Dreamweaver. New Riders. Oct. 400p. ISBN 0-7357-1277-8. pap. $45.

Millhollon, Mary & Jeff Castrina. Faster Smarter Web Page Creation. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1860-7. pap. $19.99.

Morrison, Michael. Faster Smarter HTML & XML. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1861-5. pap. $19.99.

Obermeier, Barbara. Photoshop 7 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies. Wiley. Nov. 900p. ISBN 0-7645-1667-1. pap. $34.99.

Quint, John. Macromedia Flash MX: Design Principles for the Next Generation. Peachpit. Feb. 256p. ISBN 0-321-15882-2. pap. $39.99.

Right Hemisphere. The Official Deep Paint Digital Studio. Premier. Oct. 150p. ISBN 1-931841-91-8. pap. $49.99.

Seegmiller, Don. Character Design and Digital Painting. Charles River Media. Nov. 350p. ISBN 1-58450-232-0. pap. $49.95 with CD-ROM.

Valqui, Kelly. Web Design and Development. 2d ed. Charles River Media. Oct. 400p. ISBN 1-58450-201-0. pap. $39.95 with CD-ROM.

Weil, Kymberlee. Flash MX Hands-On Training. Peachpit. Oct. 800p. ISBN 0-321-11272-5. pap. $44.99 with CD-ROM.

Weinman, Lynda. Designing Web Graphics 4. New Riders. Oct. 592p. ISBN 0-7357-1079-1. pap. $55.

West, Ray & Thomas Muck. Dreamweaver MX: A Beginner's Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 592p. ISBN 0-07-222366-9. pap. $29.99.

Willard, Wendy. HTML: A Beginner's Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 592p. ISBN 0-07-222644-7. pap. $29.99.

Dixon, Douglas. Faster Smarter Digital Video. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1873-9. pap. $19.99.

Dixon, Douglas. How To Use Adobe Premiere 6.5. QUE. Dec. 288p. ISBN 0-7897-2826-5. pap. $29.99.

Georges, Gregory & others. 50 Fast Digital Camera Techniques. Wiley. Dec. 352p. ISBN 0-7645-2500-X. pap. $29.99 with CD-ROM.

Guérin, Robert. Cubase SX Power! Muska & Lipman. Dec. 450p. ISBN 1-929685-85-8. pap. $29.95.

Guérin, Robert. MIDI Power! Muska & Lipman. Oct. 300p. ISBN 1-929685-66-1. pap. $29.95.

Johnson, Mark. Finale Power! Muska & Lipman. Dec. 350p. ISBN 1-929685-62-9. pap. $29.95 with CD-ROM.

Kennedy, Sanford. 3DS Max Advanced Animation Techniques. Charles River Media. Jan. 500p. ISBN 1-58450-226-6. pap. $49.95 with CD-ROM.

King, Julie Adair. Digital Photography for Dummies. 4th ed. Wiley. 384p. Oct. ISBN 0-7645-1664-7. pap. $24.99 with CD-ROM.

Kunkel, Tobias. Streaming Media: Technologies, Standards, and Applications. Wiley. Nov. 230p. ISBN 0-470-84724-7. pap. $55 with CD-ROM.

LeVitus, Bob & Dennis R. Cohen. Macworld iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, and iDVD Bible. Wiley. Nov. 650p. ISBN 0-7645-3702-4. pap. $39.99.

Long, Ben. Complete Digital Photography. 2d ed. Charles River Media. Nov. 400p. ISBN 1-58450-231-2. pap. $39.95 with CD-ROM.

MacQueen, Colin & Steve Albanese. Pro Tools Power! Muska & Lipman. Oct. 350p. ISBN 1-929685-57-2. pap. $29.95.

Mellicker, Josh & Lisa Brenneis. The DVCreators.net Guide to the Digital Video Revolution. Peachpit. Nov. 256p. ISBN 0-321-13644-6. pap. $34.99 with CD-ROM.

Milburn, Ken. Digital Photography Bible. 2d ed. Wiley. Oct. 792p. ISBN 0-7645-4951-0. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Shaw, Russell. Streaming Media Professional Projects. Premier. Jan. 750p. ISBN 1-931841-14-4. pap. $49.99.

Stone, M. David & Ron Gladis. Faster Smarter Digital Photography. Microsoft. Nov. 350p. ISBN 0-7356-1872-0. pap. $19.99.

Watkins, Adam. The Maya 4.5 Handbook. Charles River Media. Dec. 500p. ISBN 1-58450-234-7. pap. $49.95 with CD-ROM.

Williams, Robin & others. Robin Williams DVD Workshop. Peachpit. Dec. 376p. ISBN 0-321-13628-4. pap. $39.99 with DVD.

Bigelow, Stephen. Bigelow's PC Technician's Desk Reference. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 1632p. ISBN 0-07-222525-4. $59.99 with CD-ROM.

Case, Lloyd. The Extreme Gamer's PC: A Gamer's Guide to Ultimate PC Performance. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 288p. ISBN 0-07-222637-4. pap. $19.99.

Clark, Scott H.A. Faster Smarter PC Basics. Microsoft. Nov. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1855-0. pap. $19.99.

Gookin, Dan. Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies. Wiley. Nov. 384p. ISBN 0-7645-1669-8. pap. $24.99.

Mueller, Scott. Upgrading and Repairing Laptop Computers. QUE. Dec. 1008p. ISBN 0-7897-2800-1. pap. $49.99.

Mueller, Scott. Upgrading and Repairing Servers. QUE. Jan. 1408p. ISBN 0-7897-2815-X. pap. $69.99.

Wainner, Scott & Robert Richmond. The Book of Overclocking. No Starch. Oct. 304p. ISBN 1-886411-76-X. pap. $29.95.

Wempen, Faithe. Upgrade Your PC to the Ultimate Machine in a Weekend. Premier. Nov. 350p. ISBN 1-931841-61-6. pap. $29.95.

Hahn, Harley. Harley Hahn's Internet Yellow Pages. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 960p. ISBN 0-07-222553-X. pap. $29.99.

Ivens, Kathy. Faster Smarter Internet Basics. Microsoft. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-7356-1859-3. pap. $19.99.

Kaufield, John. America Online for Dummies. Wiley. Nov. 384p. ISBN 0-7645-2448-8. pap. $21.99.

Treese, G. Winfield & Lawrence C. Stewart. Designing Systems for Internet Commerce. 2d ed. Addison-Wesley. Oct. 528p. ISBN 0-201-76035-5. pap. $49.99.

Dunsmore, Brad & Toby Skandier. Telecommunications Technologies Reference. Cisco. Oct. 600p. ISBN 1-58705-036-6. $50.

Hrynkiw, Dave & Mark Tilden. JunkBots, BugBots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots with BEAM Technology. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 352p. ISBN 0-07-222601-3. pap. $24.99.

Laporte, Leo. TechTV Leo Laporte's 2003 Technology Almanac. QUE. Oct. 512p. ISBN 0-7897-2829-X. pap. $24.99.

Zolli, Andrew, ed. TechTV's Catalog of Tomorrow: Trends Shaping Your Future. QUE. Oct. 288p. ISBN 0-7897-2810-9. pap. $29.99.

Adams, Ernest. Break into the Game Industry. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 576p. ISBN 0-07-222660-9. pap. $14.99.

DiMarzio, Jerome. CCNP All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies. Wiley. Nov. 1104p. ISBN 0-7645-1648-5. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.

Elstad, John & others. Certified Flash MX Developer Study Guide. Peachpit. Nov. 304p. ISBN 0-321-15730-3. pap. $34.99.

Gibbs, Tim. Sun Certified Administrator for Solaris 9.0 Study Guide. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 816p. ISBN 0-07-222598-X. pap. $49.99.

Harris, Shon. Mike Meyers' CISSP Certification Passport. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Oct. 432p. ISBN 0-07-222578-5. pap. $29.99.

Lind, Kenneth. MCSD XML with Visual Basic .NET Study Guide (Exam 70-310). Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dec. 704p. ISBN 0-07-222653-6. $49.99.

Microsoft Corp. MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Implementing and Managing Security in a Microsoft Windows 2000 NetworkInfrastructure (Exam 70-214). Microsoft. Jan. 700p. ISBN 07356-1878-X. $59.99 with CD-ROMs.

Microsoft Corp. MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows .NET Enterprise Server (Exam 70-275). Microsoft. Jan. 900p. ISBN 0-7356-1437-7. $59.99 with CD-ROMs.

Microsoft Corp. MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows .NET Active Directory Services (Exam 70-277). Microsoft. Jan. 900p. ISBN 0-7356-1438-5. $59.99 with CD-ROMs.

Microsoft Corp. MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows .NET Network Infrastructure Administration (Exam 70-276). Microsoft. Jan. 900p. ISBN 0-7356-1439-3. $59.99 with CD-ROMs.

Microsoft Corp. Security+ Certification Training Kit. Microsoft. Jan. 700p. ISBN 0-7356-1822-4. $59.99 with CD-ROM.

Mughal, Khalid A. & Rolf W. Rasmussen. A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehensive Primer. 2d ed. Addison-Wesley. Dec. 824p. ISBN 0-201-72828-1. pap. $44.99 with CD-ROM.

Purba, Sanjiv. IT Consulting Best Practices: 12 Keys to Engagement Success. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Nov. 432p. ISBN 0-07-222625-0. pap. $39.99.