Jody's rating:
 5.0
On May 2, 2012 Jody Raines wrote: Surprisingly Thorough Manual On iPhone
Even if you've had an iPhone for years, and especially if you are a new iPhone user, this manual is well written and will surprise you with tips and hints. Even though I've have 4 generations of iPhones, I learned a few new tricks... Full Review >
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Jody's rating:
 4.0
On Jan 20, 2012 Jody Raines wrote: Google+: The Missing Manual - A Moving Target
Whenever an author attempts to capture the essence of an evolving and new social media site, like Google+, it's like the 3 blind men trying to define the elephant. Each has a grasp of part of the beast, but you would need to have all the pieces to have a good idea what the animal is like in it's entirety. That being said, Kevin Purdy, author of "Google+: The Missing Manual" published by O'Reilly Media does a decent job explaining the very basics of the service, however Google+ has clearly evolved with changes since the manuscript was published.
In fairness, the author does suggest that Google+ is in the process of changing and the reality is those changes have happened fast and furious and continue to happen. The book does a fair job describing the rudiments of Google+ to an uninitiated social media neophyte, but is not a manual for someone who is immersed in the social media environment.
What I like about the book is that it clearly shares the basic aspects of how to navigate through Google+. Some of the features, like Hangouts are new features sets that are breaking ground vis a vis other social platforms such as Facebook. For a person who has no experience in video capture, it may be helpful to be reminded to have good lighting or that the background will be in view - personally I found many of the sections to be filler info - very basic.
Originally I was interested in reading Google+:The Missing Manual because even though I am utilizing social media daily on behalf of clients, I figure there are always new tricks and twists that I may have missed. I can share that there were none that I wasn't already aware of, which was personally disappointing, but I may not be reflective of the typical person who would look for a book like this to guide their discovery of the feature set within Google+.
On a whole, I'd recommend this book to a person who is new to social media.
NOTE: I received a digital version of this book for review purposes. Full Review >
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Jody's rating:
4.0
On Jan 10, 2012 Jody Raines wrote: JavaScript Step By Step, Great for learning
Javascript is a popular language that's used on many websites to make images and items interactive. A basic understanding of Javascript is important for anyone who wants to develop websites and who works on the Internet. That was why I was particulary intrigued with a beginner book entitled Javascript Step by Step, by Steve Suehring, published by O'Reilly Media. Full Review >
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Jody's rating:
5.0
On Jan 28, 2011 Jody Raines wrote: Headfirst HTML with CSS & XHTML
Understanding how HTML and CSS and XHTML work together, and how to create a website that’s in accordance with web standards eludes even some of the best web developers! This easy to understand book covers not just the basics, but also some of the more complex idiosyncrasies of the language of the web in a way that makes these geeky concepts understandable. Full Review >
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