Intranets are every bit as important as the hypesters say, but they are a lot more difficult to implement. Now, top consultant Jennifer Stone Gonzalez has written the book on maximizing the business impact of your intranet. With profound insight into the cultural, business and technical issues involved, she demonstrates how to:

- Chose among four divergent models of intranet design

- Align web technology with your business goals

- Build intranets that strengthen your company as a community.

Packaged with a CD-ROM which includes state-of-the-art intranet demos from Durand Communications, IntraNetics, Netscape Communication Corporation and RadNet WebShare.

Rails is a full-stack, open source web framework that enables you to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications, but with a twist... A full Rails application probably has less total code than the XML you'd need to configure the same application in other frameworks. With this book you'll learn how to use ActiveRecord to connect business objects and database tables. No more painful object-relational mapping. Just create your business objects and let Rails do the rest. You'll learn how to use the Action Pack framework to route incoming requests and render pages using easy-to-write templates and components. See how to exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails, implement web services, and create dynamic, user-centric web-pages using built-in Javascript and Ajax support. There are extensive chapters on testing, deployment, and scaling. You'll see how easy it is to install Rails using your web server of choice (such as Apache or lighttpd) or using its own included web server. You'll be writing applications that work with your favorite database (MySQL, Oracle, Postgres, and more) in no time at all. You'll create a complete online store application in the extended tutorial section, so you'll see how a full Rails application is developed—-iteratively and rapidly. Rails strives to honor the Pragmatic Programmer's "DRY Principle" by avoiding the extra work of configuration files and code annotations. You can develop in real-time: make a change, and watch it work immediately. Forget XML. Everything in Rails, from templates to control flow to business logic, is written in Ruby, the language of choice for programmers who like to get the job done well (and leave work on time for a change). Rails is the framework of choice for the new generation of Web 2.0 developers. Agile Web Development with Rails is the book for that generation, written by Dave Thomas (Pragmatic Programmer and author of Programming Ruby) and David Heinemeier Hansson, who created Rails.

Ajax, the popular term for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is one of the most important combinations of technologies for web developers to know these days. With its rich grouping of technologies, Ajax developers can create interactive web applications with XML-based web services, using JavaScript in the browser to process the web server response.

Taking complete advantage of Ajax, however, requires something more than your typical "how-to" book. What it calls for is Ajax Hacks from O'Reilly. This valuable guide provides direct, hands-on solutions that take the mystery out of Ajax's many capabilities. Each hack represents a clever way to accomplish a specific task, saving you countless hours of searching for the right answer.

A smart collection of 80 insider tips and tricks, Ajax Hacks covers all of the technology's finer points. Want to build next-generation web applications today? This book can show you how. Among the multitude of topics addressed, it shows you techniques for: Using Ajax with Google Maps and Yahoo MapsDisplaying Weather.com dataScraping stock quotesFetching postal codesBuilding web forms with auto-complete functionality

Ajax Hacks also features a number of advanced hacks for accelerated web developers. Discover how to create huge, maintainable bookmarklets, how to use client-side storage for Ajax applications, and how to call a built-in Java object from JavaScript using Ajax. The book even addresses best practices for testing Ajax applications and improving maintenance, performance, and reliability for JavaScript code.

The latest in O"Reilly's celebrated Hacks series, Ajax Hacks smartly complements other O'Reilly titles such as Head Rush Ajax and JavaScript: The Definitive Guide.

The Easy, Example-Based Guide to Ajax for Every Web Developer

 

Using Ajax, you can build Web applications with the sophistication and usability of traditional desktop

applications and you can do it using standards and open source software. Now, for the first time,

there's an easy, example-driven guide to Ajax for every Web and open source developer, regardless of

experience.

 

Edmond Woychowsky begins with simple techniques involving only HTML and basic JavaScript. Then,

one step at a time, he introduces techniques for building increasingly rich applications. Don't worry if

you're not an expert on Ajax's underlying technologies; Woychowsky offers refreshers on them, from

JavaScript to the XMLHttpRequest object. You'll also find multiple open source technologies and open

standards throughout, ranging from Firefox to Ruby and MySQL.

 

You'll not only learn how to write "functional" code, but also master design patterns for writing rocksolid,

high-performance Ajax applications. You'll also learn how to use frameworks such as Ruby on

Rails to get the job done fast.

  Learn how Ajax works, how it evolved, and what it's good for Understand the flow of processing in Ajax applications Build Ajax applications with XML and the XMLHttpRequest object Integrate back-end code, from PHP to C# Use XSLT and XPath, including XPath Axis Develop client-side Ajax libraries to support code reuse Streamline development with Ruby on Rails and the Ruby programming language Use the cross-browser HTML DOM to update parts of a page Discover the best Ajax Web resources, including Ajax-capable JavaScript libraries

Apache is far and away the most widely used web server platform in the world. This versatile server runs more than half of the world's existing web sites. Apache is both free and rock-solid, running more than 21 million web sites ranging from huge e-commerce operations to corporate intranets and smaller hobby sites. With this new third edition of Apache: The Definitive Guide, web administrators new to Apache will come up to speed quickly, and experienced administrators will find the logically organized, concise reference sections indispensable, and system programmers interested in customizing their servers will rely on the chapters on the API and Apache modules. Updated to cover the changes in Apache's latest release, 2.0, as well as Apache 1.3, this useful guide discusses how to obtain, set up, secure, modify, and troubleshoot the Apache software on both Unix and Windows systems. Dozens of clearly written examples provide the answers to the real-world issues that Apache administrators face everyday. In addition to covering the installation and configuration of mod_perl and Tomcat, the book examines PHP, Cocoon, and other new technologies that are associated with the Apache web server. Additional coverage of security and the Apache 2.0 API make Apache: The Definitive Guide, Third Edition essential documentation for the world's most popular web server.

Welcome to Aperture, the revolutionary application for managing and editing digital photographs. Designed specifically for professional digital photographers, Aperture is an enormously powerful tool for handling some of the most time-consuming and tedious tasks of professional photography. This collection of Apple Pro Training tutorials will get you up and running in no time. You’ll learn how to sort, rank, and manage images with unparalleled efficiency; display onscreen proofs and contact sheets in compelling ways for clients; edit and retouch your selected images professionally; publish proofs, portfolios, and final images on the Web and in print; and archive images in a way that’s easy, secure, and intuitive. Available in 2005, these hands-on tutorials provide a great overview of an indispensable application for digital photographers.

The recommended audience is shown as "Intermediate-Advanced" and I would agree with that 100%…Administrators of larger networks will find this (book) relevant to their work.

— Anthony Lawrence, http://aplawrence.com

Wouldnt you like to automate the tedious daily tasks of system administration? Automating UNIX and Linux Administration will show you how, by exploring existing tools and offering real-world examples. Although some of the book is Linux-specific, most of the information applies to any UNIX system, including material on automating tasks across multiple variants of UNIX. Author Kirk Bauer briefly overviews tools and technologiesand assumes preliminary knowledge about editing a configuration file or mounting a file system.

The techniques, methods, and tools in this book will help you manage a single systembut will prove especially powerful across multiple systems. No matter if the systems are desktops, servers, or Beowulf clustersall of them will benefit from this automation. And managing five to five thousand systems will become a simpler task!

Ordinary folks can construct 13 awesome ballistic devices in their garage or basement workshops using inexpensive household or hardware store materials and this step-by-step guide. Clear instructions, diagrams, and photographs show how to build projects ranging from the simple-a match-powered rocket-to the more complex-a scale-model, table-top catapult-to the offbeat-a tennis ball cannon. With a strong emphasis on safety, the book also gives tips on troubleshooting, explains the physics behind the projects, and profiles scientists and extraordinary experimenters such as Alfred Nobel, Robert Goddard, and Isaac Newton. This book will be indispensable for the legions of backyard toy-rocket launchers and fireworks fanatics who wish every day was the fourth of July.

Ajax breathes new life into web applications by transparently communicating and manipulating data in conjunction with a server-based technology. Of all the server-based technologies capable of working in conjunction with Ajax, perhaps none are more suitable than PHP, the world's most popular scripting language.

Beginning Ajax with PHP: From Novice to Professional is the first book to introduce how these two popular technologies can work together to create next-generation applications. Author Lee Babin covers what you commonly encounter in daily web application development tasks, and shows you how to build PHP/AJAX-enabled solutions for forms validation, file upload monitoring, database-driven information display and manipulation, web services, Google Maps integration, and more. Youll learn how to Take advantage of PHP and advanced JavaScript capabilities to create next-generation, highly responsive Web applications.Enhance commonplace application tasks such as forms validation and tabular data display.Manage cross-browser issues, ensuring your applications run on all major Web browsers.Take advantage of the Google Maps API and add spatial mapping features to your website.

Youll also be introduced to other key topics like conquering cross-platform issues, countering potential security holes, and testing and debugging JavaScript with efficiency. All examples are based on real-world scenarios, so youll be able to apply what you learn to your own development situations.

Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklin’s occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keeping with the iconoclastic nature of our time—none of which, however, stops him from considering Benjamin Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age," and one of the most admirable of any era. And here’s one bit of proof: as a young man, Ben Franklin regularly went without food in order to buy books. His example, as always, is a good one—and this is just the book to buy with the proceeds from the grocery budget. —Gregory McNamee

This plain English guide to the 802.11b wireless networking standard teaches readers how to use wireless networks at home, work, or in their neighborhood. Included is detailed, practical information on access points, network interface cards, cables and antennas, and wireless software. Readers will learn how to protect their wireless access point from unwanted intruders with encryption, password protection, and virtual private networks (VPNs), as well as how to configure wireless connections for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Unix, and PDAs.

Linux consistently turns up high in the list of popular Internet servers, whether it's for the Web, anonymous FTP, or general services like DNS and routing mail. But security is uppermost on the mind of anyone providing such a service. Any server experiences casual probe attempts dozens of time a day, and serious break-in attempts with some frequency as well. As the cost of broadband and other high-speed Internet connectivity has gone down, and its availability has increased, more Linux users are providing or considering providing Internet services such as HTTP, Anonymous FTP, etc., to the world at large. At the same time, some important, powerful, and popular Open Source tools have emerged and rapidly matured—some of which rival expensive commercial equivalents—making Linux a particularly appropriate platform for providing secure Internet services. Building Secure Servers with Linux will help you master the principles of reliable system and network security by combining practical advice with a firm knowledge of the technical tools needed to ensure security. The book focuses on the most common use of Linux—as a hub offering services to an organization or the larger Internet—and shows readers how to harden their hosts against attacks. Author Mick Bauer, a security consultant, network architect, and lead author of the popular Paranoid Penguin column in Linux Journal, carefully outlines the security risks, defines precautions that can minimize those risks, and offers recipes for robust security. The book does not cover firewalls, but covers the more common situation where an organization protects its hub using other systems as firewalls, often proprietary firewalls. The book includes:Precise directions for securing common services, including the Web, mail, DNS, and file transfer.Ancillary tasks, such as hardening Linux, using SSH and certificates for tunneling, and using iptables for firewalling.Basic installation of intrusion detection tools.Writing for Linux users with little security expertise, the author explains security concepts and techniques in clear language, beginning with the fundamentals. Building Secure Servers with Linux provides a unique balance of "big picture" principles that transcend specific software packages and version numbers, and very clear procedures on securing some of those software packages. An all-inclusive resource for Linux users who wish to harden their systems, the book covers general security as well as key services such as DNS, the Apache Web server, mail, file transfer, and secure shell. With this book in hand, you'll have everything you need to ensure robust security of your Linux system.

It may be foolish to consider Eric Raymond's recent collection of essays, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, the most important computer programming thinking to follow the Internet revolution. But it would be more unfortunate to overlook the implications and long-term benefits of his fastidious description of open-source software development considering the growing dependence businesses and economies have on emerging computer technologies.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar takes its title from an essay Raymond read at the 1997 Linux Kongress. The essay documents Raymond's acquisition, re-creation, and numerous revisions of an e-mail utility known as fetchmail. Raymond engagingly narrates the fetchmail development process while elaborating on the ongoing bazaar development method he uses with the help of volunteer programmers. The essay smartly spares the reader from the technical morass that could easily detract from the text's goal of demonstrating the efficacy of the open-source, or bazaar, method in creating robust, usable software.

Once Raymond has established the components and players necessary for an optimally running open-source model, he sets out to counter the conventional wisdom of private, closed-source software development. Like superbly written code, the author's arguments systematically anticipate their rebuttals. For programmers who "worry that the transition to open source will abolish or devalue their jobs," Raymond adeptly and factually counters that "most developer's salaries don't depend on software sale value." Raymond's uncanny ability to convince is as unrestrained as his capacity for extrapolating upon the promise of open-source development.

In addition to outlining the open-source methodology and its benefits, Raymond also sets out to salvage the hacker moniker from the nefarious connotations typically associated with it in his essay, "A Brief History of Hackerdom" (not surprisingly, he is also the compiler of The New Hacker's Dictionary). Recasting hackerdom in a more positive light may be a heroic undertaking in itself, but considering the Herculean efforts and perfectionist motivations of Raymond and his fellow open-source developers, that light will shine brightly. —Ryan Kuykendall

Securing corporate resources and data in the workplace is everyone's responsibility. Corporate IT security strategies are only as good as the employee's awareness of his or her role in maintaining that strategy. This book presents the risks, responsibilities, and liabilities (known and unknown) of which every employee should be aware, as well as simple protective steps to keep corporate data and systems secure. Inside this easy-to-follow guide, you'll find 20 lessons you can use to ensure that you are doing your part to protect corporate systems and privileged data.The topics covered include: Phishing and spyware; Identity theft; Workplace access; Passwords viruses and malware'; Remote access; E-mail; Web surfing and Internet use; Instant messaging; Personal firewalls and patches; Hand-held devices; Data backup; Management of sensitive information; Social engineering tactics; and, Use of corporate resources. Ben Rothke, CISSP, CISM, is a New York City-based senior security consultant with ThruPoint, Inc. He has more than 15 years of industry experience in the area of information systems security and privacy.