Over the years, the “Red Book” has become the authoritative reference for
each new version of the OpenGL API. Now we have the “Gold Book” for
OpenGL ES 2.0—a cross-platform open standard ushering in a new era of
shader programmability and visual sophistication for a wide variety of
embedded and mobile devices, from game consoles to automobiles, from
set top boxes to mobile phones.

OpenGL ES 2.0 is a software interface for rendering sophisticated 3D graphics
on handheld and embedded devices. OpenGL ES 2.0 is the primary
graphics library for handheld and embedded devices with programmable
3D hardware including cell phones, PDAs, consoles, appliances, vehicles,
and avionics. With OpenGL ES 2.0, the full programmability of shaders has
made its way onto small and portable devices. This book details the entire
OpenGL ES 2.0 API and pipeline with detailed examples in order to provide
a guide for developing a wide range of high-performance 3D applications
for handheld devices.

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Free ebook about digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) is the great step upward for
photographers who want to expand their creative horizons — or simply just get
better pictures. Whether you want to become a serious photo hobbyist, have
a hankering to turn pro, or want to take advantage of the improved control
digital SLRs give you over your photography, discovering how to use this tool
of the future should be high on your priorities list.
In the right hands, digital SLRs in the $600 to $1,000 range can outshoot the
$5,000 professional models of five years ago and are light-years ahead of even
the best point-and-shoot models of today. The dSLR provides more control
over what portions of your image are in sharp focus, boasts lower levels of
the annoying grain effect called noise, and operates fast enough to capture
the most fleeting action. If that isn’t enough, you can change lenses, too,
adding super-wide perspectives or the huge magnification possibilities of
long, long telephoto lenses to your repertoire.
Almost all the other advantages of digital photography come with your digital
SLR camera, too. You can review your image immediately, upload the photo
to your computer, make adjustments, and print a sparkling full-color print
within minutes. You never need to buy film. You decide which images to print
and how large to make them. You can proudly display your digital photographic
work framed on your wall or over your fireplace. You can even make
wallet-sized photos, send copies to friends in e-mail, or create an online
gallery that relatives and colleagues can view over the Web.

About Author

As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, David D. Busch illustrated
his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with awardwinning
images. He’s operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal
dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper
and upstate New York college. His photos have been published in magazines
as diverse as Scientific American and Petersen’s PhotoGraphic, and his
articles have appeared in Popular Photography & Imaging, The Rangefinder,
The Professional Photographer, and hundreds of other publications. He’s also
reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.
When About.com named its top five books on Beginning Digital Photography,
occupying the #1 and #2 slots were Busch’s Digital Photography All-in-One
Desk Reference For Dummies, and Mastering Digital Photography. His 98 other
books published since 1983 include bestsellers like The Nikon D40/D40x
Digital Field Guide, The Official Hewlett-Packard Scanner Handbook, and Digital
Photography For Dummies Quick Reference.
Busch earned top category honors in the Computer Press Awards the first
two years they were given (for Sorry About The Explosion and Secrets of
MacWrite, MacPaint and MacDraw), and later served as Master of Ceremonies
for the awards.

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The Business, Technology & Art of Animation

In this issue:

Frame-by-Frame. June Animation Planner…Free eBooks we Love…Remembering Andy Knight (1962-2008)

Graceful Pandamonium. Dreamworks gets a head start on the summer animated feature derby with finely
crafted Kung Fu Panda [by Michael Mallory]

WALL-E: The Final Frontier. Why the animators at Pixar were dying to work on the studio’s ninth
animated feature which centers on a silent metallic hero on an Earth deserted by humans.
[by Charles Solomon]

A Stunning Scare. Six very grown-up tales by international comic-book artists come yo animated life
in the new French anthology, Fear(s) of the Dark. [by Christopher Panzner]

How to make a perfect French Western. Producer Marc du Pontavice chats about Go West: A Lucky Luke
Adventure, Xilam’s delightful throwback to old comedy classics. [by Ramin Zahed]

A Simian Space Odyssey. Space Chimps. Vanguard Animation’s high-flying summer pic, promises memorable
characters and lot’s  of CG-animated intergalactic fun. [by Ramin Zahed]

Early Summer Spins. Anime-inspired adventures and so-so ’80s Hanna-Barbera offerings arrive on DVD
this months. [by Mersedes Miligan]

The Samurai Critic. Reviews of the latest anime titles on Dvd. [by Charles Solomon]

Fresh Marker Wrap: MIPTV 2008. Quick bytes on some of the market’s promising new animated shows.
[by Ramin Zahed]

Rising Stars of Animation and VFX: Class of 2008. Our annual look at some of the talented men and
woman who are raising the bar in the animation and visual effects landscape.

Anime Maxes Out. How the media savants at Sony are taking the World by storm with ANIMAX.
[by Mersedes Milligan]

Tech Reviews. Side Effects Houdini’s 9. SynthEyes, Movie Forms Pro. [by Todd Sheridan Perry]

Sweet Suit of Armor. For this months’s much-anticipated Iron Man movie, ILM rethinks a classic superhero’s
magnificent armor three stages. [by Ron Magid]

and much more…

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AutoCAD 2007 is a premiere computer-aided designing program that
lets you organize the objects you draw, their properties, and their
files. It also helps you create great-looking models. But it’s not
always easy to figure out how to perform these functions, and many
users end up missing out on AutoCAD’s full potential.

Free Ebook AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies will show you how to perform these tasks
and more! This hands-on guide lets you discover how to navigate around
all the complications and start creating cool drawings in no time.
Soon you’ll have the tools you need to use DWG, set up drawings,
add text, and work with lines, as well as:

* Draw a base plate with rectangles and circles
* Organize a successful template
* Zoom and pan with glass and hand
* Use the AutoCAD design center
* Navigate through your 3-D drawing projects
* Plot layout, lineweights, and colors
* Design block definitions
* Slice and dice your drawings to create new designs
* Create a Web format using AutoCAD

This free ebook also features suggestions and tips on how to touch up your
creations as well as ways to swap drawing data with other people and
programs. Written in a friendly, straightforward tone that doesn’t try
to overwhelm you, AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies shows you the fun and easy
way to draw precise 2-D and 3-D drawings!

David Byrnes is one of those grizzled old-timers you’ll find mentioned
every so often in AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies. He began his drafting career
on the boards in 1979 and discovered computer-assisted doodling shortly
thereafter. He first learned AutoCAD with version 1.4, around the time
when personal computers switched from steam to diesel power. Dave is based
in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has been an AutoCAD consultant and
trainer for 15 years. Dave is a contributing editor for Cadalyst magazine
and has been a contributing author to ten books on AutoCAD. He teaches
AutoCAD and other computer graphics applications at Emily Carr Institute
of Art + Design and British Columbia Institute of Technology in Vancouver.
Dave has tech edited six AutoCAD For Dummies titles. AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies
is his second goround as coauthor of this title.

Mark Middlebrook used to be an engineer but gave it up when he discovered
that he couldn’t handle a real job. Since 1988, he has been principal of
Daedalus Consulting, an independent CAD and computer consulting company
in Oakland, California. (In case you wondered, Daedalus was the guy in ancient
Greek legend who built the labyrinth on Crete. Mark named his company after
Daedalus before he realized that few of his clients would be able to pronounce
it and even fewer could spell it.) After having made mischief in the CAD world
for 17 years, Mark now has embarked on a career in the wine world. He sells and
writes about wine for Paul Marcus Wines in Oakland and develops winerelated Web
sites for CruForge.

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This book walks the reader through all of the steps that a beginning user must tackle, including
which software to install, how to install it, and how to start writing code. It’s assumed that the
reader has some knowledge of how the web works and has worked with plain old HTML. The
differences between using Flex, HTML, and Ajax are dissected in easy-to-understand terms.
All the major starting points of developing RIAs in Flex are covered, including a
detailed description of the ActionScript programming language that forms the basis for
Flex applications. The Flex framework, which speeds application development time, is
discussed after you’ve learned about the Flex architecture and supporting languages. Each
step of the way is written to make sometimes complex concepts easy to understand.
Because Flex excels at working with media assets such as video and sound combined
with dynamic data to create a rich Web 2.0 experience, the book introduces the necessary
concepts to create these applications. Those concepts include working with sounds and
video as well as working with dynamic data sources such as an RSS feed. With a solid
starting point, the options for creating Flex applications are endless.
Finally, practical advice is provided to help debug and publish applications once you’re
cranking out applications that you’re ready to share with your friends and colleagues.

The source code for examples in the book is downloadable on the web from www.
mhprofessional.com. Any example of more than a few lines should be downloaded from
the source code to reduce the time required to type in the code and to avoid any errors from
typing in the code.
The source code and related media assets are split out by chapter number. For code
segments that have a heading with a listing number, the code is placed in a file called
Listing<chapter number>_<listing number>. ActionScript files are named the same as
the example’s class name, since Flex requires the filename to match the class definition.
MXML code listings that are not large enough to warrant their being referred as a listing
in the text are named Example<chapter number>_<description>, where description
provides guidance on which example is being reference in the text. Any media assets are
also named the same as their references in the text.
In general, MXML examples can be run in the same project as other examples from
the text. The ActionScript files that demonstrate importing sounds and SWF media assets
should be created as ActionScript projects for each example. Flex Builder automatically
places some default code when creating a new MXML or ActionScript file, but it’s okay
to overwrite this default code with the source from the files provided with the book.

About the Authors
Michele E. Davis has co-authored and authored more than 18 books and has a PhD
in English and French. Davis is a full-time consultant in Instructional Design, Technical
Writing, and Web Development and Training. She’s worked for General Mills, Toro,
Affiliated Computer Services, LookSmart, Medtronic, and many more corporations. Davis
is a career writer, having published her first poem for a fiver while in second grade. She
can be found on the web at www.krautgrrl.com.
Jon A. Phillips has a BS in Computer Science, having started programming in grade
school. This is the fifth book he’s written with Davis. He’s worked with numerous web
technologies as well as a substantial amount of database development from Oracle to
MySQL. Phillips is always looking for the best technologies to solve real-world
computing problems, which includes working with Flex. Phillips is also a full-time
consultant and has worked for Emerson Process, Siemens, Affiliated Computer Services,
The University of Minnesota, and Lockheed Martin. He can be found on the web at
www.krautboy.com.

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