My Review of The Book of GIMP

I had used GIMP a few times at work since I use Linux there and I basically used it to resize a few images but never really understood the capabilities of the program. I had heard that it was a very powerful editor, somewhat like Photoshop, but didn't really care much to look into it at the time.

Then I needed to do some more advanced things that I wasn't sure I could do with Paint in Windows that I ran in a VM on my machine. I looked online for some information about how to do things and found I could do a whole lot with it.
Well, then I saw this book come up as a reviewable book and I decided I should get it to see what I could get out of the program.
I have yet to go through the entire book as it's pretty hefty but it's an excellent reference. Actually, it's more like a textbook with each chapter having exercises at the end to do. There are plenty of images to go along with each section to show how the image changes when a specific edit is made. It's very useful. The index is also great for finding things you need to do.
All in all, it's a great reference to have to be able to use a free photo editor that has a lot of the capabilities of Photoshop.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of Getting Started with Raspberry Pi

I have been interested in playing with a Raspberry Pi for quite some time and it'll be a while before I do as I have too many other projects to work on right now, but I decided to go through this book to see how useful it would be. I have to say it's definitely a recommended reading for anyone getting into this great, inexpensive computer!

It is quite detailed on how to go through everything from setup to advanced topics like using GPIO to control things and read sensor information. I also think the primer on Python is a great way to get people thinking more about using Python for things. I have been trying to get going in Linux for a bit now and found these instructions, even though it's for the RPi, to be quite useful. There's even a section on how to connect and use an Arduino with the RPi. I appreciate that section!
My only complaint and the reason I gave it 4 stars is the lack of thorough editing before releasing this book. There were multiple grammatical errors in the book that I found to be a bit annoying for a published book, although I know they can be hard to find. I also found a mistake in the code in one of the loops that would make it go forever as one of the variables is never incremented. You need to know a little programming to use what's in this book so most people reading this with some sort of understanding would likely catch the error but for those that are new to it may not.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it very useful. Now I need a little more time and my own board to play around with!

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of Getting Started with MakerBot

I just read the Make magazine about issue about 3D printing and the comparisons of hobby grade printers and decided I had to find out the details of at least one and this book was a good way to delve into it.

One problem or advantage of this particular 3D printer (MakerBot Replicator 2) is that it isn't closed source so if you want to make modifications to it to make it bigger or optimize the programming, you won't be able to. However, because it's closed source, that leaves all the major tuning work for the manufacturer so you get a more straight out of the box and up and running experience with it. Pick your poison.
Most of this book is dedicated towards the basics about 3D printing and what it's about and then setup and using the Replicator 2. Since I still don't know which one I plan on getting, I couldn't really validate these sections but all the instructions made it pretty simple to get up and running with the printer so I think that makes it worth having if you already have this particular printer and need help with it. Otherwise, this book may be too simple for you.
What I found useful for anyone that doesn't have a printer yet and wants to learn more is chapters 8 and 9. They go over the software you can use to make 3D models and things you need to take into consideration. Good stuff there. But then they go into details about how to use currently 3D scanners like the XBox Kinect and the Asus Xtion to get 3D models you can use to make something. That is worth knowing and made this book worth reading.
Overall, I would recommend this is you are planning on purchasing the Replicator 2 and don't have any experience with 3D printing. If not, you can find the information in chapters 8 and 9 elsewhere so it may not be worth it but going through it nonetheless is still a very good idea.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing

I didn't realize this was just a magazine but thought the whole thing was dedicated towards the comparison of all the 3D printer models. I guess it makes sense after I think about it some.

I have been interested in possibly getting a 3D printer this year so this was a nice way to get all the information I needed in one place! Some of the other information in the magazine is better suited for those that already have a printer so while it's nice to read and know, it's not as useful to those that do not have a 3D printer yet.
Reading the comparison was definitely an eye opener to what is actually out there and the capability of the various models. It reviews some of the higher end models but also the affordable ones more to my budget. They did a very good job comparing the print quality by using consistent models to determine which printers worked the best.
Overall, if you're looking at purchasing a 3D printer this year, pick up this magazine. You'll be glad you did. If you are looking for something more detailed about each printer, then you'll probably do better checking online at each individual website.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of Python for Kids

For those looking for a good introduction to Python, whether it be for yourself or your kids, I would highly recommend this. It's easy enough for beginners to pick up easily and although it's tailored towards kids, adults can learn just as much from it.

It goes from installing what you need to run Python to programming up a simple game. It's interesting enough to keep kids going and wanting to learn more.
For a beginning programmer, this is a great way to get started by learning a nice language that's used in all sorts of fields now. I would definitely recommend it.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1

Okay, I've been doing engineering stuff for a few years now and I always go to the internet to find information about various parts as needed. It works well but sometimes it's a pain because all the information is scattered all over the place. If you want it all in a convenient place, look no further! This is just what you need. If you're looking for something to teach you and build on concepts, then you'll want to look elsewhere. This is more a reference book than something that will teach you how to integrate everything together.

To really understand the beauty of this book, you really need to have a background in electronics. This won't go much over the theory you want if you need to learn. You can get information from the book and it does a pretty good job explaining things in practical terms, which I find very welcoming, but it's not really a good place to learn about the theory of RC circuits, individual components and why they work the way they do, etc. I do find it useful for getting a quick look at how something works because you're bound to forget some details as time goes on.
I will say I didn't read through the entire thing, because it's not meant to be used that way, but I did go through and look at all the sections to see what kind of information is there and I would have to say it's definitely something to keep around the workshop.
Bravo to the authors in putting something very useful together. This will get used over and over again, especially when I start to teach my kids more about electronics as they get older.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.

My Review of The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide (Now in Color!), 2nd Edition

Well, I'm on a roll right now going through LEGO books and I have to say this is an EXCELLENT reference book for anyone that's in to LEGO bricks. I haven't really played with them for a while and what little I've dabbled in lately has been Technic/Mindstorms stuff so looking through his book brought back some memories.

As a note up front, this guide only goes through all the basic bricks and doesn't really touch the custom parts for different series or Technic stuff. Just good ol' plain LEGOs.
First off, it's in color and that's a definite plus. I'm sure you could get by with B&W but having it color makes things that much more clear and vivid.
The book starts with the basics such as names, sizes, and things like that and explains how they connect together and stay together because of the design. Kind of a nice way to get started for a new person.
Then it goes into basic techniques on how to build better walls by overlapping. Very handy for different types of builds. They were thorough on things too, which was quite welcome.
Then they moved to more project related elements that added to the basics explained before with a lot of good pictures and explanations on how to put it together. I liked how you could build a ball. It did a good job documenting it all. Eventually, you get to how you build an entire Sphinx. Not bad.
One feature I thought was nice was an explanation on how to make mosaics or patterns from real images. You take a digital picture, pixelate it quite a bit, and then it's possible to make something similar. There are also techniques using graph paper that help in making patterns that I never thought about doing.
Then in the Appendix, there was a parts listing for basically every brick with it's name, size, and description. That is very handy for anyone looking for something specific.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone as a reference. It's well done and a great book to have.

Disclaimer: This book was received as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program. All comments represent my thoughts and opinions.