Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) ReviewIf you plan to write for Mac OS X, and have some programming experience, this book is a MUST HAVE. This is by far the best introductory book I have ever read on any language.
If you DO NOT have programming experience, I would still recommend this book. There are some spots where the logic might be hard to grasp, but Aaron Hillegass walks you through it.
In either case, but more so for beginners, I would also recommend Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library). The less experience you have, the more strongly I would suggest reading this book first. It will walk you through the basics of straight Objective-C and then start you off using frameworks in OS X. If you are a Windows user and do not have a Mac, Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library) will show you how to write and compile Objective-C in Windows.
(Look for the new version of this book which uses Objective-C 2.0)
I come from Windows development, having programmed in VB 6, VB.NET, C (and variants), and java. Aaron Hillegass takes you right into the heart of the Mac OS X development environment and gives you a guided tour. Showing you the basics of both Cocoa and the X Code development environment. Pick the book up and you won't regret it. This is a walkthrough tutorial style book. It is not a reference book. Apples online documentation is the best reference for Cocoa.
There are a lot of resources out there for Cocoa programmers. If you are looking for more help with Cocoa, check out the free podcasts that are available on iTunes. "CocoaCast" is a 'screen cast' that actually follows this book and may help you if you have trouble. Other podcasts that i find easy to listen to come from the Mac Developer Network such as "Late Night Cocoa" and "The Mac Developer Roundtable". They also have a great community that you can join by visiting www.mac-developer-network.com. They have video classes on some great topics which are very helpful.Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) OverviewThe best-selling introduction to Cocoa, once again updated to cover the latest Mac programming technologies, and still enthusiastically recommended by experienced Mac OS X developers."Aaron's book is the gold standard for Mac OS X programming books—beautifully written, and thoughtfully sculpted. The best book on Leopard development."—Scott Stevenson, www.theocacao.com"This is the first book I'd recommend for anyone wanting to learn Cocoa from scratch. Aaron's one of the few (perhaps only) full-time professional Cocoa instructors, and his teaching experience shows in the book."—Tim Burks, software developer and creator of the Nu programming language, www.programming.nu"If you're a UNIX or Windows developer who picked up a Mac OS X machine recently in hopes of developing new apps or porting your apps to Mac users, this book should be strongly considered as one of your essential reference and training tomes." —Kevin H. Spencer, Apple Certified Technical CoordinatorIf you're developing applications for Mac OS X, Cocoa® Programming for Mac® OS X, Third Edition, is the book you've been waiting to get your hands on. If you're new to the Mac environment, it's probably the book you've been told to read first. Covering the bulk of what you need to know to develop full-featured applications for OS X, written in an engaging tutorial style, and thoroughly class-tested to assure clarity and accuracy, it is an invaluable resource for any Mac programmer.Specifically, Aaron Hillegass introduces the three most commonly used Mac developer tools: Xcode, Interface Builder, and Instruments. He also covers the Objective-C language and the major design patterns of Cocoa. Aaron illustrates his explanations with exemplary code, written in the idioms of the Cocoa community, to show you how Mac programs should be written. After reading this book, you will know enough to understand and utilize Apple's online documentation for your own unique needs. And you will know enough to write your own stylish code.Updated for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, this revised edition includes coverage of Xcode 3, Objective-C 2, Core Data, the garbage collector, and CoreAnimation.

Want to learn more information about Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone ReviewThe biggest problem with this book is that it addresses programming for the 1.1.4 iPhone firmware and was written prior to the official iPhone SDK being released. As a result it is already outdated with respect to many of the frameworks and APIs that aren't available in the official 1.2/2.0 firmware release and will most likely also be outdated in terms of the open toolchain, which is already changing to adapt to the SDK. So while the book has been helpful for me in getting up to speed with iPhone development pre-SDK (I have a draft PDF from O'Reilly), it is of little to no use now given the resources Apple has already made available for free at the iPhone Dev Center.iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone Overview
Certain technologies bring out everyone's hidden geek, and iPhone did the moment it was released. Even though Apple created iPhone as a closed device, tens of thousands of developers bought them with the express purpose of designing and running third-party software. In this clear and concise book, veteran hacker Jonathan Zdziarski -- one of the original hackers of the iPhone -- explains the iPhone's native environment and how you can build software for this device using its Objective-C, C, and C++ development frameworks.iPhone Open Application Development walks you through the iPhone's native development environment, offers an overview of the Objective-C language you'll use with it, and supplies background for the iPhone operating system. You also get detailed recipes and working examples for everyone's favorite iPhone features -- graphics and audio programming, interfaces for adding multitouch functionality to games, the use of hardware sensors, and the device's vast user interface kit. This book explains:

How to access the iPhone's underlying operating system
The makeup of an iPhone application
How to get the open source tool chain running on your desktop
The iPhone's core user interface framework, which is heavily tied to major application-level functions
Using the many touted iPhone features such as multitouch, hardware sensors, and gestures
Intercepting and handling event notifications for many iPhone-related events
Raw video surfaces and 3D transformations that take you deeper into advanced graphics on the iPhone
How to record and play simple sounds and intercept sound events
Advanced digital audio output using Apple's new Audio Toolbox framework
Advanced user interface components such as section lists, keyboards, and image manipulation

The Appendix includes a compendium of miscellaneous code examples for cool application features, such as using the camera and creating a CoverFlow®-like album browser. This book is a true hacker's book, designed for themillions of users who have run third party applications on their iPhone, but its concepts and code examples have shown to be remarkablysimilar to Apple's official SDK, making this book a valuable resource for both camps. Any programmer can use this book to write applications with the same spectacular effects that made the device an immediate hit, and impress users just as much as the official iPhone software does. That programmer can easily be you.


Want to learn more information about iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK ReviewThe book states it is aimed "squarely at anyone just getting started with iPhone programming." It is not.
At the time of purchase, I was a brand new iPhone developer with zero exposure to Apple's developer tools and their iPhone SDK. That said, I am a very seasoned Java and C# developer, I have used Eclipse and VS.NET extensively for numerous years to build some very sophisticated applications. Apple's developer tools, XCode and Interface Builder, are radically different tools unlike either of these development environments. Instead of a singular IDE, the Apple tools are a hodgepodge of separate applications filling your screen with a plethora of small tool and inspector windows. If you are brand new to XCode and Interface Builder, this book simply doesn't have enough horse power to properly educate you on the pitfalls newbies will face.
If you are already familiar with Apple's developer tools, then the book may be better received by you then by someone who had no exposure to them.
As a newbie you need to realize a very, very important point: copying code out of a book and into XCode is simply not enough to get a demo working out of this or any iPhone developer book! The trick is knowing how to "link" within Interface Builder- how to establish what I now know to be IBAction and IBOutlet property decorators. The IB stands for "Interface Builder" and these two markers provide "hints" from XCode to Interface Builder. For example, to "link" a button from Interface Builder to a property in XCode, the @property would have to be properly decorated (with IBOutlet) and then you must physically establish the link in Interface Builder, using a control-click-drag metaphor from source to destination. To my point- therein lies the problem with "recipe" books like this one- unless you already have a grasp on this concept and how it works (which I didn't when I bought the book several weeks ago), this book will leave you very frustrated. You have verbatim code in XCode, but things don't work! Worse, you have no idea why. [bang head on desk repeatedly here]
My recommendation is to look at the forthcoming book from the guys over at Pragmatic Programmer- iPhone SDK Development I purchased their book, and while it still left me to figure out some holes and some of the Interface Builder nuances, it was much more targeted for someone who has never used any of Apple's developer tools. The Pragmatic book isn't a panacea for all newbie problems, but it is far better suited then this "recipe" book.
I'm confident (well, hoping) that as my iPhone developer experiences grow and I become more accustomed to Apple's developer tools, the recipes presented in this book might be of more value.
It is my opinion that its stated objective should have read "...squarely at anyone just getting started with iPhone programming who is already comfortable with the nuances of XCode, Interface Builder, and the other Apple developer tools."The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK Overview"This book would be a bargain at ten times its price! If you are writing iPhone software, it will save you weeks of development time. Erica has included dozens of crisp and clear examples illustrating essential iPhone development techniques and many others that show special effects going way beyond Apple's official documentation."—Tim Burks, iPhone Software Developer, TootSweet Software"Erica Sadun's technical expertise lives up to the Addison-Wesley name. The iPhone Developer's Cookbook is a comprehensive walkthrough of iPhone development that will help anyone out, from beginners to more experienced developers. Code samples and screenshots help punctuate the numerous tips and tricks in this book."—Jacqui Cheng, Associate Editor, Ars Technica"We make our living writing this stuff and yet I am humbled by Erica's command of her subject matter and the way she presents the material: pleasantly informal, then very appropriately detailed technically. This is a going to be the Petzold book for iPhone developers."—Daniel Pasco, Lead Developer and CEO, Black Pixel Luminance"The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK should be the first resource for the beginning iPhone programmer, and is the best supplemental material to Apple's own documentation."—Alex C. Schaefer, Lead Programmer, ApolloIM, iPhone Application Development Specialist, MeLLmo, Inc"Erica's book is a truly great resource for Cocoa Touch developers. This book goes far beyond the documentation on Apple's Web site, and she includes methods that give the developer a deeper understanding of the iPhone OS, by letting them glimpse at what's going on behind the scenes on this incredible mobile platform."—John Zorko, Sr. Software Engineer, Mobile DevicesThe iPhone and iPod touch aren't just attracting millions of new users; their breakthrough development platform enables programmers to build tomorrow's killer applications. If you're getting started with iPhone programming, this book brings together tested, ready-to-use code for hundreds of the challenges you're most likely to encounter. Use this fully documented, easy-to-customize code to get productive fast—and focus your time on the specifics of your application, not boilerplate tasks. Leading iPhone developer Erica Sadun begins by exploring the iPhone delivery platform and SDK, helping you set up your development environment, and showing how iPhone applications are constructed. Next, she offers single-task recipes for the full spectrum of iPhone/iPod touch programming jobs: Utilize views and tables Organize interface elements Alert and respond to users Access the Address Book (people), Core Location (places), and Sensors (things) Connect to the Internet and Web services Display media content Create secure Keychain entries And much more You'll even discover how to use Cover Flow to create gorgeous visual selection experiences that put scrolling lists to shame!This book is organized for fast access: related tasks are grouped together, and you can jump directly to the right solution, even if you don't know which class or framework to use. All code is based on Apple's publicly released iPhone SDK, not a beta. No matter what iPhone projects come your way, The iPhone Developer's Cookbook will be your indispensable companion.

Want to learn more information about The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition ReviewI have both this book (Learning Cocoa with Objective-C) and it's predecessor (Learning Cocoa). These are two completely different books. The first book wasn't hardly worth the paper it was printed on, as it was mostly just a thrown together collection of rag-tag tutorials from Apple's web site. Thankfully, this book is NOT the first book!
Fast forward to verison II, Learning Cocoa w/ Objective C. This book is great! It covers a whole slew of topics ommitted by the first version. Thankfully the content is NOT the same as before. A tiny bit of it is similar, but for the most part one person took it upon themselves to make sure that all of the material was presented in a consistent manner. By the end of this book you'll walk through all of the steps required to write an application similar to TextEdit (provided with Mac OS X). This application will support Rich Text Formatting, save and open capabilities, spell checking and much much more. You'll be impressed with what you build in this "Learning" book. If you've ever done the REALBasic tutorial you'll find that this creates a very similar application using the Cocoa Framework and Objective-C.
All the basics of learning to write MAC OS X applications with Cocoa are covered here. Unlike the first version of this book it doesn't assume you already knew Objective-C or have had exposure to NextStep. If you're looking for a good book to expose you to Cocoa and Objective-C programming buy this book and work through it all. It's worth it!
This book will also guide you through using the debugger in Project Builder. You'll learn how to use the debugger print-object command and other useful debugging techniques. This book does more than just point out the fact that the debugger exists. It shows you how to apply it usefully.
Another thing I like about this book is the fact that it covers NSString's in more detail than other books of the genre. You'll see examples on how to pull substrings out of NSStrings and use NSRange. You'll also see demonstartions of using NSMutableString as well. Several other books merely mention that NSMutableString exists, but then fail to show what is different between the two.
The excersises at the end of each chapter are very helpful in learning Cocoa Programming too! They're not too difficult, but not too simple either. They'll make you dig and think a bit to find a solution, but not so much that you'll want to pull your hair out and give up. AND If you go happen to get stuck you'll find answers revealed in the back of the book.
This book is for the most part geared towards Mac OS X 10.2, but I did manage to do all of the examples in 10.1.5 (except with the programming example that made use of the Jaguar's Address Book, of course.) This is a bonus, for some of the earlier Cocoa Programming books do not take into account newer versions of Mac OS X and thus are now a bit out of date.
Surprisingly, this book is thicker too, but only because it's now on quality paper. The book actually contains fewer pages (by only a dozen or so) than the original, but Cocoa programming is covered much more thoroughly. There's not much textual fluff or irrelevant screen shots to gobble up pages; --just the right balance of what is needed to cover Cocoa and Objective-C programming for the beginning or semi-intermeddiate programmer.
If you already own the first book don't worry about buying this one and receiving repeat material. These two books are not the same animal (even though the dog on the front cover is the same). They are two totally different creatures with internal organs unique to themselves. In fact, after working through the second edition you might find the first edition more useful; --as you will have gained knowledge from the second version to more completely comprehend chapters in the latter part of the frist version.
One more note: THANK YOU O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES! You're breathing new life into books for the Macintosh! Be it mac-only books (like this Cocoa Programming book) or just the fact that you include MAC OS X specifics in books like "Managing and Using MySQL (2nd Edition)". Myself and I'm sure many others appreciate it. Thanks!Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition Overview
Learning Cocoa with Objective-C is the "must-have" book for people who want to develop applications for Mac OS X, and is the only book approved and reviewed by Apple engineers. Based on the Jaguar release of Mac OS X 10.2, this edition of Learning Cocoa includes examples that use the Address Book and Universal Access APIs. Also included is a handy quick reference card, charting Cocoa's Foundation and AppKit frameworks, along with an Appendix that includes a listing of resources essential to any Cocoa developer--beginning or advanced.

Completely revised and updated, this 2nd edition begins with some simple examples to familiarize you with the basic elements of Cocoa programming as well Apple's Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder.

After introducing you to Project Builder and Interface Builder, it brings you quickly up to speed on the concepts of object-oriented programming with Objective-C, the language of choice for building Cocoa applications. From there, each chapter presents a different sample program for you to build, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to teach you the fundamentals of Cocoa programming. The techniques you will learn in each chapter lay the foundation for more advanced techniques and concepts presented in later chapters.

You'll learn how to:

Effectively use Apple's suite of Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder
Build single- and multiple-window document-based applications
Manipulate text data using Cocoa's text handling capabilities
Draw with Cocoa
Add scripting functionality to your applications
Localize your application for multiple language support
Polish off your application by adding an icon for use in the Dock, provide Help, and package your program for distribution
Each chapter ends with a series of Examples, challenging you to test your newly-learned skills by tweaking the application you've just built, or to go back to an earlier example and add to it some new functionality. Solutions are provided in the Appendix, but you're encouraged to learn by trying.
Extensive programming experience is not required to complete the examples in the book, though experience with the C programming language will be helpful. If you are familiar with an object-oriented programming language such as Java or Smalltalk, you will rapidly come up to speed with the Objective-C language. Otherwise, basic object-oriented and language concepts are covered where needed.


Want to learn more information about Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch ReviewI bought this book after I'd gone through Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK (Beginning from Novice to Professional), hoping to get another set of useful skills and tools to use, such as a reference for XML & RSS, SQLite, and a little more depth on the collections objects such as NSArrays, etc. that was only brushed over in the Beginning iPhone Development book. Overall, this book does fill in some of those gaps, but it really doesn't stand well as a standalone iPhone programming book. I'm glad this is my second choice, because if it were my first I'd probably be more confused!
If you're building your foundation, this book may be worth your while.
My largest complaint about this book is actually the way the code is written out on the page. Instead of clear, Courier-font code blocks, the editors just stuck code in Times Roman font. Anyone who's ever read their share of programming books knows this just complicates life by making it harder to differentiate code from content and better recognize typos, etc. I hope they revise this and publish another edition of the book - it's extremely noticeable. Also, I think this book was pushed to market without double-checking that the graphic examples are copyright compliant, because instead of icons in some of the screenshots the author substituted ugly character graphics that just looked dumb.
Overall, this is an okay programming book. There are some nuggets of good information, but as a beginner's book it's too complex, nor does it have enough depth to be a compendium for an advanced programmer.iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch OverviewWith iPhone SDK Programming, developers have the expert guidance they need to begin building native applications for Apple's new iPhone 3G as well as the iPod touch. Inside, veteran mobile developer and Bell Labs scientist Maher Ali begins with a foundational introduction to Objective C and Cocoa programming, and then guides you through the building programs with Apple's iPhone SDK.

iPhone SDK Programming covers a wide range of topics, including:
The Objective-C programming language

Collections

Cocoa Touch

Building advanced mobile user interfaces

Core Animation and Quartz 2D

Model-View-Controller (MVC) designs

Table Views File management

Parsing XML documents using SAX and DOM

Working with Google Maps API

Consuming REST Web Services

Building advanced location-based applications

Developing database applications using the SQLite engine

Building Multimedia applications

Making use of the camera and video Working with the accelerometer





Want to learn more information about iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner ReviewNota bene: I am a Mac user, and this review is only about the products interaction with Mac OS 10.5.
The IRIScan express 2 beats the DSmobile 600 hands down in terms of Mac compatibility, but that was still not enough to encourage me to keep the product. Despite the great OCR functionality of Readiris Pro 11 and the promise of convenience of Cardiris (which I did not get a chance to use), the software interface and workflow has a "we just managed to get this out the door" feeling to it. The interface is not at all Mac-like, and the scanner does not, on the Mac, provide a TWAIN or Image Capture driver. That lack forces you to use the provided clunky applications to make any scan.
Despite Readiris's outstanding OCR performance, the PDF output is less than optimal. The Windows software included with the DSmobile 600 (the only portable, sheet-fed competitor that claims Mac functionality [and doesn't deliver]) produces perfect facsimiles of scanned pages and adds OCR text to the PDF that allows you to search and index it without losing the character of the original document, just like Amazon's "Search Inside This Book" feature for those of you who haven't experienced PDFs like this. Readiris Pro does not have this feature. Its PDFs are what you would get if you took the text document output and printed to PDF: disappointing and not at all useful for archival purposes, my motivation for purchase.
Also, the scanner is EXTREMELY slow, and all-caps are deserved in this case. The scanner takes more than 60 seconds per page. This is impossible to use if you are looking at a stack of documents you need to digitally archive. Enough said. If you are looking to do paperless office on the Mac platform, you need to use either a sheet-fed all-in-one machine from Canon or HP or, even better, get the Fuji ScanSnap, which at $600+ is insanely priced but works like a charm... so I've heard.Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner OverviewThe Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner is a light, small, USB connected multi-purpose color scanning solution that is ideal for your remote scanning needs. This highly portable scanner lets you scan all your paper documents, from receipts to legal size documents, your business cards and even your photos directly into in your computer.
Advanced Editing and Conversion Features With the IRIScan Express 2, you can scan and convert all your documents to PDF, Word, Email, Excel, etc. With the included extended software suite that features Readiris Pro 11--one of the most powerful OCR programs on the market--you can quickly and accurately scan virtually any document into fully editable and searchable text files. The software also lets you convert PDF to Word, Excel, etc. just as easily.

The applications for IRIScan Express 2 are virtually limitless. After a busy weekend at a conference, you can use the scanner to convert all your business cards into Outlook contacts with the included Cardiris software. This advanced program allows you to export all the data they contain, including the card images, into Outlook, Address Book, Act!, CSV, etc.

With the included Roxio Photo Suite 9 Special Edition, you can even convert a shoe box of photos into shared digital memories, and you can even fix and enhance your photos with the software's powerful editing, effects and touch-up tools.

Worldwide Language Support The IRIScan Express 2 includes software that recognizes 124 languages. Asian character recognition includes Japanese, Korean, P.R. Chinese (Simplified Chinese) and Taiwan (Traditional Chinese). It can also read and recognize Middle East languages, including Arabic, Farci and Hebrew characters.

Included with the scanner is Promt translation software that even lets you translate between the languages you scan, with 11 language pairs that include English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The IRIScan Express 2 measures 1.9-by-9.7-by-1.3 inches (HxWxD) and is compatible with both Macintosh computers and PCs and is Windows Vista compatible.

What's in the Box IRIScan Express 2 portable scanner, software suite (Readiris Pro 11, Cardiris 3, Promt, IRIS Desktop Search, and Roxio Photo Suite 9 LE), travel case, and cradle.


Want to learn more information about Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus) ReviewI am a picky tech buyer.
I researched card readers for a while and wasn't too excited about any of the ones under $200. I found this WorldCard Ultra Plus and since it was new, won a few design awards, and no reviews, I decided to try it. (MSRP $179.95 but I got it for $119 from Amazon.com and $50 rebate, which made it an offer I couldn't refuse).
I was IMPRESSED! Its easily worth $200+!
The design in simple, compact, and functional. It includes a carrying case, usb extension, card cover, and calibration card. Nice flip up design to keep dust out of scanner.
I scanned 400 business cards (I was currently using a Business Card folder) with no problems and little recognition errors. Most of the errors were due to destroyed cards or exaggerated logos with business name in them or shiny/dark cards.
Worldcard software is easy to navigate. Exporting to Lotus Notes was a breeze and transferred without a problem. Exporting to Excel and Text file flawless as well.
If you are looking for an efficient, affordable, high quality card reader....buy this.
Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus) Overview

Want to learn more information about Penpower Portable Color Business Card Scanner (WorldCard Ultra Plus)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black) ReviewI have had one of the smaller Brother personal labelers for many years, and it sat there in its little case, waiting for those occasions when I needed a label badly enough to take it out and bother with it. Why the hassle? Because it had a tiny keyboard that required lots of SHIFT and FUNCTION key alternates to get at common characters and functions, and because the display was tiny and did not show enough information (such as what the label would actually look like, and how big it would actually be). The labels themselves were fine, and the machine worked reliably, though.
I called Brother and asked them about if they had a similar label printer that would just connect to my computer, so that I could design and see the labels before wasting label material in trial-and-error efforts. They told me that the model PT-2700, and its companion PT-2710 had recently been introduced with such request in mind. I had not seen these in my local office supply store, because Office Max often carries only the cheaper models in a line as large as the Brother P-Touch series. I went back to the store and lo! ....they had just started to carry the PT-2700 at less than $100.
I am delighted with this label printer. It is connected to my computer via USB, just like my other printers. I can use either, or both, of the two printing utilities that came with the printer. One is a very simple editor that gives basic functionality where you don't care so much about exactly how big the label will end up, for example - this ends up being much like the guess-work process of the older and smaller P-Touch labelers. The other utility is a full functioned label designer with every bell and whistle I can think of. It automatically knows which kind of label cartridge is currently plugged into the printer, and shows a scale image of that label on the computer screen. Any Windows font in any point size, with any effect can be used in the label design. You can have multiple lines, multiple columns, different test fields, automatically filled-in fields, bar codes, clip art, line drawings, etc. The display in this editor is very WYSIWYG. A ruler hovers over the label to show exactly how big it will be. You can vertically or horizontally justify text as well. There seems to be no limit on how many fonts, sizes and effects can be used on a single label. You can have a different font, size and effect for each character if you want.
The installation CD-ROM also adds a macro to Microsoft Office applications, basically giving you a P-Touch icon in the toolbar of those programs (much like Adobe Acrobat does). Any selected items in those applications will be copied to the P-Touch application by clicking that new icon (the application will automatically open if not already running). Formatting is copied over with the text, etc.
Clicking the PRINT icon in either utility will cause the printer to shoot out a label in just a few seconds; I would guess about 1" per every 2 second or thereabouts. The printer automatically cuts off the leading edge, because that part might be curled if the printer has been sitting for a while, unused. The printer also cuts off the label at the end. While it prints, it slits the backing paper so that it comes off very easily (the smaller P-Touch machines do not do this, and getting the paper off can be a pain).
The PT-2710 is the same as the PT-2700, with the addition of a carrying case - this adds about $30 to the street price.
This printer uses the more expensive "TZ" series of tape cartridges. This kind of tape comes in a much greater variety of sizes, colors, and special types. TZ tapes also have a plastic lamination over the printing, so the image will not scratch off. Don't ask me how they do this! One gotcha with these tapes is that they are stored inside the cartridge in a pretty tight loop on the reels. When the labels come out, they are not curled - but watch out! When you remove the backing paper, they immediately want to return to their curled shape. Make sure that you have both ends of the label under some sort of control when removing the paper, of you will end up with a suddenly tangled bunch of plastic tape in your hands.
The printer can be used without a computer or USB connection. In this mode, it has a large blue-backlit LCD display with multiple lines. However, it is not WYSIWYG as you type your text and you can't tell how big the label will be as you design it. Also in this mode of operation, you are limited to a few fonts and 8 point sizes from 6 to 42 plus Extra Large size. The keyboard is more typewriter-like than the smaller ones, at 7" wide, with a normal QWERTY layout requiring no FUNCTIONs or SHIFTS to get at the functions. I said before that it's not WYSIWYG and you can't tell the size...that is true only in text entry mode. There is a Preview button, and when this is pressed, the display shows you what the label will actually look like, pretty much at actual size (the display scrolls for wider label previews), and it tells you how wide the label will be at this time. In preview, the correct fonts and effects are also visible.
The TZ tapes come in sizes of 9/16", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" wide. You can buy them in quite a range of colors. The basic is black on white, but common colors in the stores are black on yellow, red on white, etc. The Brother website lists a large variety of sizes and colors that are probably too specialized for most stores to stock; you can order them online.
There are 8 built-in fonts, from an Ariel-like sans-serif one called Helvetica, to a serifed one similar to Times Roman, plus script, stencil and other decorative fonts. You can select Auto type size, where the printer makes the text as large as possible while still fitting on the label, or you can select from the 8 font sizes. You can adjust the width factor of the characters, and you can apply styles to the fonts: these include Normal, Bold, Outline, Shaded, Heavy with outline shadow, and the same 5 choices with Italics applied.
The printer is very reasonably priced at around $100 street, and its build quality is very nice. It feels like quality equipment, although I have seen better-feeling small keyboards than this. The TZ tape is where Brother will get their money, since the cartridges run around $20 each, plus or minus a few dollars depending on how fancy the tape is. The iron-on and other specialty tapes are the most expensive.
The labels print at 180 DPI, which is not very high. When a label comes out, it seems crisp and precise in the appearance of the characters, but closer inspection will reveal very slight jaggies at the edges of slanted or curved shapes. To me, it looks like an ink-jet printer output when using cheap bond paper, when the ink has bled a little on the fibers. Since you will not be preparing long novels of small type with this machine, the quality is more than adequate, and it does look nice.
With such a nice machine and low price, Brother should do well with this printer.Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black) OverviewThermal Transfer - 180 dpi - Cutter - USB

Want to learn more information about Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeling System (Silver/Black)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red Reviewgreat PC for the price. you can look up "hannstar.com" for the manufacturer. cpu passmark rating is 979 which is good for this price. Screen is just a bit bigger than the 10 inch models.
The only downside is the viewing angle on the screen is not great but it's nice front on. Windows7 is worth having in a cheap netbook with 2gb.
Played Netflix stream thru hdmi to a big screen TV. worked great!
Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red Overview

Want to learn more information about Hannspree HANSbook SN12E2288D212 - 12.1" Ultra-Mobile Laptop PC - Latin America Model (Spanish) - Red?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...