Soft Skills: The Software Developer's Life Manual


John Z. Sonmez - 2014
    In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez addresses a wide range of important "soft" topics, from career and productivity to personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships, all from a developer-centric viewpoint.For most software developers, coding is the fun part. The hard bits are dealing with clients, peers, and managers, staying productive, achieving financial security, keeping yourself in shape, and finding true love. This book is here to help.Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important "soft" subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person.What's InsideBoost your career by building a personal brandJohn's secret ten-step process for learning quicklyFitness advice to turn your geekiness to your advantageUnique strategies for investment and early retirement

How Google Works


Eric Schmidt - 2014
    As they helped grow Google from a young start-up to a global icon, they relearned everything they knew about management. How Google Works is the sum of those experiences distilled into a fun, easy-to-read primer on corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption.The authors explain how the confluence of three seismic changes - the internet, mobile, and cloud computing - has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers. The companies that will thrive in this ever-changing landscape will be the ones that create superior products and attract a new breed of multifaceted employees whom the authors dub 'smart creatives'. The management maxims ('Consensus requires dissension', 'Exile knaves but fight for divas', 'Think 10X, not 10%') are illustrated with previously unreported anecdotes from Google's corporate history.'Back in 2010, Eric and I created an internal class for Google managers,' says Rosenberg. 'The class slides all read 'Google confidential' until an employee suggested we uphold the spirit of openness and share them with the world. This book codifies the recipe for our secret sauce: how Google innovates and how it empowers employees to succeed.'

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking


Christopher Hadnagy - 2010
    Mitnick claims that this socialengineering tactic was the single-most effective method in hisarsenal. This indispensable book examines a variety of maneuversthat are aimed at deceiving unsuspecting victims, while it alsoaddresses ways to prevent social engineering threats.Examines social engineering, the science of influencing atarget to perform a desired task or divulge informationArms you with invaluable information about the many methods oftrickery that hackers use in order to gather information with theintent of executing identity theft, fraud, or gaining computersystem accessReveals vital steps for preventing social engineeringthreatsSocial Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking does itspart to prepare you against nefarious hackers--now you can doyour part by putting to good use the critical information withinits pages.

Trading for Dummies


Michael Griffis - 2004
    Since the bubble burst, many people are scared of investing in the stock market. Sure, stocks are risky--just like any other investment--but with the right knowledge and tactics, there's still money to be made. Trading For Dummies isn't about high-risk, fast-paced day trading. It's a simple, straightforward guide to the ins and outs of stock investing that offers a measured, level-headed approach to trading. You'll learn the basics of portfolio management, measuring stock value, market analysis, and much more--all with a focus on risk reduction and steady profits. Inside you'll learn how to:Understand market cycles Choose a great broker Master technical analysis Manage your risk exposure Build a balanced portfolio This friendly guide presents the kind of honest advice you won't find in the typical get-rich-quick books on trading. Full of practical tips and tactics--as well as hardnosed insider advice--this handy resource shows you how to build a strong, balanced, and profitable portfolio. Whether you want to save up for your retirement or pay for college, Trading For Dummies will show you how to:Prepare yourself with the right tools and information Develop your own custom trading strategy Analyze companies and stocks Understand all the exchanges and markets Understand broker fee structures Analyze market behavior Decipher income statements, balance sheets, and ratios Read charts and graphs Spot trends and profit from them This book has all the tools and honest advice novice stock traders need to get set-up quickly and safely. Basic strategies and stock valuation methodologies let you control your risk exposure and make wise decisions. Trading For Dummies includes everything new traders need with advice on every type of stock or derivative, every kind of trade, and every popular strategy.

The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media and Technology Success of Our Time


David A. Vise - 2005
    The Google Story takes you deep inside the company's wild ride from an idea that struggled for funding in 1998 to a firm that rakes in billions in profits, making Brin and Page the wealthiest young men in America. Based on scrupulous research and extraordinary access to Google, this fast-moving narrative reveals how an unorthodox management style and culture of innovation enabled a search engine to shake up Madison Avenue and Wall Street, scoop up YouTube, and battle Microsoft at every turn. Not afraid of controversy, Google is expanding in Communist China and quietly working on a searchable genetic database, initiatives that test the founders' guiding mantra: DON'T BE EVIL.

Business Intelligence for Dummies


Swain Scheps - 2007
    But you've heard at least a dozen definitions of what it is, and heard of at least that many BI tools. Where do you start? Business Intelligence For Dummies makes BI understandable! It takes you step by step through the technologies and the alphabet soup, so you can choose the right technology and implement a successful BI environment. You'll see how the applications and technologies work together to access, analyze, and present data that you can use to make better decisions about your products, customers, competitors, and more.You'll find out how to:Understand the principles and practical elements of BI Determine what your business needs Compare different approaches to BI Build a solid BI architecture and roadmap Design, develop, and deploy your BI plan Relate BI to data warehousing, ERP, CRM, and e-commerce Analyze emerging trends and developing BI tools to see what else may be useful Whether you're the business owner or the person charged with developing and implementing a BI strategy, checking out Business Intelligence For Dummies is a good business decision.

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?: Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround


Louis V. Gerstner Jr. - 2002
    By 1993, the computer industry had changed so rapidly the company was on its way to losing $16 billion and IBM was on a watch list for extinction -- victimized by its own lumbering size, an insular corporate culture, and the PC era IBM had itself helped invent.Then Lou Gerstner was brought in to run IBM. Almost everyone watching the rapid demise of this American icon presumed Gerstner had joined IBM to preside over its continued dissolution into a confederation of autonomous business units. This strategy, well underway when he arrived, would have effectively eliminated the corporation that had invented many of the industry's most important technologies.Instead, Gerstner took hold of the company and demanded the managers work together to re-establish IBM's mission as a customer-focused provider of computing solutions. Moving ahead of his critics, Gerstner made the hold decision to keep the company together, slash prices on his core product to keep the company competitive, and almost defiantly announced, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision."Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? tells the story of IBM's competitive and cultural transformation. In his own words, Gerstner offers a blow-by-blow account of his arrival at the company and his campaign to rebuild the leadership team and give the workforce a renewed sense of purpose. In the process, Gerstner defined a strategy for the computing giant and remade the ossified culture bred by the company's own success.The first-hand story of an extraordinary turnaround, a unique case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the principles of leadership, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? sums up Lou Gerstner's historic business achievement. Taking readers deep into the world of IBM's CEO, Gerstner recounts the high-level meetings and explains the pressure-filled, no-turning-back decisions that had to be made. He also offers his hard-won conclusions about the essence of what makes a great company run.In the history of modern business, many companies have gone from being industry leaders to the verge of extinction. Through the heroic efforts of a new management team, some of those companies have even succeeded in resuscitating themselves and living on in the shadow of their former stature. But only one company has been at the pinnacle of an industry, fallen to near collapse, and then, beyond anyone's expectations, returned to set the agenda. That company is IBM.Lou Gerstener, Jr., served as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 to March 2002, when he retired as CEO. He remained chairman of the board through the end of 2002. Before joining IBM, Mr. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, Inc. This was preceded by an eleven-year career at the American Express Company, where he was president of the parent company and chairman and CEO of its largest subsidiary. Prior to that, Mr. Gerstner was a director of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co., Inc. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground


Kevin Poulsen - 2011
    Max 'Vision' Butler was a white-hat hacker and a celebrity throughout the programming world, even serving as a consultant to the FBI. But there was another side to Max. As the black-hat 'Iceman', he'd seen the fraudsters around him squabble, their ranks riddled with infiltrators, their methods inefficient, and in their dysfunction was the ultimate challenge: he would stage a coup and steal their ill-gotten gains from right under their noses.Through the story of Max Butler's remarkable rise, KINGPIN lays bare the workings of a silent crime wave affecting millions worldwide. It exposes vast online-fraud supermarkets stocked with credit card numbers, counterfeit cheques, hacked bank accounts and fake passports. Thanks to Kevin Poulsen's remarkable access to both cops and criminals, we step inside the quiet,desperate battle that law enforcement fights against these scammers. And learn that the boy next door may not be all he seems.

iPad: The Missing Manual


J.D. Biersdorfer - 2010
    That’s where this full-color Missing Manual comes in. Learn how to stream HD video, make video calls, manage your email, surf the Web, listen to music, play games, and maybe even do a little iWork. This is the book that should have been in the box.Build your media library. Fill your iPad with music, movies, TV shows, eBooks, photos, and more.Share with others. Stream music, HD movies, TV shows, and more, to and from your iPad.Create your own media. Use the iPad’s new Photo Booth, iMovie, and GarageBand apps to express yourself.Get online. Connect through WiFi or Wi-Fi+3G, and surf with the iPad’s faster browser.Place video calls. See who’s talking with the iPad’s FaceTime app and its two cameras.Consolidate your email. Read and send messages from any of your accounts.Learn undocumented tips and tricks. Get the lowdown on cool iPad secrets and workarounds.

Excel 2007 VBA Programming for Dummies


John Walkenbach - 1996
    Packed with plenty of sample programs, it explains how to work with range objects, control program flow, develop custom dialog boxes, create custom toolbars and menus, and much more.Discover how toGrasp essential programming concepts Use the Visual Basic Editor Navigate the new Excel user interface Communicate with your users Deal with errors and bugs

Social Media Marketing All-In-One for Dummies


Jan Zimmerman - 2010
    Here's how to apply the marketing savvy you already have to the social media your prospects are using, helping you get and keep more customers, make more sales, and boost your bottom line.Find the business side -- explore the variety of social media options and research where your target audience hangs outCollect your tools -- discover ways to simplify posting in multiple locations and how to monitor activityEstablish your presence -- start a blog or podcast to build a followingFollow and be followed -- find the right people to follow on Twitter and get them to follow youFan out -- showcase your company with a customized Facebook business pageFollow up -- use analytics to assess the success of your social media campaignOpen the book and find:Tips for finding your target marketImportant legal considerationsStep-by-step guidance for setting up a campaignLots of helpful technology toolsBlogging and podcasting adviceHow to make Twitter pay off for your businessTools for analyzing your success in each mediumWhen to move forward and when to pull back

The Business Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained


Sam Atkinson - 2014
    From Adam Smith and Andrew Carnegie to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, The Business Book is perfect for college students, would-be entrepreneurs, or anyone interested in how business works.The Business Book is the perfect primer to key theories of business and management, covering inspirational business ideas, business strategy and alternative business models. One hundred key quotations introduce you to the work of great commercial thinkers, leaders, and gurus from Henry Ford to Steve Jobs, and to topics spanning from start-ups to ethics.

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days


Jake Knapp - 2016
    And now there’s a sure-fire way to solve their problems and test solutions: the sprint.While working at Google, designer Jake Knapp created a unique problem-solving method that he coined a “design sprint”—a five-day process to help companies answer crucial questions. His ‘sprints’ were used on everything from Google Search to Chrome to Google X. When he moved to Google Ventures, he joined Braden Kowitz and John Zeratsky, both designers and partners there who worked on products like YouTube and Gmail. Together Knapp, Zeratsky, and Kowitz have run over 100 sprints with their portfolio companies. They’ve seen firsthand how sprints can overcome challenges in all kinds of companies: healthcare, fitness, finance, retailers, and more.A practical guide to answering business questions, Sprint is a book for groups of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to non-profits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today.

Windows 10: The Missing Manual


David Pogue - 2015
    Windows 10 (a free update to users of Windows 8 or Windows 7) fixes a number of the problems introduced by the revolution in Windows 8 and offers plenty of new features, such as the new Spartan web browser, Cortana voice-activated "personal assistant," new universal apps (that run on tablet, phone, and computer), and more. But to really get the most out of the new operating system, you're going to need a guide.Thankfully, Windows 10: The Missing Manual will be there to help. Like its predecessors, this book from the founder of Yahoo Tech, previous New York Times columnist, bestselling author, and Missing Manuals creator David Pogue illuminates its subject with technical insight, plenty of wit, and hardnosed objectivity for beginners, veteran standalone PC users, new tablet owners, and those who know their way around a network.

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It


Ken Auletta - 2009
    This is a ride on the Google wave, and the fullest account of how it formed and crashed into traditional media businesses. With unprecedented access to Google's founders and executives, as well as to those in media who are struggling to keep their heads above water, Ken Auletta reveals how the industry is being disrupted and redefined.Auletta goes inside Google's closed-door meetings, introducing Google's notoriously private founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as those who work with - and against - them. In Googled, the reader discovers the 'secret sauce' of the company's success and why the worlds of 'new' and 'old' media often communicate as if residents of different planets. It may send chills down traditionalists' spines, but it's a crucial roadmap to the future of media business: the Google story may well be the canary in the coal mine.Googled is candid, objective and authoritative. Crucially, it's not just a history or reportage: it's ahead of the curve and unlike any other Google books, which tend to have been near-histories, somewhat starstruck, now out of date or which fail to look at the full synthesis of business and technology.