Economics, finance, business & management

    For more than a decade, well-known consultant and business professor Wayne Winston has been teaching corporate clients and MBA students the most effective ways to use Microsoft Excel for data analysis, modeling, and decision making. Now this award-winning educator shares the best of his classroom experience in this practical, business-focused guide. Each chapter advances your data analysis and modeling expertise using real-world examples and learn-by-doing exercises. You also get all the book’s problem-and-solution files on CD—for all the practice you need to solve complex problems and work smarter with Excel.Learn how to solve real business problems with Excel!Create best, worst, and most-likely scenarios for sales Calculate how long it would take to recoup a project’s startup costs Plan personal finances, such as computing loan terms or saving for retirement Estimate a product’s demand curve Simulate stock performance over a year Determine which product mix will yield the greatest profits Interpret the effects of price and advertising on sales Assign a dollar value to customer loyalty Manage inventory and order quantities with precision Create customer service queues with short wait times Estimate the probabilities of equipment failure Model business uncertainties Get new perspectives on data with PivotTable dynamic views Help predict quarterly revenue, outcomes of sporting events, presidential elections, and more! On the CD:Practice files for all the book’s exercises Solutions for problem sets Fully searchable eBook A Note Regarding the CD or DVDThe print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.

    In this new edition, the authors explain how SQL Server 2008 R2 provides a collection of powerful new tools that extend the power of its BI toolset to Excel and SharePoint users and they show how to use SQL Server to build a successful data warehouse that supports the business intelligence requirements that are common to most organizations. Covering the complete suite of data warehousing and BI tools that are part of SQL Server 2008 R2, as well as Microsoft Office, the authors walk you through a full project lifecycle, including design, development, deployment and maintenance.Features more than 50 percent new and revised material that covers the rich new feature set of the SQL Server 2008 R2 release, as well as the Office 2010 release Includes brand new content that focuses on PowerPivot for Excel and SharePoint, Master Data Services, and discusses updated capabilities of SQL Server Analysis, Integration, and Reporting Services Shares detailed case examples that clearly illustrate how to best apply the techniques described in the book The accompanying Web site contains all code samples as well as the sample database used throughout the case studies The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit, Second Edition provides you with the knowledge of how and when to use BI tools such as Analysis Services and Integration Services to accomplish your most essential data warehousing tasks.

    It is important for every person to save for one’s retirement as one can expect to live for twenty years after one retires as life expectancy of an Indian is going up steadily due to lower infant mortality and better medical care. There is a complete absence of social security safety net for most Indians today, even for those working in Government sector, there is no inflation adjusted pension available anymore. I have tried to simplify the advantages and disadvantages involved in investing your savings in various asset classes. I have deliberately left out two of the most popular forms of investment among middle class Indians 1) Life insurance 2) Real estate Let us consider life insurance first most of us confuse insurance as an instrument of savings, it is not. We have this wrong view because of the tax breaks given to income tax assesses by the Central Government. Insurance is a product that mitigates risk and is sold by the rich to the middle class and is always skewed in the favour of the insurer rather than the insured. A substantial portion of the total money invested by you goes towards paying agent’s commission and premium for insuring you for the risk of mortality. The balance left out is invested in government securities and other securities. Hence the amount of money invested out of the total premium paid is less than half paid by the insurer. The return on money invested by the policy holder is less than half of the money he would have earned either in bonds or fixed deposits. A person who needs insurance is a person whose family will need support in the event of his untimely death. Alternately insurance is required for a person who has debt in form of mortgage and does not want to burden his family in the event of his passing. The product which covers these risks is called term insurance. One should not buy insurance to avoid taxes as there is better tax saving tools available. Real estate is also considered as a good investment by several retail investors but nothing can be further from the truth. Nobody makes money by buying plots in the middle of nowhere. The easy availability of mortgages from the nineties and the tax breaks given by the Central Government on housing loans has created an unparalleled boom in the residential market. There is now a painful correction process under way in that sector. The price of land is reflexively connected to availability of money. The lower the cost of money, greater the returns in real estate. Buying plots in the middle of nowhere is similar to buying lottery tickets as investment. Land cannot be liquidated immediately into cash at a short notice to meet urgent requirements. Cost of maintenance and protection of real estate from illegal occupation is prohibitive and time consuming. Verification of title deeds to the property is a complex process and needs sound legal advice. You should have a house to live and another to collect rent as rent is equivalent of inflation adjusted pension. The return on investment generated in the three different asset classes over 25 years would be in the following order 1) Equities 2) Gold and finally 3) Debt instruments. I enjoyed writing this book as a companion volume to my first book. It is my fond hope that you enjoy reading this book.

    

    Are You Ready To Learn Python Easily? Learning Python Programming in 7 days is possible, although it might not look like it

    But the principles and practices of software architecting–what the authors call the “science of hard decisions”–have been evolving for cloud, mobile, and other shifts. Now fully revised and updated, this book shares the knowledge and real-world perspectives that enable you to design for success–and deliver more successful solutions. In this fully updated Second Edition, you will: Learn how only a deep understanding of domain can lead to appropriate architecture Examine domain-driven design in both theory and implementation Shift your approach to code first, model later–including multilayer architecture Capture the benefits of prioritizing software maintainability See how readability, testability, and extensibility lead to code quality Take a user experience (UX) first approach, rather than designing for data Review patterns for organizing business logic Use event sourcing and CQRS together to model complex business domains more effectively Delve inside the persistence layer, including patterns and implementation.

    

    With laws getting stricter by the day and making it more and more difficult to properly protect your personal information, you need the most up-to-date information and tools available and that's what you will find in Incognito Toolkit! Don't let snoopers, investigators, and scammers look over your shoulder or track you while you work and play on the internet! Learn about the tools that will help you use the internet anonymously, privately, and securely to protect assets, avoid social stigmas, and make you safer. This book is full of information that large corporations, scammers, and nosy governments don't want you to find! You won't find a collection of techniques and creative methods like this anywhere else! Covered in Incognito Toolkit: - Making truly anonymous online purchases - Shortcomings of Bitcoin - Encrypting communications - Encryption for online file storage solutions - Locking down and monitoring your hardware - Browser Fingerprinting - Using TOR and VPNs - Creative Text and File Steganography Techniques - Critical Techniques for Publishing Anonymously - Cleaning photo and video metadata - Dealing with tracking cookies Updated December 4th, 2013 with new information about credit card skimmers, TOR hardware devices, and more! Scroll up and click the "Look Inside" feature on the top left hand side of the page!

    This concise introduction shows you how OAuth provides a single authorization technology across numerous APIs on the Web, so you can securely access users’ data—such as user profiles, photos, videos, and contact lists—to improve their experience of your application.Through code examples, step-by-step instructions, and use-case examples, you’ll learn how to apply OAuth 2.0 to your server-side web application, client-side app, or mobile app. Find out what it takes to access social graphs, store data in a user’s online filesystem, and perform many other tasks.Understand OAuth 2.0’s role in authentication and authorizationLearn how OAuth’s Authorization Code flow helps you integrate data from different business applicationsDiscover why native mobile apps use OAuth differently than mobile web appsUse OpenID Connect and eliminate the need to build your own authentication system

    It presents a learning journey, not definitive guidance. It describes the experiences of a development team with no prior CQRS proficiency in building, deploying (to Windows Azure), and maintaining a sample real-world, complex, enterprise system to showcase various CQRS and ES concepts, challenges, and techniques.The development team did not work in isolation; we actively sought input from industry experts and from a wide group of advisors to ensure that the guidance is both detailed and practical.The CQRS pattern and event sourcing are not mere simplistic solutions to the problems associated with large-scale, distributed systems. By providing you with both a working application and written guidance, we expect you’ll be well prepared to embark on your own CQRS journey.

    Top social media consultant and Google+ early adopter Chris Brogan shows business people how to leverage its immense potential before their competitors even realize it's there.

    And that evolution has huge implications for everything we see, buy and do online. Rejecting the zero-sum, vending-machine model of ecommerce practiced by other leading internet retailers, who view the Internet purely as a facilitator of speed and profit, Hiroshi Mikitani argues for an alternate model that benefits merchants, consumers, and communities alike by empowering players at every step in the process. He envisions retail "ecosystems," where small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar businesses around the world partner with online marketplaces to maximize their customer bases and service capabilities, and he shows why emphasizing collaboration over competition, customization over top-down control, and long-term growth over short-term revenue is by far the best use of the Internet's power, and will define the 3.0 era.Rakuten has already pioneered this new model, and Marketplace 3.0 offers colorful examples of its success in Japan and around the world. Mikitani reveals how the company enforces a global mindset (including the requirement that all its employees speak English, even in Tokyo); how it incorporates new acquisitions rather than seeking to completely remake or sell them for a quick profit; and how it competes with other retailers on speed and quality, without sacrificing the public good. Marketplace 3.0 is an exciting new vision for global commerce, from a company that's challenging all the accepted wisdom.

    Mike Meyers, the leading authority on CompTIA A+ certification and training, has helped hundreds of thousands of people pass the CompTIA A+ exams-and now he can help you too. Inside, you'll find detailed coverage of the exam format, helpful exam tips, end-of-chapter practice questions, and hundreds of photographs and illustrations. After you ace the exams, this comprehensive guide will serve as an essential on-the-job reference.Full details on all exam objectives, including how to: Work with CPUs, RAM, and motherboards Install, partition, and format hard drives Work with portable PCs, PDAs, and wireless technologies Install, upgrade, and troubleshoot Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Install sound and video cards Manage printers and connect to networks Implement security measures Understand safety and environmental issues Establish good communication skills and adhere to privacy policies The CD-ROM features: Eight full practice exams covering CompTIA A+ Essentials and Exams 220-602, 220-603, & 220-604 One hour of LearnKey video training featuring Mike Meyers teaching key A+ topics Electronic copy of the book Complete exam objective map for all four exams List of official CompTIA A+ acronyms Useful tools and utilities for PC technicians

    Now, hopes and expectations for JavaScript’s future are considerable.In this insightful report, Dr. Axel Rauschmayer explains how the combination of several technologies and opportunities in the past 15 years turned JavaScript’s fortunes. With that as a backdrop, he provides a detailed look at proposed new features and fixes in the next version, ECMAScript.next, and then presents his own JavaScript wish list—such as an integrated IDE.