Discoverer of a New World, it became the greatest power on earth and created a Golden Age of culture quite breathtaking in the quality of its achievement. Within 150 years, Spain was in a state of decay and fast being left behind by more progressive European nations. Here, from award-winning historian Malveena McKendrick, is the dramatic story of the rise and fall of the Spanish empire.

    What makes an operating system modern? According to author Andrew Tanenbaum, it is the awareness of high-demand computer applications--primarily in the areas of multimedia, parallel and distributed computing, and security. The development of faster and more advanced hardware has driven progress in software, including enhancements to the operating system. It is one thing to run an old operating system on current hardware, and another to effectively leverage current hardware to best serve modern software applications. If you don't believe it, install Windows 3.0 on a modern PC and try surfing the Internet or burning a CD. Readers familiar with Tanenbaum's previous text, Operating Systems, know the author is a great proponent of simple design and hands-on experimentation. His earlier book came bundled with the source code for an operating system called Minux, a simple variant of Unix and the platform used by Linus Torvalds to develop Linux. Although this book does not come with any source code, he illustrates many of his points with code fragments (C, usually with Unix system calls). The first half of Modern Operating Systems focuses on traditional operating systems concepts: processes, deadlocks, memory management, I/O, and file systems. There is nothing groundbreaking in these early chapters, but all topics are well covered, each including sections on current research and a set of student problems. It is enlightening to read Tanenbaum's explanations of the design decisions made by past operating systems gurus, including his view that additional research on the problem of deadlocks is impractical except for "keeping otherwise unemployed graph theorists off the streets." It is the second half of the book that differentiates itself from older operating systems texts. Here, each chapter describes an element of what constitutes a modern operating system--awareness of multimedia applications, multiple processors, computer networks, and a high level of security. The chapter on multimedia functionality focuses on such features as handling massive files and providing video-on-demand. Included in the discussion on multiprocessor platforms are clustered computers and distributed computing. Finally, the importance of security is discussed--a lively enumeration of the scores of ways operating systems can be vulnerable to attack, from password security to computer viruses and Internet worms. Included at the end of the book are case studies of two popular operating systems: Unix/Linux and Windows 2000. There is a bias toward the Unix/Linux approach, not surprising given the author's experience and academic bent, but this bias does not detract from Tanenbaum's analysis. Both operating systems are dissected, describing how each implements processes, file systems, memory management, and other operating system fundamentals. Tanenbaum's mantra is simple, accessible operating system design. Given that modern operating systems have extensive features, he is forced to reconcile physical size with simplicity. Toward this end, he makes frequent references to the Frederick Brooks classic The Mythical Man-Month for wisdom on managing large, complex software development projects. He finds both Windows 2000 and Unix/Linux guilty of being too complicated--with a particular skewering of Windows 2000 and its "mammoth Win32 API." A primary culprit is the attempt to make operating systems more "user-friendly," which Tanenbaum views as an excuse for bloated code. The solution is to have smart people, the smallest possible team, and well-defined interactions between various operating systems components. Future operating system design will benefit if the advice in this book is taken to heart. --Pete Ostenson

    But few people realize that Google also gives you hundreds of cool ways to organize and play with information.Since we released the last edition of this bestselling book, Google has added many new features and services to its expanding universe: Google Earth, Google Talk, Google Maps, Google Blog Search, Video Search, Music Search, Google Base, Google Reader, and Google Desktop among them. We've found ways to get these new services to do even more.The expanded third edition of Google Hacks is a brand-new and infinitely more useful book for this powerful search engine. You'll not only find dozens of hacks for the new Google services, but plenty of updated tips, tricks and scripts for hacking the old ones. Now you can make a Google Earth movie, visualize your web site traffic with Google Analytics, post pictures to your blog with Picasa, or access Gmail in your favorite email client. Industrial strength and real-world tested, this new collection enables you to mine a ton of information within Google's reach. And have a lot of fun while doing it:Search Google over IM with a Google Talk bot Build a customized Google Map and add it to your own web site Cover your searching tracks and take back your browsing privacy Turn any Google query into an RSS feed that you can monitor in Google Reader or the newsreader of your choice Keep tabs on blogs in new, useful ways Turn Gmail into an external hard drive for Windows, Mac, or Linux Beef up your web pages with search, ads, news feeds, and more Program Google with the Google API and language of your choice For those of you concerned about Google as an emerging Big Brother, this new edition also offers advice and concrete tips for protecting your privacy. Get into the world of Google and bend it to your will!

    The term 'hacker' has been redefined to consist of anyone who has an insatiable curiosity as to how things work--and how they can try to make them better. This book is aimed at hackers of all skill levels and explains the classical principles and techniques behind beautiful designs by deconstructing those designs in order to understand what makes them so remarkable. Author and designer David Kadavy provides you with the framework for understanding good design and places a special emphasis on interactive mediums. You'll explore color theory, the role of proportion and geometry in design, and the relationship between medium and form. Packed with unique reverse engineering design examples, this book inspires and encourages you to discover and create new beauty in a variety of formats. Breaks down and studies the classical principles and techniques behind the creation of beautiful design. Illustrates cultural and contextual considerations in communicating to a specific audience. Discusses why design is important, the purpose of design, the various constraints of design, and how today's fonts are designed with the screen in mind. Dissects the elements of color, size, scale, proportion, medium, and form. Features a unique range of examples, including the graffiti in the ancient city of Pompeii, the lack of the color black in Monet's art, the style and sleekness of the iPhone, and more.By the end of this book, you'll be able to apply the featured design principles to your own web designs, mobile apps, or other digital work.

    This is a hands-on guide to mastering Objective C - the language every MAC OS X and iPhone/iPod Touch developer needs to know.

    It provides all of JavaScript's functionality wrapped in a cleaner, more succinct syntax. In the first book on this exciting new language, CoffeeScript guru Trevor Burnham shows you how to hold onto all the power and flexibility of JavaScript while writing clearer, cleaner, and safer code.CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development offers a thorough introduction to this new language, starting from the basics. You'll learn to use time-saving features like list comprehensions and splats, organize your code into modules with extensible classes, and deploy your work to multiple environments. Each chapter is example-driven and includes challenging exercises to push your CoffeeScript know-how further. Through the course of the book, you'll build a fast-paced multiplayer word game-writing both the client (with jQuery) and server (with Node.js) in CoffeeScript. And because the two languages are so deeply intertwined, you'll deepen your understanding of JavaScript along the way. CoffeeScript makes it easier than ever to write powerful, standards-compliant JavaScript code. CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development lets you start doing it today.

    Since that time, this text has been revised, tweaked, and enhanced to account for the changes found within each release of the .NET platform (1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and now 3.5)..NET 3.0 was more of an augmentative release, essentially providing three new APIs: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF). As you would expect, coverage of the "W's" has been expanded a great deal in this version of the book from the previous Special Edition text.Unlike .NET 3.0, .NET 3.5 provides dozens of C# language features and .NET APIs. This edition of the book will walk you through all of this material using the same readable approach as was found in previous editions. Rest assured, you'll find detailed coverage of Language Integrated Query (LINQ), the C# 2008 language changes (automatic properties, extension methods, anonymous types, etc.) and the numerous bells and whistles of Visual Studio 2008. What you'll learn Everything you need to knowget up to speed with C# 2008 quickly and efficiently. Discover all the new .NET 3.5 featuresLanguage Integrated Query, anonymous types, extension methods, automatic properties, and more. Get a professional footholdtargeted to appeal to experienced software professionals, this book gives you the facts you need the way you need to see them. A rock-solid foundationfocuses on everything you need to be a successful .NET 3.5 programmer, not just the new features. Get comfortable with all the core aspects of the platform including assemblies, remoting, Windows Forms, Web Forms, ADO.NET, XML web services, and much more. Who this book is forIf you're checking out this book for the first time, understand that it targets experienced software professionals and/or students of computer science (so please don't expect three chapters devoted to "for" loops). The mission of this text is to provide you with a rock-solid foundation to the C# 2008 programming language and the core aspects of the .NET platform (object-oriented programming, assemblies, file IO, Windows Forms/WPF, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WCF, WF, etc.). Once you digest the information presented in these 33 chapters, you'll be in a perfect position to apply this knowledge to your specific programming assignments, and you'll be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms. "

    It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO. The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late. The CEO wants Bill to report directly to him and fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department will be outsourced. With the help of a prospective board member and his mysterious philosophy of The Three Ways, Bill starts to see that IT work has more in common with manufacturing plant work than he ever imagined. With the clock ticking, Bill must organize work flow streamline interdepartmental communications, and effectively serve the other business functions at Parts Unlimited. In a fast-paced and entertaining style, three luminaries of the DevOps movement deliver a story that anyone who works in IT will recognize. Readers will not only learn how to improve their own IT organizations, they'll never view IT the same way again.

    It is particularly valuable where the document, article, or book to be produced contains a lot of mathematics, and where the user is concerned about typographic quality. TeX software offers both writers and publishers the opportunity to produce technical text of all kinds, in an attractive form, with the speed and efficiency of a computer system.Novice and expert users alike will gain from The TeXbook the level of information they seek. Knuth warns newcomers away from the more difficult areas, while he entices experienced users with new challenges. The novice need not learn much about TeX to prepare a simple manuscript with it. But for the preparation of more complex documents, The TeXbook contains all the detail required.Knuth’s familiar wit, and illustrations specially drawn by Duane Bibby, add a light touch to an unusually readable software manual.The TeXbook is the first in a five-volume series on Computers and Typesetting, all authored by Knuth.

    

    And I mean all the time. Every day there’s a new cloud-based dating app; a new cloud-based gizmo for your house; a new cloud-based game; or a thousand other new things—all in the cloud.The cloud is everywhere! Everything is in the cloud! What does it mean! Let’s slow down. Take a deep breath. That’s good. Take another. Excellent. This book teaches you all about the cloud. I’ll let you in on a little secret: the cloud is not that hard to understand. It’s not. It’s just that nobody has taken the time to explain to you what the cloud is. They haven’t, have they?Deep down I think this is because they don’t understand the cloud either, but I do. I’ve been a programmer and writer for over 30 years. I’ve been in cloud computing since the very start, and I’m here to help you on your journey to understand the cloud. Consider me your tour guide. I’ll be with you every step of the way, but not in a creepy way.I take my time with this book. I go slow and easy, so you can build up an intuition about what the cloud really is, one idea at a time. When you finish reading, you’ll understand the cloud. When you hear someone say some new cool thing is in the cloud, you’ll understand exactly what they mean. That’s a promise. How do I deliver on that promise? I use lots and lots of pictures. I use lots and lots of examples. We’ll reveal the secret inner-workings of AWS, Netflix, Facebook Messenger, Amazon Kindle, Apple iCloud, Google Maps, Nest and cloud DVRs. You’ll learn by seeing and understanding; no matter if you're a complete beginner, someone who knows a little and wants to learn more, or a programmer looking to change their career to the cloud.The cloud is the future. You don't want to miss out on the future, do you? Read this book and we'll discover it together.I’m excited. This will be fun. Let’s get started!

    Clojure's clean, careful design lets you write programs that get right to the essence of a problem, without a lot of clutter and ceremony. Clojure is Lisp reloaded. Clojure has the power inherent in Lisp, but is not constrained by the history of Lisp. Clojure is a functional language. Data structures are immutable, and functions tend to be side-effect free. This makes it easier to write correct programs, and to compose large programs from smaller ones. Clojure is concurrent. Rather than error-prone locking, Clojure provides software transactional memory. Clojure embraces Java. Calling from Clojure to Java is direct, and goes through no translation layer. Clojure is fast. Wherever you need it, you can get the exact same performance that you could get from hand-written Java code. Many other languages offer some of these features, but the combination of them all makes Clojure sparkle. Programming Clojure shows you why these features are so important, and how you can use Clojure to build powerful programs quickly.

    Say you?re already an experienced photographer? The helpful tips and tricks in this friendly book will get you quickly up to speed on the D3100's new 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and more. As a seasoned instructor at the Palm Beach Photographic Center, Julie anticipates all questions, whether you?re a beginner or digital camera pro, and offers pages of easy-to-follow advice.Helps you get every bit of functionality out of the new Nikon D3100 camera Walks you through its exciting new features, including the 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and the updated in-camera menu Explores shooting in Auto mode, managing playback options, and basic troubleshooting Explains how to adjust the camera's manual settings for your own preferred exposure, lighting, focus, and color style Covers digital photo housekeeping tips?how to organize, edit, and share your files Tap all the tools in this hot new DSLR camera and start taking some great pix with Nikon D3100 For Dummies.

    Getting Started with Arduino gives you lots of ideas for Arduino projects and helps you get going on them right away. From getting organized to putting the final touches on your prototype, all the information you need is right in the book. Inside, you'll learn about:Interaction design and physical computing The Arduino hardware and software development environment Basics of electricity and electronics Prototyping on a solderless breadboard Drawing a schematic diagram And more. With inexpensive hardware and open-source software components that you can download free, getting started with Arduino is a snap. To use the introductory examples in this book, all you need is a USB Arduino, USB A-B cable, and an LED. Join the tens of thousands of hobbyists who have discovered this incredible (and educational) platform. Written by the co-founder of the Arduino project, with illustrations by Elisa Canducci, Getting Started with Arduino gets you in on the fun! This 128-page book is a greatly expanded follow-up to the author's original short PDF that's available on the Arduino website.

    At $29 and cheaper than a good pizza, you will get the book in its current partial form, along with all future chapters, updates, and fixes for free. As of the day I wrote this description, Code Bright had 130 pages and was just getting started. To give you some perspective on how detailed it is, Code Happy was 127 pages in its complete state. Want to know more? Carry on reading.Welcome back to Laravel. Last year I wrote a book about the Laravel PHP framework. It started as a collection of tutorials on my blog, and eventually became a full book. I definitely didn’t expect it to be as popular as it was. Code Happy has sold almost 3000 copies, and is considered to be one of the most valuable resourcesfor learning the Laravel framework.Code Bright is the spiritual successor to Code Happy. The framework has grown a lot in the past year, and has changed enough to merit a new title. With Code Bright I hope to improve on Code Happy with every way, my goal is, to once again, build the most comprehensive learning experience for the framework. Oh, and to still be funny. That’s very important to me.Laravel Code Bright will contain a complete learning experience for all of the framework’s features. The style of writing will make it approachable for beginners, and a wonderful reference resource for experienced developers alike.You see, people have told me that they enjoyed reading Code Happy, not only for its educational content, but for its humour, and for my down to earth writing style. This is very important to me. I like to write my books as if we were having a conversation in a bar.When I wrote Code Happy last year, I was simply a framework enthusiast. One of the first to share information about the framework. However, since then I have become a committed member of the core development team. Working directly with the framework author to make Laravel a wonderful experience for the developers of the world.One other important feature of both books, is that they are published while in progress. This means that the book is available in an incomplete state, but will grow over time into a complete title. All future updates will be provided for free.What this means is that I don’t have to worry about deadlines, or a fixed point of completion. It leads to less stress and better writing. If I think of a better way to explain something, I can go back and change it. In a sense, the book will never be completed. I can constantly add more information to it, until it becomes the perfect resource.Given that this time I am using the majority of my spare time to write the title (yes, I have a full time job too!), I have raised the price a little to justify my invested time. I was told by many of my past readers that they found the previous title very cheap for the resource that it grew into, so if you are worried about the new price, then let me remind you what you will get for your 29 bucks.The successor to Code Happy, seen by many as the #1 learning resource for the Laravel PHP framework.An unending source of information, chapters will be constantly added as needed until the book becomes a giant vault of framework knowledge.Comedy, and a little cheesy, but very friendly writing.