Building the Perfect PC

£16.76

Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson; ISBN: 0-596-00663-2

With off-the-shelf computer systems to fit any budget or requirement, some people might wonder why you'd want to build your own. They don't understand that for many computer users, a ready-made system is about as satisfying as popping a frozen dinner in the microwave when you you'd rather have real food instead. Sure, it works, but it's not exactly what you need or want.

There's a lot to be said for a computer that has exactly the quality components you choose, by the manufacturers you choose, rather than the conveniently bundled assortment made for your price point. But perhaps you've stopped short of building your own because you're inexperienced or you're concerned it won't come out right. After all, you want your computer to be perfect. Hesitate no longer: Building the Perfect PC delivers end-to-end instructions (that even inexperienced PC-builders can follow) for creating your ideal machine.

Written by hardware experts Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, this book covers it all, beginning with the various reasons why you'd want to build your own PC, planning and picking out the components, and putting it all together. The book outlines a variety of complete systems and all of their components, including a small form factor PC; a middle-of-the-road "sweet spot" system with top-notch components; and a top-end gaming PC with high-end video, a fast processor, and enough RAM to make your palms sweat just thinking about it.

Straightforward language, clear directions, and extensive illustrations make this guide a breeze for computer builders of any level to follow--even those with little or no experience. If you've yearned for a quality machine with high-end components that suit your needs, then Building the Perfect PC will put you where you want to be: in control of your computer system.

Home Hacking Projects for Geeks

£16.76

Eric Faulkner and Tony Northrup; ISBN: 0-596-00405-2

Take a geek and a PC, add one soldering iron, a home, and a copy of Home Hacking Projects for Geeks, and you'll give new meaning to the term, "home improvement." From fearless neophytes to tool-wielding masterminds, the home hacker in any geek will find new inspiration and plenty of hands-on guidance to take on a variety of home-transforming projects once relegated to the world of sci-fi.

This fun new guide combines creativity with electricity and power tools to achieve cool--and sometimes even practical--home automation projects. Never again will you have to flip a light switch when you enter a room or use a key to open your front door. With a few off-the-shelf devices, some homemade hardware, and a little imagination, you can be living in your own high-tech habitat.

Home Hacking Projects for Geeks shows hackers of all ability levels how to take on a wide range of projects, from the relatively small but energy-conscious automating of light switches, to building home theaters using Windows or Linux-based PCs, to more complicated projects like building home security systems that rival those offered by professional security consultants. Each project includes a conceptual diagram, a "What You Need List" and a small "Project Stats" section that describes the relative difficulty, time involved, and cost of the project. What's more, each project is a workable, practical way to improve your home--something unique that you can customize for your individual needs.

The thirteen projects in Home Hacking Projects for Geeks are divided into three categories: Home Automation, Home Entertainment Systems, and Security, and include projects such as:

• Remotely Monitor Your Pet
• Make Your House Talk
• Remotely Control Your Computer's MP3 player
• Create Time-Shifted FM Radio
• Watch Your House Across the Network
• Build a Home Security System

If you've ever thought the Jetsons had it made, or looked around your house and thought, "I could make that better " then you're ready for Home Hacking Projects for Geeks.

PC Hacks

£14.00

Jim Aspinwall; ISBN: 0-596-00748-5

Intel-and AMD-powered PCs--which account for more than 90% of all personal computers--are powerful and expandable, and operating systems like Windows and Linux do a great job of running well on this hardware. But to maintain maximum stability and predictability, these operating systems don't push the hardware to its limits.

That doesn't mean you can't.

PC Hacks shows PC users like you how to get the most out of your hardware and software to make your PC experience more satisfying than ever. You don't need another collection of simple tips and command-clicks; you need PC Hacks, where you'll find proven techniques for enhancing performance and preventing problems with your PC hardware. This step-by-step, hack-by-hack guide, with invaluable tips and tricks throughout, will get you hacking the system board, CPU, BIOS, peripherals and operating system--everything but the unhackable power supply!

In PC Hacks, Jim Aspinwall, the Windows Helpdesk columnist and feature editor for CNET.COM and author of three books on PC maintenance, delivers basic to advanced hacks for overclocking CPU and video cards, tweaking RAM timing, selecting the best performing components, and much more. He includes suggestions for reusing an old PC to off-load work from newer systems as well as ways to prevent security hacks. He also offers many tips for avoiding common mistakes--and for getting the system back up and running if something does go wrong.

PC Hacks combines of the bestselling Hacks series style with the world's most popular computing hardware. Presented in a clear and direct format and covering both Windows and Linux operating systems, PC Hacks ensure that you'll hack and tweak your way to the best performance possible out of your trusty PC.

PC Hardware Annoyances

£11.96

Stephen Bigelow; ISBN: 0-596-00715-9

Operating a personal computer requires more than just dealing with the PC itself. As anyone with even a modicum of computer experience can attest, there are all types of hardware devices which you must become familiar with disk drives, printers, monitors, and sound cards, just to name a few. And, naturally, each is fraught with its own set of bugs and snares.

PC Hardware Annoyances, the latest installment of O'Reilly's highly successful Annoyances series, aims to optimize these peripheral systems by offering easy fixes to their most annoying traits. With over 40 titles to his credit, author Stephen Bigelow identifies all those annoyances that make you cringe in frustration. Then, through the use of snappy, entertaining, and practical solutions, he shows you how to clear each obstacle one step at a time. After that, the rest is up to you.

Designed for PC users of all levels, this handy guide doesn't bore you with long dissertations on the workings of the technology at hand. Instead, it offers straightforward, easy-to-understand troubleshooting solutions. For maximum ease of use, PC Hardware Annoyances is broken up into several broad hardware categories. They include desktops, laptops and PDAs, graphics, sound, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, network, and printers and scanners. And while you may not use each of these accessories currently, chances are it's only a matter of time before you'll need their technological services whether it's for work or recreation.

What makes PC Hardware Annoyances especially timely is the growing trend among computer owners to simply upgrade their PCs as they age, rather than replacing them altogether. With peripheral devices becoming increasingly affordable, there's no reason not to. But as with any do-it-yourself project, trouble lurks around the corner if you don't have the right guide. Having difficulty setting up your color inkjet printer? Trying to burn a music CD? Is your modem misbehaving? The remedy: PC Hardware Annoyances, of course!

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

£22.80

Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson; ISBN: 0-596-00513-X

PC Hardware in a Nutshell is the practical guide to buying, building, upgrading, and repairing Intel-based PCs. A longtime favorite among PC users, the third edition of the book now contains useful information for people running either Windows or Linux operating systems. Written for novices and seasoned professionals alike, the book is packed with useful and unbiased information, including how-to advice for specific components, ample reference material, and a comprehensive case study on building a PC.

In addition to coverage of the fundamentals and general tips about working on PCs, the book includes chapters focusing on motherboards, processors, memory, floppies, hard drives, optical drives, tape devices, video devices, input devices, audio components, communications, power supplies, and maintenance. Special emphasis is given to upgrading and troubleshooting existing equipment so you can get the most from your existing investments.

This new edition is expanded to include:

• Detailed information about the latest motherboards and chipsets from AMD, Intel, SiS, and VIA
• Extensive coverage of the Pentium 4 and the latest AMD processors, including the Athlon XP/MP
• Full details about new hard drive standards, including the latest SCSI standards, ATA/133, Serial ATA, and the new 48-bit "Big Drive" ATA interface
• Extended coverage of DVD drives, including DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, and DVD+R/RW
• Details about Flat Panel Displays, including how to choose one (and why you might not want to)
• New chapters on serial communications, parallel communications, and USB communications (including USB 2.0)
• Enhanced troubleshooting coverage

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition provides independent, useful and practical information in a no-nonsense manner with specific recommendations on components. Based on real-world testing over time, it will help you make intelligent, informed decisions about buying, building, upgrading, and repairing PCs in a cost effective manner that will help you maximize new or existing computer hardware systems. It's loaded with real-world advice presented in a concise style that clearly delivers just the information you want, without your having to hunt for it.

PowerBook Fan Book

£7.95

Derrick Story; ISBN: 0-596-00817-1

You've coveted one for a long while, and now it's yours: the sleek and speedy PowerBook. It's as stylish as you wanted, as slick as you imagined, and as mighty as you hoped. So now what? The PowerBook Fan Book is your quick and fun guide to mastering all the features and taking advantage of the infinite advanced capabilities of your beloved new laptop. No PowerBook owner should be without a copy.

Lightweight but power-packed, your PowerBook comes with all sorts of high-end features so that you can effortlessly enjoy portable connectivity, wireless networking, lightening-fast graphics, and much more. In either the 12-inch, 15-inch, or 17-inch model, the PowerBook boasts a PowerPC G4 processor with speeds topping the charts at 1.5GHz and 4x-speed SuperDrives, and it comes standard with AirPort Extreme--offering the fastest speeds in wireless networking--and Bluetooth.

But there's a lot to learn before you know your trusty machine well enough to make the most of these many offerings. The PowerBook Fan Book is just the thing to get you up to speed in a flash with your new laptop. This compact, affordable, and accessible guide takes you through the process of getting familiar with your machine and OS X Panther, learning cool tricks and tidbits, and finding out about often little-known but must-have accessories for your favorite new piece of hardware.

The ideal gift for anyone wielding the most desirable of Apple's laptops, this book includes sections on getting started, organizing your digital lifestyle, advanced features, using your PowerBook at home, at the office, or on the go, and tips and tricks for doing most anything and everything you could want. In no time, you'll be burning DVDs, crunching numbers, building a website, composing music, and editing digital video like an expert.

Treo Fan Book

£7.95

Jeff Ishaq; ISBN: 0-596-00816-3

What's tiny enough to fit in your pocket but mighty enough to serve as your full-featured mobile phone, your Palm-powered organizer, your wireless email, text messaging, and web-browsing tool, and even your digital camera? Why, it's your all-in-one Treo smartphone from palmOne! And you can master the revolutionary little device in no time flat with the new Treo Fan Book.

Not much bigger than the Treo itself but jam-packed with all the information you need to learn about each and every feature and capability of this combined phone/PDA, Treo Fan Book is a full-color, reasonably priced treasure trove of tips and tools to make instant experts of even smartphone neophytes.

More than 200,000 Treo's have already shipped, and the popularity of the powerful, pint-sized device is growing. This quick and accessible guide to the bestselling smartphone is the perfect choice for yourself or gift for the Treo aficionado in your life.

Author Jeff Ishaq can help anyone become immediately Treo savvy. A Palm OS Certified Developer who has been producing software for Palm OS devices since their inception in 1996--and who develops popular shareware for the Treo 600--he is well known amongst the Palm community, and he has been named a Handspring Developer's Community Host for his participation in their Treo 600 community. Ishaq has an approach and writing style that will make learning the Treo quick, painless, and fun for all.

Designed for new and eager Treo users, this unbeatable reference guide contains just the information you need (including the basics, such as using the phone, finding your way around the organizer features, and surfing the web)--and then plenty more that you want (things like mobile living with the Treo, such as using it as an MP3 player; selecting available accessories; and taking advantage of countless troubleshooting tips). The Treo Fan Book helps you make the very most of your new, do-all gadget.

Xbox Fan Book

£7.95

Mark Holt Walker; ISBN: 0-596-00884-8

The video game industry has come a long way from those early Pac-Man and Centipede games at the arcade. Just one look at Microsoft's Xbox--the most powerful and popular gaming machine ever created--proves that. With cool 3-D graphics, mind-boggling animation, and devastatingly real audio, Xbox just blows the competition away.

More than half a million people worldwide own an Xbox system--and that number is growing at a rapid rate. The problem is, these gamers don't have a reliable, all-purpose reference book to help guide them in their quest for that video game triumph: the top score! Until now, that is.

Enter the Xbox Fan Book from O'Reilly, a nifty, four-color guide for new Xbox gamers who want a quick and fun way to learn all the features and capabilities of Microsoft's popular game console so they can get down to the business of dominating the high scores list right away. Thanks to this one-of-a-kind book, Xbox users can learn how to make their favorite piece of hardware even more powerful and fun to use.

With gamer extraordinaire Mark Holt Walker at the helm, the Xbox Fan Book takes you through the basics of using the console, enhancing the multimedia experience, and online play. It also covers must-have games like Halo, and accessories like the Xbox DVD Playback Kit. There's virtually nothing Xbox-related that isn't packed into this authoritative guide, and yet, it's accessible enough that you can sit down and read in one afternoon.

Compact, colorful, and loaded with the stuff you need to master your game console, the Xbox Fan Book is the perfect accessory for Xbox gamers of any level.

iPod Fan Book

£7.95

Yasukuni Notomi; ISBN: 0-596-00776-0

The iPod is more than a digital music device. It has become a cultural phenomenon and a fashion statement, symbolized by the universally recognized white earphones. Already a bestseller in Japan, the iPod Fan Book shows owners how to get the most out of the world s most popular portable music player.

This compact and beautifully packaged guide is for iPod users who want a quick, fun way to learn all the features and capabilities of the device. The iPod Fan Book takes readers through the process of loading the iPod with music and then organizing, playing, and even burning those tunes onto CDs and DVDs. The book also discusses ways to use the iPod on-the-go, such as playing it through a car stereo. And it shows how to use the iPod as a PDA for storing things like addresses and personal calendars. The perfect gift for people living the iPod lifestyle.