After introducing myself to Ruby, I read this book to become more familiar with the Rails framework. I was very pleased with how this book was laid ouAfter introducing myself to Ruby, I read this book to become more familiar with the Rails framework. I was very pleased with how this book was laid out. The first section has you dig right into creating a basic storefront by guiding you through the basics of using the Rails framework. This first section teaches you everything you need to create a basic site of your own. The latter sections of the book go into depth regarding each concept you learned in the initial sections as well as other advanced concepts. The progression of the book was very natural and did not try to throw an advanced concept at you without showing you simple examples first on which you could build your knowledge. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to see what the fuss is all about regarding Ruby on Rails. ...more
The notion of creating user interfaces that are easy to use and that don't make the user think too long about how to perform their desired action is nThe notion of creating user interfaces that are easy to use and that don't make the user think too long about how to perform their desired action is nothing new. Rather than leaving it to guesses and personal opinion, this book teaches you how to learn what is actually successful via various methods of user-oriented testing. It also covers a lot of examples of good and bad interface design and invites the user to make their own judgments before offering possible optimizations. Best of all, the book is a short and direct....more
Whether you're new to web analytics or you've been in the industry for some time but are looking to expand your horizons, you can't go wrong with thisWhether you're new to web analytics or you've been in the industry for some time but are looking to expand your horizons, you can't go wrong with this book. This book starts by educating people on how the old ways of assessing success on the web are inadequate and dives right in to how you can quickly obtain actionable insights with some web analysis. Later on, it touches on emerging concepts form which even some seasoned analysts will benefit, such as assessing your competition, attributing success to multi-touch campaigns, and accessing your social media success by tying it to more than just for number of followers....more
I was not as impressed with the second installment of the Smashing Book series as I was with the first one. The second book takes a distinct approach I was not as impressed with the second installment of the Smashing Book series as I was with the first one. The second book takes a distinct approach of relaying information in the form of essays. I found this to be a more indirect approach to relaying the information contained therein. Overall, I felt like I read a lot of fluff to get to the "meat" of each section.
That being said, there are a few redeeming passages. I particularly liked the chapter where an analysis of 57 e-commerce sites was performed to obtain data on trends and best practices. There was also some good information in the section about red flags in design. In the end, though, the majority of the information in this book can be gathered from other sources in a more direct manner....more
This book is a must-read for any person who manages a small team of developers or who wants to start their own software development company. Most of tThis book is a must-read for any person who manages a small team of developers or who wants to start their own software development company. Most of the concepts relayed in this book would not be possible inside larger organizations. In fact, the book itself does a great job of proving that you should embrace being a small company while you can because of the many opportunities and advantages it affords you. It also shows how you can take a lot of wasted time and effort out of how you operate to be more efficient. Best of all, it's a light read (if you got into the book as much as I did, you'll read it all in one evening). ...more
This book (and its companion, Designing with Web Standards) are great resources for the modern web developer. People who have been in the industry forThis book (and its companion, Designing with Web Standards) are great resources for the modern web developer. People who have been in the industry for years are prone to carry over methods for dealing with web design issues that do not stand the test of time due to difficulty maintaining such solutions. These two books server to educate both veteran and novice web developers on how to create and maintain websites in such a way that they support rapid development & maintenance while focusing on accessibility across multiple platforms. In addition, they very clearly explain why every web site doesn't need to look the same in all browsers (another old notion) and cover how you can bring a rich experience in newer browsers while also gracefully degrading on older browsers to a less-rich but fully-functional and attractive experience....more
This book (and its companion, Developing with Web Standards) are great resources for the modern web developer. People who have been in the industry foThis book (and its companion, Developing with Web Standards) are great resources for the modern web developer. People who have been in the industry for years are prone to carry over methods for dealing with web design issues that do not stand the test of time due to difficulty maintaining such solutions. These two books server to educate both veteran and novice web developers on how to create and maintain websites in such a way that they support rapid development & maintenance while focusing on accessibility across multiple platforms. In addition, they very clearly explain why every web site doesn't need to look the same in all browsers (another old notion) and cover how you can bring a rich experience in newer browsers while also gracefully degrading on older browsers to a less-rich but fully-functional and attractive experience....more
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