Wow! eBook – Blog

Book Description

Device drivers make it possible for your software to communicate with your hardware, and because every operating system has specific requirements, driver writing is nontrivial. When developing for FreeBSD, you’ve probably had to scour the Internet and dig through the kernel sources to figure out how to write the drivers you need. Thankfully, that stops now. In FreeBSD Device Drivers, Joseph Kong will teach you how to master everything from the basics of building and running loadable kernel modules to more complicated topics like thread synchronization. After a crash course in the different FreeBSD driver frameworks, extensive tutorial sections dissect real-world drivers like the parallel port printer driver.

You’ll learn:

• All about Newbus, the infrastructure used by FreeBSD to manage the hardware devices on your system
• How to work with ISA, PCI, USB, and other buses
• The best ways to control and communicate with the hardware devices from user space
• How to use Direct Memory Access (DMA) for maximum system performance
• The inner workings of the virtual null modem terminal driver, the USB printer driver, the Intel PCI Gigabit Ethernet adapter driver, and other important drivers
• How to use Common Access Method (CAM) to manage host bus adapters (HBAs) Download Now »

Book Description

With this digital Early Release edition of Getting Started with Metro Apps, you get the entire book bundle in its earliest form – the author’s raw and unedited content – so you can take advantage of this content long before the book’s official release. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, as well as the final ebook version.

Get a head start on creating “Metro”-style apps for the approaching release of Windows 8. If you’re new to .NET programming, this introductory guide will quickly get you up to speed on the tools you need to build user interfaces with Microsoft’s new design language, code-named Metro. Learn how to use WinRT and the preview version of the upcoming Visual Studio release, and get tips and tricks for having your app published in the Windows Store.

Windows 8 brings some dramatic changes to the way users interact with computers and devices, and the Metro design language plays a key role. Whether you’re an experienced .NET developer, or build apps with HTML and Javascript, this book gets you in on the ground floor.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Windows 8: A Quick Tour
Chapter 2. Getting Started
Chapter 3. Application Architecture

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Book Description

With this digital Early Release edition of HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML Developers, you get the entire book bundle in its earliest form – the author’s raw and unedited content – so you can take advantage of this content long before the book’s official release. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, as well as the final ebook version.

Graphic Shaders are used throughout the game and movie industry to improve onscreen graphics. They are versatile, doing important tasks like making computer rendered aliens look realistic, providing the ripples on a background lake or growing fur on the latest Pixar monster. In the PC world, programmers are often delighted to find that shaders are nothing more than a miniature program that is optimized to run on the computers GPU. This happiness fades when they start exploring the strange programming model underlying shaders however. Because shaders are strung together in an unusual fashion and run on a massive parallel processer developers shouldn’t use their traditional OO or procedural approach to writing code. Writing effective shaders requires a mind shift regarding how to craft a useful algorithm. To top it off, shaders are written in a unfamiliar C-like language. In the Microsoft DirectX world the dominant language is High Level Shader Language or HLSL.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Shader 101
Chapter 2. Getting Started Download Now »

Book Description

Microsoft Windows Intune is a cloud service solution that simplifies how small and mid-sized businesses manage and secure PCs using Microsoft cloud services and Windows 7—so your computers and users can operate at peak performance all the time.

This step-by-step guide will show you how to plan, set up and maintain Windows Intune, showing you how to manage a group of PCs (either 1 business or several if a partner) from the base operating system, through to the patches, anti-malware solution and deployed software and policies from a central console, using the Windows Intune service.

This book takes you through all the steps to plan, set up and maintain Windows Intune and how to manage a group of PCs. The book starts by providing an overview of Cloud Computing and PC Management. The book then dives into topics such as Windows Intune features, signing up for Windows Intune and installing the client software, configuring Windows Intune, proactive management, and monitoring and dealing with alerts, including remote assistance amongst others. As Windows 7 is part of Windows Intune, the book will also cover the minimum steps required to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 while keeping user settings and preferences.

What you will learn from this book

• Plan and deliver PC management, ensuring the IT requirements align to the business needs
• Install and configure Windows Intune, ensuring good communication between the PC and the internet-based service Download Now »

Book Description

Build a PC that will outperform any brand-name box on the market

Yes, even if you’re not a total geek you can build your own PC — and we guarantee it’s worth the effort. You’ll discover that the quality is better and the cost is much lower than any comparable off-the-shelf PC you can buy. Design the custom computer you want, and have fun doing it.

• Get high-quality PC hardware from local stores and online vendors
• Plan your computer project with a complete checklist
• Create the ideal PC that will run Windows 7 or Linux
• Take advantage of the latest multi-core CPUs
• Assemble, test, and configure your PC with ease
• Build a PC that meets your needs and fits your budget

Written by hardware experts, this book delivers complete instructions for building your own dream machine with high-quality components, whether it’s a PC for general use, extreme gaming, a media center, or home server. Straightforward language, clear directions, and easy-to-follow illustrations make this guide a breeze for computer builders of any skill level, even those with no experience. Download Now »

Book Description

For 20 years, Upgrading and Repairing PCs has been the industry’s #1 guide to PC hardware: the single source for reliable, step-by-step information on identifying and fixing problems, adding hardware, optimizing performance, and building new PCs from scratch. Now, this 19th Edition has been completely updated to focus on today’s technologies and today’s maintenance challenges!

From processors and motherboards, memory to storage, video to power, and networking to Internet connectivity, it’s all here: technical details, practical insights, and step-by-step solutions to difficult problems. Updates include new CPUs like the Intel Core i Series and AMD’s Phenom family…solid state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives…motherboard form factors, chipsets, power supplies, DDR3 memory, Windows 7 readiness, and a whole lot more!

Your guide, Scott Mueller, has taught thousands in his legendary personal seminars and millions more through his books and videos. Nobody knows more about choosing, installing, troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining PC hardware. Whether you’re a professional technician, a small business owner who doesn’t want to pay for service calls, or a home PC enthusiast, this is the one book you need! Download Now »