Digital Lifestyles Reference Guide

Aug 27, 2004

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All the Reference Guides here at Informit are making book recommendations over the past couple of weeks. Michael Miller made some great suggestions for assisting in your Digital Lifestyle last week. I've got a few additions for you this week, although some may not be directly attributable to the category Digital Lifestyle. Every book in this list is what I would consider best in its class.

Anyone researching the process of creating a home theater knows the ultimate test is getting clearance through the SAF (spouse acceptance factor). If the home theater looks too geeky or doesn't do an adequate job of incorporating the theater into the home, there may be no theater. Finding common ground is important, which is where Home Theater Design: Planning and Decorating Media-Savvy Interiors (ISBN: 1592530176), by Krissy Rushing comes into play. This book offers some elaborate ideas for keeping the 'home' in home theater. While many of the suggestions may be beyond the reach of the average family budget, thinking along the lines of Krissy's recommendations will definitely make the home theater an easier sell.

One of the best book's I read in 2004 remains a great reference for 2005. Web Search Garage is technically not part of what we think of as the Digital Lifestyle, but it can certainly augment your efforts in finding information. If you've ever been stumped in the middle of a project and need to find information quickly, this book is a lifesaver. Written by search geek Tara Calishain, it's quite possibly the best source on the subject of effective searching. Why do I need a book on typing in the submit box on Google, you ask? Because there's more to search than simply typing a query and viewing the results. Literally hundreds of search tricks will save you time using by interfacing poorly documented features of all the various search sites. Information is my own personal currency, and I can't tell you how much I've learned from this outstanding guide.

For consumer level photo editing, Photoshop Elements is the only program I recommend with confidence. It's got all the important tools of the pro version of Photoshop, minus the more confusing automation features and painfully difficult user interface. There's still a learning curve for anyone picking up photo editing for the first time. Having someone show you the tricks that make improving your shots easier goes a long way to turning decent looking digital photos into excellent digital photos. ABG to Photoshop Elements is one of the most comprehensive resources for getting all the basics and then digging in to some of Photoshop Elements more advanced features. The book is still listed for version 2, but hopefully we'll see an update to version 3 in the not too distant future. Along the way you may also take a bad shot or two and my Reference Guide co-host, Michael Miller, wrote an excellent book on saving bad shots called, Bad Pics Fixed Quick. The book sets up various bad shot scenarios and shows you how to salvage them by repairing or correcting mistakes in the process.

Steal This File Sharing Book is a clever turn of title phrasing nodding to the Abbie Hoffman book from the 1960's. The title is quite appropriate given the file sharing movement's very real disruption of the status quo as a mirror for Hoffman's efforts to promote socio-economic change. The book is part history lesson, part examination of the growth of file sharing. The book highlights legal grey areas, identifies popular methods of sharing files, and then digs into the meat of the subject, which is where the majority of the books pages are focused. The legal risks of sharing files are becoming obvious with the regular media coverage of RIAA John Doe lawsuits and the impending MGM v. Grokster case at the Supreme Court. Steal This File Sharing Book outlines legal ramifications, how to live within the rules of the system, and where you might get caught infringing. With file sharing networks representing one of the major sources of malicious software, the book presents effective methods to protect your PC from malicious software, as well as offering smart steps to keeping your data safe from prying eyes and evidence elimination strategies for people who prefer to keep their data to themselves. One great feature of STFSB is the collection of tips on legal file sharing, outlining a clear path to avoid legal question marks. Also clearly labeled are file sharing activities clearly operating outside the law, providing useful guidance in avoiding lawsuits.

Once upon a time, Rick Schmidt wrote a book on making a feature film for under $10,000. That was before digital video became an acceptable standard for moviemakers of all budget levels. Extreme DV at Used Car Prices carries the torch of his past work, diving into the role of DV in the indie film business, providing real examples of how to make a feature length movie for under $3000. In the realm of home movies, my favorite book is one targeted at indie filmmakers. Schmidt has a unique ability to get you thinking creatively about how to resolve what might otherwise be impossible due to budget limitations. If you think outside the box a little, the information doesn't even need to apply specifically to filmmaking. While most people will never want to make a feature-length film, the ideas about how to make the most of what you have, in order to capture something with your consumer digital video camera are valid for everything from shooting your kid's soccer game to making a recording of a public speech by your boss.

For those with no experience in movie making, I'd like to think my book, Easy Digital Home Movies is a useful introduction to taking a digital movie from tape to finished feature in a simple series of steps. Home movie editing is a complicated process, but I've attempted to distill it down with visual presentation of key concepts to make improving your videos possible for almost anyone. From beginning-to-end, you'll learn: how to make your shots look better; how to transfer movies from older formats to DVD; how to edit, enhance and polish your movies; and how to share them in a variety of different ways

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