The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group For The Bookshelf Major Keary |
PC Music
PC Publishing is an English publishing house that specialises in books on music technology, including titles on MIDI, Cubase VST, Emagic Logic, and other aspects of music technology. Their books have been translated into German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Serbian, and Russian. A list can be seen at http://www.pc-publishing.com and, should your local bookshop not stock them, titles can be obtained from an Australian distributor, Woodslane, at http://www. woodslane.com.au.
The particular title reviewed here is PC Music: The Easy Guide. It is not a large book (132 pages), but is remarkably comprehensive and detailed. Readers are assumed to be computer literate. The author says, "The purpose of this book is to share the secrets of what your computer is capable of, to demonstrate what software and hardware you might need to make music and to look at how it all fits together". It is not a tutorial, but answers questions such as: can I record music on my PC?; what sort of computer do I need?; what hardware and software do I need?; how do connect a keyboard?; can I plug a guitar into my PC?. If you want to know what your existing equipment/software can do, and make a practical assessment of what is involved in upgrading, this is a sound guide.
The book is printed on glossy paper, which enables high quality images of equipment, screen shots, and schematic diagrams. The images are particularly useful for identifying various cards and other hardware components, getting a feel for the graphical interface of various applications, and how things are connected.
Content covers sound cards, MIDI sequencing, hard disk recording, sample/wave editing, plug-ins, notation and score writing, software instruments, Internet music, WinXP for music, and music setups. The last three chapters are 'appendiums' that provide information specific to dance music, guitar, and Windows Media Center.
This is a valuable overview of the technology, hardware, software, and setups. It is clearly written, deals with practical issues, explains the technology, describes equipment options, and discusses software. Anyone thinking of 'doing music' with a computer should read this first. The book is pitched at WinXP users. Excellent value.
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Robin Vincent: PC Music: The Easy Guide 3/e ISBN 1-870775-20-1 Published by PC Publishing, 132 pp., RRP $29.99 incl. GST |
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Wireless Hacks
Wireless Hacks is now in its, much expanded, second edition and has a second
author. Of course, the content of titles in the hacks series comes from many
contributors — in this instance there are twenty-one. There is still the
regulation '100 tips and tools', but some are far more technically detailed and,
as Glenn Fleishman says in the foreword, they "should become standard operating
procedure at companies that use wireless tech". In the present edition there is
less focus on wireless standards (which are now well documented for both
technical and lay audiences) and more detail about specific technical solutions
covering Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
The hacks are grouped by topic: Bluetooth, mobile phones, and GPS; Network
discovery and monitoring; wireless security; hardware hacks; software hacks; DIY
antennas; and wireless network design. Appendices contain notes and commentary
on wireless standards, and a guide to wireless hardware. You don't have to be an
engineer to use this great collection of practical information about wireless.
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Rob Flickenger and Roger Weeks: Wireless Hacks 2/e ISBN 0-596-10144-9 Published by Wiley, 440 pp., RRP $45.00 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the March 2007 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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