The BEAD Method of Fretboard Mastery
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • I recommend this for any guitar player, new or established
  • Great System But The Book........
  • The Rosetta Stone For Guitar
  • playing classical guitar
  • The Bead Method Has Merit
The BEAD Method of Fretboard Mastery
Robert, Luther Dietz
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1411657896

Book Description

The BEAD Method(TM) is a revolutionary new way to understand the logic behind the guitar fretboard. There are many methods that rely on patterns of the guitar but BEAD Guitar(TM) relies on the unique tuning pattern of the guitar neck itself. In contrast you are provided with a true roadmap of the entire guitar neck. This book provides a unifying theory for understanding fret-notes, scales, modes and chords. By using this method you will be enabled to quickly find any note, chord or scale from any position on the fretboard. This perfect bound edition is fully annotated and illustrated making this a great reference book for any guitarist's library.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I recommend this for any guitar player, new or established.......2007-09-17

I have been reading through this book for a few months now, and i can say that my guitar playing has improved quite a bit. I've been playing for well over 10 years mostly self taught. I've tried to look at a few books but none really helped me learn the notes or chords as much as i wanted to. But after reviewing this i can now easily figure out my notes and placements on the fretboard. thanks for the great book man!

3 out of 5 stars Great System But The Book...............2007-07-16

has quite a few mistakes and errors. It would have been nice if a list of corrections had come with it.

5 out of 5 stars The Rosetta Stone For Guitar.......2007-02-20

This book completely changed the way I looked at playing guitar. I've been "playing at guitar" for most of my life. Most of everything that I got right occured purely by accident, or trial and error. The BEAD guitar method lays out the guitar fretboard in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Finally, I could understand the realtionship each string has to each other, and how the entire fretboard actually works in a logical manner. This is not an instant cure for someone who wants to play like Eric Clapton in 15 minutes. It does explain the relationship between strings and frets in a way that will have you constructing chords and lead patterns, with understanding, in a very short time. I wish I had studied this book when I was 16 years old. It provides more than just repeating patterns and shapes. The BEAD method maps the fretboard in simple, easy-to-understand lessons that build upon each other. It's written in a fun style as though the author were actually sitting down with you personally. For me, this book is the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone because it unlocks the "secrets" of the guitar fretboard. Even great guitarists who actually understand this stuff, usually can't explain it to someone else in a way that makes sense. That's the gift of Robert L. Dietz. He knows the information and, more importantly, is able to share it in a way that allows an average guy, like me, to finally understand how and why the guitar is set up the way it is. I recommend The BEAD method to anyone who wants a functional understanding of how to play guitar. I require it of every student (ages 10 to 67) that I teach, and have given it as a gift to other guitarists (especially those I play with). You cannot go wrong with this book. You will positively love it and, like me, you'll be saying, "Where has this book been all my life?" Look, you have invested thousands of dollars in guitars, cases, amps and effects. Why not spend a small amount on the one method that will allow you the understanding and ability to creatively play for the rest of your life? The BEAD method is not just for those who've been struggling for years. If you're thinking of buying someone their first guitar - DON'T, unless you also get them this book. They will thank you, and you (I promise) will be so glad you did.

5 out of 5 stars playing classical guitar.......2007-01-19

for all of us wannabe classical guitar players this book is wonderful. it explains what you need to know in elementary terms and easily absorbable. you have to have a sponge like mind to play classical guitar and this book really motivates.

4 out of 5 stars The Bead Method Has Merit.......2007-01-05

I purchased this book in hopes of finding a tool to teach the guitar fingerboard easily to my student. I found that it is easy to read and understand and will help anyone who wants a system to help learn all the notes on the neck, transposing keys, moving chord fingerings, etc. I would recommend this for the first time learner and for anyone who is reviewing what they've learned in the past. It is a good tool for successfully mastering the fingerboard.

The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Not so long or so far away, some of it could happen
  • STAR WARS COULD HAPPEN!!?
  • Very Good
  • Great Book
  • Feels like a guilty pleasure, but enjoyable and thoughtful
The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
Jeanne Cavelos
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312209584

Amazon.com

Jeanne Cavelos says, "Star Wars fueled my interest in space exploration and the possibility of alien life," leading her to a career in astrophysics. While these movies have inspired her, she admits that may not have been their intention.

In creating the part science fiction/part fantasy/part myth that is Star Wars, George Lucas did not seek to create a futuristic universe that agreed perfectly with our current understanding of science.... How realistic, how possible, is this galaxy far, far away?

The answer when A New Hope first came out was "not at all." But a strange thing has happened in the years since Star Wars first came out. Science is beginning to catch up with George Lucas.

Cavelos looks at Lucas's planets, aliens, droids, technology, and Force with both rationality and affection. The droids R2-D2 and C-3P0, among others, become more interesting and almost credible after her consideration.

The element of Star Wars that is most true to science is the sense of wonder it calls forth, which has very little to do with how close it is to a possible future. Or, as Steve Grand, director of the Cyberlife Institute, said to Cavelos: "I never try to let scientific implausibility get in the way of a good story!" --Mary Ellen Curtin

Book Description

Could the science fiction of Star Wars be the actual science of tomorrow?

-How close are we to creating robots that look and act like R2-D2 and C-3PO?
-Can we access a "force" with our minds to move objects and communicate telepathically with each other?
-How might spaceships like the Millennium Falcon make the exhilarating jump into hyperspace?
What kind of environment could spawn a Wookiee?
-Could a single blast from the Death Star destroy an entire planet?
-Could light sabers possibly be built, and if so, how would they work?
-Do Star Wars aliens look like "real" aliens might?
-What would living on a desert planet like Tatooine be like?
-Why does Darth Vader require an artificial respirator?

Discover the answers to these and many other fascinating questions as a noted scientist and Star Wars enthusiast explores The Science of Star Wars.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Not so long or so far away, some of it could happen.......2005-02-06

Quality entertainment is its' own reward, so in many ways the plausibility of the scenarios is not an overriding concern. However, there is a threshold of believability that cannot be crossed, for if it is, it can cease to be entertainment. The quality of the entertainment has a great deal to do with the location of the threshold, if the story is very good, the bar is higher, but for a mediocre story it can be much lower. In the Star Wars movies, the bar is generally considered pretty low, as most people who watch them are fairly uncritical of the scientific basis for the events. George Lucas was brilliant when he opened the series with the phrase, " A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." This is equivalent to the classic "Once upon a time" opening to fairy tales. By immediately giving the Star Wars events the status of a fairy tale, Lucas provides himself with a great deal of scientific poetic license in his Star Wars movies.
However, there are always people who examine the actions on the screen and consider the plausibility based on the current theories of science. In this book Cavelos critically examines the major events in the Star Wars series from the perspective of modern science. The opening chapter is a discussion of the major environments where the action takes place. It starts with the questions concerning how prevalent planets are in the universe. In this case, recent research indicates that there are an enormous number of planets, so the focus moves to planets that could support life, in particular, human life. Here, the odds drop substantially, as the range of temperature, gravity and atmosphere that humans can function in is in all cases very narrow. The existence of specific planets such as Tatooine with its' two suns, the moon "planets" of Endor and Yavin and the ice planet Hoth are all seriously examined. Given the constant number of new surprises that the study of planets in our solar system has provided, while unlikely, most of these environments cannot be ruled out.
Chapter two, which deals with the characteristics of alien life forms, was my favorite. Many of the main species, such as the Wookies, Hutts, Banthas, Jawas, and Ewoks are examined from a biological perspective. How their bodies are constructed and if they could function in their environment makes an interesting exercise in comparative biology. By examining Jar Jar Binks, one can reach many conclusions concerning how his species functions. This is a chapter that would make an excellent study topic in high school biology classes.
Chapters three and four deal with the technology, with chapter three devoted to the artificial intelligence (AI) of droids and four the technology of the spacecraft. Despite many problems in implementation, there appears to be no reason to doubt that droids with the capability of R2-D2 and C-3PO will eventually be constructed. However, the development of interstellar craft that travel through hyperspace will require substantial advancements in harnessing energy and the presence of scientific realities that we currently know nothing about.
The Force, that all-encompassing energy field, is the topic of the last chapter. It is also the most difficult to envision, although in many cases, it is just another name for God. The difference is of course that using the force would mean that an individual could channel the power of God for their own purposes, independent of the goodness rating of the action. Extra-sensory perception and the current "evidence" for it are also examined.
I am a devoted fan of Star Wars, and as I scientist I recognize when scientific laws are broken on the screen. Nevertheless, it was a very fun book to read, because there is scientific evidence that indicates that some of what happens in these movies could actually take place.

5 out of 5 stars STAR WARS COULD HAPPEN!!?.......2001-09-25

What I loved about the Star Wars saga is the fact that travel
across the galaxy is as commonplace and taken for granted as
car and air travel is today. And I love the alien world our
heroes visit like the Fourth Moon of Yavin,the Moon of Endor,
Tatooine,Hoth,Bespin,Dagobah and Coruscant.

This book explores the possibility of rapid interstellar travel
and alien planets and extraterrestrial life and the even how to
build lightsabers and blasters with incredible detail. Cavelos

explains that such breaktroughs may or may not happen in a few
thousand years. Who knows what breaktroughs humanity will make?
We may not be at war with aliens or other civilizations and I
hope it won't happen. But I do hope that someday people will be
able to travel to other solar systems and galaxies as quickly
and easily as crossing our oceans. Cavelos gives interesting
detail on wormholes,warp drives,and even what it would be like
to travel at warp drive with the stars stretching into streaks
of light. That will be a very exciting time. I hope that galactic
travel and even intergalctic travel will be used for tourism as
well as exploration and colonization. People will travel to exotic planets and moons like Yavin 4,Endor,Hoth,Coruscant etc.
and even view our own galaxy from above as a glowing celestial
spiral. That would be a very exciting time!!Perhaps it
will happen in the next thousand years or so.

4 out of 5 stars Very Good.......2000-10-18

I loved this book. Like all Star Wars books I read, I could barely put it down. The only reason it's not perfect is that the whole Star Wars series is very loosely based on science, so this book really has a very shaky fundamental basis. The fact that Jeanne Cavelos can write a great book around this weak foundation, though, is a testament to the skill with which the author writes.

5 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2000-08-31

I am not a huge, or even big Star Wars fan (heck, I didn't even like the first one), but I loved this book. A great concept, very well done. I could not put it down.

4 out of 5 stars Feels like a guilty pleasure, but enjoyable and thoughtful.......2000-07-10

Reading each chapter of "The Science of Star Wars" made me feel like I was indulging in a guilty pleasure, which is odd, since this is an informative look at science through the prism of the Star Wars movies.

The author has different chapters on planets, lifeforms, spaceships and weapons, droids, and the Force. Each chapter looks at the subject as depicted in the various movies, and then speculates on how likely the subject is scientifically. She has an open-mind; even when the subject seems to be scientifically inaccurate, she writes diplomatically that it seems unexplained, or needs some explanation beyond our understanding.

For the most part, she is a good writer. However, the book is sprinkled with repeated lame jokes about wishing bad things unto Imperial stormtroopers. It's kind of funny the first time, but after that, it becomes silly.

Also, the section discussing the Force delves into a heavy dose of quantum mechanics. There are no equations or diagrams, but it is an extended discussion, albeit at a layperson's level.

Finally, the paperback version contains an update based on "The Phantom Menace."
The Science of Star Wars : An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Science of Star Wars : An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
    Jeanne Cavelos
    Manufacturer: St. Martin
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover
    ASIN: B000MC2HGQ
    The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets and Robots As Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Ever wonder just how plausible the SW Universe is?
    The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets and Robots As Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
    Jeanne Cavelos
    Manufacturer: Books on Tape
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Audio Cassette

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    ASIN: 0736645195

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Ever wonder just how plausible the SW Universe is?.......2000-06-13

    As a SW fan, I enjoyed most of this book that provides scientific insight into just how plausible the technical, astronomical and meta-physical aspects of George Lucas' fantasy galaxy are. The sections on planets and technology were my favorites and I found them very intriguing and fascinating. The section on the Force went a bit too far, though. Also, it's important to remember that SW IS ONLY A WORK OF FICTION!

    Roone: A Memoir
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Very Entertaining!
    • Spellbinding
    • Brought Back Memories
    • A great book...too bad he wasn't here to promote it...
    • Roone Remembers The Glory Days At ABC
    Roone: A Memoir
    Roone Arledge
    Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    EntertainersEntertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
    BusinessBusiness | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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    History & CriticismHistory & Criticism | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0060536012
    Release Date: 2004-07-06

    Book Description

    Roone Arledge's extraordinary career of more than a half century mirrors the history of the television industry he helped create. Roone is the vivid, intimate account of his own rise to fame and power as the head of both ABC Sports and ABC News as well as an up-close-and- personal story of his era, peopled with friends and foes alike.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining!.......2006-07-30

    This is a great book! Very easy to read and an interesting story. Roone is so creative and you really get to know him in his memoir. I enjoyed all of the behind the scene stories about Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports, boxing and World News Tonight. He had to deal with a lot of difficult people -- mostly in the news division -- but he knew what he was doing and always succeeded. This is a success story. The greatest story is how he got started when he was a waiter in a restaurant. It's too bad that the kids working in the restaurants, fast food places and retail stores don't read this and apply themselves to their jobs because you just never know who might be your customer! Roone was always a pro and that's why when fate intervened, he succeeded. I highly recommend this enjoyable and well-written book!

    5 out of 5 stars Spellbinding.......2005-08-25

    Every once in a while there is a book that you hate to see come to an end. Roone: A Memoir is one of those books.
    The reader races through his busy days right along with him. The reader gets the inside jokes and snickers at the absurdity of many situations that were common place.
    He does not allow you into his private life. He mentions the break up of his first marriage and casually introduces his second wife. So casually, that I missed it and had to go back and find the reference.
    The stories about current TV personalities and those who have passed are captivating. His experiences during the Munich Olympics brought back memories of that horrific nightmare.
    This is a book that will definitely be a gift to the sports minded people on my list this Christmas.

    5 out of 5 stars Brought Back Memories.......2003-09-17

    Every once in awhile you find someone who loves their work. They don't mind putting in 18 hours a day on the job, because it's their life and it's what brings them happiness. Such was the case with Roone Arledge. Roone not only brought happiness to his own life but he brought a lot of happiness to viewers too.
    His recent death probably wasn't all that surprising because he had come to the end of a very long and productive career. The end of the career in many ways was the end of his life.

    His work in building ABC Sports and News will live on for decades. Millions of people tune in every night to watch Peter Jennings' newscasts or to watch Monday Night Football or Nightline. All of it can be traced back to Arledge's innovation and this book details how it all happened.

    What I liked best about his book is that he was able to delve into the personal curiosities of many television personalities but he does it without rancor. For example, Howard Cosell and Frank Reynolds were probably not the easiest people in the world to have working for you. This book delves into those challenges but still does it in a positive way and you come away with respect for everyone in the book.

    It's a great read and also a great resource regarding the history of television.

    5 out of 5 stars A great book...too bad he wasn't here to promote it..........2003-08-09

    This was a fascinating look at the life and times of one of the most innovative minds in television history. This man originated a lot of the things that modern viewers take for granted. There was also some great background on a lot of the network stars, past and present, that made the book even more interesting. It is very enlightening to look inside some of the ridiculous egos that dominate the profession. If Arledge had been alive to promote the book it would have been a bestseller, no question.
    This book was a terrific, highly entertaining read because the reader gets the inside scoop on so many stars and how so many concepts, like instant replay, were invented. Definitely worth the time-highly recommended!

    4 out of 5 stars Roone Remembers The Glory Days At ABC.......2003-07-10

    Roone Arledge wastes no time sharing the fun of producing sports, first at NBC and then to ABC. He proudly tells how he helped land groundbreaking contracts for NCAA football and then several Olympic games. It's a fun ride that gets faster as he takes on ABC News, known to the competition as "Almost Broadcasting Co."

    The book is all about personalities: the executives, the on-air talent, the producers and directors -- Arledge seems to relish in the trials and triumphs of his dealings. Also, Arledge always mentions which restaurants in which negotiations occurred -- the food and the atmosphere rank as importantly as the people. His final scene in the book, a reunion of ABC teammates, is painted with details of a popular New York eatery.

    As Arledge tells it, the process of people management and kicking the competition while doing it is the real fun. And when you get to hang out with Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer and even Sam Donaldson, it's always going to be interesting.

    The book's second half takes a darker tone as bean-counting executives from Capital Cities buy ABC in the 1980s. The high-rolling days at ABC and other nets came to a close as leveraged buyouts gave investors the chance to own chunks of the Fifth Estate, and the heritage of ABC's Leonard Goldenson and CBS's Bill Paley quickly faded. It wasn't about broadcasting anymore, it was just about money. Having worked in local television during this time, I found much of Arledge's account to be familiar with my own career experiences.

    Arledge doesn't spend much time describing the mood after Disney bought ABC in the mid 1990s, but it's clear that Disney was an immediate improvement over the CapCities reign.

    Of course, Arledge fought cancer and other ailments late in life, and he died in late 2002 before the book hit shelves. For me, the book lacked much substance about his personal life, his faith or outside interests or accomplishments. True, his work impacted important stories involving U.S. and USSR relations, race relations in South Africa and other milestones. But, if his life was consumed by the TV biz, to the exclusion of family, other causes and loves, this story reads a bit like a tragedy. Broadcasting is a very exciting but always changing product; Arledge's lifelong accomplishments are fading daily into the new visions of management at ABC.
    Roone: A Memoir
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Roone: A Memoir
      Roone Arledge
      Manufacturer: HarperCollins
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback
      ASIN: B000OAB3BG

      The Unicode Standard, Version 4.0
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Essential reference for modern programming
      • New version of one of the most-used standards
      • An indispensable resource
      • All the Languages of Man
      The Unicode Standard, Version 4.0
      The Unicode Consortium , Joe Becker , Mark Davis , Michael Everson , Asmus Freytag , John Jenkins , Eric Muller , Lisa Moore , Michel Suignard , and Ken Whistler
      Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

      UnicodeUnicode | APIs & Operating Environments | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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      Coding TheoryCoding Theory | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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      1. Unicode Demystified: A Practical Programmer's Guide to the Encoding Standard Unicode Demystified: A Practical Programmer's Guide to the Encoding Standard
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      ASIN: 0321185781

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Essential reference for modern programming.......2004-03-30

      The Unicode character set is among the most widely used and least known of the international software standards. Java programmers have used it every day for a decade or so, but barely one in ten appear to know anything about it.

      The content of ISO standard 10646 (successor to 8-bit ISO 646), goes way beyond just a charcter set. It contains information critical to the correctness of any program that steps outside the English-language world, i.e. every program on the Internet, and many others sooner or later. This is the basis for correct handling of numerals (there's a lot more than 0 to 9), letters, and text. It's also the explanation for some program behaviors that might otherwise baffle a programmer, or at least a programmer with the wit to be baffled.

      More than just crucial, the content of this standard is plain fun. Its snippets of information from every major world language give wonderful insight into how people express themselves. It drives home the delighful diversity of human language and experience. It's also a near-bottomless source of stump-your-friends trivia.

      I admit, I'll never use every fact in this incredible assembly. I use a lot of the information, though, and I use it as the point of entry into every discussion of internationalization and localization of software.

      4 out of 5 stars New version of one of the most-used standards.......2003-10-13

      One reason for the wide acceptance of the Unicode standard is that the Unicode consortium has made it so freely available. There's no point in my discussing in detail what is in this volume when you can peruse PDF files of the entire work on the Unicode website (minus only chapter division graphics).

      Browse through the book just like you would in a bookstore or library. Print out parts of it or all of it for free if you want. Well, it is free if you don't count the cost of paper (about 1500 sheets or twice that for simplex printing), cost of a binder (or maybe two binders) and the time you would have to spend punching the holes.

      If you are mainly or only interested in particular sections of the standard then printing only those sections may be a reasonable thing to do.

      On the other hand the price is *very* reasonable for an 8½" × 11" hardbound book with 1,462 pages. If it's the sort of book you know you want for browsing and for reference then it is likely you will want it in this nicely bound copy.

      Like the previously published versions of the Unicode standard, this book is a beautiful book that is useful to those who don't need or want to get into the technical details of character properties and rules for bi-directional display and other necessary rules for displaying the characters. But for the actual use of many characters you will have to consult other lists outside the Unicode book or files, e.g. dictionaries and grammars of various languages or explanations of symbols used in various fields of mathematics.

      Language and writing systems are messy and inconsistant and handling them systematically and coherently cannot be made easy. Accordingly the rules and explanations in this standard are by necessity often long and involved and couched in technical language. It can't be avoided that, for example, one must sometimes distinguish carefully between _characters_, _glyphs_, _graphemes_, _grapheme clusters_, _ligatures_ and _digraphs_ and whether one character is a _canonical equivalent_ of another character or sequence of characters or a _compatibility equivalent_ of another character or sequence of characters or just similar to another character or sequence of characters.

      The Unicode character set is still a work in progress. Version 4.0 may not even approach the half-way mark in encoding every character that has been used in normal text records by human beings for which a meaning is known. No-one has ever tried to produce a list of characters on this scale before. No-one yet knows how many distinct characters there are.

      But 4.0 covers 96,382 characters from *almost* every script currently used for modern languages and from some ancient scripts as well including Ugaritic cuneiform, Cretan Linear B and the ancient Cypriot syllabary. (Sumerian/Akkadian cuneiform is being worked on and Egyptian hieroglyphics will eventually follow.)

      Included are a plethora of technical symbol characters including mathematical characters, chess pieces, die faces, characters needed for modern western music notation, characters needed for Byzantine music notation, ornamental dingbats and so much more. All of it is now at the fingertips of every computer user -- that is if fonts that contain the characters are installed.

      Finding fonts that display some of these characters is still a problem. :-(

      But it would be a worse problem if these characters weren't assigned to a common character set. The past practice of numerous special fonts for various symbols and scripts which disagreed with one another on how the characters were encoded produced a horrible mess.

      Large as it is, with 40% more pages than version 3.0, the book doesn't contain the whole standard. Increasingly as the standard has expanded tabular material has been dropped from the printed volumes and replaced with references to data files available on the website or on the CD that comes with the book.

      The end of section 3.2 specifies six files found as Annexes on the website and on the CD which "are essential parts of version 4.0" including an explanation of the bidirectional algorithm which appeared in the printed text for earlier releases. And there are many mentions in the printed standard of other files available on the CD or website. A binder containing printouts of this material is necessary if you want a truly complete hardcopy of the entire 4.0 standard.

      Unfortunately the 4.0 HTML files are carelessly laid down on the CD with external links pointing to files on the Unicode website and not to the corresponding files on the CD. Graphics are sometimes missing though the only file I think this matters with is StandardizedVariants.html which has a number of variant character images. (The data in this short file should have been in the book).

      If you work online you probably won't notice anything wrong but you also are likely not to notice that after clicking on a link you are viewing a file from the Unicode website instead of a file on the CD. That may matter in the future if you need to reference a 4.0 file and don't observe that the file you are actually looking at is from the website and is a "latest version" file that has been updated beyond 4.0. If you are working offline you can avoid this, but it is annoying to have to manually search for the file by name because the link fails.

      Also, although the Readme.txt file on the CD mentions "mapping tables" and files with "the extension .UNI", these useful conversion tables which were included on the CD's with previous releases are missing on the 4.0 CD. But they are available on the website.

      This is a minor caveat. I suspect most people will use the website in any case rather than the CD.

      5 out of 5 stars An indispensable resource.......2003-09-25

      This book is one that every programmer should have access to. Packed with all of information concerning the latest standards, with explanations, this is the reference that I use whenever I need data regarding Unicode mappings. I recommend it to all of my students and have asked all libraries where I have influence to add it to their collection.
      There is also a CD included with the book. It contains a database of the current and all past versions of the Unicode mappings, a series of Unicode technical reports and an installable version of the Unibook Character Browser, a small utility for viewing character charts and properties. Invaluable if you prefer electronic versions of the data.

      5 out of 5 stars All the Languages of Man.......2003-09-22

      Anyone dealing with XML or java soon runs into Unicode because this is the standard for representing characters in electronic form in those computer languages. Java, for instance, was designed from its inception to use Unicode. Earlier computer languages like C and C++ can have routines added to handle these, while C# uses XML and hence Unicode.

      But chances are, when you deal with Unicode, you only deal with a subset. Often only a small subset at that, unless you are using Chinese/Japanese. Typically you work with ascii and the codes for your spoken language if that is not a Western European language. Very few of us deal with much more than this.

      Which illustrates the appeal of the book. The Big Picture. ALL of Unicode. The breadth is stunning. It shows the written form of every major spoken language and many minor ones. Has the pictograms for Chinese [of course]. But also the symbols for Khmer, Canadian Aboriginal, Tamil, Syraic, et cetera, et cetera. Thumbing through this, you may encounter languages that you did not even know existed. It is one thing to say that we live in a multilingual world. But it is another to actually see it expressed comprehensively at the most basic level.

      There are two audiences for this book. The first is any computer person who has to deal with issues of internationalisation.

      But another audience is every Department of Languages or Cultural Anthropology in a university. If this describes your background, then you should know that you do not need facility in computing to appreciate the significance of this book. You can use it as a standard reference, akin to the Oxford English Dictionary vis-a-vis the English language. Look, ignore the computer stuff in the text. Yes, you can do this. The book groups related languages into common chapters. The explanatory text is lucid and the graphics for the languages lets you easily cross compare. Of course, at a higher level of meaning like sentences, you will need specialised texts in those languages. But to understand a language, you need to start at its letters or pictograms.

      Think of this book as an index into all the languages of man.
      The Unicode Standard Version 4.0
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        The Unicode Standard Version 4.0
        THE UNICODE CONSORTIUM
        Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        UnicodeUnicode | APIs & Operating Environments | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: B000OUHR7K
        Unicode Standard, Version 4.0
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Unicode Standard, Version 4.0
          *
          Manufacturer: ADDISON WESLEY PROF
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          UnicodeUnicode | APIs & Operating Environments | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
          ASIN: B000K39TU4

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